Tuesday, December 24
Christmas Eve (Vigil)
Day of fasting and abstinence from meat, dairy and eggs, and foods that contain these ingredients. NOTE: According to liturgical time, each day begins and ends at sundown. As the first star appear in the evening sky on Christmas Eve, the feast of the Nativity of Christ begins – with the family gathered together for the Holy Supper. The Lenten character of this meal (abstinence from meat and dairy products) reminds us that Jesus was born not into wealth, in a royal palace, but into poverty, in a humble cave, amidst the poor of the world.
Great Compline and Lytia is the first prayer service to take place in church after the Holy Supper. With Compline, the Nativity Fast (40 days of preparation) comes to a formal end. During the Lytia, bread, wheat, oil and wine are blessed. The faithful will receive this blessed bread and will be anointed with this holy oil at the end of each Christmas Divine Liturgy.
9:00 am Royal Hours (Bilingual)
8:00 pm Great Compline and Lytia (Bilingual)
9:00 pm Hierarchical Divine Liturgy (English)
10:30 pm Christmas Carols
11:00 pm Hierarchical Divine Liturgy (Ukrainian)
Readings and homily in English & Ukrainian
Wednesday, December 25
Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Congregational singing. Blessed bread will be distributed at the end of the Liturgy. The faithful will also be anointed with holy oil.
10:30 am Festal Divine Liturgy (Bilingual)
Thursday, December 26
Synaxis of the Mother of God
This is one of the most ancient Marian feasts. The Greek word synaxis means “assembly.” The faithful assemble the day after Christmas to honour the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus.
10:30 am Festal Divine Liturgy (Bilingual)
Friday, December 27
Saint Stephen, the First Martyr
Saint Stephen was the first baptized Christian of the early Church to be martyred for the sake of Christ, in the year 34 or 35 AD.
9:00 am Festal Divine Liturgy (Bilingual)
Saturday, December 28
Saturday After the Nativity of Christ
The Twenty Thousand Martyrs Who Were Burned in Nicomedia (303); Passing into eternal life (1945) of Blessed Hryhoriy (Gregory) Khomyshyn, Bishop of Stanyslaviv (Ivano-Frankivs’k) and martyr.
9:00 am Divine Liturgy (Bilingual)
4:00 pm Great Vespers
5:00 pm Divine Liturgy (Bilingual)
Sunday, December 29
Sunday After the Nativity of Christ
King David, Saint Joseph, Saint James. On this first Sunday after the Nativity of Christ, we also commemorate Holy and Righteous. Joseph, the betrothed spouse of Mary and foster father of Jesus. We also commemorate King David, the ancestor of Christ, as well as St. James, “the Brother of the Lord” and the first bishop of Jerusalem.
7:30 am Great Matins
9:30 am Divine Liturgy (English)
11:00 am Divine Liturgy (Ukrainian)
Tuesday, December 31
Leave-Taking of Christmas
Venerable Melania of Rome. The morning Divine Liturgy will be offered in thanksgiving for the 2019 year. Great Vespers & Lytia will be celebrated in preparation for the feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord, St. Basil the Great, and the new civil year.
9:00 am Divine Liturgy – Thanksgiving (Bilingual)
4:00 pm Great Vespers & Lytia
Wednesday, January 1, 2019
Circumcision of Our Lord / Saint Basil the Great / New Year’s Day
According to Jewish custom, every male child received its name on the eighth day, at the circumcision. Just as any other Jew, Jesus was also circumcised on the eighth day. In Hebrew, the name Jesus is “Yehoshua,” which means “The Lord saves.” On this day, we also commemorate St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea, who fell asleep in the Lord on January 1st, 379. In addition to his work as a theologian, Basil was known for his care for the poor, the sick and the needy. Basil established guidelines for monastic life which focused on community life, liturgical prayer, and manual labour.
10:30 am Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great
(Bilingual)
Friday, January 3
Pre-feast of Theophany
The time of Bethlehem and Nazareth is drawing near to a close. After about thirty years of hidden life, which were made holy by humble work with his hands and by obedience, Jesus is soon to be revealed to the world. When the Feast of Theophany falls on a Monday, the Royal Hours are celebrated on Friday.
9:00 am Royal Hours
Saturday, January 4
Saturday Before Theophany
Guided by the holy angels, we begin our spiritual journey to the river Jordan, where the Father will manifest His Son: “Go, O angelic powers, hasten from Bethlehem to the waters of the Jordan; and You, O John, leave the wilderness and hasten also to the river. Rejoice of river, and prepare yourself… Christ, the merciful One, is coming to wash away the sin of Adam.
9:00 am Divine Liturgy
4:00 pm Great Vespers
5:00 pm Divine Liturgy (Bilingual)
Sunday, January 5
Sunday Before Theophany (Vigil)
The feast of Theophany begins in the evening, with the celebration of Vespers and the Great Water Blessing, followed by the parish family Holy Supper (at St. Josaphat hall). As on Christmas Eve, the Lenten character of this Holy Supper is also observed (abstinence from meat and dairy products).
7:30 am Great Matins
9:30 am Divine Liturgy (English)
11:00 am Divine Liturgy (Ukrainian)
5:00 pm Vespers & Great Water Blessing (Bilingual)
Theophany Eve Supper
Monday, January 6
Theophany of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Theophany means “the appearance of God.” After Easter and Pentecost, Theophany is the third greatest feast of the Eastern Churches, greater than the Feast of the Nativity of Christ. It commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan by John, and the public manifestation of the incarnate Word to the world.
7:30 am Great Matins
10:00 am Divine Liturgy & Water Blessing (Bilingual)
Sunday, January 12
Sunday After Theophany
7:30 am Great Matins
9:30 am Divine Liturgy (English)
11:00 am Divine Liturgy (Ukrainian)
Saturday, February 1
Fore-feast of the Encounter
3:30 pm Great Vespers & Lytia
5:00 pm Divine Liturgy (Bilingual)
Sunday, February 2
Encounter of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Blessing of Candles at the end of each Liturgy.
7:30 am Great Matins
9:30 am Divine Liturgy (English)
11:00 am Divine Liturgy (Ukrainian)