Wednesday, December 23
Pre-feast of Christmas
The Ten Holy Martyrs of Crete
The last day before Christmas Eve. Prosphora available for the Christmas Eve holy supper. Call Parish Office to submit a request.
7:30 am Divine Liturgy (Bilingual)
5:30 pm Vespers (English)
Thursday, 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 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 Service, bread, wheat, oil, and wine, are blessed.
7:30 am Royal Hours
2:00 pm Vespers and Liturgy of St. Basil
8:00 pm Great Compline and Lytia (English)
9:00 pm Hierarchical Divine Liturgy (English)
11:00 pm Hierarchical Divine Liturgy (Ukrainian-English)
Friday, December 25
Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Christmas Day.
9:30 am Divine Liturgy (English)
11:15 am Divine Liturgy (Ukrainian)
1:00 pm Divine Liturgy (Bilingual)
Saturday, December 26
Saturday After Nativity
Synaxis of the Mother of God
The Synaxis of the Mother of God 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.
7:30 am Festal Matins
9:30 am Festal Divine Liturgy (Bilingual)
4:00 pm Great Vespers
5:00 pm Divine Liturgy (Bilingual)
Sunday, December 27
Sunday After the Nativity of Christ
Holy and Righteous Joseph, Spouse of the Mother of God
David the King, Ancestor of Christ | James, Brother of the Lord
Holy Apostle, First Martyr and Archdeacon Stephen
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. 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.
7:00 am Great Matins
8:00 am Divine Liturgy (English)
9:30 am Divine Liturgy (English)
11:15 am Divine Liturgy (Ukrainian)
Thursday, December 31
Leave-Taking of Christmas
Venerable Melania of Rome
The morning Divine Liturgy will be offered in thanksgiving for the 2020 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 (Bilingual)
5:30 pm Great Vespers & Lytia
Friday, January 1, 2021
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)
Saturday, January 2
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 3
Sunday Before Theophany
7:00 am Great Matins
8:00 am Divine Liturgy (English)
9:30 am Divine Liturgy (English)
11:15 am Divine Liturgy (Ukrainian)
Monday, January 4
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.
7:30 am Divine Liturgy
5:00 pm Vespers
Tuesday, January 5
Theophany Vigil
The feast of Theophany begins in the evening, with the celebration of Vespers and the Great Water Blessing. As on Christmas Eve, the Lenten character of this Holy Supper is also observed (abstinence from meat and dairy products).
7:30 am Royal Hours
2:00 pm Vespers
3:00 pm Liturgy of St. Basil & Great Water Blessing (Bilingual)
8:00 pm Great Compline and Lytia
Wednesday, 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
9:30 am Divine Liturgy (English)
11:15 am Divine Liturgy (Ukrainian)
7:00 pm Divine Liturgy & Water Blessing (Bilingual)
Sunday, January 10
Sunday After Theophany
7:00 am Great Matins
8:00 am Divine Liturgy (English)
9:30 am Divine Liturgy (English)
11:15 am Divine Liturgy (Ukrainian)
Monday, February 1
Fore-Feast of the Encounter
5:30 pm Great Vespers & Lytia
Tuesday, 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 (Bilingual)
7:00 pm Divine Liturgy (Bilingual)