The offspring of Silyvria* and the guardian of Aegina* the true friend of virtue who appeared in the last years. O Nectarios* we faithful honor you* as a godly servant of Christ, * for you pour forth healing* of every kind for those who piously cry out. * Glory to Christ who has glorified you; * Glory to Him who has shown wonders in you; * Glory to Him who works healing through you for all.

ΑΠΟΛΥΤΙΚΙΟΝ ΑΓΙΟΥ ΝΕΚΤΑΡΙΟΥ

Σηλυβρίας τὸν γόνον καὶ Αἰγίνης τὸν ἔφορον, τὸν ἐσχάτοις χρόνοις φανέντα ἀρετῆς φίλον γνήσιον, Νεκτάριον τιμήσωμεν πιστοί, ὡς ἔνθεον θεράποντα Χριστοῦ. Ἀναβλύζει γὰρ ἰάσεις παντοδαπὰς τοῖς εὐλαβῶς κραυγάζουσι : Δόξα τῷ σὲ δοξάσαντι Χριστῷ, δόξα τῷ σὲ θαυμαστώσαντι, δόξα τῷ ἐνεργούντι διὰ σοῦ πᾶσιν ἰάματα.

Holy Martyr Phanourios

Little is known of the holy Martyr Phanourios, except that which is depicted concerning his martyrdom on his holy icon, which was discovered in the year 1500 among the ruins of an ancient church on Rhodes, when the Moslems ruled there. Thus, he is called "the Newly Revealed." The faithful pray to Saint Phanourios specially to help them recover things that have been lost, and because he has answered their prayers so often, the custom has arisen of baking a Phaneropita ("Phanourios-Cake") as a thanks-offering.

Apolytikion of Martyr Phanourios

Fourth Tone

A heavenly song of praise is brightly sung on the earth; * the hosts of the Angels keep an earthly festival now in splendor and radiant joy; * from on high, they praise with hymns the suff'rings and struggles; * and below, the Church doth laud the heavenly glory * thou foundest by thy contests and pains, O glorious Phanourios.

Kontakion of Martyr Phanourios

Third Tone

From a vile captivity, thou didst deliver the Lord's priests, and, O godly-minded one, didst break their bonds by divine might; thou didst bravely shame the tyrants' audacious madness, giving joy unto the Angels, O thou Great Martyr. O Phanourios most glorious, we all revere thee as a true warrior of God.

Beheading of the Holy and Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John

The divine Baptist, the Prophet born of a Prophet, the seal of all the Prophets and beginning of the Apostles, the mediator between the Old and New Covenants, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, the God-sent Messenger of the incarnate Messiah, the forerunner of Christ's coming into the world (Esaias 40: 3; Mal. 3: 1); who by many miracles was both conceived and born; who was filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother's womb; who came forth like another Elias the Zealot, whose life in the wilderness and divine zeal for God's Law he imitated: this divine Prophet, after he had preached the baptism of repentance according to God's command; had taught men of low rank and high how they must order their lives; had admonished those whom he baptized and had filled them with the fear of God, teaching them that no one is able to escape the wrath to come if he do not works worthy of repentance; had, through such preaching, prepared their hearts to receive the evangelical teachings of the Savior; and finally, after he had pointed out to the people the very Savior, and said, "Behold the Lamb of God, Which taketh away the sin of the world" (Luke 3:2-18; John 1: 29-36), after all this, John sealed with his own blood the truth of his words and was made a sacred victim for the divine Law at the hands of a transgressor.

This was Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Galilee, the son of Herod the Great. This man had a lawful wife, the daughter of Arethas (or Aretas), the King of Arabia (that is, Arabia Petraea, which had the famous Nabatean stone city of Petra as its capital. This is the Aretas mentioned by Saint Paul in II Cor. 11:32). Without any cause, and against every commandment of the Law, he put her away and took to himself Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, to whom Herodias had borne a daughter, Salome. He would not desist from this unlawful union even when John, the preacher of repentance, the bold and austere accuser of the lawless, censured him and told him, "It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife" (Mark 6: 18). Thus Herod, besides his other unholy acts, added yet this, that he apprehended John and shut him in prison; and perhaps he would have killed him straightway, had he not feared the people, who had extreme reverence for John. Certainly, in the beginning, he himself had great reverence for this just and holy man. But finally, being pierced with the sting of a mad lust for the woman Herodias, he laid his defiled hands on the teacher of purity on the very day he was celebrating his birthday. When Salome, Herodias' daughter, had danced in order to please him and those who were supping with him, he promised her -- with an oath more foolish than any foolishness -- that he would give her anything she asked, even unto the half of his kingdom. And she, consulting with her mother, straightway asked for the head of John the Baptist in a charger. Hence this transgressor of the Law, preferring his lawless oath above the precepts of the Law, fulfilled this godless promise and filled his loathsome banquet with the blood of the Prophet. So it was that that all-venerable head, revered by the Angels, was given as a prize for an abominable dance, and became the plaything of the dissolute daughter of a debauched mother. As for the body of the divine Baptist, it was taken up by his disciples and placed in a tomb (Mark 6: 21 - 29). Concerning the finding of his holy head, see February 24 and May 25.

Apolytikion of Beheading of the Forerunner

Second Tone

The memory of the just is celebrated with hymns of praise, but the Lord's testimony is sufficient for thee, O Forerunner; for thou hast proved to be truly even more venerable than the Prophets, since thou were granted to baptize in the running waters Him Whom they proclaimed. Wherefore, having contested for the truth, thou didst rejoice to announce the good tidings even to those in Hades: that God hath appeared in the flesh, taking away the sin of the world and granting us great mercy.

Kontakion of Beheading of the Forerunner

Plagal of the First Tone

The glorious beheading of the Forerunner was a certain divine dispensation, that the coming of the Saviour might also be preached to those in Hades. Let Herodias lament, then, that she demanded a wicked murder; for she loved not the Law of God, nor eternal life, but one false and fleeting.

Special Announcement:

· Open Registration for Sunday Religious School and Greek School. Classes start on September, 2019 until May 2020. Please contact: Mrs. Rebecca Lawdis at 909-367– 6651. The location is at the back of the property in the last modular buildings.

· We need volunteer teachers for our Sunday School Program for September, 2019 up to May, 2020. If interested please contact Peter Klentos at 714-466-0356 or send him email at peter.klentos@sbcglobal.net.

· If someone wants to sponsor the coffee hour, there is a sign-up sheet in the Hall. Please write legibly your name next to the date you want to sponsor

· We need oil (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) for the Church, please donate.

· Please notify us if someone in the member of the family or yourself is sick, so that we may offer healing prayer.

· We would like to remind all members of the Saint Nectarios Philoptochos Society that there will be no meeting for the rest of Summer (from June, July, and August, 2019). As usual, we go dark this summer.