Four Evangelists Orthodox Church, Bel Air, Maryland

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Divine Liturgy

Sunday of the Paralytic and the 4th Sunday of Pascha

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Christ is risen!

This coming Sunday, 11 May 2025, is the Sunday of the Paralytic and the 4th Sunday of Pascha. On this day we also remember the Holy Equals-to-the-Apostles Cyril (869) and Methodius (885), First Teachers of the Slavs.

And while not an official day on the church calendar, it is also Mother’s Day –a worthy time to give thanks for all of our mothers, including all of the women in our lives who have shown us maternal love. May God bless our mothers!

The readings for this Sunday are:

By Your divine authority, O Lord, / as You raised up the paralytic of old, / so raise up my soul, paralyzed by sundry sins and unseemly acts; / so that being saved I may cry: / “Glory to Your power, O compassionate Christ!”
— Troparion for the Sunday of the Paralytic

Healing of the Paralytic

Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women

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Christ is risen!

Upcoming on the calendar at Four Evangelists Orthodox Church:

Sunday, 04 May 2025, is the 3rd Sunday of Pascha and Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women.

The 3rd Sunday of Holy Pascha is observed by the Orthodox Church as the Sunday of the Holy Myrrhbearers. The day commemorates when the women disciples of our Lord came to the tomb to anoint his body with myrrh-oils but found the tomb empty. As the woman wondered what this meant, angels appeared proclaiming that Christ had risen from the dead. | from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America website

The readings for this Sunday are:

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. — Gospel According to St. Mark 16.1–8

Myrrh-bearing Women

5th Week of Lent and the Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt

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Glory to Jesus Christ!

This coming Sunday, 06 April 2025, is the 5th Sunday of Great Lent and the Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt.

St. Mary of Egypt is commemorated on 01 April and on the 5th Sunday of Holy Lent. She is commemorated on this Sunday due to her recognition by the Church as a model of repentance.1

Enlightened by the grace of the Cross, * thou wast seen to be a bright light of repentance, * dispelling the darkness of passions, O all holy one. * thou didst appear as an angel in the flesh * to holy Zosimas in the wilderness. * Intercede with Christ for us, O Mary our righteous Mother.
— Troparion for the Feast of St. Mary of Egypt

The readings for this Sunday are:

  • Galatians 3.23–29 (Epistle, Saint)
  • Luke 7.36–50 (Gospel, Saint)
  • Hebrews 9.11–14 (Epistle)
  • Mark 10.32–45 (Gospel)

Upcoming services during Great Lent:

Access our full Lent, Passion Week, and Pascha calendar here.

1st Sunday of Lent: Sunday of Orthodoxy

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Glory to Jesus Christ!

This coming Sunday, 09 March 2025, is the 1st Sunday of Great Lent and the Sunday of Orthodoxy. All are invited to bring an icon from home or to use one available in the church for the Rite of Orthodoxy following the Divine Liturgy.

What is the Sunday of Orthodoxy and the Rite of Orthodoxy?

You might have heard this day also referred to as the “Triumph of Orthodoxy”. Any Sunday of… or Triumph of… language should never be understood in a prideful, triumphant manner. The day also does not understand the word Orthodoxy in a modern sense of denomination or jurisdiction or group over and against another group. That would anachronistically limit the term. Orthodoxy here is understood in a much fuller sense, the “faith that has established the universe”.

The day commemorates the restoration of icons in 843 under the Empress Theodora and reflects the great significance which icons possess for the Orthodox Church. They are not optional devotional extras, but an integral part of Orthodox faith and devotion. The “triumph of Orthodoxy” over the iconoclasts involved important issues (and still important issues!) such as the character of Christ’s human nature, the Christian attitude towards matter, and the true meaning of Christian redemption. Icons are a necessary consequence of the Incarnation of the Word (John 1.14), Jesus Christ.1

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, a brief service is conducted in commemoration of the affirmations of the Seventh Ecumenical Council in 787 and the restoration of the use of icons in 843. Orthodox faithful carry icons in procession, while the clergy offer petitions for the people, civil authorities, and those who have reposed in the faith. Following is a recitation of excerpts from the Affirmation of Faith of the Seventh Ecumenical Council and the singing of the Great Prokeimenon.2

Sunday of Orthodoxy procession with icons — 27 March 2019
Sunday of Orthodoxy procession with icons — 27 March 2019

The readings for this Sunday are:

  • Hebrews 12.1-10 (Epistle – 40 Martyrs of Sebaste)
  • Matthew 20.1-16 (Gospel – 40 Martyrs of Sebaste)
  • Hebrews 11.24-26, 32-12.2 (Epistle)
  • John 1.43-51 (Gospel)

Upcoming services during Great Lent:

  • Vespers for the First Sunday in Lent on Saturday, 08 March, at 6 PM
  • Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great on Sunday, 09 March, at 9 AM 
  • Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts on Wednesday, 12 March, at 6 PM

Access our full Lent, Passion Week, and Pascha calendar here.

Blessing of Backpacks

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Glory to Jesus Christ!

As another academic year begins, we will be praying for those returning to school with our annual Blessing of the Backpacks following the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, 25 August 2024.

Whether student, teacher, or staff, please bring your backpack or bag to be blessed before returning to the classroom! All ages welcome!

Feast of Pentecost

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Glory to Jesus Christ!

Tomorrow, 23 June 2024, is the 8th Sunday of Pascha and the Feast of Holy Pentecost, the celebration by the Church of the coming of the Holy Spirit as the end—the achievement and fulfillment—of the entire history of salvation.1

Please join us for the Festal Divine Liturgy at 9:00 AM, followed by a portion of Kneeling Vespers at which we will kneel together for the first time since Great and Holy Pascha. These prayers are traditionally prayed after Vespers but commonly celebrated immediately following the Liturgy in modern parish usage.

Pentecost
Feast of Holy Pentecost