Service Sheet for Sunday 4th January 2026 – Feast of the Epiphany
Celebrant Fr Benjamin Drury
Welcome to our Liturgy of Holy Communion (Sung Mass)
Processional: 49 (Epiphany) Brightest and best of the sons of the morning
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 72
Gradual: 46 (St. Venantius) Why, impious Herod, shouldst thou fear
Offertory: 50 (King’s Weston) From the eastern mountains
Communion: 48 (Stuttgart) Bethlehem of noblest cities
Recessional: 52 (Was Lebet) O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness
All are welcome to stay for refreshments after the liturgy.
Please remember that the chaplaincy in Athens neither receives funding from the British Government nor from the Church of
England. All donations are, therefore, very gratefully received.
A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (60: 1-6)
Arise, shine out, Jerusalem, for your light has come, the glory of the Lord is rising on you, though night still covers the earth and darkness the peoples. Above you the Lord now rises and above you his glory appears.The nations come to your light and kings to your dawning brightness. Lift up your eyes and look round: all are assembling and coming towards you, your sons from far away and your daughters being tenderly carried. At this sight you will grow radiant, your heart throbbing and full; since the riches of the sea will flow to you, the wealth of the nations come to you; camels in throngs will cover you, and dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; everyone in Sheba will come, bringing gold and incense and singing the praise of the Lord.
The Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God
Psalm 72: All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.
O God, give your judgement to the king, to a king’s son your justice,
that he may judge your people in justice
and your poor in right judgement. (Response)
In his days justice shall flourish and peace till the moon fails.
He shall rule from sea to sea,
from the Great River to earth’s bounds. (Response)
The kings of Tarshish and the sea coasts shall pay him tribute.
The kings of Sheba and Seba shall bring him gifts.
Before him all kings shall fall prostrate,
all nations shall serve him.(Response)
For he shall save the poor when they cry and the needy who are helpless.
He will have pity on the weak
and save the lives of the poor. (Response)
A reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians (3: 2-3, 5-6)
You have probably heard how I have been entrusted by God with
the grace he meant for you, and that it was by a revelation that I was given the knowledge of the mystery. This mystery that has now been revealed through the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets was
unknown to any men in past generations; it means that pagans now
share the same inheritance, that they are parts of the same body,
and that the same promise has been made to them, in Jesus Christ, through the gospel.
The Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God.
Gospel acclamation: Alleluia, alleluia!
We saw his star as it rose
and have come to do the Lord homage. Alleluia! The Lord be with you. And also with you.
+ A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew (2: 1-12)
Glory to you, O Lord.
After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of King Herod, some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east. ‘Where is the infant king of the Jews?’ they asked. ‘We saw his star as it rose
and have come to do him homage.’ When King Herod heard this he was perturbed, and so was the whole of Jerusalem. He called together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, and enquired of them where the Christ was to be born. ‘At Bethlehem in Judaea,’ they told him ‘for this is what the prophet wrote:
And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
you are by no means least among the leaders of Judah, for out of you will come a leader
who will shepherd my people Israel.’
Then Herod summoned the wise men to see him privately. He asked them the exact date on which the star had appeared, and sent them on to Bethlehem. ‘Go and find out all about the child,’ he said ‘and when you have found him, let me know, so that I too may go and do him homage.’ Having listened to what the king had to say, they set out. And there in front of them was the star they had seen rising; it went forward, and halted over the place where the child was. The sight of the star filled them with delight, and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. But they were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, and returned to their own country by a different way.
The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you, O Christ
The setting of the Nicene Creed is on page 562 in the New English Hymnal.
O God, who by the leading of a star didst manifest thy only-be- gotten Son to the Gentiles: Mercifully grant, that we, which
know thee now by faith, may after this life have the fruition of thy glorious Godhead; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP Collect Epiphany, or the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles)
Church Open: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Services: Unless noted, liturgies are followed by refreshments
Wednesday 6th January: 10 a.m.; Low Mass
Sunday 11th January: 10 a.m.; Sung Mass (Baptism of the Lord) Wednesday 14th January: 10 a.m.; Low Mass
Sunday 18th January: 10 a.m.; Sung Mass
Sunday 18th January: 6 p.m.; Choral Evensong (Schola Cantorum)
Community Connect Coffee Morning: Thurs. 8th January (10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.; Apollonos 6)
Study group & pilgrimage walking group: details from Fr. Benjamin
Donate electronically by scanning the QR code
the Church does not receive any funding from the
Church of England or the British Government and is reliant on the goodwill of congregants and visitors. We thank you for your support
Priest Chaplain: Fr. Benjamin Drury SSC
Home tel.: 210 72 14 906
Assistant Chaplain: Deacon Christine Saccali: 697 737 7655
Church of Sweden: Fr. Bjorn Kling: 694 6072428
Facebook @AnglicanAthens www.anglicanchurchathens.gr
saintpaulsathens.bsky.social
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