St. Spyridon Parish News, Events, Activities and Announcements

This Week's Services for the "Fifteen Days of August"

Monday, August 14th - Vespers - 6:30 pm

Tuesday, August 15th - Orthros - 9:00 am Divine Liturgy - 10:00 am

Hellenic Fairways Golf Classic is Now Open for Registration

The Hellenic Fairways Golf Classic is scheduled for Friday, October 27, 2017 at Willowbrook Golf Course. You can now register online for the Hellenic Golf Classic today at http://brownrhad.wixsite.com/hellenicfairways Also, for more information contact Rhad Brown at

brownrhad@gmail.com or by phone at 619-573-2304

See the "Inserts and Fliers" section below

The Stewardship Committee Thanks YOU

The Stewardship Committee thanks all of our faithful stewards for their commitment in supporting the services and activities offered to our parishioners and their families. Every week, our church community is energized with volunteers giving of their precious Time,Talent and Treasure to support our church, our ministries, our seniors and our youth. Our parish continually works to increase the financial support needed by our varied and many parish ministries. The upcoming expansion of our church parking lot is a tremendous blessing that will hopefully encourage more of you to come and share the Love of Christ in prayer and fellowship. Please remember that these improvements are only possible through your generous gifts of stewardship. Please continue help us through consistent monthly giving so that we can respond to the needs of your parish. We have much to accomplish in the years ahead and your generosity and sacrifice are needed.

May God Great continue to bless your families as faithful stewards of our community in Christ.

The Stewardship Committee of Saint Spyridon GOC

John Kalas, Stewardship Chair Fr. Andrew Scordalakis

Jim Gilpin, Greg Kostas, Bill Navrides, Ben De La Riva, Stephen Thiros and Spero Tzathas

Altar Server Team for Sunday, August 13th

St. Basil: Captain: Demetri Gilpin, Michael Angeles, John Burell, Christos (Eric) Dahl, Demetri Giannousopoulos, Panos Kaperonis, Philipa Trakas, John Woodworth, Nicholas Woodworth, Alexander Vasiliou.

SAVE THE DATE! - The Pan Arcadians - "Destiny of Distinction"

The Pan Arcadians are busily making plans for their annual fund raiser “Destiny of Distinction”. The gala will be held September 30 at 5:00 PM in the Cypress Room of St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church.

The event will feature a social hour with appetizers and a full Greek dinner complete with wine, music and dancing. Tickets are $75 for adults $25 children under twelve. Reservations: Sam Tzathas (619)917-9534 or Angie Georggin (619)972-6410.

This year’s “Destiny of Distinction” recipients are Father Simeon Corona, Father Andrew Scordalakis, and Father Michael Sitaras. They will be honored for their services to our communities and their unfailing support of our organization and its charities. Our scholarship recipient, Mary Kathryn Fellios, will also be recognized that night.

Please support our scholarship fund by placing messages in our program book. Consider offering your greetings to the honorees or family members. You may also memorialize your loved ones. We request that the messages be in the form of a word document and attached to the email. For further information, please email Fred Georggin at freggo@aol.com or Sam Tzathas at sotiros@n2.net. More information to follow. See you at the gala!

Adrienne Robas Bell, President Tegea 101

Philoptochos Membership for 2017

As we gear up for another fall season of serving those in need, we would like to remind you to renew your Philoptochos membership for 2017. Your support truly makes the work of Philoptochos possible! Also, we are always looking for new members, so if you are thinking of joining our dynamic chapter, now is a great time to do so! Contact Soula De La Riva, 760-521-0471 or soula.delariva@cox.net for more information. Thank you!

Women of the Word (W.O.W.) Bible Study

Women of the Word will have a sign up table in the hall after the Divine Liturgy this Sunday, August 13th. Come find out more about our ministry, meet some of our members, and see what we are reading together this coming year.

SAVE THE DATE! - Choir

Please join St. Spyridon Choir for Faith and Fellowship at the Ballpark. Padres vs. The Dodgers Friday, September 1st at 7:10 pm. For tickets, please see Greg Kostas or Kathy Meck; or contact them at gnkostas@gmail.com or sprnodiva@aol.com. They will be selling tickets on Sundays in the hall after the Divine Liturgy.

SAVE THE DATE! - GOYA

Join us on Saturday, September 16th at La Jolla Shores Beach at 4:00 pm for a Beach party as we kick off the New Ecclesiastical year. GOYA will provide the pizzas for everyone. We are asking families to bring something (please see Sign Up-Genius) OR make a donation to Project Mexico (all donations will be collected that night). Your whole family is invited so please tell your parents and siblings. RSVP at marianafrangos@gmail.com questions call Michael Defelippi at 858-442-3266.

SAVE THE DATE! - Hellenic Fairways Golf Classic

Save The Date! Hellenic Fairways Golf Classic. Friday, October 27, 2017 at Willowbrook Golf Course. For more information cotact Rhad Brown: brownrhad@gmail.com or 619-573-2304. Please see the "Inserts and Fliers" section below

Body Basics Parking Spaces

Please be reminded that one of our tenants, Body Basics, has been given permission to use two parking spaces off the alley near Park Blvd. on Sunday mornings. Please be respectful of that agreement and do not park in these two marked spaces on Sunday mornings. Please know that we are working diligently and moving forward to provide more parking for our church members. In the meantime, please pay attention to the signs marking the two spaces for Body Basics and do not block their customers from using those two designated spaces. Thank you.

Your Legacy and Your Church

...to whom much is given; from them much more is required (Luke 12:48). Please remember to include your Saint Spyridon parish in your estate plan and bequest.

Philoptochos and Coffee Hour

We hope you continue to enjoy the long standing tradition of coffee hour over the summer. Philoptochos is thankful for the continued support from all the families and organizations that offer every week. We kindly ask that you consider offering at least once per year, so think of name days, celebrations, memorials, fundraisers, etc. Offering fellowship is easy and can be shared with another family if you like. Please contact Christina Vassos at 619-818-6882 or cmvassos@gmail.com to see which dates are available. There is also a calendar in the hall. Thank you!

Youth & Young Adults Social Media

Program Description: Connect with the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries through social media to stay current with all the most recent news & events. We are all living and working in the mobile age, and the Metropolis Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries is committed to building its presence on the internet. These sites serve as a unified place to connect our youth, young adults, clergy, youth workers, and parents throughout our very geographically diverse Metropolis. It will also be a place for everyone to share their ideas. Please be sure to check out these sites!

Like us on Facebook: Metropolis of San Francisco Youth & Young Adult Ministries https ://www.facebook.com/MetropolisofSanFranciscoYouthOffice
Follow us on Instagram https://instagram.com/metropolisofsanfranciscoyouth/
Follow us on twitter https://twitter.com/SFMetSummerCamp
Snap with us on Snapchat (via your phone app): msfyouth
Watch with us on vimeo https://vimeo.com/metropolisofsfyouth
Smile with us on flickr Summer Camp at St Nicholas Ranch https://www.flickr.com/photos/98532376@N08

Receive Back 0.5% From “Amazon Smile” Foundation

We are pleased to announce, St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church of San Diego now participates in AmazonSmile. AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon that lets you enjoy the same wide selection of millions of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com. The difference is that when you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church. That’s right, every eligible purchase you or someone else makes at AmazonSmile 0.5% will be donated back to our parish!!!

Register by visiting AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com) and select “St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church” before you make your first purchase (be sure to select St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church - San Diego, California). Amazon will remember your selection and each time a purchase is made AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% back to our parish.

For more information about AmazonSmile, go to http://smile.amazon.com/about

We hope you’ll consider this easy way to support your beloved parish. Everyone is eligible to participate so tell your friends and relatives and spread the word about this wonderful program. It takes little effort and with our collective participation and God’s continued blessings, our parish can benefit from this program.

A short video will be available on the parish website demonstrating how to select St. Spyridon GOC as your charity in your Amazon user account.

Live Stream Broadcast

If you know someone who may be in the hospital or home bound or for whatever reason just cannot get to church, don’t forget about the Live Stream Broadcast of our Divine Services. You can watch our Live Broadcast by going to our parish website and clicking on the “Live Broadcast” tab on the top tool bar. Remember, our Live Stream Broadcast is for those who absolutely cannot physically make the divine services of the church and is not a substitute for being present. Also, please be aware that conversations, crying babies, etc. can be heard on the broadcast. We have a wonderful cry room facility, which is located off the Narthex behind the candle stand, and is comfortable and provided for your convenience.

The Live Stream divine services of Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church of San Diego, CA may not be recorded, retransmitted or reproduced without the express written consent of the Parish Council of Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church of San Diego, CA. Thank you for your consideration.

Donations toward the digital ministries of the parish are warmly welcomed. If you would like to help support the ministries of Saint Spyridon please contact the church office. Again, thank you.

Decorated Feast Day Icons

Philoptochos invites you and your family to commemorate a special Feast Day by sponsoring the floral adornments around the blessed icons. Throughout the liturgical year there are many opportunities to offer a decorated feast day icon on any scheduled feast day. Please consider honoring the saint or event of the liturgical year, ie Epiphany, The Nativity of our Lord, St. Nicholas, etc. This offering is a perfect way to not only honor a feast Day and a family member as well. Suggested donation for each decorated feast day icon is $75.00, and the donation needs to be mailed to the church office three (3) weeks prior to the feast/saints day. If you are interested please contact the church office for available scheduled feast day opportunities.

Inserts and Fliers

Hellenic Fairways Golf Classic - Save The Date!

SAVE THE DATE! Hellenic Fairways Golf Classic Friday, October 27, 2017 Willowbrook Golf Course

Gospel and Epistle Readings

Matins Gospel Reading

Tenth Orthros Gospel
The Reading is from John 21:1-14

At that time, being raised from the dead, Jesus revealed himself to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat; but that night they caught nothing. Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any fish?" They answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, for the quantity of fish. The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his clothes, for he was stripped for work, and sprang into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish lying on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them; and although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. First Mode. Psalm 32.22,1.
Let your mercy, O Lord, be upon us.
Verse: Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous.

The reading is from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 4:9-16.

Brethren, God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become, and are now, as the refuse of the world, the off-scouring of all things. I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me.

Gospel Reading

10th Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from Matthew 17:14-23

At that time, a man came up to Jesus and kneeling before him said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; for often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him." And Jesus answered, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me." And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move hence to yonder place,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting." As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day."

Wisdom of the Fathers

Yet if his unbelief was the cause ... why does He blame the disciples? Signifying, that even without persons to bring the sick in faith, they might in many instances work a cure.

St. John Chrysostom

Homily 57 on Matthew 17, 4th Century

For as the faith of the person presenting oftentimes availed for receiving the cure, even from inferior ministers; so the power of the doers oftentimes sufficed, even without belief in those who came to work the miracle.

St. John Chrysostom

Homily 57 on Matthew 17, 4th Century

Saints and Feasts

August 13

Maximus the Confessor

The divine Maximus, who was from Constantinople, sprang from an illustrious family. He was a lover of wisdom and an eminent theologian. At first, he was the chief private secretary of the Emperor Heraclius and his grandson Constans. But when the Monothelite heresy became predominant in the royal court, out of hatred for this error the Saint departed for the Monastery at Chrysopolis (Scutari), of which he later became the abbot. When Constans tried to constrain him either to accept the Monothelite teaching, or to stop speaking and writing against it - neither of which the Saint accepted to do - his tongue was uprooted and his right hand was cut off, and he was sent into exile, where he reposed in 662. At the time only he and his few disciples were Orthodox in the East. See also January 21.

August 14

The Holy Prophet Michaias (Micah)

This Prophet (whose name means "who is like God?"), was a Morasthite from the land of Judah. He prophesied more than fifty years in the days of Joatham, Ahaz, and Hezekias, Kings of Judah. These kings reigned in the eighth century before Christ. From this it is clear that this Michaias is not the one who was the son of Iembla (or Imlah-III Kings 22:8), who censured Ahab and was murdered by Ahab's son Joram, as the Synaxaristes says; for this Joram reigned the ninth century before Christ. Yet Michaias was still prophesying, as mentioned above, in the days of Hezekias, who was a contemporary of Hosea and Esaias, and of Hoshea, the last King of the ten tribes of Israel, when that kingdom was destroyed by Salmanasar (Shalmaneser), King of the Assyrians (IV Kings 17: 1 - 16; 18: 1). This Michaias is sixth in rank among the minor Prophets. His book of prophecy is divided into seven chapters; he prophesied that the Christ would be born in Bethlehem (Michaias 5: 2). In the reign of Saint Theodosius the Great, the holy relics of the Prophets Michaias and Abbacum were found through a divine revelation to Zebennus, Bishop of Eleutheropolis (Sozomen, Eccl. Hist., Book VII, 29).

August 15

The Dormition of our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary

Concerning the Dormition of the Theotokos, this is what the Church has received from ancient times from the tradition of the Fathers. When the time drew nigh that our Savior was well-pleased to take His Mother to Himself, He declared unto her through an Angel that three days hence, He would translate her from this temporal life to eternity and bliss. On hearing this, she went up with haste to the Mount of Olives, where she prayed continuously. Giving thanks to God, she returned to her house and prepared whatever was necessary for her burial. While these things were taking place, clouds caught up the Apostles from the ends of the earth, where each one happened to be preaching, and brought them at once to the house of the Mother of God, who informed them of the cause of their sudden gathering. As a mother, she consoled them in their affliction as was meet, and then raised her hands to Heaven and prayed for the peace of the world. She blessed the Apostles, and, reclining upon her bed with seemliness, gave up her all-holy spirit into the hands of her Son and God.

With reverence and many lights, and chanting burial hymns, the Apostles took up that God-receiving body and brought it to the sepulchre, while the Angels from Heaven chanted with them, and sent forth her who is higher than the Cherubim. But one Jew, moved by malice, audaciously stretched forth his hand upon the bed and immediately received from divine judgment the wages of his audacity. Those daring hands were severed by an invisible blow. But when he repented and asked forgiveness, his hands were restored. When they had reached the place called Gethsemane, they buried there with honor the all-immaculate body of the Theotokos, which was the source of Life. But on the third day after the burial, when they were eating together, and raised up the artos (bread) in Jesus' Name, as was their custom, the Theotokos appeared in the air, saying "Rejoice" to them. From this they learned concerning the bodily translation of the Theotokos into the Heavens.

These things has the Church received from the traditions of the Fathers, who have composed many hymns out of reverence, to the glory of the Mother of our God (see Oct. 3 and 4).

August 16

Gerasimus of Cephalonia

Saint Gerasimus was from the Peloponnesus, the son of Demetrius and Kale, of the family of Notaras. He was reared in piety by them and studied the Sacred writings. He left his country and went throughout various lands, and finally came to Cephalonia, where he restored a certain old church and built a convent around it, where it stands to this day at the place called Omala. He finished the course of his life there in asceticism in the year 1570. His sacred relics, which remain incorrupt, are kept there for the sanctification of the faithful.

August 17

Myron the Martyr of Cyzicus

Saint Myron was a priest during the reign of Decius, when Antipater was ruler of Achaia. On the day of our Lord's Nativity, Antipater entered the church to seize the Christians and punish them. Saint Myron, kindled with holy zeal, roundly insulted Antipater, for which he was hung up and scraped, then cast into a raging furnace, but was preserved unharmed. When Myron refused to worship the idols, Antipater commanded that strips be cut in the Saint's flesh from his shoulders to his feet; the Saint took one of the strips of his flesh and flung it in the tyrant's face. He was beaten, and scraped again upon his beaten flesh; then he was thrown to wild beasts, but when Antipater saw them leaving off their fierce nature and protecting the Saint from harm, he was overcome with unbearable shame and slew himself. The Saint was then sent to Cyzicus, where the proconsul had him beheaded, about the year 250.

August 18

Floros & Lauros the Monk-martyrs of Illyria

These Martyrs were twin brothers, and stonemasons. After the martyrdom of their teachers Proclus and Maximus, they left Byzantium and came to the city of Ulpiana in Illyricum, where a certain Licinius hired them to build a temple for the idols. The wages he gave them, they distributed to the poor, and when the temple was built, Floros and Lauros gathered the paupers, and with their help put ropes about the necks of the idols, pulled them to the ground, and furnished the temple as a church. When Licinius learned of this, he had the paupers burned alive in a furnace. Floros and Lauros were tormented, then cast into a deep well, where they gave up their souls to the Lord. When their holy relics were recovered years later, they poured forth myrrh and worked many miracles; they were enshrined in Constantinople.

August 19

Andrew the General & Martyr & his 2,593 soldiers

During the reign of Maximian, about the year 289, Antiochus the Commander-in-Chief of the Roman forces sent Andrew with many other soldiers against the Persians, who had overrun the borders of the Roman dominion. Saint Andrew persuaded his men to call upon the Name of Christ, and when they had defeated the Persians with unexpected triumph, his soldiers believed in Christ with him. Antiochus, learning of this, had them brought before him. When they confessed Christ to be God, he had Andrew spread out upon a bed of iron heated fiery hot, and had the hands of his fellow soldiers nailed to blocks of wood. Antiochus then commanded some thousand soldiers to chase the Saints beyond the borders of the empire. Through the instructions of Saint Andrew, these soldiers also believed in Christ. At the command of Antiochus, they were all beheaded in the mountain passes of the Taurus mountains of Cilicia.

Hymns of the Day

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the First Mode

Though the tomb was sealed by a stone and soldiers guarded your pure body, you arose, O Savior, on the third day, giving life to the world. Therefore, O giver of life, the heavenly powers praise you: Glory to your resurrection, O Christ, glory to your kin

Apolytikion for Apodosis of Transfiguration in the Grave Mode

You were transfigured upon the mountain, O Christ our God, showing to Your disciples Your glory as much as they could bear. Do also in us, sinners though we be, shine Your everlasting light, through the intercessions of the Theotokos, O Giver of light. Glory to You.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Grave Mode

You were transfigured upon the mount, O Christ our God, and Your disciples, in so far as they could bear, beheld Your glory. Thus, when they see You crucified, they may understand Your voluntary passion, and proclaim to the world that You are truly the effulgence of the Father.

General Information

Contact Information

Services Schedule

Sunday Services

Orthros/Matins: 8:30am

Divine Liturgy: 10:00am

Past Bulletins