Divine Service Schedule for the Feast Day of St. Demetrios the Myrrh-Flower - Monday, October 26th
Orthros/Preparatory service at 9:00 am with Divine Liturgy to follow.
This Sunday's Memorials
Kalliopi Christakos - 6 months
Sarantos Christakos - 8 years
Helen Kaitson - 16 years
Socrates Kaitson - 42 years
Helen Meine - 15 years
Lyle Hochberger - 3 years
Mary Hochberger - 9 years
Androniki Gikas - 32 years
Speros Gikas - 57 years
As a reminder: The pews on the front right side of the church, as you enter the church, are reserved for the family/families who are having a Memorial Service for their loved ones. Thus, please allow one pew per Memorial family on any given Sunday. Thank you for your understanding.
Church Office Email Addresses
Philoptochos Decorated Icons
Commemorate a Feast Day by offering a decorated icon to be venerated in the Narthex. The suggested donation is $85 to the Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society. Call the church office at 619-297-4165 to reserve.
Icons available:
11/1: Sts. Cosmas and Damianos the Holy Healing Unmercenaries
11/8: Synaxis of the Archangels
11/13: St. John Chrysostom
11/21: Entrance of the Theotokos Into the Temple
11/25: St. Katherine the Great Martyr
Fellowship and Coffee Hour
Tonight, 6:30 pm-9:00 pm. 6th-12th graders, meet in the Youth Room for a fun night of games and activities! New this year - Fall Fun with Pumpkins! Bring your own pumpkin, any size. Bring your favorite game! We will also handprint the wall for new members. Dinner will be served. Email [email protected] to RSVP or for more information.
Greek Dance and Choral School
Schedule of practices for dance groups for Sunday, October 25th:
Ta Spyridonakia: 12:15 to 12:45 pm, Youth Room
Youth Choir: 12:30 to 1:10 pm, Choir Loft
High School Girls Group: 1:10 pm to 1:25 pm, Choir Loft
Lunch break for Helios/Pelagos/Choir participants: 12:10 to 12:20 pm, Youth Room
Helios: 1:15 pm to 2:15 pm, Youth Room
Pelagos: 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm, Church Hall
Parea: 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, Church Hall
Greek Dance Registration forms https://forms.gle/mqH8xKeVTobXG9Ca8
Greek Dance Tuition https://tuition-dance-and-choral-school.square.site/
Questions? Please email [email protected].
Hellenic Fairways Golf Tournament and Dinner is Back
This Friday, October 30, at Willowbrook Golf Course. 100% of the net proceeds from this year’s golf tournament will go to St. Spyridon Greek Dance & Choral School. Register to play or just come for the dinner.
https://www.wesharegiving.org/App/Form/ead2bb82-37c2-43ad-bef0-273a6ce94c01
Little Angels Playgroup
Next playgroup is October 28th from 9:45-11:00am. This is for babies and toddlers and parents! We play, sing songs, and do fun activities in our St. Spyridon Playroom (Lower Education Building). If you have any questions, please contact Julie Dennis, Youth Ministries Director, at [email protected].
Upcoming Memorials in November
11/1: Rose Sissons - 3 years
11/1: Sesen Medhanie - 37 years
11/1: Dashai Terry - 37 years
11/8: Eleftheria (Ritsa) Horeftis - 1 year
11/8: Patrikia Yoanidis - 40 days
11/8: Gregory Gallanis - 10 years
11/8: Hariklia Atsalos - 40 days
11/15: Steve Kosmos - 40 days
11/15: Panayiotis Limperis - 16 years
11/22: Nick Panos - 15 years
11/22: Popi Panos - 22 years
11/22: Konstantinos Loukatos - 22 years
11/22: Elly Loukatos - 15 years
11/22: John Stamatelatos - 19 years
11/22: Deacon Michael Kallas - 6 months
Philoptochos Invites You to Join Team Anthousa on November 1st
As a member of Team Anthousa, we each play a part in helping Susan G. Komen® in their one mission to end breast cancer forever. Please join Team Anthousa as we honor our community members who are battling, have survived, and those we have lost in this fight by making your one donation today. Join here by registering and selecting Team Anthousa:
https://secure.info-komen.org/site/TRR/RacefortheCure/MoreThanPinkWalk?pg=tfind&fr_id=11261
See the attached flyer in the Inserts & Flyers section below.
Greek Heritage Night
Wednesday, November 4th, 7:30 pm, Intuit Dome, Los Angeles. Get your Greek on and support our program when the LA Clippers face the Miami Heat. Every ticket purchased through this link gets you access to the pre-game reception in court B and a special Greek Heritage Night t-shirt. $5 from every ticket purchased through this link: https://www.gofevo.com/event/StSpyridonLAC26 will be donated directly to the St. Spyridon Greek Dance and Choral School.
See the attached flyer in the Inserts & Flyers section below.
Men’s Ministry
Meets on the 4th Thursday of each month in the Church Hall at 6:30 pm. We invite every man - young and old - to join us as we grow stronger in faith, love, and responsibility. During our meetings, we share specific Scripture and teachings from the Church Fathers, connecting the topics we discuss to how we should live in the world today. Our goal is to strengthen ourselves as: men, fathers, husbands, brothers, and, above all, how to better serve our Lord and our church community.
Each month, we average around 30 participants, with ages ranging from 18 to 90 - and we always welcome new faces. We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting! Questions? Contact: John Georges - jhgeorges58@gmail.
Church Parking
We respectfully ask that you please adhere to these guidelines when using the church parking lot:
Thank you for your cooperation and for helping to keep our parking area safe and accessible for all parishioners.
The Nursery and Cry Room
A nursery and cry room is available in the Narthex behind the candle box, offering a quiet space (with toys, books, changing table) for parents with young children. The room is equipped with both video and audio, allowing you to follow the Divine Liturgy. For assistance, please speak with a member of the Narthex Team.
Agape Meals
Orthodox Parish Leadership Monthly Webinar Series
Monday, November 16, 2026 • 5:00 p.m. Pacific / 8:00 p.m. Eastern. To Prepare: Healthy Catechism for Newcomers
This webinar is hosted by the Metropolis of Boston Thriving Congregations Initiative (TCI) and responds to a growing reality across Orthodox parishes in the United States: increasing numbers of inquirers and converts, many of whom arrive after self-directed online learning. The session will explore how parishes can offer catechism that is not only a transfer of information but an opening of Orthodox spiritual practice. With limited clergy and a shortage of trained catechists, the webinar will highlight sustainable models that involve lay leaders, peer support, and integration into the liturgical and communal life of the parish. Emphasis will be placed on moving newcomers from knowledge to participation, helping them develop relationships, spiritual practices, and a lived experience of Orthodoxy. Drawing from TCI parish examples, this session will equip communities to form newcomers in a way that is scalable, relational, and deeply rooted in the life of the Church. Register here: https://sanfran.goarch.org/events/orthodox-parish-leadership-2026-webinar-series-to-prepare-healthy-catechism-for-newcomers?date=2026-11-16
Join the Metropolis of San Francisco Family Wellness Ministry for Eight Dates, a relationship series based on the book by Drs. John and Julie Gottman.
When: Thursdays at 6:30 PM (Pacific) via Zoom
Dates: September 10 – December 10.
Topics: Trust, Conflict, Intimacy, Family, Spirituality, and more!
Open to all couples—married or not—who want to improve communication and connection. Register today: familywellnessministry.org/eight-dates
See the attached flyer in the Inserts & Flyers section below.
...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.
Tonight, October 23
Friday, October 30
Sunday, November 1; Sunday, December 6
Sunday, November 1
Wednesday, November 4
Saturday, November 7
Ends Friday, December 4
June 17-23 OR July 22-28
Monday, November 2, 2026
Through December 10
Tenth Orthros Gospel
The Reading is from John 21:1-14
At that time, Jesus revealed Himself again 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, yet 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. That 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. .
Prokeimenon. Fourth Mode. Psalm 103.24,1.
O Lord, how manifold are your works. You have made all things in wisdom.
Verse: Bless the Lord, O my soul.
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians 2:16-20.
Brethren, knowing that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified. But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we ourselves were found to be sinners, is Christ then an agent of sin? Certainly not! But if I build up again those things which I tore down, then I prove myself a transgressor. For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
6th Sunday of Luke
The Reading is from Luke 8:26-39
At that time, as Jesus arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, there met him a man from the city who had demons; for a long time he had worn no clothes and he lived not in a house but among the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him, and said with a loud voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beseech you, do not torment me." For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him; he was kept under guard, and bound with chains and fetters, but he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the desert.) Jesus then asked him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion"; for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them leave. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. When the herdsmen saw what happened, they fled, and told it in the city and in the country. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told them how he who had been possessed with demons was healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gadarenes asked him to depart from them; for they were seized with great fear; so he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but he sent him away, saying, "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
Read the latest Diakonia Newsletter for this Sunday
https://bulletinbuilder.org/diakonia-newsletter/2026-10-25?source=bulletin_web
October 25, 2026
On Thursday, October 22, 2026, a Patriarchal Divine Liturgy in the most venerable Patriarchal Church of Saint George at the Phanar celebrated the completion of 35 years of the patriarchal ministry of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. His All-Holiness presided, concelebrating with His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and other hierarchs.
Although the anniversary celebration the evening before at the Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus, at which His All Holiness was the final speaker, ran late into the night, the Ecumenical Patriarch was in the Patriarchal Church from early in the morning. Attending the Divine Liturgy were the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, a great many Greeks of the diaspora, and numerous clergy from the United States, Australia, Europe and other parts of the world, together with many of the “Romioi,” the city’s own Greek Orthodox.
Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni represented the Greek government. Also present was the shipowner Athanasios Martinos, Archon Exarchos of the Holy and Great Church of Christ and Great Benefactor of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The post Divine Liturgy marks Ecumenical Patriarch’s 35-year tenure appeared first on Orthodox Observer.
On Thursday, October 22, 2026, a Patriarchal Divine Liturgy in the most venerable Patriarchal Church of Saint George at the Phanar celebrated the completion of 35 years of the patriarchal ministry of His All-Holiness Ecumenical […]
The post Divine Liturgy marks Ecumenical Patriarch’s 35-year tenure appeared first on Orthodox Observer.
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine joined houses of worship across the country on Sunday, Oct. 18, to speak out against antisemitism and all forms of faith-based hate.
The shrine, the only house of worship destroyed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, was one of several prominent sites in “Stand Up Sunday,” a national day of action organized by the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate and the Appeal of Conscience Foundation. Organizers said this year’s observance, themed “United in Faith, United Against Hate,” reached more than two million Americans, up from 1.5 million congregants in more than 30 states last year.
On the same day, separate Stand Up Sunday services were held at other prominent houses of worship, including St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham in Robbinsville, N.J., and St. Luke’s Methodist Church in Oklahoma City, where the initiative began in 2024.
In an encyclical read on Oct. 18 in participating Greek Orthodox parishes, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros noted that it was the Archdiocese’s second consecutive year in the observance and called antisemitism “one of the world’s gravest examples of how human dignity can be clouded by hatred and suspicion.”
“Any form of discrimination and hatred against any community, no matter their background, race, or creed, is a direct affront to all people, our shared dignity, and the image of God that we all bear,” Archbishop Elpidophoros wrote.
He cited Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who has urged the faithful to “look beyond the color of their skin, the creed or faith they adhere to” and to transform such crises into “an opportunity for building bridges, for practicing solidarity, for changing hearts.”
“Stand Up Sunday reminds us that love, not hatred, is our identity and our mission,” Archbishop Elpidophoros wrote, closing with a prayer that the faithful “work together as peacemakers and architects of a world free of hate.”
> Read the full encyclical from His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America
“At Saint Nicholas, we know the pain that hatred can leave behind,” said Fr. Andreas Vithoulkas, the shrine’s proistamenos. “Our responsibility is to bear witness to what love can rebuild.”
Fr. Andreas said the Orthodox belief that every person bears the image of God compels Orthodox Christians to come to the defense of people regardless of religion. “That dignity does not depend on whether someone shares our faith,” Fr. Andreas said. “When our Jewish, Muslim, or other neighbors are threatened because of their beliefs, our Orthodox faith calls us to stand beside them.”
“Here at Ground Zero, remembrance must move us to action,” Fr. Andreas said. “Honoring those we lost means choosing, every day, to become people who bring peace.”
The observance comes amid rising instances of religious hate crimes. Citing federal data, organizers said religious-based hate crimes in the United States increased 136 percent between 2015 and 2024, while antisemitic incidents rose nearly 900 percent over the same period. The FBI’s 2025 statistics recorded a record number of hate crimes against Jewish people, accounting for 63 percent of all religious-based hate crimes.
The participating houses of worship joined the national, interreligious stand against that rise. Attendees received the Blue Square, the alliance’s symbol of solidarity against antisemitism and hatred of all kinds.
Voices From Across Faiths
“Amid rising hate and division, Stand Up Sunday serves as a critical reminder: we are strongest when we stand united,” said Adam Katz, president of the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate.
Karen Dresbach, executive vice president of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, said, “We are all God’s children, together we can silence the voices of hate and the perpetrators of violence.”
The coalition also included parishes from the Catholic Archdioceses of New York, Newark, Washington and Boston and the Diocese of Brooklyn, as well as the Armenian Diocese of America, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, and African Methodist Episcopal, Presbyterian, evangelical and nondenominational congregations.
“In a recent meeting with interreligious leaders, Pope Leo XIV reminded us, ‘To invoke God’s name in order to justify violence or oppression is to profane that name,'” said Bishop Edmund Whalen, vicar general of the Archdiocese of New York.
Stand Up Sunday is connected to the Appeal of Conscience Foundation’s “Respect the Other” campaign. The foundation was established in 1965 by Rabbi Arthur Schneier to promote religious freedom and protect houses of worship.
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St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine joined houses of worship across the country on Sunday, Oct. 18, to speak out against antisemitism and all forms of faith-based hate. The shrine, the only house […]
The post Greek Orthodox faithful repudiate religious hate at St. Nicholas Shrine appeared first on Orthodox Observer.
On Saturday, October 24, 2026, children and young adults around the world will come together for Loukoumi’s Make a Difference Day, a global initiative that empowers children and young adults to make a positive impact through acts of kindness and service. Over the years, the annual initiative has engaged more than 150,000 children and young adults across 35 countries, inspiring them to give back to their communities and support causes about which they are passionate. Through service projects and community outreach, participants will demonstrate how even small acts of kindness can make a lasting difference in the lives of others.
In New York, the “Loukoumi Good Deeds Bus” will depart from Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church at 9:15 a.m. and travel to Fordham University’s Rose Hill campus in the Bronx. The day’s activities will include a panel discussion titled “Making a Difference in Cities Around the World,” moderated by Nick Katsoris, president, founder and executive director of the Loukoumi Foundation, and Ave Tsapatsares.
Scheduled panelists include New York State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin; Nancy Economou, CEO of WATTS OF LOVE; and Jordan Stewart, an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker. Participants may attend the discussion in person at Fordham’s McShane Center or watch virtually beginning at 11 a.m. by registering at https://twstgroup.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RNr7nURlQoyaHeDv7–Jhg.
Following the panel discussion, children and other participants will board the bus and visit POTS (Part of the Solution), a Bronx-based organization serving individuals and families in need. There, they will donate essential supplies, including diapers, infant formula, wipes and nonperishable food, helping support the organization’s work in the community.
The group will then travel to St. Michael’s Home for the Aged in Uniondale, Long Island, where participants will pledge to raise $50,000 to sponsor a “Loukoumi” lounge. The planned space will provide residents and their families with a welcoming place to spend time together for years to come. More information about the initiative is available at https://www.loukoumifoundation.org/st-michaels.
In addition to the New York initiative, four other “Loukoumi Good Deeds Buses” will depart from Athens, Greece; Cologne, Germany; Deerfield, Illinois; and Gander, Newfoundland, Canada. Each bus will visit designated locations to carry out service projects and provide assistance to individuals and communities in need, extending Make a Difference Day across international borders.
The Loukoumi Foundation has become recognized internationally for its work in encouraging children and young adults to make a difference in the world around them. Through its programs, participants not only learn the importance of helping others but also discover the personal fulfillment that comes from serving their communities.
According to Nick Katsoris, research conducted by the Loukoumi Foundation that was published by Fordham University, found that among more than 1,000 children and young adults across 20 countries, more than 90 % reported feeling happier when doing good.
“Our findings reveal that children are eager to make a difference,” Katsoris said. “These results stand as a hopeful reminder that children want to do good, and when channeling their kindness into causes that resonate with them, the impact is life-changing. I invite you all to join us.”
Through Make a Difference Day, the foundation continues to encourage young people to turn compassion into action, demonstrating that service and generosity can transcend geographic and cultural boundaries.
For more information or to participate in Loukoumi’s Make a Difference Day, visit www.loukoumifoundation.org or email [email protected].
The post Join Loukoumi for Make a Difference Day appeared first on Orthodox Observer.
On Saturday, October 24, 2026, children and young adults around the world will come together for Loukoumi’s Make a Difference Day, a global initiative that empowers children and young adults to make a positive impact […]
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ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE OF CONSTANTINOPLE—Near the close of his remarks at the Phanar, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew offered his guests an image whose plainness was the point. “Each one of us is a drop,” he said. “The ocean is the Ecumenical Patriarchate.” Spoken by the leader of the Church who has now completed thirty-five years on the Ecumenical Throne, it was self-effacement of a deliberate kind.
The anniversary of his election and enthronement brought His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, to Istanbul. They came on a pilgrimage organized jointly by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, which runs from October 20 to 25, 2026.
His Eminence spoke first. Surveying three and a half decades of patriarchal ministry, he singled out the Ecumenical Patriarch’s initiatives for the unity of Orthodoxy, his dialogue with the wider Christian world, and his long work for the protection of the environment. A ministry like this one, the Archbishop said, should be measured by its quality and its reach as much as by its length, and he admitted that its accomplishments were difficult even to list.
He then conveyed the love and support of the Greek American faithful. “Your All Holiness, in America you have wonderful people, all of them faithful to you,” he said. “They admire you, they love you, they respect you, they pray for your long life and your health, and they always want to be at your side.” He added: “Whatever work you have in mind, we are here to support you, Your All Holiness.”
On the bond between the Archdiocese and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, His Eminence was explicit. “We are grateful to the Mother Church,” he said. “We know that everything we have, everything we enjoy in the United States — the respect, the standing that the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese has in the United States — is a light that comes from you. We simply reflect the light from the Phanar.”
He went further, tying the Archdiocese’s place in American life to its canonical home. “If we were not under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, I do not believe that the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese or the Greek Orthodox community in the United States would enjoy the degree of respect and attention that we have, not only from the political authorities, but also from all the other Christian authorities and Churches.”
His All Holiness answered the image of reflected light with a story. He recalled a visit to the United States by Metropolitan Meliton of Chalcedon, of blessed memory, who had been his spiritual father. Metropolitan Meliton had come at the invitation of Archbishop Iakovos, so that the two hierarchs could celebrate Holy Week and Pascha together. Addressing a gathering of the Greek American community, he thanked his hosts for their warm hospitality and admired what they had accomplished, the great institutions above all, while insisting that the source of it all was the Mother Church.
The Patriarch then recounted what his spiritual father had gone on to say. “Metropolitan Meliton of Chalcedon also said something else, and I do not know whether Archbishop Iakovos liked it at the time: that if Archbishop Iakovos has this glory and these honors, and comes and goes at the White House, it is because he is a hierarch of the Ecumenical Throne.”
Then, he went on: “For Archbishop Iakovos, and Archbishop Elpidophoros, and Patriarch Bartholomew, and all of us, as individual persons, may have virtues, abilities, responsibilities, but whatever we enjoy, in the final analysis, we owe to this institution of seventeen hundred years,” he said. “As persons, we are nothing before this institution, which has endured so many centuries.” It was then that he arrived at the drop and the ocean.
When he had finished, the Ecumenical Patriarch exchanged gifts with Archbishop Elpidophoros and the other hierarchs present. Before the delegation left the Patriarchate, he invited His Eminence into his office and gave him two books: a collection of his selected articles, and the volume Thirty Years of Patriarchate: The Human Face of an Ancient Institution, edited by Archdeacon John Chryssavgis.
The anniversary volume Thirty-Five Years of Patriarchate includes a personal testimony by Archbishop Elpidophoros, who looks back on how he came to know His All Holiness and sets down his own memories of thirty-five years of patriarchal ministry.
The pilgrimage had opened with a dinner on its first evening, at which Archbishop Elpidophoros paid special tribute to His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco. The Metropolitan had made the journey from his Metropolis to celebrate his name day in Constantinople, close to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The next day, the Archons set out for three places that hold the memory of the City’s Greek Orthodox: Panagia Baloukliotissa, the shrine of the Life-Giving Spring at Baloukli; the Chora Monastery; and the Church of the Theotokos at Blachernae. It was a walk through the faith and the long history of the Greeks of the City, whose memory there remains a living one.
That evening, the anniversary celebrations continued at the Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus, where His All Holiness addressed the guests. They watched excerpts from a documentary on his patriarchal journey made by ERT, the Greek public broadcaster, along with a video produced by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The music was by Evanthia Reboutsika, who also composed the score for the ERT film.
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ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE OF CONSTANTINOPLE—Near the close of his remarks at the Phanar, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew offered his guests an image whose plainness was the point. “Each one of us is a drop,” he […]
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An ERT documentary traces the life and ministry of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, marking 35 years since his election. The film will air Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, at 10 p.m. Greece time on ERT3, ERT Cosmos and ERTFLIX. ERT Cosmos will rebroadcast it Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. Greece time.
In conversation with journalist Pierros Tzanetakos, His All-Holiness reflects on his journey from Imbros to the Phanar. In his home village of Agioi Theodoroi, he welcomes viewers into his house and visits his father’s café and the cemetery where his parents are buried. He recalls his childhood, his earliest experiences of the Church and his love of learning, along with his spiritual father’s counsel: “Walk with your eyes fixed only on Jesus.”
The film explores his efforts to revive the island’s Greek community after the persecutions of 1964, focusing on reopened Greek schools and the young people he sees as the hope for Hellenism’s future.
At the Phanar, he discusses Church unity, dialogue among Christians, interfaith understanding and environmental protection, recalling meetings with popes and world leaders. He also addresses divisions within Orthodoxy, reaffirming the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s enduring primacy and its role in coordinating the Churches’ common work. He emphasizes synodality, with particular reference to the Holy and Great Council held in Crete in 2016.
He also describes the ties linking Constantinople’s Greek Orthodox community to the Patriarchate. At Halki, where he studied, he expresses hope that the Theological School will reopen soon.
Filmed in Imbros, Constantinople and Halki, the documentary is directed by Manolis Papanikitas and features an original score by Evanthia Reboutsika, performed by ERT’s Contemporary Music Orchestra.
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An ERT documentary traces the life and ministry of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, marking 35 years since his election. The film will air Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, at 10 p.m. Greece time on ERT3, […]
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As the United States marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, we at Leadership 100, advancing Orthodoxy and Hellenism in America, pay proper tribute and express profound gratitude for this historic and successful experiment of a democratic constitutional republic, founded in individual liberty, economic opportunity, religious freedom, and equal justice under the law unlike any other nation that has ever existed.
Our American founding fathers reached for Greek words before they ever met a Greek Orthodox parish: politics, democracy, aristocracy, tyranny: the lexicon of self-government was borrowed from Athens centuries before Ellis Island ever opened its gates. Classical Greece eventually gave way to immigrant Greeks, beginning in the mid-1700s and growing rapidly in numbers in the 1800s and early 1900s, steeped in faith, family, education, and hard work as the pathway to a new and better life than the impoverishment of their homeland in those challenging times.
The first Greek Orthodox Church in the United States was established in New Orleans in 1864. Since then, Greek Orthodox immigrants have built parishes across the country. Beyond serving for the liturgical worship of the Divine Liturgy, these parishes provided Greek-language schools, community associations, and cultural connections to life and family back in distant Greece, more than 5,000 miles away.
Religious liberty in America provided the foundation for these early Greek Orthodox communities to thrive. Orthodoxy’s sacramental theology, liturgical traditions, and vast calendar of fasts and feasts found fertile soil in community after community, and in state after state. The durable bonds of faith and family, coupled with the educational and economic opportunities abounding in America, provided the platform for extraordinary professional success in the private sector, the arts, and in government for generation after generation of Greek Americans.
By 1922, the establishment of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America provided institutional strength and a structural ballast to what had earlier been a loose network of Greek Orthodox parishes. Our church prospered in those early decades of the 20th century, helping the immigrants who had been arriving for decades more confidently assimilate into American society dominated by mainline Protestantism and an emerging Roman Catholic church.
Official government acknowledgement of the growing importance of Greek Orthodox communities nationwide was manifested in 1949, when President Harry S. Truman had the newly-elected Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, for eighteen years the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of North and South America, flown from Washington to Istanbul on the presidential aircraft. The White House was concerned that the Turkish government would not permit Patriarch Athenagoras to enter Turkey to assume his leadership position. By dispatching his presidential aircraft to transport the Patriarch into Turkey, President Truman ensured there would be no obstacles put up by Ankara against a Greek Orthodox churchman shaped by, and openly devoted to, the United States.
In 1965, amid severe civil rights tensions in America, Archbishop Iakovos flew to Selma, Alabama to attend the memorial service of a minister beaten to death for marching with black demonstrators. The Archbishop walked side-by-side with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., at that time far more controversial a figure than the lionized leader he is seen as today. Archbishop Iakovos was the only hierarch of his stature from any Christian confession in America willing to make that walk, despite the death threats from strangers and also from fellow Greek Orthodox in the segregated South and beyond. He responded with the reminder that the Greek Orthodox people suffered under centuries of Ottoman oppression and should understand the importance of individual sacrifice and the responsibility of the Orthodox Church founded by Christ to stand for and uphold human dignity.
In 1984, Archbishop Iakovos founded Leadership 100, asking the Greek Orthodox faithful to each commit $100,000 (about $322,000 in 2026 dollars) over the course of ten years to a permanent endowment to support the Church’s national ministries and to advance Orthodoxy and Hellenism in America. That call to transcend the caricature of the Greek Orthodox as merely an ethnic immigrant community was carried forward by Leadership 100 in its close collaboration with Archbishop Spyridon, Archbishop Demetrios, and—since 2019—with His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America.
At the 2026 White House Greek Independence Day celebration, Archbishop Elpidophoros noted how that historic events of 1821 bind America and Greece in a “strategic alliance beyond friendship and mutual respect,” founded upon individual liberty and equal justice under the law as our God-given and inalienable rights within this experiment in self-governance, from the world’s first democracy in Greece to the world’s greatest democracy here in the United States.
He reminded the audience inside the White House, or watching virtually in Greece and around the world, that the first clause of the Bill of Rights’ First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution—ahead of free speech, a free press, the right to peaceably assemble or to petition the government—is the right to freely exercise one’s religion. Furthermore, he emphasized that in the Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church, we pray in every parish, during every service, “for our Country, the President (regardless of party), all those in public service, and our armed forces everywhere.”
These are the Orthodox bonds that continue to connect our Greek American community from within, and also to our national celebration this 250th anniversary year of the Declaration of Independence. Leadership 100 is proud to stand tall as a uniquely American endowment, advancing the Gospel of Jesus Christ while incorporated in New York State as a 501(c)(3) federal tax-exempt organization. This has provided the sure, steady, and always transparent foundation to Leadership 100 to welcome more than 1,400 members today, building an endowment exceeding $100 million, the largest in the Greek American community, and distributing nearly $90 million in grants sustaining Orthodox education, clergy formation, and Hellenic heritage programs nationwide.
A cornerstone of this investment is Leadership 100’s long-standing support of Hellenic College Holy Cross (HCHC), the only Greek Orthodox theological school in the United States. Through its Seminarian Scholarship Program, Leadership 100 continues to alleviate the financial burden of theological education, enabling students to fully dedicate themselves to academic and spiritual formation. In the fall 2025 semester, more than 50 seminarians received funding to cover a substantial portion of tuition and fees.
To date, Leadership 100 has provided $29 million in scholarships for seminarians within total grants of $32 million to Holy Cross. The long-term impact is profound: a majority of Leadership 100 scholarship recipients go on to serve the Greek Orthodox Church, with many becoming ordained clergy or actively engaged in parish life and ministry. We have substantially supported the national ministries of the Archdiocese, every Metropolis, and the many pan-Orthodox organizations and humanitarian initiatives that have requested our financial support.
Leadership 100 exemplifies Greek Orthodox lay leadership in America. We are the sons and daughters descended of families who built their first Greek Orthodox parish halls amid the hope of fresh roots and a new life in this great land of religious freedom, individual liberty, economic opportunity, and equal justice under the law.
Today, Leadership 100 stands tall as a powerful, influential, and highly sought-after philanthropic institution, a magnificent testament to the faith, family, education, and hard work values that define the Greek American community and that deeply and firmly embed the national Greek Orthodox presence, inspired by the Gospel of Christ, in every walk of American life, culture, and society forged by the courageous Declaration of Independence 250 years ago.
This article is published as part of the America at 250: Orthodoxy in a New Homeland media initiative co-organized by the Orthodox Observer and the Department of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical, and Interfaith Relations of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America to honor the contributions and experience of Orthodox Christianity in America and celebrate 250th anniversary of America’s founding.
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As the United States marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, we at Leadership 100, advancing Orthodoxy and Hellenism in America, pay proper tribute and express profound gratitude for this historic and successful experiment […]
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The Icon Museum and Study Center marked its 20th anniversary Oct. 15 with the opening of the exhibition Light from the East: Masterpieces from the Ikonen-Museum Recklinghausen and the start of a two-day symposium, Encountering the Sacred Image: Highlights from the Icon Museum and Study Center.
The only specialized museum for icons and Eastern Christian art in the U.S., the Icon Museum and Study Center opened Oct. 15, 2006, then dedicated solely to Russian iconography. In recent years, the museum has begun diversifying its collection to include Greek, Veneto-Cretan, and Ethiopian works as well.
Germany’s Ikonen-Museum Recklinghausen holds the largest and most important collection of Orthodox icons in Western Europe, and Light from the East shows pieces from the Recklinghausen in the U.S. for the first time. According to the museum, it is the first U.S. exhibition devoted to the post-Byzantine legacies of both Slavic and Greek traditions.
A tour of the exhibition
The day began with a tour led by Elliot Mackin, Associate Curator and Study Center Manager. Mackin told attendees they were the first members of the public to see the exhibition.
“What [the exhibition] became was a story of Orthodox iconography from the fall of Constantinople in 1453 through the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917,” Mackin said, sharing the exhibition tells its story in reverse. As visitors enter the space, they first encounter an early 20th-century Old Believer icon painted just before the Russian Revolution before moving back in time. One half of the gallery follows Moscow and the rise of Imperial Russia back to medieval Novgorod; the opposite wall presents icons from the Greek-speaking world, generally from Crete.
A film premiere
Attendees also saw the U.S. premiere of the documentary Living Prayer in Christianity, directed by the late Jean-Claude Lubtchansky. The film explores Orthodox contemplative practice, focusing on St. Catherine’s Monastery at Mount Sinai, Mount Athos, and various sites in Russia. Introducing the film, Richard Temple of London’s Temple Gallery described it as both a documentary and “a work of art” that needs little introduction.
Symposium presentations
Each speaker on the first day focused on an icon in the museum’s collection.
Eva Haustein-Bartsch of the Ikonen-Museum Recklinghausen presented a 16th-century icon the museum acquired at an Italian auction in 2023. The small panel pairs the Mother of God Tenderness with Christ, Man of Sorrows. Haustein-Bartsch said the pointed top of the panel is highly unusual for an icon in the Cretan style, and is more typical of 13th- and 14th-century Italian painting. She traced comparable Byzantine and post-Byzantine works and concluded that a Western patron likely requested the format. Traces of mountings on both sides indicate the panel was the center of a private devotional diptych. Its side panels have not been found, but, Haustein-Bartsch said, “it’s not out of the question that they may show up one day.”
Irina Shalina, head researcher at the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, discussed the museum’s icon for the month of February, one of 12 icons that made up a calendar of saints and feasts. The set was installed in 1569 in the Dormition Cathedral of the Monastery of St. Joseph of Volokolamsk near Moscow. Inscriptions on the backs of two panels name Archbishop Lavrentiy of Kazan, a former abbot of the monastery, as donor. Shalina said an epidemic that killed dozens of the monastery’s monks around that time may also have inspired the commission.
Justin Willson, Assistant Professor at Yale University and the museum’s former curator, presented the Mother of God, the Life-Giving Spring, donated to the museum in 2022. Removing a layer of varnish revealed the signature of Frangias Kavertzas, a Cretan painter active in Heraklion between 1615 and 1647, whose life Willson reconstructed from Venetian notarial records. Willson dated the piece to the late 1630s and said it shows the painter moving toward the experiments of the late 16th century while remaining rooted in earlier models. Kavertzas, he said, was “stable but not really rigid.”
Second day and looking ahead
The symposium continued Oct. 16 with presentations by Maria Vassilaki of the University of Thessaly, Wendy Salmond of Chapman University, Athanasios Semoglou of the University of Thessaloniki, independent scholar Natalia Komashko, Evan Freeman of Simon Fraser University, and Mackin. Attendees were also invited to explore the museum’s galleries and collections storage.
The Icon Museum’s Executive Director Simon Morsink also announced the museum will present an exhibition of post-Byzantine icons in America, opening in October 2028. The show will follow Byzantium After Byzantium at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which closes in September 2028.
“We’ll keep the fire burning,” Morsink said.
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The Icon Museum and Study Center marked its 20th anniversary Oct. 15 with the opening of the exhibition Light from the East: Masterpieces from the Ikonen-Museum Recklinghausen and the start of a two-day symposium, Encountering […]
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With the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, the Direct Archdiocesan District hosted its 2026 Young Adult League (YAL) Conference, October 9–12, in New York City. The weekend brought together over 300 Orthodox Christian young adults from across North America for a meaningful celebration of faith, fellowship, service, and spiritual growth.
The weekend began with a welcome reception at Anassa Taverna, followed by spiritual and educational programming at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, with keynote speaker Dean Triantafilou, Executive Director and CEO of IOCC. Participants engaged in thought-provoking discussions on navigating relationships, careers, and the challenges of contemporary life while remaining rooted in their Orthodox Christian faith. Saturday evening concluded with the Signature YAL gala at the Edison Ballroom, bringing attendees together for an evening of fellowship and community.
On Sunday, participants gathered for the Divine Liturgy, followed by a Diakonia initiative generously supported by the Direct Archdiocesan District Philoptochos. This service-focused program emphasized the importance of putting faith into action and serving those in need.
Through the generous support of Leadership 100, the conference was made more accessible to young adults, allowing participants to experience a weekend of spiritual growth and meaningful connections. The Direct Archdiocesan District extends its heartfelt gratitude to His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros for his continued spiritual leadership and commitment to young adult ministry, as well as to the clergy, sponsors, volunteers, and organizers who made the weekend possible.
The 2026 YAL Conference served as a reminder that, amid the challenges of modern life, young adults can find strength, purpose, and lasting community by remaining anchored in Christ and His Church.
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With the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, the Direct Archdiocesan District hosted its 2026 Young Adult League (YAL) Conference, October 9–12, in New York City. The weekend brought together over 300 Orthodox […]
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At the west end of Liberty Park at the World Trade Center, a bronze horse mounted by a modern soldier rears in defense of the only house of worship destroyed on September 11, 2001. The statue, engraved De Oppresso Liber, represents the U.S. Army Special Forces of Task Force Dagger—the Green Berets inserted under cover of night into Afghanistan in the opening hours of America’s response to the deadliest terrorist attack in its history.
In attendance were active-duty service members, Port Authority officers, retired veterans, and retired intelligence officers who served alongside Task Force Dagger during its initial infiltration into Afghanistan. Many took the podium and spoke in remembrance of fellow service members, including those lost during the mission.
“The Green Beret name for this statue is ‘De Opresso Liber,’ to liberate the oppressed. That is what our country, uniquely, in the history of the world has been able to do time and time again,” said Lt. Gen. John F. Mulholland Jr. (Ret.), who commanded Task Force Dagger and later served as the CIA’s Associate Director for Military Affairs. “We want this statue here so that thousands of Americans and people from the world take the five minutes to stop, examine a statue, read the story, and have in their mind the message of this statue.”
In an interview with the Orthodox Observer, Mulholland recalled the weight of command on the night his men crossed into Afghanistan. “I was a commander and these were my lads,” he said. “It was incredibly dangerous.”
The 9/11 attacks had occurred only weeks before, so intelligence about the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban was limited. The first teams went in at night, Mulholland said, “into the darkness, into the unknown.”
Those men, and the teams that followed, met that uncertainty with remarkable courage and bravery, he said. Among them were the “horse soldiers” who rode into battle beside their Afghan counterparts. In less than two months, they brought down a Taliban regime.
That victory was not without sacrifice. Six American soldiers and one CIA officer gave their lives in the campaign. On the 25th anniversary, Mulholland said, it was important to remember the men who went in that night and those who did not come home. “It wasn’t cost-free,” he said.
The statue was introduced to the public during New York City’s Veterans Day Parade on Nov. 11, 2011, and dedicated that day in a ceremony led by Vice President Joe Biden and Mulholland. It later moved to a temporary location near the base of One World Trade Center and was dedicated in Liberty Park in September 2016. Sculptor Douwe Blumberg conceived the work, and in April 2011 an anonymous group of Wall Street bankers who lost friends in the attacks commissioned the large version. A piece of steel from the World Trade Center is set into its base.
His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America opened the commemoration, held days before the 25th anniversary of Task Force Dagger’s insertion, honoring those who answered the call to fight on America’s behalf.
“Lord, in your infinite mercy and compassion, grant on this solemn anniversary of their courage and sacrifice the good news of your love — love to all who visit this sacred monument. Send healing to those whose hearts have been broken by loss and grief,” His Eminence said. “Strengthen those who defend our liberty and keep us safe from harm. Restore sanity and reason in our world, blinded by hatred and intolerance. Free those who have been traumatized by grief and injury, whether of body, mind, or soul. And grant to those who have fallen in the defense of our nation and of our sacred and universal values, that their sacrifice may always be acceptable in your presence.”
Among those gathered was Carl Hollister, an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and director of the St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine, who served in Afghanistan in 2004 and 2005.
“I worked with some great people, some great heroes, and there’s a lot of heroes here today,” Hollister said.
America’s Response Monument sits directly above the site of the original St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.
“The original location of our church, which perished on 9/11 should be ever protected and guarded by this symbol of heroism and courage is a deeply meaningful commemoration for all of us,” Archbishop Elpidophoros said.
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At the west end of Liberty Park at the World Trade Center, a bronze horse mounted by a modern soldier rears in defense of the only house of worship destroyed on September 11, 2001. The […]
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The Hymn of Saint Spyridon
At the first of the Synods, you appeared as a champion, * and Wonderworker, our God-bearing Father Spyridon. * Wherefore, you addressed the dead one in the grave, * and a serpent you changed to gold. * And while chanting * in service your sacred prayers, * you joined the angels concelebrating, most holy one.* Glory to Christ who glorified you, * glory to Him who crowned you, * glory to the One who works through You, * healings for everyone.
Τής Συνόδου τής πρώτης ανεδείχθης υπέρμαχος, * καί Θαυματουργός Θεοφόρε Σπυρίδων πατήρ ημών. * διό νεκρά σύ έν τάφω προσφωνείς, * καί όφιν είς χρυσούν μετέβαλες. * καί έν τώ μέλπειν τάς αγίας σου ευχάς, * Αγγέλους έσχες συλλειτουργούντας σοι Ιερώτατε, * Δόξα τώ σέ δοξάσαντι Χριστώ * δόξα τώ σέ στεφανώσαντι. * δόξα τώ ενεργόυντι, διά σου πάσιν ιάματα.
These Martyrs were disciples of Saint Paul the Confessor (see Nov. 6). Martyrius was a subdeacon, Marcian a chanter and reader. They were beheaded by the Arians in the year 346. Miracles were wrought at their tomb, and demons were cast out; Saint John Chrysostom began the building of the church in their honour in Constantinople, and it was completed by patriarch Sisinius.
Saint Demetrius was a Thessalonian, a most pious son of pious and noble parents, and a teacher of the Faith of Christ. When Maximian first came to Thessalonica in 290, he raised the Saint to the rank of Duke of Thessaly. But when it was discovered that the Saint was a Christian, he was arrested and kept bound in a bath-house. While the games were under way in the city, Maximian was a spectator there. A certain friend of his, a barbarian who was a notable wrestler, Lyaeus by name, waxing haughty because of the height and strength of his body, boasted in the stadium and challenged the citizens to a contest with him. All that fought with him were defeated. Seeing this, a certain youth named Nestor, aquaintance of Demetrius', came to the Saint in the bath-house and asked his blessing to fight Lyaeus single-handed. Receiving this blessing and sealing himself with the sign of the precious Cross, he presented himself in the stadium, and said, "O God of Demetrius, help me!" and straightway he engaged Lyaeus in combat and smote him with a mortal blow to the heart, leaving the former boaster lifeless upon the earth. Maximian was sorely grieved over this, and when he learned who was the cause of this defeat, he commanded straightway and Demetrius was pierced with lances while he was yet in the bath-house, As for Nestor, Maximian commanded that he be slain with his own sword.
As mentioned in the account concerning Saint Demetrius (October 26), this Saint contested during the reign of Maximian, in the year 290.
The Feast of the Protection commemorates the appearance of the most holy Theotokos in the Church of Blachernae in Constantinople in the tenth century, as recorded in the life of Saint Andrew the Fool for Christ's sake. While the multitudes of the faithful were gathered in church, Epiphanius, the friend of Saint Andrew, through the Saint's prayers, beheld the Virgin Mary above the faithful and spreading out her veil over them, signifying her unceasing protection of all Christians. Because of this we keep a yearly feast of gratitude, imploring our Lady never to cease sheltering us in her mighty prayers.
The Feast is celebrated on October 1. In the 1950s, the Church of Greece began to observe the Feast on October 28.
Saint Anastasia, who was young in age and lived in a convent, was seized by the impious. Confessing Christ openly and with boldness and enduring manifold torments, she was beheaded in the year 256, during the reign of Valerian.
These Saints were from Aegae in Cilicia, brought up in piety by their parents. Zenobius was a physician, and healed many freely by the power of God; because of his virtue he was consecrated Bishop of Aegae. With his sister he was taken by Lysias the Governor, and after many tortures they were beheaded, about the year 290, during the reign of Diocletian.
Of these holy Apostles, Stachys became the first Bishop of Byzantium, consecrated by the Apostle Andrew. Having shepherded his people for sixteen years, he reposed in the Lord. As for the others, each one shone forth in the episcopal see appointed to him: Apelles, Bishop of Heraclea; Amplias, Bishop of Odyssopolis; Urban, Bishop of Macedonia; Narcissus, Bishop of Athens; and Aristobulus, Bishop of Britain.