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Sundays 8:30 a.m. Orthros and 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy
Special weekday feastday services to be announced in the bulletin.
Prokeimenon. Third Mode. Psalm 46.6,1.
Sing praises to our God, sing praises.
Verse: Clap your hands, all you nations.
The reading is from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians 6:1-10.
Brethren, working together with him, we entreat you not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says, "At the acceptable time I have listened to you, and helped you on the day of salvation." Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in any one's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, tumults, labors, watching, hunger; by purity, knowledge, forbearance, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
16th Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from Matthew 25:14-30
The Lord said this parable: "A man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them; and he made five talents more. So also, he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.' And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.' He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' But his master answered him, 'You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed, and gather where I have not winnowed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth." As he said these things he cried out: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
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SUNDAY |
2/11 |
8:20; 9:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m. |
Orthros; Divine Liturgy; Sunday School GOYA Chili sale & meeting |
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MONDAY
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2/12 |
9:00 a.m. 3:00 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 7:00 p.m. |
Festival utensils Movie Monday: The Chosen GOYA boys basketball Philoptochos meeting |
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TUESDAY |
2/13 |
9:00 a.m. 4:30 p.m. 5:00; 7:00 p.m. |
Festival Utensils Philoptochos serving @ St Herman’s Greek School; Adult Greek Class |
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WEDNESDAY |
2/14 |
9:00 a.m. 10:30 a.m. 6:30 p.m. 7:00 p.m. |
Pickleball Book Study Group GOYA boys basketball Choir rehearsal |
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THURSDAY |
2/15 |
10:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. |
Prayer Group Greek School GOYA girls basketball |
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FRIDAY |
2/16 |
9:00 a.m. |
Pickleball |
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SATURDAY |
2/17 |
3:30 p.m. |
Opa-cize |
Marianna, daughter of Stefano and Peggy Kachevas.
40 days for Andromahi Papouras, mother of Maria and Alexandra
Coffee hour is hosted by the family
Next week: Harriet Asimakis; Fr. Emmanuel Hatzidakis
Sun., Feb. 11, Help St Demetrios defeat ....hunger! We will collect monetary donations for IOCC’s worldwide humanitarian relief efforts and/or non-perishable food items for local distribution.
Sun., Feb. 11 on sale during coffee hour. $10/32 oz. container. Proceeds to support our GOYA. Take to your Superbowl party.
More copies have been delivered! Pick up on Sundays in the Narthex and weekdays in the office lobby.
Feb. 12-13 and 19*-20, we begin wrapping the napkins and utensils for the festival, at 9 am (*10:30 am on Feb. 19 after St Philothei service.) Coffee and donuts for the volunteers!
This year’s evening film series will explore the full wording, intent and application of The Ten Commandments. We will also continue matinee screenings of The Chosen. Free and open to all!
Feb. 12, 3;00 p.m. The Chosen (Episodes 3 & 4) Jesus returns to His childhood home for Jewish new year; the disciples carry out Jesus’ mission to heal and preach, but struggle with understanding.
February 26, 6 p.m. All About Eve (1950; 2 hours & 18 minutes) Eve Harrington idolizes a talented Broadway star (Bette Davis.) But when the flattered actress takes the young woman under her wing, she sees that Eve’s true idol may be the Oscar statuette itself…
SERVING DINNER AT ST. HERMAN’S Volunteer to feed the homeless with your parish family:
~Philoptochos next service date: Tue., Feb. 13. Contact Joanne Harootunian (440-353-0910)
~FOCUS Friends next service date: Sat., March 2. Contact Linda Glynias (216-469-2663)
Feb. 16-18. At Holy Trinity in Pittsburgh.
Sat., Feb. 17 , 3:30 p.m. $10/person for 45 minute class. Cash or Venmo. Work off those Valentine candies with aerobic exercise to Greek music, with certified instructor Ari Fine.
Mon., Feb. 19: St. Philothei (Αγ. Φιλοθέη) 8:20 a.m. Orthros; 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy.note: this service will be held in the chapel
Wed., Feb. 21 at 6:00 p.m. the Daughters of Penelope welcome Effie Fillis, iconographer of St. Philothei Chapel, speaking on the process of ‘writing’ an icon and the design of our chapel. We will learn more about this inspiring female saint, enjoy hot cocoa, and color an icon to take home!
Mon., Feb. 19 planning meeting at 5 p.m. at St. Demetrios hall. All Greek regional clubs encouraged to send a representative to register and get more information.
The 34th annual NE Ohio parade will be on Sat., March 30 in Tremont. Doxology at noon in Annunciation Church, 2187 W. 14th St., Cleveland. 1 pm. Kick off from the parking lot. The route will be along W. 11th to Lincoln Park and back up W. 14th. Post-parade festivities in Annunciation hall.
Feb. 25, plan to attend and take Communion with your godparent/ godchild. Coffee hour hosted by all three dance groups. Photo booth fun in the hall!
Sun., March 10, in the hall after Divine Liturgy. $17/person. Proceeds to benefit our Choir. Tickets on sale during coffee hours this month.
Thanks to the nearly 160 families whose pledges have been submitted for 2024 and the nearly 40 families that have submitted a payment without a pledge (You can contact the Church Office (office@saintdemetriosrr.org) or reply to the email you may have received from the Stewardship Chair so that your payment can be recorded as a 2024 pledge.)
We are reading Engaged:The Call to Be Disciples, Reflection on what it means to be a Christian. By Fr. Stavros Akrotinianakis.
Please note that each chapter is only a couple of pages and always begins with a reading from the Scriptures and concludes with appropriate prayers from the Orthodox Church. We will read four chapters a week.
In addition to the readings, we also watch videos on YouTube to stimulate discussion. (For Example: Fr. Barnabas Powell, and presentations from reliable Orthodox Christian resources.) We deeply love our Faith. We are a group that enjoys praying, discussing scripture and readings that stimulate discussion. All our welcome. If you have questions please contact Angie Giallourakis or Maggie Steffas.
Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. in St Philothei Chapel. Contact Diakonissa Amy (apantelisdo@gmail.com or 330-519-3100) to join, or to submit names for whom we can pray.
Now on Wednesdays and Fridays , 9:00 a.m. in the Zapis Activity Center.
During construction of the main restrooms, when you are visiting the church, you may use the restrooms in the Zapis Activity Center or lower Narthex.
Greek School drop-off and pick up will continue at the lower Narthex doors until the completion of the project .
Meetings of Yassou Club and Bible Study to take place in the Library.
FRIDAY FISH FRIES Support our sister parishes, starting February 16:
-Sts. Constantine and Helen, 3352 Mayfield Rd., Cleveland Heights. 5:00-7:30 p.m. All you can eat Whitefish dinner $17; College students $15. Shrimp, kids meal, and a la carte menu also available.
-Annunciation Church, 2187 W. 14th St., Cleveland. 5:00-8:00 p.m. Baked Fish $13; Fried Fish $15, shrimp and a la carte items.
GRIEF SHARE Tuesday, Feb. 20-May 28, 1-3 p.m. at St. Paul Church, 4548 Wallings Rd., North Royalton. Register at http://tinyurl.com/GriefshareSTP or clal 440-237-8998
COMEDY NIGHT Thu., Feb. 22, Angelo Tsarouchas and Arianna Papalexopoulos will appear at the Event Center of St. Josaphat, 5720 State Road, Parma. Doors open at 7 p.m. and show starts at 8 p.m. Call 440-390-0549 for tickets. Benefits Annunciation Church.
YOUNG ADULT RETREAT Feb. 23-25 hosted by St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Tremont. Those 21 & up invited to explore Developing Spiritual Maturity. Leaders Fr. John Ojami & Fr. Mark Hagan.
ETHIOPIAN CHRISTIANITY THRU THE LOOKING GLASS Sat., Feb 24, 2-3 p.m. at the Cleveland Museum of Art. In anticipation of the upcoming exhibit “Africa & Byzantium”, Dr. Alexandra Sellassie Antohin discusses the art of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, the second oldest Christian culture, since 330 AD. Free, but ticket required at clevelandart.org
A NIGHT IN GREECE Sat., Feb. 24, at Mercury Music Lounge, 18206 Detroit Ave., Lakewood. Live music by Stigma with guest singer Katerina Papadopoulos and George Antonopoulos on bouzouki. $25/person. Doors open at 8 pm; show at 9 pm. Call George Gountis (216-965-1867)
SWEETHEARTS BALL Sat., Feb. 24, 7:30-11:30 p.m. hosted by ΣΕΦ of OSU, at the Columbus Athenaeum, 32 N. 4th Street, Columbus, Ohio. $45 presale until Feb. 22; $50 at the door. Cash, check or Venmo @Sigma-Finance. Call 740-391-4293 for more info.
FAMILY AND FAITH RETREAT Sat., March 2, at St Paul Church, 4548 Wallings Rd., N Royalton. 10 a.m.-2 pm. $10/person. Child car available. Stpaulgoc.org
APOKREATIKO GLENDI Sat., March 9, at St. Nicholas Church, 2000 Tower Blvd., Lorain. Doors open at 6 p.m. Plated traditional Greek dinner; Cash bar. Prizes for best costumes. Dancing to live music by Stigma. $35/ adult; $20/child under 12; children under 5 free. Call 440-960-2992.
GOYA SPRING RETREAT March 8-10, at Camp Nazareth, Mercer, PA. St Demetrios Parish Council & Philoptochos are offering a full ride scholarship to this retreat to GOYA teens whose family is a 2024 steward in good standing. Contact the church office to be approved and get the scholarship code. Registration now open at Y2AM.Pittsburgh.goarch.org/Retreat
HERITAGE GREECE National Hellenic Society’s complementary 2-week cultural immersion odyssey for accomplished Greek American college students to connect with their faith, heritage, roots and Greek identity, at the American College of Greece (Athens) OR at the American College of Thessaloniki. Session A: June 8-23, 2024; Session B: July 6 - 21, 2024. www.hellenicsociety.org Admissions Deadline: March 1.
IONIAN VILLAGE The summer camping ministry of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America 2024 dates: Session One: June 25 – July 14, 2024; Session Two: July 23 – August 11, 2024. $6,000/camper. Registration opens Feb. 1, 2024 at IonianVillage.org
Saint Vlasios was Bishop of Sebastia. Divine grace, through which he healed the diseases of men and beasts, and especially of infants, made his name famous. He contested for the Faith under Licinius in the year 316. Saint Vlasios is invoked for the healing of throat ailments.
This holy Father, who was from Melitene of Armenia, was a blameless man, just, reverent, sincere, and most gentle. Consecrated Bishop of Sebastia in 357, he was later banished from his throne and departed for Beroea of Syria (this is the present-day Aleppo). After the Arian bishop of Antioch had been deposed, the Orthodox and the Arians each strove to have a man of like mind with themselves become the next Bishop of Antioch. Meletius was highly esteemed by all, and since the Arians believed him to share their own opinion, they had him raised to the throne of Antioch. As soon as he had taken the helm of the Church of Antioch, however, he began preaching the Son's consubstantiality with the Father. At this, the archdeacon, an Arian, put his hand over the bishop's mouth; Meletius then extended three fingers towards the people, closed them, and extended one only, showing by signs the equality and unity of the Trinity. The embarrassed archdeacon then seized his hand, but released his mouth, and Meletius spoke out even more forcibly in defense of the Council of Nicaea. Shortly after, he was banished by the Arian Emperor Constantius, son of Saint Constantine the Great. After the passage of time, he was recalled to his throne, but was banished again the third time by Valens. It was Saint Meletius who ordained Saint John Chrysostom reader and deacon in Antioch (see Nov. 13). He lived until the Second Ecumenical Council in 381 (which was convoked against Macedonius, Patriarch of Constantinople, the enemy of the Holy Spirit), over which he presided, being held in great honor as a zealot of the Faith and a venerable elder hierarch.
Some time before, when the Emperor Gratian had made the Spanish General Theodosius commander-in-chief of his armies in the war against the barbarians, Theodosius had a dream in which he saw Meletius, whom he had never met, putting upon him the imperial robe and crown. Because of Theodosius's victories, Gratian made him Emperor of the East in Valens' stead in 379. When, as Emperor, Saint Theodosius the Great convoked the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople two years later, he forbade that anyone should tell him who Meletius was; and as soon as he saw him, he recognized him, ran to him with joy, embraced him before all the other bishops, and told him of his dream.
While at the Council, Saint Meletius fell ill and reposed a short while after. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, among others, gave a moving oration at his funeral; bewailing the loss of him whom all loved as a father, he said, "Where is that sweet serenity of his eyes? Where that bright smile upon his lips? Where that kind right hand, with fingers outstretched to accompany the benediction of the mouth?" (PG 46:8-6). And he lamented, "Our Elias has been caught up, and no Elisseus is left behind in his place." (ibid., 860). The holy relics of Saint Meletius were returned to Antioch and were buried beside Saint Babylas the Martyr (see Sept. 4), in the Church dedicated to the Martyr which Meletius, in his zeal for the Martyr's glory, had helped build with his own hands.
Saint Cyril was born in Thessaloniki in the early 9th century to pious parents. His family was one of only a few Byzantines in Thessaloniki at that time since it was largely populated by Slavs. Growing up in this situation, Cyril learned the Slavonic language, which later in life would serve him and the Church at large. He continued his education in Constantinople with his brother Methodios (see May 11th), each taking to their particular interests: Methodios in politics, and Cyril in philosophy and teaching.
The two brothers were approached in 850 by Saint Photios the Great (see February 6th) to lead a diplomatic mission to the Khazars, the people who inhabited the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Cyril and Methodios accepted this mission and departed to the North. After the success of this trip, the brothers lived for a time in a monastery on Mount Olympus where Methodios became a monk. At this time the brothers utilized their childhood Slavonic education to develop a written alphabet for the Slavonic language, which to this time had never existed. This alphabet became known as the Glagolithic Alphabet. On their own instigation, the brothers began translating the Gospels and liturgical service books into Slavonic.
Providentially, Cyril and Methodios were again called upon for a mission, this time to travel to Moravia to spread the Christian faith to King Rostislav (see May 11th) and his people. The brothers departed in 862, bringing with them their Slavonic alphabet and service books. After five years of service, the brothers made their way to Rome in 867 to have members of their company ordained to the priesthood to aid in the missionary journey. The group of missionaries celebrated the Divine Liturgy in Rome in the Slavonic language for the very first time with members of their party being ordained as they intended. While in Rome, Cyril fell deathly ill. He was tonsured a monk and died. His brother Methodios continued their missionary work, utilizing the Glagolthic Alphabet. Cyril and his brother Methodios are commemorated together on May 11th.
This Martyr contested during the reign of Maximian, in the year 290, in Caesarea of Palestine, and was put to death by command of Firmilian, the Governor of Palestine. His fellow contestants' names are Valens, Paul, Seleucus, Porphyrius, Julian, Theodulus, and five others from Egypt: Elias, Jeremias, Esaias, Samuel, and Daniel. Their martyrdom is recorded in Book VIII, ch. 11 of Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History, called The Martyrs of Palestine.
Saint Theodore who was from Amasia of Pontus, contested during the reign of Maximian (286-305). He was called Tyro, from the Latin Tiro, because he was a newly enlisted recruit. When it was reported that he was a Christian, he boldly confessed Christ; the ruler, hoping that he would repent, gave him time to consider the matter more completely and then give answer. Theodore gave answer by setting fire to the temple of Cybele, the "mother of the gods," and for this he suffered a martyr's death by fire. See also the First Saturday of the Fast.
Reading is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved by: Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Reading is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved by: Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Reading is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved by: Holy Transfiguration Monastery