Publish-header
St. Gregory of Nyssa Greek Orthodox Church
Publish Date: 2017-05-21
Bulletin Contents
21_conshel
Organization Icon
St. Gregory of Nyssa Greek Orthodox Church

General Information

  • Phone:
  • 619-593-0707
  • Street Address:

  • 1454 Jamacha Rd.

  • El Cajon, CA 92019-3752


Contact Information




Services Schedule

Saturday Vespers

5:00 PM

Sunday Liturgies

9:00AM Orthros

10:00AM Divine Liturgy

 

Follow Us on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/StGregoryGOC


Past Bulletins


A Warm Welcome to Our Visitors

It is our hope that we will help you learn more about our parish and the Orthodox Christian faith that we confess.  At St. Gregory of Nyssa, you will discover an ancient, yet dynamic faith, a warm Church family and even perhaps a spiritual home where you can grow roots and a deep relationship with Christ in the Holy Spirit.  Please know that in the Holy Orthodox Church, Holy Communion is given only to those Baptized/Chrismated Orthodox Christians who have properly prepared themselves through prayer, fasting and recent Confession.  You are welcome to come forward at the end of the Liturgy to be given the Blessed Bread(Antidoron), of which all are blessed to partake, & a blessing from the Priest.

Welcome to our Church Home!  We would like to meet you!  Please join us at Coffee Hour following the service.

BACK TO TOP

Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

The Reading is from Acts of the Apostles 26:1, 12-20

IN THOSE DAYS, King Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak for yourself." Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense: "I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining round me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.' And I said, 'Who are you, Lord?' And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and bear witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from the people and from the Gentiles-to whom I send you to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' "Wherefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those at Damascus, then at Jerusalem and throughout all the country of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and perform deeds worthy of their repentance."


Gospel Reading

Sunday of the Blind Man
The Reading is from John 9:1-38

At that time, as Jesus passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him. We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." As he said this, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man's eyes with the clay, saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar, said, "Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?" Some said, "It is he"; others said, "No, but he is like him." He said, "I am the man." They said to him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" He answered, "The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash'; so I went and washed and received my sight." They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know."

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. The Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, "He put clay on my eyes and I washed, and I see." Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" There was a division among them. So they again said to the blind man, "What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."

The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight, and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" His parents answered, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself." His parents said this because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess him to be Christ he was to be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, "He is of age, ask him."

So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, "Give God the praise; we know that this man is a sinner." He answered, "Whether he is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see." They said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" He answered them, "I have told you already and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you too want to become his disciples?" And they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from." The man answered, "Why, this is a marvel! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." They answered him, "You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?" And they cast him out.

Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, "Do you believe in the Son of man?" He answered, "And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?" Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you." He said, "Lord, I believe": and he worshiped him.


BACK TO TOP

Hymns of the Day

Apolytikion of Great and Holy Pascha in the Fifth Tone

Christ is risen from the dead, by death, trampling down upon death, and to those in the tombs He has granted life.

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Fifth Tone

Eternal with the Father and the Spirit is the Word, Who of a Virgin was begotten for our salvation. As the faithful we both praise and worship Him, for in the flesh did He consent to ascend unto the Cross, and death did He endure and He raised unto life the dead through His all glorious resurrection.

Apolytikion for Constantine and Helen in the Eighth Tone

Having seen the image of Thy Cross in Heaven, and like Paul, having received the call not from men, Thine apostle among kings entrusted the commonwealth to Thy hand, O Lord. Keep us always in peace, by the intercessions of the Theotokos, O only Friend of man.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Eighth Tone

When thou didst descend into the grave, O Immortal, thou didst destroy the power of hades. In victory didst thou arise, O Christ God, proclaiming 'Rejoice' to the myrrh-bearing women, granting peace to thine apostles and bestowing resurrection of the fallen.
BACK TO TOP

Saints and Feasts

21_conshel
May 21

Constantine and Helen, Equal-to-the Apostles

This great and renowned sovereign of the Christians was the son of Constantius Chlorus (the ruler of the westernmost parts of the Roman empire), and of the blessed Helen. He was born in 272, in (according to some authorities) Naissus of Dardania, a city on the Hellespont. In 306, when his father died, he was proclaimed successor to his throne. In 312, on learning that Maxentius and Maximinus had joined forces against him, he marched into Italy, where, while at the head of his troops, he saw in the sky after midday, beneath the sun, a radiant pillar in the form of a cross with the words: "By this shalt thou conquer." The following night, our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him in a dream and declared to him the power of the Cross and its significance. When he arose in the morning, he immediately ordered that a labarum be made (which is a banner or standard of victory over the enemy) in the form of a cross, and he inscribed on it the Name of Jesus Christ. On the 28th Of October, he attacked and mightily conquered Maxentius, who drowned in the Tiber River while fleeing. The following day, Constantine entered Rome in triumph and was proclaimed Emperor of the West by the Senate, while Licinius, his brother-in-law, ruled in the East. But out of malice, Licinius later persecuted the Christians. Constantine fought him once and again, and utterly destroyed him in 324, and in this manner he became monarch over the West and the East. Under him and because of him all the persecutions against the Church ceased. Christianity triumphed and idolatry was overthrown. In 325 he gathered the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, which he himself personally addressed. In 324, in the ancient city of Byzantium, he laid the foundations of the new capital of his realm, and solemnly inaugurated it on May 11, 330, naming it after himself, Constantinople. Since the throne of the imperial rule was transferred thither from Rome, it was named New Rome, the inhabitants of its domain were called Romans, and it was considered the continuation of the Roman Empire. Falling ill near Nicomedia, he requested to receive divine Baptism, according to Eusebius (The Life of Constantine. Book IV, 61-62), and also according to Socrates and Sozomen; and when he had been deemed worthy of the Holy Mysteries, he reposed in 337, on May 21 or 22, the day of Pentecost, having lived sixty-five years, of which he ruled for thirty-one years. His remains were transferred to Constantinople and were deposed in the Church of the Holy Apostles, which had been built by him (see Homily XXVI on Second Corinthians by Saint John Chrysostom).

As for his holy mother Helen, after her son had made the Faith of Christ triumphant throughout the Roman Empire, she undertook a journey to Jerusalem and found the Holy Cross on which our Lord was crucified (see Sept. 13 and 14). After this, Saint Helen, in her zeal to glorify Christ, erected churches in Jerusalem at the sites of the Crucifixion and Resurrection, in Bethlehem at the cave where our Saviour was born, another on the Mount of Olives whence He ascended into Heaven, and many others throughout the Holy Land, Cyprus, and elsewhere. She was proclaimed Augusta, her image was stamped upon golden coins, and two cities were named Helenopolis after her in Bithynia and in Palestine. Having been thus glorified for her piety, she departed to the Lord being about eighty years of age, according to some in the year 330, according to others, in 336.


Jcblind1
May 21

Sunday of the Blind Man

The Lord Jesus was coming from the Temple on the Sabbath, when, while walking in the way, He saw the blind man mentioned in today's Gospel. This man had been born thus from his mother's womb, that is, he had been born without eyes (see Saint John Chrysostom, Homily LVI on Matthew; Saint Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book V:15; and the second Exorcism of Saint Basil the Great). When the disciples saw this, they asked their Teacher, "Who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" They asked this because when the Lord had healed the paralytic at the Sheep's Pool, He had told him, "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee" (John 5:14); so they wondered, if sickness was caused by sin, what sin could have been the cause of his being born without eyes. But the Lord answered that this was for the glory of God. Then the God-man spat on the ground and made clay with the spittle. He anointed the eyes of the blind man and said to him, "Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam." Siloam (which means "sent") was a well-known spring in Jerusalem used by the inhabitants for its waters, which flowed to the eastern side of the city and collected in a large pool called "the Pool of Siloam."

Therefore, the Saviour sent the blind man to this pool that he might wash his eyes, which had been anointed with the clay-not that the pool's water had such power, but that the faith and obedience of the one sent might be made manifest, and that the miracle might become more remarkable and known to all, and leave no room for doubt. Thus, the blind man believed in Jesus' words, obeyed His command, went and washed himself, and returned, no longer blind, but having eyes and seeing. This was the greatest miracle that our Lord had yet worked; as the man healed of his blindness himself testified, "Since time began, never was it heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind," although the Lord had already healed the blind eyes of many. Because he now had eyes, some even doubted that he was the same person (John 9:8-9); and it was still lively in their remembrance when Christ came to the tomb of Lazarus, for they said, "Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have caused that even this man should not have died?" Saint John Chrysostom gives a thorough and brilliant exposition of our Lord's meeting with the woman of Samaria, the healing of the paralytic, and the miracle of the blind man in his commentaries on the Gospel of Saint John.


Allsaint
May 21

Pachomios the Righteous New Martyr


Allsaint
May 22

6th Monday after Pascha


Allsaint
May 22

Basiliscus the Martyr, Bishop of Comana

This Martyr was from the city of Amasia on the Black Sea, and a nephew of Saint Theodore the Tyro (Feb. 17). When his fellow Martyrs Eutropius and Cleonicus had been crucified (see Mar.8), Basiliscus was shut up in prison. As he was praying the Lord to count him also worthy to finish his course as a martyr, the Lord appeared to him, telling him first to go to his kinsmen and bid them farewell, which he did. When it was learned that he had left the prison, soldiers came after him, and brought him to Comana of Cappadocia, compelling him to walk in iron shoes set with nails. He was beheaded at Comana, and his body was cast into the river, during the reign of Diocletian (284-305).


BACK TO TOP

Prayer List

HEALTH & WELFARE:
Abducted Metropolitan Paul & Archbishop John; Michael Paschalydis, Ken and Ruth Guilliland, Jethmark, Eveland Family, Vernon and Kathern Rogers, Alex, Patty, Lin, Jimmy, Honey, Elias, Nick Koucoumaris, Richie, Margie, Paul Lane, Alexi, Ralph Bradley, Dr. Minerva, Sarah, Richard, Stella Angeles, Carl Anthony, Stan, James, Kyriakos, Dora, Julia, Alexandra, Sebastian, Queentina, Diana, Nico, Janet Burgess, John Peters, Dionysios, Haralambos, Lillian Ana Grace, George(Marc's Uncle), Samantha(Marc's friend), Bonnie-Father's mother, Sarah-Betsy's mother, MaryAnn, Gabrielle, Kiki, Michael; Father John Pilafas & family;Virginia, Corey and family;Adrienne & Josef in Thessolonika; George, Maria Hazlaris, Sarah Oftedal and her family, Darin Williams, Marika Stantcheva, Athina Cavelaris, Stephanie, Dionisios & Eftixia Diakoumeas, Nicky, Michael and Cathy Jean Alexander, Dionysios, Haralambos.
DEPARTED: Katherine Eveland, Catherine Sullivan, Manousos Saradakis, Carole, Thomas Munteanu, Steve Kosic, Effie Matsolis, George, Arety, Manny, Archimandrite Paul, Eleni (Kyriako's Sister), Gregory Galanis, Deacon Michael; George and Iris Pilafas, Manuel Dragan, Elizabeth Zogob, Darla Gliptis, George Mastorakos and Fr. Theodore and Pres. Mary Phillips, Sophia Vourexis, Jason Hyde, Peter Kanelos, Mary Giana, Katherine Armatas; Lana Piliaris; William Piliaris, Katherine Kladouras, Heather Grinnell and Danny Ranglos
FOR OUR CHURCH LEADERS:
Patriarch Bartholomew; Archbishop Demetrios; Metropolitan Gerasimos; Bishop Apostolos; Father Simeon Corona, Presbytera Joy & family; Chris Psillas & the members of the Parish Council; Philoptochos; Pete Shenas and our Building Committee; Chris Kotitsa & our Stewardship Committee; Chanters & our Sunday School teachers, Mothers Victoria, Melania & the Mothers & Sisters of St. Barbara's & Holy Assumption Monasteries. Frs. Dionisie & Neonil of Holy Resurrectuion Monastery in Temecula.

If you would like our community to pray for you or a loved one or have a name removed, please call the Church office 619-593-0707.

BACK TO TOP

Wisdom of the Fathers

But I assert that he even received benefit from his blindness: since he recovered the sight of the eyes within.
St. John Chrysostom
Homily 56 on John 9, 4th Century

When, then, have they taken place, save when the Word of God Himself came in the body? Or when did He come, if not when lame men walked, and stammerers were made to speak plain, and deaf men heard, and men blind from birth regained their sight? For this was the very thing the Jews said who then witnessed it, because they had not heard of these things having taken place at any other time.
St. Athanasius
Incarnation of the Word 38, 4th Century

The work of God is, after all, the forming of man. He did this by an outward action, as Scripture says, 'And the Lord took clay from earth, and formed man.' Notice here too how the Lord spit on the earth, and made clay and smeared it on his eyes, showing how the ancient creation was made. He was making clear to those who can understand, that this was the [same] hand of God through which man was formed from clay.
St. Irenaeus
Against Heresies. 5.15.2. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Vol: John 1-10. Intervarsity Press, 2006, p. 324.

BACK TO TOP

BACK TO TOP

Calendar

  • Calendar

    May 21 to June 18, 2017

    Sunday, May 21

    Sts. Constantine and Helen

    9:00AM Morning Prayers (Orthros)

    10:00AM Divine Liturgy

    12:00PM Philoptochos Meeting

    Monday, May 22

    11:00AM Office Hours 11am-3pm

    Tuesday, May 23

    Office Closed

    6:30PM Leavetaking of Pascha Vesperal Liturgy

    Wednesday, May 24

    3:00PM FOCUS God's Extended Hand Ministry

    6:30PM Holy Ascension Festal Vespers

    Thursday, May 25

    9:00AM GREAT FEAST of Ascension Matins and Liturgy

    6:30PM Orthodoxy 101 - Prayer and Bible Study

    Saturday, May 27

    5:00PM Great Vespers

    Sunday, May 28

    1st Ecumenical Council

    9:00AM Morning Prayers (Orthros)

    10:00AM Divine Liturgy

    Monday, May 29

    Memorial Day - Office Closed

    Tuesday, May 30

    Office Closed

    Wednesday, May 31

    3:00PM FOCUS God's Extended Hand Ministry

    Thursday, June 1

    6:30PM Orthodoxy 101 - Prayer and Bible Study

    Friday, June 2

    6:30PM Great Vespers for Pentecost Soul Saturday

    Saturday, June 3

    8:00AM Soul Saturday Liturgy AT 8AM!!!

    5:00PM Great Vespers

    Sunday, June 4

    Holy Pentecost!

    9:00AM Morning Prayers (Orthros)

    10:00AM Divine Liturgy

    11:00AM Kneeling Vespers

    Monday, June 5

    10:00AM Holy Spirit Liturgy AT ST. ANTHONY'S

    11:00AM Office Hours 1-3pm

    Tuesday, June 6

    Office Closed

    Wednesday, June 7

    3:00PM St. Gregory's Particular Night God's Extended Hand Ministry

    Thursday, June 8

    6:30PM Orthodoxy 101 - Prayer and Bible Study

    Saturday, June 10

    5:00PM Great Vespers

    Sunday, June 11

    All Saints

    9:00AM Morning Prayers (Orthros)

    10:00AM Divine Liturgy

    12:00PM Philoptochos Meeting

    Monday, June 12

    Apostle's Fast Begins!

    11:00AM Office Hours 11am-3pm

    6:30PM Parish Council Meeting

    Tuesday, June 13

    Office Closed

    Wednesday, June 14

    3:00PM FOCUS God's Extended Hand Ministry

    Thursday, June 15

    6:30PM Orthodoxy 101 - Prayer and Bible Study

    Saturday, June 17

    Anniversary Weekend!

    4:00PM 25th Anniversary Great Vespers with our Bishop Apsostolos

    6:30PM 25th Anniversary Banquet

    Sunday, June 18

    Anniversary Weekend!

    9:00AM Morning Prayers (Orthros)

    10:00AM Hierarchical Divine Liturgy

BACK TO TOP