St. Spyridon Parish News, Events, Activities and Announcements

This Sunday' Memorials

Panagiota Kozombolis/Marmarakis - 40 days

Katherine Scordalakis (Fr. Andrew's aunt) 2 years

Katherine Scordalakis (Fr. Andrew's mother) - 3 years

Christos Tsopanoglou - 7 years

Vasilis Tsopanoglou - 13 years

Nitsa Crosby - 16 years

Ray Crosby - 44 years

All Departed Church Musicians

Sunday School has Resumed This Past Sunday, January 19th

As is the custom of our parish (following our Annual Epiphany Cross Dive and Luncheon) our Sunday School program has resumed.

Holy Communion Reception Procedure

At the time of Holy Communion we ask that you approach the Cup from the center aisle and then return to your pew by the side aisle to await the Thanksgiving Prayers. Once again, we will allow the Sunday School children and their teachers to approach the Cup first, then the Choir and then you the faithful approach at the direction of the Parish Council. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

This Sunday's Acolyte Serving Team

St. Demetrios: Captain: William (Vasilios) Gilpin, Theo Couris, Will Kalas, Nikos Kapetanios, Petros Kapetanios, Tasos Kapetanios, Milton Kromydas, Dean Lahanas, Dimitri Salim

Festival 2020 Meeting Wednesday, January 29th

Planning has begun on our 51st Annual Greek Festival!
Please join us all on Wednesday, January 29th at 7 pm in our church hall for the first Festival meeting of 2020. Bring your ideas and please spread the word!

Thank you,
The Festival Steering Committe

Link to Photos of our Annual 2020 Epiphany Cross Dive and Luncheon

The following link will connect you to the photos of our 2020 Annual Epiphany Cross Dive and Luncheon held last Sunday, January 12th at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina - Enjoy!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/P6wYqUdrNBva8QnH9

Philoptochos Membership Luncheon

Please join us for our annual Philoptochos Membership Luncheon this Saturday, January 25, 2020 at 11:00 AM in the St. Spyridon Cypress Room.

For more information see below "Inserts and Fliers"

From the Office of the Chancellor of the Greek Archdiocese

Dear Clergy and Faithful,

In recent months, many parishes across the Archdiocese have reported to us an issue which is worth your attention. Many of our faithful have already been scammed out of hundreds and even thousands of dollars, and we are hearing of new parishes affected by it every week.

Parishes and religious communities are being targeted by a phishing scam where the attacker poses falsely as the priest via email and asks the recipient for money in the form of gift cards. These emails come from fake accounts which appear to an unsuspecting person as a clergy email address, something like orthodoxpreist@gmail.com (notice the typo!) or frpeter.stgeorgenh@gmail.com. The perpetrator then goes on to ask the recipient to buy gift cards and send photos of them back so that they can use the numbers to acquire the money.

To learn more about this phishing scam, please read the following article:
https://blogs.goarch.org/blog/-/blogs/no-your-priest-does-not-want-you-to-buy-gift-cards-for-a-parishioner-in-need

Though we have not found a way to stop these attackers directly, we can do our part to educate the faithful.
https://bulletin-inserts.s3.amazonaws.com/internet-ministries/cyber-security-bulletin-2019-10-17-bw.pdf

https://bulletin-inserts.s3.amazonaws.com/internet-ministries/cyber-security-bulletin-2019-10-17-color.pdf

Fr. Andreas Vithoulkas

Chancellor

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

8 East 79th street, New York, NY 10075

phone: 212.774.0283 Fax:212.774.0495

email: Frandreas@goarch.org

Philoptochos Newsletter

Please see the "Inserts and Fliers" section below to read the current Philoptochos Newsletter.

Bookstore

Ring in 2020 with Daily Lives, Miracles and Wisdom of the Saints and Fasting Calendar; it includes insightful quotes from the saints, saint commemorated each day, Gospel and Epistle readings, and fasting guidelines.

Philoptochos and Fellowship

Fellowship and Coffee hour: If you partake in the weekly coffee hour after the Divine Liturgy, you witness this beautiful long-standing tradition as a time to enjoy a light snack with family and friends. Philoptochos has simplified the guidelines and has created a very easy to use sign-up genius, which will be emailed to you on a regular basis. We ask that you please think of offering for a name day, birthday, memorial, anniversary, etc. The donations collected help Philoptochos serve the needy, unless you are a ministry in which you keep the donations.

Thank you for your support!

St. Spyridon Dance & Choral Presents - FDF Show The Love

Saturday, February 8th at 6:00 PM in the Cypress Room. Come and support or Dance & Choral groups and preview their FDF compitition sets. Beer & Wine, Appertizers, Desserts. $10 Suggested Donation.

Please see the "Inserts and Fliers" section below

Dance & Choral News

Practice times and locations are as follows: Youth Choir (3rd-12th grade) - 12:20-1:00 p.m. in Choir loft; Ta Pedakia (K-2nd grade) - 12:30 - 1 pm in Preschool room; Levani (8th-12th grade) - 1:00 - 1:30 pm in Choir loft; Ionians (3rd-6th grade) - 1:00-2:15 in GOYA room; Aegeans (7th-12th grade) - 1:30-3:00 p.m. in Church hall; Pelagos (adult group) - 3:30-5:30 p.m.in church hall.

SAVE THE DATE - GOYANS

GOYANS join us on Saturday, February 22nd at 5:00 pm in Mira Mesa for “Bowling and Fellowship”. First game starts promptly at 5:20 pm at Mira Mesa Bowl with dinner to follow at Filippi’s Pizza Grotto on Mira Mesa Blvd. Parents please pick your kids up at Filippi’s at 8 pm. Please bring $20 for bowling and shoe rental, GOYA will cover dinner. RSVP no later than February 19th to Bill Navrides at bill.navrides@sharp.com or (619) 992-6775.

SAVE THE DATE - Greek Independence Day Program & Fundraiser

St. Spyridon Greek School Invites you to

The 2020 Annual Greek Independence Day
Program & Fundraiser

Sunday March 22^nd
Immediately Following the Divine Liturgy

Our Greek School students are working hard to present a wonderful program that will include poems, songs, skits and dances dedicated to our Greek heroes and independence!

$25 for Adults • $10 for Children 5- 12 • $4 for Children 2-4 • Greek School Students FREE

SEATING IS LIMITED AND ALWAYS SELLS OUT!

Tickets will be sold in the church hall following the Divine Liturgies leading up to the event beginning Sunday February 2nd. or buy your tickets online at: www.stspyridongreekschool.org

Agape Meals

Philoptochos has an outreach program where people can cook or deliver (or both) a meal to one of their fellow parishioners who may facing a difficult or stressful time in their life (illness, new baby, etc). If you would like more information on how you can participate, or know of someone in our community who could use a meal or two, please contact Stella Weil at (858)694-0570 or 4weils@sbcglobal.net. Please join us as we come together as a community to help one another. Thank you.

Decorated Feast Day Icons

Philoptochos invites you and your family to commemorate a special Feast Day by offering a donation towards the cost of a beautifully decorated icon which will be displayed in the church Narthex for all to venerate. This is a perfect way to honor both your family member(s) as well as an important day in the life of the Church. A suggested donation of $75 is much appreciated.

Please contact Stella Weil at 4weils@sbcglobal.net or (858) 694-0570 to reserve your icon/date or if you have any questions. Thank you.

The following Saints and Feast Days will be celebrated during January, February, and March and have icons that can be displayed:

1/25 - St. Gregory The Theologian

1/30 - Three Hierarchs

2/2 - Presentation of Our Lord

2/9 - Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee

2/10 - St. Haralambos

2/16 - Sunday of the Prodigal Son

2/23 - Judgment Sunday

3/1 - Forgiveness Sunday

3/8 - Sunday of Orthodoxy

3/15 - St. Gregory Palamas

3/17 - St. Alexios - Man of God

3/22 - Sunday of the Adoration of the Holy Cross

3/25 - Annunciation of the Theotokos

3/29 - Sunday of St. John Climacus

Your Legacy and Your Church

...to whom much is given; from them much more is required (Luke 12:48).

Please remember to include your Saint Spyridon parish in your estate plan and bequest.

Receive Back 0.5% From “Amazon Smile” Foundation

We are pleased to announce that St. Spyridon GOCnow participates in AmazonSmile. When you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church. That’s right, every eligible purchase you or someone else makes at AmazonSmile 0.5% will be donated back to our parish!!!

Register by visiting AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com) and select “St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church” before you make your first purchase (be sure to select St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church - San Diego, California).

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

We hope you’ll consider this easy way to support your beloved parish. Everyone is eligible to participate so tell your friends and relatives and spread the word about this wonderful program.

Live Stream Broadcast

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

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

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

Inserts and Fliers

Philoptochos Membership Luncheon 2020

Philoptochos Membership Luncheon 2020 Saturday, January 25, 2020 11:00 am

FDF Preview - Show The Love

FDF Preview - Show The Love Saturday, February 8th at 6:00 PM Cypress Room

Philoptochos Newsletter

2020 Annual Greek Independence Day Program & Fundraiser

2020 Annual Greek Independence Day Program & Fundraiser Sunday, March 22, 2020

Cyber-Security Information

Parish Pay Is Now WeShare

WeShare Online Giving

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese News

Archbishop Attends State Department Reception

01/09/2020

WASHINGTON – His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America attended tonight a State Department reception in honor of the Prime Minister of Greece, His Excellency Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

https://www.goarch.org/-/archbishop-attends-state-department-reception

Gospel and Epistle Readings

Matins Gospel Reading

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

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

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

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Grave Mode. Psalm 28.11,1.
The Lord will give strength to his people.
Verse: Bring to the Lord, O sons of God, bring to the Lord honor and glory.

The reading is from St. Paul's First Letter to Timothy 4:9-15.

Timothy, my son, the saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and suffer reproach, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things. Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Till I come, attend to the public reading of scripture, to preaching, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophetic utterance when the council of elders laid their hands upon you. Practice these duties, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress.

Gospel Reading

15th Sunday of Luke
The Reading is from Luke 19:1-10

At that time, Jesus was passing through Jericho. And there was a man named Zacchaios; he was a chief collector, and rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaios, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today." So he made haste and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it they all murmured, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." And Zacchaios stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost."

Wisdom of the Fathers

For Christ's presence is like that of some life-giving, scented balsam which restores health, enriches life and gives savor to the soul, the thoughts, the words of a man. In brief, distance from Christ means corruption and death, and closeness to Him means salvation and life.

Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic

Prolog, 4 February

In this reading we note Zacchaeus' sense of eager expectation, the intensity of his desire to see our Lord, and we apply this to ourselves. If, as we prepare for Lent, there is real eagerness in our hearts, if we have an intense desire for a clearer vision of Christ, then our hopes will be fulfilled during the fast; indeed, we shall, like Zacchaeus, receive far more than we expect.

Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia

The Meaning of the Great Fast from the Lenten Triodion

He who lately was a tax collector, or rather the chief of the tax collectors, gives up covetousness. He becomes merciful and devoted to charity. He promises that he will distribute his wealth to those who are in need, that he will make restoration to those who have been defrauded

St. Cyril of Alexandria

The Orthodox New Testament, The Holy Gospels, Volume 1

Hymns of the Day

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Grave Mode

By your cross you destroyed death, and opened paradise to the thief. You transformed the sorrow of the Myrrh-bearers, and commanded the apostles to proclaim that you have risen from the dead, Christ our God, granting to the world great mercy.

Apolytikion for the Church in the First Mode

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.

Seasonal Kontakion in the First Mode

Your birth sanctified a Virgin's womb and properly blessed the hands of Symeon. Having now come and saved us O Christ our God, give peace to Your commonwealth in troubled times and strengthen those in authority, whom You love, as only the loving One.

Saints and Feasts

January 26

Xenophon & his Companions

This Saint, a wealthy nobleman of Constantinople, was filled with piety toward God. He had two sons, Arcadius and John, whom he sent to Beirut to study law. But they were shipwrecked during their voyage; barely saved, they forsook all things and departed for Palestine. Saint Xenophon and his wife Mary, ignorant of what had happened, went in search of their sons. On finding them in Jerusalem, dressed in the habit of monks, they also took up the monastic life. And thus, having completed their lives in holiness, they departed for the Lord about the beginning of the sixth century. Saint Xenophon and his sons reposed at Saint Sabbas Monastery, and Mary at the Monastery of Saint Theodosius.

January 27

Removal of the Relics of John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople

This event took place on this day in the year 438, when Saint Theodosius the Younger had been Emperor for thirty years; he was the son of Arcadius, and Eudoxia, who had exiled Saint John. The Archbishop of Constantinople at that time was Proclus, who had been the Saint's disciple (see Nov. 13 and Nov. 20).

January 28

Isaac the Syrian, Bishop of Ninevah

The great luminary of the life of stillness, Saint Isaac, was born in the early seventh century in Eastern Arabia, the present-day Qatar on the Persian Gulf. He became a monk at a young age, and at some time left Arabia to dwell with monks in Persia. He was consecrated Bishop of Nineveh (and is therefore sometimes called "Saint Isaac of Nineveh"), but after five months received permission to return to solitude; he spent many years far south of Nineveh in the mountainous regions of Beit Huzaye, and lastly at the Monastery of Rabban Shabur. He wrote his renowned and God-inspired Ascetical Homilies toward the end of his long life of monastic struggle, about the end of the seventh century. The fame of his Homilies grew quickly, and about one hundred years after their composition they were translated from Syriac into Greek by two monks of the Monastery of Mar Sabbas in Palestine, from which they spread throughout the monasteries of the Roman Empire and became a guide to the hesychasts of all generations thereafter.

January 29

Removal of the Relics of Ignatius the God-bearer

Saint Ignatius was a disciple of Saint John the Theologian, and a successor of the Apostles, and he became the second Bishop of Antioch, after Evodus. He wrote many epistles to the faithful, strengthening them in their confession, and preserving for us the teachings of the holy Apostles. Brought to Rome under Trajan, he was surrendered to lions to be eaten, and so finished the course of martyrdom about the year 107. The remnants of his bones were carefully gathered by the faithful and brought to Antioch. He is called God-bearer, as one who bare God within himself and was aflame in heart with love for Him. Therefore, in his Epistle to the Romans (ch. 4), imploring their love not to attempt to deliver him from his longed-for martyrdom, he said, "I am the wheat of God, and am ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found to be the pure bread of God."

Saint John Chrysostom has a homily in honour of the translation of the Saint's relics (PG 50:587).

January 30

Synaxis of The Three Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, & John Chrysostom

This common feast of these three teachers was instituted a little before the year 1100, during the reign of the Emperor Alexis I Comnenus, because of a dispute and strife that arose among the notable and virtuous men of that time. Some of them preferred Basil, while others preferred Gregory, and yet others preferred John Chrysostom, quarreling among themselves over which of the three was the greatest. Furthermore, each party, in order to distinguish itself from the others, assumed the name of its preferred Saint; hence, they called themselves Basilians, Gregorians, or Johannites. Desiring to bring an end to the contention, the three Saints appeared together to the saintly John Mavropous, a monk who had been ordained Bishop of Euchaita, a city of Asia Minor, they revealed to him that the glory they have at the throne of God is equal, and told him to compose a common service for the three of them, which he did with great skill and beauty. Saint John of Euchaita (celebrated Oct. 5) is also the composer of the Canon to the Guardian Angel, the Protector of a Man's Life. In his old age, he retired from his episcopal see and again took up the monastic life in a monastery in Constantinople. He reposed during the reign of the aforementioned Emperor Alexis Comnenus (1081-1118).

January 31

Cyrus & John the Unmercenaries

These Saints lived during the years of Diocletian. Saint Cyrus was from Alexandria, and Saint John was from Edessa of Mesopotamia. Because of the persecution of that time, Cyrus fled to the Gulf of Arabia, where there was a small community of monks. John, who was a soldier, heard of Cyrus' fame and came to join him. Henceforth, they passed their life working every virtue, and healing every illness and disease freely by the grace of Christ; hence their title of "Unmercenaries." They heard that a certain woman, named Athanasia, had been apprehended together with her three daughters, Theodora, Theoctiste, and Eudoxia, and taken to the tribunal for their confession of the Faith. Fearing lest the tender young maidens be terrified by the torments and renounce Christ, they went to strengthen them in their contest in martyrdom; therefore they too were seized. After Cyrus and John and those sacred women had been greatly tormented, all were beheaded in the year 292. Their tomb became a renowned shrine in Egypt, and a place of universal pilgrimage. It was found in the area of the modern day resort near Alexandria named Abu Kyr.

February 01

Trypho the Martyr

The Holy Martyr Trypho was from Lampsacus in Phrygia, and as a young man he tended geese. Being filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, he also healed sufferings and cast out demons. During the reign of the Emperor Decius, about the year 250, he was betrayed as a Christian and taken to Nicaea, where he was beaten, bound to horses and dragged over rough ground, then dragged naked over nails; his sides were burned with torches; finally he was sentenced to beheading, but gave up his holy soul in his torments before the stroke of the sword. Saint Trypho is one of the Holy Unmercenaries, and is also invoked for the protection of gardens from insects and pests.

General Information

Contact Information

Services Schedule

Sunday Services

Orthros/Matins: 8:30am

Divine Liturgy: 10:00am

Past Bulletins