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Holy Trinity Church
Publish Date: 2022-05-08
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Myrrbear
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Holy Trinity Church

General Information

  • Phone:
  • (609) 653-8092
  • Fax:
  • (609) 653-0375
  • Street Address:

  • 7004 Ridge Ave

  • Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234
  • Mailing Address:

  • 7004 Ridge Ave

  • Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234


Contact Information




Services Schedule

Sunday Services: Orthros 8:15 am.

                         Divine Liturgy 9:30 am.


Past Bulletins


Hymns of the Day

Apolytikion of Great and Holy Pascha in the Plagal First Mode

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 Second Mode

When Thou didst descend unto death, O Life Immortal, then didst Thou slay Hades with the lightning of Thy Divinity. And when Thou didst also raise the dead out of the nethermost depths, all the powers in the Heavens cried out: O Life-giver, Christ our God, glory be to Thee.

Apolytikion for Holy Myrrhbearers Sunday in the Second Mode

The noble Joseph, taking Thine immaculate Body down from the Tree, and having wrapped It in pure linen and spices, laid It for burial in a new tomb. But on the third day Thou didst arise, O Lord, granting great mercy to the world.

Apolytikion for Holy Myrrhbearers Sunday in the Second Mode

Unto the myrrh-bearing women did the Angel cry out as he stood by the grave: Myrrh oils are meet for the dead, but Christ hath proved to be a stranger to corruption. But cry out: The Lord is risen, granting great mercy to the world.

Apolytikion for Synaxis of John the Theologian in the Second Mode

O Apostle, beloved of Christ our God, hasten to deliver a defenceless people. He that allowed thee to recline on His breast, receiveth thee bowing in intercession. Implore Him, O Theologian, to dispel the persistent cloud of the heathen, and ask for us His peace and great mercy.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Plagal Fourth Mode

Though You went down into the tomb, You destroyed Hades' power, and You rose the victor, Christ God, saying to the myrrh-bearing women, "Hail!" and granting peace to Your disciples, You who raise up the fallen.
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Saints and Feasts

Myrrbear
May 08

Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women

About the beginning of His thirty-second year, when the Lord Jesus was going throughout Galilee, preaching and working miracles, many women who had received of His beneficence left their own homeland and from then on followed after Him. They ministered unto Him out of their own possessions, even until His crucifixion and entombment; and afterwards, neither losing faith in Him after His death, nor fearing the wrath of the Jewish rulers, they came to the sepulchre, bearing the myrrh-oils they had prepared to annoint His body. It is because of the myrrh-oils, that these God-loving women brought to the tomb of Jesus that they are called the Myrrh-bearers. Of those whose names are known are the following: first of all, the most holy Virgin Mary, who in Matthew 27:56 and Mark 15:40 is called "the mother of James and Joses" (these are the sons of Joseph by a previous marriage, and she was therefore their step-mother); Mary Magdalene (celebrated July 22); Mary, the wife of Clopas; Joanna, wife of Chouza, a steward of Herod Antipas; Salome, the mother of the sons of Zebedee, Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus; and Susanna. As for the names of the rest of them, the evangelists have kept silence (Matt 27:55-56; 28:1-10. Mark 15:40-41. Luke 8:1-3; 23:55-24:11, 22-24. John 19:25; 20:11-18. Acts 1:14).

Together with them we celebrate also the secret disciples of the Saviour, Joseph and Nicodemus. Of these, Nicodemus was probably a Jerusalemite, a prominent leader among the Jews and of the order of the Pharisees, learned in the Law and instructed in the Holy Scriptures. He had believed in Christ when, at the beginning of our Saviour's preaching of salvation, he came to Him by night. Furthermore, he brought some one hundred pounds of myrrh-oils and an aromatic mixture of aloes and spices out of reverence and love for the divine Teacher (John 19:39). Joseph, who was from the city of Arimathea, was a wealthy and noble man, and one of the counsellors who were in Jerusalem. He went boldly unto Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus, and together with Nicodemus he gave Him burial. Since time did not permit the preparation of another tomb, he placed the Lord's body in his own tomb which was hewn out of rock, as the Evangelist says (Matt. 27:60).


08_stjohn1
May 08

Synaxis of the Holy Powder (or manna) which emitted from the tomb of Saint John the Theologian

The feast today in honour of the holy Apostle John commemorates the miracle taking place each year in Ephesus, in which a certain dust or powder, called manna, suddenly poured forth from his tomb and was used by the faithful for deliverance from maladies of both soul and body. For an account of his life, see September 26.


Arseniosgreat
May 08

Arsenios the Great

Saint Arsenios was a deacon of the Church of Rome, born of an illustrious family, and wondrous in virtue. In the days of Saint Theodosius the Great, he was chosen to be the tutor of the Emperor's young sons, Arcadius and Honorius. While living at the imperial palace in Constantinople, compassed with all luxury and innumerable temptations to sin, Arsenios often besought God with tears to guide him to salvation. This prayer was answered one day when a voice came to him saying, "Arsenios, flee from men, and thou shalt be saved." He sailed secretly to Alexandria, and from there went to Scete, where he became a monk. Yet after he had withdrawn from the world, and was come among the most illustrious monks of his day, he heard, 'Arsenios, flee, be silent, pray always, for these are the causes of sinning not." Following this call, he separated himself even from his fellow monks, practicing extreme silence. On Saturday evenings, he would turn his back on the setting sun, and would stretch out his hands in prayer to Heaven, till the sun shone upon his face the following morning, and only then would he sit down. Once a monk came to visit him, and looking into his cell saw Arsenios entirely like a flame of fire. After living some fifty-five years as a monk, and attaining to heights reached by few, he reposed in peace about the year 449, at the age of ninety-five.


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Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Plagal Fourth Mode. Psalm 18.4,1.
Their voice has gone out into all the earth.
Verse: The heavens declare the glory of God.

The reading is from St. John's First Universal Letter 1:1-7.

THAT WHICH WAS from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life - the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us - that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing this that our joy may be complete.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.


Gospel Reading

Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women
The Reading is from Mark 15:43-47; 16:1-8

At that time, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. And Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. And he bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud, and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?" And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back; for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you." And they went out and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.


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Wisdom of the Fathers

They [the women] had followed Him ministering to Him, and were present even unto the time of the dangers. Wherefore also they saw all; how He cried, how He gave up the ghost, how the rocks were rent, and all the rest.
St. John Chrysostom
Homily 88 on Matthew 27, 4th Century

And these [the women] first see Jesus; and the sex that was most condemned, this first enjoys the sight of the blessings, this most shows its courage. And when the disciples had fled, these were present.
St. John Chrysostom
Homily 88 on Matthew 27, 4th Century

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PARISH NEWS

PARISH NEWS

Celebrating our 40th Anniversary

Pangari Schedule: Ria Pierelli, Nick Yiannos & Donna Efstatos.

We wish all the Mothers, Grandmothers and Godmothers a Very Happy Mother's Day! Thank you for all your love and sacrifices on behalf of our children.

Lenten Coin Boxes: Sunday School Students, please bring in you Lenten Coin Boxes as soon as you can.

Today's Coffee Hour will be hosted by our GOYA in the Fellowship Hall. If you are hosting the coffee hour please make sure that all products are nut free. We have children with severe nut allergies. Thank you!  Please call or email Faten Dib 609-226-2691 or fattouneh@hotmail.com today and offer to sign up for a Sunday to host the coffee hour!

GOYA Basketball - 2022-2023: Attention all parents and present and future GOYAns. If you are interested in participating in GOYA basketball for the 2022-2023 season, please contact Coach Anthony Panetta at 609-432-2413 (Boys) or Coach Tony Mertis at 609-501-5892 (Girls). Announcements on Summer practices will be made soon.  

MAY CHURCH SERVICES

May 9, Monday, Divine Liturgy 9:00 / 10:00 am., Isaiah the Prophet

 May 18, Wednesday, Divine Liturgy 9:00 / 10:00 am., Mid-Pentecost (At neighboring parishes)

 May 21, Saturday, Divine Liturgy 9:00 / 10:00 am., Sts. Constantine & Helen (At neighboring parishes)

 May 30, Monday, Memorial Day, Cemetery Trisagia

     · Greenwood Cemetery 9:00 am

     · Laurel Memorial Cemetery 10:30 am.

CHURCH REMINDERS 

Wearing masks is now optional in the church and throughout the community center.
Those who are feeling sick should stay at home.

We will continue to live-stream our church services.

 UPCOMING EVENTS (see attached flyers)

May 14: Ocean City Block Party

May 16: Regional Clergy Laity Retreat

June 2-5: Annual Greek Festival

June 12: Pentecost

June 20-24: Camp Good Shepherd

November 13: SUV Raffle Drawing

RECEIVING HOLY COMMUNION

Holy Communion is offered to those baptized Orthodox Christians who have prepared themselves for the reception of the Sacrament by prayer and fasting. Blessed Bread is available for all our visitors at the very end of the Divine Liturgy. Our Sunday School students receive Holy Communion first and then we will approach from the center aisles, starting with the front pews, one pew at a time. 

SUNDAY SCHOOL NEWS

Sunday School is in person every Sunday!  We look forward to seeing the children back in church!

TRINITY LEARNING CENTER

We are in great need of staff (18 years and older) for our summer camp program. Please contact the school at 609-653-9001.

We also are in need of a bus driver with a CDL and Air Brake Endorsement.

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

There is a parish council meeting on Monday, May 9th at 7:30 pm.

OCEAN CITY BLOCK PARTY

The Ocean City Block Party takes place on Saturday, May 14th at 9th Street and Asbury Ave.  This is a fundraiser that benefits the Church.  Help is needed as listed below.  If you can lend a hand at all, or just one of the times below it would be appreciated. 

-Friday May 13th help is needed in the morning to slice onions in the commercial kitchen, gather and organize items needed for the Block Party, and then from 4:30p.m. to 5:00p.m. to load the truck at the commercial kitchen.  The most important part where help will be needed this day is loading the truck at 4:30p.m.

-Saturday May 14th:

Beginning around 7:15a.m. at 9th Street and Asbury Ave. in Ocean City to unload the truck and set up;

9:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. help is needed to cut tomatoes, cut Gyro, make Gyro’s, take customer’s orders, run the register, etc.;

5:00p.m. to 5:45p.m. help is needed to load everything into the truck;

6:15p.m. to 7:30p.m. help is needed at the commercial kitchen to unload the truck, wash items and put away.

Please contact Brian Sacco at 609-412-2305 or briansacco1@gmail.com to let him know if you can help.  Thank You.

MELINA GALIAS ORGAN DONOR REQUEST

Dear Holy Trinity Parishioners,
I am writing this letter on behalf of our beloved, Melina Galias, who is in need of a kidney transplant.
As many of you know, Melina graduated from high school last spring, was accepted into Drexel University, and had to defer her matriculation because she has been on dialysis since June 2021.
We are making a general appeal to all concerned people who would be willing to register with the VirtuaHealth Kidney Donor Program on behalf of Melina.  A kidney donor needs to be older than 18 years of age and in good overall physical and mental health.  Living donors are preferred, along with O and B blood types that can be positive or negative.
For more information pertaining to the registration process, please log onto virtua.org/KidneyDonation   or call Jennie Roggio at 856-796-9376. 
Over the years, Melina has been an active and enthusiastic member of our parish youth ministries, but now has had to forego many of her usual activities due to her health condition.  While we are thankful for the dialysis treatments that she has been receiving, her doctors have indicated that a kidney transplant is what she really needs in order to enjoy a good quality of life. Please forward this message to all of your friends and relatives and encourage them to do the same.
On behalf of Melina and her family, I thank you for considering prayerfully this most important request.
In Christ,
Father George

PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS

Philoptochos will continue to sell Shop Rite Gift Cards. Please see attached flyer with information on how to purchase. 

There is a Philoptochos Zoom meeting on Wednesday, May 11th at 7:00pm.

Philoptochos is holding their annual Membership Drive and invite everyone to become a member of this wonderful Philanthropia. The Registration form is in the attachment. You may mail it in or bring it to church.

BIBLE STUDY

Bible Study continues on Tuesday, May 10th, via Zoom at 7:00 pm. A link will be sent prior to Bible Study

MEMORIALS

If you are planning a family memorial, please contact the church office far in advance of the date.

PARKING

Due to safety regulations, please do not park cars along the curb in front of the church and the community center during church services and other events. Thank you!

 

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