The Holy & Righteous Ancestors of God, Joachim and Anna
Today, the day following the Nativity of the most holy Theotokos, we celebrate the synaxis of Saints Joachim and Anna, honouring them as her parents.
Sunday Summer Hours - from first Sunday after Memorial Day
Orthros 8:30 am
Divine L:iturgy 9:30 am
Sunday Winter Hours - from first Sunday after Labor Day
Orthros 9:00 am
Divine Liturgy 10:00 am
Saturday Vespers 6:00 pm
Week Day Divine Liturgy 9:00 am
Blessed are You, O Christ our God; Who has shone forth the fishermen to be all wise, by sending upon them the Holy Spirit and through them, You gathered the whole world in Your net, O lover of Mankind, glory to You.
Prokeimenon. Plagal Second Tone. Psalm 27.9,1.
O Lord, save your people and bless your inheritance.
Verse: To you, O Lord, I have cried, O my God.
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians 6:11-18.
Brethren, see with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that would compel you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For even those who receive circumcision do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may glory in your flesh. But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. Peace and mercy be upon all who walk by this rule, upon the Israel of God. Henceforth let no man trouble me; for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.
Sunday before Holy Cross
The Reading is from John 3:13-17
The Lord said, "No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him."
Friday, September 14 - Exaltation of the Holy Cross Divine Liturgy at 9:00am
Today we celebrate a Memorial for the repose of the souls of James Pappas, 1-Year, and Kathryn Tsacalis, 5-Years. May their memory be eternal.
Today marks the beginning of another School Year here at Holy Trinity! Winter Hours began today with Orthros beginning at 9am and Divine Liturgy at 10am. Sunday School began with classes starting at 9:45. It is also Yiayia and Papou Sunday, an important event here! And one more thing... it's Bless the Backpacks Sunday, when the children receive a special blessing to make this school year the best one yet! GOYA will also be serving up loukoumathes during Coffee Hour! Everyone, come downstairs and enjoy each other's company!
The Church Record Books of Baptisms, Weddings, and Deaths before 1951 have been missing since the move from the old church to our present location. In an effort to restore this valuable information, we ask if you have any certificates from this time period, that you bring them in to be copied, or mail in a copy. Thank you!!
GOYAns are selling Fall Mums again this year! Orders with payments will be taken through Sunday, September 21, with delivery on September 30. Forms are everywhere! Thank you!
With Fr. Emmanuel's blessing and the permission of the Parish Council, John Diamantis presents his Senior Project to you. Choosing Holy Trinity to be the benefactor of his efforts in this project, John would like to ask for donations for the purchase of new altar boy vestments. Being an altar boy since he was 7 years old, John knows the need for fresh robes for the current altar boys as well as the new incoming altar boys. Please talk to John about his project and watch for more information from him. Donation checks must be made out to Holy Trinity Church with "Altar Boy robes" in the memo. Thank you!
The Nativity of the Theotokos invites everyone to their Dinner Banquet being held on Saturday, September 22, at St. Nicholas Cathedral. This Banquet, in memory of Gerontissa Taxiarchia, is a major fundraiser in the capital campaign to build a new Monastery, Church and Byzantine Iconography Studio. Seating is limited, so tell Presvytera Anna if you are going and we can reserve a table as a Parish by this Wednesday, September 12. Cost is $100 per person.
In conjunction with the Ambridge Festival of Churches, there will be an Ambridge Historic Churches Tour on Friday evening, September 28, from 6:30 to 9:30. Tickets for the tour are $10 per person and are available in the Church Office.
Ambridge will hold its Festival of Churches on Saturday, September 29, from 10:30am to 7pm. We will be participating but the Parish Council is looking for someone to be the Chairperson for the event. Please talk to Alex Barlamas for details.
The Pittsburgh Metropolis will hold its 2018 Clergy-Laity-Philoptochos-Youth Workers Assembly on Saturday, September 29, at Holy Cross Church of Mt. Lebanon. Registration opens at 9am, with the program beginning at 10am with the Invocation and Keynote Address. Lunch is included and the event will wrap up by 5pm. The Assembly will have three Tracks: Clergy-Laity, Philoptochos, and Youth Workers. Cost is $100 per delegate. Registration forms are in the Church Office and are due by September 24. Or register online at this very long link: events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=bq6isscab&oeidk=a07efdh8tlhefea6cbf.
ONGOING: Altar Boy Robe Senior Project
Food Items for Center for Hope Pantry and FOCUS West Central
Collecting Aluminum Cans for FOCUS West Central
Sunday, September 9 - Start of Winter Hours
Yiayia and Papou Sunday
Sunday School begins
Blessing of the Backpacks
GOYA Loukoumathe Sale
Tuesday, September 11 - Parish Council Meeting at 7pm
Friday, September 14 - Exaltation of the Holy Cross Divine Liturgy at 9am
Sunday, September 16 - Philoptochos Meeting during Coffee Hour
Saturday, September 22 - Nativity of the Theotokos Monastery Dinner Banquet
Friday, September 28 - Ambridge Historic Church Tour 6:30-9:30pm
Saturday, September 29 - 9am-5pm: Metropolis Assembly of Clergy-Laity, Philoptochos and Youth Workers at Holy Cross of Mt. Lebanon; Registration due Sept. 24
Ambridge Festival of Churches 10:30am-7pm
Sunday, September 30 - GOYA Mum Delivery
Today, the day following the Nativity of the most holy Theotokos, we celebrate the synaxis of Saints Joachim and Anna, honouring them as her parents.
Saint Severian, a senator from Sebastia, was both an illustrious man of wealth and a fearless Christian. Because he encouraged the holy Forty Martyrs of Sebastia to stand fast in their confession, he was given over to terrible torments, and received his own crown during the reign of Licinius and Lysius the Duke, about the year 315.
These Martyrs, sisters according to the flesh, were from Bithynia. They lived in virginity on a mountain near the Pythian hot springs of Bithynia, devoting themselves to asceticism and prayer. Betrayed to the local governor, Fronto, they were subjected to frightful tortures, and so gave up their holy souls into the hands of God. They contested for the Faith during the reign of Maximian, in the year 304.
This saint lived in the fifth century. Out of remorse for the adultery that she committed with another man, she fled from her husband's house, renamed herself Theodore, clothed herself as a man, and pretending to be a eunuch, entered a monastery of men. Her identity as a woman was discovered only after her death.
This saint was a bishop in Italy. Fleeing from the persecution of Diocletian in 298, he came to Bithynia, where he went from place to place converting many from the idols to the true God. Because of this, one day as he was celebrating the Divine Liturgy in the Church of the Archangels, they who worshipped wood and stones fell upon him and beat him to death with staves and stones.
The church that is honoured far above all others is that of the Holy Resurrection, which Saint Constantine the Great constructed at the place of Golgotha, where our Saviour was crucified and buried. For a long time this place had been purposely buried beneath the earth by the Jews and heathen; furthermore, during the reign of Hadrian (117-138), a temple dedicated to Aphrodite was built over the site so that this sacred place might be even further desecrated and fall into utter oblivion. It was here that the Cross was hidden. However, at the command of the pious Emperor Constantine, excavations were made and the tokens of the saving Passion were found. It was here, then, that the very great and magnificent temple named in honour of Christ God's Resurrection-the Anastasis-was built under the supervision of the blessed Helen, while Dracilian was Eparch of Palestine and Macarius was Archbishop of Jerusalem. It was the latter, also, who exalted the venerable Cross and performed the consecration of this temple in the year 336.
Saint Cornelius was a Roman by race, a pagan by religion, a centurion in rank, an inhabitant of Caesarea of Palestine, a man pious and God-fearing who gave many alms to the people and prayed continually unto God. In accordance with an angelic vision granted to him, he sent to Joppa that they might bring the Apostle Peter. Saint Peter catechized him in the Faith of Christ and baptized all his household (Acts, ch.10). This became the beginning and the first fruits of the calling of the nations. It is said that, after this, he became a bishop, as some say, of Caesarea; but others say of Scepsis, which is not far from Troas; and that he died as a martyr.
Saint Helen, the mother of Saint Constantine the Great, when she was already advanced in years, undertook, in her great piety, the hardships of a journey to Jerusalem in search of the cross, about the year 325. A temple to Aphrodite had been raised up by the Emperor Hadrian upon Golgotha, to defile and cover with oblivion the place where the saving Passion had been suffered. The venerable Helen had the statue of Aphrodite destroyed, and the earth removed, revealing the Tomb of our Lord, and three crosses. Of these, it was believed that one must be that of our Lord, the other two of the thieves crucified with Him; but Saint Helen was at a loss which one might be the Wood of our salvation. At the inspiration of Saint Macarius, Archbishop of Jerusalem, a lady of Jerusalem, who was already at the point of death from a certain disease, was brought to touch the crosses, and as soon as she came near to the Cross of our Lord, she was made perfectly whole. Consequently, the precious Cross was lifted on high by Archbishop Macarius of Jerusalem; as he stood on the ambo, and when the people beheld it, they cried out, "Lord have mercy." It should be noted that after its discovery, a portion of the venerable Cross was taken to Constantinople as a blessing. The rest was left in Jerusalem in the magnificent church built by Saint Helen, until the year 614. At that time, the Persians plundered Palestine and took the Cross to their own country (see Jan. 22, Saint Anastasius the Persian). Late, in the year 628, Emperor Heraclius set out on a military campaign, retrieved the Cross, and after bringing it to Constantinople, himself escorted it back to Jerusalem, where he restored it to its place.
Rest from labour. A Fast is observed today, whatever day of the week it may be.
This Saint was of high birth among the Goths beyond the Danube River. He was taken by Athanaric, pagan ruler of the Goths, and after being tortured, was burned to death for his confession of Christ. According to some, this took place during the reign of Saint Constantine the Great; according to others, under the Emperor Gratian.