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Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
Publish Date: 2018-12-23
Bulletin Contents
Hymns of the Day
Saints and Feasts
Gospel and Epistle Readings
Parish News
Tencrete
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Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church

General Information

  • Phone:
  • (904)-829-0504
  • Fax:
  • (904)829-0507
  • Street Address:

  • 2940 CR-214

  • St. Augustine, FL 32084-2718

Contact Information

Ms. Nelda Hann


holy3goc@gmail.com | 9048290504

Services Schedule

Sunday Orthros 9:00am Divine Liturgy 10:00am    Fr. John Hays, Interim Priest

Past Bulletins


Hymns of the Day

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Plagal 1st Tone

Let us worship the Word who is unoriginate with the Father and the Spirit, and from a Virgin was born for our salvation, O believers, and let us sing His praise. For in His goodness He was pleased to ascend the Cross in the flesh, and to undergo death, and to raise up those who had died, by His glorious Resurrection. Τὸν συνάναρχον Λόγον Πατρὶ καὶ Πνεύματι, τὸν ἐκ Παρθένου τεχθέντα εἰς σωτηρίαν ἡμῶν, ἀνυμνήσωμεν πιστοὶ καὶ προσκυνήσωμεν, ὅτι ηὐδόκησε σαρκί, ἀνελθεῖν ἐν τῷ Σταυρῷ, καὶ θάνατον ὑπομεῖναι, καὶ ἐγεῖραι τοὺς τεθνεῶτας, ἐν τῇ ἐνδόξῳ Ἀναστάσει αὐτοῦ.

Apolytikion for Forefeast of the Nativity in the 4th Tone

O Bethlehem, prepare, Eden is opened unto all. And be ready, Ephrata, for the Tree of life has in the grotto blossomed forth from the Virgin. Indeed her womb is shown to be spiritually a Paradise, in which is found the God-planted Tree. And if we eat from it we shall live, and shall not die, as did Adam of old. Christ is born, so that He might raise up the formerly fallen image. Ἑτοιμάζου Βηθλεέμ, ἤνοικται πᾶσιν ἡ Ἐδέμ. Εὐτρεπίζου Ἐφραθᾶ, ὅτι τὸ ξύλον τῆς ζωῆς, ἐν τῷ Σπηλαίῳ ἐξήνθησεν ἐκ τῆς Παρθένου. Παράδεισος καὶ γάρ, ἡ ἐκείνης γαστήρ, ἐδείχθη νοητός, ἐν ᾧ τὸ θεῖον φυτόν, ἐξ οὗ φαγόντες ζήσομεν, οὐχὶ δὲ ὡς ὁ Ἀδὰμ τεθνηξόμεθα. Χριστὸς γεννᾶται, τὴν πρὶν πεσοῦσαν, ἀναστήσων εἰκόνα

Apolytikion for Sun. before Nativity in the 2nd Tone

Magnificent are the accomplishments of faith! The holy Three Servants greatly rejoiced, as they stood in the fountain of fire, as if beside the still waters; and the Prophet Daniel appeared to be a shepherd of lions, as if they were sheep. At their entreaties, O Christ God, save our souls. Μεγάλα τὰ τῆς πίστεως κατορθώματα! Ἐν τῇ πηγῇ τῆς φλογός, ὡς ἐπὶ ὕδατος ἀναπαύσεως, οἱ ἅγιοι Τρεῖς Παῖδες ἠγάλλοντο, καὶ ὁ προφήτης Δανιήλ, λεόντων ποιμήν, ὡς προβάτων ἐδείκνυτο. Ταῖς αὐτῶν ἱκεσίαις Χριστὲ ὁ Θεός, σῶσον τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν.

Seasonal Kontakion in the 3rd Tone

On this day the Virgin Maid goes to the grotto to give birth to the pre-eternal Word in an ineffable manner. Dance for joy, all the inhabited earth, on hearing. Glorify along with Angels and with the shepherds Him who willed that He appear as a newborn Child, the pre-eternal God. Ἡ Παρθένος σήμερον, τὸν προαιώνιον Λόγον, ἐν Σπηλαίῳ ἔρχεται, ἀποτεκεῖν ἀπορρήτως. Χόρευε ἡ οἰκουμένη ἀκουτισθεῖσα, δόξασον μετὰ Ἀγγέλων καὶ τῶν Ποιμένων, βουληθέντα ἐποφθῆναι, Παιδίον νέον, τὸν πρὸ αἰώνων Θεόν.
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Saints and Feasts

Tencrete
December 23

Ten Martyrs of Crete

These Saints, who were all from Crete, contested for piety's sake during the reign of Decius, in the year 250. Theodulus, Saturninus, Euporus, Gelasius, and Eunician were from Gortynia, the capital; Zoticus was from Knossos; Agathopus, from the port city of Panormus; Basilides, from Cydonia; Evarestus and Pompey, from Heraklion. Haled before the Governor as Christians, they were subjected to torments for thirty days, being scourged, racked, dragged upon the ground through dung heaps, stoned, spit upon. They were questioned again, but their costancy roused the Governor to greater fury. After subjecting them to torments more bitter still, he had them beheaded.

Treejesse
December 23

Sunday before Nativity

On the Sunday that occurs on or immediately after the eighteenth of this month, we celebrate all those who from ages past have been well-pleasing to God, beginning from Adam even unto Joseph the Betrothed of the Most Holy Theotokos, according to genealogy, as the Evangelist Luke hath recorded historically (Luke 3:23-38); we also commemorate the Prophets and Prophetesses, and especially the Prophet Daniel and the Holy Three Children.

Allsaint
December 23

Paul, Archbishop of Neo-Caesarea

Allsaint
December 23

Forefeast of the Nativity of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ

Allsaint
December 23

Rememberance of the Founding of the Holy and Great Church of Christ, Hagia Sophia in Constantinople

Nahumochrid
December 23

Naoum the Illuminator of The Bulgarians

Allsaint
December 23

Nicholas & John the New Martyrs

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Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. 4th Tone. Daniel 3.26,27.
Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers.
Verse: For you are just in all you have done.

The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 11:9-10; 32-40.

BRETHREN, by faith Abraham sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city which has foundation, whose builder and maker is God.

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets - who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, received promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and scourging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were killed with the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated - of whom the world was not worthy - wandering over deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

And all these, though well attested by their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had foreseen something better for us,that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Gospel Reading

Sunday before Nativity
The Reading is from Matthew 1:1-25

The book of the Genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, and Aram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa, and Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.

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Parish News

A Word from Fr. John:

 

Again, from St. Athanasius the Great, On the Incarnation:

 

“Here, then, Macarius, is our offering to you who love Christ, a brief statement of the faith of Christ and of the manifestation of his Godhead to us. This will give you a beginning, and you must go on to prove its truth by the study of the Scriptures....

 

From the Scriptures you will learn also of his second manifestation to us, glorious and divine indeed, when He shall come not in lowliness but in his proper glory, no longer in humiliation but in majesty, no longer to suffer but to bestow on us all the fruit of his cross – the resurrection and incorruptibility. No longer will He then be judged, but rather will Himself be the Judge, judging each and all according to their deeds done in the body, whether good or ill....

 

One cannot possibly understand the teaching of the saints unless one has a pure mind and is trying to imitate their life. Anyone who wants to look at sunlight naturally wipes his eye clear first, in order to make, at any rate, some approximation to the purity of that on which he looks; and a person wishing to see a city or country goes to the place in order to do so. Similarly, anyone who wishes to understand the mind of the sacred writers must first cleanse his own life and approach the saints by copying their deeds. Thus united to them in the fellowship of life, he will both understand the things revealed to them by God and... will receive that which is laid up for the saints in the Kingdom of Heaven.”             – Chapter 9

 

Special Prayer Requests: We pray for mercy, life, peace, and healing for families needing/seeking assistance in this season, Mike Chelikas, Irene Hastalis, Jim Manos, Chresanthe Lemieux, Jane Anderson, Betty & Fred Day, Despina Xynidis, George P. Nichols, and for their families; for continued growth of the parish family and for those The Lord receives, serves, and sends through Her lifesaving ministry, especially our two missionary families: Dn. Stephanos, Dka. Alexandria & Moses Ritsi serving Albania; and Michael Lisa & Liam Colburn serving translators worldwide. 

 

Call and Notify the Church in Times of Need:When challenging times come upon us and especially in times of illness, hospitalization, emergency, and need for intercession, be sure to call and notify Father John through the Church office.  Please e-mail prayer requests and updates to holy3goc@gmail.com. Enter into your phones the 24-hour emergency number on the Church voicemail: (602) 617-2467.

 

Visiting the Church Outside of Office Hours:  Though at this time we do not have volunteers coordinated to assist in receiving visitors to the Church outside of Office Hours (M-F 9am-1pm), we hope to always welcome parishioners and the many visiting out-of-towners to the best of our ability. Please call the office to arrange a visit.

 

Nativity Services:

     Christmas Eve, Monday, December 24th:         Vespers with Divine Liturgy of St. Basil @ 6 p.m.

     Christmas Day, Tuesday, December 25th:        Orthros and Divine Liturgy @ 9 a.m.

 

Christmas Caroling: Calling all parishioners to share this blessed seasonal joy!  Help us put your open door on the map for a brief, spirited visitation at your doorstep & welcoming parishioners nearby from Sunday, December 23rd through Epiphany Day, January 6th!  Whether living downtown, on the island, South US 1, World Golf Village, Ponte Vedra, or Palm Coast, call or send an e-mail to the office as we’d love to coordinate a schedule in your local area!  Call or check out the Church facebook page (Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of St. Augustine) for updates.

 

Hostess Schedule:Carman Gaetanos (904) 540-0367 or carmgaet@gmail.com

  • Today, December 23rd                Coffee Only
  • December 30th                          Coffee Only

 

Sunday School:Sunday School News: A huge thank you to the Philoptochos for their generosity and gifts, last Sunday, which brought such joy to our youth. Another huge thank you to all the teachers and kids whose efforts made the pageant such a wonderful moment in the life of our parish.

 

Parish Council Announcements:

  • Parish Council Nominations are Now Open & the Election is set for January 13th: Gregory Alatas, Stephanie Burke, and Connie Gaitanis are Members of the Elections Committee. Absentee Ballots will be available December 30th & due by January 13th
  • Spirited Projection for a Full-Time Priest & Commitment Presented at the General Assembly: For the good of the community, for our own families, and for our salvation, parish council members unanimously agreed to work toward raising up support for a full-time priest and projected a 2019 budget inclusive of a 35% priest salary increase.  Members pledged publicly to increase their own. 2019 Stewardship 35%.  Prayerful, sacrificial offering has made possible the growth of this parish and our good stewarding will continue that spirit.  Let us also match the spirit of generosity of the late Charles Maragon, recent benefactor of this community whose estate value brought the mortgage under a million dollars. Might you consider matching or growing toward increasing your commitment for 2019?
  • Weekly Offering: Sunday, December 16th- Candles $206; Tray $33; Stewardship $2537

Continue offering as generously as possible in support of the Church and Her ministries. Together, we ensure the care, administration, and open doors to all who seek Her comfort. Combined with our prayerful presence and intentional involvement, our weekly offerings continue making possible a growing vitality and sustainability of our parish. The weekly collection basket is in the Narthex on your way into the hall to join in fellowship.

 

Stewardship:

  • 2019

"Stewards of the Faith"

"All things are possible to the one who believes in Christ"

If you have not received a 2019 Stewardship commitment card, please contact the church office.

  • 2018 

We are nearing the $121,330 pledged amount for this year.  Your commitment sustains both our spiritual and practical needs.  Thank you for sharing your blessings with this parish!

 

Donations for AOMH Pantry:  One of the charities supported by our Philoptochos is the Alpha Omega Miracle Home, which "provides housing, counseling and education for the new faces of homelessness - single mothers, their children and senior women" . (AOMH.org)

These young mothers are offered an opportunity to work toward independence by improving their education and job skills. A pantry is available to assist them with meal times.  There is bin in the church hall for your donations of items for their pantry.  

  • Canned fruits, vegetables, soups
  • Pancake mix, syrup, cereal, granola bars
  • Pastas, noodles & sauces
  • Peanut butter & jelly
  • Easy rice/quinoa box mixes
  • Crackers, lunch box snacks, 100% apple juice boxes
  • (Also helpful: simple recipes)

Sometimes all it takes is a simple act of caring to make a difference.

 

Bulletin Submission:Please submit your articles weekly by Wednesday, or at the latest, Thursday. Please note that all submissions will be reviewed and edited by Father John.  Special Note:  Office will be closed on Dec 24th and 25th.

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