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Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
Publish Date: 2018-12-30
Bulletin Contents
Hymns of the Day
Saints and Feasts
Gospel and Epistle Readings
Parish News
Xmas
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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 2nd Tone

When the angelic powers appeared at Your grave, the soldiers guarding it feared and became as dead. And standing by the sepulcher was Mary who was seeking Your immaculate body. You devastated Hades, not afflicted by it. You went to meet the virgin, and granted eternal life. You resurrected from the dead. O Lord, glory to You. Ἀγγελικαὶ Δυνάμεις ἐπὶ τὸ μνῆμά σου, καὶ οἱ φυλάσσοντες ἀπενεκρώθησαν, καὶ ἵστατο Μαρία ἐν τῷ τάφῳ, ζητοῦσα τὸ ἄχραντόν σου σῶμα. Ἐσκύλευσας τὸν ᾍδην, μὴ πειρασθεὶς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ, ὑπήντησας τῇ Παρθένῳ, δωρούμενος τὴν ζωήν, ὁ ἀναστὰς ἐκ των νεκρῶν, Κύριε δόξα σοι.

Apolytikion for Afterfeast of the Nativity in the 4th Tone

Your nativity, O Christ our God, has caused the light of knowledge to rise upon the world. For therein the worshippers of the stars were by a star instructed to worship You, the Sun of Righteousness, and to know You as Orient from on high. Glory to You, O Lord. Ἡ Γέννησίς σου Χριστὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, ἀνέτειλε τῷ κόσμῳ τὸ φῶς τὸ τῆς γνώσεως· ἐν αὐτῇ γὰρ οἱ τοῖς ἄστροις λατρεύοντες, ὑπὸ ἀστέρος ἐδιδάσκοντο, σὲ προσκυνεῖν, τὸν Ἥλιον τῆς δικαιοσύνης, καὶ σὲ γινώσκειν ἐξ ὕψους ἀνατολήν. Κύριε δόξα σοι.

Apolytikion for Sun. after Nativity in the 2nd Tone

Annunciate the miracles to David the ancestor of God, O Joseph. You saw the Virgin pregnant. You glorified with the shepherds. You worshipped with the Magi. And you were warned by an Angel. Entreat Christ God to save our souls. Εὐαγγελίζου Ἰωσήφ, τῷ Δαυῒδ τὰ θαύματα τῷ Θεοπάτορι· Παρθένον εἶδες κυοφορήσασαν, μετὰ Μάγων προσεκύνησας, μετὰ Ποιμένων ἐδοξολόγησας, δι' Ἀγγέλου χρηματισθείς. Ἱκέτευε Χριστὸν τὸν Θεόν, σωθῆναι τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν.

Apolytikion for the Church in the 1st Tone

8th Tone

Blessed are You, O Christ our God; You made wise men of poor fishermen by sending down upon them Your Holy Spirit, and through them You caught the whole world, O Lover of mankind, glory to You.

Εύλογητός εἶ Χριστὲ ὁ Θεος ἡμῶν ὁ πανσόφους τοὺς ἁλιεῖς ἁναδείξας καταπέμψας αὐτοῖς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον καὶ δι᾽ αὐτῶν τῆν οἰκουμένην σαγηνεύσας φιλάνθρωπε δόξα Σοι.

Seasonal Kontakion in the 3rd Tone

On this day the Virgin gives birth to the Super-essential. To the Unapproachable, earth is providing the grotto. Angels sing and with the shepherds offer up glory. Following a star the Magi are still proceeding. He was born for our salvation, a newborn Child, the pre-eternal God. Ἡ Παρθένος σήμερον, τὸν ὑπερούσιον τίκτει, καὶ ἡ γῆ τὸ Σπήλαιον, τῷ ἀπροσίτῳ προσάγει. Ἄγγελοι μετὰ Ποιμένων δοξολογοῦσι. Μάγοι δὲ μετὰ ἀστέρος ὁδοιποροῦσι· δι' ἡμᾶς γὰρ ἐγεννήθη, Παιδίον νέον, ὁ πρὸ αἰώνων Θεός.
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Saints and Feasts

Xmas
December 30

Afterfeast of the Nativity

Nativity
December 30

Sunday after Nativity

On the Sunday that falls on or immediately after the twenty-sixth of this month, we make commemoration of Saints Joseph, the Betrothed of the Virgin; David, the Prophet and King; and James, the Brother of God. When there is no Sunday within this period, we celebrate this commemoration on the 26th.

Saint Joseph (whose name means "one who increases") was the son of Jacob, and the son-in-law - and hence, as it were, the son - of Eli (who was also called Eliakim or Joachim), who was the father of Mary the Virgin (Matt. 1:16; Luke 3:23). He was of the tribe of Judah, of the family of David, an inhabitant of Nazareth, a carpenter by Trade, and advanced in age when, by God's good will, he was betrothed to the Virgin, that he might minister to the great mystery of God's dispensation in the flesh by protecting her, providing for her, and being known as her husband so that she, being a virgin, would not suffer reproach when she was found to be with child. Joseph had been married before his betrothal to our Lady; they who are called Jesus' "brethren and sisters" (Matt. 13:55-56) are the children of Joseph by his first marriage. From Scripture, we know that Saint Joseph lived at least until the Twelfth year after the birth of Christ (Luke 2:41-52); according to the tradition of the Fathers, he reposed before the beginning of the public ministry of Christ.

The child of God and ancestor of God, David, the great Prophet after Moses, sprang from the tribe of Judah. He was the son of Jesse, and was born in Bethlehem (whence it is called the City of David), in the year 1085 before Christ. While yet a youth, at the command of God he was anointed secretly by the Prophet Samuel to be the second King of the Israelites, while Saul - who had already been deprived of divine grace - was yet living. In the thirtieth year of his life, when Saul had been slain in battle, David was raised to the dignity of King, first, by his own tribe, and then by all the Israelite people, and he reigned for forty years. Having lived seventy years, he reposed in 1015 before Christ, having proclaimed beforehand that his son Solomon was to be the successor to the throne.

The sacred history has recorded not only the grace of the Spirit that dwelt in him from his youth, his heroic exploits in war, and his great piety towards God, but also his transgressions and failings as a man. Yet his repentance was greater than his transgresssions, and his love for God fervent and exemplary; so highly did God honour this man, that when his son Solomon sinned, the Lord told him that He would not rend the kingdom in his lifetime "for David thy father's sake" (III Kings 12:12). Of The Kings of Israel, Jesus the Son of Sirach testifies, "All, except David and Hezekias and Josias, were defective" (Ecclus. 49:4). The name David means "beloved."

His melodious Psalter is the foundation of all the services of the Church; there is not one service that is not filled with Psalms and psalmic verses. It was the means whereby old Israel praised God, and was used by the Apostles and the Lord Himself. It is so imbued with the spirit of prayer that the monastic fathers of all ages have used it as their trainer and teacher for their inner life of converse with God. Besides eloquently portraying every state and emotion of the soul before her Maker, the Psalter is filled with prophecies of the coming of Christ. It foretells His Incarnation, "He bowed the heavens and came down" (Psalm 17:9), His Baptism in the Jordan, "The waters saw Thee, O God, The waters saw Thee and were afraid" (76:15), His Crucifixion in its details, "They have pierced My hands and My feet .... They have parted My garments amongst themselves, and for My vesture have they cast lots" (21:16, 18). "For My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink" (68:26), His descent into Hades, "For Thou wilt not abandon My soul in Hades, nor wilt Thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption" (15:10) and Resurrection, "Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered" (67:1). His Ascension, "God is gone up in jubilation" (46:5), and so forth.

As for James, the Brother of God, see October 23.

Allsaint
December 30

Anysia the Virgin-martyr of Thessaloniki

This Saint, who was from Thessalonica, was the daughter of pious and wealthy parents, After their death, she passed her life in virginity, serving God by means of good deeds. One day, as she was on her way to church, a pagan soldier approached her and asked her to accompany him to the temple of the idols, but she refused. When he began to drag her with him, she spit in his face and confessed Christ. Filled with anger, he thrust his sword into her side and slew her, in the year 299, during the reign of Maximian.

Because of the Apodosis of the Feast of the Nativity on the 31st of this month, the hymns of Saint Melania the Younger are transferred to this day.

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Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. 4th Tone. Psalm 67.35,26.
God is wonderful among his saints.
Verse: Bless God in the congregations.

The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians 1:11-19.

Brethren, I would have you know that the gospel which was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it; and I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother.

Gospel Reading

Sunday after Nativity
The Reading is from Matthew 2:13-23

When the wise men departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt have I called my son."

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they were no more." But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead." And he rose and took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaos reigned over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, "He shall be called a Nazarene."

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Parish News

A Word from Fr. John:

 

Some hymns from the Orthros service for Christmas Day, this past week:

Come, believers, let us see the place where Christ has been born.* With the Magi, those three kings who from the orient are,* now let us follow to where the star is proceeding.* Ceaselessly do angels sing praises there.* Shepherds in the field sing a worthy song,* saying: “Glory in the highest be to Him who* was born today in the grotto* from the Virgin and Theotokos,* in Bethlehem of Judea.”

____________

Mary, why are you amazed and awed by what was done in you?* And she answers, “For in time I have brought forth a timeless Son.* But I have no understanding of his conception.* Husbandless am I: how can I bear a son?* Who has ever seen seedless childbirth?* But where God wills, the order found in nature* is overcome, as it is written.”* So Christ was born from the Virgin Maiden,* in Bethlehem of Judea.

____________

He whom nothing can contain has been contained in a womb.* He is in the Father's bosom and his Mother's embrace.* How can this be, but as He knows and willed and was well pleased.* Fleshless as He was, He willingly took flesh.* And He Who Is became what He was not, for us.* And while departing not from his own nature,* He shared in our nature's substance.* So Christ  was born with dual natures,* wishing to replenish the world on high.

 

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.

 

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

  • Today, December 30th                            Coffee Only

 

Sunday School:Sunday School News: A huge thank you to the Philoptochos for their generosity and gifts.  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 Open & the Election is set for January 13th: Contact any Member of the Elections Committee: Gregory Alatas, Stephanie Burke, and Connie Gaitanis.  Absentee ballots will be available December 30th and due by January 13th.
  • Spirited Projection for a Full-Time Priest & Commitment Presented at the General Assembly: For the good of the community and for 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 the 35% increase of your commitment for 2019?
  • Sacrificial Offerings:  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 in observance of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

 

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