June 28
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
Publish Date: 2020-06-28
Bulletin Contents
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
General Information
- Phone:
- (904)-829-0504
- Fax:
- (904)829-0507
- Email:
- HOLY3GOC@gmail.com
- Street Address:
- 2940 CR-214
- St. Augustine, FL 32084-2718
Contact Information
Services Schedule
Sunday Orthros 9:00am Divine Liturgy 10:00am Fr. John Hays, Interim Priest
Past Bulletins
- Publish Date:
- 2020-06-21
- Publish Date:
- 2020-06-14
- Publish Date:
- 2020-06-07
- Publish Date:
- 2020-05-31
- Publish Date:
- 2020-05-24
- Publish Date:
- 2020-05-17
Hymns of the Day
Resurrectional Apolytikion in the 2nd Tone
When You descended unto death, O Lord who yourself are immortal Life, then did You mortify Hades by the lightning flash of Your Divinity. Also when You raised the dead from the netherworld, all the Powers of the heavens were crying out: O Giver of life, Christ our God, glory to You.
Ὅτε κατῆλθες πρὸς τὸν θάνατον, ἡ Ζωὴ ἡ ἀθάνατος, τότε τὸν ᾍδην ἐνέκρωσας τῇ ἀστραπῇ τῆς Θεότητος, ὅτε δὲ καὶ τοὺς τεθνεῶτας ἐκ τῶν καταχθονίων ἀνέστησας, πᾶσαι αἱ Δυνάμεις τῶν ἐπουρανίων ἐκραύγαζον· Ζωοδότα Χριστὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν δόξα σοι.
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 2nd Tone
O Protection of Christians that never falls, intercession with the Creator that never fails, we sinners beg you, do not ignore the voices of our prayers. O good Lady, we implore you, quickly come unto our aid, when we cry out to you with faith. Hurry to intercession, and hasten to supplication, O Theotokos who protect now and ever those who honor you.Προστασία τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἀκαταίσχυντε, μεσιτεία, πρὸς τὸν Ποιητὴν ἀμετάθετε, μὴ παρίδῃς, ἁμαρτωλῶν δεήσεων φωνάς, ἀλλὰ πρόφθασον, ὡς ἀγαθή, εἰς τὴν βοήθειαν ἡμῶν, τῶν πιστῶς κραυγαζόντων σοι· Τάχυνον εἰς πρεσβείαν, καὶ σπεῦσον εἰς ἱκεσίαν, ἡ προστατεύουσα ἀεί, Θεοτόκε, τῶν τιμώντων σε.
Saints and Feasts
June 28
Finding of the Relics of Cyrus and 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.
June 28
Pappias the Martyr
June 28
Righteous Fathers Sergius and Herman, Founders of Valaam Monastery
By their life and teachings, our righteous Fathers Sergius and Herman did much to spread and confirm Orthodoxy among the Karelian Finns, who had suffered much oppression at the hands of Swedes of the Latin creed. They founded on Lake Ladoga the renowned Monastery of Valaam, which later became one of the chief centers of the monastic life. Both Saints reposed about 1353.
June 28
Synaxis of the Icon of our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos
The great defender of the Orthodox Faith against the Iconoclasts, our righteous Father John of Damascus (See Dec. 4), was slandered to the Caliph of Damascus by the Iconoclast Emperor Leo the Isaurian (reigned 717-741). Saint John was accused of sedition and his right hand was cut off. Having asked for the severed hand, Saint John passed the night in great pain, praying for the aid of the most holy Theotokos. Awaking from sleep, he found that his hand had been miraculously restored, with only a red scar about the wrist where it had been severed, as a testimony to the wonderous healing. In thanksgiving, he had a silver hand attached to the icon to commemorate this great miracle. On becoming a monk in the lavra of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified in the Holy Land, John brought the icon with him. There it remained until the thirteenth century, when it was given to Saint Sabbas of Serbia (see Jan. 14), who brought it to Serbia, where it remained for a time. Later, it was miraculously transported by an unguided donkey that carried it to the Serbian Monastery of Hilandar on the Holy Mountain, Athos, where it remains to this day.
June 28
Paul the Physician of Corinth
June 28
Sergios the Magister
Gospel and Epistle Readings
Epistle Reading
Prokeimenon. 2nd Tone. Psalm 117.14,18.
The Lord is my strength and my song.
Verse: The Lord has chastened me sorely.
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Romans 5:1-10.
Brethren, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access by faith to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man -- though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
Gospel Reading
3rd Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from Matthew 6:22-33
The Lord said, "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well."
Parish News
A Word from Fr. John:
Just as the soul and the body are made for each other and cannot truly be thought of separately, so we should not carelessly fall into the trap of separating the outward “forms” of our Tradition (what you might call its “body”) from the inner attitude and mindset that animates them (what you might call the “soul” of Tradition). To try to be an Orthodox Christian apart from the outward, traditional forms of worship and so forth is meaningless and impossible, as is trying to be an Orthodox Christian merely by clinging to and “doing” these outward forms apart from the internal focus and dedication they require.
As Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos (Church of Greece) puts it so much more profoundly in his book The Illness and Cure of the Soul in the Orthodox Tradition:
“... there is a trend nowadays to chant in a Byzantine way, to make icons in a Byzantine manner, to build churches according to Byzantine architecture, etc. This is good. Yet it must be done in parallel with the effort to find and use the therapeutic treatment of the Church. For liturgical arts and the entire teaching of the Church are the expression of this inner life.
In other words, liturgical art was developed by sanctified people who had personal experience of the stages of spiritual perfection. In their attempt to create art, they infused into their art the experiences they had. The iconographer passed down in the Byzantine icon the therapeutic method and the way in which man reaches divinization; he even imparted the state of divinization itself. When he paints the Saint in glory, he also renders the transfiguration of the human body. The same thing applies to the sacred hymns, the church building, the chanting.
... I think that the revival of the liturgical arts which do not express and do not lead to purification, illumination, and divinization [or theosis – Fr. John] is not Orthodox, despite its external conformity. It is just a culture of the tradition and of art.”
Special Prayer Requests:
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7)
We pray for mercy, life, peace, and healing of all parishioners, especially: Vasso Poulos, Uncle Pike, Chresanthe Lemieux, Zoe Kauttu, Maryann Volt, James Day, His Grace Bishop Dimitrios of Xanthos, Augustina, Margaret, James, Kyriake, Mike and Ingrid (Evangelia) Fotianos, Irene Hastalis, Jane Anderson. Remember also our missionary families: Fr. Stephanos, Pr. Alexandria, Moses & Athan Ritsi serving in Albania; and Michael, Lisa & Liam Colburn.
Memory Eternal for Augustina, the mother of Margot Vafides, who fell asleep in the Lord exactly one week ago. May Augustina’s memory be eternal! Please pray for Margot and her family during this time of loss and mourning.
Liturgical Issues:
We are continuing to “re-open” the parish for a fuller, more normal parish worship practice. We continue to follow the guidelines established by His Eminence and communicated via the bulletin and email. Here again are some of the key points:
- One important part of this process involves you letting us know if you plan to attend the Divine Liturgy, so that we can keep things running smoothly at the church while signing folks in and taking temperatures. This will help us keep the focus on worshipping God as much as possible. Therefore, please contact the church office via email - holy3goc@gmail.com - preferably with the subject line "I want to attend" - or by phone, and let Nelda know your name, the names of those you plan to attend with, and your phone number. Please let her know by Friday before noon. Again, this will help us prepare well and know what to expect, as well as avoid bottlenecks and other kinds of confusion.
2020 Stewardship – “Partner and Grow in Faith with Us”
At Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church we believe that all we have has been entrusted to us by God. Our response to God's generosity and gifts is to care for and support God's work in the world through the stewardship of our lives. How we use our time, the gifts of our hands and hearts and the treasure of our lives, matters. Being a good steward is as simple as that.
On-Line Giving:
- The Parish Council has added a link “Make a Donation” on our Church’s web page www.HolyTrinityGOC.com for on-line giving.
This is a secure way to give to your Church. Giving categories have been set up to allow giving to specific funds within the Church – for instance, Stewardship, Easter, Memorials, etc. You can give via credit card, Paypal and you also have the ability to set up recurrent giving. Of course, you can also set up recurrent giving through your bank if you wish. Please be sure that a specific notation (ex: stewardship) is included for each transaction.
- We have also added a link for our new “Light a Candle & Say a Prayer” ministry.
This new service allows us to light a candle during our divine services on-line.
Your request will be forwarded to the Parish Council in the narthex during the service and they will pray for you and light your candle. Also, if you wish to provide names of loved ones to be prayed for, those will be provided to Fr. John as well.
Giving by Check:
Each time you contribute funds to the parish by check, the notation on the memo line of your check allows us to identify your intentions: Stewardship, Candles, Trays, Memorials, etc.
Wednesday Night Adult Bible Study:
The adult Bible Study of the Gospel of John occurs each Wednesday from 8 to 9 PM online through Zoom. The meeting can be accessed by going to https://theColburns.us and clicking on the menu item that says “Online”. You can also see what verses will be studied each Sunday so you can read them ahead of time.
Contact Information:
The parish council has been making phone calls to every parishioner for which we have such contact information. If you have not received a phone call, please call (904 829-0504) or email (holy3goc@gmail.com) the office and give Nelda your phone number – we will happily check in on you. Also, if you know of anyone who doesn’t receive our emails but would like to, please encourage them to let Nelda at holy3goc@gmail.com know their contact information so we can update our records and keep them informed.
Reminder: Deadline for Church bulletin e-mail articles is by Wednesday weekly. Thank you.
Save the Date! - October 9-11, 2020
HOLY TRINITY GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH 23RD ANNUAL GREEK FESTIVAL
If you are interested in volunteering to help plan this year’s festival, please reach out to Mikae Gaetanos <mickgae@aol.com>, Nick Lekas <nslekas@gmail.com> or any Parish Council member. There is a lot of planning that goes into making our festival successful each year and we need everyone to get involved. If you have any ideas or a passion for planning, cooking, fellowship, outreach and community involvement, please join us.
www. Stauggreekfest.com
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