August 23
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
Publish Date: 2020-08-23
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:
- 2020-08-30
- Publish Date:
- 2020-08-16
- Publish Date:
- 2020-08-09
- Publish Date:
- 2020-08-02
- Publish Date:
- 2020-07-26
- Publish Date:
- 2020-07-19
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 Apodosis of the Dormition in the 1st Tone
You gave birth yet preserved your virginity. You fell asleep in death yet did not desert the world, O Theotokos. You were transported to life, as you are Mother of Life and, by virtue of your intercessions, deliver our souls from death.
Ἐν τῇ Γεννήσει, τὴν παρθενίαν ἐφύλαξας. Ἐν τῇ Κοιμήσει, τὸν κόσμον οὐ κατέλιπες Θεοτόκε. Μετέστης πρὸς τὴν ζωήν, Μήτηρ ὑπάρχουσα τῆς ζωῆς, καὶ ταῖς πρεσβείαις ταῖς σαῖς λυτρουμένη, ἐκ θανάτου τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν.
Seasonal Kontakion in the 2nd Tone
The Theotokos is undying in intercession. Immovable is our hope in her for protection. Neither death nor burial prevailed over her. As she is Mother of Life, she was removed to life by Him, the Lord who lived in her ever-virgin womb.
Τὴν ἐν πρεσβείαις ἀκοίμητον Θεοτόκον, καὶ προστασίαις ἀμετάθετον ἐλπίδα, τάφος καὶ νέκρωσις οὐκ ἐκράτησεν· ὡς γὰρ ζωῆς Μητέρα, πρὸς τὴν ζωὴν μετέστησεν, ὁ μήτραν οἰκήσας ἀειπάρθενον.
Saints and Feasts
August 23
Apodosis of the Dormition of our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary
Concerning the Dormition of the Theotokos, this is what the Church has received from ancient times from the tradition of the Fathers. When the time drew nigh that our Savior was well-pleased to take His Mother to Himself, He declared unto her through an Angel that three days hence, He would translate her from this temporal life to eternity and bliss. On hearing this, she went up with haste to the Mount of Olives, where she prayed continuously. Giving thanks to God, she returned to her house and prepared whatever was necessary for her burial. While these things were taking place, clouds caught up the Apostles from the ends of the earth, where each one happened to be preaching, and brought them at once to the house of the Mother of God, who informed them of the cause of their sudden gathering. As a mother, she consoled them in their affliction as was meet, and then raised her hands to Heaven and prayed for the peace of the world. She blessed the Apostles, and, reclining upon her bed with seemliness, gave up her all-holy spirit into the hands of her Son and God.
With reverence and many lights, and chanting burial hymns, the Apostles took up that God-receiving body and brought it to the sepulchre, while the Angels from Heaven chanted with them, and sent forth her who is higher than the Cherubim. But one Jew, moved by malice, audaciously stretched forth his hand upon the bed and immediately received from divine judgment the wages of his audacity. Those daring hands were severed by an invisible blow. But when he repented and asked forgiveness, his hands were restored. When they had reached the place called Gethsemane, they buried there with honor the all-immaculate body of the Theotokos, which was the source of Life. But on the third day after the burial, when they were eating together, and raised up the artos (bread) in Jesus' Name, as was their custom, the Theotokos appeared in the air, saying "Rejoice" to them. From this they learned concerning the bodily translation of the Theotokos into the Heavens.
These things has the Church received from the traditions of the Fathers, who have composed many hymns out of reverence, to the glory of the Mother of our God (see Oct. 3 and 4).
August 23
Our Holy Father Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons
The Holy Hieromartyr Irenaeus was born in Asia Minor about the year 120, and in his youth was a disciple of Saint Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna. Saint Irenaeus was sent to Lyons in Gaul, to be a fellow labourer of Pothinus, Bishop of Lyons (celebrated June 2), who had also been a disciple Saint Polycarp. After the martyrdom of Saint Pothinus, Saint Irenaeus succeeded him as Bishop of Lyons. Besides the assaults of paganism, Irenaeus found himself compelled to do battle with many Gnostic heresies, against which he wrote his greatest work, A Refutation and Overthrow of Knowledge Falsely So Called . He was also a peace-maker within the Church. When Victor, Bishop of Rome, was prepared to excommunicate the Christians of Asia Minor for following a different tradition celebrating Pascha, Irenaeus persuaded him to moderate his zeal, and mediated peace. He made Lyons an illustrious bastion of Orthodoxy and a school of piety, and sealed his confession with martyrdom about the year 202, during the reign of Septimius Severus. He is not to be confused with Saint Irenaeus, Bishop of Sirmium, also celebrated today, who was beheaded and cast into a river in 304 under Diocletian.
August 23
Our Holy Father Kallinikos, Patriarch of Constantinople
August 23
Lupus the Martyr
The Holy Martyr Lupus was a devoted servant of the holy Great Martyr Demetrius, and was present at his martyrdom. Later, when his own labours in confession of the Faith became known to the rulers, Saint Lupus himself was arrested, given over to torture, and finally beheaded for Christ.
August 23
Our Righteous Father Nicholas of Sikelion
August 23
38 Martyrs of Thrace
August 23
Our Holy Father Irenaeus, Bishop of Sirmium
August 23
Haralambos of Kalyviani
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 First Letter to the Corinthians 9:2-12.
Brethren, you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. This is my defense to those who would examine me. Do we not have the right to our food and drink? Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a wife, as the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? Do I say this on human authority? Does not the law say the same? For it is written in the law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain." Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of a share in the crop. If we have sown spiritual good among you, is it too much if we reap your material benefits? If others share this rightful claim upon you, do not we still more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.
Gospel Reading
11th Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from Matthew 18:23-35
The Lord said this parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat he said, 'Pay what you owe.' So his fellow servant fell down and besought him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me; and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his lord delivered him to the torturers, till he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."
Parish News
A Word from Fr. John:
What can one say of St. Irenaeus? A true giant among the Church’s saints! Here are a few quotes, from various parts of his writings, for our meditations:
“The business of the Christian is nothing else but to be ever preparing for death.”
“The preaching of the Church truly continues without change and is everywhere the same. It has the testimony of the prophets and apostles and all their disciples.”
“One should not seek among others the truth that can be easily gotten from the Church. For in her, as in a rich treasury, the apostles have placed all that pertains to truth, so that everyone can drink this beverage of life. She is the door of life.”
“As Eve was seduced by the word of an angel and so fled from God after disobeying His word, Mary in her turn was given the good news by the word of an angel, and bore God in obedience to His word. As Eve was seduced into disobedience to God, so Mary was persuaded into obedience to God; thus, the Virgin Mary became the advocate of the virgin Eve.”
“Through a tree we were made debtors to God; so through a tree we have our debt canceled.”
“Error, indeed, is never set forth in its naked deformity, lest, being thus exposed, it should at once be detected. But it is craftily decked out in an attractive dress, so as, by its outward form, to make it appear to the inexperienced more true than truth itself.” [Lord, have mercy! Some things never change. – Fr. John]
“But we do now receive a certain portion of His Spirit, tending towards perfection and preparing us for incorruption, being little by little accustomed to receive and bear God.”
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: Mary Spanos and Gail Jones, Chresanthe Lemieux, Zoe Kauttu, Maryann Bolt, James Day, Kostas Lantzounis, Fr. Nikitas and Pres. Mary Theodosion, His Grace Bishop Dimitrios of Xanthos, Margaret, James, Kyriake, Joseph, 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.
Liturgical Services:
Join us for services at HTGOC: https://www.facebook.com/HolyTrinityGOC/
We wish to remind you to let 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 at 904 829-0504, and let Nelda know your name, the names of those you plan to attend with, and your phone number. Please let her know by Thursday before 1 p.m. Again, this will help us prepare well and know what to expect, as well as avoid bottlenecks and other kinds of confusion.
In line with our bishop’s directives, we are still monitoring the temperature of each person entering the church, and we are still required to wear face coverings while we are in the church.
Parish Council Report:
We understand the void in our parish fellowship, and we are looking forward to being together again. A lot has been accomplished, including managing Covid-19 response at HTGOC, live-streaming services (https://www.facebook.com/HolyTrinityGOC/), receiving on-line donations, and we have re-opened our Church for Divine Services. We continue to follow the pre-scribed guidelines.
Treasurer’s Report
Bank Balances (as of July 31, 2020)
Operating account:
$30,513
Mortgage reduction account:
$6.285
Festival account:
$15,849
Mortgage Balance:
($937,031)
Reserves
Maintenance reserve:
$8,609
Full-time Clergy reserve:
$26,435
Profit & Loss (as of Jul 31, ‘20)
Revenue:
$14,539
Expense:
$12,903
Net:
$1,636
Stewardship Report
Although we are still in a period of uncertainty, it is vital for us to keep a positive, Christ-centered approach to our efforts. We ask you to partner and grow in Faith with us. Your stewardship commitment is vital to our efforts. We currently have 66 active Holy Trinity Steward families, with over $99,454 pledged. If you have not done so, please submit your stewardship commitment card. Stewardship payments can be made on-line (http://www.holytrinitygoc.com).
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.
Weekly Offering:
Sacrificial Offerings - August 16th – Candles $115; Tray $95; Stewardship $3712
2020 Stewardship – “Partner and Grow in Faith with Us”:
A primary goal of Christian Stewardship is spiritual growth. We become Stewards when we believe in God and begin to act on our beliefs. As Orthodox Christians, we acknowledge that every aspect of our life is a gift from Him.
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.
Sunday School News:
Holy Trinity Sunday School had its first VIRTUAL meeting on August 12th. For now, classes will be done on a weekly basis using Zoom. There are a lot of amazing online materials that the teachers will use, as well as standard textbooks. We ask that all parents make this a priority for their children as the success of this ministry relies on parents.
- PreK- K class (Lisa Colburn and Evangelia Brati) will meet via Zoom at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
- 1st – 8th grade class (Carman Gaetanos and Pres Renee Ritsi) will meet via Zoom on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
- High School class (Mary Righos and Kurt Mitman) will meet via Zoom according to availability.
Each group of teachers will be coordinating individually with their classes and setting times and sending Zoom links. If you have questions, please contact Pres Renee (904.377.2591) or Carman (904.540.0367 or carmgaet@gmail.com).
August 29th Parish Cleaning Day:
Mark your calendar for Parish Cleaning Day on Saturday August 29, 10am-12pm.
Update and Team name change - OCMC Virtual Trek4 Missions 2020:
The Trek4Mission continues to grow every day. Together, OCMC trekkers have completed 2,295.26 miles and raised $37,022.00. Our team has completed, raised $400 of our $2000 goal. Every step we make helps spread the Gospel message.
Did you know that the Apostles were the first Christian missionaries? The Holy Apostle St. Andrew, the First-Called, traveled to where the city of Kiev now stands in Ukraine. That's 2,262 miles from Jerusalem, where he began his ministry!
New team name is Holy Trinity GO Church - St. Augustine, FL. To support our team, pleass visit http://ocmc.convio.net/site/TR/Trek4Missions/General?team_id=1080&pg=team&fr_id=1080. If you would like to join, use the team password 29HTgoc40. Questions? Contact Lisa Colburn at 904-293-8654 or lisa@thecolburns.us
Help us share the faith!
October 9th – 10th Greek Fest 2020 at HTGOC
The 23rd Annual St. Augustine Greek Festival will be at our Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church! Your Greek favorites –Lamb, Moussaka, Gyro, Dolmathes, Baklava and more – will be available for pick-up and drive-thru on Fri. October 9th & Sat. October 10th. A new Greek Fest website will allow you to reserve your favorite dishes by placing your order online.
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
December 6th, 2020 (tentatively) 4-7 p.m., Christmas Open House at St. Photios National Shrine:
On behalf of Shrine Hierarchal Proistamenos, Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos, you are invited to be part of the Christmas Open House Committee and to add this Shrine event to your calendar. And to consider ways in which you and organizations from your communities can assist in bringing our religious (St. Nicholas Day!) and cultural (Christmas customs!) to witness in 2020. Praying you all remain safe and that you will pray for me as well, Polly Hillier, St Photios
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:
The deadline for Church bulletin e-mail articles is before 1 p.m. on Wednesday weekly. If you have a request for a special service (memorial, etc.) please email the church office at holy3goc@gmail.com in advance of requested date with details. Thank you!