Sunday & Weekday Divine Services
9:00am - Orthros and Divine Liturgy
Sixth Orthros Gospel
The Reading is from Luke 24:36-53
At that time, Jesus, having risen from the dead, stood in the midst of his disciples and said to them, "Peace to you." But they were startled and frightened, and supposed that they saw a spirit. And he said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts? See my hands and feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have." And when he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.
Then he said to them, "These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled. Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high."
Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.
Prokeimenon. Plagal First Mode. Psalm 11.7,1.
You, O Lord, shall keep us and preserve us.
Verse: Save me, O Lord, for the godly man has failed.
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Romans 12:6-14.
Brethren, having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching; he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who contributes, in liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
6th Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from Matthew 9:1-8
At that time, getting into a boat Jesus crossed over and came to his own city. And behold, they brought to him a paralytic, lying on his bed; and when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven." And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming." But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say 'Rise and walk?' But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" he then said to the paralytic -- "Rise, take up your bed and go home." And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
Ρω 12:6-14
Ἀδελφοί, ἔχοντες χαρίσματα κατὰ τὴν χάριν τὴν δοθεῖσαν ἡμῖν διάφορα͵ εἴτε προφητείαν κατὰ τὴν ἀναλογίαν τῆς πίστεως͵ εἴτε διακονίαν ἐν τῇ διακονίᾳ͵ εἴτε ὁ διδάσκων ἐν τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ͵ εἴτε ὁ παρακαλῶν ἐν τῇ παρακλήσει͵ ὁ μεταδιδοὺς ἐν ἁπλότητι͵ ὁ προϊστάμενος ἐν σπουδῇ͵ ὁ ἐλεῶν ἐν ἱλαρότητι. Ἡ ἀγάπη ἀνυπόκριτος. ἀποστυγοῦντες τὸ πονηρόν͵ κολλώμενοι τῷ ἀγαθῷ· τῇ φιλαδελφίᾳ εἰς ἀλλήλους φιλόστοργοι͵ τῇ τιμῇ ἀλλήλους προηγούμενοι͵ τῇ σπουδῇ μὴ ὀκνηροί͵ τῷ πνεύματι ζέοντες͵ τῷ κυρίῳ δουλεύοντες͵ τῇ ἐλπίδι χαίροντες͵ τῇ θλίψει ὑπομένοντες͵ τῇ προσευχῇ προσκαρτεροῦντες͵ ταῖς χρείαις τῶν ἁγίων κοινωνοῦντες͵ τὴν φιλοξενίαν διώκοντες. Εὐλογεῖτε τοὺς διώκοντας͵ εὐλογεῖτε καὶ μὴ καταρᾶσθε.
Ματ θʹ 1 - 8
Τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ ἐμβὰς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἰς πλοῖον διεπέρασεν καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν πόλιν. Καὶ ἰδοὺ προσέφερον αὐτῷ παραλυτικὸν ἐπὶ κλίνης βεβλημένον. καὶ ἰδὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὴν πίστιν αὐτῶν εἶπεν τῷ παραλυτικῷ· Θάρσει, τέκνον· ἀφέωνταί σοι αἱ ἁμαρτίαι σου. καὶ ἰδού τινες τῶν γραμματέων εἶπον ἐν ἑαυτοῖς· Οὗτος βλασφημεῖ. καὶ εἰδὼς ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὰς ἐνθυμήσεις αὐτῶν εἶπεν· Ἵνα τί ὑμεῖς ἐνθυμεῖσθε πονηρὰ ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν; τί γάρ ἐστιν εὐκοπώτερον, εἰπεῖν, ἀφέωνταί σου αἱ ἁμαρτίαι, ἢ εἰπεῖν, ἔγειρε καὶ περιπάτει; ἵνα δὲ εἰδῆτε ὅτι ἐξουσίαν ἔχει ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας – τότε λέγει τῷ παραλυτικῷ· Ἐγερθεὶς ἆρόν σου τὴν κλίνην καὶ ὕπαγε εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου. καὶ ἐγερθεὶς ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ. ἰδόντες δὲ οἱ ὄχλοι ἐθαύμασαν καὶ ἐδόξασαν τὸν Θεὸν τὸν δόντα ἐξουσίαν τοιαύτην τοῖς ἀνθρώποις.
Kimisis tis Theotokou
My beloved in the Lord:
Let us reflect on experiencing the comfort of the most Holy Theotokos. Throughout the ages the role of the mother has played an integral aspect in the formulation of the families and of the nations. We all know firsthand the comfort a distressed child finds in the arms of a nurturing mother. It seems there is a mystical touch where the hurts, the fears and pain diminishes. Unfortunately, we live in a society today where many young children do not experience the mother-child bond. The mother may be absent, be it physically and/or emotionally, leaving a vacuum in the life of the child to experience that intimate relationship.
The Holy Church in her wisdom knows firsthand the importance of the mother-child role and has taught and preserved for us for 2,021 years the reality of the maternal nurturing of the Panagia, the most Holy Theotokos or the Mother of God. She is called Panagia because she is all holy. The name Theotokos, a Greek compound word, refers to her role, the birth-giver of God.
Moreover, we see even more deeply and personally that the Panagia is our spiritual mother. She is there to nurture us when we fail spiritually. The hymns of the Paraklesis Service, which is chanted during the first fifteen days of August, as well as in times of trials and tribulations, is filled with the pleas of a child crying to a mother to soothe and take away the ills and pains that besiege one. In turn, it is the Panagia who also prays that God will come to the aid of those tormented spiritually and physically. Let us, therefore, look at a few of the hymns from the Paraklesis Service and experience the richness of their meaning by allowing them to speak to us during the Fast of the Dormition of the most Holy Theotokos.
The First Ode of the Paraklesis, which is very rarely chanted, is a reminder that we are pilgrims in our spiritual quest. We, like the Israelites, are fleeing from the wrath and evil of Satan. And, miraculously, God always provides an escape for us as He did when He parted the Red Sea. Thus, we begin our spiritual journey praying and acknowledging that God is our redeemer and benefactor of our souls and bodies.
Crossing the waters as on dry land, in that way escaping from the evils of Egypt’s land,
The Israelites cried out exclaiming: Let us sing to our Redeemer and our God.
We see firsthand in the various hymns of the Paraklesis the lament of the entire person, the mind, the body and the spirit. They are filled with the themes of despondency, illness of the body and of the soul, spiritual afflictions and grievous temptations. Nevertheless, at the same time acknowledging that it is the Panagia who is our refuge, the sheltered port, the staff of the faithful.
I beseech thee, O Virgin,
do thou dispel far from me all of the distress of despair and turbulence in my soul;
for thou, O Bride of God, hast given birth to the Lord Christ, Who is the Prince of peace,
O thou only all-blameless one.
The Orthodox Study Bible shares this insight regarding the Panagia: “We entreat her, as the human being who was most intimate with Christ on earth, to intercede with her Son on our behalf. We ask her, as the first believer and the mother of the Church, for guidance and protection. We venerate her – but we do not worship her, for worship belongs to God alone.”
The Sixth Ode of the Paraklesis shares with us our calling as Orthodox Christians to call out to the Lord, confessing our sins, pains and dilemmas, asking Him to lift the heaviness and rescue us as He did Jonah from the belly of the whale.
My petition I pour out to the Lord, and to Him I will confess all my sorrows;
for many woes fill my soul to its limits.
And unto Hades my life has now approached, like Jonah, I pray You.
O God, now raise me from corruption.
Thus, we see in the hymns of the Paraklesis to the Holy Theotokos that we are invoking our prayers to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to come to our aid. We are asking the Panagia, the Mother of God, to help us in our endeavor. After all our Lord has reminded us, “Where two or three are gathered I am there.” Therefore, we experience firsthand this presence of God in the Paraklesis.
Preserve and save, O Theotokos, thy servants from every danger,
after God do all of us for refuge flee unto thee; a firm rampart art thou, our protection.
Along with the Paraklesis Service, let us experience the Fast of the Kimisis of the Holy Theotokos through focusing our eyes upon Her Holy Icon. Please look reverently upon an icon of the Panagia and through Her icon reflect thusly:
Praying that the comfort and prayers of the most Holy Theotokos be with you, I humbly remain,
With paternal love and blessings in the Lord,
Protopresbyter Panagiotis
Sunday, August 1st - 9:00am Orthros & Divine Liturgy (6th Sunday of Matthew)
Monday, August 2nd - 7:00pm Paraklesis
Tuesday, August 3rd - 7:00pm Paraklesis
Wednesday, August 4th - 7:00pm Paraklesis
Thursday, August 5th - 7:00pm Great Vespers for the Forefeast of the Transfiguration of our Lord
Friday, August 6th - 9:00am Orthros & Divine Liturgy (Transfiguration of our Lord)
Sunday, August 8th - 9:00am Orthros & Divine Liturgy (7th Sunday of Matthew)
Monday, August 9th - 7:00pm Paraklesis
Tuesday, August 10th - 6:00pm Paraklesis
Wednesday, August 11th - 7:00pm Paraklesis
Thursday, August 12th - 7:00pm Paraklesis
Friday, August 13th - 7:00pm Paraklesis
Saturday, August 14th - 7:00pm Great Vespers for the Forefeast of the Kimisis Tis Theotokou
Sunday, August 15th - 9:00am Orthros & Divine Liturgy (Kimisis Tis Theotokou)
Sunday, August 22nd - 9:00am Orthros & Divine Liturgy (9th Sunday of Matthew)
Sunday, August 29th - 9:00am Orthros & Divine Liturgy (Beheading of St. John the Baptist)
The Mystery of Holy Confession
Church's Social Calendar
August 10th - 7:30pm Parish Council meeting
August 19th thru 22nd - Annual Greek Festival
Because of the many diseases that occur in the month of August, the custom prevailed of old in Constantinople to carry the precious Wood of the Cross in procession throughout the city for its sanctification and its deliverance from illnesses. It was brought forth from the imperial treasury on the last day of July and placed upon the Holy Table of the Great Church of the Holy Wisdom; and beginning today, until the Dormition of the Theotokos, it was carried in procession throughout the city and was set forth for veneration before the people.
The names of the Holy Maccabees are Abim, Anthony, Guria, Eleazar, Eusebona, Achim, and Marcellus. They were Jews by race and exact keepers of the Laws of the Fathers. They lived during the reign of Antiochus, who was surnamed Epiphanes ("Illustrious"), the King of Syria and an implacable enemy of the Jews. Having subjugated their whole nation and done many evil things to them, not sparing to assail the most sacred matters of their Faith, he constrained them, among other things, to partake of swine's flesh, which was forbidden by the Law. Then these pious youths, on being apprehended together with their mother and their teacher, were constrained to set at nought the Law, and were subjected to unspeakable tortures: wrackings, the breaking of their bones, the flaying of their flesh, fire, dismemberment, and such things as only a tyrant's mind and a bestial soul is able to contrive. But when they had endured all things courageously and showed in deed that the mind is sovereign over the passions and is able to conquer them if it so desires, they gloriously ended their lives in torments, surrendering their life for the sake of the observance of the divine Law. The first to die was their teacher Eleazar, then all the brethren in the order of their age. As for their wondrous mother Solomone, "filled with a courageous spirit, and stirring up her womanish thoughts with a manly wrath" (II Macc. 7:21), she was present at her children's triumph over the tyrant, strengthening them in their struggle for the sake of their Faith, and enduring stout-heartedly their sufferings for the sake of their hope in the Lord. After her last and youngest son had been perfected in martyrdom, when she was about to be seized to be put to death, she cast herself into the fire that they might not touch her, and was thus deemed worthy of a blessed end together with her sons, in the year 168 before Christ.
Panagia's Panigiri