Hymns of the Day

Apolytikion for Palm Sunday in the 1st Mode

O Christ our God, before Your Passion, You raised Lazarus from the dead to confirm the common Resurrection for all. Therefore, we carry the symbols of victory as did the youths, and we cry out to You, the victor over death, "Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. "

Apolytikion for Palm Sunday in the 4th Mode

O Christ, Our God, we have been Buried with You through Baptism, and by Your Resurrection made worthy of Life immortal. Praising You, we cry out, "Hosanna in the highest, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord."

Seasonal Kontakion in the Plagal 2nd Mode

In Heaven, He is seated upon a Throne and on earth He rides upon a foal. O Christ our God, accept the praise of the Angels and the hymn of the Children who cry out to You, "Blessed are You who comes to recall Adam."

Saints and Feasts

April 21

Palm Sunday

On Sunday, five days before the Passover of the Law, the Lord came from Bethany to Jerusalem. Sending two of His disciples to bring Him a foal of an ass, He sat thereon and entered into the city. When the multitude there heard that Jesus was coming, they straightway took up the branches of palm trees in their hands, and went forth to meet Him. Others spread their garments on the ground, and yet others cut branches from the trees and strewed them in the way that Jesus was to pass; and all of them together, especially the children, went before and after Him, crying out: "Hosanna: Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord, the King of Israel" (John 12:13). This is the radiant and glorious festival of our Lord's entry into Jerusalem that we celebrate today.

The branches of the palm trees symbolize Christ's victory over the devil and death. The word Hosanna means "Save, I pray," or "Save, now." The foal of an ass, and Jesus' sitting thereon, and the fact that this animal was untamed and considered unclean according to the Law, signified the former uncleanness and wildness of the nations, and their subjection thereafter to the holy Law of the Gospel.

April 21

The Holy Hieromartyr Januarius and Those With Him

These Martyrs contested for piety's sake in Campania of Italy, during the reign of Diocletian (284-305), when Timothy was Proconsul. Saint Januarius was the Bishop of Benevento in Campania; he was arrested and taken to Nola, where he was cast into a burning furnace, from which he came forth unharmed; at Puteoli, together with Proculus, Sosius, and Faustus the deacons, Desiderius, reader of the Church of Benevento, and Eurychius and Acutius, nobles from Puteoli, he was cast to wild beasts, which as they came near the Saints, fell affectionately at their feet. Finally they were all beheaded, about the year 305.

April 21

Our Holy Father Maximian, Patriarch of Constantinople

April 21

Theodore the Holy Martyr & his mother Philippa of Perge

April 21

Alexandra the Martyr

Martyr Alexandra, the Empress and wife of Emperor Diocletion, was so impressed by the courage and martyrdom of St George that she became a Christian and fell under the same persecution. She also was condemned to be beheaded but when she arrived at the place of execution she asked to be allowed to sit down. Her request was granted. She sat down and died quietly before the executioners could carry out their task. Her feast day is 21 April.

April 21

Anastasios the Monk of Sinai

April 21

Beuno, Abbot of Clynnog

Gospel and Epistle Readings

Matins Gospel Reading

Palm Sunday
The Reading is from Matthew 21:1-11; 15-17

At that time, when Jesus drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If any one says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and he will send them immediately." This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

"Tell the daughter of Zion,
Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their garments on them, and he sat thereon. Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" And when he entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?" And the crowds said, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee." But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant; and they said to him, "Do you hear what they are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read,

'Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings,
you have brought perfect praise'?"

And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. 4th Mode. Psalm 117.26,1.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Verse: Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His mercy endures forever.

The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians 4:4-9.

BRETHREN, rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you.

Gospel Reading

Palm Sunday
The Reading is from John 12:1-18

Six days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazaros was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; Martha served, and Lazaros was one of those at table with him. Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was to betray him), said "Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" This he said, not that he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box he used to take what was put into it. Jesus said, "Let her alone, let her keep it for the day of my burial. The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me."

When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came, not only on account of Jesus but also to see Lazaros, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazaros also to death, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

The next day a great crowd who had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!" And Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it; as it is written, "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt!" His disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that this had been written of him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazaros out of the tomb and raised him from the dead bore witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.

Wisdom of the Fathers

But observe the wisdom of the Evangelist, how he is not ashamed to parade their former ignorance. That it was written they knew, that it was written of Him they knew not. For it would have offended them if He being a King were about to suffer such things, and be so betrayed.

St. John Chrysostom

Homily 66 on John 12, 2. B#58, p.245., 4th Century

Besides, they could not at once have taken in the knowledge of the Kingdom of which He spake; for another Evangelist saith, that they thought the words were spoken of a kingdom of this world. (Matt. xx. 21.)

St. John Chrysostom

Homily 66 on John 12, 2. B#58, p.245., 4th Century

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese News

Communiqué of the Holy Eparchial Synod

04/11/2019

The Holy Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America convened for its regular scheduled meeting in the Synodal Chamber at the Archdiocesan headquarters on April 9 and 10, under the presidency of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America and with the participation of the Members of the Synod and deliberated on the following:

https://www.goarch.org/-/announcement-of-the-holy-eparchial-syn-8

Fr. Rick's Sermon

Jesus is Our Scapegoat / Atonement (4-14-2019)

If something goes wrong and we don’t want to take responsibility, we might blame someone else. What is the nick name given to the person who gets blamed for my mistakes? We call him or her a ‘scapegoat.’ Do you know where the word ‘scapegoat’ comes from? After all, it’s a strange term. Like many words and phrases still in use today but their origins are long forgotten, ‘scapegoat’ has its roots in the Bible.

We hear in Leviticus 16:⁸ Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. ⁹ And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord’s lot fell and offer it as a sin offering. ¹⁰ But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness.

²⁰ “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. ²¹ Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. ²² The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

Who is the greatest, most well-known scapegoat in history? It’s Jesus because He gets blamed for the sins of the scribes and Pharisees. It’s an unconscious giant projection process and it’s evidenced in the High Priest Caiaphas’ words, ⁴⁹And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, ⁵⁰ nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” And ⁵³Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death. (John 11).

This ties to today’s Epistle and Gospel readings for the Fifth Sunday of Lent. In Hebrews 9:11-14, we just heard that Jesus with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption (v.12). In the Mark 10:32-45, Jesus says, ³³“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; ³⁴and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.” And later, ⁴⁵For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

In actuality Jesus represents both goats that Aaron casts. He is simultaneously the goat given as sin offering to the Lord and the ‘escape goat’ who bears the iniquities, transgressions and sins of the people and then takes them away into the wilderness. I want to turn our attention to word that encapsulates the purpose of Christ becoming our scapegoat—atonement. The word literally means ‘to make as one’ (at-one-ment) or to come together or to reconcile. The Greek connotates a release from a wound or hatred, which could imply the wound of sin which is enmity towards God.

Theories and doctrines about atonement seek to explain why and how Jesus became our scapegoat. In other words, why did God ordain that it should happen in this manner. What is the meaning and purpose of it? In other words, what is wrong with us and how is God going to fix it. One theory holds that “God’s righteousness and justice have proper demands. When we fail to keep the commandments, we create a debt for which God’s justice demands payment. (God’s infinite honor is offended by sin). Christ’s innocent self-offering on the Cross is seen as the payment for that debt.” (Freeman- 2016 Debt is Cancelled).

It started with Anselm the Archbishop of Canterbury England around the year 1000. He saw God as Creditor. His honor had been offended and he had to be compensated. This developed into the Penal Substitution model at the time of the Protestant Reformation (1600s), in which mankind’s sin creates an infinite debt to the righteous judgment of God, deserving of wrath. Christ bears the wrath of the Father as payment of the debt we owe.

The problem with this teaching is that implies an aloof, angry God ready to punish people for their mistakes. Jesus, then, become like a big brother who steps in to take the hit for us from an abusive parent. We Orthodox know the opposite is true. God is love. God is all-powerful, yet also all-merciful. The Holy Trinity does not have two persons working at cross purposes. Rather the love that Jesus shows in becoming our scapegoat is the same love that God the Father has for us.

To deepen our understanding of Christ’s atoning sacrifice for us, let’s look at the system of sacrificial worship in Ancient Israel. First and foremost, we must always remember that liturgical worship including animal sacrifice was commanded by God, given in the Law to Moses. Second, sacrifices were prescribed for sins that were also enumerated in the Law. Third, the animal to be sacrificed was to be of superior value (a male, without blemish, first-born, first-fruits). The person who sinned would personally bring the offering and make the sacrifice, first placing their hand on the head of the victim as a gesture of personal identification. Then, the person would confess their sin before slaughtering the animal. It was gruesome but the spilt blood represented that someone or something had died. The whole sequence would impress upon the person that the consequence of sin is death. The priest’s role was to instruct the people about and help them to make proper sacrifice and to hear their confession. He was to be the intermediary between the holy God and the sinful people.

Christ became our scapegoat, our sacrificial lamb, our sin-offering when He voluntarily submitted to be unjustly arrested, tried, condemned and put to death. His blood was shed in the scourging, nailing and finally the spear-death. By the way, when people say, “I got shafted,” it comes from this event where Jesus is stabbed with the shaft or pole of the spear. The key for us then is to personally identify with Christ, confess our sins and drink His life-giving blood, realizing that the consequence of our sins is deadly, at least in the sense that we become separated from

God, the source of life. God loves us and wants us to know the joy of love by loving Him and our neighbor in the same way that Christ loves us—sacrificially, in which we empty ourselves of all egotistical, self-gratifying motives.

In conclusion, another way to understand this is that humanity amassed so much sin that we begin to sink under its weight. The burden/debt became too heavy and we couldn’t get out from under it. A giant log or boulder rolled on top of us and we were trapped. There is no way could have escaped unless Christ came along and lifted the log just like He carried His Cross to Golgotha and just like He rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb. The devil lies to us, trying to deceive us and delude us into thinking we actually can carry around the burden of our sins. This would explain why many go for years and years without participating in the Sacrament of Confession. This would explain why many of us scapegoat other people blaming them for our own problems created under the weight of our own sins. My brothers and sisters, don’t do this. Let Christ be your scapegoat. Let Him atone for your sins. He wants you to be free to love Him. As the Apostle and Evangelist John said: ² By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. ³ For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. (1John 5:2-3) Amen!

News and Events

ST. GEORGE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH

Rev. Fr. Richard Demetrius Andrews, Presbyter

1111 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105, (651) 222-6220, www.stgeorgegoc.org

April 21, 2019 PALM SUNDAY

TODAY’S EVENTS: Choir practice 12pm; Pan-Orthodox Lenten Vespers at St. Herman OCA in Minneapolis, 4pm; Bridegroom Service, 7pm.

Epistle Reader: Stephen Kanavati Prosfora: Dimitra Kaniamos

Fellowship: AHEPA Greeters: Alexis Bighley, Yodahe Gamada, Jon Kennedy

Monday 04-22 BRIDEGROOM SERVICE 7:00PM

Tuesday 04-23 PRESANCTIFIED LITURGY 9:00AM

Glad Tidings mailing – volunteers needed 11:00AM

BRIDEGROOM SERVICE 7:00PM

Wednesday 04-24 HOLY UNCTION SERVICE 3:00PM

BRIDEGROOM SERVICE WITH UNCTION 7:00PM

Thursday 04-25 VESPERAL LITURGY OF MYSTICAL SUPPER 9:00AM

HOLY PASSION – 12 GOSPELS SERVICE 7:00PM

Friday 04-26 ROYAL HOURS SERVICE 9:00AM

Youth Retreat 11:00AM

DESCENT FROM CROSS VESPERS 3:00PM

LAMENTATIONS SERVICE 7:00PM

Saturday 04-27 VESPERAL LITURGY – DESCENT INTO HADES 9:00AM

ORTHROS/MATINS OF RESURRECTION 11:00PM

Sunday 04-28 RESURRECTION SERVICE midnight 12:00AM

DIVINE LITURGY & Lamb Dinner 12:30AM

AGAPE VESPERS 11:00AM

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Palm Sunday Fish Dinner- today, prepared by AHEPA Pericles Chapter to benefit their philanthropic and educational scholarship projects. Menu includes salmon, Greek-style rice, salad, briami, bread, dessert. Cost is $15/adult, $10/per child under age 12. Please join us for fellowship and support their worthy cause.

Holy Week Begins: we look forwarding to worshipping with everyone this week. Please come to the services!

A Child is Born: baby boy Lael to Senait Kahsai & Kibrom Hailu on March 6^th. Congrats to all!

Think About It: The price of the kingdom is the food you give to the those in need. St. Leo the Great (+461)

St. Mary’s Summer Camp 2019: Registration opens this Tuesday April 16 at 10am. Early Bird Discount: 4/16 through 5/3: $445. Standard Fee: 5/4 through 5/23: $495. Registration closes Thursday May 23 at 4:30pm. For more info visit https://stmaryscamp.com/summer-camp/ Camp will be held at Camp Wapogasset in Amery, WI from Saturday June 29 to Friday July 6. Every St. George Camper will receive $100 assistance!

Office Open: during Holy Week, including Monday, April 22-26 from 9am-5pm.

Youth Retreat: Holy Friday April 26^th between Royal Hours and Descent from Cross Vespers. Lunch is potluck, so bring something generous and tasty to share: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d48a8a62ea2f58-potluck_holy

Pascha Flowers Donations: may be made in memory of a loved one(s) by completing the enclosed form. Memorial names received by today, April 21, will be listed in the Pascha bulletin.

Church Fathers Speak: Let us spread before His feet, not garments of soulless palm branches which delight the eye for a few hours and then wither and die, but let us spread ourselves clothed in His grace. St. Andrew of Crete (+740)

Philoptochos News: for Mother’s Day, Philoptochos would like to help you honor a special woman in your life. It can be any woman, living or deceased, that is special to you. Please see insert for the honoree form. Complete and drop off in the social hall on next three Sundays. More info Vicky Paraschou at 763-785-8882. Our next meeting will be held on Sunday, May 5^th following Divine Liturgy.

College Scholarship Contest:college students and graduating high school seniors are invited to apply for 2019-2020 academic year by submitting an essay discussing the topic: “How does the liturgical/worship life of the Greek Orthodox Christian Church help you draw/grow closer to God?” Awards:1^st place $1000 by John Pitsavas Memorial Scholarship; 2^nd place $500 and 3^rd place $300 by Missions & Benevolence Ministry Scholarship. Deadline is June 15, 2019. Applications and guidelines are available in the church office.

Stewardship 2019: Theme is “All things are possible to the one who believes in Christ” (Mark 9:23). 100 pledges have been received averaging $1,671, total $167,126. Three things to do: 1) pray for God’s inspiration and guidance, 2) plan-budget stewardship first, 3) give generously and sacrificially, at least three percent (3%) of gross yearly income. We thank you for supporting the ministries of our parish!

Patristic Wisdom: Consistently pray in all things, so that you might not do anything without the help of God. Whoever does or busies himself with things without prayer does not succeed in the end. Concerning this, the Lord said, “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). St. Mark the Ascetic (5^th cent.)

Festival of Nations May 2-5: volunteers needed for all Greek Café shifts and roles such as food prep, server, clean up, move-in /setup and breakdown/move-out. Sign up in the social hall, use the Sign Up Genius website https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4CA5AD2BABFF2-festival4 or contact Tom Lampros. This year’s FON dates, May 2-5, the week after Pascha, avoid Easter and Mother’s Day, so we are expecting good crowds. Volunteers also needed for Cultural Booth, contact Anastasia Mastrogiorgis or the office.

Wisdom from the Fathers: Prayer, fasting and vigilance over ourselves (e.g. carefully watching our thoughts and feelings) makes us victors over the enemies of our salvation. The most difficult of these three works in prayer—an everlasting virtue that will become a habit if we practice it regularly. However, prayer, until our very death, will require coercion on our part, a constant struggle. St. Barsanuphios of Optina (+1913)

Help IOCC Disaster Response: Train as an IOCC Emergency Response Team Leader (ERTL) in the Twin Cities, May 1-4. Team Leaders are some of the first that get deployed following a disaster to conduct site assessments and lead volunteer groups in home muckouts; they also lead volunteer teams during homebuilds. Sign up at iocc.org/teamlead. For more info contact Alexis Rouches at Arouches@iocc.org or 612.454.9452.

Strategic Planning Update: based on everyone’s input, the mission statement was recently finalized "St. George Greek Orthodox Church: A Christ-centered community that inspires faith and worship, cultivates spiritual growth and fellowship and encourages benevolence and outreach.” We now move into our next phase, which is called a SWOT survey. We invite your feedback about Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats regarding our parish community. Complete survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/J9LH9FG

Exterior Restoration- Brick, block and tuckpointing have been completed. Cost of project is $118,647. We have raised over $86,305 from our parishioners and friends. Please join us in this important work. Thank you!

Summer Camp Scholarships: James Nickitas Memorial Camp Scholarship is available to St. George youth with financial need. Contact Fr. Rick asap. Presbytera Mary Coniaris and James H. Zubulake scholarships will be awarded to two winners based on essays on 2019 camp theme: “Journey to the Joy of Pascha!” Essay question: “What is your favorite part of Holy Week, and Why?” Submit entries no later than May 19, 2019. For more info and to submit essays, email: stmaryscampscholarship@gmail.com

Join an IOCC Homebuild Team! In response to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, 8 one-week projects are scheduled in Florida and Texas between May 20 and August 17, 2019. The only cost is a $100 participation fee and getting to the respective city. Participants arrive on Monday afternoon and depart on Saturday morning; IOCC covers all costs on the ground (room, board, and local transportation). For project dates and locations, see posting in social hall or visit https://iocc.org/take-action/join-action-team/home-build-volunteers. More info DChristopulos@iocc.org

Bible Study: meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month from 1:30-3pm in the conference room at church. RSVP or questions to Kathy Ryan 651-292-9948 or Kathy.aeiou@gmail.com. All are welcome!

Youth Minister Position Open: applications are now being accepted for this part time position. To apply, email a resume, cover letter and two references to Fr. Rick at fatherrick@stgeorgegoc.org.

St Alexis Toth Lecture: Sunday May 12, 7pm, at St Mary's Orthodox Cathedral. Dr Bogdan Horbal, Curator of the Slavic and East European collections at the New York Public Library will speak about Orthodox and Rusyn resources in the library as well as “Lemko Folk & Religious Music on Mainstream American Labels, 1928-1930”. See posting in social hall or contact (612) 781-7667 or info@stmarysoca.org for more information.

Pan-Orthodox Women’s Tea: will be held on Saturday, May 18, 3-5pm at St. Michael Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 505 4^th Street NE, Minneapolis. Please bring a dessert or appetizer to share and plan to attend Vespers at 5pm. For more information, contact Julie Pawluk at wdowychyn@q.com.

Metropolis Clergy Laity: The St. George and St. Mary Church communities will co-host in the Twin Cities September 25-29, 2019. Alexis Bighley will co-chair. Hotel is Hyatt Regency in Bloomington.

2020 Basketball Tourney: will be hosted by our parish here in Saint Paul, MN on February 7-8-9, 2020. The parish council approved at February meeting and planning committee is formed. The last time we hosted was 2012. For more info or to volunteer, contact tournament co-chairs Milam Paraschou and Dan Simon.

FOCUS MN Update: Volunteer at our new home 550 Rice Street in St. Paul: Need team leader and workers to renovate kitchen and food shelf area- contact Vera at 651-324-2705 or vsproctor@gmail.com. On Mondays, Thursdays & Saturdays 10am – 2pm volunteer to unpack and sort donations, clean, make minor repairs and more. Contact Kathy Schtowchan, 651-343-4183 or k.schtowchan@comcast.net. Clothing donations, personal hygiene items, and shelf-stable food (no household goods at this time) may be dropped off on Mondays and Thursdays, 10am-2pm. Thank you for your generous support to help people in need!

Roselawn Cemetery Lots: 2019 prices are: $6,120 for a Monument Lot (2 graves); $3,825 for a Flat Lot A (2 graves); $2,167.50 for a Flat Lot B (1 grave). Single graves have limited availability. Contact church today!

2018-2019 Sunday School Staff: our religious education program is led by director Miss Aida Abebe working with our current teachers: Lerah McCullough (PreK), Carol Alexis (K-1), Lama Ghazi (2-3), Stephen Kanavati (4-5-6), Anastasia Mastrogiorgis (7-9) and Nick Kanavati & Vicky Paraschou (10-12). Please support Aida and the teachers by frequently bringing your children to liturgy and Sunday school.

Welcome Visitors Thank you for joining with us in prayer and fellowship. The worship of the Orthodox Church is deeply rooted in and very similar to that of the early Christian Church. Unique sensory stimuli and mystery are elements that go back even to the liturgy of the Jewish temple. Everything in an Orthodox Christian church communicates the majestic presence of God the Holy Trinity with His Saints. It is literally heaven on earth. It is a sad consequence of the divisions in Christianity that we cannot extend a general invitation to receive Holy Communion. Visitors are invited to receive the blessed bread (antithoron) at the conclusion of the liturgy. We pray and work for the reconciliation and unity of all Christians. If you are interested in learning more about Orthodoxy, please contact Fr. Rick at fatherrick@stgeorgegoc.org. We are proud of our Greek heritage, but one does not have to be of Greek descent, nor speak Greek to be a Greek Orthodox Christian.

Note to Orthodox about Holy Communion: Receiving the Body and Blood of Christ is one of the most Holy experiences for a Christian in order to be granted the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life. We are never worthy to partake of Divine Nature. Yet, it is essential that we prepare ourselves for this sacred Communion by constant prayer, reading the Scriptures, regular fasting and periodic Confession. At a minimum, we should fast all morning before Communion, arrive at the beginning of Liturgy, and come for Confession at least once a year. In addition, we should not have separated ourselves from the Church through serious sin. Otherwise, please refrain from Communion to avoid “judgment…not discerning the Lord’s body” (1Cor. 11:29). Contact Fr. Rick for pastoral guidance.

Glad Tidings deadline: The 10th of each month. Glad Tidings email: gladtidings@stgeorgegoc.org Sunday Bulletin Deadline: Wednesday Noon each week. Email: office@stgeorgegoc.org