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St. George Greek Orthodox Church
Publish Date: 2018-08-19
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St. George Greek Orthodox Church

General Information

  • Phone:
  • (405) 751-1885
  • Fax:
  • (405) 751-1889
  • Street Address:

  • 2101 NW 145th Street

  • Oklahoma City, OK 73134
  • Mailing Address:

  • 2101 NW 145th Street

  • Oklahoma City, OK 73134


Contact Information






Services Schedule

Every Saturday we have Great Vespers (unless otherwise noted) at 6:00 p.m. Every Sunday - Orthros at 8:50 a.m., Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m. Weekday Services are as listed on the Calendar and Community News.


Past Bulletins


Community News

Weekday Services...

Every Sunday we have Orthros beginning at 8:50 a.m. and Divine Liturgy beginning at 10:00 a.m.  Saturday evenings we have Great Vespers at 6:00 p.m., unless otherwise noted.  Weekday services begin at 9:00 a.m. with Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy. Unless otherwise stated service will be at St. George.

(Note: All services are at 9:00 a.m. and at St. George unless otherwise noted)

August

1st, Wednesday - Paraklesis, 7 p.m.

3rd, Friday - Paraklesis, 7 p.m.

6th, Monday - Holy Transfiguration, 9 a.m.,  Paraklesis, 7 p.m.

8th, Wednesday - Paraklesis, 7 p.m.

10th, Friday - Paraklesis, 7 p.m.

13th, Monday - Paraklesis, 7 p.m.

14th, Tuesday - Great Vespers, 7 p.m.

15th, Wednesday - Dormition of the Theotokos, 9 a.m.

29th, Wednesday - Beheading of St. John the Baptist, 9 a.m.

 

The awesome responsibility of being a godparent


The institution of godparent (sponsor) is one that dates back to the first century of the Christian Church. Anyone approaching baptism, be they infant or adult, was required to have a godparent. In the case of an infant, it is the godparent that speaks for the child, answering the questions posed by the priest during the baptismal service. But it doesn’t stop there! The godparent is charged by the Church with the duty to make sure the newly baptized is instructed in the teachings of the Church, remains a frequent communicant within the Church and remains active in the Church. In the case of a child, it is to the godparents that the parents entrust their child, knowing that the godparent will remain actively supporting the child within the life of the Church. Should something happen to the parents, it is traditionally the godparent who will make sure the child continues to be taken to church, and remains Orthodox.

Because of the awesome responsibility of the godparent, it is all the more important that great care be taken when choosing someone who will take on this role. The Church does not allow anyone to become a godparent who is not Orthodox, for how can one who is not himself a pious and active Orthodox Christian, give witness to living a life immersed in the Orthodox faith? The godparent must therefore be a person of high moral character, and able to inspire the newly baptized to fulfill their baptismal vows.

When the newly baptized approaches the holy chalice for the first three consecutive Sundays following baptism, it is the godparent who accompanies them to receive the Holy Mysteries. The godparent must, therefore, be someone who himself/herself is a frequent communicant. Additionally, the godparent must be someone who is active in the life of the Church, supporting the Church with their tithe, keeping the fasts, and otherwise living in all piety and holiness.

The person chosen to act as a godparent must be someone willing to honor their commitment to the newly baptized for a lifetime, and willing to help nourish the spiritual life and development of the child throughout their life. Thus, it is a very bad idea to pick someone as a godparent simply because they are a good friend.

The godparent is duty bound to continue giving support to their godchild, even into adulthood. They must be someone who will remember to honor their godson or goddaughter on special occasions, such as a birthday or namesday. They should be a part of the godchild’s life during the great feasts of the Church, such as Pascha or Nativity. They should commemorate the anniversary of their godchild’s baptism by giving them a Christian gift, such as a Bible, prayer book, or icon.

Everything should be done to strengthen the bond between the godparent and the godchild throughout the ensuing years. They can take each other out to a restaurant for dinner, or receive communion together when possible (if living in different cities). Time should be allotted to cultivate a unique spiritual bond, and the godparent should assist the godchild’s parents whenever possible – especially when doing so enhances the godchild’s commitment to their Orthodox faith.

Because baptism brings us out of the darkness of sin and into the light of Christ, the role of the godparent is critical. The godparent must ensure that the Light of Christ continues to shine in the soul of the godchild. Thus, this role as godparent is an awesome responsibility, and is not to be considered a one-day event. If you’ve been asked to be a godparent, but are unwilling to see this as a lifelong vocation, please decline the honor.

With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

A Sacramental Life...

Join us at St. George Greek Orthodox Church, each Tuesday beginning August 21st at 7 p.m. for A Sacramental Life...  If you have a desire to understand the authentic life that Christ has gifted to us, come and learn.

SAINT GEORGE BOOK CLUB
The parish council and Father John announce the beginning of a “new” Orthodox book club for the community. The intent of the book club is to help parishioners explore issues related to our Orthodox faith and to foster Christ centered and spiritual lives. It is also hoped that the book club will enhance fellowship and offer an opportunity for purposefully thinking about our religion.

The book club invites any adult who wishes to participate, be they millennials or seniors, married or single, active or casual, Orthodox or explorers to join. The only requirement will be reading two or three chapters of the book (limiting the time commitment) and a willingness to express an opinion and discuss. The club will meet once a month [quarter] for two hours in a participant’s home on a progressive (rotating) basis—so no one host will have undue burden. The rules of hosting are that coffee and soft drinks and “bought” cookies can be served, but nothing else. Given the Greek propensity for hospitality, we want this to be about discussing the book not eating desserts.

The book we have chosen is “The Mountain of Silence” by Markides. The author is a Greek Cypriot who is a sociologist at the University of Maine. He fell away from Orthodoxy and became an agnostic. He started studying Eastern religions and new wave movements. In the process he “discovered” Orthodox spirituality and mysticism among the monks at Mt. Athos. This book chronicles part of his journey back to Orthodoxy. We will discuss topics like: What is a secular Greek Orthodox? What does it mean to have a personal God? Should the Church continue having monks and nuns? Are icons a form of idolatry? Do we have modern miracles and signs? What is sin? And, anything else the group wants to bring up. While Father will be part of the discussion, he will be the “guide on the side.” The group will be encouraged to actively discuss what Orthodoxy means to them.

Our first meeting is at Scot & Christie Akins’ home (11313 Cedar Ridge Rd.) on Thursday, August 30th at 7 p.m.

Community Connections  

Please contact the church office or email Stacy at st.george.stacy@coxinet.net to let us know if you would like to include announcements of any special personal recognition, i.e., graduations, promotions, prayer request, births, etc. to include in our Sunday Bulletin.

Youth Groups

JOY (K - 5th Grade), will meet the first Thursday of each month.  GOYA (6th - 12th) Grade will meet the second Thursday of each month.  Other activities are scheduled and will be mentioned as they come up.  

Classes...

The Sacraments Class will begin on Tuesday, August 21st, 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. They will run weekly.  All are welcome!

We will have a monthly Book Club, our first book is the Mountain of Silence by Kyriacos Markides.  Our first meeting is on August 30th at 7 p.m. at Christie Akins house.

Bible Study is every Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. provided that there is not a Service.

Fellowship Hour...

If you would like to make a contribution towards the cost of weekly donuts, please see one of our board members.  You can also sponsor, and we will list you name in the bulletin.  Contact Stacy in the office.

We invite you to take part in our fellowship hour by hosting for a Sunday.  Bring your own food or have the Church cook for the congregation.  Sign up as a Sunday School class, or celebrate a special birthday or name-day, the list goes on.  You can even offer to buy the donuts for the day, and we will add your name in the bulletin.  Call Stacy in the Church office to sign up today!

Philoptochos Corner

The next Philoptochos meeting will be August 26th at 3:00 at the hoome of Sue Stavros.  WE WELOCOME ALL LADIES to join us in any and all events.

Prosfora Schedule

August 

5th - Patrick Ingle

12th - Rachel & Jake Trotter

15th - Fofo Bargeliotes

19th - Vana Economopoulos

26th - Tasia Vrentas

We are need of a few people to make the Prosfora for the upcoming months.  Please call the office if you would like to have your name added to the list.  Thank you! 

The making of Prosfora is an honor and gift we offer to Christ and His Church, thus the name of Prosforo, which means "offering."  We are in need of a few people to join the list of bakers.

Pleased call the office if you would like to have your name added to the list.  Thank you!

 

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Gospel and Epistle Readings

Matins Gospel Reading

First Orthros Gospel
The Reading is from Matthew 28:16-20

At that time, the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age. Amen."


Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Third Mode. Psalm 46.6,1.
Sing praises to our God, sing praises.
Verse: Clap your hands, all you nations.

The reading is from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 15:1-11.

Brethren, I would remind you in what terms I preached to you the gospel, which you received, in which you stand, by which you are saved, if you hold it fast -- unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.


Gospel Reading

12th Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from Matthew 19:16-26

At that time, a young man came up to Jesus, kneeling and saying, "Good Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?" And he said to him, "Why do you call me good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." He said to him, "Which?" And Jesus said, "You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All these I have observed; what do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.

And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."


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Wisdom of the Fathers

The sign that thou lovest God, is this, that thou lovest thy fellow; and if thou hatest thy fellow, thy hatred is towards God. For it is blasphemy if thou prayest before God while thou art wroth. For thy heart also convicts thee, that in vain thou multipliest words: thy conscience rightly judges that in thy prayers thou profitest nought.
St. Ephraim the Syrian
ON ADMONITION AND REPENTANCE.

Wherefore then doth Christ thus reply to him, saying, "There is none good?" Because He came unto Him as a mere man, and one of the common sort, and a Jewish teacher; for this cause then as a man He discourses with him. And indeed in many instances He replies to the secret thoughts of them that come unto Him.
St. John Chrysostom
Homily 63 on Matthew 19, 4th Century

'But I say to you,' the Lord says, 'love your enemies; do good to those who hate you, pray for those who persecute you.' Why did he command these things? So that he might free you from hatred, sadness, anger and grudges, and might grant you the greatest possession of all, perfect love, which is impossible to possess except by the one you loves all equally in imitation of God.
St. Maximos the Confessor
Unknown, 7th century

Rise from love of the world and love of pleasure. Put care aside, strip your mind, refuse your body. Prayer, after all, is a turning away from the world, visible and invisible. What have I in heaven? Nothing except simply to cling always to You in undistracted prayer. Wealth pleases some, glory others, possessions others, but what I want is to cling to God and to put the hopes of my dispassion in Him (cf. Ps. 72:25, 28).
St. John Climacus
Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 28: On Prayer; Paulist Press pg. 277, 6th century

Spiritual delight is not enjoyment found in things that exists outside the soul.
St. Isaac of Syria
Unknown , 7th century

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Hymns of the Day

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Third Mode

Let the Heavens rejoice; let earthly things be glad; for the Lord hath wrought might with His arm, He hath trampled upon death by death. The first-born of the dead hath He become. From the belly of Hades hath He delivered us, and hath granted great mercy to the world.

Apolytikion for Afterfeast of the Dormition in the First Mode

In giving birth, thou didst preserve thy virginity; in thy dormition, thou didst not forsake the world, O Theotokos. Thou wast translated unto life, since thou art the Mother of Life; and by thine intercessions dost thou redeem our souls from death.

Apolytikion for Saint George in the Fourth Mode

Liberator of captives, defender of the poor, physician of the sick, and champion of kings, O trophy-bearer, Great Martyr George, intercede with Christ God that our souls be saved.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Second Mode

Neither the grave nor death could contain the Theotokos, the unshakable hope, ever vigilant in intercession and protection. As Mother of life, He who dwelt in the ever-virginal womb transposed her to life.
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Saints and Feasts

Mgenthroned1
August 19

12th Sunday of Matthew


Allsaint
August 19

Andrew the General & Martyr & his 2,593 soldiers

During the reign of Maximian, about the year 289, Antiochus the Commander-in-Chief of the Roman forces sent Andrew with many other soldiers against the Persians, who had overrun the borders of the Roman dominion. Saint Andrew persuaded his men to call upon the Name of Christ, and when they had defeated the Persians with unexpected triumph, his soldiers believed in Christ with him. Antiochus, learning of this, had them brought before him. When they confessed Christ to be God, he had Andrew spread out upon a bed of iron heated fiery hot, and had the hands of his fellow soldiers nailed to blocks of wood. Antiochus then commanded some thousand soldiers to chase the Saints beyond the borders of the empire. Through the instructions of Saint Andrew, these soldiers also believed in Christ. At the command of Antiochus, they were all beheaded in the mountain passes of the Taurus mountains of Cilicia.


Samuel
August 20

Samuel the Prophet

This most holy man, a Prophet of God from childhood, was the last judge of the Israelite people, and anointed the first two Kings of Israel. He was born in the twelfth century before Christ, in the city of Armathaim Sipha, from the tribe of Levi, the son of Elkanah and Hannah (Anna). He was the fruit of prayer, for his mother, being barren, conceived him only after she had supplicated the Lord with many tears; wherefore she called him Samuel, that is, "heard by God." As soon as Hannah had weaned him, she brought him to the city of Silom (Shiloh), where the Ark was kept, and she consecrated him, though yet a babe, to the service of God, giving thanks to Him with the hymn found in the Third Ode of the Psalter: "My heart hath been established in the Lord . . ." Samuel remained in Silom under the protection of Eli the priest. He served in the Tabernacle of God, and through his most venerable way of life became well-pleasing to God and man (I Kings 2: 26). While yet a child, sleeping in the tabernacle near the Ark of God, he heard the voice of God calling his name, and foretelling the downfall of Eli; for although Eli's two sons, Ophni and Phineas, were most lawless, and despisers of God, Eli did not correct them. Even after Samuel had told Eli of the divine warning, Eli did not properly chastise his sons, and afterwards, through various misfortunes, his whole house was blotted out in one day.

After these things came to pass, Samuel was chosen to be the protector of the people, and he judged them with holiness and righteousness. He became for them an example of all goodness, and their compassionate intercessor before God: "Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you; yea, I will serve the Lord, and show you the good and the right way" (ibid. 12:23). When he asked them -- having God as witness -- if he ever wronged anyone, or took anyone's possessions, or any gift, even so much as a sandal, they answered with one voice: "Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, nor afflicted us, neither hast thou taken anything from anyone's hand" (ibid. 12:4). When Samuel was old, the people asked him for a king, but he was displeased with this, knowing that God Himself was their King. But when they persisted, the Lord commanded him to anoint them a king, saying, "They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me from reigning over them" (ibid. 8:7); so Samuel anointed Saul. But Saul transgressed the command of God repeatedly, so Samuel anointed David. Yet, since Samuel was a man of God, full of tender mercy, when the Lord told him that He had rejected Saul, Samuel wept for him the whole night long (ibid. 15:11); and later, since he continued to grieve, the Lord said to him, "How long wilt thou mourn for Saul?" (ibid. 16:1). Having lived blamelessly some ninety-eight years, and become an example to all of a God-pleasing life, he reposed in the eleventh century before Christ. Many ascribe to him the authorship of the Books of judges, and of Ruth, and of the first twenty-four chapters of the First Book of Kings (I Samuel).


Holy12ap
August 21

The Holy Apostle Thaddaeus

The Apostle Thaddaeus was from Edessa, a Jew by race. When he came to Jerusalem, he became a disciple of Christ, and after His Ascension he returned to Edessa. There he catechized and baptized Abgar (see Aug. 16). Having preached in Mesopotamia, he ended his life in martyrdom. Though some call him one of the Twelve, whom Matthew calls "Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus" (Matt. 10:3), Eusebius says that he is one of the Seventy: "After [Christ's] Resurrection from the dead, and His ascent into Heaven, Thomas, one of the twelve Apostles, inspired by God, sent Thaddaeus, one of the seventy disciples of Christ, to Edessa as a preacher and evangelist of Christ's teaching" (Eccl. Hist. 1: 13).


Allsaint
August 21

The Holy Martyr Bassa and Her Sons: Theognis, Agapius, and Pistus

The Martyrs were from Edessa of Macedonia. Bassa was the wife of a certain Valerian, a priest of the idols, to whom she bore three sons and raised them in piety. She was betrayed with her sons to the proconsul by her own husband; each of her sons was tormented before her and beheaded. For refusing to worship the idols, she was imprisoned, cast into water and then fire, was stoned, and remaining unharmed, was brought to the temple to worship the idols. Laying hold upon the idol of Zeus, she overturned it and broke it to pieces. After being preserved through further torments, she was beheaded, about the year 290, in the reign of Maximian.


Allsaint
August 22

The Holy Martyr Agathonicus

The Martyr Agathonicus, because he converted pagans to Christ, was seized in Nicomedia, violently beaten, haled about in bonds, and beheaded in Selyvria, during the reign of Maximian, in the year 298.


Allsaint
August 22

The Synaxis of the Icon of the Mother of God of Prusa

The wonderworking icon of the Mother of God of Prusa was saved from destruction at the hands of the Iconoclasts in the ninth century, when a certain nobleman of Prusa (near Constantinople) brought it secretly to Greece. There he lost the icon, but it miraculously appeared in a cave in the area of Litza and Agrapha, where the monastery and the shrine of the icon are presently found. The feast today was established in commemoration of the many signs and healings that the holy Theotokos has wrought through the icon.


Ireneaus
August 23

Our Holy Father Ireneaus, 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.


Allsaint
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.


Allsaint
August 24

Eutyches the Hieromartyr & Disciple of St. John the Theologian

Saint Eutyches was a disciple of Saint John the Theologian and a fellow laborer of the holy Apostle Paul. He preached the Gospel in many places, pulled down the idols' temples, and suffered imprisonments and many torments at the hands of the idolaters. He finally reposed in peace in deep old age in his native city of Sebastia, near Tarsus.


Kosmaito
August 24

Cosmas of Aetolia, Equal to the Apostles

Our holy Father Cosmas was from the town of Mega Dendron (Great Tree) of Aetolia. At the age of twenty, he went to study at the school of the Monastery of Vatopedi on the Holy Mountain. Later, he came to the Athonite Monastery of Philotheou where he was tonsured. With the blessing of his abbot, he departed for Constantinople where he learned the art of rhetoric, and thereafter, he began to preach throughout all the regions of northern Greece, the Ionian Islands, but especially in Albania, for the Christian people there were in great ignorance because of the oppression and cruelty of the Moslems. Finally, in 1776, after having greatly strengthened and enlightened the faithful, working many signs and wonders all the while, he was falsely accused by the leaders of the Jewish people and was executed by strangulation by the Moslem Turks in Albania.


Dionysioszakinthos
August 24

The Translation of the Relics of Dionysios of Zakynthos, Bishop of Aegina

 

When Saint Dionysios died in 1622 A.D., his last wish was that he be buried in the Church of Saint George on the Strofades Islands where he lived as a monk. Three years after his interment there his body was found to be incorrupt. In 1717 his body was transferred from the Strofades Islands back to his home island of Zakynthos where it resides to this day.


Petermoscow
August 24

The Translation of the Holy Relics of Saint Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow

On this day we also commemorate the translation of the holy relics of Saint Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow, which took place in the year 1646.

Our holy and wonderworking Father Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow, was born in Volhynia, tonsured a monk at twelve years of age, and later ordained a priest. He lived in solitude for a time in a desert place north of Lvov and founded the Holy Transfiguration Monastery; afterwards he was sent to Constantinople, where the holy Patriarch Athanasius consecrated him Metropolitan of Kiev in 1308, and he returned to Vladimir, where the Metropolitans of Kiev had their residence at that time (see Saint Jonas on June 15). In 1325, he moved to Moscow, where he founded the Dormition Cathedral, and after his repose in December 21, 1326, was buried there. He was also an iconographer, and two of his icons, the Dormition and the Petrovskaya, are found in the Dormition Cathedral (see Oct. 5).


Philbartbarnabas
August 25

Return of the Body of Bartholomew the Glorious Apostle

Concerning the Apostle Bartholomew, see June 11


Allsaint
August 25

Titus the Apostle of the 70

Saint Titus was a Greek by race, and an idolater. But having believed in Christ through the Apostle Paul, he became Paul's disciple and follower and labored with him greatly in the preaching of the Gospel. When Paul ordained him Bishop of Crete, he later wrote to him the Epistle which bears his name. Having shepherded in an apostolic manner the flock that had been entrusted to him, and being full of days, he reposed in peace, some ninety-four years of age.


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