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Transfiguration of Our Saviour Greek Orthodox Church
Publish Date: 2023-02-19
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Lastjudgement1
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Transfiguration of Our Saviour Greek Orthodox Church

General Information

  • Phone:
  • (978) 458-4321
  • Street Address:

  • 25 Fr. John Sarantos Way

  • Lowell, MA 01854
  • Mailing Address:

  • 25 Fr. John Sarantos Way

  • Lowell, MA 01854


Contact Information






Services Schedule

Sunday Schedule:

Orthros: 8:30 a.m.
Divine Liturgy: 9:30 a.m.

Bible Study:

Wednesdays, 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.


Past Bulletins


Announcements

FELLOWSHIP HOUR

Everyone is welcome to join us downstairs for Fellowship following Liturgy.

SUNDAY SCHOOL

Thank you to the 5/6 Sunday school class who coordinated the Bake Sale and Souper Bowl Sunday event to support IOCC.  Thanks to the generosity of parishioners, they raised $530. 

DONATIONS FOR EARTHQUAKE RELIEF FUND

The recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria have created great hardship for thousands, many of whom have lost everything.  Next Sunday, we will provide you an opportunity to make donations that we will collectively send to the fund established by the Archdiocese of America to aid those in need.  If you would like to make an online donation, please go to https://www.goarch.org/earthquake. Please be generous. 

SATURDAY OF SOULS LITURGIES USHER IN GREAT LENT

As we approach the start of Great and Holy Lent on February 27, you are encouraged and welcomed to submit names of loved ones who have passed away to be commemorated on the three Saturdays of Souls: Feb. 18, Feb. 25, & March 4.  For your convenience, a form can be found in the narthex. You can mail or email your list of names to the parish office or bring them to church when you attend services.

FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS DURING GREAT LENT

Salutation services are offered during the five Fridays of Great Lent to honor the Theotokos.  Salutations will begin on March 3rd. Please consider making a donation for flowers to adorn the Icon of Theotokos.  You can do so by contacting the office.  The cost is $85 for each week.

KITCHEN COMMITTEE

The Kitchen Committee is looking for help to identify a General Contractor for us to discuss the project.  If you know of a parishioner, family member, or close friend who would be willing to speak with the committee, please contact Sandra Gulezian @978-808-9687.  Thank you!!

LEAVE A BRICK CAMPAIGN

You may have noticed the 4X8 and 8X8 bricks at the entrance. The bricks date back to when the building committee began the planning for the Family Life Center. Installing bricks beneath the front portico and in the rear of the center leading to the back door would be a wonderful way to allow our parishioners to participate in bricks inscribed with the names of family and friends.

The bricks can provide a family name or a special remembrance for memorials, christenings, birthdays or anniversaries. The bricks will last a lifetime and will always be a part of the entrance to our church.

If you are interested in having a brick inscribed, please contact the church office for an order form. The cost of the bricks is $125.00 for a 4X8 inscribed brick and $225 for an 8X8 inscribed brick.

HOUSE BLESSINGS 2023

Fr. Gregory welcomes the opportunity to bless your home.  Please complete the form available in the narthex or scan the QR code on the form to schedule an appointment

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Lowell Transitional Living Center has expressed thanks for all the winter coats and warm clothes we have offered to them this winter.

 

Trinity votive candles (To Sponsor a Candle please call the Church Office.) 

Vigil Light at the Side Altar (Icon of the Theotokos): Available

Vigil Light at the Icon of Christ: In Loving Memory of Deborah Victoria Skrekas and George Skrekas

Vigil Light at the Theotokos: In Loving Memory of Ioannis "John" Zaralidis from his family

Vigil Light at the Icon of the Forerunner: Available

Vigil Light at the Foot of the Holy Cross: In Loving Memory of Irene Gkolias, 10 year anniversary

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Weekly Calendar

Sunday, February 19  JUDGEMENT SUNDAY (MEATFARE SUNDAY)
†Orthros, 8:30 am
†Divine Liturgy, 9:30 am

Monday, February 20
Presidents' Day - Office Closed

Tuesday, February 21
Community Kitchen, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Bible Study (online), 7:00 pm

Wednesday, February 22
Bible Study (online), 10:00 am

Saturday, February 25                    
Saturday of Souls – Liturgy, 9:30 am
Altar Boy Retreat following Liturgy

Sunday, February 26  FORGIVENESS SUNDAY
†Orthros, 8:30 am
†Divine Liturgy, 9:30 am
10 Year Memorial for Nicholas Nicolakakis
Forgiveness Vespers,  6:00 pm

Monday, February 27  
Compline, 6:00 pm

Tuesday, February 28  
Bible Study (online), 7:00 pm

Wednesday, March 1   
Bible Study (online), 10:00 am
PreSanctified Liturgy, 6:00 pm
Lenten Meal and Speaker Series to follow Liturgy

Friday, March 3           
Salutations, 6:00 pm

Saturday, March 4       
Saturday of Souls - Liturgy, 9:30 am
Lenten Retreat following Liturgy
                                                                                                                                    

TODAY’S PARISH COUNCIL: Valerie Diggs, Patricia Mahoney & Matthew Apostolou

UPCOMING EVENTS

March 5                           
Sunday of Orthodoxy

March 6                           
Compline, 6:00 pm

March 7                           
Bible Study (online), 7:00 pm

March 8                           
Bible Study (online), 10:00 am                 
Presanctified Liturgy, 6:00 pm
Lenten Meal to follow Liturgy

March 10                         
Salutations, 6:00 pm

 

 

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Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Fourth Mode. Psalm 146.5;134.3.
Great is our Lord, and great is his power.
Verse: Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.

The reading is from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 8:8-13; 9:1-2.

Brethren, food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. Only take care lest this liberty of yours somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if any one sees you, a man of knowledge, at table in an idol's temple, might he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? And so by your knowledge this weak man is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food is a cause of my brother's falling, I will never eat meat, lest I cause my brother to fall.

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.


Gospel Reading

Judgment Sunday (Meatfare Sunday)
The Reading is from Matthew 25:31-46

The Lord said, "When the Son of man comes in his glory and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.' And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."


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Hymns of the Day

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Third Mode

Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad, for the Lord has shown the mighty power of his arm. He has trampled down death by death, becoming the first born of the dead. He has delivered us from the depths of hell and has granted to all the world his great mercy.

Apolytikion of the Church

When You were transfigured on the mountain, O Christ our God, You showed Your disciples Your glory as far as they could bear.  So now, for us sinners also, let this same eternal light shine forth through the prayers of the Theotokos.  O Giver of Light, glory to You.

Seasonal Kontakion in the First Mode

When you come to the earth, O God, in your glory, all creation will tremble, and a river of fire will flow before your throne of judgment. The books will be opened and the secrets of all will be revealed. On that day, O just Judge, deliver me from eternal flames and make me worthy to stand at your right.
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Wisdom of the Fathers

"Christian love is the 'possible impossibility' to see Christ in another man, whoever he is..."
Alexander Schmemann
Great Lent, 20th Century

So great was the honour and providential care which God bestowed upon man that He brought the entire sensible world into being before him and for his sake. The kingdom of heaven was prepared for him from the foundation of the world (cf. Matt. 25:34); God first took counsel concerning him, and then he was fashioned by God's hand and according to the image of God (cf. Gen. 1:26-27). God did not form the whole man from matter and from the elements of this sensible world, as He did the other animals. He formed only man's body from these materials; but man's soul He took from things supercelestial or, rather, it came from God Himself when mysteriously He breathed life into man (cf. Gen. 2:7).
St. Gregory Palamas
Topics of Natural and Theological Science no. 24, The Philokalia Vol. 4 edited by Palmer, Sherrard and Ware; Faber and Faber pg. 356, 14th century

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Saints and Feasts

Lastjudgement1
February 19

Judgment Sunday (Meatfare Sunday)

The foregoing two parables -- especially that of the Prodigal Son -- have presented to us God's extreme goodness and love for man. But lest certain persons, putting their confidence in this alone, live carelessly, squandering upon sin the time given them to work out their salvation, and death suddenly snatch them away, the most divine Fathers have appointed this day's feast commemorating Christ's impartial Second Coming, through which we bring to mind that God is not only the Friend of man, but also the most righteous Judge, Who recompenses to each according to his deeds.

It is the aim of the holy Fathers, through bringing to mind that fearful day, to rouse us from the slumber of carelessness unto the work of virtue, and to move us to love and compassion for our brethren. Besides this, even as on the coming Sunday of Cheese-fare we commemorate Adam's exile from the Paradise of delight -- which exile is the beginning of life as we know it now -- it is clear that today's is reckoned the last of all feasts, because on the last day of judgment, truly, everything of this world will come to an end.

All foods, except meat and meat products, are allowed during the week that follows this Sunday.


Philothea
February 19

Philothei the Righteous Martyr of Athens

Saint Philothei was born in Athens in 1522 to an illustrious family. Against her will, she was married to a man who proved to be most cruel. When he died three years later, the Saint took up the monastic life and established a convent, in which she became a true mother to her disciples. Many women enslaved and abused by the Moslem Turks also ran to her for refuge. Because of this, the Turkish rulers became enraged and came to her convent, dragged her by force out of the church, and beat her cruelly. After a few days, she reposed, giving thanks to God for all things. This came to pass in the year 1589. She was renowned for her almsgiving, and with Saints Hierotheus and Dionysius the Areopagite is considered a patron of the city of Athens.


Allsaint
February 20

Leo, Bishop of Catania

This Saint, who was from Ravenna in Italy, lived during the reign of Leo the Wise and his son Constantine Porphyrogenitus (end of the ninth and beginning of the tenth centuries). He struggled especially against the paganism and sorcery still prevalent in those regions.


Allsaint
February 21

Timothy the Righteous

Saint Timothy took up the monastic life from his youth, became a vessel of the Holy Spirit, and reposed in deep old age.


Allsaint
February 22

Finding of the Relics of the Holy Martyrs of Eugenios

The holy relics of these Saints were found in the quarter of Constantinople called Eugenius when Thomas was Patriarch of that city (607-610).


Allsaint
February 23

Polycarp the Holy Martyr & Bishop of Smyrna

This apostolic and prophetic man, and model of faith and truth, was a disciple of John the Evangelist, successor of Bucolus (Feb. 6), and teacher of Irenaeus (Aug. 23). He was an old man and full of days when the fifth persecution was raised against the Christians under Marcus Aurelius. When his pursuers, sent by the ruler, found Polycarp, he commanded that they be given something to eat and drink, then asked them to give him an hour to pray; he stood and prayed, full of grace, for two hours, so that his captors repented that they had come against so venerable a man. He was brought by the Proconsul of Smyrna into the stadium and was commanded, "Swear by the fortune of Caesar; repent, and say, 'Away with the atheists.'" By atheists, the Proconsul meant the Christians. But Polycarp, gazing at the heathen in the stadium, waved his hand towards them and said, "Away with the atheists." When the Proconsul urged him to blaspheme against Christ, he said: "I have been serving Christ for eighty-six years, and He has wronged me in nothing; how can I blaspheme my King Who has saved me?" But the tyrant became enraged at these words and commanded that he be cast into the fire, and thus he gloriously expired about the year 163. As Eusebius says, "Polycarp everywhere taught what he had also learned from the Apostles, which also the Church has handed down; and this alone is true" (Eccl. Hist., Book IV, ch. 14,15).


07_john2
February 24

First & Second Finding of the Venerable Head of John the Baptist

The first finding came to pass during the middle years of the fourth century, through a revelation of the holy Forerunner to two monks, who came to Jerusalem to worship our Saviour's Tomb. One of them took the venerable head in a clay jar to Emesa in Syria. After his death it went from the hands of one person to another, until it came into the possession of a certain priest-monk named Eustathius, an Arian. Because he ascribed to his own false belief the miracles wrought through the relic of the holy Baptist, he was driven from the cave in which he dwelt, and by dispensation forsook the holy head, which was again made known through a revelation of Saint John, and was found in a water jar, about the year 430, in the days of the Emperor Theodosius the Younger, when Uranius was Bishop of Emesa.


Allsaint
February 25

Tarasius, Patriarch of Constantinople

This Saint was the son of one of the foremost princes in Constantinople, and was originally a consul and first among the Emperor's private counselors. Then, in 784, he was elected Patriarch of Constantinople by the Sovereigns Irene and her son Constantine Porphyrogenitus. He convoked the Seventh Ecumenical Council that upheld the holy icons, and became the boast of the Church and a light to the clergy. He reposed in 806.


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