Hymns of the Day

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the 1st Tone

Τοῦ λίθου σφραγισθέντος ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων, καὶ στρατιωτῶν φυλασσόντων τὸ ἄχραντόν σου σῶμα, ἀνέστης τριήμερος Σωτήρ, δωρούμενος τῷ κόσμῳ τὴν ζωήν. Διὰ τοῦτο αἱ Δυνάμεις τῶν οὐρανῶν ἐβόων σοι Ζωοδότα· Δόξα τῇ ἀναστάσει σου Χριστέ, δόξα τῇ Βασιλείᾳ σου, δόξα τῇ οἰκονομίᾳ σου, μόνε Φιλάνθρωπε.

The stone that had been sealed before Your tomb by the Jews and the soldiers guarding did watch o’er Your pure and sacred body, O Savior the third day You arose, and unto all the world did You give life whereby all the heavenly powers did proclaim that You are the giver of life. Glory unto our resurrected Christ. Glory unto Your Kingdom. Glory to Your dispensation, O You alone who loves all.

Apolytikion for the Church (Pentecost) in the Plagal 4th Tone

Ευλογητός εί, Χριστέ ο Θεός ημών, ο πανσόφους τους αλιείς αναδείξας, καταπέμψας αυτοίς το Πνεύμα το άγιον, και δι’ αυτών την οικουμένην σαγηνεύσας· φιλάνθρωπε, δόξα σοι.

O blessed are You, O Christ our God, who by sending down the Holy Spirit upon them made the fishermen wise and through them illumined the world, and to You the universe was ever drawn. All glory to You, O Lord.

Seasonal Kontakion in the 2nd Tone

Προστασία τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἀκαταίσχυντε, μεσιτεία πρὸς τὸν Ποιητὴν ἀμετάθετε. Μὴ παρίδῃς ἁμαρτωλῶν δεήσεων φωνάς, ἀλλὰ πρόφθασον, ὡς ἀγαθή, εἰς τὴν βοήθειαν ἡμῶν, τῶν πιστῶς κραυγαζόντων σοι· Τάχυνον εἰς πρεσβείαν, καὶ σπεῦσον εἰς ἱκεσίαν, ἡ προστατεύουσα ἀεί, Θεοτόκε, τῶν τιμώντων σε.

A protection of Christians unshameable, intercessor to our Holy Maker, unwavering, reject not the prayerful cries of those who are in sin; instead, come to us, for you are good; your loving help bring unto us, who are crying in faith to you: Hasten to intercede and speed now to supplicate as a protection for all time, Theotokos, for those who honor you.

Saints and Feasts

October 04

2nd Sunday of Luke

October 04

Hierotheus, Bishop of Athens

According to some, Hierotheus, like Saint Dionysius, was a member of the court of Mars Hill. Having first been instructed in the Faith of Christ by Paul, he became Bishop of Athens. He, in turn, initiated the divine Dionysius more perfectly into the mysteries of Christ; the latter, on his part, elaborated more clearly and distinctly Hierotheus' concise and summary teachings concerning the Faith. He too was brought miraculously by the power of the Holy Spirit to be present at the Dormition of the Theotokos, when, together with the sacred Apostles, he became a leader of the divine hymnody. "He was wholly transported, wholly outside himself and was so deeply absorbed in communion with the sacred things he celebrated in hymnology, that to all who heard him and saw him and knew him, and yet knew him not, he seemed to be inspired of God, a divine hymnographer," as Dionysius says (On the Divine Names, 3:2). Having lived in a manner pleasing to God, he reposed in the Lord.

October 06

Thomas the Apostle of the 12

The name Thomas means, "twin." He was one of the Twelve, a Galilean by birth. Sophroneus (not the famous Patriarch of Jerusalem [7th Century, celebrated March 11], but a friend of Jerome's), quoted also by Jerome, says that Saint Thomas preached to the Parthians, Pesians, Medes, Hyrcanians, Bactrians, and neighbouring nations. According to Heracleon, the Apostle died a natural death; according to other accounts, he was martyred at Meliapur His tomb was known by Saint John Chrysostom to be at Edessa in Syria, to which city his holy relics may have been translated from India in the fourth century.

October 07

Sergius & Bacchus the Great Martyrs of Syria

These holy Martyrs were Romans of high rank in the service of the Emperor Maximian, to whom it was reported that they did not take part in the festivals of the idols. When he called them into his presence, they confessed their Faith in the one God. He had them arrayed in women's clothes and paraded through the streets in mockery. They were afterwards scourged, from which Saint Bacchus died. This was about the year 296. Saint Sergius was then taken to Resapha in Syria, where he was tortured and beheaded. His tomb in Resapha became a very famous shrine, to which pilgrims came from as far away as Western Europe; Resapha was later renamed Sergiopolis in his honour.

October 08

Pelagia the Righteous

This Saint was a prominent actress of the city of Antioch, and a pagan, who lived a life of unrestrained prodigality and led many to perdition. Instructed and baptized by a certain bishop named Nonnus (Saint Nonnus is commemorated Nov. 10), she departed for the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem, where she lived as a recluse, feigning to be a eunuch called Pelagia. She lived in such holiness and repentance that within three or four years she was deemed worthy to repose in an odour of sanctity, in the middle of the fifth century. Her tomb on the Mount of Olives has been a place of pilgrimage ever since.

October 09

James the Apostle, son of Alphaeus

The holy Apostle James was one of the Twelve, and preached Christ to many nations, and finally suffered death by crucifixion.

October 09

Abraham the Righteous & his nephew Lot

The holy Patriarch Abraham, born a pagan, ten generations after Noah, when the knowledge of God had perished from among men, became the beginning of God's dispensation for the universal renewal and salvation of man. He was called out of his country--the land of the Chaldees, that is, Mesopotamia--to the land of Canaan, and received the promise that through his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed; through his singular faith in the promises of God, he was justified before the giving of the Law and the coming of Grace; through his willingness to sacrifice Isaac, he portrayed the love wherewith God loved the world in sacrificing His only-begotten Son. The greatness of Abraham, and the trials that he and his righteous nephew Lot underwent, are set forth in the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament, chapters twelve through twenty-five. See also the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers, December 11-17.

Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Προκείμενον. 1st Tone. ΨΑΛΜΟΙ 32.22,1.
Γένοιτο, Κύριε, τὸ ἔλεός σου ἐφ' ἡμᾶς.
Στίχ. Ἀγαλλιᾶσθε δίκαιοι ἐν Κυρίῳ

τὸ Ἀνάγνωσμα Πρὸς Κορινθίους β' 9:6-11.

Ἀδελφοί, ὁ σπείρων φειδομένως, φειδομένως καὶ θερίσει· καὶ ὁ σπείρων ἐπʼ εὐλογίαις, ἐπʼ εὐλογίαις καὶ θερίσει. Ἕκαστος καθὼς προαιρεῖται τῇ καρδίᾳ· μὴ ἐκ λύπης ἢ ἐξ ἀνάγκης· ἱλαρὸν γὰρ δότην ἀγαπᾷ ὁ θεός. Δυνατὸς δὲ ὁ θεὸς πᾶσαν χάριν περισσεῦσαι εἰς ὑμᾶς, ἵνα ἐν παντὶ πάντοτε πᾶσαν αὐτάρκειαν ἔχοντες περισσεύητε εἰς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθόν· καθὼς γέγραπται, Ἐσκόρπισεν, ἔδωκεν τοῖς πένησιν· ἡ δικαιοσύνη αὐτοῦ μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. Ὁ δὲ ἐπιχορηγῶν σπέρμα τῷ σπείροντι, καὶ ἄρτον εἰς βρῶσιν χορηγήσαι, καὶ πληθύναι τὸν σπόρον ὑμῶν, καὶ αὐξήσαι τὰ γενήματα τῆς δικαιοσύνης ὑμῶν· ἐν παντὶ πλουτιζόμενοι εἰς πᾶσαν ἁπλότητα, ἥτις κατεργάζεται διʼ ἡμῶν εὐχαριστίαν τῷ θεῷ.

Prokeimenon. 1st Tone. Psalm 32.22,1.
Let your mercy, O Lord, be upon us.
Verse: Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous.

The reading is from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians 9:6-11.

Brethren, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work. As it is written, "He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever." He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your resources and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for great generosity, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

Gospel Reading

2nd Sunday of Luke
Κατὰ Λουκᾶν 6:31-36

Εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος· καθὼς θέλετε ἵνα ποιῶσιν ὑμῖν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ποιεῖτε αὐτοῖς ὁμοίως. καὶ εἰ ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας ὑμᾶς, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις ἐστί; καὶ γὰρ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας αὐτοὺς ἀγαπῶσι. καὶ ἐὰν ἀγαθοποιῆτε τοὺς ἀγαθοποιοῦντας ὑμᾶς, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις ἐστί; καὶ γὰρ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσι. καὶ ἐὰν δανείζητε παρ᾿ ὧν ἐλπίζετε ἀπολαβεῖν, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις ἐστί; καὶ γὰρ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἁμαρτωλοῖς δανείζουσιν ἵνα ἀπολάβωσι τὰ ἴσα. πλὴν ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν καὶ ἀγαθοποιεῖτε καὶ δανείζετε μηδὲν ἀπελπίζοντες, καὶ ἔσται ὁ μισθὸς ὑμῶν πολύς, καὶ ἔσεσθε υἱοὶ ὑψίστου, ὅτι αὐτὸς χρηστός ἐστιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀχαρίστους καὶ πονηρούς. Γίνεσθε οὖν οἰκτίρμονες, καθὼς καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν οἰκτίρμων ἐστί.

2nd Sunday of Luke
The Reading is from Luke 6:31-36

The Lord said, "As you wish that men would do to you, do so to them. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful."

Parish News and Events

Fellowship Hour

Today'for Fellowship is hosted by the St. Stephen Fellowship Team! Thanks to the team for their offering!

Fellowship Team Assignments

The following are the Fellowship Team Assignments while Presbytera is away:

October 11--St. Euphrosynos Team

October 18--St. Paisios Team

October 25--Pot Luck with special treats for our young "Saints"

November 1--St. Martha Team

Many Years to our Church Musicians

The Sunday after the feast of St. Romanos the Melodist has been traditionally designated as Church Musician Sunday. At the end of Liturgy we will bless our choir and chanters and pray for their continued service to our Lord in His Church.

Helping Hands Ministry

Do you need some help with cutting the lawn or doing some housework? These things can become difficult as we get older. If you find yourself in this dilemma, please get in touch with our Helping Hands Ministry. Members of our parish have volunteered to do yard work, small repairs, household chores or other such odd jobs, please get in touch with our Helping Hands! Please give Presbytera a call (603-953-3051) and she will put you in touch with someone to help!

Building our Prayer Garden

Our Youth Group, under the guidance of Alexander Newman and Don Argyrople, will be completing the construction of the Prayer Garden in the front of the church. It is their hope that this offering (funded by the Thriving Congregations Initiative grant) will inspire our parishioners and even passers-by to stop for a moment of prayer and reflection. Make sure to take a look when it is completed!

Greek School Begins

Greek School will start on Tuesday, October 6 at 3:45 pm. This year we are working on conversational Greek. Kids 5 and up. If you are interested, please contact Kathy at [email protected].

Faith and Fellowship

Our October Faith and Fellowship will take place on Sunday, October 18 during Fellowship Hour. Our speaker this month is Fr. Peter Chamberas. He will be talking on Prayer in our Lives

For Our Inquirers and Catechumens (and Anyone Interested!)

We would like to welcome Kyle (Irenaios) Lambergs, who has been blessed by Fr. Robert Archon, the Pastor of St. Athanasios Church, Arlington MA as a Catechist. In order to assist our inquirers and catechumens, and anyone else who is interested, he will be teaching an Orthodox catechetical class twice a month after Liturgy. We will kick off the program on Sunday, October 11, and Sunday, October 25. Everyone should come down for some coffee and a snack, and then return up to the church for the session.

Congratulations also go to Amanda and Jeremy Whaley and Robert Dumais who begin their studies in the Holy Cross Seminary Catechist Training program this month. We look forward to their successful completion of the program to join the ministry of Catechetical instruction for our Parish.

Saints and Fun!

Our Youth Group will enjoy a Saints Dress Up Fun Family Game Night on Saturday, October 17 at 3:00 pm. The event is free for everyone! Join us for fun game night with family and friends. Our young people will also be making minestrone to help feed the homeless.

Orthodoxy on Tap

Our October Orthodoxy on Tap dinner and discussion will be following Great Vespers on Saturday, October 24. Vespers begin at 5:00 pm; dinner at 5:45. All are invited.

Put this on your Calendar

The Outreach Ministries is hosting a Saints Cookbook Tasting Event on Saturday, November 7 at 5:00 pm. There will be a number of special dishes from the Food for the Soul Cookbook for your enjoyment. A great evening of good food and good company! Invite your friends and family as well. Admission is $20 per person.

Mark Your Calendar

October 4--Blessing of Choir and Chanters

October 11--Catechetical Class

October 14--Supplication Service (Paraklesis) to the Theotokos

October 17--Saints Party

October 18--Faith and Fellowship--Fr. Peter Chamberas

October 24--Great Vespers and Orthodoxy on Tap

October 25--Catechetical Class

October 28--The Protection of the Theotokos (Agia Skepi)

November 7--Saints Cookbook Tasting Event

Parish Events of the Week

Sunday, October 4--2nd Sunday of Luke

9:00 am--Orthros

10:00 am--Divine Liturgy

After Liturgy--Blessing of Choir and Chanters

Thursday, October 8

3:30 pm--Introduction to Orthodoxy

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83822636464?pwd=aaQw37RruJEHj1pJ7GXbhbHh7eFH1X.1

7:30 pm--Introduction to Orthodoxy

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85234589515?pwd=QBbAES7hX5lCTa0X9uN9cnVsBOdDlf.1

Sunday, October 11--Sunday of the Fathers of the 7th Ecumenical Council

9:00 am--Orthros

10:00 am--Divine Liturgy

Catechetical Class in the Church during Fellowship

Diakonia Newsletter

Read the latest Diakonia Newsletter for this Sunday

https://bulletinbuilder.org/diakonia-newsletter/2026-10-04?source=bulletin_web

October 4, 2026

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