This Week and Upcoming Events

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth. (Ecclesiastes 12:1)

This Week at Saint Catherine
Sunday, May 14 ~ Sunday of the Samaritan Woman
       8:45 am    Orthros
     10:00 am    Divine Liturgy
     10:00 am    Sunday School
     Mother’s Day Program/Brunch by Sunday School after Liturgy

Monday, May 15
10:00 am Becoming Orthodox 2 (meet in the church)

Tuesday, May 16
     Philoptochos
        10:00 am    Board Meeting
        12:00 pm    Lunch Meeting

Friday, May 19
5:30 pm Greek School Graduation (Small Hall)

May 19-20
District GOYA Junior Olympics

Highlights of Upcoming Services and Events
Sunday, May 21 ~ Sunday of the Blind Man
Sts. Constantine and Helen
       8:45 am    Orthros
     10:00 am    Divine Liturgy
     10:00 am    Sunday School
     National AHEPA Sunday
     Sunday School Certificates & Youth Picnic

Monday, May 22
10:00 am Becoming Orthodox 3

Thursday, May 25 ~ The Ascension
9:00 am Orthros
10:00 am Liturgy

Stewardship at Saint Catherine:

We invite you to join the growing number of Saint Catherine stewards in 2017. Stewardship is partnership with God and the happiest people on earth are those who have discovered the joy of giving! Saint Catherine stewards - you are the life blood of our Church. We thank you for your dedication.

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YouTube

Many of our Divine Liturgies are available at www.youtube.com.
Search for “Saint Catherine Greek Orthodox Church”. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Family Life Blog

Our Metropolis of Atlanta Family Life Blog has wonderful inspiring material for families and each of us as individuals. Take a look at the flyer on our Saint Catherine home page. Read and share the Family Life blog which is at: http://www.familylifeministry.atlanta.goarch.org/

Orthodox Christian Programs

Did you know that we have Orthodox Christian programs available 24 hours a day, seven days of the week? There is the weekly Come Receive the Light program and three channels of content to listen to in addition to special presentations in the form of podcasts, articles and videos. Take a break from your routine to read / listen / watch the Orthodox content from the Orthodox Christian Network (OCN). All are all available at: http://myocn.net/

Event Flyers

Sunday of the Samaritan Woman - Family Connections (Letter)

Bulletin Insert in letter format on the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman with Resources for Couples and Families provided by the Center for Family Care of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

Panagia Chapel Roof Tiles Campaign

Our opportunity to place the names of our loved ones in the Holy Altar of the Panagia Chapel !

Mother's Day 2017

Mother's Day Brunch, Video and Photo Montage of our children in Honor of all of our wonderful mothers.

Gospel and Epistle Readings

Matins Gospel Reading

Seventh Orthros Gospel
The Reading is from John 20:1-10

At that time, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." Peter then came out with the other disciple, and they went toward the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first; and stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; he saw the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes.

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Fourth Tone. Psalm 103.24,1.
O Lord, how manifold are your works. You have made all things in wisdom.
Verse: Bless the Lord, O my soul.

The reading is from Acts of the Apostles 11:19-30.

IN THOSE DAYS, those apostles who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to none except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number that believed turned to the Lord. News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad; and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a large company was added to the Lord. So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church, and taught a large company of people; and in Antioch the disciples were for the first time called Christians. Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabos stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world; and this took place in the days of Claudius. And the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brethren who lived in Judea, and they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

Gospel Reading

Sunday of the Samaritan Woman
The Reading is from John 4:5-42

At that time, Jesus came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and so Jesus, wearied as he was with his journey, sat down beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?" Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."

Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly." The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain; and you say that Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to him, "I know that the Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ); when he comes, he will show us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he."

Just then his disciples came. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but none said, "What do you wish?" or, "Why are you talking with her?" So the woman left her water jar, and went away into the city and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" They went out of the city and were coming to him.

Meanwhile the disciples besought him, saying "Rabbi, eat." But he said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." So the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought him food?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white for harvest. He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor."

Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony. "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of your words that we believe, for we have heard ourselves, and we know that this is indeed Christ the Savior of the world."

Wisdom of the Fathers

The example of the good Samaritan shows that we must not abandon those in whom even the faintest amount of faith is still alive.

St. Ambrose of Milan

Two Books of St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, Concerning Repentance, Chapter 11

Here is love! Here is teaching! Here is acquiescence! Here is a model! ... Those who love they also serve. If you want to find out how great your love is towards God, then measure your obedience to the will of God, and you will immediately learn.

Bishop Nicolai Velimirovic

Prolog, 7 Sept., B #80, 706.

He shows that she is worthy to hear and not to be overlooked, and then He reveals Himself. For she, as soon as she had learnt who He was, would straightway hearken and attend to Him; ...

St. John Chrysostom

Homily 31 on John 3, 4th Century

THE persecution turned out to be no slight benefit as "to them that love God all things work together for good." (Rom. viii. 28.) If they had made it their express study how best to establish the Church, they would have done no other thing than this--they dispersed the teachers.[*] Mark in what quarters the preaching was extended. "They travelled," it says, "as far as Phenice and Cyprus and Antioch; to none however did they preach the word but to Jews only." Dost thou mark with what wise purposes of Providence so much was done in the case of Cornelius? This serves both to justify Christ, and to impeach the Jews. When Stephen was slain, when Paul was twice in danger, when the Apostles were scourged, then the Gentiles received the word, then the Samaritans. Which Paul also declares: "To you it was necessary that the Word of God should first be spoken; but since ye thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy, lo, we turn unto the Gentiles." (ch. xiii. 46.)..."And the hand of the Lord," it says, "was with them," that is, they wrought miracles; "and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord." (v. 21.) Do you mark why now also there was heed of miracles (namely) that they might believe? "Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch." (v. 22.) What may be the reason that, when such a city received the word, they did not come themselves? Because of the Jews. But they send Barnabas. However, it is no small part of the providential management even so that Paul comes to be there. It is both natural, and it is wisely ordered, that they are averse to him, and (so) that Voice of the Gospel, that Trumpet of heaven, is not shut up in Jerusalem..."And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch." (v. 26.) Verily this is the reason why it was there they were appointed to be called Christians, because Paul there spent so long time!

St. John Chrysostom

Homily 25 on Acts 11, 4th Century

Hymns of the Day

Apolytikion of Great and Holy Pascha in the Plagal First Tone

Christ is risen from the dead, by death, trampling down upon death, and to those in the tombs He has granted life.

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone

When the tidings of the resurrection from the glorious angel was proclaimed unto the women disciples and our ancestral sentence also had been abolished to the Apostles with the boasting did they proclaim that death is vanquished ever more and Christ Our God has risen from the dead and granted to the world His great mercy.

Apolytikion for Mid-Pentecost in the Plagal Fourth Tone

Mid-way in the feast, refresh my thirsty soul with the flowing waters of piety. For You cried out to all, O Savior, "Let him who thirsts come to me and drink." You, O Christ our God, are the Fountain of Life, glory to You.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Plagal Fourth Tone

Though You went down into the tomb, You destroyed Hades' power, and You rose the victor, Christ God, saying to the myrrh-bearing women, "Hail!" and granting peace to Your disciples, You who raise up the fallen.

The translations of hymns are under copyright and used by permission. All rights reserved. These works may not be further reproduced, in print or on other websites or in any other form, without the prior written authorization of the copyright holder:

Apolytikion of Great and Holy Pascha in the Plagal of the First Tone © Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

Resurrectional Apolytikion in Fourth Tone © Green Hymnal

Apolytikion for Mid-Pentecost in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone © Narthex Press - Northridge, CA

Seasonal Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone © Narthex Press - Northridge, CA

Saints and Feasts

May 14

Sunday of the Samaritan Woman

One of the most ancient cities of the Promised Land was Shechem, also called Sikima, located at the foot of Mount Gerazim. There the Israelites had heard the blessings in the days of Moses and Jesus of Navi. Near to this town, Jacob, who had come from Mesopotamia in the nineteenth century before Christ, bought a piece of land where there was a well. This well, preserved even until the time of Christ, was known as Jacob's Well. Later, before he died in Egypt, he left that piece of land as a special inheritance to his son Joseph (Gen. 49:22). This town, before it was taken into possession by Samaria, was also the leading city of the kingdom of the ten tribes. In the time of the Romans it was called Neapolis, and at present Nablus. It was the first city in Canaan visited by the Patriarch Abraham. Here also, Jesus of Navi (Joshua) addressed the tribes of Israel for the last time. Almost three hundred years later, all Israel assembled there to make Roboam (Rehoboam) king.

When our Lord Jesus Christ, then, came at midday to this city, which is also called Sychar (John 4:5), He was wearied from the journey and the heat, and He sat down at this well. After a little while the Samaritan woman mentioned in today's Gospel passage came to draw water. As she conversed at some length with the Lord and heard from Him secret things concerning herself, she believed in Him; through her many other Samaritans also believed.

Concerning the Samaritans we know the following: In the year 721 before Christ, Salmanasar (Shalmaneser), King of the Assyrians, took the ten tribes of the kingdom of Israel into captivity, and relocated all these people to Babylon and the land of the Medes. From there he gathered various nations and sent them to Samaria. These nations had been idolaters from before. Although they were later instructed in the Jewish faith and believed in the one God, they worshipped the idols also. Furthermore, they accepted only the Pentateuch of Moses, and rejected the other books of Holy Scripture. Nonetheless, they thought themselves to be descendants of Abraham and Jacob. Therefore, the pious Jews named these Judaizing and idolatrous peoples Samaritans, since they lived in Samaria, the former leading city of the Israelites, as well as in the other towns thereabout. The Jews rejected them as heathen and foreigners, and had no communion with them at all, as the Samaritan woman observed, "the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans" (John 4:9). Therefore, the name Samaritan is used derisively many times in the Gospel narrations. After the Ascension of the Lord, and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the woman of Samaria was baptized by the holy Apostles and became a great preacher and Martyr of Christ; she was called Photine, and her feast is kept on February 26.

May 14

Isidore the Martyr of Chios

This Saint was a soldier from Alexandria. He came with the Roman fleet to Chios, where he was betrayed as a Christian to Numerian, Commander of the Fleet. Because he boldly pro-fessed himself to worship Christ as God and refused to worship any other, he was tormented and beheaded in 251, during the reign of Decius.

May 15

Pachomius the Great

Saint Pachomius was born of pagan parents in the Upper Thebaid of Egypt. He was conscripted into the Roman army at an early age. While quartered with the other soldiers in the prison in Thebes, Pachomius was astonished at the kindness shown them by the local Christians, who relieved their distress by bringing them food and drink. Upon inquiring who they were, he believed in Christ and vowed that once delivered from the army, he would serve Him all the days of his life. Released from military service, about the year 313, he was baptized, and became a disciple of the hermit Palamon, under whose exacting guidance he increased in virtue and grace, and reached such a height of holiness that "because of the purity of his heart," says his biographer, "he was, as it were, seeing the invisible God as in a mirror." His renown spread far, and so many came to him to be his disciples that he founded nine monasteries in all, filled with many thousands of monks, to whom he gave a rule of life, which became the pattern for all communal monasticism after him. While Saint Anthony the Great is the father of hermits, Saint Pachomius is the founder of the cenobitic life in Egypt; because Pachomius had founded a way of monasticism accessible to so many, Anthony said that he "walks the way of the Apostles." Saint Pachomius fell asleep in the Lord before his contemporaries Anthony and Athanasius the Great, in the year 346. His name in Coptic, Pachom, means "eagle."

May 15

Achillius the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Larissa

Saint Achillius was one of the 318 God-bearing Fathers who were present at the First Ecumenical Council; after returning to Larissa he cast down many pagan temples, delivered many from the demons, and raised up churches to the glory of God. He reposed about the middle of the fourth century.

May 16

Theodore the Sanctified

This Saint, who was born in the Upper Thebaid of Christian parents, joined the community of Saint Pachomios at about the age of fourteen years, and became the greatest of his disciples. Because of Theodore's utter humility and unquestioning obedience, Pachomios called him more and more to his aid in governing the monasteries he had established. Although some found fault with this, because Theodore was younger than they, Pachomios continued to put his confidence in him, to such a degree that once he told the brotherhood, "Theodore and I fulfil the same service for God; and he also has the authority to give commands as father." Pachomios was succeeded as governor of the monks by Saint Orsiesius in 346, and Orsiesius later took Theodore as his fellow abbot. At Theodore's death in the year 368, the monks mourned him so bitterly that the sound of their crying was heard on the other side of the river.

May 17

The Holy Apostles Andronicus and Junia

These Apostles are mentioned by Saint Paul in his Epistle to the Romans, where he writes: "Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the Apostles, who also were in Christ before me" (Rom. 16:7).

May 18

Holy Martyrs: Peter, Dionysius, Andrew, Paul, Christina, Heraclius, Paulinus and Benedimus

These Saints all contested in martyrdom during the reign of Decius (249-251)- Peter was from Lampsacus in the Hellespont. For refusing to offer sacrifice to the idol of Aphrodite, his whole body was crushed and broken with chains and pieces of wood on a torture-wheel; having endured this torment courageously, he gave up his soul.

Paul and Andrew were soldiers from Mesopotamia brought to Athens with their governor, there they were put in charge of two captive Christians, Dionysios and Christina. The soldiers, seeing the beauty of the virgin Christina, attempted to move her to commit sin with them, but she refused and, by her admonitions, brought them to faith in Christ. They and Dionysios were stoned to death, and Christina was beheaded.

Heraclius, Paulinus, and Benedimus were Athenians, and preachers of the Gospel who turned many of the heathen from their error to the light of Christ. Brought before the governor, they confessed their Faith, and after many torments were beheaded.

May 19

Patrick the Hieromartyr and Bishop of Prusa and His Fellow Martyrs Acacius, Menander, and Polyaenus

Saint Patrick was Bishop of Prusa, a city in Bithynia (the present-day Brusa or Bursa). Because of his Christian Faith, he was brought before Julius (or Julian) the Consul, who in his attempts to persuade Patrick to worship as he himself did, declared that thanks was owed to the gods for providing the hot springs welling up from the earth for the benefit of men. Saint Patrick answered that thanks for this was owed to our Lord Jesus Christ, and explained that when He, Who is God, created the earth, He made it with both fire and water, and the fire under the earth heats the water which wells up, producing hot springs; he then explained that there is another fire, which awaits the ungodly. Because of this, he was cast into the hot springs, but it was the soldiers who cast him in, and not he, who were harmed by the hot water. After this Saint Patrick was beheaded with the presbyters Acacius, Menander, and Polyaenus. Most likely, this was during the reign of Diocletian (284-305).

May 20

The Holy Martyr Thalleleus

Saint Thalleleus was from the region of Lebanon in Phoenicia, the son of Berucius, a Christian bishop; his mother's name was Romula. Raised in piety, he was trained as a physician. Because of the persecution of Numerian, the Saint departed to Cilicia, and in Anazarbus he hid himself in an olive grove; but he was seized and taken to Aegae of Cilicia to Theodore, the ruler. After many torments he was beheaded in 284. Saint Thalleleus is one of the Holy Unmercenaries.

May 20

Father Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow

Our holy and wonderworking Father Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow, was born in Moscow in 1292, and consecrated bishop in 1350. Chosen as Metropolitan in 1354, he was ordained by Ecumenical Patriarch Philotheus. He founded several monasteries, including the first women's convent in the city of Moscow. From the Greek he translated and wrote out the Holy Gospel. For the good of the Church and his country he twice journeyed to the Horde and did much to propitiate the Khan and ease the burden of the Tartar yoke; he also healed Taidula, the Khan's wife. His relics are laid to rest in the Chudov Monastery in Moscow, which he founded on land granted him by the Khan and his wife in thanksgiving. Today is the feast of the translation of his holy relics, which took place in 1485, and again in 1686.

Metropolis of Atlanta

Message from Metropolitan Alexios

My Beloved Ones,

Χριστὸς ἀνέστη! Christ is Risen!

As we have passed the halfway point between Pascha and Pentecost, I would like to mark a national holiday, which has its roots in our Christian understanding of the family. This Sunday, Mother’s Day, will reinforce St. Paul’s quotation to the Ephesians, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’ (this is the first commandment with a promise), that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

This coming Sunday, I pray that we will all recall the simple but moving proverb, which states that, “God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.” Through the mysterious bond that is motherhood, God has given us an earthly, physical example of the unconditional love that we experience spiritually through our relationship with Him. No matter what we do, good or bad, God always loves us because we are His creations; just as our mothers, in spite of countless moments of sorrow and joy, never stop loving their children.

Christ Himself lived out the observance of this commandment by taking care of and honoring His mother, the Theotokos. In the Gospel of John, Christ’s first public miracle, changing the water into wine, comes at the instigation of His mother. The Evangelist tells us that Christ, though He questioned whether His time had yet come, performed the miracle because His mother wished for it. Even at their most vulnerable moment, with His mother at the foot of the Cross, He fulfilled His obligation as a dutiful son by ensuring that Mary was entrusted to the care of His beloved disciple John.

Christ, as both God and Man, sought to present Himself as a model for the manner in which we are meant to treat our mothers, because He understood the valuable role that our mothers play. Mothers are so many things during the course of the lives of their children: they are our first teachers, they are providers of unconditional love, and they are pillars of support for the whole family, whether they work outside the home, or within.

This coming Sunday, I pray that we will all seek to honor our mothers (whether they are still with us, or if they have fallen asleep), and in thinking on them, grow closer to not only our families, but to our God, who in His infinite wisdom, saw fit to create people as wonderful as mothers.

+ALEXIOS
Metropolitan of Atlanta

The Panagia Chapel Roof Tiles Campaign: Our opportunity to place the names of our loved ones in the Holy Altar of the Panagia Chapel.

April 24, 2017

My Beloved Brothers and Sisters in our Resurrected Lord

CRISTOS ANESTH!

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

I greet you all with a joyful heart as we live in the renewal of our Lord’s Resurrection. I
come before you today, to encourage all of us to work together hand in hand for the
completion of the Panagia Chapel, which is the jewel of our Metropolis at the Diakonia
Retreat Center in Salem, SC, through the Roof Tiles Campaign.

As someone who fervently prays for the spiritual lives of all our faithful, I believe that
the Panagia Chapel allows all of us—including our young people—to feel inspired, as we
work towards that common goal when we are able to gather together and worship as the
Body of Christ.

I am asking each faithful household of our Holy Metropolis to participate by submitting
names of both living and departed loved ones (even if you are not financially able to
contribute to the Roof Tiles Campaign). I do not want anyone to miss the blessing to
submit names, for it is a great one; because not only will the list of names be sealed
within the Holy Altar and with Holy Relics during the consecration of our Chapel, but
the names will be commemorated at all the services throughout the year and the years to come.

I thank you for your continued support. I pray that during this season of renewal, we
will all be uplifted by our communal vision, as we seek to create an environment which
will ensure that our children, grandchildren, and countless future generations always
have a place which reflects God’s glory and the living presence of the Saints. On behalf of the faithful souls in our Metropolis, I remain,

With paternal blessings and with much love in our Risen Lord,

+ALEXIOS
Metropolitan of Atlanta

From the Chancellor's Desk

I commend all our mothers and mothers-to-be for their faithfulness in nurturing and raising our children and serving as role models of God’s love and mercy. We thank you and appreciate you greatly. In their honor, I offer this reflection of the role of motherhood. For our mothers who have fallen asleep in the Lord, we pray for their eternal repose.

A Mother’s Role . . .

If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place, but have not love, I am a housekeeper – not a homemaker. If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements, but have not love, my children learn cleanliness – not godliness. Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh. Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window. Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk. Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys. Love is present through the trials. Love reprimands, reproves, and is responsive. Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, runs with the child, and then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood. Love is the key that opens salvation's message to a child's heart. Before I became a mother, I took glory in my house of perfection. Now, I glory in God's perfection of my child.

As a mother, there is much I must teach my child, but the greatest of all is love. (Author Unknown)

+Fr. George Tsahakis
Chancellor

The Strategic Plan

Strategic Plan Updates

After many months of hard work and much anticipation, the first goals of the Metropolis of Atlanta Strategic Plan are complete and there is content on the Web Portal for download. Parishioners are invited to use the new content found at www.atlstrategicplan.org/portal to enhance their efforts working for the Church and its many ministries. The completed Goals include: 1.1 Parish Strategic Planning, 3.3 Communications Director, 5.4 Seniors Program, 10.1 Metropolis Website and 10.3 Best Practices Metropolis Resource Center Portal. In addition to the first content, the website has been redesigned for ease of use. For more information please visit www.atlstrategicplan.org. If you have questions, contact your Parish Champion or communications@atlmetropolis.org.

Family Life Ministry

The Metropolis of Atlanta’s Family Life Ministry (www.familylifeministry.atlanta.goarch.org) strengthens individuals, families and church families through adaptable programs, blogs and educational materials as a means of fostering connection within our homes and our parishes.

In this third episode of the “Family Insights” Podcast , Paula Marchman (Managing Director of FLM) and Eleni Alexiou (Managing Director of OCN) continue the discussion of how we all make mistakes and how struggles can be good. Together these counselors will walk you through the important topics so that you can gain insight into your family. Sit back today, listen, and find your deep breathe.

To listen, visit the podcast’s page HERE.

Journey of Marriage (Pre-Marital Seminar)

All couples marrying in the Metropolis must attend a Metropolis-sponsored Journey of Marriage seminar prior to their wedding. The couple will present their certificate of completion to their parish priest after the seminar.

Saint Catherine hosted a Jouney of Marriage Seminar on Saturday, May 6th.

To see the full list of seminars through 2017, and to register, please visit: http://www.familylifeministry.atlanta.goarch.org/upcoming-events-2/

When you shop with Amazon, you can donate to the Diakonia Retreat Center

Shop with Amazon, donate to the DRC

Amazon Smile is a program that allows for 0.5% of your eligible Amazon purchase to be donated to the Diakonia Retreat Center. To find our Amazon Smile page, visit https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-2187047.

Panagia Chapel

The Panagia Chapel is now being built at our Diakonia Retreat Center. Upon completion it will be the heart and life for all who attend retreats there, a unique place of prayer for all in our Metropolis now and for generations to come.

Click here to see photos of the construction as of February 15, 2017, during the Clergy Syndesmos Late Winter Retreat.

Assembly of Bishops News

Go and Make Disciples: Evangelization and Outreach in US Orthodox Parishes

04/24/2017

http://assemblyofbishops.org/news/2017/evangelization-study-report

The first ever, national study on evangelization and outreach in Orthodox parishes in the United States has been released by the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA. The report 'Go and Make Disciples: Evangelization and Outreach in US Orthodox Parishes' explores the practices and strategies developed by some Orthodox parishes that can be viewed as 'exemplary' in their missionary and outreach efforts.

Assembly Chairman's Message for Holy Pascha 2017

04/12/2017

http://assemblyofbishops.org/news/2017/chairmans-message-for-holy-pascha-2017

Pascha 2017 - To the Reverend Priests and Deacons, the Monks and Nuns, the Presidents and Members of Parish Councils, the Day, Afternoon, and Church Schools, the Members of Philanthropic Organizations, the Youth and Youth Workers, and the entire Orthodox Christian Family in the United States of America

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese to Continue Successful Fellowships at the UN

02/07/2017

http://assemblyofbishops.org/news/2017/united-nations-fellowship

The Department of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is inviting graduate and recent post-graduate students to apply for its fellowships at the United Nations.

New Map of Bishops and Parishes Available on the Assembly Website

12/07/2016

http://assemblyofbishops.org/news/2016/new-map-of-bishops-and-parishes-available-on-the-assembly-website

An updated map of Orthodox bishops and parishes in the US is now available on the Assembly's website.

Message of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America

10/06/2016

http://assemblyofbishops.org/news/2016/message-2016-assembly

We, the members of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, gathered in Detroit, Michigan, for our seventh annual meeting on October 4-6, 2016 greet you with love in Christ as we offer glory and thanksgiving to Him. Forty-one hierarchs assembled in order to recognize and reinforce our unity in the Orthodox faith.

Address of the Chairman His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America at the 7th Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America

10/06/2016

http://assemblyofbishops.org/news/2016/address-archbishop-demetrios-assembly-2016

Having approached and partaken in the Holy Eucharist as members of the Body of Christ, we convene here in Detroit, Michigan. It is a city whose people have experienced the results of decades of neglect, isolation, and abandonment, but now steadily move forward on the path of transformation towards a renewed life. I cannot help but reflect upon the idea of transformation in our case. We truly need a transformation in Christ, with Christ, and for Christ leading to unity, holiness and effective service. And if this is so, we must, following the Apostle Paul, strive to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the sharing of His sufferings (Phil. 3:10), and following the Apostle Peter, with a sincere love for the brethren and from a pure heart let us love one another intensely (1 Peter 1:22).

Official Website of Holy and Great Council Now Online

05/25/2016

http://assemblyofbishops.org/news/2016/official-website-of-holy-and-great-council-now-online

The official website of the Holy and Great Council is now online.

Atlas of American Orthodox Monasteries Now Available

02/11/2016

http://assemblyofbishops.org/news/2016/first-ever-atlas-of-american-orthodox-monasteries-now-available

The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America announces the publication of the first-ever Atlas of American Orthodox Christian Monasteries.

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese News

Metropolitan Philotheos of Meloa Falls Asleep in the Lord

05/10/2017

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America mourns the passing of Metropolitan Philotheos of Meloa who fell asleep in the Lord early this morning following a short illness

https://www.goarch.org/-/metropolitan-philotheos-of-meloa-falls-asleep-in-the-lord

Archdiocesan Council Holds Spring Meeting in Chicago

05/06/2017

The Archdiocesan Council of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, under the chairmanship of Archbishop Demetrios of America, convened in Chicago’s Marriott Downtown Hotel for its regularly scheduled spring meeting May 4 and 5.

https://www.goarch.org/-/archdiocesan-council-holds-spring-meeting-in-chica-1

General Information

Contact Information

Services Schedule

Past Bulletins

This Week and Upcoming Events

Event Flyers

Sunday of the Samaritan Woman - Family Connections (Letter)

Panagia Chapel Roof Tiles Campaign

Mother's Day 2017

Gospel and Epistle Readings

Matins Gospel Reading

Epistle Reading

Gospel Reading

Wisdom of the Fathers

Hymns of the Day

Apolytikion of Great and Holy Pascha in the Plagal First Tone

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone

Apolytikion for Mid-Pentecost in the Plagal Fourth Tone

Seasonal Kontakion in the Plagal Fourth Tone

Saints and Feasts

Sunday of the Samaritan Woman

Isidore the Martyr of Chios

Pachomius the Great

Achillius the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Larissa

Theodore the Sanctified

The Holy Apostles Andronicus and Junia

Holy Martyrs: Peter, Dionysius, Andrew, Paul, Christina, Heraclius, Paulinus and Benedimus

Patrick the Hieromartyr and Bishop of Prusa and His Fellow Martyrs Acacius, Menander, and Polyaenus

The Holy Martyr Thalleleus

Father Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow

Metropolis of Atlanta

Message from Metropolitan Alexios

The Panagia Chapel Roof Tiles Campaign: Our opportunity to place the names of our loved ones in the Holy Altar of the Panagia Chapel.

From the Chancellor's Desk

The Strategic Plan

Family Life Ministry

When you shop with Amazon, you can donate to the Diakonia Retreat Center

Shop with Amazon, donate to the DRC

Panagia Chapel

Assembly of Bishops News

Go and Make Disciples: Evangelization and Outreach in US Orthodox Parishes

04/24/2017

Assembly Chairman's Message for Holy Pascha 2017

04/12/2017

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese to Continue Successful Fellowships at the UN

02/07/2017

New Map of Bishops and Parishes Available on the Assembly Website

12/07/2016

Message of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America

10/06/2016

Address of the Chairman His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America at the 7th Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America

10/06/2016

Official Website of Holy and Great Council Now Online

05/25/2016

Atlas of American Orthodox Monasteries Now Available

02/11/2016

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese News

Metropolitan Philotheos of Meloa Falls Asleep in the Lord

05/10/2017

Archdiocesan Council Holds Spring Meeting in Chicago

05/06/2017