Sunday Services:
8:45 am Orthros
10:00 am Divine Liturgy
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth. (Ecclesiastes 12:1)
Download the Orthros (Matins) for Sunday, September 17th
Important This Week
* Introducing Orthodoxy Today, our new Thursday morning study group.
Join us in the Small Hall this Thursday at 9:30 am for our first session. Bring your questions
as we learn about our Greek Orthodox faith and how we live it.
This Week at Saint Catherine
Sunday, September 17 ~ Sunday after Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Celebrant: Father Andrew Mahalaras
8:45 am Orthros
10:00 am Divine Liturgy
10:00 am Sunday School
Tuesday, September 19
Philoptochos
10:00 am Board
12:00 pm Luncheon
Wednesday, September 20
6:00 pm Becoming Orthodox (1)
Thursday, September 21
9:30 am-11:00 am Orthodoxy Today *
7:00 pm Parish Council Meeting
Highlights of Upcoming Services and Events
Sunday, September 24 ~ 1st Sunday of Luke
8:45 am Orthros
10:00 am Divine Liturgy
10:00 am Sunday School
Wednesday, September 27
6:00 pm Becoming Orthodox (2)
Thursday, September 28
9:30 am-11:00 am Orthodoxy Today
Saturday, September 30
11:00 am-4:00 pm District GOYA in Boca Raton
YouTube
Many of our Divine Liturgies are available at www.youtube.com.
Search for “Saint Catherine Greek Orthodox Church”. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
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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/
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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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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/
PANAGIA CHAPEL CONFERENCE CENTER T H Y R A N O I X I A "OPENING OF THE DOORS" Orthros - 7:30 a.m. Liturgy - 8:30 a.m. Thyranoixia/Program - 11:00 a.m. Lunch to follow Thursday, October 12, 2017
Now seeking sponsors for "Greek Food and Wine Fest" 2018, our 43rd Annual Festival.
See Metropolis events on your favorite Social Media site.
Our opportunity to place the names of our loved ones in the Holy Altar of the Panagia Chapel !
Fourth Orthros Gospel
The Reading is from Luke 24:1-12
On the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women went to the tomb, taking the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel; and as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of man must be delivered in to the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise." And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told this to the apostles; but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home wondering at what had happened.
Prokeimenon. Plagal Second Tone. Psalm 27.9,1.
O Lord, save your people and bless your inheritance.
Verse: To you, O Lord, I have cried, O my God.
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians 2:16-20.
Brethren, knowing that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified. But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we ourselves were found to be sinners, is Christ then an agent of sin? Certainly not! But if I build up again those things which I tore down, then I prove myself a transgressor. For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Sunday after Holy Cross
The Reading is from Mark 8:34-38; 9:1
The Lord said: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power."
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:
These Saints were from Italy and contested for the Faith about the year 126, during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Faith was twelve years old, Hope, ten, and Love, nine; each was tormented and then beheaded, from the eldest to the youngest. Their mother Sophia mourned at their grave for three days, where she also fell asleep in peace; because of her courageous endurance in the face of her daughters' sufferings, she is also counted a martyr. The name Sophia means "wisdom" in Greek; as for her daughters' names, Faith, Hope, and Love (Charity), they are Pistis, Elpis, and Agape in Greek, and Vera, Nadezhda, and Lyubov in Russian.
This Saint took up the monastic life from his youth, and later became Bishop of Gortynia in Crete. He travelled to Rome, and to Thebes in Upper Egypt, where through his prayers he ended a drought; there also, after working many miracles, he reposed in deep old age. His holy relics were returned to Gortynia and buried at the place called Raxos.
In 278, during the reign of Probus, Saints Trophimus and Sabbatius came to Antioch, and seeing the city celebrating the festival of Apollo at Daphne lamented the blindness of the people, and presented themselves as Christians to Atticus the Governor. Saint Trophimus was stripped of his clothing, and was stretched out and beaten until the earth was red with his blood. Then he was hung up, scraped on his sides, and imprisoned in torments. Saint Sabbatius was tortured so savagely that he gave up his spirit in his sufferings. Trophimus was sent to Synnada, wearing iron shoes fitted with sharp iron nails within; he was further tormented without mercy, then cast into prison. Dorymedon, a counsellor, and a pagan, came to the prison and cared for Trophimus. When a certain feast came, Dorymedon was asked why he did not sacrifice to the idols; he proclaimed himself a Christian, for which he was imprisoned, pierced with heated spits, frightfully punished, and finally beheaded with Saint Trophimus.
The holy Martyr Eustathius before his baptism was an illustrious Roman general named Placidas in the days of the Emperor Trajan. While hunting in the country one day, he was converted to the Faith of Christ through the apparition of an uncommonly majestic stag, between whose antlers he saw the Cross of Christ, and through which the Lord spoke to him with a human voice. Upon returning home, he learned that his wife Tatiana had also had a vision in which she was instructed to become a Christian. They sought out the Bishop of the Christians and were baptized, Placidas receiving the name Eustathius, and Tatiana the name Theopiste; their two sons were baptized Agapius and Theopistus. The family was then subjected to such trials as Job endured. Their servants died, all their goods were stolen, and on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem they were scattered abroad, each not even knowing if the others were still alive. By the providence of God, they were united again after many years, and returned to Rome in glory. Nevertheless, when they refused to sacrifice to the idols-a public sacrifice from which no Roman general could be absent-the Emperor Hadrian, who had succeeded Trajan, had them put into a large bronze device in the shape of a bull, which was heated with fire until they died. When their holy bodies were removed, they were found to be without harm. They suffered martyrdom about the year 126.
Saint Helen, the mother of Saint Constantine the Great, when she was already advanced in years, undertook, in her great piety, the hardships of a journey to Jerusalem in search of the cross, about the year 325. A temple to Aphrodite had been raised up by the Emperor Hadrian upon Golgotha, to defile and cover with oblivion the place where the saving Passion had been suffered. The venerable Helen had the statue of Aphrodite destroyed, and the earth removed, revealing the Tomb of our Lord, and three crosses. Of these, it was believed that one must be that of our Lord, the other two of the thieves crucified with Him; but Saint Helen was at a loss which one might be the Wood of our salvation. At the inspiration of Saint Macarius, Archbishop of Jerusalem, a lady of Jerusalem, who was already at the point of death from a certain disease, was brought to touch the crosses, and as soon as she came near to the Cross of our Lord, she was made perfectly whole. Consequently, the precious Cross was lifted on high by Archbishop Macarius of Jerusalem; as he stood on the ambo, and when the people beheld it, they cried out, "Lord have mercy." It should be noted that after its discovery, a portion of the venerable Cross was taken to Constantinople as a blessing. The rest was left in Jerusalem in the magnificent church built by Saint Helen, until the year 614. At that time, the Persians plundered Palestine and took the Cross to their own country (see Jan. 22, Saint Anastasius the Persian). Late, in the year 628, Emperor Heraclius set out on a military campaign, retrieved the Cross, and after bringing it to Constantinople, himself escorted it back to Jerusalem, where he restored it to its place.
Rest from labour. A Fast is observed today, whatever day of the week it may be.
Saint Quadratus was a disciple of the Apostles, and became Bishop of Athens. According to the Synaxaristes, he contested for the Faith in the year 117, in the reign of Hadrian (117-138), but according to others, in the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161-180).
The Prophet Jonah, the son of Amathi, of the town of Geth-hopher (IV Kings 14:25), was of the tribe of Zabulon; he prophesied during the years 838-810 before Christ. God commanded him to go to Nineveh, the great city of the Assyrians, and to proclaim that its destruction was nigh at hand because of the sins of its people. But he, as a Prophet who knew the great compassion of God, feared that at his preaching the Ninevites would repent; that God, accepting their repentance in His love for man, would not fulfill Jonah' threats; and that he would be branded a false prophet. So he disobeyed the divine command, and boarded a ship and departed elsewhere. Yet, the sudden and fearful sea-storm and the revelation of Jonah' disbedience caused the sailors to cast him into the sea. A great sea-monster appeared straightway by divine providence, and swallowed him up. For three days and nights he was found in its belly and he prayed, saying the words, "I cried aloud in my affliction unto the Lord my God..." (Jonah 2:3, the Sixth ode of the Holy Psalter). The sea-monster then vomited him up on dry land and he again heard God's command. Wherefore, he went and preached, saying, "In three days, Nineveh shall be destroyed." The people became terrified and all repented. The great, the small, babes at the breast, and even the irrational beasts themselves fasted, and thus, having found mercy from God, they were spared His wrath. Jonah' book of prophecy is divided into four chapters, and is placed fifth in order among the twelve minor Prophets. His three-day sojourn in the sea-monster's belly is an image of our Saviour's three-day burial and His life-bringing Resurrection (Matt. 12:39-40). His name means "dove."
This saint was known for the many miracles he worked and for his apostolic zeal in shepherding the flock of Sinope. He contested for the Faith during the reign of the Emperor Trajan, in the year 102, when he was burned to death in a bath-house. A homily in his honour was composed by Saint John Chrysostom. The translation of his holy relics is celebrated on July 23.
This came to pass fifteen months before the birth of Christ, after the vision of the Angel that Zacharias, the father of the Forerunner, saw in the Temple while he executed the priest's office in the order of his course during the feast of the Tabernacles, as tradition bears witness. In this vision, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias and said to him, "Thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John" (Luke 1:13). Knowing that Elizabeth was barren, and that both he and she were elderly, Zacharias did not believe what the Angel told him, although he had before him the example of Abraham and Sarah, of Hannah, mother of the Prophet Samuel, and of other barren women in Israel who gave birth by the power of God. Hence, he was condemned by the Archangel to remain speechless until the fulfilment of these words in their season, which also came to pass (Luke 1:7-24).
Message from Metropolitan Alexios
My Beloved Ones,
During my time in Greece, I prayed in many places of devotion; not only on Mt. Athos, but also in Meteora, Mega Spileo in Kalavryta; Panagia Girokomeiou and Iera Moni Omplou in Patras; and even my family’s home chapel. I thought of you all constantly, praying for your health and safety, as well as for the health of our children in soul and body, as they begin a new academic year.
Now that we are all back in our beloved Metropolis of Atlanta, and as we continue through the Ecclesiastical New Year, I prayerfully ask that we use this new start to plan for the future, which can be accomplished by reflecting on our past endeavors, whether they were successful, or even if they could use improvement.
In the Church, we must always move forward with efforts to uplift ourselves, without giving in to pessimism. Pessimism, my brothers and sisters, is a negative trait, and one that belongs to the Devil, who does not wish to see us move ahead, or become spiritually “upgraded.”
Having celebrated the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, we would do well to remember that it is by the Holy Cross that such schemes of the Devil were defeated, and that is through the saving power of the Cross that we are even able to undertake such spiritual work. This instrument of death, was, as St. Paul says, “…a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 23-34).
Let us put this symbol in front of our minds in everything we do—in our relationships with others, and in our own spiritual lives—calling upon our Creator to, in the words of the Troparion of this Feast, “…save Your people, and bless Your inheritance, granting our rulers to prevail over adversaries, and protecting your commonwealth by your Cross.”
My prayer then, for all of us, is that we continue through this Ecclesiastical New Year in a spirit of optimism, being kinder and gentler to ourselves, and to one another. The process of unifying ourselves to our Creator is a gradual and life-long one, and it is only by lifting up one another, under the shadow of the sacred Cross, that we can begin.
+ALEXIOS
Metropolitan of Atlanta
From the Chancellor's Deskk
Thank you, God, that I can see. There are thousands who cannot see. For them, there is no sunrise or sunset; no autumn colors, no rainbow-tinted flowers, no movies, no delights of the eye.
Thank you, God, that I can hear. There are thousands who cannot hear the voice of their own mother, nor the singing of the birds, nor the radio, nor the laughter of children.
Thank you, God, that I can walk. How brave are those who live life without the use of their legs and are confined to a wheel chair, or even paralyzed from the waist down.
Thank you, God, that I can work. Look at the many who can do nothing with “brain or brawn or hands.” There are so many who have been laid off due to the economy and the fear of uncertain times.
Thank you, God, that I have something to eat. Millions as good as I, maybe even better, have little or nothing to eat. Thousands are dying of hunger, while I never miss a meal and enjoy the comforts of my home and family.
Thank you, God, for my Orthodox Faith, which teaches me to be thankful and to seek Your will in all that I do each day.
Thank you, God, for the freedom to worship You as You wish to be worshipped.
Thank you, God, for our beautiful Church and our comfortable home.
Thank you, God, for the privilege of attending the Divine Liturgy every Sunday and on special Feast Days.
Thank you, God, for permitting me to confess my sins and receive Your Divine Gifts, the Body and Blood of Your only Begotten Son and our Lord Jesus Christ.
For all these and more, O Lord, I thank You!
+Fr. George Tsahakis
Chancellor
The Strategic Plan
SAVE THE DATE: SATURDAY NOVEMBER 11 IN ATLANTA - FAITH FORUMS
The Faith Forums are where the 28 specific new programs and ministries developed to aid you and your parish community come to life with guided workshops to teach the content and answer your questions.
As a Metropolis family, together we are stronger and more capable. It is in this spirit that your Metropolis invites ALL laity and clergy from EVERY parish (regardless if you are a delegate or not) to join with us to explore exciting and positive best practices to help us on our journey as Christians and to make disciples of ourselves, our families, and our communities.
Why should I come?
We are excited to announce the following topics for the first official Faith Forums:
If any of these apply to you, you will want to attend! If you have any questions or wish to attend, please contact our Communications Director, Zoe Kafkes, at 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.
It’s a common scenario, we’ve all seen it and many of us are trying to manage it – a whole family at dinner, and everyone is on a device. Join us today as we discuss how to balance the risks and benefits of screen time, while fostering a close, Christ-centered family environment at the same time. Listening to our children creates an environment of support where our children feel that we are listening and taking them seriously and they listen too. So let’s put the electronics down and limit usage at home during family time.
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.
To see the full list of seminars through 2017, some scheduled already for 2018, and to register, please visit: http://www.familylifeministry.atlanta.goarch.org/upcoming-events-2/
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 (No Added Cost To You). To find our Amazon Smile page, visit https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-2187047.
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.
Look for an update after the October Clergy Retreat. The Thyranixia (opening of the doors) of the first floor of the Panagia Chapel (conference room) will be on October 12th.