St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church
Publish Date: 2026-10-11
Bulletin Contents
Hymns of the Day
Gospel and Epistle Readings
Wisdom of the Fathers
Saints and Feasts
Upcoming Schedule
Pastor's Ponderings
Memorials & Celebrations
Stewardship
Parish Family Life
Diakonia Newsletter

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St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church

General Information

  • Phone:
  • (978) 685-4052
  • Street Address:

  • 8 Lowell Street

  • Lawrence, MA 01840-1416
  • Mailing Address:

  • PO Box 10

  • Methuen, MA 01844

Contact Information

Father Ephraim Hastings
Pastor

[email protected] | 617-519-3966

Services Schedule

4 PM Saturdays - Confessions or schedule with Father Ephraim

5 PM Saturdays - Vespers

9 AM Sundays - Orthros

10 AM Sundays - Divine Liturgy

Sunday School (Sept-May) following Holy Communion

Past Bulletins


Hymns of the Day

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Second Tone

When Thou didst descend unto death, O Life Immortal, then didst Thou slay Hades with the lightning of Thy Divinity. And when Thou didst also raise the dead out of the nethermost depths, all the powers in the Heavens cried out: O Life-giver, Christ our God, glory be to Thee.

عندما انحدرت إلى الموت ايها الحياة الذي لايموت ، حينئذ أمتّ الجحيم ببرق لاهوتك، وعندما أقمت الاموات من تحت الثرى صرخ نحوك جميع القوات السماويين : ايها المسيح الاله المعطي الحياة المجد لك.

Apolytikion for Sun. of the 7th Ecumenical Council in the Eighth Tone

Most glorified art Thou, O Christ our God, Who hast established our Fathers as luminous stars upon the earth, and through them didst guide us all to the true Faith. O Most Merciful One, glory be to Thee.

انت ايها المسيح الهنا الفائق التسبيح، يا من اسست آباءنا القديسين على الأرض كواكب لامعة، وبهم هديتنا جميعاً الى الإيمان الحقيقي، ايها الجزيل الرحمة المجد لك.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Second Tone

O Protection of Christians that cannot be put to shame, mediation unto the creator most constant: O despise not the voices of those who have sinned; but be quick, O good one, to come unto our aid, who in faith cry unto thee: Hasten to intercession and speed thou to make supplication, O thou who dost ever protect, O Theotokos, them that honor thee.

يا شَفيعَةَ المَسيحيينَ غَيْرَ الخازِيَة، الوَسيطَةَ لَدَى الخالِقِ غَيْرَ المَرْدُودة، لا تُعْرِضِي عَنْ أصْواتِ طَلِبَاتِنا نحْنُ الخَطَأَة، بَلْ تَدارَكينا بالمَعونَةِ بِما أنَّكِ صالِحَة، نحْنُ الصارِخِينَ إليْكِ بإيمانٍ: بادِرِي إلَى الشَفاعَةِ وأسْرِعِي في الطِلْبَةِ، يا والِدَةَ الإلَه، المُتَشَفِّعَةَ دائِمًا بِمُكَرِّمِيكِ.



Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Fourth Tone. Daniel 3.26,27.
Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers.
Verse: For you are just in all you have done.

The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to Titus 3:8-15.

Titus, my son, the saying is sure. I desire you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to apply themselves to good deeds; these are excellent and profitable to men. But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels over the law, for they are unprofitable and futile. As for a man who is factious, after admonishing him once or twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is perverted and sinful; he is self-condemned.

When I send Artemas or Tychicos to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. And let our people learn to apply themselves to good deeds, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not to be unfruitful.

All who are with me send greeting to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.

البروكيمنون. Fourth Tone. دانيال 3: 26-27.
مبارك أنت يارب إله آبائنا
Verse: لأنك عدل في كل ما صنعت

فصل من رسالة بولس الى تِيطُسَ 3: 8-15.

يَا وَلَدي تِيطُسَ، صَادِقَةٌ هِيَ الْكَلِمَةُ. وَأُرِيدُ أَنْ تُقَرِّرَ هَذِهِ الأُمُورَ، لِكَيْ يَهْتَمَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِاللهِ أَنْ يُمَارِسُوا أَعْمَالاً حَسَنَةً. فَإِنَّ هَذِهِ الأُمُورَ هِيَ الْحَسَنَةُ وَالنَّافِعَةُ لِلنَّاسِ. وَأَمَّا الْمُبَاحَثَاتُ الْغَبِيَّةُ وَالأَنْسَابُ وَالْخُصُومَاتُ وَالْمُنَازَعَاتُ النَّامُوسِيَّةُ فَاجْتَنِبْهَا، لأَنَّهَا غَيْرُ نَافِعَةٍ، وَبَاطِلَةٌ. اَلرَّجُلُ الْمُبْتَدِعُ بَعْدَ الإِنْذَارِ مَرَّةً وَمَرَّتَيْنِ أَعْرِضْ عَنْهُ. عَالِماً أَنَّ مِثْلَ هَذَا قَدِ انْحَرَفَ، وَهُوَ يُخْطِئُ مَحْكُوماً عَلَيْهِ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ. حِينَمَا أُرْسِلُ إِلَيْكَ أَرْتِيمَاسَ أَوْ تِيخِيكُسَ بَادِرْ أَنْ تَأْتِيَ إِلَيَّ إِلَى نِيكُوبُولِيسَ، لأَنِّي عَزَمْتُ أَنْ أُشَتِّيَ هُنَاكَ. جَهِّزْ زِينَاسَ النَّامُوسِيَّ وَأَبُلُّوسَ بِاجْتِهَادٍ لِلسَّفَرِ حَتَّى لاَ يُعْوِزَهُمَا شَيْءٌ. وَلْيَتَعَلَّمْ مَنْ لَنَا أَيْضاً أَنْ يُمَارِسُوا أَعْمَالاً حَسَنَةً لِلْحَاجَاتِ الضَّرُورِيَّةِ، حَتَّى لاَ يَكُونُوا بِلاَ ثَمَرٍ. يُسَلِّمُ عَلَيْكَ الَّذِينَ مَعِي جَمِيعاً. سَلِّمْ عَلَى الَّذِينَ يُحِبُّونَنَا فِي الإِيمَانِ. النِّعْمَةُ مَعَ جَمِيعِكُمْ. آمِينَ.

Gospel Reading

Sunday of the 7th Ecumenical Council
The Reading is from Luke 8:5-15

The Lord said this parable: "A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the path, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold." And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. And as for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience." As he said these things, he cried out "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Sunday of the 7th Ecumenical Council
لوقا 8: 5-15

5 قال الرب هذا المثل ((خَرَجَ الزَّارِعُ لِيَزْرَعَ زَرْعَهُ. وَفِيمَا هُوَ يَزْرَعُ سَقَطَ بَعْضٌ عَلَى الطَّرِيقِ ، فَانْدَاسَ وَأَكَلَتْهُ طُيُورُ السَّمَاءِ. 6وَسَقَطَ آخَرُ عَلَى الصَّخْرِ ، فَلَمَّا نَبَتَ جَفَّ لأَنَّهُ لَمْ تَكُنْ لَهُ رُطُوبَةٌ. 7وَسَقَطَ آخَرُ فِي وَسْطِ الشَّوْكِ ، فَنَبَتَ مَعَهُ الشَّوْكُ وَخَنَقَهُ. 8وَسَقَطَ آخَرُ فِي الأَرْضِ الصَّالِحَةِ ، فَلَمَّا نَبَتَ صَنَعَ ثَمَراً مِئَةَ ضِعْفٍ)). قَالَ هَذَا وَنَادَى: ((مَنْ لَهُ أُذْنَانِ لِلسَّمْعِ فَلْيَسْمَعْ !)). 9فَسَأَلَهُ تَلاَمِيذُهُ قَائِليِنَ : ((مَا عَسَى أَنْ يَكُونَ هَذَا الْمَثَلُ؟)). 10فَقَالَ: ((لَكُمْ قَدْ أُعْطِيَ أَنْ تَعْرِفُوا أَسْرَارَ مَلَكُوتِ اللهِ ، وَأَمَّا لِلْبَاقِينَ فَبِأَمْثَالٍ ، حَتَّى إِنَّهُمْ مُبْصِرِينَ لاَ يُبْصِرُونَ ، وَسَامِعِينَ لاَ يَفْهَمُونَ. 11وَهَذَا هُوَ الْمَثَلُ: الزَّرْعُ هُوَ كَلاَمُ اللهِ،  12وَالَّذِينَ عَلَى الطَّرِيقِ هُمُ الَّذِينَ يَسْمَعُونَ ، ثُمَّ يَأْتِي إِبْلِيسُ وَيَنْزِعُ الْكَلِمَةَ مِنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ لِئَلاَّ يُؤْمِنُوا فَيَخْلُصُوا. 13وَالَّذِينَ عَلَى الصَّخْرِ هُمُ الَّذِينَ مَتَى سَمِعُوا يَقْبَلُونَ الْكَلِمَةَ بِفَرَحٍ،  وَهَؤُلاَءِ لَيْسَ لَهُمْ أَصْلٌ ، فَيُؤْمِنُونَ إِلَى حِينٍ ، وَفِي وَقْتِ التَّجْرِبَةِ يَرْتَدُّونَ. 14وَالَّذِي سَقَطَ بَيْنَ الشَّوْكِ هُمُ الَّذِينَ يَسْمَعُونَ ، ثُمَّ يَذْهَبُونَ فَيَخْتَنِقُونَ مِنْ هُمُومِ الْحَيَاةِ وَغِنَاهَا وَلَذَّاتِهَا ، وَلاَ يُنْضِجُونَ ثَمَراً. 15وَالَّذِي فِي الأَرْضِ الْجَيِّدَةِ ، هُوَ الَّذِينَ يَسْمَعُونَ الْكَلِمَةَ فَيَحْفَظُونَهَا فِي قَلْبٍ جَيِّدٍ صَالِحٍ ، وَيُثْمِرُونَ بِالصَّبْرِ ولما قال هذا نادى من له أذنان للسمع فليسمع . 

 

 



Wisdom of the Fathers

When you see life's pleasures, beware that they might not distract you, for they conceal death's snares. Likewise a fisherman casts not his hook to no purpose. As bait for his hook, the enemy uses the delusion of sensuality to arouse desire, that he might thereby catch men's souls and subject them to himself. A soul which has been caught to serve the enemy's will then serves as a snare for other souls, for it conceals the grief of sin with its apparent delight.
St. Ephraim the Syrian
A Spiritual Psalter no 43, pg. 74, 4th century

Since there are certain people who find great fault with us for adoring and honoring both the image of the Savior and that of our Lady, as well as those of the rest of the saints and servants of Christ, let them hear how from the beginning God made man to His own image. For what reason, then, do we adore one another, except because we have been made to the image of God? As the inspired Basil, who is deeply learned in theology, says: "the honor paid to the image conveys to the original.," and the original is the thing imaged from which the copy is made.
St. John of Damascus
The Orthodox Faith, 4.16. Catholic University of America Press in Washington D.C. Translated by Frederic H. Chase, Jr. volume 37, page 370., 8th Century



Saints and Feasts

October 11

Sunday of the 7th Ecumenical Council

On the Sunday that falls on or immediately after the eleventh of this month, we chant the Service to the 350 holy Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, which gathered in Nicaea in 787 under the holy Patriarch Tarasius and during the reign of the Empress Irene and her son, Constantine Porphyrogenitus, to refute the Iconoclast heresy, which had received imperial support beginning with the Edict issued in 726 by Emperor Leo the Isaurian. Many of the holy Fathers who condemned Iconoclasm at this holy Council later died as Confessors and Martyrs for the holy Icons during the second assult of Iconoclasm in the ninth century, especially during the reigns of Leo the Armenian and Theophilus.

October 11

Philip the Apostle of the 70, one of the 7 Deacons

Saint Philip, who had four daughters that prophesied, was from Caesarea of Palestine. He preached throughout Samaria; it was he also who met the eunuch of Candace, the Queen of the Ethiopians, as the eunuch was reading the Prophet Esaias, and he instructed and baptized him (Acts 8:26-39). He reposed in Tralles of Asia Minor while preaching the Gospel.

October 11

Theophanes the Confessor, Bishop of Nicaea

Saint Theophanes, the brother of Saint Theodore the Branded, was a Palestinian by race. Both were monks at the Monastery of Saint Sabbas. They were called "the Branded" because Theophilus, the last of the Iconoclast emperors, had twelve iambic verses branded by hot irons on their foreheads and then sent them into exile, where Theodore died in the year 838. After the death of Theophilus in 842, Theophanes was elected Bishop of Nicaea. Both brothers composed many canons and hymns, thereby adorning the services of the Church.

October 12

Symeon the New Theologian

Saint Symeon became a monk of the Studite Monastery as a young man, under the guidance of the elder Symeon the Pious. Afterwards he struggled at the Monastery of Saint Mamas in Constantinople, of which he became abbot. After enduring many trials and afflictions in his life of piety, he reposed in 1022. Marvelling at the heights of prayer and holiness to which he attained, and the loftiness of the teachings of his life and writings, the church calls him "the New Theologian." Only to two others, John the Evangelist and Gregory, Patriarch of Constantinople, has the church given the name "Theologian." Saint Symeon reposed on March 12, but since this always falls in the Great Fast, his feast is kept today.

October 14

Kosmas the Hagiopolite

Saint Cosmas was from the Holy City, Jerusalem, and was a contemporary and peer of Saint John of Damascus (Dec. 4), with whom also he was reared when, because of his orphanhood he was adopted by Sergius, Saint John's father, and with whom he had the same instructor. About the year 743, he was elected Bishop of Maiuma, a coastal city of Palestine, aforetime under the jurisdiction of Gaza, with the name Port Gaza. During the reign of Saint Constantine the Great, it became a separate township and at that time was renamed Constantia, after Constantine, the son of the Emperor (see Sozomen, Eccl. Hist., V:3). Cosmas became an excellent hymnographer, from whence he is called "the Composer and Melodist," Among his many compositions are the Canon of the Cross (Sept. 14) and the Canon for the Nativity of Christ, "Christ is born, give ye glory."

October 16

Longinos the Centurion

This Martyr was in the service of Pontius Pilate at the time of Christ our Saviour's Passion. While standing guard at the Cross and beholding the earthquake and all that came to pass, he cried out with fear, "Truly this was the Son of God" (Matt. 27:54). After the Resurrection, he forsook the military and departed for Cappadocia, his homeland, where he preached Christ. By the agency of Pontius Pilate, Tiberius Caesar had him arrested and beheaded.



Upcoming Schedule

Saturday, October 17

Vespers at Diocesan Youth Retreat at St. John of Damascus in Dedham

Sunday, October 18 - St. Luke

9AM Orthros 

10AM Divine Liturgy

11:30AM Parish Council

 

 

 



Pastor's Ponderings

In today’s Gospel, Christ describes the hearts that receive His word as different kinds of soil. Good soil receives the seed, holds it fast, and brings forth fruit with patience. As we observe October as Antiochian Youth Month, this Gospel invites us to consider how our homes and parish help faith take root in our young people.

The Archdiocese’s Teen SOYO ministry emphasizes worship, witness, service, and fellowship as expressions of a life in Christ. Youth Month encourages young people to participate more fully in parish life through reading the Epistle, ushering, and other opportunities to serve. These responsibilities help them experience their place within the Body of Christ and put their faith into practice. 

Cultivating good soil is a responsibility we all share. Children learn the importance of prayer when they see us pray. They learn mercy when they see us forgive. Their roots deepen when we welcome their questions, listen with patience, and entrust them with meaningful service. Our example can help clear away the thorns of distraction and make room for the word of God.

This Youth Month, let us encourage our young people by name, thank them for their service, and pray for their growth in Christ. With patient love, let us cultivate a parish in which they can receive God’s word, hold it fast, and bear lasting fruit.

Glory to God! Fr. Ephraim



Memorials & Celebrations

This past Friday, October 9 the wedding of Fadel Antypas and Samantha Dhaliwal was celebrated here at St. George. Blessings and joy to the young couple and may God grant them many years!



Stewardship

Stewardship: Bearing Fruit with Patience

In Luke 8:5–15, Christ teaches that the seed of God’s word bears fruit in those who receive it with a good heart and persevere. Yet the cares, riches, and pleasures of life can choke its growth. Stewardship helps us cultivate fruitful hearts: making time for prayer, offering our talents in service, and sharing our treasure generously. Through these faithful acts, we allow God’s word to take root and nourish others. What fruit will our gifts bear for Christ and His Church?



Parish Family Life

Food Sale on Saturday, October 24! Falafal, shwarma and other tasty Middle Eastern foods. Many volunteers are needed for this event. See Presbytera Rheanna, Mays or Ramza for details and opportunities. Proceeds are for the benefit of the finanical needs of our parish. Volunteer oportunities abound on Friday and Saturday. This is wonderful time to come together as a community, help out and have fun while raising funds to the benefit of the parish. Many hands make light work!

Catechism Class Begins This Week!

Are you curious about the Orthodox Christian faith? Join us as we explore Scripture, worship, prayer, and the teachings of the Church in a welcoming and open setting. Whether you come from another Christian tradition, another faith, or no religious background, you are warmly invited to attend.

Bring your questions, invite a friend or family member, and come as you are. This is an opportunity to learn more about Orthodoxy, listen, and discover the life of the Church. Speak with Gregory Soloviev or Father Ephraim to sign up for this class.

“It is God’s to grant grace, but yours to receive and guard it.”
— St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 1, §4



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