Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church
Publish Date: 2022-08-21
Bulletin Contents
Worship Guidelines
Hymns of the Day
Gospel and Epistle Readings
Saints and Feasts
Wisdom of the Fathers
News and Announcements
This Week's Events
Allsaint
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Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church

General Information

  • Phone:
  • 7076426916
  • Street Address:

  • 1224 Alabama Street

  • Vallejo, CA 94590

Contact Information

Fr. Ninos Oshaana
Priest

fatherninos@gmail.com | 408-910-1144

Services Schedule

A full listing of all our services and events is provided in this bulletin.  

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“Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am in the midst of them.” -Matthew 18:20

 

Since the time of the Apostles, the Divine Liturgy has offered us communion with our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ through hymns, prayers, the hearing of the Scriptures and the great miracle of the Holy Eucharist for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

Upon entering this holy church, you are entering into worship with the angels and saints who continually worship God in heaven and are sanctified by His presence. Through your prayerful and heartfelt participation, through your sincere repentance and desire for union with Christ, the Divine Liturgy we celebrate today can be for you a powerful experience of "the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit" (2 Corinthians 13:14). Join in this holy and grace-filled work by following the service in the Divine Liturgy book in your pew or by simply being present, praying in your heart, “Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.”

 

Past Bulletins


Worship Guidelines

We enter the temple of God with reverence, humbly and quietly so as not to disturb those who are in prayer and as an expression of faith and awareness of the presence of the Lord, his saints and angels. No loud talking, irrelevant conversations, joking, etc. should take place in the Narthex or in the Sanctuary at anytime. To stand during worship is to affirm that we are in the presence of the Almighty God. The elderly, the sick and children may be seated as needed. There are specific parts of the service during which no one should be moving about. These parts of the service are: 

The Small Entrance, the Epistle and Gospel; the Cherubic Hymn, Great Entrance, Nicene Creed, the hymn Se Ymnoumen, the prayers: "Take, eat, this is my Body..." and, "we offer to you these gifts...", the prayer of institution: "And make this bread the precious Body of your Christ...", the Lord's Prayer,  Holy Communion, the sermon, dismissal prayer, any special services, e.g, memorial services. Whenever the Priest is facing the people or outside of the altar, everyone should stand wherever they are.

Dressing for God: The church is not just any ordinary place. We dress as modestly and respectfully as we can, because we are in the presence of God Himself. If invited by any earthly king or queen, we would dress in our finest clothes. Therefore, we should dress similarly when accepting an invitation from the Lord of Heaven. The way Orthodox Christians dress, both in and outside the temple, reflects their way of life and dedication to and fear of God. We dress modestly at all times, not in a flashy or provocative way that brings attention to ourselves.  

GENTLEMEN: Collared, button-up shirts, clean dress pants, sweaters or vests, ties and coats. Avoid jeans and shorts.

LADIES: Modest dresses and blouses, knee-length skirts or longer, clean dress pants. Avoid jeans or shorts, short skirts, skin-tight clothing, and strapless or sleeveless tops, high-heels shoes as they make noise on our floors. Head coverings may be worn, according to the biblical tradition and are available in the narthex.

Only Orthodox Christians may participate in Holy Communion. Please be in church at the beginning, say the pre-communion prayers the previous evening or in the morning, fasting from food this morning (unless there is a medical reason) and had a recent confession. Allow the altar boys to place the red cloth under your chin. Do not wipe your mouth with it but consume everything that may be on your lips. Ladies please avoid wearing lipstick or lip-gloss when receiving Holy Communion.

 

 

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Hymns of the Day

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the 1st Tone

Although your tomb was sealed with a stone, O Savior, and your most pure body was guarded by the soldiers, you rose on the third day giving life to all the world. Therefore O giver of life, the powers of heaven praise you: Glory to your resurrection, O Christ. Glory to your kingdom. Glory to your saving wisdom. O only lover of mankind.

Apolytikion for Afterfeast of the Dormition in the 1st Tone

In giving birth you remained a virgin, and in your dormition you did not forsake this world, O Theotokos. For as the Mother of Life, you have yourself passed into life, and by your prayers you deliver our souls from death.

Seasonal Kontakion in the 2nd Tone

She is our vigilant intercessor, the Theotokos, our sure hope and protection. Neither death nor tomb held any power over her, for as the Mother of Life, she was taken into life by that very one who deigned to dwell in her ever virgin womb.
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Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

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 First Letter to the Corinthians 4:9-16.

Brethren, God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become, and are now, as the refuse of the world, the off-scouring of all things. I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me.

Gospel Reading

10th Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from Matthew 17:14-23

At that time, a man came up to Jesus and kneeling before him said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; for often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him." And Jesus answered, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me." And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move hence to yonder place,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting." As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day."

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Saints and Feasts

Allsaint
August 21

Bassa the Martyr of Edessa & her sons Theogonius, Agapius & Pistus

The Martyrs were from Edessa of Macedonia. Bassa was the wife of a certain Valerian, a priest of the idols, to whom she bore three sons and raised them in piety. She was betrayed with her sons to the proconsul by her own husband; each of her sons was tormented before her and beheaded. For refusing to worship the idols, she was imprisoned, cast into water and then fire, was stoned, and remaining unharmed, was brought to the temple to worship the idols. Laying hold upon the idol of Zeus, she overturned it and broke it to pieces. After being preserved through further torments, she was beheaded, about the year 290, in the reign of Maximian.

Holy12ap
August 21

Thaddeus the Apostle of the 70

The Apostle Thaddaeus was from Edessa, a Jew by race. When he came to Jerusalem, he became a disciple of Christ, and after His Ascension he returned to Edessa. There he catechized and baptized Abgar (see Aug. 16). Having preached in Mesopotamia, he ended his life in martyrdom. Though some call him one of the Twelve, whom Matthew calls "Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus" (Matt. 10:3), Eusebius says that he is one of the Seventy: "After [Christ's] Resurrection from the dead, and His ascent into Heaven, Thomas, one of the twelve Apostles, inspired by God, sent Thaddaeus, one of the seventy disciples of Christ, to Edessa as a preacher and evangelist of Christ's teaching" (Eccl. Hist. 1: 13).

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Wisdom of the Fathers

Here Christ is not speaking of that faith which believes in Him undoubtingly and knows Him to be true God, but of the faith (needed) to work miracles. If ye have faith, He said, so exceedingly warm and burning as a grain of mustard seed (for these are its qualities), and if it is believed without a doubt that ye will perform signs, then ye will receive such power, that if ye desire to move the very mountains, ye will move them.
St. John Chrysostom
The Gospel Commentary, edited by Hieromonk German Ciuba, 2002, 4th Century

For a man to have such faith appears simple, but it is, on the contrary, something very lofty, not easily attained by many. Such faith is born of boldness before God; but such boldness comes (only) from pleasing God. Beloved, great labour is needed to acquire, through pleasing God, such boldness before Him that one firmly believes that he will grant all that one asks; as it is written, Ask, and it shall be given to you.
St. John Chrysostom
The Gospel Commentary: edited by Hieromonk German Ciuba, 2002., 4th Century

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News and Announcements

Prayer List - Email StsCaH@gmail.com to add

Please keep in your prayers the servants of God: Zander, Rommel, Stephanie, Samir, Demetria, Alina, Katerina, Roula, Harriet, Pauline, Dale, Russell, George, Andreas, Nitsa, Rosa, Alberto, Brandon, Georgia Nickolatos, Brandon, Anastasia, George, Stefanos, Pat, Bill, Michael, Dorothy, Irvin, Amy, Evangelos, Magda, Sophia, Deme, Mary


Teachings of the Church - Every Wednesday

We've started a new weekly spiritual study of the teachings of the church on Wednesdays, following a Paraklesis or Akathist service at 5:00pm. Everyone is welcome to attend.


Church Clean-up Crew & Hall Helpers

We are putting together a crew to help around the parish on Sundays. We hope to get several volunteers to rotate throughout the weeks. Duties would include: Sweeping after Liturgy, changing the candles, take out the trash, helping count the money with a Parish Council member, clean up after the Fellowship meal, and so forth. 

If you're interested in helping in these essential, but often forgotten tasks, please reach out!


General Assembly

Our next General Assembly will be Sunday, September 18th in the Community Hall after the Divine Liturgy. We hope to see everyone there!


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This Week's Events

  • Upcoming Events

    August 21 to September 4, 2022

    SUN
    MON
    TUE
    WED
    THU
    FRI
    SAT
    21
    George Danezis Memorial
    8:30AM Matins
    10:00AM Divine Liturgy
    22
    23
    Apodosis of Dormition @ Stephanos Chapel
    24
    5:00PM Paraklesis or Akathist
    6:00PM Teachings of the Church
    25
    26
    27
    4:00PM Chant Practice
    5:00PM Great Vespers
    28
    8:30AM Matins
    10:00AM Divine Liturgy
    29
    Beheading of John the Baptist
    8:30AM 1st & 3rd Hour Prayers
    9:00AM Divine Liturgy
    30
    31
    Sash of the Theotkos
    8:30AM 1st & 3rd Hours
    9:00AM Divine Liturgy
    5:00PM Paraklesis or Akathist
    6:00PM Teachings of the Church
    1
    SEP
    Beginning of Ecclesiastical Year, Joshua Son of Nun
    8:30AM 1st & 3rd Hours
    9:00AM Divine Liturgy
    2
    3
    4:00PM Chant Practice
    5:00PM Great Vespers
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