St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Christian Church
Publish Date: 2025-05-04
Bulletin Contents

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St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Christian Church

General Information

  • Phone:
  • (619) 297-4165
  • Fax:
  • (619) 297-4181
  • Street Address:

  • 3655 Park Boulevard

  • San Diego, CA 92103


Contact Information






Services Schedule

Sunday Services

Orthros/Matins: 9:00am

Divine Liturgy: 10:00am


Past Bulletins


St. Spyridon Parish News, Events, Activities and Announcements

This Sunday's Memorials

Bessie Lambron - 40 days

Stefanos Papadakis - 40 days

Georgia Nicoll - 1 year

Helen Kromydas - 10 years

Milton Emanuel Kromydas - 18 years

 

Philoptochos Presents "A Night in the Plateia" This Saturday, May 3rd

Come enjoy an evening of fellowship and fun this Saturday, May 3rd, featuring Comedian Angelo Tsarouchas! You can still buy your tickets online at www.anthousa.net/tsarouchas. 

See the attached flyer in the Inserts & Flyers section below.

 

2025 Festival Cooking & Baking Schedule
 
Please mark your calendars and plan to volunteer and help us prepare the delicious food and pastries to be served at our Greek Festival! 
 
This Sunday, May 4th after Divine Liturgy: Prep for Galaktoboureko
This Monday, May 5th at 9 am: Assemble the Galaktoboureko
 
Monday, May 19th at 9 am: Koulourakia & Paximathia
Tuesday, May 27th at 9 am: Kourambiethes & Melomakarona
Monday, June 2nd at 9 am: Baklava 
 
Contact Chairs for more information: Vicky Mellos 858-229-1254, Jenny Capetanakis 619-395-3315, Niki Dougenis 858-518-8096.
 
See the attached schedule in the Inserts & Flyers section below.
 
 

Orthodox Professionals Speaker Panel

This Sunday, May 4th, we will be hosting an Orthodox professionals speaker panel. This is an amazing opportunity for high schoolers, young adults, and parents to hear from professionals within our community talk about their vocations and how being an Orthodox Christian influenced and inspires their career path. This is a rare opportunity to hear first-hand a faith-centered discussion from the medical, dental,  insurance, legal, and biotech fields. 

Lunch will be served. We will start at 11:45. At the end of the panel discussion, there will be an opportunity for Q& A. We plan on using the upper Youth Room, however, please be aware that the location may change based on the availability of that space. 

 

Ancient Wisdom & Modern Coffee

Dn. Michael Kallas, MA, MDiv., will teach our Adult Sunday School class this Sunday, May 4th, and on May 11th and 18th. We will meet in the Hellenic Cultural Society Room after the Divine Liturgy to study the Paschal Gospel readings.

 

Sunday School

Regular Sunday School schedule this Sunday!

Save the date for May 18th, Sunday School Promotion and ice cream fellowship!

 

Greek Dance
 
Our Greek Festival is coming up in June and the Greek Dance Program is opening up dance groups across all age groups (ages 4-6, 7-11, 12-17, and 18+). New, intermediate, and experienced dancers are welcome! If you are interested, email Timmy Paraskevopoulos at [email protected] or call 714-931-2431 for practice days and times. Practices start this Sunday!
 

Dance and Choral School

Classes will follow a slightly different schedule this Sunday, May 4th due to the Orthodox Professionals Speaker Panel.

Ta Spiridonakia: 12:30 to 1:00 Lower Education room 

Youth Choir: no practice

Helios: 12:30 to 1:15: Sunday School Courtyard (outside Education Building)

Pelagos: 1:15 to 2:30: Upper Youth Room

 

AHEPA Tavli Tournament

Sunday, May 18th after fellowship in the Church Hall. $25 entry fee. All proceeds will benefit the AHEPA educational scholarship fund.

 

Little Angels Playgroup 

We will meet on Monday, May 5th at 9:45.
 
 
Meraki Service Youth Group

Our next meeting is on Saturday, May 10th from 9:30-11am. Stay tuned for details. 

See the attached flyer in the Inserts & Flyers section below.

 

Young at Heart Seniors

Cinco de Mayo luncheon is Tuesday, May 13th, starting at 11 am.
Member Irene Veca will once again sponsor a Mexican lunch for all to enjoy. Following lunch, we’ll dig out the Bingo spinning wheel for some just-for-fun games! If you plan to attend, please contact Cynthia Samarkos (619-582-4109) by Sunday, May 11th.


GOYA Beach Bonfire

Mark your calendars for May 17th at 7pm. Stay tuned for details.

 

High School Seniors

On Sunday, May 18th, we will celebrate St. Spyridon students who are graduating from high school. If you have a high school senior, please send their graduation information including name, high school, post-high school plans to: [email protected] or text Julie, 619-618-5116.

 

Upcoming Memorials for the Month of May

May 11th - Argyro Katsivas - 40 days

May 11th - Presv. Evangelia Makridis-Gamble - 1 year

May 11th - Fr. Michael Markridis - 39 years

 

2025 Greek Festival Volunteer News
 
Plans are underway for this year’s annual Greek Festival, and we need everyone’s help! You can sign up now to help set up, serve food, drinks, sell tickets  - there’s lots of ways to help all while being with friends, having fun and helping our St. Spyridon community!  To learn more please contact Hitomi Shue at 858-789-6495 or go online to sign up for as many shifts as you can at: www.sdgreekfestival.com/volunteer. Thank you and see you at the Festival on June 14th and 15th!
 

The Upstairs Youth Room

The Youth Room upgrade is in its last phases! It will not be available this weekend. If you need to access the room, please contact Julie Dennis, [email protected].

 

St. Nicholas Ranch & Retreat Center - A Visit from the Executive Director

Stefan Metrakos, the Executive Director of St. Nicholas Ranch & Retreat Center, will be joining us on Sunday, May 25th to discuss the ministry’s new strategic plan and program offerings.  This beautiful ministry has positively impacted the lives of thousands of Orthodox Christians since 1979.  Nestled in a beautiful valley in the Sierra Nevada foothills, just outside of Sequoia National Park, the Ranch is a central gathering place for our Metropolis. Many of our faithful have spent summers at St. Nicholas Ranch and have developed lifelong friendships. Now, some of their children are building their own memories at the Ranch by attending summer camp. With anything else that has been around for almost 50 years, the Ranch needs our love and attention now more than ever.  Please join your fellow parishioners and Stefan Metrakos for lunch sponsored by Bill Navrides in honor of what would have been his 28th wedding anniversary and see how you can help the Ranch and make a difference in the lives of so many.

 
Lend a Loving Hand – Volunteer at Casa Cuna

We need faithful Orthodox Christians to commit to six months, one year, or two years to love these orphaned babies.  Whether you're soothing a fussy baby, helping with diaper changes, or simply offering a warm presence, your time and care will make an incredible difference. If you feel called to serve, please join us. Come witness the beauty of Christ’s love in the smallest among us. Reach out today and become part of this life-changing mission! If you or anyone you know is interested, please contact Presbytera Merilynn.

In Christ,

Julia Paresenios, Casa Cuna Caregiver

Project Mexico and St. Innocent Orphanage

 

Church Parking Lot

We kindly ask that you please follow these parking guidelines when using the church lot:

  • To ensure Emergency Vehicle access, please do not park in the exit driveway onto Indiana Street.
  • Double-parking must be avoided so as to not inconvenience other parishioners.
  • Please ensure that no exits are blocked and that no vehicles are blocked in.
  • Please park only in marked spaces to help us maintain a smooth flow of traffic when entering and exiting the lot.

Thank you for your consideration and for helping to keep our parking area safe and accessible for all parishioners.

 

Philoptochos Decorated Icons

Commemorate a Feast Day by offering a decorated icon to be displayed in the Narthex for veneration. The suggested donation is $85 to: Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society. Call the church office at 619-297-4165 to reserve your decorated icon.

Icons available for decoration:

May 9th - Holy Martyr Christopher

May 21 - Saints Constantine and Helen

May 29 - The Holy Ascension of the Lord

 

Fellowship and Coffee Hour

Please consider sponsoring a Sunday Fellowship Hour with your friends and family by providing simple refreshments (donuts or bagels, fruit, and juice).  This is a beautiful way to honor family members or celebrate special occasions. See details below in the attached flyer and QR Code to sign up or contact Christina Frangos, 858-220-0071, [email protected] 
 
With appreciation, 
 
Anthousa Chapter of Philoptochos
 
Available Sundays:
June 1st 
June 22nd
July 6
July 13
 
Agape Meals
 
Our Philoptochos Agape Meal program provides meals to our St. Spyridon community members who may need help with a meal(s) during a time of need. If you are interested in preparing a home-cooked meal for our parishioners, please reach out to Marian Dougenis at [email protected] or mobile 619-520-3660. Thank you.
 

Greek Village

Get ready for a one-of-a-kind experience where faith, culture, and adventure come together for a summer you’ll never forget at Our Greek Village immersion camp. Set against the beautiful backdrop of St. Nicholas Ranch, Greek Village is where campers immerse themselves in our Orthodox faith, explore Greek heritage, and build lifelong friendships. Celebrate culture and language, live your faith.

Register today: www.ourgreekvillage.com

 

Saint Nicholas Summer Camp Staff Applications

Do you want to make a positive difference in the lives of youth while gaining valuable leadership and teamwork experience? Apply to be part of the Summer Camp Staff team at Saint Nicholas Ranch and Retreat Center. We’re hiring for a variety of roles including: Cabin Counselors, Program Staff, Photographers, Lifeguards, and Medical Staff. Visit www.gosfyouth.org for application and details.

 

Your Legacy and Your Church  

...to whom much is given; from them much more is required (Luke 12:48).  

Please remember to include your Saint Spyridon parish in your estate plan and bequest. 

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Inserts and Flyers

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Gospel and Epistle Readings

Matins Gospel Reading

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 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 of the Lord Jesus. 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? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into 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.


Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Second Mode. Psalm 117.14,18.
The Lord is my strength and my song.
Verse: The Lord has chastened me sorely.

The reading is from Acts of the Apostles 6:1-7.

In those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists murmured against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the body of the disciples and said, "it is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." And what they said pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochoros, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaos, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands upon them. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.


Gospel Reading

Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women
The Reading is from Mark 15:43-47; 16:1-8

At that time, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. And Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. And he bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud, and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?" And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back; for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you." And they went out and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.


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Wisdom of the Fathers

They [the women] had followed Him ministering to Him, and were present even unto the time of the dangers. Wherefore also they saw all; how He cried, how He gave up the ghost, how the rocks were rent, and all the rest.
St. John Chrysostom
Homily 88 on Matthew 27, 4th Century

And these [the women] first see Jesus; and the sex that was most condemned, this first enjoys the sight of the blessings, this most shows its courage. And when the disciples had fled, these were present.
St. John Chrysostom
Homily 88 on Matthew 27, 4th Century

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Archdiocese News

Conclusion of the Academic Symposium of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for the 1700th Anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council

05/01/2025

The Academic Symposium on the First Council of Nicaea organized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate and sponsored by the Huffington Ecumenical Institute at Holy Cross School of Theology took place at the Marasleios Urban School located beside the Patriarchal compound.


Greek American Non-Profit and Local Sixth Grader Lead Community Wide Children’s Book Drive “Read & Rise” in Celebration of Global Youth Service Day

04/30/2025

On Sunday, April 27, 11-year-old Alice Klingman, a 6th grade student at IS 141 The Steinway School, celebrated Global Youth Service Day by distributing free children’s books with a group of volunteers to local families at the 2025 International Cultural Festival, hosted by Central Astoria LDC.


On the Unity of the Church: An Interview with Dr. Symeon Paschalidis

04/30/2025

The Orthodox Observer’s Dr. Claire Koen recently spoke with Dr. Symeon Paschalidis, the director of the Patriarchal Institute for Patristic Studies to discuss a new edition of St. Cyprian’s De Unitate Ecclesiae.


Delegation of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations Visits St. Nicholas National Shrine

04/29/2025

On Tuesday, April 29, 2025, a delegation from the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO) visited Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at Ground Zero.


Leadership 100 Seeks Executive Director

04/29/2025

The Executive Committee of the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Fund, Inc, a major nonprofit public charitable organization, seeks an Executive Director with overall strategic and operational responsibility for the staff, programs, expansion, and execution of its mission to advance Orthodoxy and Hellenism in America.


His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros Invited to Attend White House Day of Prayer

04/29/2025

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America has been invited by President Donald J. Trump to attend the National Day of Prayer, scheduled to take place at the White House on Thursday, May 1, 2025, at eleven o’clock.


Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Accorded Position of Special Honor at Papal Funeral

04/28/2025

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew attended the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome on April 26, 2025, and was accorded a position of special honor, in keeping with his ecclesiastical prerogatives as stated in the canons of the Ecumenical Councils of the undivided Christian Church.


Joint Communiqué: Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America

04/27/2025

With gratitude to our Risen Lord Jesus Christ, the Hierarchs of the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches and of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America gathered in fraternal love and prayer on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at Ground Zero in New York City.


Assembly’s Exec. Co. Promotes Child Safety, Condemns Violence

04/25/2025

During the joyful season of Bright Week, after the celebration of the Feast of Feasts, our Lord Jesus Christ’s salvific resurrection, the Assembly of Bishops’ Executive Committee met today at Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine in Lower Manhattan, New York.


Cathedral of Saint Sophia Hosts Three-Night Tribute Honoring LAFD Heroes “From the Ashes to Appreciation”

04/24/2025

In a powerful display of unity, faith, and gratitude, the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sophia is proud to continue hosting a three-day tribute honoring the courageous men and women of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Battalion 11.


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Hymns of the Day

Apolytikion of Great and Holy Pascha in the Plagal First Mode

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling death by death, and bestowing life on those in the graves.

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Second Mode

When you descended into death, O life immortal, you destroyed Hades with the splendor of your divinity, and when you raised the dead from the depths of darkness, all the heavenly powers shouted: O giver of life, Christ our God, glory to you.

Apolytikion for Holy Myrrhbearers Sunday in the Second Mode

Lowering Your pure body from the Cross, Joseph wrapped it in clean muslin with fragrant spices and laid it in a new tomb. But on the third day You arose, O Lord, and granted the world Your great mercy.

Apolytikion for Holy Myrrhbearers Sunday in the Second Mode

Standing by the tomb the angel said to the Myrrh-bearing women: "Myrrh is for the dead; but Christ has shown Himself stranger to death." So go and cry aloud, "The Lord has risen and granted the world His great mercy."

Seasonal Kontakion in the Plagal Fourth Mode

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.
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Saints and Feasts

May 04

Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women

About the beginning of His thirty-second year, when the Lord Jesus was going throughout Galilee, preaching and working miracles, many women who had received of His beneficence left their own homeland and from then on followed after Him. They ministered unto Him out of their own possessions, even until His crucifixion and entombment; and afterwards, neither losing faith in Him after His death, nor fearing the wrath of the Jewish rulers, they came to the sepulchre, bearing the myrrh-oils they had prepared to annoint His body. It is because of the myrrh-oils, that these God-loving women brought to the tomb of Jesus that they are called the Myrrh-bearers. Of those whose names are known are the following: first of all, the most holy Virgin Mary, who in Matthew 27:56 and Mark 15:40 is called "the mother of James and Joses" (these are the sons of Joseph by a previous marriage, and she was therefore their step-mother); Mary Magdalene (celebrated July 22); Mary, the wife of Clopas; Joanna, wife of Chouza, a steward of Herod Antipas; Salome, the mother of the sons of Zebedee, Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus; and Susanna. As for the names of the rest of them, the evangelists have kept silence (Matt 27:55-56; 28:1-10. Mark 15:40-41. Luke 8:1-3; 23:55-24:11, 22-24. John 19:25; 20:11-18. Acts 1:14).

Together with them we celebrate also the secret disciples of the Saviour, Joseph and Nicodemus. Of these, Nicodemus was probably a Jerusalemite, a prominent leader among the Jews and of the order of the Pharisees, learned in the Law and instructed in the Holy Scriptures. He had believed in Christ when, at the beginning of our Saviour's preaching of salvation, he came to Him by night. Furthermore, he brought some one hundred pounds of myrrh-oils and an aromatic mixture of aloes and spices out of reverence and love for the divine Teacher (John 19:39). Joseph, who was from the city of Arimathea, was a wealthy and noble man, and one of the counsellors who were in Jerusalem. He went boldly unto Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus, and together with Nicodemus he gave Him burial. Since time did not permit the preparation of another tomb, he placed the Lord's body in his own tomb which was hewn out of rock, as the Evangelist says (Matt. 27:60).


May 05

Irene the Great Martyr

Saint Irene was the daughter of a princelet called Licinius; named Penelope by her parents, through a divine revelation she was brought to faith in Christ and at Baptism was renamed Irene. In her zeal for piety she broke in pieces all the idols of her father, who commanded that she be trampled underfoot by horses. But while she remained unharmed, one of the horses rose up and cast down her father, killing him. By her prayer she raised him to life again, and he believed and was baptized. Afterwards, in many journeyings, Saint Irene suffered torments and punishments for her faith, but was preserved by the power of God, while working dread miracles and converting many thousands of souls. At last she came to Ephesus, where she fell asleep in peace, in the first half of the fourth century. Two days after her death, her gravestone was found lifted off, and her grave empty. At least two churches were dedicated to Saint Irene in Constantinople, and she is also the patroness of the Aegean island of Thera, which is commonly called Santorin (or Santorini), a corruption of "Saint Irene."


May 06

Job the Prophet

This faithful servant of God, the most perfect icon of all virtue, and especially of patience, was the son of Zare and Bosorra, and was the fifth from Abraham. He was true, blameless, just, devout, and abstained from every evil thing. He was very wealthy and blessed by God in all things, as was none other of the inhabitants of the land of Ausis, his homeland, which lies between Idumea and Arabia. But by divine permission, that he might be tried, he was suddenly deprived of his children, wealth, glory, and every consolation, and was covered with grievous sores over all his body. Some say that he endured courageously in this unparalleled calamity for seven whole years. Then, by divine blessing, he was restored again to a prosperity even more illustrious than the first. Having lived after his affliction for 170 years, he reposed full of days at the age of 240, in the year 1350 B.C. Others say that his affliction lasted only one year, and that he lived thereafter 140 years, living 210 years altogether.


May 07

Commemoration of the Precious Cross that appeared in the sky over Jerusalem in 351 A.D.

On this day in the year 351, not long after Cyril had succeeded Maximus as Archbishop of Jerusalem, during the reign of Constantius, the son of Saint Constantine the Great, on the day of Pentecost, the sign of the Cross appeared over Jerusalem. Saint Cyril, in his letter to the Emperor Constantius, says, "At about the third hour of the day, an enormous Cross, formed of light, appeared in the heaven above holy Golgotha and reaching to the holy Mount of Olives, being seen not by one or two only, but manifest with perfect clarity to the whole multitude of the city; not, as one might suppose, rushing swiftly past in fancy, but seen openly above the earth many hours in plain sight, and overcoming the beams of the sun with its dazzling rays" (PG 33:1 16q).


May 08

Arsenios the Great

Saint Arsenios was a deacon of the Church of Rome, born of an illustrious family, and wondrous in virtue. In the days of Saint Theodosius the Great, he was chosen to be the tutor of the Emperor's young sons, Arcadius and Honorius. While living at the imperial palace in Constantinople, compassed with all luxury and innumerable temptations to sin, Arsenios often besought God with tears to guide him to salvation. This prayer was answered one day when a voice came to him saying, "Arsenios, flee from men, and thou shalt be saved." He sailed secretly to Alexandria, and from there went to Scete, where he became a monk. Yet after he had withdrawn from the world, and was come among the most illustrious monks of his day, he heard, 'Arsenios, flee, be silent, pray always, for these are the causes of sinning not." Following this call, he separated himself even from his fellow monks, practicing extreme silence. On Saturday evenings, he would turn his back on the setting sun, and would stretch out his hands in prayer to Heaven, till the sun shone upon his face the following morning, and only then would he sit down. Once a monk came to visit him, and looking into his cell saw Arsenios entirely like a flame of fire. After living some fifty-five years as a monk, and attaining to heights reached by few, he reposed in peace about the year 449, at the age of ninety-five.


May 09

Christopher the Martyr of Lycea

Saint Christopher was at first named Reprobus. Seeing the Christians persecuted, he rebuked the tyrants for their cruelty. Soldiers were sent to bring him to appear before the ruler; but he converted them to Christ, and with them was baptized, receiving the name Christopher. After he appeared before the ruler, he was imprisoned and two harlots were sent to seduce him, but he converted them also, and encouraged them in their martyrdom. He was subjected to torments and finally beheaded in the days of Decius. Many marvellous and mythical things are said about him out of ignorance and superstition, one of which is that it is impossible for one to die suddenly from some unexpected cause on the day on which one looks at the Saint's icon. This is the origin of that proverb that is quoted in various quarters: "If on Christopher thou shouldst gaze, thou shalt safely wend life's ways." The etymology of his name, which means "Christ-bearer," has undoubtedly moved iconographers to depict him carrying the infant Jesus on his shoulders; it is completely erro-neous, however, to depict him, as some uninformed iconographers do, having the head of a dog, because of a statement in his life that he was dog-faced, by which is meant only that his countenance was exceedingly frightful to look upon.


May 10

Simon the Zealot and Apostle

This Apostle was one of the Twelve, and was called Simon the Cananite by Matthew, but Simon the Zealot by Luke (Matt. 10:4; Luke 6:15). The word "Cananite" used by Matthew is believed to be derived from kana, which in the Palestinian dialect of Aramaic means "zealot" or 'zealous"; Luke therefore translates the meaning of "Cananite." Later accounts say that he was the bridegroom at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, where the Lord Jesus changed the water into wine, making this the first of His miracles (John 2:1-11); according to some, he is called Cananite because he was from Cana (according to others, from the Land of Canaan). Simon means "one who hears."


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