St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church
Publish Date: 2025-04-27
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St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church

General Information

  • Phone:
  • (772) 464-7194
  • Fax:
  • (772) 464-5595
  • Street Address:

  • 2525 South 25th Street

  • Fort Pierce, FL 34981


Contact Information






Services Schedule

Orthros 9:00 a.m.

Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.


Past Bulletins


Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

Welcome!

 Join us for Orthodox Divine Liturgy every Sunday at 10:00 a.m.

 Our services are streamed live on the internet
at our Saint Nicholas website
https://stnicholasfp.com/
and on our Facebook page

Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church - Home | Facebook

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This Week and Upcoming Events

This Week: 

Sunday, April 27              Thomas Sunday
                                         Matins 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am
                                         GraceWay Village cooking, 12:00 pm

Monday, April 28              Addiction Support Group, 6:00 pm
                                        Discover Orthodoxy, 7:00 pm 

Tuesday, April 29            AHEPA Meeting, 7:00 pm

Saturday, May 3              Open House, 12:00 - 3:00 pm,
                                        Meet N' Greet with Father Andrew
                                         

             

Upcoming Events:

 

  

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Our mission is to proclaim the Gospel of Christ, to teach and spread the Orthodox Christian faith, to energize, cultivate and guide the life of the Church according to the Orthodox Christian faith and Sacred Tradition.  The Church serves as a beacon, carrier and witness of the message of Christ to all persons in the community, through Divine Worship, preaching, teaching and living the Orthodox faith.

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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.
Χριστός ἀνέστη ἐκ νεκρῶν, θανάτῳ θάνατον πατήσας, καί τοῖς ἐν τοῖς μνήμασι ζωήν χαρισάμενος.

Apolytikion for Thomas Sun. in the Grave Tone

The tomb being sealed, You rose from the sepulcher, O Christ God, the Life. And the doors being shut, You came to the disciples, O resurrection of all. Through them You renew a right spirit within us, according to Your great mercy.
Ἐσφραγισμένου τοῦ μνήματος ἡ ζωὴ ἐκ τάφου ἀνέτειλας Χριστὲ ὁ Θεός, καὶ τῶν θυρῶν κεκλεισμένων, τοῖς Μαθηταῖς ἐπέστης ἡ πάντων ἀνάστασις, πνεῦμα εὐθὲς δι' αὐτῶν ἐγκαινίζων ἡμῖν, κατὰ τὸ μέγα σου ἔλεος.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Plagal Fourth Tone

Though You went down into the tomb, O Immortal One, yet You brought down the dominion of Hades; and You rose as the victor, O Christ our God; and You called out “Rejoice” to the Myrrh-bearing women, and gave peace to Your Apostles, O Lord who to the fallen grant resurrection.
Εἰ καὶ ἐν τάφῳ κατῆλθες ἀθάνατε, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ᾍδου καθεῖλες τὴν δύναμιν, καὶ ἀνέστης ὡς νικητής, Χριστὲ ὁ Θεός, γυναιξὶ Μυροφόροις φθεγξάμενος. Χαίρετε, καὶ τοῖς σοῖς Ἀποστόλοις εἰρήνην δωρούμενος ὁ τοῖς πεσοῦσι παρέχων ἀνάστασιν.
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Gospel and Epistle Readings

Matins Gospel Reading

First Orthros Gospel
Κατὰ Ματθαῖον 28:16-20

Τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ, οἱ ἕνδεκα μαθηταὶ ἐπορεύθησαν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν, εἰς τὸ Ὄρος, οὗ ἐτάξατο αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς. Καὶ ἰδόντες αὐτόν, προσεκύνησαν αὐτῷ· οἱ δὲ ἐδίστασαν. Καὶ προσελθὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς, λέγων· Ἐδόθη μοι πᾶσα ἐξουσία ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Πορευθέντες οὖν, μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, βαπτίζοντες αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρός, καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ, καὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος· διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς τηρεῖν πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν. Καὶ ἰδού, ἐγὼ μεθ' ὑμῶν εἰμι πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας, ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος. Ἀμήν.

First Orthros Gospel
The Reading is from Matthew 28:16-20

At that time, the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw Him they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age. Amen."


Epistle Reading

Προκείμενον. Fourth Tone. ΨΑΛΜΟΙ 146.5;134.3.
Μέγας ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν, καὶ μεγάλη ἡ ἰσχὺς ἀὐτοῦ.
Στίχ. Αἰνεῖτε τὸν Κύριον, ὅτι ἀγαθός.

τὸ Ἀνάγνωσμα Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων 5:12-20.

Ἐν ταῖς ἡμεραῖς ἐκείναις, διὰ δὲ τῶν χειρῶν τῶν ἀποστόλων ἐγίνετο σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα ἐν τῷ λαῷ πολλά· καὶ ἦσαν ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἅπαντες ἐν τῇ στοᾷ Σολομῶντος. Τῶν δὲ λοιπῶν οὐδεὶς ἐτόλμα κολλᾶσθαι αὐτοῖς, ἀλλʼ ἐμεγάλυνεν αὐτοὺς ὁ λαός· μᾶλλον δὲ προσετίθεντο πιστεύοντες τῷ κυρίῳ, πλήθη ἀνδρῶν τε καὶ γυναικῶν· ὥστε κατὰ τὰς πλατείας ἐκφέρειν τοὺς ἀσθενεῖς, καὶ τιθέναι ἐπὶ κλινῶν καὶ κραββάτων, ἵνα ἐρχομένου Πέτρου κἂν ἡ σκιὰ ἐπισκιάσῃ τινὶ αὐτῶν. Συνήρχετο δὲ καὶ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν πέριξ πόλεων εἰς Ἱερουσαλήμ, φέροντες ἀσθενεῖς καὶ ὀχλουμένους ὑπὸ πνευμάτων ἀκαθάρτων, οἵτινες ἐθεραπεύοντο ἅπαντες. Ἀναστὰς δὲ ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς καὶ πάντες οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ - ἡ οὖσα αἵρεσις τῶν Σαδδουκαίων - ἐπλήσθησαν ζήλου, καὶ ἐπέβαλον τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀποστόλους, καὶ ἔθεντο αὐτοὺς ἐν τηρήσει δημοσίᾳ. Ἄγγελος δὲ κυρίου διὰ τῆς νυκτὸς ἤνοιξεν τὰς θύρας τῆς φυλακῆς, ἐξαγαγών τε αὐτοὺς εἶπεν, Πορεύεσθε, καὶ σταθέντες λαλεῖτε ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ τῷ λαῷ πάντα τὰ ῥήματα τῆς ζωῆς ταύτης.

Prokeimenon. Fourth Tone. Psalm 146.5;134.3.
Great is our Lord, and great is his power.
Verse: Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.

The reading is from Acts of the Apostles 5:12-20.

In those days, many signs and wonders were done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high honor. And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and pallets, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed. But the high priest rose up and all who were with him, that is, the party of the Sadducees, and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the common prison. But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and said, "Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life."


Gospel Reading

Thomas Sunday
Κατὰ Ἰωάννην 20:19-31

Οὔσης ὀψίας τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ τῇ μιᾷ τῶν σαββάτων, καὶ τῶν θυρῶν κεκλεισμένων ὅπου ἦσαν οἱ μαθηταὶ συνηγμένοι διὰ τὸν φόβον τῶν Ἰουδαίων, ἦλθεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ ἔστη εἰς τὸ μέσον, καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Εἰρήνη ὑμῖν. Καὶ τοῦτο εἰπὼν ἔδειξεν αὐτοῖς τὰς χεῖρας καὶ τὴν πλευρὰν αὐτοῦ· ἐχάρησαν οὖν οἱ μαθηταὶ ἰδόντες τὸν Κύριον. Εἶπεν οὖν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς πάλιν· Εἰρήνη ὑμῖν, καθὼς ἀπέσταλκέ με ὁ πατήρ, κᾀγὼ πέμπω ὑμᾶς. Καὶ τοῦτο εἰπὼν ἐνεφύσησε καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Λάβετε Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον. Ἄν τινων ἀφῆτε τὰς ἁμαρτίας, ἀφιένται αὐτοῖς, ἄν τινων κρατῆτε, κεκράτηνται. Θωμᾶς δέ, εἷς ἐκ τῶν δώδεκα, ὁ λεγόμενος Δίδυμος, οὐκ ἦν μετʼ αὐτῶν ὅτε ἦλθεν Ἰησοῦς· ἔλεγον οὖν αὐτῷ οἱ ἄλλοι μαθηταί· Ἑωράκαμεν τὸν Κύριον. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Ἐὰν μὴ ἴδω ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτοῦ τὸν τύπον τῶν ἥλων, καὶ βάλω τὸν δάκτυλόν μου εἰς τὸν τύπον τῶν ἥλων, καὶ βάλω τὴν χεῖρά μου εἰς τὴν πλευρὰν αὐτοῦ, οὐ μὴ πιστεύσω. Καὶ μεθʼ ἡμέρας ὀκτὼ πάλιν ἦσαν ἔσω οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ Θωμᾶς μετʼ αὐτῶν. Ἔρχεται ὁ Ἰησοῦς τῶν θυρῶν κεκλεισμένων, καὶ ἔστη εἰς τὸ μέσον καὶ εἶπεν· Εἰρήνη ὑμῖν. Εἶτα λέγει τῷ Θωμᾶ· φέρε τὸν δάκτυλόν σου ᾧδε, καὶ ἴδε τὰς χεῖράς μου. καὶ φέρε τὴν χεῖρά σου καὶ βάλε εἰς τὴν πλευράν μου, καὶ μὴ γίνου ἄπιστος ἀλλὰ πιστός. Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Θωμᾶς, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ὁ Κύριός μου καὶ ὁ Θεός μου. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Ὅτι ἑώρακάς με πεπίστευκας, μακάριοι οἱ μὴ ἰδόντες, καὶ πιστεύσαντες. Πολλὰ μὲν οὖν καὶ ἄλλα σημεῖα ἐποίησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐνώπιον τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ, ἃ οὐκ ἔστιν γεγραμμένα ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τούτῳ· ταῦτα δὲ γέγραπται ἵνα πιστεύσητε ὅτι ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐστιν ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἵνα πιστεύοντες, ζωὴν ἔχητε ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ.

Thomas Sunday
The Reading is from John 20:19-31

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in His side, I will not believe." Eight days later, His disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then He said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side; do not be faithless, but believing." Thomas answered Him, "My Lord and My God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you may have life in His name.


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Memorials and Trisagions

We do not have memorials from the Saturday of Lazarus through Thomas Sunday

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Wisdom of the Fathers

The Lord stoops to the level even of our feeble understanding. He works a miracle of His invisible power in order to satisfy the doubts of unbelieving minds.
St. Hilary of Poitiers
On the Trinity, 1.20. Taken from: Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Vol: John. Intervarsity Press, 2007, p. 369.

For great is the dignity of the priests. ... And hold them very exceedingly in honor; for you indeed care about your own affairs, and if you order them well, you give no account for others; ...
St. John Chrysostom
Homily 86, 4th Century

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Saints and Feasts

April 27

Thomas Sunday

Though the doors were shut at the dwelling where the disciples were gathered for fear of the Jews on the evening of the Sunday after the Passover, our Saviour wondrously entered and stood in their midst, and greeted them with His customary words, "Peace be unto you." Then He showed unto them His hands and feet and side; furthermore, in their presence, He took some fish and a honeycomb and ate before them, and thus assured them of His bodily Resurrection. But Thomas, who was not then present with the others, did not believe their testimony concerning Christ's Resurrection, but said in a decisive manner, "Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe." Wherefore after eight days, that is, on this day, when the disciples were again gathered together and Thomas was with them, the Lord Jesus came while the doors were shut, as He did formerly. Standing in their midst, He said, "Peace be unto you"; then He said to Thomas, "Bring hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and bring hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side: and be not unbelieving, but believing."

And Thomas, beholding and examining carefully the hands and side of the Master, cried out with faith, "My Lord and my God." Thus he clearly proclaimed the two natures - human and divine - of the God-man (Luke 24:36-49; John 20:19-29).

This day is called Antipascha (meaning "in the stead of Pascha," not "in opposition to Pascha") because with this day, the first Sunday after Pascha, the Church consecrates every Sunday of the year to the commemoration of Pascha, that is, the Resurrection.


April 27

The Holy Hieromartyr Symeon, Kinsman of the Lord

Symeon was a first cousin of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was the son of Clopas (or Cleopas, also called Alphaeus), the brother of Joseph the Betrothed. He became the second Bishop of Jerusalem, as a successor to James the Brother of God. He ended his life when he was crucified during the reign of Trajan, in 107, at the age of 120.


April 28

The 9 Monk-martyrs of Cyzikos

These holy Martyrs, who were from various regions, suffered martyrdom together when they were beheaded in Cyzicus, a city in Asia Minor on the southern coast of the Sea of Marmara.


April 29

Jason and Sosipater the Apostles of the 70 and their Companions

Both of these Saints were disciples of the Apostle Paul, who mentions them in his Epistle to the Romans, saying: "Jason and Sosipater my kinsmen greet you" (16:21). Jason was from Tarsus of Cilicia, and became bishop there. Sosipater was from Patras of Achaia, and became Bishop of Iconium. When they had shepherded their churches well for a long time, they departed west that they might profit others also, and arrived finally at the island of Corfu, where they were the first to preach the Gospel to its people. They suffered many things for Christ's Name, drew many souls to salvation, and finished the course of their life there. In the ancient city of Corfu, a church from the first centuries, built in their honour and bearing inscriptions that mention the Saints by name, verifies the historical account concerning them.


April 30

James the Apostle and brother of St. John the Theologian

James was one of the Twelve, like his brother John (celebrated on Sept. 26), whom the Lord called "Sons of Thunder," because they became great preachers and because of their profound theology. It was the Saint's boldness in preaching the Gospel that Herod Agrippa, the son of Aristobulus and grandson of Herod the Great, could not endure, and so he took him into custody during the days of the Passover, and slew him with the sword (Acts 12: 1-2); and thus he drank the cup of which the Saviour had spoken to him prophetically (Matt. 20:23). As for Herod, the following year he went down to Caesarea, and, as the Acts of the Apostles records: "Upon a set day, Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration" to the elders of Tyre and Sidon; and the flatterers that surrounded him "gave a shout, saying, 'it is the voice of a god, and not of a man.' And immediately an Angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory; and like his grandfather (see Dec. 29) "he was eaten of worms and gave up the spirit" (Acts 12:21-23)


May 01

Jeremiah the Prophet

This great Prophet of God, Jeremias, who loved his brethren and lamented for them greatly, who prayed much for the people and the Holy City, was the son of Helkias of the tribe of Levi, from the city of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. He was sanctified from his mother's womb, as the Lord Himself said concerning him: "Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth from the womb, I sanctified thee; I appointed thee a prophet to the nations" (Jer. 1:5). He prophesied for thirty years, from 613 to 583 B.C. During the last captivity of the people in the reign of Sedekias, when only a few were left behind to cultivate the land, this Prophet remained with them by the permission of Nabuzardan, the captain of the guard under Nabuchodonosor. He wept and lamented inconsolably over the desolation of Jerusalem and the enslavement of his people. But even the few that remained behind transgressed again, and fearing the vengeance of the Chaldeans, they fled into Egypt, forcibly taking with them Jeremias and Baruch his disciple and scribe. There he prophesied concerning Egypt and other nations, and he was stoned to death in Taphnas by his own people about the year 583 B.C., since they would not endure to hear the truth of his words and his just rebukes. His book of prophecy is divided into fifty-one chapters, and his book of lamentation into five; he is ranked second among the greater Prophets. His name means "Yah is exalted."


May 01

Tamara, Queen of Georgia

Saint Tamara was the only child of King George III. Upon his death in 1184, she became Queen at the age of twenty-four. Despite her youth, she ruled the country with such wisdom and godliness - leading it to unprecedented military triumphs over the neighbouring Moslem countries in defence of her kingdom, fostering arts and letters, and zealously strengthening Orthodoxy - that her reign is known as the Golden Age of Georgia. After her coronation, she convoked a local council to correct disorders in church life. When the bishops had assembled from all parts of her kingdom, she, like Saint Constantine at the First Ecumenical Council, honoured them as if she were a commoner, and they Angels of God; exhorting them to establish righteousness and redress abuses, she said in her humility, "Do away with every wickedness, beginning with me, for the prerogative of the throne is in no wise that of making war against God." Saint Tamara called herself "the father of orphans and the judge of widows," and her contemporaries called her "King" instead of "Queen." She herself led her army against the Moslems and fearlessly defeated them; because of the reverence that even the enemies of Georgia had for her, entire mountain tribes renounced Islam and were baptized. She built countless churches and monasteries throughout her kingdom, and was benefactress also to the Holy Land, Mount Athos, and holy places in Greece and Cyprus. She has always been much beloved by her people, who have memorialized her meekness, wisdom, piety, and obedience, and peace loving nature in innumerable legends, ballads, and songs; the poem written in her honour by Shota Rustaveli, "The Knight in the Panther Skin," is the masterpiece of Georgian literature. The great Queen Tamara departed the earthly kingdom for the heavenly in the year 1212.


May 01

Ignatios, & Euthemios the New Martyrs

Of the three newly-shining luminaries of the Holy Mountain, the New Martyr Euthymius, who was from Demetsana of the Peloponnesus, won the crown of martyrdom when he was beheaded on Palm Sunday, March 22, 1814. Saint Ignatius, who was from Stara Zagora in Bulgaria, was martyred by hanging on October 8, 1814. Saint Acacius, who was from Neochorion of Thessalonica, was beheaded on May 1, 1815. All three had denied Christ in the foolishness of youth, and repented with great fervour; all became monks in the Skete of the Venerable Forerunner on the Holy Mountain; all had the revered elders Nicephorus and Acacius as their spirtual fathers; all were martyred in Constantinople; all were about twenty years of age; and the holy relics of all three are treasured in the aforementioned Athonite Skete of the Forerunner.


May 02

Removal of the Relics of St. Athanasios the Great

In the half-century after the First Ecumenical Council held in Nicaea in 325, if there was one man whom the Arians feared and hated more intensely than any other, as being able to lay bare the whole error of their teaching, and to marshal, even from exile or hiding, the beleaguered forces of the Orthodox, it was Saint Athanasius the Great. This blazing lamp of Orthodoxy, which imperial power and heretics' plots could not quench when he shone upon the lampstand, nor find when he was hid by the people and monks of Egypt, was born in Alexandria about the year 296. He received an excellent training in Greek letters and especially in the sacred Scriptures, of which he shows an exceptional knowledge in his writings. Even as a young man he had a remarkable depth of theological understanding; he was only about twenty years old when he wrote his treatise On the Incarnation. Saint Alexander, the Archbishop of Alexandria, brought him up in piety, ordained him his deacon, and, after deposing Arius for his blasphemy against the Divinity of the Son of God, took Athanasius to the First Council in Nicaea in 325; Saint Athanasius was to spend the remainder of his life labouring in defence of this holy Council. In 326, before his death, Alexander appointed Athanasius his successor.

In 325, Arius had been condemned by the Council of Nicaea; yet through Arius' hypocritical confession of Orthodox belief, Saint Constantine the Great was persuaded by Arius' supporters that he should be received back into the communion of the Church. But Athanasius, knowing well the perverseness of his mind, and the disease of heresy lurking in his heart, refused communion with Arius. The heresiarch's followers then began framing false charges against Athanasius; finally Saint Constantine the Great, misled by grave charges of the Saint's misconduct-which were completely false-had him exiled to Tiberius (Treves) in Gaul in 336. When Saint Constantine was succeeded by his three sons Constantine II, Constans, and Constantius, in 337, Saint Athanasius returned to Alexandria in triumph. But his enemies found an ally in Constantius, Emperor of the East; Saint Athanasius' second exile was spent in Rome. It was ended when Constans prevailed with threats upon his brother Constantius to restore Athanasius (see also Nov. 6). For ten years Saint Athanasius strengthened Orthodoxy throughout Egypt, visiting the whole country and encouraging all, clergy, monastics, and layfolk, being loved by all as a father. But after Constans' death in 350, Constantius became sole Emperor,and Athanasius was again in danger. In the evening of February 8, 356, General Syrianus with more than five thousand soldiers surrounded the church in which Athanasius was serving, and broke open the doors. Athanasius' clergy begged him to leave, but the good shepherd commanded that all the flock should withdraw first; and only when he was assured of their safety, he also, protected by divine grace, passed through the midst of the soldiers and disappeared into the deserts of Egypt, where for some six years he eluded the soldiers and spies sent after him.

When Julian the Apostate succeeded Constantius in 361, Athanasius returned again, but only for a few months. Because Athanasius had converted many pagans, and the priests of the idols in Egypt wrote to Julian that if Athanasius remained, idolatry would perish in Egypt, the heathen Emperor ordered not Athanasius' exile, but his death. Athanasius took ship up the Nile. When he learned that his imperial pursuers were following him, he had his men turn back, and as his boat passed that of his pursuers, they asked him if he had seen Athanasius. "He is not far," he answered. After returning to Alexandria for a while, he fled again to the Thebaid until Julian's death in 363. Saint Athanasius suffered his fifth and last exile under Valens in 365, which only lasted four months because Valens, fearing a sedition among the Egyptians for their beloved Archbishop, revoked his edict in February, 366.

The great Athanasius passed the remaining seven years of his life in peace. Of his fifty-seven years as Patriarch, he had spent some seventeen in exiles. Shining from the height of his throne like a radiant evening star, and enlightening the Orthodox with the brilliance of his words for yet a little while, this much-suffering champion inclined toward the sunset of his life, and, in the year 373, took his rest from his lengthy sufferings, but not before another luminary of the truth, Basil the Great, had risen in the East, being consecrated Archbishop of Caesarea in 370. Besides all his other achievements, Saint Athanasius wrote the life of Saint Anthony the Great, with whom he spent time in his youth; ordained Saint Frumentius first Bishop of Ethiopia; and in his Paschal Encyclical for the year 367 set forth the books of the Old and New Testaments accepted by the Church as canonical. Saint Gregory the Theologian, in his Oration On the Great Athanasius, said he was "Angelic in appearance, more angelic in mind; ... rebuking with the tenderness; of a father, praising with the dignity of a ruler ... Everything was harmonious, as an air upon a single lyre, and in the same key; his life, his teaching, his struggles, his dangers, his return, and his conduct after his return ... be treated so mildly and gently those who had injured him, that even they themselves, if I may say so, did not find his restoration distasteful."


May 03

2nd Saturday after Pascha


May 03

Timothy and Mavra the Martyrs

The holy Martyrs Timothy and Maura were husband and wife. Timothy was from Penapeis in the Thebaid, a reader in the Church, and had been married to Maura only twenty days when he was betrayed to Arian, the Governor of the Thebaid, as a teacher of the Christians. Arian commanded Timothy to surrender his sacred books, which he refused to do, comparing it to a father's giving up his children to death. For this answer, heated iron spits were thrust through his ears. As he was being put to other tortures, Arian summoned Maura, hoping that she would persuade her husband to worship the idols, but she confessed herself a Christian. The hair of her head was pulled out, her fingers were cut off, then she was lowered into a cauldron of boiling water, but remained unharmed. Finally husband and wife were crucified facing each other, and after nine days, received their martyric end, during the reign of Diocletian (284-305).


May 03

Father Theodosius, Abbot of Kiev Caves Lavra

Our righteous Father Theodosius was born in 1009, not far from Kiev, and brought up in Kursk. From early childhood he showed the wisdom of an elder, avoiding childish games and refusing to wear anything but the poorest of clothing. When he was about thirteen years old, and his father died, he began to humble himself even more, going out to work with the serfs in the field. His mother went so far as to beat him in her attempts to make him behave more respectably. Hearing of the labours of Saint Anthony of Kiev, he fled to him secretly and was accepted by him as his disciple. He was tonsured at the age of twenty-four by Saint Anthony's disciple Nicon, and was elected Abbot of the Caves Monastery in 1057, since Saint Anthony refused this out of humility, and lived his whole life as a hermit. It was Saint Theodosius who introduced in Russia the cenobitic rule of the Monastery of Studium in Constantinople, and under his guidance many monks attained to great holiness, and the monastic life spread. When Prince Svyatoslav drove out his elder brother the pious Prince Isyaslav, and ascended to the throne of Chernigov in his place, Saint Theodosius courageously rebuked him, and continued reproving him even when threatened with exile. At the request of Prince Shimon, the son of a Varangian (Viking) prince, the Saint wrote a prayer for the nobleman's forgiveness of sins, and, at his behest, had it placed in his coffin, whence arose this custom in Russia. He reposed on May 3, 1074, being sixty-five years of age.


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Saint Nicholas News and Events

    Open House Meet & Greet with Father Andrew

    Open House Meet & Greet with Father Andrew

    Saturday, May 3rd - 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm. Light Refreshments will be served.


    2025 Stewardship Program

    2025 Stewardship Program

    “Ekklesia exists when the dispersed, divided, self-preoccupied people unite and become a family, where people see one another as brothers and sisters with God as their common father, and try to share whatever they have and whatever they are, and be united in heart and soul”


    St Stephen's Camp 2025

    St Stephen's Camp 2025

    Registration began March 20th


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Metropolis of Atlanta News

Metropolitan Sevastianos' Message

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Χριστός ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη!
Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

As we come to the end of Bright Week, we have a group of feasts which help strengthen our heartsagainst that common emotion: doubt.

For all 40 Days of Pascha, we remind ourselves of the beginning of the earthly Church as we read from The Acts of the Apostles: “Now many signs and wonders were done among the people by the hands of the apostles… None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high honor. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed. But the high priest rose up and all who were with him… and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the common prison. But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and said, ‘Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life’” (Acts 5:12; 16-20). The reading for this Sunday of St. Thomas, can be seen as a kind of summary of the whole of Christ’s ministry: from calling the people to belief and healing, to conflict with the jealous rulers of the earth, and finally, the saving power of God, to release us from the internal prison of doubt.

This week’s Gospel also shows us the fulfillment of this salvation and strengthens our belief in the face of doubt. Following the Resurrection, the Disciples hid fearfully in the Upper Room. Even so, our Lord appeared to them from behind a locked door, where He broke bread, showed them the marks of the nails and the spear, before granting them the gift of remission of sins through the Holy Spirit. (John 20:19-23). Since Thomas was absent, he wished to see these things, and when our Lord granted his request to feel the marks, Thomas cried, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:27-28). We honor St. Thomas this Sunday because of his declaration that our Lord was both fully Man and fully God, and that through His Resurrection, we can turn to Him for strength and comfort to help us with weakness and doubt.

This first Sunday after Pascha is called Antipascha, which means “in the place of Pascha,” because now every Sunday of the year is dedicated to the Resurrection. Therefore, let us continue to joyfully praise the great mercy and power of our Creator’s loving desire to undergo even Crucifixion, so that we may join Him in the saving work of “…all the words of this Life…”

+SEVASTIANOS
Metropolitan of Atlanta

 

 

    Saint Stephen's Camp 2025

Registration began March 20th

www.atlmetropolis.org/summer-2025

See the flyer in our Saint Nicholas News and Events section of this bulletin

 
 
 


The Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (AEP) have created a unique Sunday School program that enables educators to introduce their students to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and to the challenges that His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Holy Mother Church of Constantinople face today. To view the lesson plans, click here.

 


St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival
2025 Manual
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May 3, 2025
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Archdiocese News

Archbishop Elpidophoros Presides Over Agape Vespers on Holy Pascha

04/22/2025

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America presided over the Agape Vespers at Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Merrick, New York, on the evening of Holy and Great Pascha. His Eminence celebrsted with His Grace Bishop Athenagoras of Nazianzos, His Grace Bishop Nektarios of Diokleia, and Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos.


Archbishop Elpidophoros on the Repose of Pope Francis

04/21/2025

Today, April 21, 2025, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America offered the following message via social media: "The joy of Pascha is tinged with a note of sadness today, as we learn of the repose in the Lord of Pope Francis. In a world of increasing animosity, conflict and hate, Pope Francis was a towering figure of compassion, empathy and love. Memory Eternal, Requiescat in Pace."


Archbishop Elpidophoros Celebrates Resurrection Service at Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity

04/20/2025

Just before midnight on Saturday evening, April 19, 2025, clergy and faithful gathered at the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New York, New York to repeat the Odes of Lamentation and offer the Orthros of the Resurrection in complete darkness, with the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom lasting until the early hours of Sunday, April 20, 2025. 


Homily for the Service of the Lamentations at the Tomb The Matins of Holy and Great Saturday

04/19/2025

My Beloved Christians,

Earlier today, we participated in the Way of the Cross – which we call in Greek, Ἡ Ὁδός τοῦ Μαρτυρίου, the Way of Witness – over the Brooklyn Bridge. This ecumenical expression of solidarity brings Christians together around the Cross of our Lord and His sacrifice for the life of the world.


Archbishop Elpidophoros Celebrates Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil at Holy Resurrection Church in Brookville, NY

04/19/2025

On Holy Saturday, April 19, 2025, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America celebrated the Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil at Holy Resurrection Greek Orthodox Church in Brookville, New York. Fr. Panteleimon Papadopoulos, Proistamenos of Holy Resurrection, and Fr. Milton Stamatos, associate priest, concelebrated with the Archbishop.


Homily for the Divine Liturgy of the First Resurrection The Vespers on Holy and Great Saturday

04/19/2025

Beloved in Christ,

Today we gather in the deep silence of this Sabbath of Sabbaths, in which the Lord rests with His Divine Body within the Tomb. Now we keep watch, in eager expectation of the triumph to come.

We observe silence and stillness in the presence of this profound mystery, the Great and Holy Sabbath of our Lord’s Rest. The Church is muted and even in some, no lights are on, except on the Holy Altar.


St. Nicholas Church and National Shrine at Ground Zero Hosts Archbishop Elpidophoros for Epitaphios Procession

04/19/2025

On Great and Holy Friday evening, April 18, 2025, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America joined Fr. Andreas Vithoulkas, Fr. Samuel Davis, and the faithful of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at Ground Zero for the Orthros of Holy Saturday. On this evening the faithful join in chanting the Lamentations, the moving hymns of praise to the Lord which describe His ultimate triumph over death.


Archbishop Elpidophoros Presides over the Great Vespers of the Descent from the Cross (Ἀποκαθήλωσις) for Holy and Great Friday at Saint Catherine and George Greek Orthodox Church in Astoria, New York

04/19/2025

On Friday, April 18, 2025, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America presided over the Great Vespers of the Descent from the Cross (Ἀποκαθήλωσις) for Holy and Great Friday at Saint Catherine and George Greek Orthodox Church in Astoria, New York.


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