Weekly Bulletin

His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas

120 W. Seneca St. Ithaca, NY 14850 http://www.stcatherine.ny.goarch.org

TEL. 607-273-2767 e-mail: stcatherinegoc@gmail.com

Fr. Zenoviy Zharsky /607/ 245-9988

 

Sunday, July 13, 2025

 

Welcome all visitors, please come again.

 

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"By changing ourselves in Christ, we are able to change the world around us"

 

Please let Father know who is in need of visiting and prayers. 

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Daily reading of the holy scripture, Saints for the day, liturgical schedule, news from the parish life, announcements and more, please read the Sunday Bulletin on the parish websitewww.stcatherine.ny.goarch.org 

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Reading: Matins: Gospel Reading: Luke 24-12:35. Divine Liturgy Epistle: Titus 3:8-15. Gospel: Mathew 5:14-19. 

When you write your will, won't you please remember St. Catherine's Church? Such a gift will live forever as our church minister to our spiritual needs and others It's an investment in the Gospel of our Lord and life eternal 

Announcement: If you didn't give names and date of your birthdays and your families birthdays please provide them. So we will pray and greet them. Also please give the names and dates of your family members who fell asleep in the Lord. We will remember them during the Liturgy. The list of the names located near the Sundays Bulletins. Thank you.  

Our prayers and condolences with George Kollias and his family. His beloved wife Heidi Kollias passed away July 5^th. May her soul rest in peace.  

 

Internet based Orthodox and Ancient faith radio. Timeless Christianity 24 hours a day: church music, teaching, interviews, features, convert, testimonies conference, recording and more www.ancientfaith.com

We pray for those who celebrate their birthday. Happy Birthday! July 11- James Nagel, 12 - Alexa Tabtsis, 13 - Tatiana Soteropoulos, 18 - Mary Joan Munich. 

On today's Sunday we chant the Service to the 630 Holy and God-bearing Fathers who came together for the 4th Ecumenical Council who assembled in Chalcedon in 451, to condemn Eutyches, who taught that there was only one nature, the divine, in Christ after the Incarnation, and Dioscorus, Patriarch of Alexandria, who illegally received Eutyches back into communion and deposed Saint Flavian, Patriarch of Constantinople, who had excommunicated Eutyches. Apolytikion of the Holy Fathers. You are greatly glorified, O Christ our God, who established our Fathers as luminaries upon the earth, and through them led us all to the true Faith. O Most compassionate, glory to You.

Today our holy church celebrate Synaxis of Archangel Gabriel.  The Archangel Gabriel was chosen by the Lord to make the blest - announcement to the Virgin Mary about the Incarnation of the Son of God from Her, to the great rejoicing of all mankind. We give thanks to the Lord and we venerate His messenger Gabriel, who contributed to the mystery of our salvation. The holy Archistrategos (Leader of the Heavenly Hosts) Gabriel acted in service to the Almighty God. He announced to Old Testament mankind about the future Incarnation of the Son of God. He inspired the Prophet Moses during the writing of the Pentateuch books of the Bible. He announced to the Prophet Daniel about the coming tribulations of the Hebrew People (Dan. 8: 16, 9: 21-24). He appeared to Righteous Anna with the news of the birth from her of the Ever-Blessed Virgin Mary. The holy Archangel Gabriel stayed constantly with the Holy Virgin Mary when She was a child in the Jerusalem Temple and afterwards watched over Her throughout all Her earthly life. He appeared to the Priest Zachariah, foretelling the birth of the Forerunner of the Lord - John the Baptist. The Lord dispatched him to Saint Joseph the Betrothed. Archangel Gabriel appeared to him in a dream, to reveal to him the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God from the All-Pure Virgin Mary, and warned him of the wicked intentions of Herod, ordering him to flee into Egypt with the Divine-Infant and the Mother of God. When the Lord before His Passion prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane to the extent of sweating blood, according to Church tradition, to strengthen Him there was sent from Heaven the Archangel Gabriel, whose name signifies "Strength of God" (Lk 22: 43) Mindful this day of the manifold appearances of the holy Archangel Gabriel and of his zealous fulfilling of the Divine will, and confessing his intercession before the Lord the Orthodox Church calls upon its children with faith and with fervour to have recourse in prayer to the great Angel.

July 15 we commemorate Equal to the Apostles Great Prince Volodymyr the Baptiser of Kyiv - Rus'.Volodymyr was the grandson of holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga, and he was the son of Svyatoslav. His mother, Malusha was the daughter of Malk Liubechanin, whom historians identify with Mal, prince of the Drevlyany. Volodymyr was born in the year 960. His first years as prince we see Volodymyr as a fierce pagan. But the Lord prepared him for another task. Where sin increases, there in the words of the Apostle, grace abounds. "And upon him did come visitation of the Most High, and the All-Merciful eye of the Good God didst gaze upon him, and shine forth the thought in his heart, of understanding the vanity of idols delusion, and of appealing to the One God, Creator of all things both visible and invisible". The matter of the acceptance of Baptism was facilitated through external circumstances. The Byzantine empire was in upheaval under the blows of the mutinous regiments of Bardas Skliros and Bardas Phokas, each of which sought to gain the imperial throne. In these difficult circumstances the emperors the co-regent brothers Basil the Bulgar-Slayer and Constantine, turned for help to Volodymyr.
Events unfolded quickly. In August 987 Bardas Phokas proclaimed himself emperor and moved against Constantinople, and in Autumn of that same year the emissaries of emperor Basil were at Kyiv. And having exhausted his wealth, it compelled him to enter into an alliance with the Kyiv - Rus'. 
In reward for his military help, Volodymyr besought the hand of the emperors' sister Anna, which for the Byzantines was an unheard of audacity. Princesses of the imperial lineage did not go off to marry "barbarian" rulers, even though they be Christian. At this same time the emperor Otto the Great was seeking the hand of this Anna for his son, and he was refused, but herein regarding Volodymyr Constantinople was obliged to consent.

An agreement was concluded, according to which Volodymyr had to send in aid to the emperors six thousand Varangians, to accept holy Baptism, and under these conditions he would receive the hand of the imperial daughter Anna. Thus in the strife of human events the will of God directed the entering of Kyiv - Rus' into the graced bosom of the Ecumenical Church. Great Prince Volodymyr accepted Baptism and dispatched the military assistance to Byzantium. . His emissaries soon arrived in Constantinople for the imperial daughter. Eight days passed in Anna's preparation, during which time her brothers consoled her, stressing the significance of the opportunity before her: to enable the enlightening of the Kyiv - Rus' realm and its lands, and to make them forever friends of the Byzantine realm. To Volodymyr's titles there was added a new one - Caesar (Emperor). It required the haughty rulers of Constantinople to accede also in this - to bestow upon their new brother-in-law the Imperial insignia. 
Together with the empress Anna, there arrived for the Kyiv - Rus' cathedra-seat Greek metropolitan Michael - ordained by holy Patriarch Nicholas II. He came with his retinue and clergy, and many holy relics and other holy things. In ancient Chersonessus, where each stone brings to mind Saint Andrew the First-Called, there took place the marriage-crowning of Saint Volodymyr and Blessed Anna, both reminiscent and likewise affirming the oneness of the Gospel good-news of Christ in Kyiv - Rys' and in Byzantium. It seemed, that the Ecumenical Holy Church was moving into the spacious land, and renewed in the font of Baptism, Holy Kyiv - Rus' came forth to meet Christ and His Church. There ensued the unforgettable and quite singular event in Kyiv - Rus' history: the morning of the Baptism of the Kyivans in the waters of the River Dnipro, in the Spring of 988. 
The era of Saint Volodymyr was a crucial initial period for the state formation of Orthodox Kyiv - Rus'. The unification of the Slavic lands and the formation of state boundaries under the domain of the Riurikovichi resulted from a strenuous spiritual and political struggle with neighbouring tribes and states. The Baptism of Kyiv - Rus' by Orthodox Byzantium was a most important step in its state self-definition. Not only St. Volodymyr saw the light himself, but he let others see it, by spreading Christianity, across the land of Ukrainian Kyiv - Rus' to the present day Russia and Belarus. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been forever united with its mother, the Greek Orthodox Church. The name and deeds of holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Volodymyr, whom the Ukrainian people called the Splendid Sun, is interwoven with all the successive history of the Ukrainian Church. Through him we too have come to worship and to know Christ, the True Life. His deeds were continued by his sons, and grandsons and descendants - rulers of the Ukrainian land over the course of centuries.

Liturgical Schedule:  Daily 3:00 PM. Let's pray Jesus Prayer for 10 minutes straight saying,"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner." 

Monday, July 14 - 3:00 PM. Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner" 

Tuesday, July 15 - 3:00 PM. Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner"

Wednesday, July 16 - 3:00 PM. Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner" Day of Fasting.  Every Wednesday we remember when Judas betrayed Christ. 6:00 PM. Prayers near Miraculous Icon Mother of God "The Tender Heart" St. George's Orthodox Church in Taylor, PA. 

Thursday, July 17 - 3:00 PM. Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner" 

Friday, July 18 - 3:00 PM. Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner." Every Friday we commemorate Christ's Crucifixion. Day of Fasting. 

Saturday, July 19 - 3:00 PM. Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner" 6:00 PM. Great Vespers/Confession. Reading the life of the Saints. Catechism classes following the Vespers. 

Sunday, July 20 - 8:45 AMOrthros/Confession. 10:00 AM Divine Liturgy  Every Sunday we commemorate Christ's resurrection.

 

Wisdom of the Saints.  

"Our enemy attacks either directly or else indirectly, through other people. And so we fight according to the Lord's providence and we gradually come to our senses. Without misfortune there is no prayer to God."

"Let all carnal sweetness be as bitterness to you; carnal loss, as gain; that which is precious, as cheap; that which is wholesome and nourishing, as unwholesome and not nourishing, because it can easily be unwholesome and harmful to your soul. Let your only sweetness be Christ, your one hope He That created all things from nothing." /Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica/

"Whoever wants to achieve true peace on earth must approach it not through world peace conferences, where everything is based on lies and dishonesty, but through the peace of Christ, through implanting Christ's Gospel love in human hearts."

"Self-reproach, prayer, and theoria, however, are always more than religious practices. They are facets of a relationship with the living God, who guided Noah to build an ark to escape the raging waters of the flood and Moses to lead the children of Israel on dry land in the midst of the sea. Faith in that guidance transfigures patristic techniques into expressions of obedience and love that cognitively accomplish far more than any short-range goal. They call forth a response from God."

"By blurting out one careless word he who has tasted prayer often defiles his mind, and then when he stands in prayer he no longer attains his desire as before."

"The Lord allows the enemy to tempt us in order to prove us, in order to strengthen our spiritual powers in our struggle against the enemy, and so that we ourselves may see more clearly towards what our heart inclines, whether it inclines to patience, hope, and love and in general to virtue, or to irritability, incredulity, murmuring, blasphemy, malice, and despair." 

"How shall I who am negligent stand before Thy terrible throne? How shall I who am impatient and useless enter into the community of those who have here brought forth the fruits of righteousness? By what traits will they acknowledge me when the saints and the righteous upon their heavenly beds recognize each other according to their deeds?" /St. John Climacus/

 

13 Ιουλίου                                                              Τω αυτώ μηνί ΙΓ', η Σύναξις του Αρχαγγέλου Γαβριήλ. Τη δεκάτη δε τρίτη συναγήοχεν ώδε Γαβριήλ. Δια ποίαν αιτίαν γίνεται εδώ μνεία της Συνάξεως και εορτής του Αρχαγγέλου Γαβριήλ, δεν εδυνήθην να εύρω, καίτοι εξετάσας πολλά. Φαίνεται όμως εκ συμπεράσματος, ότι κάποιαν χάριν και ευεργεσίαν εποίησεν ο Αγαθάγγελος ούτος Γαβριήλ, δια την οποίαν οι τότε Χριστιανοί, εις μνήμην της χάριτος, εσυνάγοντο και εώρταζον τον χαριέστατον του Θεού Αρχάγγελον. Διο και Κανόνα και τροπάρια εις την αυτού μεγαλειότητα έψαλλον. Εν τοις χειρογράφοις όμως Μηναίοις η Σύναξις αύτη του θείου Γαβριήλ γράφεται εν τη αυτή ημέρα, άνευ διστίχου.                                     

Τη αυτή ημέρα μνήμη του Οσίου πατρός ημών Στεφάνου του Σαβαΐτου. Όρα το έτερον δίστιχον και το Συναξάριον του Στεφάνου τούτου εις την εικοστήν ογδόην του Οκτωβρίου. Περιττόν δε και αηδές αληθώς εστι να εορτάζεται ο Στέφανος ούτος δύω φοραίς, και ο τούτου εις και ο αυτός Κανών, να ψάλλεται και τότε και τώρα, χωρίς καμμίαν εύλογον αφορμήν. Ει μη γαρ ο Κανών αυτός εμπόδιζεν, ήθελον να σηκώσω από εδώ την ενταύθα διττήν μνήμην αυτού ως περιττήν. Έξω μόνον αν θέλη να ειπή τινας, ότι τότε μεν, είναι η καθ' αυτό και κυρία μνήμη του, τώρα δε, είναι μνήμη της ανακομιδής των λειψάνων του.                                                       

Η Οσία Σάρρα εν ειρήνη τελειούται.Περί της Αγίας ταύτης Σάρρας γράφεται εις τον Παράδεισον των Πατέρων, ότι είπε ταύτα τα λόγια. «Εάν εύξωμαι τω Θεώ, ίνα πάντες οι άνθρωποι πληροφορώνται εις εμέ, ευρεθήσομαι εις την θύραν εκάστου μετανοούσα. Αλλά μάλλον εύξομαι, την καρδίαν μου αγνήν είναι μετά πάντων». Προς την Οσίαν ταύτην επήγαν μίαν φοράν δύω μεγάλοι Γέροντες και αναχωρηταί από τα μέρη του Πηλουσίου όρους, πηγαίνοντες δε, έλεγον αναμεταξύ των, ας ταπεινώσωμεν την γραίαν ταύτην. Είτα λέγουσιν αυτή. Βλέπε, μήπως υπερηφανευθή ο λογισμός σου, και ειπής, ότι ιδού οι αναχωρηταί έρχονται εις εμένα, οπού είμαι γυναίκα. Η δε Οσία απεκρίθη εις αυτούς. Κατά μεν την φύσιν, είμαι γυναίκα, όχι δε κατά τον λογισμόν. Άλλην φοράν επήγαν εις αυτήν Σκητιώται, και ετραπέζωσεν εις αυτούς μερικά φαγητά οπού της έφερον. Εκείνοι δε αφήσαντες τα καλά φαγητά, έφαγον τα αχαμνά. Τότε λέγει αυτοίς η Οσία, αληθώς Σκητιώται εστέ. Τόσον δε αγωνίστρια ήτον η μακαρία αύτη, ώστε οπού εξήντα χρόνους εκάθησεν επάνω εις ένα ποταμόν, και κάτω δεν έσκυψε να ιδή.

 

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Methods of Giving:

Cash and checks can be brought to the church and put in the donation baskets.

 

Checks made out to Saint Catherine Greek Orthodox Church can also be mailed to:

St. Catherine Greek Orthodox Church

120 W. Seneca St Ithaca, NY 14850

 

When you write your will, won't you please remember St. Catherine's Church? Such a gift will live forever as our church minister to our spiritual needs and others. It's an investment in the Gospel of our Lord and life eternal.

 

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