Monthly Church Bulletin

Monthly Church Bulletin Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church 247 Washington Street Norwich, CT 06360 Telephone: 860-887-1458 trinitynorwich@yahoo.com Webpage: www.holytrinitynorwich.org Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America December Metropolis of Boston 1

December Parish Priest Father Demetrios Panteloukas frdemetriosp@gmail.com (609) 309-1707 Parish Council President Maria Valkanos 860-984-6282 valkanosmaria@sbcglobal.net Vice President: Anna-Helene Grossomanides Secretary: George Grossomanides Treasurer: John Grossomanides yianni7@yahoo.com 401-741-7453 Members: Peter Argiros Amy Constantinou Eleftherios Mastorakis Stacy Bellas Violette Kostas Zaboutsis Assistant Treasurer-Joe Hominski Church Office Office Hours: M & T & F By Appointment (W) 10 A.M. - 1 P.M. (Th) 1 P.M. - 5 P.M. Office Manager Anna-Helene Grossomanides Sunday School Stacy Violette Organist Taso Dionisopoulos Cantors Steve Patsouris John Mastorakis Kostas Zarboutis Philoptochos Geri Grossomanides: President Greek Festival Chair Maria Valkanos Stewardship Parish Council Webmaster Deena Heely Greek Translator Chrisanthi Mangafakis Order of AHEPA Peter Argiros: President Daughters of Penelope Anna-Helene Grossomanides: President Message from: Father Demetrios Panteloukas 16 For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 As we begin the month of December we call to mind the Birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our God condescended to our level feeling our emotions, our weakness and fragility and even the temptations of our fallen human state by becoming man. Yet at the same time, fully remaining God. He did not do this for Himself, He gave Himself to us for us. He became incarnate, man, for our salvation as we profess in the Nicene/ Constantinopolitan Creed every Sunday during the Divine Liturgy. He did this to show us the way and the light of life eternal. We were created in His image and we are to worship Him and try to be like Him. To be like Him we should nurture our virtues: love, patience, humility, chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, and kindness and try to subdue our vices: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. As Orthodox Christians, the Church has prescriptions that exercise our virtues and help us subdue our vices: prayer (both individual and communal), fasting, giving alms, and participating in the sacraments. We are also fortunate to have a spiritual guide and example, Metropolitan Methodios, whose appointment as Chief Shepherd can be traced back to the disciples of Christ. God loves us all! He gave us so much to ensure our success in our struggle for salvation. It is up to us to utilize them and practice those exercises. We have many new programs and ministries starting here at Holy Trinity, and I am looking forward to seeing you all join us in ministering to each other and the world. Please look for reminders, announcements, and information as they come. And ensure that your contact information is up to date by filling out the soon to be sent out stewardship cards in order that you may participate in all the ministries you are interested in. All honor, praise, worship, and glory are for God! With love in Him who was born in a cave, Christ our True God, +Fr. Demetrios Κατα Ιωάννην: "Διότι τόσον πολυ ηγαπησεν ο Θεός τον κόσμο, ώστε παρέδωκεν τον μονογενή του Υιον δια να μην καταδικασθη εις την αιωνίαν απώλειαν κάθε ένας που θα πιστεύη εις αυτόν, αλλα να έχει ζωην αιώνιον." Τώρα που αρχίζει ο Δεκέμβριος, ειναι καιρός να σκεφτούμε και την Γέννηση του Κυρίου και Σωτήρα μας, Ιησού Χριστού. Ο Χριστός καταδέχτηκε να έρθει στο επίπεδο μας, να αισθανθεί τα ίδια αισθήματα με εμάς, τις αδυναμίες μας και ακόμα και τους πειρασμούς στους οποίους υποκύπτουμε στην αδύνατη, ανθρώπινη κατάσταση μας, με το να γίνει και αυτός άνθρωπος. Άλλά, παράλληλα, παρέμεινε και Θεός. Αυτο, δεν το έκανε για τον εαυτό Του, αλλα έδωσε τον εαυτό Του σε εμάς, για εμάς. Έγινε άνθρωπος, με σάρκα και οστά, για την σωτηρία μας, πράγμα που ομολογούμε απαγγέλλοντας το Σύμβολο της Πίστεως κάθε Κυριακή στην Θεία Λειτουργία. Η πράξη Του αυτή μας δείχνει τον δρόμο και το φως της αιώνιας ζωής. Δημιουργηθήκαμε στην εικόνα Του, Τον λατρεύουμε και Τον μιμούμαστε. Για να γίνουμε σαν Αυτόν, πρέπει να καλλιεργήσουμε τις αρετές μας: αγάπη, υπομονή, ταπεινότητα, αγνότητα, εγκράτεια, φιλανθρωπία, επιμέλεια και καλοσύνη και να υποτάξουμε τις κακίες: λαγνεία, λαιμαργία, απληστία, νωθρότητα, οργή, ζήλεια και περηφάνια. Ως Ορθόδοξοι Χριστιανοί, η εκκλησία μας βοηθάει ώστε να κυριαρχούν οι αρετές μας και να εξαφανίσουμε τις κακίες χρησιμοποιώντας προσωπική και κοινή προσευχή, νηστεία, ελεημοσύνη και συμμετοχή στα Θεία Μυστήρια. Έχουμε επίσης τον Μητροπολίτη 2

Μεθόδιο ως πνευματικό οδηγό και παράδειγμα προς μίμηση, η διόριση του οποίου ως Ποιμένα μπορεί να αναχθεί μέχρι τους μαθητές του Χριστού. Ο Θεός μας αγαπάει ολους. Μας έδωσε τόσα πολλά για να εξασφαλίσει την επιτυχία μας προς τον αγώνα μας για την σωτηρία. Ειναι στο χέρι μας να χρησιμοποιήσουμε τα όπλα αυτά. Αρχίσαμε πολλά νέα προγράμματα εδώ στην Αγία Τριάδα και ελπίζω να δω ολους σας να συμμετάσχετε. Δώστε προσοχή στις ανακοινώσεις, πληροφορίες και υπενθυμίσεις που θα δώσουμε σύντομα ώστε να γνωρίζετε το τι έρχεται προσεχώς. Βεβαιωθείτε οτι έχουμε όλα τα σωστά στοιχεία για την οικογένεια σας συμπληρώνοντας τις κάρτες που θα σας σταλθούν σύντομα. Έτσι, θα μπορέσουμε να σας ενημερώνουμε για οτιδήποτε μπορεί να σας ενδιαφέρει ώστε να βοηθήσουμε την εκκλησία μας. Τιμή, έπαινος, λατρεία και δόξα στον Θεό! Με πολυ αγάπη σε Αυτόν που γεννήθηκε σε μια σπηλιά, Χριστός ο Αληθινός Θεός. +Πάτερ Δημήτριος. Message for the Parish Council Dear Holy Trinity Family, It is with a happy heart that I am writing this greeting to everyone. It is hard to imagine that we are already in the month of December and can t believe the Christmas season is upon us. I would like to thank Fr. Demetrios for all the wonderful work he has done. He is building our ministries through various activities for the whole family. Our Saints and Sweets was a huge success. The children and adults enjoyed the games; face painting, various crafts and saints class. We also had a family game day. Those that gathered enjoyed Orthodox jeopardy with Father among other games. Father Demetrios has been also been working with our youth choir. It is very endearing to hear the angelic voices of our children along with our seasoned cantors. We invite all our children to join our choir. Our Sunday school program is planning our Annual Christmas pageant. 3 December We again invite all our families to share in our celebration of the Birth of Christ. Our Holy Trinity parish also joined the Cornerstone Baptist Church of Norwich in their Annual Thanksgiving Dinner for the homeless. Thank you to all our volunteers for participating in this event. It is through faith and love that we are able to help our brothers and sisters in need. I am happy to see our families gathering together for the glory of God. Furthermore, we would like to thank Tony Petros for his sincere dedication in compiling and writing a book about the Greeks from Norwich and their military service. In addition would like to thank AHEPA Chapter #110 for sponsoring this effort by paying the costs associated with the book, such as printing and publishing. Lastly, we greatly appreciate that all proceeds will benefit Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox of Norwich, CT. We thank them for their continued support of Holy Trinity. On behalf of the Parish Council we wish you a Merry Christmas & a Happy and Healthy New Year. Maria Valkanos ******************************************** December Name Days December 1 - Theoklitos December 2 - Muropis December 4 - Varvaras, Barbara December 5 - Savva, Savas December 6 - Nikolaos, Nikos December 7 - Amvrosios, Ambrosius December 9 - Agias Annis, Anna December 12 - Spuridonos, Spiros December 13 - Eustratios / Loskias, Stratos, Stratis, Lukia December 15 - Eleutherios, Elefterios, Lefteris December 17 - Daniel / Dionysios Zakunthos, Dionysos December 18 - Sevastianos & Zois December 19 - Aglaias December 20 - Ignatios December 21 - Themistokleous, Ioulia, Julia, Julie December 22 - Anastasias, Anastasia December 24 - Eugenias, Evyenia December 25 - Christmas Day, Christos, Chrisa, Chrisanthi, Christina December 26 - Emmanouil / Synaksi Theotokos, Manolis, Manuella, Emma December 27 - Stefanos, Stephania (Steven, Stephan, Stefania) ********************************************* Donations in Memoriam In Memory of Vi Wilk Veronica Gatrousis In Memory of Dr. Michael Phillips Ted & Jacqueline Phillips In Memory of Tonya M. Rein Mrs. Ann Sakellarides Uylsses Sakellarides Ms. Donna Muise ******************************************** Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church Stewards -Thank you Stewardship Donors: Donations through November Father Demetrios & Presbytera Panteloukas Mr. & Mrs. Christos Alevras Mr. & Mrs. Zisis Alevras Mr & Mrs. Fotis Anastasiou Mr. & Mrs. Kostas Anastasiou Mr. & Mrs. Peter Argiros Mr. & Mrs. Socrates Athanasiadis Mr. & Mrs. Demetrios Balis Ms. Yannoula Ballassi Ms. Amanda Ballassi Mr. Fotios Banushi Ms. Elaine Billias Ms. Fiona Billias Mr. Nicholas Billias Mr. & Mrs. Demetrios Bisbikos Mr. & Mrs. James Booth Mr. & Mrs. Mathew Botchis Mr. & Mrs. Oliver Bony Dr. Clarence Calder Ms. Christina Carr Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Champagne Mr. & Mrs. Charles Christodlous Mr. Angelo Colonis Mr. & Mrs. Paul Constantinou Mrs. Photini Constantinou Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Contos Mrs. Evdoxia Costas Mr. & Mrs. Kimon Dafoulas Mr. & Mrs. Christos Dalardha Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Delisio Mr. & Mrs. Theofanis Diamantakos Mr. & Mrs. Peter Diamantakos Mr. and Mrs. Peter Dimas Mrs. Bertha Duff Mr. & Mrs. George Efthimou Mr. & Mrs. Costas Efthimiou Ms. Connie Farrah

Mr. & Mrs. George Farrah Ms. Persephone Galligan Ms. Lauren V. Galvin Mrs. Veronica Gatrousis Mrs. Cleon George Ms. Marianne Ghaltas Mr. & Mrs. Dimitri Giatrakis Mr. & Mrs. Demetrios Gitsis Mr. & Mrs. Troy Grabill Mr. & Mrs. George Grossomanides Mr. & Mrs. John G. Grossomanides Dr.& Mrs. John Grossomanides Mrs. Nicholas Haidous Mrs. Lee Hancin (Olympia) Mr. & Mrs. Paul Heely Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Hominski Mr. Jon Hominski Mr. and Mrs. Richard Huber Mrs. Mary Kalams Alexander Kapilotis Mr Christopher Kapiliotis Mr. Dino Kapilotis Mr. Nicholas Kapilotis Ms. Mary E. Karpetas Mr. & Mrs. Niko Kilimos Dr. Anne Kizanis-Klapper Mr. Charles Kostelos Mr. & Mrs. John Koulbanis Mrs. Jane Koumanelis Mr. & Mrs. Milan Kukich Mr. & Mrs. Chris Labonne Mr. & Mrs. Michael Lamons Mr. & Mrs. Theo Lampos Mr. Roland Laramie Mr. Michael Lewis Mr. & Mrs. Charles Loree Ms. Eleni Lubenski Mr. & Mrs. Dean Macris Mr. & Mrs. George Maistrelis Mrs. Pauline Maistrelis Mrs. Bess Makris Ms. Chrysanthe Mangafakis Mr. & Mrs. Ioannis Marasiotis Mr. & Mrs. Kostas Marasiotis Efthia Markantonakis & Pedro Costa Mr. Antonio & Elena Markantonakis Mr. & Mrs. Elephtherios Markantonakis Mrs. Elizabeth Martel Mr. & Mrs. Demetrios Mastorakis Mr. & Mrs. Eleftherios Mastorakis Mr. & Mrs. John Mastorakis Mr. and Mrs. Peter Matsas Mr. John Melonopoulos Mr. Anthony Neigel Mrs. Stella Panagakos Mr. & Mrs. Peter Pappas Mrs. Priscilla Papatones Mr. & Mrs. Steve Patsouris Mr. Peter Patsouris Mr.& Mrs. Peter Patsouris 4 December Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Petros Atty. & Mrs. Theodore Phillips Ms. Toni Phillips Mrs. Mary Pilling Mr. Ernest Pool Mr. & Mrs. Anastasios Provatas Mr. & Mrs. Austin Shogren Mr. & Mrs. David Sabourin Mr. & Mrs. Armando Rodriguez Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Roth Mrs. Ann Sakellarides Mr. Ulysses Sakellarides Mr. & Mrs. Robert Selvidio Ms. Anastasia Seurferling Maria Sourvalis Mr. Fred Stavropoulos Dr. Athena G. Thayer Mr. & Mrs. Dean Thomas Mr. Mike Thresher Mr. Gregory Topalis Mrs. Joyce Topalis Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas Topalis Mr. & Mrs. Haralambos Toromanides Mrs. Lemonia Toromanides Mr. & Mrs. Peter Trantalis Jr Mr. & Mrs. Peter Trantalis Sr. Mr. & Mrs. George Trabakoulos Mr. & Mrs. Christos Valkanos Mrs. Asimo Ververis Mr. & Mrs. Brian Violette Mrs. Georgia Vokolos Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Walker Father Aaron Walker and Presbytera Mr. and Mrs. Larry Wyland Mr. Kostas Zarboutis ************************************ TA NEA /NEWS Welcome Jade Shabenas as our sister in Christ. Congratulations on her Holy Chrismation. Congratulations for the 40 Day Blessing our new sister in Christ Lucy Eftihia Mastorakis Volunteers Needs!! Please call the Church Office for further information. News, News, News As always if you have any news please email it to us. Please forward via email to: trinitynorwich@yahoo.com PLEASE SEND us your phone number & or email so we may update the church records. ****************************** Feast of the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ INTRODUCTION The Feast of the Nativity of Jesus is one of the most joyful days of the Orthodox Church. It ranks next to the greatest holiday, the Resurrection of Jesus. The Feast of the Birth of Jesus is also known as the "Incarnation of Christ." This means that Jesus became a man and came into the world to save us. We also refer to this joyous feast as Christmas. BIBLICAL STORY The story of the Nativity of Christ is beautifully told in the Holy Scriptures. The story is found in Matthew

1:18-25 and in Luke 2:1-20. No matter how often the Birth of Jesus is told, we realize that it is an important event. As the story is told by the Apostles, the Roman Empire was powerful. The Romans had conquered much of the then known world. Judea and Samaria, what we know today as Israel, were included in their conquests. Emperor Augustus ordered that a census be taken in all his lands. He needed to know how many people lived in the empire so he could tax them. Everyone had to go to the town of their family's origin to register for the census. This meant that Mary and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem. They were descendants of King David and Bethlehem was the City of David. Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth and it was a great distance from Bethlehem. It was about 100 miles over very rugged roads. Moreover, Mary was expecting the baby and it was almost time for her to give birth. Bethlehem was a small town and there were many descendants of David who had come to register for the census. By the time Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem there was no place for them to stay. Joseph tried very hard to find a place to sleep that evening. There was no room at the inn. Finally, Joseph found a cave-like place where they could rest. This place was used by shepherds to protect their sheep in stormy weather. It was here that Mary gave birth to Jesus. The baby was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in the straw in the manger. Now, that night the shepherds were out in the fields guarding their sheep. Suddenly, there was a bright light which startled the shepherds. The light was so bright that it turned the night into daylight. Of course, the shepherds were frightened. Nothing such as this had ever happened. Soon an angel appeared and calmed them. The angel said: "Fear not for behold, I bring you good 5 tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior; which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger" (Luke 2:11-12). Then a larger group of angels appeared. They praised and glorified God and sang, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and good will toward men" (Luke 2:14). When the angels finished singing, they disappeared and the light began to fade. It became dimmer and dimmer until it was dark again. The shepherds were awed. They didn't know what to do. Finally, they decided to leave their flocks of sheep and go to Bethlehem. They decided that they wanted to see for themselves what the angels had told them. When they got to Bethlehem, they found Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus. They fell to their knees and adored Jesus. Some Wise Men came from the East for they knew of the coming of Jesus. They had seen a star that told them that a new king had been born to the Jews. They followed the star and were looking for the child. At this time the governor of Judea was King Herod. He was a wicked man and was feared and hated by the people. When Herod heard about the Wise Men looking for the child, he invited them to his palace. Herod asked the Wise Men to find the child so that he, too, could worship Him. But Herod was lying. He did not want anyone to take his place. The Wise Men went on to look for Jesus. The Star led them to Jesus and Mary. When the Wise Men found Jesus, they fell to their knees and worshipped Him. They gave Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The Wise Men left but did not return to Herod. They had a dream that warned them that Herod wanted to harm Jesus. Instead, they returned to their native country by a different route. THE ORTHODOX CELEBRATION OF THE FEAST OF THE NATIVITY As with Pascha, or Easter, the Feast of the Nativity begins with a period of preparation. It is proceeded by a fast corresponding to Lent and lasting for forty days. The fast begins on November 15. On the Sundays immediately before December 25, special commemorations emphasize the link between the Old Covenant and the New. On December 20 the Forefeast of the Nativity is commemorated, and the daily liturgical texts are directed toward the Feast itself. St. Eugenia will be celebrated on November 24 and there will be a Divine Liturgy of St. John. Christmas Eve on Saturday, December 24th the service of will be celebrated. On Sunday, December 25th Christmas Day the service commemorates the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, the adoration of the Shepherds, and the arrival of the Wise Men with their gifts. The service held on this day is the Liturgy of Saint Basil the. The days following Christmas are associated with the Theotokos and Joseph. December 26 is the Synaxis of the Mother of God, and the first Sunday after the Feast commemorates Joseph the Betrothed. December 29 commemorates the Massacre of the Innocents, and January 1 the Circumcision of our Lord. The Nativity season concludes on December 31, but the spirit of the festival extends to the celebration of Theophany (Epiphany), the feast commemorating the Baptism of our Lord in the Jordan River.

Divine Services: Orthros 8:45 AM Liturgy 10AM December Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Divine Liturgy & Blessing of the Waters 2 3 Resurrectional 8:30 A.M. 4 10th Sunday of Luke Martyr Barbara Sponsored by the Philoptochos 5 6 Wonderworker Nicholas Divine Liturgy 8:00 A.M. 7 8 9 The Conception by St. Anna of the Most Holy Theotokos 10 Resurrectional 11 11th Sunday of Luke Sponsored by the Parish Council General Assembly Parish Council Elections 12 St. Spyridon Divine Liturgy 8:00 A.M. 13 14 15 16 17 Resurrectional 18 Sunday Before the Nativity Christmas Pageant Sponsored by the Family of Cleon George 25 Nativity of Our Lord (Liturgy of St. Basil) 19 20 21 22 23 24 26 Synaxis Holy Theotokos 27 28 29 30 31 St. Eugenia Nativity Eve 6