| | Saint Philothea Greek Orthodox Church | |
August 16, 2026
11th Sunday of Matthew
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| SAT 8/15 | 8:00 AM / 9:00 AM | Orthros / Liturgy for Dormition | | SUN 8/16 | 8:45 AM / 10:00 AM | Orthros/Liturgy | | WED 8/19 | 6:00 PM | Vespers | | | | | |
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AUGUST 16: POTLUCK - Potluck will be every week from now on.
Assigned Agape Teams will still be in charge of coordinating setup and cleanup.
SUNDAY SCHOOL ORIENTATION
August 16 at 11:30 Parents of Sunday School students, please do not miss this important orientation meeting!
NEWCOMER'S CORNER **Third Sunday of Every Month
August 16 after Liturgy New to St. Philothea? Interested in chatting informally with Fr. Anthony and other founding members? Newcomer's Corner is for you! Following Divine Liturgy, sit with Fr. Anthony for coffee and lunch in the fellowship hall.
GRIEF SUPPORT GROUP
August 17 at 7:00 - 8:00 PM Meets the first and third Monday of each month.
ORTHODOX PARISH LEADERS WEBINAR
August 17 at 8:00 PM Theme - Beyond Stewardship. See flyer below for details!
PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
August 19 at 7:00-9:00 PM following Vespers
ST. OLYMPIA SISTERHOOD WOMEN'S GROUP
August 20 at 6:30-8:30 PM at Kate McClain's House For more details and to RSVP, check out the St. Olympia Sisterhood #GroupMe
GREEKFEST FAYETTEVILLE GA
August 22 6:00 PM All-you-can-eat buffet, open bar, live music, Greek dancing and more! Proceeds to benefit the building project for St Christopher GOC in Peachtree City. See GreekFest Fayette website and flyer below.
OCF CHEW & CHAT - HOSTS NEEDED
September 1 - December 8 Let's feed our college students - body AND soul! We're looking for folks willing to host our students for an evening of food, fun and conversation. Click HERE to sign up for a week (or two!).
INQUIRER'S CLASSES
Beginning Wednesday, September 2 7:00 PM This is open to those who want to learn more about the Orthodox Church. Please email prchristine@ilicons.us for more information.
YAL CONFERENCE TAMPA, FLORIA
October 9-12, 2026 Young adults (ages 18-35) are invited for a week of worship, fellowship, and inspiration. For more information, please email YALAtlantaConference1@Gmail.com or click here.
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SEND MINISTRY ANNOUNCEMENTS for the BULLETIN
to saint.philothea.public@gmail.com
for review & inclusion in bulletin & calendar!
Please try to have announcements emailed by Wednesday each week
for inclusion in the current week's bulletin whenever possible.
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THE COUNCIL OF MINISTRIES | | | |
ST. ANNA NOVGOROV FELLOWSHIP
For Families with Children
September 26: Washington Farms All are welcome! This will be a discounted group admission. More details to follow.
To join GroupMe, text Meaghan at 706-255-5303 OR email stphilothea.stannasfellowship@gmail.com
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ST. OLYMPIA'S SISTERHOOD
Women's Fellowship
August 20 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Meets the third Thursday of each month.
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FELLOWSHIP OF ST. BRENDAN THE NAVIGATOR
Men's Group
September 3 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Meets on the first Thursday of each month
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JAIL MINISTRY - AUGUST IS OUR MONTH
Every Saturday in August 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. at Oconee County Jail. Background check required prior to participation. Please see Father Anthony to get involved.
GRIEF SUPPORT GROUP
August 17 at 7:00 pm at church. You can obtain your discussion book, “Memory Eternal” from the church bookstore. Meets the first and third Monday of the month.
ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP CHEW & CHAT
September 1, 15, 29; October 13, 27; November 10, 17; December 1, 8
SPAGHETTI DINNER
Will resume September 10
MEAL TRAIN SUPPORT
We are expanding the Meal Train ministry at Saint Philothea! If you or your loved ones would benefit from support from this ministry, please click here. Hannah will confirm receipt and organize the sign-up page. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to her at hghoward3@gmail.com.
ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN NETWORK
The OCN's quarterly newsletter is out now! Filled with inspiring articles, reflections, interviews, and stories, it is designed to encourage the faithful and introduce others to the beauty of our Orthodox faith. Click here for the latest edition of Orthodoxy Now!
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BIGGER VISION DINNERS **4th Monday of every month
NEXT: August 24th.
We can always use hands to help serve in many ways! To learn more about it go to our BV webpage ...and... Join the BV GroupMe.
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SUPPORT JACOB SPARKS
as the full time OCF Campus30 Missionary for the Atlanta area. Scan the QR code to donate and be sure to click "Add a dedication" to make it "in honor of Jacob Sparks"
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BOOKSTORE
NEW CHILDRENS ITEMS NOW AVAILABLE Also, "The Life of St Philothea" book is in stock! Check out some old inventory on sale, too.
SUNDAY SCHOOL
Aug 16 Sunday School Orientation
Aug 23 Blessing of the Backpacks - all students, K-Ph.D, come up for a blessing!
Aug 30 First Day of Sunday School
Sep 07 No Classes - Labor Day Holiday
BYZANTINE CHANT LESSONS
For beginners to learn Byzantine notation. Wednesday evenings after church.
INQUIRER'S CLASS
This is open to those who want to learn more about the Orthodox Church. Please email prchristine@ilicons.us for more information. Class begins Wednesday September 2.
CHOIR & YOUTH CHOIR New voices welcomed.
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VIEW THE COUNCIL of MINISTRIES CHART here
Don't see your name on the Chart? Contact Nina Lamson to be added.
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48th Biennial Clergy Laity Congress
DOCUMENTS & REPORTS
Click the link to view all the documents and reports from the Cleveland gathering June 29 - July 3, 2026
View C/L Documents & Reports
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Monday, August 17, 2026
Beyond Stewardship: Fundraising for Special Parish Initiatives and Capital Campaigns
Monday, September 21, 2026
Conflict: Using the Right Approach and Strategy for Success
Monday, October 19, 2026
Seek, Prepare and Receive: Welcoming and Engaging Seekers
Monday, November 16, 2026
To Prepare: Healthy Catechism for Newcomers
Monday, December 14, 2026
To Receive: Building the Orthodox Mindset & Adult Religious Education
Registration details will be posted on our events page
For additional questions please contact metropolis@sanfran.goarch.org
Download the Flyer: 2026 OPL Webinar Calendar
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The Holy Unmercenaries Medical Society (HUMS) Retreat
is a fellowship of healthcare professionals within the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta. The Society has planned its annual retreat at the Alexios Retreat Center September 25-27, 2026. For more information contact Greg Tarasidis at gtarasidis@hotmail.com with any questions.
Please visit HUMS WEBSITE
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LIVE STREAMING ASSISTANT
Alan has been running the LS since 2020 every Sunday! We are looking for persons with skills to train and to help 1 or 2 Sundays a month. Please contact Rose Lieffring rose@lieffring.com
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NARTHEX GREETERS
You will be fully trained on the duties. This is a beautiful ministry and a wonderful way to serve your church on occasional Sundays. Contact Mary (Autumn) Mellott autumnrmellott@gmail.com
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JOIN THE ONLINE PRAYER GROUP
to post prayer needs and to be a prayer warrior. To join send your email address to rose@lieffring.com. You will receive emails when someone posts a prayer request or you can post to st-philothea-prayer-group@googlegroups.com
A WORD ABOUT CHURCH SEATING - please...
- Fill in all the rows by moving in towards the center aisle.
- Our pews fit 5 or 6 persons, so be mindful of families so they can sit together.
- Single persons should fill in rows that may have only one or two seats left.
CEMETARY PLOTS
St. Philothea section in the Oconee Memorial Park in Watkinsville. Burial Plots available at our special group price. Click here to see the flyer.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE ORTHODOX OBSERVER
News from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. OrthodoxObserver.org
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AGAPE MEAL TEAMS UPDATE
POTLUCK GUIDELINES
Community-led lunch fosters fellowship and connection at the parish. Agape means love and these lunches are all about loving our parish family by sharing food and breaking bread together. In an effort to reduce clean up, please follow these guidelines.
- Please do not use the kitchen to prep, plate, or warm up.
- Bring whatever you can - it’s more about participation than perfect cooking or food!
- Bring ready-to-serve food and avoid kitchen prep, crockpots are great.
- Place it on the buffet table, in fridge, or in the warmer unit and proceed into church.
- Do not bring your serving utensils - we will use ones from the kitchen.
- Take your dish home to wash at home (thx!)
- The host team will facilitate the set up and clean up of the tables, the coffee equipment and cups, and the utensils.
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TEAM LISTS: CLICK HERE. To be added or removed from a team, text Presvytera at 706-340-6366.
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Please remember to turn in your 2026 Stewardship Pledge Card | | We Christians are called to share in the Life of Christ. Service to His Church and His people is our discipleship to Christ. It’s real and inspires the people of God to offer their very best of time, talent and treasures which are abundantly blessed. Truly, Service bears fruit! | | | | |
OUR MISSION
SPGOC is a local, Eucharistic community dedicated to the continuation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’s ministry of salvation through the proclamation and teaching of the Gospel; through Baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; and through loving service to all humankind
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OUR VISION
The community will provide a loving, caring and welcoming environment where all belong
and grow in the faith through worship, service, education, witness and fellowship.
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Holy Communion
is offered in the Orthodox Church only to those individuals baptized and chrismated in the Orthodox Faith. One must also be in good standing with the Church and properly prepared through prayer, fasting and confession.
Allow the Sunday School teachers and children who are receiving to approach first so they may depart for class. Parents with small children and others with special needs may approach to receive after them. Those who are not receiving, please remain prayerfully in your pew. Women should remove all lipstick when approaching for Holy Communion.
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SUNDAY AUGUST 16 - 11th Sunday of Matthew
WE COMMEMORATE:
Translation of the Image of Our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ Diomedes the Physician & Martyr of Tarsus; Timothy of Euripus, founder of the Monastery of Pentele; Holy Monk Penteles; Gerasimus of Cephalonia; The Six Martyrs Dorotheos, Sarantis, Jacob, Seraphim, Demetrios and Basil who contested in Megara; Joseph the Hesychast; Nicodemus the New Martyr of Meteora; Afterfeast of the Dormition of our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary ; Manuel and John the New Martyrs; Stamatios the Martyr; and Apostolos the New-Martyr
Entrance Hymn - Mode 2
Come, let us worship and bow down before Christ. Save us, O Son of God, risen from the dead. We sing to You, Alleluia.
Resurrectional Apolytikion - Mode 2
When You descended unto Death, O Lord, You who are immortal Life put Hades to death, by the lightning of Your divinity. And when You raised the dead from the netherworld, all the hosts of heaven sang aloud to You, “O Christ God, Giver of life,
glory to You!
For the Holy Napkin - Mode 2
We venerate Your immaculate icon, O good Lord, and entreat You to forgive our offenses, O Christ our God. By Your own choice you were pleased to ascend the Cross in the flesh, to deliver us, whom You created, from our slavery to the foe. Therefore we cry to You with gratitude: You have filled all things with joy, O our Savior, by coming to save the world.
Apolytikion of the Feast - Mode 1
You gave birth yet preserved your virginity. You fell asleep in death yet did not desert the world, O Theotokos. You were transported to life, as you are Mother of Life and, by virtue of your intercessions, deliver our souls from death.
Kontakion - Mode pl. 2
The Theotokos is undying in intercession.* Immovable is our hope in her for protection. * Neither death nor burial prevailed over her. * As she is Mother of Life, she was removed to life by Him, * the Lord who lived in her ever-virgin womb.
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ST. PHILOTHEA APOLYTIKION MODE 4
The famed city of Athens does honor Philothea, the righteous martyr whose relics it now revers with joy. For while living in sobriety and holiness she has exchanged all earthly things for the everlasting life through great contest as a martyr. And she entreateth the Savior to grant His mercy unto us.
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St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 9:2-12 | | |
Prokeimenon. Mode 2
Psalm 117.14,18
The Lord is my strength and my song.
Verse: The Lord has chastened me sorely.
Brethren, you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. This is my defense to those who would examine me. Do we not have the right to our food and drink? Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a wife, as the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? Do I say this on human authority? Does not the law say the same? For it is written in the law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain." Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of a share in the crop. If we have sown spiritual good among you, is it too much if we reap your material benefits? If others share this rightful claim upon you, do not we still more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.
| | Gospel Reading According to St. Matthew 18:23-25 | | The Lord said this parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat he said, 'Pay what you owe.' So his fellow servant fell down and besought him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me; and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his lord delivered him to the torturers, till he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." | | | | |
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