| | Saint Philothea Greek Orthodox Church | | | |
SOUPER BOWL SUNDAY IS TODAY
Plan to bring non-perishable food items for ACTS and monetary donations for IOCC on this day -donation checks payable to St Philot . Visit: Souper Bowl of Caring
CATECHUMENATE PRAYERS TODAY
Jeremy Smith, Nathaniel and Blakeley Autry and children, Denver, Jane, and Sawyer.
LENT begins Feb 23
Forgiveness Vespers on Sunday Feb 22 at 6:00 pm
Canon of St Andrew on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday Feb 23,24, 26 at 6:00 pm
Full Canon of St. Andrew on Thursday March 26 at 6:00 pm
Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts - Every Wednesday of Lent at 5:30 pm
Lenten Dinner & Book Study - Wednesdays of Lent after church
Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos on the first five Fridays of Lent at 6:00 pm
LENTEN BOOK STUDY
We will be reading and discussing "The Crucifixion of the King of Glory" by Dr. Eugenia Constantinou on Wednesday evenings of Lent.
SAINT PHILOTHEA NAMEDAY
See flyer below. Vespers and Dinner Reception Wednesday, Feb 18. Then Matins/Divine Liturgy on Thursday morning Feb 19 at 7:30/8:30 AM. Save the date for this special celebration. Come to the Greek Dancing Lessons Feb 11.
OCF CHEW & CHAT 2026 HOSTING SIGN UP
2026 Schedule is now available SIGN UP HERE to host
CHEW & CHAT Dates: Feb 17*pending, Mar 17, Mar 31, Apr 14
PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
is postponed one week to Feb 25 at 7:00 PM
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Saint Philothea’s Name Day Celebration (Paniyiri)
Wednesday February 18
Vespers @ 5:30 PM
Dinner, Drinks, Loukoumathes, Dancing and Games to follow! Please RSVP through the link below
Thursday February 19
Matins and Liturgy
@ 7:30 AM / 8:30 AM
Followed by coffee with Fr. Anthony
RSVP for PANIYIRI
Volunteers welcome-click here.
| | | THE COUNCIL OF MINISTRIES | | |
ST OLYMPIA SISTERHOOD FELLOWSHIP
Next gathering date is February 19. All women of the parish are invited to come for refreshment and fellowship. Call Presvytera to be added to the GroupMe. 706-340-6366
GRIEF SUPPORT GROUP
Feb 16 at 7:00 pm at church. You can obtain your discussion book, “Memory Eternal” from the church bookstore.
ACTS FOOD BANK **FIRST Tuesday every other month
April 7, 9:00 to 1:00 pm to stock shelves at the Area Churches Together Serving food bank of Oconee County. 130 E Thompson St, Bogart **Come-and-Help
SPAGHETTI DINNER
Thursday Feb 12, 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
OCF CHEW & CHAT DINNERS - SIGN UP
2026 Schedule: Consider sponsoring dinner for the college students on the 1st & 3rd Tuesdays of the month - Feb 17*pending, Mar 17, Mar 31, Apr 14. We are a big group this year and we encourage co-hosting with other families. See SIGN UP DATES HERE
OCF SOUTHEAST REGIONAL RETREAT
March 27-29, Speaker Fr. Barnabas presenting "Taming the Passions" at the Alexios Retreat Center. See flyer below. REGISTER HERE
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BIGGER VISION DINNERS **4th Monday- NEXT: February 23rd.
Currently we will need a protein, a starch and vegetables as well as volunteers to serve. Thank you all who serve on this ministry. To learn more about it go to our BV webpage ...and... Join the BV GroupMe.
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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 runs from August to January then Lenten services are the practicum for Inquirers.
CHOIR & YOUTH CHOIR
New voices welcomed.
BOOKSTORE & LENDING LIBRARY
are in need of volunteers to keep up these ministries. See Regina if you would like to offer your talents in these areas. View our library holdings here
| | CLICK THE FLYER FOR MORE INFORMATION & REGISTRATION | |
AGAPE MEAL TEAMS UPDATE
Updated November 2025
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If you would like to be added or removed from a team, please text Presvytera at 706-340-6366. Remember...you are not required to be on a team, and everyone is welcome to stay and eat whether on a team or not. This is an AGAPE meal!
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VIEW THE COUNCIL of MINISTRIES CHART here
Don't see your name on the Chart? Contact Presvytera Christine to be added.
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Stewardship is devotion and service to God and His Church as persons, as families, as a Parish, as a Metropolis, as a National Church and as the Church Universal.
| Please remember to turn in your 2026 Stewardship Pledge Card | | |
GOA YOUTH SAFETY RENEWAL
Policy requires that youth workers in the GOA screen every 2 years, train and acknowledge the Code of Conduct every year. Click YOUTHSAFETYPLATFORM to check your status on your VIRTUS account.
CROSSROAD SUMMER INSTITUTE
is a 10-day program for Orthodox Christian high school juniors and seniors ready to explore identity, faith, and purpose. Step away from the noise of everyday life and join other Orthodox youth, mentors, and theologians in one of these beautiful settings. REGISTER HERE 2nd deadline is Feb 20
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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...
- Leave the front row for people with special needs
- Leave the back 2 rows, right and left, for families with children
- 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 have may have one or two seats left.
- ...and thank you!
CEMETARY PLOTS
St. Philothea section in the Oconee Memorial Park in Watkinsville. Burial Plots available at our special group price. Please see the flyer below.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE ORTHODOX OBSERVER
News from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. OrthodoxObserver.org
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WE COMMEMORATE:
Theodore the Commander & Great Martyr, The Holy Prophet Zacharias (Zachariah),
Nicephoros & Stephanos the Martyrs , Afterfeast of the Presentation of Our Lord and Savior in the Temple, Cuthman of Steyning
Apolytikion of the Feast Mode 1
Lady full of grace, rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos, for Christ our God, the Sun of righteousness has risen from you and He illumined those in darkness. And you, righteous Elder, be glad in heart, receiving in your embraces the One who liberates our souls and bestows on us the Resurrection.
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!”
Apolytikion of the Feast Mode 1
Lady full of grace, rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos, for Christ our God, the Sun of righteousness has risen from you and He illumined those in darkness. And you, righteous Elder, be glad in heart, receiving in your embraces the One who liberates our souls and bestows on us the Resurrection.
Kontakion Mode 1
You sanctified the womb of the Virgin by Your birth, and by Your presentation You blessed the hands of Symeon, when You came, and You saved us, O Christ our God. Now we pray You give peace to Your world at war, and let love for Your people prevail in all, O only benevolent Lord.
Hymn to the Theotokos Mode pl. 4
It is truly right to bless you, Theotokos, ever blessed, most pure, and Mother of our God. More honorable than the Cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, without corruption you gave birth to God the Logos. We magnify you, the true Theotokos.
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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.
| | St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 6:12-20 | | |
Prokeimenon. Mode 2
Psalm 117.14,18
The Lord is my strength and my song.
Verse: The Lord has chastened me sorely.
Brethren, "all things are lawful for me," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be enslaved by anything. "Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food" -- and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, "The two shall become one flesh." But he who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Shun immorality. Every other sin which a man commits is outside the body; but the immoral man sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body and in your spirit which belong to God.
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Gospel Reading According to Luke 15:11-32
| | The Lord said this parable: "There was a man who had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that falls to me.' And he divided his living between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living. And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want. So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his belly with the pods that the swine ate; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants.' And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to make merry. Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what this meant. And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound.' But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, 'Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf!' And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'" | |
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