Sunday Bulletin

October 18, 2026

Sunday, October 18

Orthros at 8:30 am

Divine Liturgy at 9:30 am

Today we commemorate

Luke the Evangelist 

Marinos the Martyr

Click below to read today's scripture

Matins Gospel

Epistle Reading

Gospel Reading

Second Collection to Benefit Cancer

Watch our live-streaming services here:

Looking Ahead

November 1 - Fall General Assembly

December 6 - Parish Council Elections

General Assembly

The Fall Community Fellowship Breakfast and General Assembly is on Sunday, November 1, 2026 immediately following the Divine Liturgy. The Fellowship Breakfast is free and open to all parishioners. As a reminder, parishioners must have paid 75% of their stewardship pledge for the current year to vote at the General Assembly. Please click below for the agenda.

Kali Parea

Kali Parea (Senior Lunch) is back on Thursday at 12:30 pm. The menu is below. Please let the church office know by Tuesday if you are attending.

Beef Chili

Salad and Rolls

Decaf coffee, water and lemonade

Dessert

Maids of Athena

Maids of Athena Sophia Chapter 48 held the second formal meeting on October 11. A bittersweet goodbye for Michelle and a warm welcome to our newest sister Ryleigh. Interested in joining our chapter? We’d love to hear from you! Please reach out directly to our President, Zeffi Kondoprias at sophia48maids@gmail.com for more information about becoming a member and getting involved.

Parish Council Elections

Parish Council Elections will be held on December 6 following church services until 2:00 pm. Nominations are open at the November 1 General Assembly meeting and shall remain open until the twenty-first (21st) day prior to elections. They will close on November 15 at 10:00 am. The mandatory seminar is on November 10 at 7:00 pm. Please note that out of town absentee ballots require a longer processing time. Please submit your request ASAP if you would like to participate in the election. The 2026 Stewardship Commitment must be paid in full (100%) to be eligible to vote or receive an absentee ballot. Please contact me if you have any questions at webmaster@stsophiaalbany.org. Thank you.



Chris Pappis

Chair, Election Committee

Sunday School

Registration is open for the 2026-2027 year. Please click the button below. The first day of classes is September 27. We look forward to seeing you!

Dance Group

Sign ups for the St. Sophia Dance Group are open. Children in grade 1-12 are eligible and families must be a member of the church. Please go to the St. Sophia website to sign up. Click on “Ministries” and then “Youth Ministries.” READ THE CONTRACT CAREFULLY WITH YOUR CHILDREN. Please complete the Google Sign Up Form at the end of the contract. Thank you! 

Junior, sophomore, and freshmen groups start Sunday, September 27 during coffee hour

Juniors meet in gym

Sophomore meet in preschool room

Freshmen meet in cultural room

Senior group starts on Saturday, October 3 at 11:30 am in the gym

All Dance members must attend Church on Sunday and either be enrolled in Sunday School, sing in the choir, or serve in the altar.

Greek Language & Culture Academy

Registration is now open for the 2026-2027 Greek School Program for children from preschool through high school. Classes begin on Saturday, September 19. The annual tuition is $350 per child, which includes books and activity fees. Registration and payment may be completed online below or in person at the church office. Checks should be made payable to St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church with "Greek School" in the memo line. For additional information, please e-mail greeklanguageacademy@stsophiaalbany.org.

Harvest Dinner Dance

Please join us on November 21 for the Harvest Dinner Dance. Tickets are $60 for adults and $30 for child age 5-18. Kids under 5 are free. Live Greek music by the Aegean Duo!

Community Senior Holiday Dinner

Please use the form below to RSVP or call the church office at (518) 489-4442 by November 25. Please indicate the names and meal selections. Thank you.

Church Music Sunday 2026 Highlights with the Archdiocesan Cathedral Choir and Youth Choir on October 4, 2026

“The stone having been sealed”

Resurrectional Apolytikion Mode 1

Τοῦ λίθου σφραγισθέντος

Arranged by Dawn Helene

“Praise the Lord”

Communion Hymn

Arranged by Steve Cardiasmenos

Archdiocesan Cathedral Choir and Youth Choir of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, New York City

2026 Stewardship Pledge Campaign

The church is here for the many Sundays and Feast Days of church services throughout the year because we, as ordinary people, face challenges and stressful times and we need the strength we find in our faith. Of course, we also want to celebrate the blessings in our lives. Baptisms, weddings, and even farewells to loved ones. So much our church offers. If you have not already done so, please make a commitment today to be a steward , a "caretaker" of our church with a pledge of your support. Complete the 2026 green stewardship cards found on the information tables. Or go online. Or call the church office and make a credit card payment over the phone.

October 2026 Calendar

Please click below to view the calendar.

2026 Archbishop Elpidophoros Nameday Gala

Monday, November 2, 2026 | 6:00 pm

Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers, New York, NY



Honoring the Life and Ministry of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios

Throughout our Archdiocese, camping ministries play a vital role in the spiritual growth and development of our youth. It is a sacred ground where our children and young adults encounter the teachings of our Orthodox faith, form lasting friendships, and forge a deeper connection with God and His Church. The experiences gained during their time at camp are invaluable and leave a lasting impact on their lives.

An annual celebration to celebrate the feast day of Saint Elpidophoros, patron of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros, the gala raises critical funds for the Archdiocesan Youth Summer Camp Scholarship Fund, which provides financial assistance to children from across the Archdiocese, enabling them to attend Greek Orthodox summer camps regardless of their financial circumstances. The generous contributions from our parishes will be instrumental in making this vision a reality, and we humbly invite each and every one of you to participate in this blessed endeavor.

Opening the Scriptures

Rev. Dr. Eugen J. Pentiuc, Dean of Holy Cross and Distinguished Professor of Biblical Studies, will offer a weekly Bible Study every Thursday at 7:00 PM Eastern via Zoom.

Part of The Scriptorium Initiative at Holy Cross, funded by Lilly Endowment, this Bible Study is open to everyone: seminarians, clergy, faithful, seekers, and all who wish to discover more deeply how Scripture is read, interpreted, and lived within the Orthodox tradition.

Coming October 15, 2026. For more information and registration, visit www.thescriptoriuminitiative.org.

OPA-cize

OPA-cize back! Join us this Fall as we dance, laugh, and shout “OPA!” at this high-energy, Greek-inspired fitness class—no experience or RSVP needed. Just $7 and a smile! Classes are Wednesdays at 6:30 PM at St. Sophia’s Church Hall in Albany. We Dance & Donate for local charities. This session proceeds will benefit “To Life!” a local organization that supports people with Breast Cancer. Move your body, lift your spirit, and support a great cause. OPA! Click below to learn more.

District GOYA Trip to Boston!

With the Blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, registration is officially OPEN for the Archdiocesan District GOYA Trip to Boston, November 13–15, 2026!

GOYAns ages 13–18 are invited for a full weekend packed with faith, fun, and fellowship — including:

A tour of Fenway Park

GOYA fellowship

Faneuil Hall & Quincy Market

Dinner & games at Dave & Buster’s

Vespers & Divine Liturgy at Holy Cross Chapel

A visit to Hellenic College Holy Cross and the Maliotis Cultural Center

Time with HCHC students and seminarians

The entire weekend is just $325 per participant — including coach bus transportation, hotel accommodations, activities, and most meals. Just bring money for Saturday lunch at Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market and any shopping or extras you want along the way!

Grab your friends, pack your bags, and get ready for a GOYA weekend in Boston you won’t want to miss. Registration is open now — sign up and more information is available at the link below.

Camp Saint Paul 2027

Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology

Join us for the Hellenic College Open House on October 17, 2026 in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Bring your friends and family and enjoy a day exploring campus, meeting our community, sitting in on a demo class, visiting the Chapel, the permanent Archbishop Iakovos Collection, and more.

Meals will be provided! We can’t wait to welcome you! Register below!

Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology is offering a wide variety of online courses for the Summer and Fall 2026 semesters in asynchronous, synchronous, and hybrid formats. Courses include Intermediate Modern Greek I, Introduction to the New Testament, Principles and Practices of Management, and many others. Please click below for complete course offerings and registration information.

New Sunday School Curriculum

Something new and exciting is here — and it was made for your parish! This welcome video introduces the brand-new Sunday School Curriculum and the inspiring vision that brought it to life. Clergy, Sunday School directors, teachers, and families are all invited to dive in and discover a treasure trove of resources carefully crafted to help young people deepen their knowledge of the Orthodox Christian faith and grow in their living relationship with Christ and His Church. This is more than a curriculum. It's a call to ministry! So come with prayer, come with enthusiasm, come with creativity, and get ready to guide the next generation into the fullness of the life of the Church. The journey begins now!

In Memory

Please click below to donate in their memory to the General Fund.

Pauline Anton

Dolores Bachandouris

Donations for the Angelo Bousbouras Recovery Fund are still being collected. The road to recovery from his accident presents itself as a very long and tedious journey. Checks may be made out to Philoptochos with a memo that it is for Angelo’s recovery. Note: All monies will be forwarded to Andrea Bousbouras for their many expenses. Philoptochos does not charge administrative fees for its fundraising programs.

The Pontos Society is accepting new members! New members are welcome! Pontian heritage is not a pre-requisite!! Please contact Stephanie Vasilakos, President at spippo23@aol.com with any questions. A fall Pontian Dance will be held on Saturday, October 24, 2026 at St. Basil’s!

There are neighborhoods that, over the passage of time, have just happened to evolve as a “high density senior neighborhoods.” There’s one such neighborhood around our church roughly from Route 85 to Academy Road to Western Avenue. NNORC--Neighborhood Naturally Occurring Retirement Community is a state-wide program often in partnership with non-profits that coordinate a broad range of health and social services to help support older residents to age, and to age well, in their own homes. St. Sophia is one of several partners in this area. At the present time, two programs of NNORC are held here. One is the Chair Yoga/Nia exercise program for seniors with limited mobility. It provides beneficial and gentle aerobics. The class meets every Tuesday at 11 am. The other is a book club that meets here once a month for discussion and friendships. And there is a bi-monthly newsletter as well as emails that lists upcoming programs, outings, and classes, as well as articles on health and wellness. See the listing of current offerings on our bulletin board. For further information, call (518) 516-1114 or got to nnorc@jfsneny.org.

The Food Pantry truck came and emptied our food collection box. (It was a good collection!) That food and household supplies will be distributed to the many neighborhood food pantries in our area to help those with limited incomes. With your donations, our collection continues to be a successful yearlong project.

Kenya. New Zealand. Mexico. Fiji. OCMC, the Orthodox Christian Mission Center, invites individuals with diverse skills and backgrounds, including teachers, healthcare professionals, skilled tradespeople, and retirees, to participate in missionary work. There are a wide range of opportunities for sharing our faith and also serving communities with limited resources. Visit the OCMC website below to view these many options in countries around the world.

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America announces the newly established National Greek Folk Dance and Cultural Ministry of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

Study in Greece!

Please take a look at this opportunity for our children to study in Greece with high quality and at a cost convenient for the family budget.

Semester of Faith

The Semester of Faith program makes it possible for students from other colleges to study at Hellenic College. Students enrolled in the program continue to earn credits toward their bachelor’s degrees while also exploring their faith more deeply through theological study and daily worship on our campus. Semester of Faith students are welcome and encouraged to participate in all other dimensions of our Hellenic College community as well.

Diakonia: A New Weekly Bulletin to Enrich Parish Life 

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is launching an exciting new initiative to strengthen parish ministry and deepen the spiritual life of the faithful: the Diakonia Weekly Bulletin. Diakonia’s content can integrated seamlessly into existing parish publishing efforts or even used as a stand-alone bulletin supplement. 

Diakonia, which means “ministry” in Greek, was developed in response to a request from the Archdiocesan Presbyters Council (APC) for high quality, weekly parish bulletin content. Funded through a generous grant from Leadership 100, Diakonia represents a significant expansion of the Archdiocese’s widely used Bulletin Builder platform. 

An Idea from our Clergy 

For years, clergy and parish administrators have benefited from using Bulletin Builder to streamline the creation of print and digital parish bulletins while saving countless hours and reducing administrative burdens. Yet, one challenge persisted: providing consistent, high-quality, spiritually enriching and educational content for the faithful wrapped in a beautiful design.

Recognizing this need, the APC partnered with the Archdiocesan National Ministries to create a solution that would deliver impactful content every week with ‘point-and-click’ ease. The additional aim was to deliver the theological expertise of our Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology directly into the hands of the faithful each week. 

What’s Inside Diakonia?

Each week, Diakonia will have weekly sections consisting of: 

• Scriptural Meditation: A brief reflection on a theme from the Sunday Gospel or Epistle that will provide readers with greater insight and life application. 

• Insight from the Biblical Greek: A meditation on the original Greek word from the original biblical text, illuminating not only its historical and theological significance, but its implication in the Christian life. 

• Church History Spotlight: A feature that ties the local parish experience to the broader Orthodox Christian tradition. 

• Our Faith in Action: Educational insight on the Orthodox Christian faith and traditions, making the Orthodox faith real at home, and expressions of our Orthodox Christian faith in action. 
  
• Children’s Activity: Fun and engaging content for youth and the young at heart. 

Supporting Parish Ministry 

Diakonia is poised to transform parish communications and ministry. By providing ready-to-use, high-quality content, it frees clergy and administrators from the time-consuming task of sourcing material, allowing them to focus on pastoral care and outreach. For parishioners, it offers consistent, meaningful engagement with Scripture, tradition, and practical faith applications —strengthening their connection to Christ and His Church. 

Moreover, Diakonia reinforces the visibility of Holy Cross Seminary, creating a tangible link between academic theology and everyday parish life. This initiative reflects the Archdiocese’s commitment to equipping ministry leaders and building up the body of Christ (cf. Ephesians 4:12).

PanHellenic Scholarship Foundation

Attention undergraduate students of Hellenic descent - Our 2026/2027 Scholarship Application officially opens October 1st!⁠

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Please click below to sign up for our e-mail list to be the first to hear when the application is released.

Albany Maritime Ministry

The Albany Maritime Ministry is seeking volunteers to welcome seafarers who dock at the Port of Albany. Most of these seafarers have been at sea for many months facing numerous hardships--separation from families, loneliness, dangerous weather conditions, human rights violations, and, from time to time, threats of actual piracy. A shopping trip to a Walmart's is a special outing for these men. The Ministry has a van for transportation but volunteer drivers are needed to take them to the store and then bring them back when finished. For further information, see Shalyn Docous. Volunteer applications are also available at the information table.

The Greek Orthodox Church of St. Sophia is a parish under the spiritual and ecclesiastical shepherding of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

Ecumenical Patriarchate

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