The Liturgical Guide and Bulletin for Sunday, May 18th, 2025
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Sunday, May 18, 2025
Sunday of the Samaritan Woman
One of the most ancient cities of the Promised Land was Shechem, also called Sikima, located at the foot of Mount Gerazim. There the Israelites had heard the blessings in the days of Moses and Jesus of Navi. Near to this town, Jacob, who had come from Mesopotamia in the nineteenth century before Christ, bought a piece of land where there was a well. This well, preserved even until the time of Christ, was known as Jacob’s Well. Later, before he died in Egypt, he left that piece of land as a special inheritance to his son Joseph (Gen. 49:22). This town, before it was taken into possession by Samaria, was also the leading city of the kingdom of the ten tribes. In the time of the Romans it was called Neapolis, and at present Nablus. It was the first city in Canaan visited by the Patriarch Abraham. Here also, Jesus of Navi (Joshua) addressed the tribes of Israel for the last time. Almost three hundred years later, all Israel assembled there to make Roboam (Rehoboam) king.
When our Lord Jesus Christ, then, came at midday to this city, which is also called Sychar (John 4:5), He was wearied from the journey and the heat, and He sat down at this well. After a little while the Samaritan woman mentioned in today’s Gospel passage came to draw water. As she conversed at some length with the Lord and heard from Him secret things concerning herself, she believed in Him; through her many other Samaritans also believed.
Concerning the Samaritans we know the following: In the year 721 before Christ, Salmanasar (Shalmaneser), King of the Assyrians, took the ten tribes of the kingdom of Israel into captivity, and relocated all these people to Babylon and the land of the Medes. From there he gathered various nations and sent them to Samaria. These nations had been idolaters from before. Although they were later instructed in the Jewish faith and believed in the one God, they worshipped the idols also. Furthermore, they accepted only the Pentateuch of Moses, and rejected the other books of Holy Scripture. Nonetheless, they thought themselves to be descendants of Abraham and Jacob. Therefore, the pious Jews named these Judaizing and idolatrous peoples Samaritans, since they lived in Samaria, the former leading city of the Israelites, as well as in the other towns thereabout. The Jews rejected them as heathen and foreigners, and had no communion with them at all, as the Samaritan woman observed, “the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans” (John 4:9). Therefore, the name Samaritan is used derisively many times in the Gospel narrations. After the Ascension of the Lord, and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the woman of Samaria was baptized by the holy Apostles and became a great preacher and Martyr of Christ; she was called Photine, and her feast is kept on February 26.
Liturgical Guide
Apolytikion for Great and Holy Pascha in the Plagal First Mode
Χριστός ἀνέστη ἐκ νεκρῶν, θανάτῳ θάνατον πατήσας, καί τοῖς ἐν τοῖς μνήμασι ζωήν χαρισάμενος.
Christ is risen from the dead, by death, trampling down upon death, and to those in the tombs He has granted life.
Reading is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved by Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Fourth Mode
Τὸ φαιδρὸν τῆς Ἀναστάσεως κήρυγμα…
Having learned the joyful proclamation of the Resurrection from the Angel, and having cast off the ancestral condemnation, the women disciples of the Lord spake to the Apostles exultantly: Death is despoiled and Christ God is risen, granting great mercy to the world.
Reading is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved by Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Apolytikion for Mid-Pentecost in the Plagal Fourth Mode
Μεσούσης τῆς ἑορτῆς…
At Mid-feast give Thou my thirsty soul to drink of the waters of piety; for Thou, O Saviour, didst cry out to all: Whosoever is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Wherefore, O Well-spring of life, Christ our God, glory be to Thee.
Reading is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved by Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Apolytikion of St. Demetrios in the Third Mode
Μέγαν εύρατο εv τοίς κιvδύvοις …
Greatness has been found in danger. You are champion of the world. A victor who could turn the nations back. You boldly encouraged Nestor to defeat Lyaeus in the arena. Therefore, holy great martyr Demetrios, intercede with Christ our God, to grant us His great mercy.
Seasonal Kontakion in the Plagal Fourth Mode
Εἰ καὶ ἐν τάφῳ κατῆλθες ἀθάνατε…
Though You went down into the tomb, You destroyed Hades’ power, and You rose the victor, Christ God, saying to the myrrh-bearing women, “Hail!” and granting peace to Your disciples, You who raise up the fallen.
Reading is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved by Narthex Press
Epistle Reading
Prokeimenon. Fourth Mode. Psalm 103.24,1.
O Lord, how manifold are your works. You have made all things in wisdom.
Verse: Bless the Lord, O my soul.
The reading is from Acts of the Apostles 11:19-30
In those days, those apostles who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to none except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number that believed turned to the Lord. News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad; and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a large company was added to the Lord. So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church, and taught a large company of people; and in Antioch the disciples were for the first time called Christians. Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabos stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world; and this took place in the days of Claudius. And the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brethren who lived in Judea, and they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
Gospel Reading
John 4:5-42
At that time, Jesus came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and so Jesus, wearied as he was with his journey, sat down beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain; and you say that Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ); when he comes, he will show us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”Just then his disciples came. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but none said, “What do you wish?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar, and went away into the city and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the city and were coming to him.Meanwhile the disciples besought him, saying “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him food?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white for harvest. He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony. “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of your words that we believe, for we have heard ourselves, and we know that this is indeed Christ the Savior of the world.”
Memorial Prayer
Mary Carratt (1 year) Survived by her children Catherine (Gene) Whiddon, Christine (Jacques) Watters, Gus Carratt and their families.
Efstathios Visvardis (1 year) Survived by his wife, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, siblings, extended family and friends.
Trisagion Prayer
George Jimokas (6 years) Survived by his wife Judith.
Catherine Lycouris Survived by her son Steve and her grandsons Alexander and Constantine.
40 Day Baby Blessing
Chris and Esthel Brennan present MaKenna Isla for the 40 day blessing.
Announcements
Storage Building Campaign
Our community embarked on an epic rebuilding journey 12 years ago. It started with the Kandaras hall and kitchen renovation. In 2018 we completed the large hall renovation followed in 2021 by the Sunday School renovation, the repair and painting of the church building in 2022 and most recently the fence project completed just months ago. Now, as we approach the finish line, our sights are set on the last big piece of the puzzle. A storage building.
Stewardship
We remind everyone to pledge for year 2025. Please send in the stewardship form you received in the mail or pledge here https://stdemetrios.org/our-parish/stewardship/stewardship-form/
Thank you!
Prosforo
Anyone able to bake Prosforo please do so. With the prosforo, submit the names of the living and the dead for the proskomide.
Altar Help Wanted
Father Peter needs help in the altar on Sundays and with Sacraments. Compensation is available subject to ability and time provided. If interested and for more information, please speak with Fr. Peter or a Parish Council member.
Agape
Χριστός Ανέστη!
You are cordially invited to the Agape luncheon at 11:30 AM on Tuesday 5/20/25. Come share a delectable lunch, snacks, coffee, beverages and dessert. Entrance $10.00. Your friends are welcome.
“FINDING JOY IN THE JOURNEY”
— A comprehensive look at Alzheimer’s and Dementia.
Mark your calendar now for Thursday evening, May 15, 2025. Details to follow. Kandaras Hall, Sponsored by Philoptochos. See Athena or Juanita.
BINGO…SATURDAY, MAY 31ST, AT 12 NOON. Doors open at 11:30am. Join us for BINGO.
Get 2 BINGO cards at the door for $7.00. Many gift prizes, 50/50 raffle, plus refreshments. Supporting Covenant House and other local charities. Invite your neighbors and friends. Join us for a relaxing afternoon of fun, family, friends, & food!! Sponsored by Philoptochos.
See you on Saturday, MAY 31ST at 11:30am.
SCHOLARSHIP NEWS – APPLICATIONS OPEN
The Scholarship Committee manages the application, selection and award process for young people who are part of the St. Demetrios Church congregation. Funding for scholarships come from fundraising events, donations and estate endowments:
· Dr. Helene Tzitsikas Endowed Scholarship – for students enrolled in higher education. Must meet requirements established by estate.
· Three Hierarchs Scholarship – established by Drs. Anthony & Joyce Kales for graduating high school seniors enrolled in higher education and in the 10% of their class ranking. Must meet requirements established for this scholarship.
· St. Demetrios Award of Excellence – monetary awards to students enrolled in higher education as funding permits.
· Mary Kandaras Scholarship – supports tuition for 2 students to attend St. Stephen’s Summer Camp.
· Philoptochos Scholarship – The Saint Elpis Chapter of the Ladies Philoptochos supports tuition for 1 student to attend St. Stephen’s summer Camp.
.Applications for the Dr. Helene Tzitsikas Scholarship, as well as applications for St. Stephen’s Summer Camp are available on St. Demetrios website http://www.stdemetrios.org under the heading of “Ministries”. Information about St. Stephen’s Camp can be found on their website St. Stephen’s Summer Camp – Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta – Atlanta, GA (atlmetropolis.org). Applications for St. Stephen’s Camp open on March 20th.
Applications for the Three Hierarchs Scholarship will be available online. Presently, hard copies of the application are available at the Church Office 954-467-1515 Monday – Thursday. Or, download the application below.
Previous award recipients may reapply, however new applicants will be given preference.
Deadlines for all applications are May 15, 2025.
Calendar
Thursday 5/15
7:00pm Presentation on Dementia and Azheimer’s
Friday 5/16
7:00pm Zumba
Sunday 5/18
8:45am/10:00am Orthros/Divine Liturgy
After Communion Sunday School
Monday 5/19
4:15pm Beginner Greek School
7:00pm Intermediate Greek School-online
Tuesday 5/20
11:30am Agape
Thursday 5/22
7:00pm Advanced Greek- online
Sunday 5/25
8:45am/10:00am Orthros/Divine Liturgy