ORTHODOX VISION Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Bridgeport CT Father Georgios Livaditis, Presbyter September/October 2022 1
Upcoming September Liturgies Orthos: 8:30 am - Liturgy 9:30 am Sunday September 4 12th Sunday of Ma5hew Thursday September 8 Na;vity of the Theotokos Sunday September 11 Sunday before Holy Cross Wednesday September 14 Exalta;on of the Holy Cross Sunday September 18 Sunday aEer Holy Cross Friday September 23 Xanthippe & Polyxene Sunday September 25 1st Sunday of Luke Friends, we are in need of fresh Basil for September 14th. Χρειαζόμεθα ΒΑΣΙΛΙΚΟ για τις 14 Σεπτεμβρίου.Ευχαριστούμε. Events: Sunday September 11 Sunday School starts Monday September 12 Greek School starts Memorials: Sunday September 4 Nicholas Tsichlas 2 years Eleni Tzovolos 1 year Konstantinos Tsichlas 16 Years Sunday September 18 George Bolovinos 1 year 2
Sunday
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On holytrinity4070@gmail.com
Luke Wednesday
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the web: www.holytrinitybridgeport.org On Facebook: www.facebook/holytrinitybridgeport If you would like to receive notifications from our church via email please email us at
30 - Greek School Celebration for the “OXI DAY” Memorials: Sunday October 2 Telemahos Toromanides 1 year Sunday October 9 Christina Pertesis 1 year Church Contact Information: Email: email@holytrinitybridgeport.org
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Orthos:
Ecumenical Council Sunday
am Sunday
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Luke Events: Sunday
Liturgies - October 2022 8:30 - Liturgy 9:30 October 2 2nd Sunday of Luke October 9 3rd Sunday of Luke October Sunday of the 7th October 6th Sunday of October 26 St. Demetrios The Great Martyr October 30 5th Sunday of October
A MESSAGE FROM FATHER GEORGIOS
The ecclesiastical year, which according to Byzantine practice begins on the first of September, is divided between movable and immovable or fixed holy days. The movable holy days are determined by the date of Easter, the most important of all feast days, which is in a class by itself. The determination of the date of Easter was definitively regulated by the decision of the First Ecumenical Synod, held in Nicaea (325).
Next in importance to Easter are the "twelve great feasts," of which three are movable. Eight of these feasts are devoted to Christ and four to the Virgin Mary. There are also a number of feast days of varying importance, most of which commemorate the more popular saints. Read More 4
FatherGeorgios@holytrinitybridgeport.org
My brothers and sisters in Christ, I greet you with peace and love and wish you a blessed ecclesiastical New Year. In the or thodox tradition, September 1st is the New Ecclesiastical Year. As school begins, so do our ministries. We come together to experience Christ and receive His blessings. September 11th and 18th, you will have the opportunity to register your children for the various Church ministries, including: Sunday School, Greek School, Joy/Hope, GOYA, and Youth Choir. For anyone that has witnessed and lived the Orthodox ministries that we offer, understand the importance and value of having spiritual and social interactions that breeds well rounded and strong individuals for our society. These ministries offer children and their families, not only the opportunity to socialize and engage with other orthodox youth, but to bring children clos er to God, so they may know Him. It is through these ministries, that we learn to express our faith. The lessons and values taught stay with children as they become teenagers and into adulthood. I invite you and your families to put on Christ. Please make this year: a year of church, a year of God in our lives and homes, a year of reconstituting the importance of fam Inily.His service, +Fr. Georgios Livaditis
In the Bible, God encourages us to take care of our brothers and sisters - whether friends or enemies! We must remember the importance of maintaining the connection with each other and focus ing on building a community of love in word and actions.
PARISH COUNCIL
Hello my fellow parishioners, I hope you all had a wonderful summer and are all well. With the new scholastic year approaching we have to all prepare for the coming year. Our church offers many ministries for children and adults. Consider enrolling and getting involved.
John Tsilfides - President
We are making many improvements to our gym with a new floor, windows, and emergency doors. These improvements will help sustain the growth of this community. The gym is a very big part of what we do here in our community. None of this would be possible without the help of our parish ioners and sponsors. We hope to make many more improvements soon within our church and com munity building. I ask that you please make an effort to attend our General Assembly in the fall so that we can present what ideas we have for our future here at Holy Trinity. We have not had a Quorum for a General Assembly in some time and the community needs to come together in order to make the changes that are needed to sustain and continue the growth of our community.
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We had a very successful festival this year. We had some issues along the way but we came together and prevailed. I encourage all of you to participate and help out. The more we involve our selves within the church the more we start to realize how important we all are to each other.
John ParishTsilfidesCouncil President
Holy Trinity Greek Afternoon School Bridgeport, Connecticut begins MONDAY SEPTEMBER 12, 2022 -- @ 4:30 PM. We would like to welcome all the students, parents, teachers back and also the new families and children to our Family Parish, and to wish to all a healthy, safe and productive school year. Our goal and mission is to provide a safe, family, church enviroment and to teach the children the faith, language, culture, songs, hymns, history, so they can be proud Greek Americans citizens. Let’s all work together for our children. Again, we wish all of you health and prosperous school year. Thank you.
Our School is growing and growing…. Ελληνικό Απογευματινό Σχολείο Αγίας Τριάδας Αρχίζει Δευτέρα 12 Σεπτεμβρίου 2022 - 4:30 μμ. Καλωσορίζουμε στο σχολείο μας όλους τους μαθητές/τριες, γονείς, δασκάλες και τους νεοφερμένουςν ενορίτες , μαθητές στο σχολείο μας και να ευχηθούμε σε όλους υγεία και καλή και προοδευτική σχολική χρονιά. Σκοπός του σχολείου μας είναι να δώσωμε στα παιδιά μας ελληνοχριστιανική αγωγή, μόρφωση, γλώσσα, θρησκεία, πολιτισμό, κουλτούρα, τραγούδια και γενικά ότι σχετίζεται με την Ελληνορθόδοξη χριστιανική πίστη, καταγωγή και πολιτισμό. Συνεργασία! Κοινότητα, Εκκλησία, σπίτι, γονείς, δασκάλοι και μαθητές. ΟΛΑ ΓΙΑ ΤΑ ΠΑΙΔΙΑ ΜΑΣ! ΚΑΛΗ ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΥΓΕΙ GREEK SCHOOL 6
Welcome to the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church Greek Afternoon School!!!! The 2022-2023 school year will begin on Monday, September 12, 2022. Greek School will be held on Mondays & Wednesdays from 4:30-6:30 p.m. This year, the Greek School program will adapt a leveled program. Students returning from the 2021-2022 school year, have been tested in all 4 modalities of learning a language: Lis tening, Speaking, Reading & Writing. Students will be placed in Levels A, B, C, D and a combined Level E & Regents Preparation Class. Greek school offers language classes to students in grades K-8.
Greek School Books: Papaloizos , books from Greece, Ellinika mou and Klik publicaSchooltions. OctoberEvents:28th,“OXI
Eleni Limberis - Director 2022-2023 Fall Bulletin
DAY” - Christmas – Greek Letters, March 25th, Greek Independence GreekDay. School Teachers: We welcome back our teachers Mrs. Agapi Theodoridou, Mrs. Maria Kalogeris, Mrs. Ioanna Bakes , Mrs. Elli Zaharatos , Mrs. Elpida Tzilianos and Mrs. Katerina Katsiotis, thank all for joining our team and we look forward to having them teach your children at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox WishingSchool. all of you a healthy and prosperous and productive year. EleniBest, Limberis, Director 7
Curriculum Our curriculum includes materials from the Papaloizos publications (Geia Xara)
President’s Day: Monday, February, 20 Holy Week: Monday, April 10 Wednesday, April 12 Memorial Day: Monday, May 29
If any parent would like to pick-up their child early, please send an e-mail to the child’s teacher copying K. Eleni Limberis @ eleni.lib@sbcglobal.net. No parent will be allowed to enter the school after drop-off. We ask that all parents are prompt for pick-up at 6:30 p.m. Teacher supervision will be available at 6:30 p.m. to assist students at pick-up.
Tentative Last Day of Greek School: Wednesday, June 7 Early Dismissal/Parent Pick-Up:
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Greek School2022-2023Holidays
Columbus Day: Monday October 10 Thanksgiving Break: Wednesday November 23 Christmas Break: Monday December 26 Monday December 28 Monday January 2 Martin Luther King Day: Monday, January 16
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Theodora Fatibene - President Another year has passed, and we hope everyone had a fabulous summer! We are happy to be starting our 87th year as a chapter! The last few years have been difficult for everyone, but we are hopeful that the worst is behind us. This upcoming year Daughters of Penelope will continue with our ongoing community out reach activities which will benefit both our church and local communities. We will be bringing back our Acts of Kindness which was something that meant a lot to many! Be on the lookout for our Acts of Kindness donation boxes. Our first meeting will be Wednesday, September 21 at 7:00 pm, details to follow, where we will discuss our calendar of events for the coming year. A full slate of names will be chosen to be voted into office. In order for our organization to be successful, we need more support from our members. If you are interested in joining the Daughters, please see myself or any member to get more information. We welcome all the ladies in our community to join!
We look forward to a fun and successful year. Please dome down to our meet and greet on September 11, meet some of our members and see what we are all about. Our reg istration form is attached. We look forward to meeting you and any friends that may be interested in joining.
SylviaPhiloptochosBal-President
I’m looking forward to seeing everyone and making this year as successful and fun as our previous Theodorayears!Fatibene
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Hello and welcome back to all! Hope you all had a great summer! I would like to thank all the ladies that baked and helped out during the festival, memo rials, makaries and all our bake sales. Your help was very much appreciated.
Daughters of Penelope
too (Mom's
that directly helps the future of our parish! Look for a PTO member every Sunday in September as well as during Greek School drop Planningoff! our first official meeting for early October! Details to come! Shalene Venetis 13
in Sep tember, we can't wait to see all your beautiful children! We have so many special events planned this
PTO Shalene Venetis - President School Sunday School begin year parents Nights events group
for our children and
Hello Everyone, Hope you all had a wonderful Summer, full of blessings and joy with your families! The new school year is upon us! Both Greek
and
will
in the making)! These special
will be even better with all your help. The more, the merrier! It's a new year so if you would like to be part of the PTO and help our parish grow, please consider making the $30 family membership donation and being part of a great
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Hello everyone, I hope you all had a great summer! Exciting happenings in our gymnasium as our old court has been ripped up after more than 50 years of service. We have also put in new windows, doors, and the foundation has been sealed for water leaks. This is the final stage of the gym’s renovation. I would like to thank Chris Danas, who has been working on making this happen for the past few years to finally make this come to fruition. Thank you, Chris, for all your tireless efforts through the years to give us the foundation for hopefully another 50+ years of service for our basketball court. The new court application process began mid-Au gust and will be ready to welcome in our athletic season, which is set to begin with practices on Thursday, October 13th. Our Youth and JV teams both come into the season looking to defend their championships from last season. If any child is interested in participating, please attend one of the practices listed below ac cording to your child’s age. All practices are held on Thursdays in our gym.
ATHLETICS Jimmy Hasiotis - Athletic Director
Farm Team (ages 5–7) 5:30-6:15 PM Youth (ages 7-10) 6:30-7:30 PM JV (ages 10-13) 7:30-8:30 PM Varsity (ages13-18) 7:30-8:30 PM We did not have a Varsity team last year due to a lack of participation. Hoping that changes this year!!!! Our season is tentatively slated to begin the first weekend of December. We look forward to seeing your children on the court! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me! Thank you, Jimmy dhasiotis@hotmail.com(203)257-6535AthleticHasiotisDirector
In the twentieth year of his reign (326), the Emperor Constantine sent his mother Saint Helen to Jerusalem to venerate the holy places and to find the site of the Holy Sepulchre and of the Cross. Relying upon the oral tra dition of the faithful, Saint Helen found the precious Cross together with the crosses of the two thieves crucified with our Lord. However, Helen had no way of determining which was the Cross of Christ.
With the healing of a dying woman who touched one of the crosses, Patriarch Macarius of Jerusalem identified the True Cross of Christ. Saint Helen and her court venerated the Precious and Life-Giving Cross along with many others who came to see this great instrument of Redemption. The Patriarch mounted the ambo (pulpit) and lifted the Cross with both hands so that all of the people gathered could see it. The crowd responded with "Lord have mercy".
The Feast of the Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross is celebrated each year on September 14. The Feast commemorates the finding of the True Cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by Saint Helen, the mother of the Emperor Constantine.
This became the occasion of the institution in all of the Churches of the Exaltation of the Precious Cross, not only in memory of the event of the finding of the Cross, but also to celebrate how an instrument of shame was used to overcome death and bring salvation and eternal life.
The Feast is an opportunity outside of the observances of Holy Week to celebrate the full significance of the victory of the Cross over the powers of the world, and the triumph of the wisdom of God through the Cross over the wisdom of this world. This Feast also gives the Church an opportunity to relish the full glory of the Cross as a source of light, hope and victory for Christ's people. It is also a time to celebrate the universality of the work of redemption accomplished through the Cross: the entire universe is seen through the light of the Cross, the new Tree of Life which provides nourishment for those who have been redeemed in Christ 18
Exaltation of the Holy Cross
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The Fruits of True Prayer Prayer is doxology, praise, thanksgiving, confession, supplication and intercession to God. "When I prayed I was new," wrote a great theologian of Christian antiquity, "but when I stopped praying I became old." Prayer is the way to renewal and spiritual life. Prayer is aliveness to God. Prayer is strength, refreshment, and joy. Through the grace of God and our disciplined efforts prayer lifts us up from our isolation to a conscious, loving communion with God in which everything is experienced in a new light. Prayer becomes a personal dia logue with God, a spiritual breathing of the soul, a foretaste of the bliss of God's kingdom. As we pray deeply within our hearts we grow in prayer. By the grace of God we suddenly catch a glimpse of the miracle of the presence of the Holy Spirit working within us. At first it is only a spark but later it becomes a flame freeing and energizing our whole being. To experience the fire of God's holy love, to give it space within us to do its cleansing and healing work as a breath of the Holy Spirit, and to use it as light and power for daily living -- such are the goals as well as the fruits of true prayer.
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Emails Maria Gountas (203) 650-3246
Choir Joanna Bogardus (203) 650-4204
Faye Demestihas (917) 217-8530 John Frantzis (203) 246-5396
AHEPA John Bochanis (203) 254-7595
Lee Tsouris (203) 331-3185 Arthur Venetis (2030 982-6884
Vision Faye Demestihas (917) 217-8530 24
Father Georgios Livaditis, Presbyter
PTO Shalene Venetis (203) 982-6884
Tom Gionis (203) 803-6942 Roseann Lambros (203) 675-3100
Deacon Anastasios Hallas (203) 209-9356
John Tsilfides (203) 371-7261 Chris Danas (860) 916-3777
ESF Scholarship Rebecca Hasiotis (203) 258-1826
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church Bridgeport CT (203) 374 - 5561
Cantor George Bakes (203) 374-8561
Greek School Eleni Limberis (203) 331-7590
Council Of Churches Stacie Kapataneas (203) 926-1751
Chris Papachristos (203) 400-0738 Harry Sandalidis (203) 414-0458
Senior Citizens Van Hatzis (203) 268-7231
Cultural Association Van Hatzis (203) 268-7231
Sunday School Alexandra McGoldrick (203) 520-9865 Kathy Bothos (203) 808-6100
Parish Council
Maintenance Committee Gus Hatzis (203) 260-5359
Athletic Director Demetrios Hasiotis (203) 257-6535
Daughters of Penelope Alexis Koulouris (203) 414-5137
Philoptochos Sylvia Bal (203) 814-2131
GOYA Alexander Valbuena (203) 942-4759