15th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST — Tone 6. Leave-taking of the
Elevation of the Cross. Apostle Quadratus of the Seventy. Uncovering of
the Relics of St. Dimitry, Metropolitan of Rostov. Venerable Daniel, Abbot
of Shuzhgórsk. Venerable Joseph of Zaonikiev Monastery. Hieromartyr
Hypatius, Bishop of Ephesus, and his Presbyter, Andrew. St. Isaac (Isacius)
and Meletius, Bishops of Cyprus. Martyr Eusebius of Phœnicia. Martyr
Priscus of Phrygia. Twenty-six Monk Martyrs of Zographou. Venerable
Cosmas the Bulgarian of Zographou. Ss. John and George, Confessors.
2 Corinthians 4:6-15
Matthew 22:35-46
Archimandrite John (Basil Maisuradze in the world) was born in
Tskhinvali, Georgia around 1882. He was raised in a peasant family
and taught to perform all kinds of handiwork. From his youth Basil
was eager to enter the monastic life, and in 1903, according to God’s
will, he moved to the Skete of St. John the Theologian at Iveron
Monastery on Mt. Athos. Among the brothers he was distinguished
for his simplicity and obedience. He was tonsured a monk and named
John in honor of St. John the Theologian, whom he revered deeply
and sought to emulate. The monk John was soon ordained to the
priesthood. Due to the increasingly troubling circumstances on Mount
Athos, he left the Holy Mountain with the other Georgian monks
sometime around 1921. He settled at Armazi Monastery outside of
Mtskheta, where the Bolsheviks had left just one monk to labor in
solitude. Once a band of armed Chekists broke into the monastery
who shot Fr. John and another monk in the back. Believing them to
be dead, they tossed them in a nearby gorge. A group of people later
discovered Fr. John’s nearly lifeless body and brought it to Samtavro
Monastery in Mtskheta. The other monk suffered only minor injuries
and returned to the monastery on his own. When his health had been
restored, Fr. John went to Betania Monastery, where he was
appointed abbot shortly thereafter. Fr. John welcomed guests to the
monastery warmly, spreading a festal meal before them. The children
loved him so much that on the feast of St. John the Theologian, while
he was sprinkling the church with holy water, they skipped around
him and tried to tousle his hair. Truly Fr. John was endowed with a
deep love for young people, and he was also blessed with the divine
gifts of prophecy and wonder-working. Once a certain Irakli
Ghudushauri, a student at Moscow Theological Seminary, visited him
at the monastery. Fr. John received him with exceptional warmth,
blessing him with tears of rejoicing. This student would later become
Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, the beloved shepherd who continues to
lead the flock of the Georgian faithful to this very day. Many of the
miracles performed by Fr. John are known to us today, though he was
wary of receiving honor for his deeds. Fr. John healed the deaf, and
many of the terminally ill were brought to him for healing. After
spending several days in the monastery, the infirm would
miraculously be cleansed of their diseases. Fr. John became ill and
reposed in 1957, at the age of seventy-five. He was buried at Betania
Monastery.
SCHEDULE
Sunday, Sept 21……………………….9:00 am Choir Rehearsal
9:30 am Third Hour
9:45 am Sixth Hour
10:00 am Divine Liturgy
Saturday, Sept 27…………….……….6:00 pm Great Vespers
Sunday, Sept 28……………………….9:30 am Third Hour
9:45 am General Confession
10:00 am Divine Liturgy
UPCOMING / 50th ANNIVERSARY EVENTS
Sunday, October 5…………………….Hierarchical Divine Liturgy &
50th Anniversary Banquet
Please join us for today’s Church School Picnic after Divine Liturgy in the
Rectory. Church school teachers will share this fall’s curriculum.
Today is the deadline to purchase Anniversary Banquet tickets. Don't miss
this wonderful celebration! Kids, ages 13-16, can take part in the banquet for
$40 -- the actual cost of the meal.
Bishop Michael will be at Vespers on Saturday, October 4 (6:00pm), the
evening before the Anniversary Banquet. After Vespers he will bless the new
altar furnishings as well as the new Founders Hall. Please plan to be present
for this occasion. There will be light fare available after the service.
Memory Eternal to our longtime parishioner +Tatiana Snarski. May God
grant grace to her family.
Saints Anna and Catherine Groups: Please mark your calendars for the
third Saturday of the month: October 18th, November 15th, and December
20th. We will meet from 4:30-6:00. More information will follow as we get
closer.
Michael Dickey and Jessica Lebrun will marry on Sunday, Oct. 12.
Prosphora Baking: Please join Matushka Kerri for prosphora baking on
Wednesday, September 24th from 9:30 am - 11:30 am. If you are able,
please bring a bag of flour and two cookie sheets.
Holy Trinity Orthodox Church
“Offering the Fullness of the Christian Faith”
Orthodox Church in America: Diocese of NY and NJ
PO Box 630, Ironia, NJ 07845: 120 Dover-Chester Road, Randolph, NJ 07869
www.holytrinityrandolph.com 973-366-8360
Rev. David R. Fox, Rector
(c) 201-841-7590 – fatherdavid@holytrinityrandolph.com
V. Rev. George Hasenecz, Attached – Carol Wetmore, Choir Director
A transcript and an audio recording of Elizabeth Theokritoff’s recent
address at St. Vladimir’s Seminary (“Cosmic Liturgy and the Problems of
Human Priesthood”) is available at this link http://bit.ly/1qRXg6s.
“If you ever wish to associate with someone, make sure that you do
not give your attention to those who enjoy health and wealth and
fame as the world sees it, but take care of those in affliction, in
critical circumstances, who are utterly deserted and enjoy no
consolation. Put a high value on associating with these, for from them
you shall receive much profit, and you will do all for the glory of
God. God Himself has said, “I am the Father of orphans and the
protector of widows.”
+St. John Chrysostom
Holy Trinity Parish Council
Senior Warden – Suzette Eremin
Treasurer – Niki Barna
Secretary – Carol Wetmore
Eugene Bohensky
George Bohensky
Peter Dardaganis
Junior Warden – William Cullinan
Financial Secretary – John Babiak
Brian Farbanish
Drew Krause
Sandra Masklee
St. John of Georgia