St. Catherine Greek Orthodox Church of Ithaca, NY

NEWLY UPDATED ANNOUNCEMENTS FALL 2020 GENERAL ASSEMBLY: The annual fall general assembly will be held on Sunday, November 1st, following the Divine Liturgy. The assembly will be held inside the church after the Dismissal of services. Members who wish to stay for the meeting can return to the pews after receiving antideron. Save the date! PHILOPTOCHOS: The October Philoptochos Board and General meetings - which were scheduled for October 18th and 25th, respectively - have been...Continue reading

10/18: BIOGRAPHY of SAINT LUKE the EVANGELIST THE Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke was an educated Greek from Antioch; a close companion of the Holy Apostle Paul (cf., Philippians 1.24, Colossians 4.14); and a physician trained in Greek medicine. Having heard about Christ, he went to Palestine and fervently embraced the message of salvation from the Lord Himself. As one of the Seventy Apostles, Saint Luke was sent forth by Jesus with the other Apostles to preach the Kingdom o...Continue reading

PARISH CALENDAR: OCTOBER 2020

9/20/20: SUNDAY AFTER the ELEVATION of the VENERABLE and LIFE-GIVING CROSS Orthros (Matins) at 8:45 AM. Divine Liturgy at 10 AM. With Fr. Stephen Gousios.... /Apolytikion (1st Tone): , . Save Thy people Lord and bless Thine inheritance, and grant victory to Thy faithful over Thine enemies, and preserve Thy commonwealth thru the power of Thy Life-Giving Cross. /Kontakion (4th Tone): , , , , , , , , , , . Lifted up on the Cross by Thy free will, o Christ our God, grant mercy to the new commonwealth that bears Thy Name. Gladden our faithful rulers by Thy power, grant them victory over their adversaries. May Thy alliance be for them an invincible standard and a weapon for peace. SCRIPTURAL READINGS 4th ORTHROS GOSPEL: Luke 24.1-12... https://www.goarch.org/chapel/lectionary EPISTLE: Galatians 2.16-20... https://www.goarch.org/chapel/lectionary GOSPEL LESSON: Mark 8.34-9.1... https://www.goarch.org/chapel/lectionary SAINTS AND FEASTS Today the Church commemorates Efstathios the Great Martyr, his wife and two children; our Righteous Father Efstathios, Archbishop of Thessoloniki; Hilarion the New Martyr of Crete; John the Foreigner; and the Afterfeast of the Holy Cross... https://www.goarch.org/chapel/saints?contentid=211 PRAYER LISTS AILING: Maria Chacona, John Mavros, Sophia Georgiou, Eleni (Neferis) Saidi, Alex Avramis, Athena Kalandros and Dottie Christopher. REPOSED: Petros Tselekis, Richard Deeb, Peter Zaharis and Marigoula Nestopoulos; Fr. Tom Parthenakis (of blessed memory); all victims of war, violence, natural disasters, coronavirus and other illnesses. IN NEED: Helen and Elizabeth Talty for the repose of their beloved husband and father, Kevin; John Ligas; Klaus & Kaethe Pfeiffer; Neil Alamond; Rev. Dn. Tewolde Yohannes, his wife Hirut and their family; Cheryl Troska, her husband Rob, their sons Adam and Jacob; Sue Miller; Mary McKelvey; Heinz Neveling; Alfred Von Villeneuve; Jerry Hoffman; Barbara Hoskins; John Van Markwyk; all those suffering from the dreadful impacts of war, all manner of illness, violence and natural disasters; and all those suffering from corona virus. https://www.goarch.org/chapel/saints...

+ KEVIN R. TALTY: RIP + We are very saddened by the sudden departure of our brother in the Lord, Kevin Talty, who passed away unexpectedly at his home on Sunday, September 6th. Kevin was only 56 years old when he died. He leaves behind his wife Helen (Drossos) Talty and their daughter Elizabeth. A Mass of Christian Burial was held for Kevin at Saint Catherine of Siena Roman Catholic Church in Ithaca on September 10th. Below please find the link to Kevin's obituary, as posted on the Bang's Funeral Home website... https://www.bangsfuneralhome.com/obituary/kevin-talty

8/15: SERVICES OBSERVING THE DORMITION https://www.goarch.org/chapel/saints Services commemorating the annual feast of the Dormition were held this morning: Orthros (Matins) at 8:45 AM. Liturgy at 10 AM....Continue reading

THURS., 8/6: THE TRANSFIGURATION Services will be held at the church on Thursday morning, August 6th, to commemorate the annual feast of the Holy Transfiguration (please see the parish calendar above for times of services)... https://www.goarch.org/chapel/saints... SCRIPTURAL READINGS... MATINS GOSPEL: Luke 9.28-36... https://www.goarch.org/chapel/lectionary EPISTLE: II Peter 1.10-19... https://www.goarch.org/chapel/lectionary GOSPEL LESSON: Matthew 17.1-9... https://www.goarch.org/chapel/lectionary Those who wish to attend services are encouraged and expected to observe social distance practices outlined in our June 16 post. Thank you.

+ PETROS TSELEKIS + Petros I. Tselekis, 86, passed away peacefully last week Monday, July 20. He was born in Agioi Anargyroi (Zoupena) of Lakonia, Greece on December 7, 1933. He immigrated to Ithaca in January 1978 and worked for Morse Chain until he retired. He enjoyed spending time in downtown Ithaca on the Commons, and with his family. Mr. Tselekis is survived by his devoted wife, Eleni; his sons John (Cheryl) and Sarantos (Stacy); two grandsons, Peter John and Peter Sara...ntos; his brother, Michael; and two sisters, Matoula and Maria. He was predeceased by his sister, Georgia. Information concerning funeral arrangements is not available at this time., but our thoughts and prayers are with the Tselekis family, and may Petros' memory be eternal.

PETITION FOR HAGIA SOPHIA As the Turkish Government actively tries to erase or revise history, we encourage and welcome all Christians - Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike, and ask all people - Christians and non-Christians alike - who respect the values of tolerance, decency and human dignity to support Hagia Sophia, and to remember it was built to be a CHURCH, and stood as a church for nearly 1000 years before the brutal Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. Please take some time and add your name to the petition. Thank you... http://action.hellenicleaders.com/p//actio/common/public/

ARCHBISHOP AND EPARCHIAL SYNOD: ACTION NEEDED FOR HAGIA SOPHIA In an encyclical released on Sun., July 2, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, call for engaging our elected officials and fellow Christians on behalf of Hagia Sophia, the Great Church of Christ in Constantinople, which the Turkish Government has decreed will become a mosque before the end of this month. To read the encyclical, pleas...e click on the below link... https://www.goarch.org/-/the-holy-eparchial-synod-of-the-gr

TRAVESTY: TURKISH GOVT DECREES HAGIA SOPHIA SHOULD BE MOSQUE The greatest church in the history of Christendom is scheduled to become a mosque on July 24th...... https://www.npr.org//turkish-court-ruling-clears-way-for-h

REST IN PEACE RICHARD DEEB Our beloved brother in the Lord, Richard Deeb, passed away last Wednesday, July 1st. He was 83. Richard played professional baseball in the 1950's, and served his country in the U.S. Naval Reserves. A lifelong resident of Ithaca, he also served our church as a member of St. Catherine's parish council. The funeral will be private. For his obituary, please visit the Bangs Funeral Home website by clicking on the below link... https://www.bangsfuneralhome.com/obituary/richard-deeb

CHURCH REOPEN FOR SERVICES AS OF JULY 5th St. Catherine's Greek Orthodox Church in Downtown Ithaca will be reopening for services in a gradual manner on Sunday, July 5th. Glory be to God! Please take some time to review Father Stephen's letter of instruction to members of our parish (prospective visitors are also welcome to read it). Thank you for your ongoing love and concern, interest and support for our blessed and beloved parish.

ARCHBISHOP MARCHES WITH PEACEFUL PROTESTORS... https://www.thenationalherald.com//archbishope_elpidopho/