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Published by Spiro Bobotas, 2018-03-23 14:11:16

March 25th 2018

March 25th 2018

SAINT SOPHIA CATHEDRAL

MIAMI, FLORIDA
Sunday, March 25th, 2018

Annunciation

Six months after John the Forerunner's conception,
the Archangel Gabriel was sent by God to Naza-
reth, a town of Galilee, unto Mary the Virgin, who
had come forth from the Temple a mature maiden
(see Nov. 21). According to the tradition handed
down by the Fathers, she had been betrothed to Jo-
seph four months. On coming to Joseph's house, the
Archangel declared: "Rejoice, thou Full of Grace,
the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among wom-
en." After some consideration, and turmoil of soul,
and fear because of this greeting, the Virgin, when
she had finally obtained full assurance concerning
God's unsearchable condescension and the ineffa-
ble dispensation that was to take place through her, and believing
that all things are possible to the Most High, answered in humility:
"Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." And
at this, the Holy Spirit came upon her, and the power of the Most High overshadowed her all
-blameless womb, and the Son and Word of God, Who existed before the ages, was con-
ceived past speech and understanding, and became flesh in her immaculate body (Luke 1:26-
38).

Rev. Fr. Spiro D. Bobotas

Telephone 305- 854-2922 * Fax: 305-858-1854
Website: stsophiamiami.org

2401 S.W. 3rd Avenue, 33129
Mailing Address: 244 SW 24th Road Miami, Fl. 33129

Liturgical Guide

Apolytikion for the Resurrection– Tone 1

Τοῦ λίθου σφραγισθέντος ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων

When the stone had been sealed by the Jews and the soldiers were guarding Thine im-
maculate Body, Thou didst arise on the third day, O Saviour, granting life unto the

world. Wherefore, the powers of the Heavens cried out to Thee, O Lifegiver: Glory to
Thy Resurrection, O Christ. Glory to Thy Kingdom. Glory to Thy dispensation, O

only Friend of man.

Apolytikion for Sun. of St. Mary of Egypt in the Plagal Fourth Mode

Eν σοί Μήτερ ακριβώς διεσώθη τό κατ' εικόνα
In thee the image was preserved with exactness, O Mother; for taking up thy cross, thou

didst follow Christ, and by thy deeds thou didst teach us to overlook the flesh, for it
passeth away, but to attend to the soul since it is immortal. Wherefore, O righteous

Mary, thy spirit rejoiceth with the Angels. .

Apolytikion for Annunciation of the Theotokos in the Fourth Mode

Σήμερον τῆς σωτηρίας ἡμῶν τὸ Κεφάλαιον

Today is the fountainhead of our salvation and the manifestation of the mystery which
was from eternity. The Son of God becometh the Virgin's Son, and Gabriel an-

nounceth the good tidings of grace; for this cause, let us cry to the Mother of God with
him: Rejoice, thou who art full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Kontakion

Τὴ ὑπερμάχω στρατηγῶ τὰ νικητήρια,

To you, Theotokos, invincible Defender, having been delivered from peril, I, your city,
dedicate the victory festival as a thank offering. In your irresistible might, keep me safe

from all trials, that I may call out to you: "Hail, unwedded bride!"

Scripture Readings

Epistle Reading

The Reading is from Paul’s letter to the Hebrews 2:11-18

BRETHREN, he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified have all one origin. That is
why he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, "I will proclaim thy name to my brethren,
in the midst of the congregation I will praise thee." And again, "I will put my trust in him." And
again, "Here am I, and the children God has given me. Since therefore the children share in
flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through death he might
destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through
fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage. For surely it is not with angels that he is con-
cerned but with the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his breth-
ren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service
of God, to make expiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered
and been tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.

Gospel Lesson

The Reading is from Luke 1:24-38
In those days, Elizabeth the wife of Zacharias conceived and for five months she hid herself,
saying, "Thus the Lord had done to me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my
reproach among men." In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of
Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the
house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Hail, O fa-
vored one, the Lord is with you! Blessed are you among women!" But she was greatly trou-
bled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the
angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold,
you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be
great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the
throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his king-
dom there will be no end." And Mary said to the angel, "How shall this be, since I have no
husband?" And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power
of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the

Gospel continued

Son of God. And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a
son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be
impossible." And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me accord-
ing to your word." And the angel departed from her.

MARCH 25TH - GREEK INDEPENDENCE DAY

For 400 years, the Islamic
Ottoman Empire had occupied
Greece and persecuted Greeks
for practicing Greek Orthodox
Christianity and for teaching
their children their culture, histo-
ry and language. The Annuncia-
tion of the Theotokos, the day
that the Archangel Gabriel an-
nounced to Mary that she would bear a child, was always celebrated March 25 by the
Greek Orthodox Church. Noting the day – one of the holiest in the Orthodox
Christian calendar – Bishop Germanos of Patras raised the banner of revolution in an
act of defiance against the Turks in 1821. The Greek War of Independence had
begun.
Prominent world figures, including George Gordon, Lord Byron of England, Daniel
Webster and Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe of the United States, rallied their countrymen
to the cause. Howe, a physician, in fact joined the fighting in 1824 and organized the
medical system of the Greek army. Fighting raged for eight years until 1829, when Sul-
tan Mahmud II, facing Russian troops at the gates of Constantinople, accepted Greek
independence with the Treaty of Andrianople.

European and American involvement in the battle for Greek independence illustrates
the debt the Western world owes to its Hellenic heritage. The very idea of democracy

was born on the rocky hillsides of a nation-state on the eastern borders of what was then
the known world. Solon, the lawgiver of Athens in the early sixth century B.C., is the first
person in recorded history to have conceived of a new kind of state, one in which all citizens
had an active share and all were equal before the law. Nowhere but in Greece did the con-
cept of the liberty of the individual to defend his nation, of his own free will, arise.

More than 2,000 years later, American citizens acknowledged their debt by fighting, and
in some cases dying, for Greek independence. The principles they acknowledged and
supported in that war came back to the United States with them and helped sustain the
ideal of a democratic republic through some of America’s most divisive years. During the
American Civil War four decades later, Howe’s wife, Julia Ward, penned the lyrics to
“The Battle Hymn of the Republic”, the anthem of the Union cause – lyrics that have
their roots in Greek democracy and the tenets of the religion that the Ottoman Empire
could not wipe out during 400 years of oppression. Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Ad-
dress is an epitaphios that Athenian general, statesman and orator Pericles would have
been proud to acknowledge.

Luncheon Today
Join us in the

Karnegis Fellowship Hall
as we

Honor the Theotokos
sponsored by the
Philoptochos

Sunday, March 25th 2018

Adults $10 - Children
(12 & under ) $5

CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE

Bearing in her womb the Uncontainable One, the blessed Virgin went with haste from Nazareth to
the hill country of Judea, where Zacharias had his dwelling; for she desired to find Elizabeth her
kinswoman and rejoice together with her, because, as she had learned from the Archangel, Eliza-
beth had conceived in her old age. Furthermore, she wished to tell her of the great things that the
Mighty One had been well-pleased to bring to pass in her, and she greeted Elizabeth and drew
nigh to her. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, she felt her six-month-old babe, Saint John
the Baptist, prophesied of the dawning of the spiritual Sun. Immediately, the aged Elizabeth was
filled with the Holy Spirit and recognized her as the Mother of her Lord, and with a great voice
blessed her and the Fruit that she held within herself. The Virgin also, moved by a supernatural re-
joicing in the spirit, glorified her God and Savior, saying: "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my
spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour," and the rest, as the divine Luke hath recorded (1:39-55)

Tsoureki for Pascha!

If you would like to reserve your
order please call the office at
305-854-2922

Small loaves $10.00
Large Loaves $15.00

Coming Soon!

Contemporary Works Lending Library at St. Sophia

Yes! Very soon a small shelf that will hold contemporary
adult, teen and children’s Orthodox Christian books will
be available to checkout on Sundays. The lending library
will be built from donated books that the donor has read
and inscribed. The reason for the inscription is to allow
future readers of your book an opportunity to discuss the
book with you thereby creating a mini book club discus-
sion, if desired. The library will be fully automated
through a self-checkout system via a mobile app. No
worries, printed library cards will also be distributed for those who are not tech savvy. If you
would like to be in the library system, want to donate, or need further information, please
email Nancy Martini at [email protected] or call her at 305-401-7726.



WE THANK THE FOLLOWING STEWARDS WHO HAVE
PLEDGED THEIR STEWARSHIP COMMITMENT FOR 2018

1. Mr. & Mrs Louis Alexiou 19. Ms. Marilyn Charles
2. Mr. Tim Anagnost 20. Ms. Lynn Christ
3. Mrs. Mary Andersen 21. Mr. & Mrs. Paul Cocotos
4. Mr. Georgios Andreadis 22. Mr. George Cozonis
5. Mr. & Mrs. Gus Andy 23. Mr. & Mrs. Albert De Nicola
6. Ms. Argie Anthony 24. Mrs. Virginia Demery
7. Mr. & Mrs. Alexis Anthony Arjona 25. Mr. & Mrs. Spiros Dimitropoulos
8. Mr. Panagiotis Arvanitis 26. Mr. Constantin Dimitropoulos
9. Ms. Sarah Arvantis 27. Mr. & Mrs. Allen Donelan
10. Ms. Jane Baloras 28. Mr. Nicholas Efthimiou
11. Mrs. Mary Benitez 29. Mr. Giorgios Farazoulis
12. Fr. & Presvytera Bobotas 30. Dr. Dame Evangeline Gouletas
13. Ms. Sheila Callesis 31. Mr. & Mrs. Jose Godur
14. Mr. Nicholas Callesis 32. Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Hados
15. Mr. Thomas Carlos 33. Mr. Nick Hados
16. Mr. & Mrs. Charles Cavalaris 34. Ms. Adis Haralambides
17. Mr. & Mrs. George Cavaliris 35. Mr. & Mrs. Konstantinos Hatzichristofis
18. Ms. Mary Cavaliris 36. Mr. Christos Heletis

37. Mr. & Mrs. Bret Jenkins 66. Ms. Marianna Page
38. Mr. & Mrs. W. Steven Joachim 67. Ms. Barbara Panagakos
39. Mrs. Matilda Kalaveshi 68. Mr. Savas Pantelides
40. Mr. & Mrs. Nick Kallergis 69. Mr. & Mrs. HarryPasquier
41. Ms. Olga Kalogeropoulos 70. Mr. & Mrs. Jim Petkas
42. Ms. Maria Kalogeropoulos 71. Mr. & Mrs. Bill Petros
43. Mr. John Kandara 72. Mr. Nicholas Pisaris
44. Mrs. Lucille Kanelidis 73. Mr. & Mrs. George Potter
45. Mr. & Mrs. George Kanistras 74. Mr. & Mrs. Nick Poulos
46. Mr. & Mrs. James Karnegis 75. Ms. Emmanuela Prevolis
47. Mr. & Mrs. Charalambos Kasselakis 76. Ms. Cindy Redmond
48. Ms. Fani Katsoufi 77. Ms. Maria Ritsi
49. Mr. & Mrs. Anastasia Kekakos 78. Mr. & Mrs. James Sanders
50. Mr. John Kiskinis 79. Dr. & Mrs. Theodore Sarafoglu
51. Mr. & Mrs. Nick Kos 80. Mr. & Mrs. John Scurtis
52. Mr. & Mrs. Andrey Kotov 81. Drs. George Sfakianakis
53. Ms. Stella Kounelis 82. Mr. & Mrs. Aristides Simopoulos
54. Mr. Pierre Koussiafes 83. Mrs. Georgia Thisss
55. Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas Lailas 84. Mrs. Anastasia Tsiplis
56. Mrs. Betty Lantz 85. Drs. Andreas Tzakis
57. Mr. & Mrs. Perry Lantz 86. Ms. Daisy Vagias
58. Ms. Irene Lirakis 87. Ms. Mary Venable
59. Mr. Evangelos Marsellos 88. Ms. Elena Vertlib
60. Mrs. Maroula Marsellos 89. Mr. Stratos Vranas
61. Mrs. Satira Mekras 90. Mr. & Mrs. Peyton Watson
62. Mr. & Mrs. John G Mekras 91. Mr. & Mrs. Craig Wensley
63. Mr. Christos Meletis 92. Mr. Lukas Zapsas
64. Mr. & Mrs. Themis Michalakos 93. Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Zervas
65. Ms. Eleni Monas





UPCOMING EVENTS

March 25th Sunday, Annunciation Matins 9:00 AM
10:00 AM
March 28th Divine Liturgy
April 1st 6:30 PM
Wednesday Pre-sanctified Liturgy
9:00 AM
Sunday Palm Sunday Matins 10:00 AM

Divine Liturgy

Sunday Evening Bridegroom Service 6:00 PM

Holy Week Begins Schedules

Donations for Children’s Easter Egg Hunt
April 15, 2018

(Thomas Sunday - following Divine Liturgy)

You may drop off candy donations (wrapped and preferably NOT chocolate—it
will melt) anytime between now and the Lazarus Saturday Communion Break-
fast on March 31st. Monetary donations also welcome. We already have plen-
ty of plastic eggs. See Eleni Monas or any of the Sunday School staff if you’d
like to help.

Last call for 2018 Heritage Greece Program applications!
The American College of Greece (ACG) has extended the deadline for the 2018 Herit-

age Greece Program, an educational and cul-
tural program for Greek-American students
of college age, to March 26, 2018. The Pro-
gram is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to
explore Hellenic heritage, culture and identi-
ty with a peer group of students from the US
and Greece.


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