We are beginning the planning for our first annual Greek festival with live Greek and American music. If you are interested in being involved with the festival preparations, please contact Tony Tourlitis.
Saturday, Mar. 13 - Divine Liturgy 10 am
Sunday, Mar. 21 - Divine Liturgy 10 am
Sunday, Mar. 28 - Divine Liturgy 10 am
Holy Thurs., Apr. 1 - Passion 6:30 pm
Holy Friday, Apr. 2 - Epitaphios 6:30 pm
Saturday, Apr. 3 - PASCHA 11:00 pm
The Prayer of Saint Ephraim
Friday, 05 March 2010 22:11
Dear Friends in Christ,
As I write this message, we’ve already celebrated two Sundays of Lent, and the Sunday of the Holy Cross is approaching. Lent is thus almost halfway over. Lent is truly a time of joyful mourning, where we are reminded through fasting and penance of our sinful nature, while at the same time anticipating the joy of Pascha, where all things are renewed, and we experience a foretaste of the Resurrection that we all shall experience at the end of time.
During Lent, we add a special prayer to the end of our morning and evening prayers, called the Prayer of Saint Ephraim. This prayer is a succinct summary of the goal of our Lenten struggles. I’d like to quote it in its three sections, with some humble observations.
The Prodigal Son
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 22:37
Dear Friends in Christ,
We’re in the midst of the Triodion now, the service book which provides us with hymns for the four preparatory weeks before Lent, and the weeks of Lent itself, ending with Pascha, the feast of the Resurrection of Christ. Two weeks ago, we celebrated the feast of the Publican and the Pharisee (Luke 18:10-14), where we learned to ask forgiveness of our sins in humility, and not boast of any good works we may have done. Last week, we celebrated the feast of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), where we heard the Lord’s parable of a man who took off with his share of the inheritance, wasted it on bad living, and then came back humbled, only to be completely forgiven and restored. Sunday we recall the Last Judgment, and finally, the following Sunday, the expulsion of Adam and Even from Paradise, at which point Lent begins.
The New Testament Church
Wednesday, 03 February 2010 22:34
When you sit down to think about it, there sure are a lot of Christian denominations: Baptists, Lutherans, Methodists, and Episcopalians, to name a few. Is this what Jesus wanted? The Bible says that Jesus is the head of the Church (Ephesians 5:23). Can a head be a head to more than one body? Some have come up with a theory that the Church must refer to all the saved Christians on the earth at one time. Yet the Bible also says that the Church is the “pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). If the Church is an invisible group of all the saved Christians, then where is there a pillar or a foundation that we can look at for guidance? This would lead to a lot of confusion, for sure. We'd have to go and ask each minister we knew, and they might give different answers. In the end, we’d have to rely on our judgment: but what if we are wrong?
Christ is Born! Glorify Him!
Thursday, 24 December 2009 18:57
Dear Friends in Christ,
Christ is Born! Glorify Him! Χριστός Γεννάται! Δοξάσατε!
Christmas is upon us again, the Nativity of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ! St. John Chrysostom, who lived in the 4th and 5th centuries, and for whom our most common Divine Liturgy is named, composed a sermon for this feast from which I will draw a few quotes upon which to reflect.
I behold a new and wondrous mystery!...All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead herein…He who is above now, for our salvation, dwells here below; and we, who were lowly, are exalted by divine mercy!
Lewis Family Baptized
Tuesday, 08 December 2009 20:07
We’d like to welcome the Lewis family in to the Orthodox Church! On Sunday, November 16/29, Fr. Anastasios baptized Nathan, Cynthia, and their two youngest daughters, Seraphima Casey and Chloé, then blessed Nathan and Cynthia’s marriage in the Orthodox Church, here at Nativity of the Holy Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church in Greenville, NC. The Lewis family has been on a long journey to find the Church of Christ, and this search led them to the Orthodox Church, and our parish. Many years to them!
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