St. John Chrysostom Albanian Orthodox Church

May you Rest In Peace Helen May Her Memory Be Eternal... 63 years old Born on November 26, 1957... Passed away on December 16, 2020 Helen Theokary, 63, of Philadelphia, passed away December 16, 2020. Helen is survived by sister Andonetta Theokary Also, survived by nieces Sophia and Athena Morales, Jennifer, Vanessa, Christina Theokary, nephews Andrew Morales and Anthony Theokary She was predeceased by her father Athanas and mother Sofia and all four brothers Raphael, Nikolas, Milaq, and Vani Theokary Helen was the first born and smiled often as a child. She grew up in a family with four brothers and one sister. She faced many challenges for attention and affection growing up in a big family. Helen and her siblings were all first generation Americans. Helen graduated at South Philadelphia High School and later enrolled in a trade college to be a Geriatric Nurse Assistant. She was very successful in her early endeavors and had joy in her life knowing that she could be of service to others. During her later years she became the caretaker of her late brother Milaq "Michael" and took on a heavy task. She faced so many of her loved ones passing and even 50 days ago before her passing she honored her late brother Raphael at our family church St. John Chrysostom Albanian Orthodox Church where she was a member and attended every Sunday until she was not able to continue her attendance due to the pandemic. She had many challenges in her life but the one thing she held on to was her gift of caretaking and she did it with what ever tools were available to her. She loved her parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews more then any one will ever know. May Her Memory Be Eternal Family and Friends are invited to Helen's viewing on Wednesday December 23, 2020 at Fertig Funeral Home, 63 N. Main St. Mullica Hill, New Jersey 08062. The viewing will begin at 10:00 AM with services at 11:00AM. We will then process to Lake Park Cemetery, Swedesboro, New Jersey, 701 Park Ave., Swedesboro, New Jersey 08085. See more

Today Father Dennis said ‘We don’t have to agree with each other, but no matter our differences, we MUST love one another.’ A beautiful service at @stjohnsphila today, we remembered loved ones that are not in this world with us and celebrated a very special 75th birthday!

Sixth Sunday of Luke THE GADARENE DEMONIAC At that time, Jesus arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. And as he stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons; for a long time, he had worn no clothes, and he lived not in a house but among the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him, and said with a loud voice, What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beseech you, do not torment ...me. For Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. [For many a time it had seized him; he was kept under guard, and bound with chains and fetters, but he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.] Jesus then asked him, What is your name? And he said, Legion; for many demons had entered him. And they begged Jesus not to command them to depart into the abyss. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; and they begged Jesus to let them enter these. So, he gave them leave. Then the demons came out of the man entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled, and told it in the city and in the country. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus, and found the man from week? whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told them how he who had been possessed with demons was healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gadarenes asked Jesus to depart from them; for they were seized with great fear; so he got into a boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with Jesus; but Jesus sent him away, saying, Return to your home, and declare all the God has done for you. And he went away, proclaiming through the whole city all that Jesus had done for him. See more

Fifth Sunday of Luke The Rich Man and Lazarus The Lord said, There was a rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, full of sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table; moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried; and in Hades, being in torment, he lif...ted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’ See more

Our church was full to social distancing capacity today as we celebrated the Elevation of the Holy Cross Thank you to our beautiful altar servers, Father Dennis & everyone helping every day so that we can have our church’s doors open Coffee Hour and Fellowship was also a success. We gathered in our parking lot & obeyed to current gathering guidelines. Coffee today tasted especially good :) Happy Sunday & may you all have a beautiful & blessed weekend everyone

The Sunday before the Elevation of the Cross: A week before the feast day of the Universal Elevation of the Holy Cross, the Orthodox Church prepares the faithful through Scriptural readings, prayer and acts of good deeds to celebrate the event of the finding of the precious and life-giving Cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Among the many symbols of the Christian Faith the Holy Cross is considered the most important. It is the symbol of Christianity. It is the symbol of Christ’s victory over death. It is the weapon against all evil forces. It is the power of the Saints. It is the flag under which the righteous fought against Satan. September 14th is the date for The Elevation of the Holy Cross. We will celebrate the feast day on Sunday, September 13 .

Saint Alexander, Patriarch of Constantinople Saints Alexander, John and Paul, Patriarchs of Constantinople, lived at different times, but each of them happened to clash with the activities of heretics who sought to distort the teachings of the Church. Saint Alexander (325-340) was a vicar bishop during the time of Saint Metrophanes (June 4), the first Patriarch of Constantinople. Because of the patriarch’s extreme age, Alexander substituted for him at the First Ecumenical Syn...od at Nicea (325). Upon his death, Saint Metrophanes left instructions in his will to elect his vicar to the throne of Constantinople. During these times His Holiness Patriarch Alexander had to contend with the Arians and with pagans. Once, in a dispute with a pagan philosopher the saint said to him, In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ I command you to be quiet! and the pagan suddenly became mute. When he gestured with signs to acknowledge his errors and affirm the correctness of the Christian teaching, then his speech returned to him and he believed in Christ together with many other pagan philosophers. The faithful rejoiced at this, glorifying God Who had given such power to His saint. ...read more on oca.org https://www.oca.org/saints/all-lives/1999/08/30

We are very blessed to have The Melnik Family as our choir. They are in church every Sunday singing together acapella. They sound wonderful in church and on the live stream broadcast. While they are singing John is often serving in the Altar. Vlad’s Mom has been in church every Sunday since July 12 . Many thanks and God Bless the singing and serving Melnik Family!

Congratulations to the Nick Naum Scholarship recipients. You make your families and church family so proud! May God grant you many years! Also, we are always so thankful & blessed for father Dennis. Thank you for the beautiful service!

Our church was full to capacity per current gatherings regulations. It was beautiful!!! Together we celebrated the Holy Feast-Day of Transfiguration (Metamorphosis) which is observed August 6th. Grigor P. was also welcomed into the church, may God grant him & his family many years.

During last Sunday’s Divine Liturgy at St. John Chrysostom. Thank you to everyone who’s helping out to keep our church’s doors open during this time, especially Father Denis

Today we commemorate Holy, Glorious Prophet Elijah. The Holy Prophet Elijah is one of the greatest of the prophets and the first dedicated to virginity in the Old Testament. He was born in Tishba of Gilead into the Levite tribe 900 years before the Incarnation of the Word of God. Saint Epiphanius of Cyprus gives the following account about the birth of the Prophet Elijah: When Elijah was born, his father Sobach saw in a vision angels of God around him. They swaddled him wit...h fire and fed him with flames. The name Elijah (the Lord’s strength) given to the infant defined his whole life. From the years of his youth he dedicated himself to the One God, settled in the wilderness and spent his whole life in strict fasting, meditation and prayer. Called to prophetic service, which put him in conflict with the Israelite king Ahab, the prophet became a fiery zealot of true faith and piety. To continue reading about The Holy Prophet Elijah go to https://www.oca.org//20/102060-holy-glorious-prophet-elijah

Dear Parishioners & Friends of St. John Chrysostom Albanian Orthodox Church: There’s seating available for the Divine Liturgy tomorrow, July 19th at 10:00 am. Please go to https://stjohnsphila.org/ and click Attendance Form. If you would like to Livestream go to our website https://stjohnsphila.org/ and click Livestream.... You can also call 1-646-558-8656 ID 99093924871# to listen

Last Sunday we celebrated the Divine Liturgy at St. John Chrysostom. Thank you to Donna D for making sure every detail was in place for the reopening of our Church. Also thank you Christine D for taking temperatures of the attendees prior to entering the church.... Father Dennis served and 22 people were present in church. All wore masks and the pews were marked so everyone knew where to sit. We were able to Livestream the liturgy many thanks to Sergio Georgi for all of his hard work and time he devoted to this project. We had 50 people watch the Livestream. The sound was perfectly clear and the video was great! We will be Livestreaming the Divine Liturgy Every Sunday.

TOMORROW, July 12, 2020 we will celebrate our first Divine Liturgy at St. John Chrysostom Albanian Orthodox Church since March 8, 2020. To join us in person, Click https://stjohnsphila.org/ read the information, click ok, then scroll down and click Attendance form. Fill in the information - it's that simple. You can also call 215-563-0979. If you are not able to attend church in person you can join via YouTube. ... Click https://stjohnsphila.org/ read the info, click OK, scroll down and click Livestream. Our sincere thanks to Sergio G. for all of his work making this Livestream possible. Take a look, we think you will be very pleased. We would love to have you join us virtually!! See more

St. John Chrysostom Albanian Orthodox Church will be celebrating Sunday Liturgy again starting July 12 , 2020. .Parish Council met via Zoom on Friday, June 19th to finalize church re-opening plan. .You will be able to sign up via our web-site or call the number that was sent by messenger. We can have 42 people attend the Divine Liturgy in person. ... .The liturgy will also be live-streamed via YouTube. Church re-opening plan was emailed last week. If you did not receive the plan please email [email protected] Big thanks to Donna D., Sergio G. & Wes H. For working so hard these past few weeks so that all St John’s services may be live streamed every Sunday for any parishioner that can not attend church. May God Grant them many years! We are blessed to have have them as part of our church family!

Dea Parishioners and Friends of St. John Chrysostom Albanian Orthodox Church: St. John Chrysostom Albanian Orthodox Church will reopen (our last Divine Liturgy was celebrated on March 8, 2020 - seems like a lifetime ago!) THIS Sunday, July 12th, 2020 @ 10:00 am. If you plan to attend the Liturgy please go to https://stjohnsphila.org/churchattendanceform to complete attendance form. Pick the date you would like to attend and complete the form. We are limiting attendance the...se first few weeks to 20 parishioners. Please arrive by 9:50 am so you can have your temperature taken and you can be seated. We have marked the pews to indicate where you can sit and practice social distancing. If you have any questions please email [email protected] or call 215-563-0979. Tomorrow night, TUESDAY, July 7th @ 7:00 pm Parish Council ZOOM meeting - All welcome to join: CLICK: https://sasupenn.zoom.us/j/94090152403 or dial in 1-646-558-8656 meeting ID 94090152403

The Third Sunday After Pentecost: Seek First His Kingdom and His Righteousness Our Lord Jesus Christ was teaching about what is really important. He said, Your eyes are like a light for your body. If you look at bad things, your whole body can be bad. But if you look at things that are good, your whole body is bright and light. No one can serve God and money. People will either love God best or love money and earthly things best. It is better to love God most of all. I tel...l you, don’t worry about what you eat, drink, or wear. Think about birdsthey don’t store up food! But God provides for them, doesn’t He? Think about flowersthey don’t sew or shop, but God dresses them in their beautiful clothes. If God takes care of little things like grass, won’t He take even better care of you? So, don’t worry about your food, drink, or clothes. Your Father in Heaven already knows that you need them. He will provide them for you if you pray and come to church and do what is right. That is what is most important. See more

The Synaxis of the Glorious and All-Praiseworthy Twelve Apostles of Christ appears to be an ancient Feast. The Church honors each of the Twelve Apostles on separate dates during the year, and has established a general commemoration for all of them on the day after the commemoration of the Glorious and First-Ranked among the Apostles Peter and Paul. The holy God-crowned Emperor Constantine the Great (May 21) built a church in Constantinople in honor of the Twelve Apostles. The...re are instructions for celebrating this Feast which date from the fourth century. The names of the Twelve Apostles are these: Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew, the First-called; James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, who was also the Evangelist and Theologian; Philip, and Bartholomew (see also June 11); Thomas, and Matthew the publican, who was also called Levi and was an Evangelist; James the son of Alphaeus, and Jude (also called Lebbaeus, and surnamed Thaddaeus), the brother of James, the Brother of God; Simon the Cananite ("the Zealot"), and Matthias, who was elected to fill the place of Judas the traitor (see Aug. 9). See more

The Holy Glorious and All-Praised Leaders of the Apostles, Peter and Paul. Today the Holy Church piously remembers the sufferings of the Holy Glorious and All-Praised Apostles Peter and Paul. Saint Peter, the fervent follower of Jesus Christ, for the profound confession of His Divinity: Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God, was deemed worthy by the Savior to hear in answer, Blessed art thou, Simon ... I tell thee, that thou art Peter [Petrus], and on this stone ...[petra] I build My Church (Mt.16:16-18). On this stone [petra], is on that which thou sayest: Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God it is on this thy confession I build My Church. Wherefore the thou art Peter: it is from the stone [petra] that Peter [Petrus] is, and not from Peter [Petrus] that the stone [petra] is, just as the Christian is from Christ, and not Christ from the Christian. Do you want to know, from what sort of rock [petra] the Apostle Peter [Petrus] was named? Hear the Apostle Paul: Brethren, I do not want ye to be ignorant, says the Apostle of Christ, how all our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ (1 Cor.10: 1-4).... For more daily scripture reading you may go to oca.org

Devine Liturgy will be celebrated again at St. John Chrysostom Albanian Orthodox Church every Sunday at 10am starting July 12th, 2010. .A more detailed letter on how to sign up etc has been sent to all our parishioners. .You May also find a list of the details currently on our social media story line. Also they’re tagged for future reference under COVID-19 highlight on Instagram. .For questions you may call 609-685-1651 or email [email protected]