On March 9th, as we finished the first week of Great Lent, the parish of St. George celebrated Divine Liturgy for the Sunday of Orthodoxy. The first Sunday of Great Lent is called the Sunday of Orthodoxy, (or the Feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy) which is a historical feast commemorating the return of the Icons to the churches in the year 843.  During the Great Entrance at Divine Liturgy, the children and parishioners carried their Konizmat icons, returning the Icons back to the church.  Click onto the following link to learn about the Albanian tradition of Konizmat. Click onto the more information link below to view some photos.

The St George community wishes to extend its heartfelt condolences to Mary DiIulio and family on the passing of her brother, George Costa of Canton, GA. George leaves behind a son Michael. May his Memory be Eternal.

On Mon, Feb 17th, frozen turkeys and hams were delivered to the Bishop Jean Williams Community Market and to the Thomas Merton Family Center  - a food pantrry and a soup kitchen located in Bridgeport.  Between Nov. 2024 and early Feb. 2025, St. George’s parishioners collected 23 frozen hams and turkeys with the goal to distribute them in February when donations are historically low. Thanks go out to Brooke & Sophie Dionis, their father Curt and grandmother Pauline, Evan and Kosta Nani, and Fr. Sergei Bouteneff for the loading of food and making the deliveries. Finally, many thanks to our parishioners who support these outreach initiatives. Click onto the more information link below to view a larger photo.

There was a Valentine's Day Dance held on Sat, Feb 15th in the Church Hall.  This was a fundraising event for St. George with $1,376 raised. Thanks to Nardi Tollkuci and Aida Kalapo for organizing and coordinating the event.  Click onto the more information link below to view a few photos.

A group of parishioners from St. George attended a “Faith and Family Night” at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport on Sat, Feb 15th for an evening of hockey, fellowship, family fun, and to support a worthy cause. There were about 450 Orthodox Christians who participated from 15 Orthodox churches.  Participants were primarily members of FORCC (Fellowship of Orthodox Churches of Connecticut), but also parishes from central NJ up to Boston participated. His Grace Bishop John Abdalah (from the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese) and Rev. Peter Orfanakos from St. Barbara's Church (Greek Archdiocese) in Orange, lead a seminar before the game on the theme “All You Need Is Love”. The net proceeds from the ticket purchases, about $2000, went to the IOCC (International Orthodox Christian Charities) for their hurricane relief efforts. Click onto the more information link below to view 2 photos.

On Sunday, February 2nd, St. George celebrated the Feast of The Meeting of Our Lord in the Temple (referred to as “Papandia” in Albanian). For our Teuta Ladies Society, this day is their Patronal Feast, with 2025 marking the 94th year of the Teuta Society’s founding. Traditionally the Teuta Society offers 5 loaves, wheat, wine and oil for the celebration, and grure, (a boiled-wheat confection) for the health of the parish family. Finally, we wish to congratulate and thank Kosta Nani for his first time reading the Gospel lesson in Albanian. Click onto the more information link below to view a few photos.