St. George welcomed Fr. Nikodhim, the Interim Chancellor of the Albanian Archdiocese, who celebrated Divine Liturgy for us on Sunday, September 26th.  Fr. Nikodhim substituted for Fr. Sergei, who was on vacation.  Additionally, we are grateful to Fr. Nikodhim for taking time after Divine Liturgy to meet with parishioners, to discuss and listen our future hopes and concerns for the Parish. 

Adding to the joy of Fr. Nikodhim's visit was that he brought with him our newest Archdiocesan Seminarian Eugene (Juxhin) Shkurti and his wife, Livia, who recently arrived from Korce, Albania. Eugene is enrolled at Saint Vladimir's Seminary and is starting the first of his projected three years of study there.

Finally, as a special blessing, Fr. Nikodhim shared with the parish the icon he commissioned of Sainted Bishop Raphael together with his holy relics. He hopes to present these to the Church in Albania in the near future.  Fr. Nikodhim also passed out prayer cards with a photo of the icon of St. Raphael on the front, and the Troparion of St. Raphael in both Albanian and English on the rear of the card.

Of special interest is that the Sainted Bishop Raphael ordained Theofan S. Noli (founder to the Albanian Orthodox Church in America) to the Holy deaconate. St. Raphael also appears in one of our holy icons at our St. George parish - the one that depicts the Albanian and American Saints which is located on the north or left side wall, the 4th icon from the Altar or from the front of the church.

To learn more about the life of St. Raphael of Brooklyn, click onto the following link:  https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2016/02/27/100610-repose-of-saint-raphael-bishop-of-brooklyn

Please click onto the more information link below to view additional photos of the icons and prayer card.

In true pan-Orthodox spirit, Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross was celebrated at St. Dimitrie Church on Sept 14th, with the parishes of St. George and Holy Ghost joining the parish of St. Dimitrie.  Fr. George Coca and Fr. Sergei Bouteneff concelebrated the Liturgy. At the end of Divine Liturgy, the St. Dimitrie Ladies Auxillary hosted a Fellowship hour for all the attendees.  St. George offers our heartfelt thanks to St. Dimitrie for hosting this feast.

On Sunday, September 12th, marking the 20th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, St. George held a memorial at the end of Divine Liturgy for all the victims at the New York City, Pentagon, and Shanksville, PA locations. Memory Eternal!

The parishes of St. George and Holy Ghost celebrated the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos with a joint Divine Liturgy at St. George.  Click onto the more information link below to view some photos from Divine Liturgy.