14th Sunday after Pentecost
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory Forever!
14th Sunday after Pentecost
August 30, 2026
St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic
105 Kohler Ave
Lyndora PA 16045
Phone724-287-5000
www.stiohnbyzlyn.com
athanasius@zoominternet.net
Sat 8/29/26 4:00pm Vigil Divine Liturgy +Frank and +Eva Dano by Peter & Jane Wallace
Sun 8/30/26 9:30am Divine Liturgy +S. Lewis Buchovich by Shari & Kevin Allen
Wed 9/2/26 7:00pm Liturgy for Healing
Fri 9/4/26 7:00pm Moleben to Mary
Sat 9/5/26 4:00pm Vigil Divine Liturgy +Michael Dancisin by Frances Lazar
Sun 9/6/26 9:30am Divine Liturgy +Mary Beitch by Carol Fizer
Variable Parts: Tone 5 - Pgs 146 —147; pg 355
Epistle: 2 Cor 1:21-2:4
Gospel: Mt 22:1-14
Memorial Candle Request: No Candle Request
Epistle Readers 29-Aug John Baycura/Mary Motko 30-Aug Amanda Stavish 5-Sep Mary Troyan 6-Sep Joel Hills 30-Aug
Memorial Candle Request: No Candle Request
Please Pray for: Lou Pocchiari, Mike Oshlick, Kathy Moyta, Dorothy Moyta, Brian Buchkovich, Lejen Warner, Sharon King, Liz Moyta, Fr. Michael Huszti, Fr. Laska, Susie Curcio, Teresa Milkovich, Robert Saper, Anna Habil, Diane Sotak, Anna Pocchiari, Larry Hamil, Beverly Jones, Maryann Russin Schyvers, Nick Russin and Ken Konchan
Attendance: 8/22 - 18 8/23 - 73
Collection: 8/15 - 8/9: $2,915.00
Upcoming Event Dates:
September 3rd - Pierogi Making
September 11th - CANCELLED (Previously Halupki Making)
September 12th - Church Polka at Highfield Hall
September 15th - Ladies Guild Meeting at 6:00pm — Yearly dues are $5.00
October 9th and 10th - Rummage Sale
Student Food Pantry: The school year is beginning. We are collecting food again for the pantry at a local school. If you would donate any type of soup or canned food, baskets will be in the church. Thank you! -Pam Gagen.
Raffle Tickets: Additional 50/50 raffle tickets are in a box in the vestibule. Some parishioners have asked for tickets that were not on the mailing list. The drawing will be held at the Polka Party.
Bible study for Adults - We start on Sept 29th at 6:30 pm. This year - the books of Judges and Ruth.
Help Us Renew Our Religious Education Building! Please help use us fund the flooring for the R.E. building. Details regarding this are in the previous two bulletins.
Religious Education: Sunday, September 27 following social coffee will be the Religious Education Kickoff party at Connoquenessing Park. This will include the rescheduled, annual fishing derby and other games! All are invited!
Religious Education Classes for grades 1-12 will officially begin on October 4. Please sign up with Amanda Stavish 724-272-2963 or Katie Koch.
The first day of the Church New Year is also called the beginning of the Indiction. The term Indiction comes from a Latin word meaning, "to impose." It was originally applied to the imposition of taxes in Egypt. The first worldwide Indiction was in 312 when the Emperor Constantine saw a miraculous vision of the Cross in the sky. Before the introduction of the Julian calendar, Rome began the New Year on September 1. The First Ecumenical Council [Nicaea, 325] decreed that the Church year should begin on September 1. The month of September was, for the Hebrews, the beginning of the civil year (Exodus 23:16), the month of gathering the harvest and of the offering of thanks to God. It was on this feast that the Lord Jesus entered the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4:16-21), opened the book of the Prophet Isaiah and read the words: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn (Isaiah 61:1-2). Tradition says that the Hebrews entered the Promised Land in September.
In Traditional Judaism is new year or ROSH HA SHANAH (literally head of the year) celebrated on the first two days of the month Tishri that correspondents to our moth September. The New year is also named as day of Trumpets- because by Jewish tradition on that day the whole universe was created by God and is renew by God as well. In this day it is prescribed to blow the horn (shofar) in order to coronate God as the king of the universe.
The Holy Belt (also known as the Holy Cincture, Sash, or Girdle) of the Virgin Mary is one of the most revered and unique physical relics associated with the earthly life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. According to Christian tradition, it is the only surviving relic left behind from her earthly existence (alongside her veil and robe).
Origins: According to Eastern Catholic sacred traditions, the Virgin Mary wove the belt herself—either from camel hair or fine goat skin. When she assumed into Heaven (the Dormition), the Apostle Thomas arrived late and missed the burial. To comfort his grief and prove her bodily assumption, the Virgin Mary appeared to him and dropped her belt down from the sky into his hands.
Byzantine History: For the first few centuries, the belt was kept in Jerusalem. In the 4th/5th century, it was brought to Constantinople by Emperor Arcadius and placed in the Church of St. Mary at Blachernae. The Miracle of Empress Zoe: In the 9th/10th century, the Byzantine Empress Zoe was miraculously healed of an illness after the belt was placed upon her. In deep gratitude, she embroidered the entire belt with golden thread and placed it in the special chapel. We commemorate this eventst on August 315` every year. Division and Relocation: Over the centuries, the belt was divided into portions. Today, different pieces are preserved in various locations across Europe. Where It Is Now: Because the relic was divided historically, principal pieces are venerated in a few major locations:
1. The Vatopedi Monastery (Mount Athos, Greece) - The largest and most famous portion of the Holy Belt is kept at the Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopedi on Mount Athos. It is housed in an ornate silver reliquary. Tradition of Blessings: Vatopedi monks distribute small paper or cloth ribbons that have been touched to the reliquary. These blessed ribbons are widely sought after by pilgrims—particularly by childless couples, expectant mothers, and those battling illnesses—as the belt is heavily associated with miracles regarding fertility, safe pregnancies, and healing.
2. The Cathedral of Prato (Tuscany, Italy) - Another famous portion of the belt is kept in Italy at the Cathedral of Saint Stephen (Duomo di Prato) near Florence. According to Western medieval tradition, this green goat-skin sash was brought from the Holy Land in the 12th century by a local merchant named Michele Dagomari, who received it as a dowry. It is housed in a dedicated chapel and is publicly displayed to the faithful several times a year, most notably on September 8th (the Feast of the Nativity of Mary) during a historic civic and religious pageant (Corteggio Storico) featuring an outdoor pulpit designed by Donatello.
