Assumption of the Virgin Mary Orthodox Church

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Assumption of the Virgin Mary Orthodox Church

San Angelo's Eastern Orthodox Church Assumption Parish is the local community of the ancient Orthodox Church in San Angelo, Texas.

We trace our origins to Christ and the Apostles and hold firm to the faith and traditions that have been once and for all delivered to the Saints. We are made up of descendants of immigrants and many converts to the faith. Over half of our congregation is not of Greek origin, yet it honors and maintains the faith the original members brought to this land from their native countyr. Our services are

conducted in English, and we have many opportunities for individuals and families to learn and grow in spirit and in truth.

09/06/2026

Clothed in Grace - Sermon Brief - Fourteenth Sunday of Matthew - September 6, 2026

Matthew 22:2–14

Introduction — Putting on Christ

Before the Divine Liturgy, we witnessed the joy of Holy Baptism and Chrismation. The newly illumined were washed, anointed, sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit, as the Church proclaimed:

“As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

That image helps us understand today’s Gospel. Christ describes the Kingdom of Heaven as a royal wedding feast. The King prepares everything, extends the invitation, and fills the banquet hall. Yet He also finds one guest who has entered without a wedding garment.

The Gospel reminds us that the Christian life is not simply about receiving God’s invitation. It is about allowing His grace to clothe and transform our lives.

1. “Everything Is Ready” — Grace Prepares the Feast

The King prepares the banquet and sends the invitation:

“Everything is ready. Come to the wedding.”

The guests do not earn the feast or prepare it themselves. Even when the first guests refuse, the servants are sent into the highways to gather “both bad and good.”

Saint John Chrysostom emphasizes that this calling is not based upon our merit. Blessed Theophylact likewise teaches that we are called by grace.

This is what we see in Baptism. Christ calls, washes, seals, and clothes us. Our life in the Church begins not with what we have accomplished for God, but with what God has graciously done for us.

Our first response to grace should be gratitude. We should never take our Baptism, the Church, or the Holy Eucharist for granted. The King has prepared the feast and given us a place at His table.

2. “They Made Light of It” — Grace Can Be Neglected

Some of those invited simply returned to their fields and businesses. Their activities were not necessarily sinful, but they allowed ordinary concerns to become more important than the invitation of the King.

This is one of the great spiritual dangers of our own lives. We may never consciously reject Christ. Instead, we become too busy to pray, too distracted to worship, too occupied to repent, or too preoccupied to forgive.

Baptism does not mean fitting God into an already crowded life. It means that our entire life is reordered around Christ. We should ask ourselves: What is competing with Christ for first place in my life?

Grace has been given, but grace must not be neglected.

3. “How Did You Enter Without a Wedding Garment?” — Grace Calls Us to Transformation

The King eventually examines those who have entered the banquet and finds one man without a wedding garment.

The Fathers interpret this garment as the transformed Christian life. Saint John Chrysostom speaks of life and conduct; Saint Irenaeus connects it with righteousness; Blessed Theophylact emphasizes compassion, goodness, and brotherly love.

The man’s problem is not that he was never invited. He entered the banquet but did not allow the invitation to change him.

There are therefore two spiritual dangers in the parable:

The first guests effectively say, “I do not need the banquet.”

The man without the garment effectively says, “I can attend the banquet without being changed.”

The first is rejection. The second is presumption.

Our Baptism must become visible in the way we live. We clothe ourselves in grace through repentance, prayer, forgiveness, confession, fasting, mercy, reconciliation, humility, and love. These do not earn God’s grace; they are how we cooperate with the grace already given to us.

The question is not, “Did I make myself worthy enough to be invited?” The King has already invited us.

The question is: “What am I doing with the life He has given me?”

Conclusion — “Illumine the Garment of My Soul”

During Bridegroom Orthros in Holy Week, the Church sings:

“Thy bridal chamber, O my Savior, I see adorned, and I have no wedding garment that I may enter. O Giver of Light, illumine the garment of my soul and save me.”

This hymn beautifully expresses the meaning of today’s Gospel.

We recognize that the garment of our soul has been stained by sin, pride, anger, resentment, selfishness, negligence, and our failure to love. Yet the Church does not teach us to despair. She teaches us to return to Christ and pray:

“O Giver of Light, illumine the garment of my soul.”

Christ gives the garment. Christ restores the garment. Christ gives the grace. And we continually respond through repentance, prayer, mercy, forgiveness, and love.

Today’s Holy Baptisms and Chrismations remind all of us of our own calling to put on Christ.

The feast is prepared.
The invitation has been given.
Everything is ready.

May we receive that invitation with gratitude, live in response to it faithfully, and allow Christ continually to clothe us in His grace.

09/05/2026

Assumption Weekly Newsletter - September 6, 2026 - Join us for Reader's Service on Sunday

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Join us for services this Sunday at Assumption. We will have a Reader’s Service at 10:00 am. We will also have fellowship/coffee hour in the parish hall after services.

This Sunday is the Fourteenth Sunday of Matthew. If you are not able to join us in person, services for Sunday will be available livestream from St. Stephen Mission at https://www.youtube.com/.stephenorthodoxmission8116/streams Also, the Reader's Service for Sunday has been sent by email for use at home and with your families.

________

September 8 – Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos

This Tuesday is the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos. The Divine Liturgy will be available livestream at 9:00 am from Holy Cross in Wichita Falls at https://www.youtube.com//streams Also a guide for commemorating this Feast of the Orthodox Church in your home and with your families has been sent by email. You can also find additional resources on the Feast at https://www.goarch.org/en/nativity-theotokos

________

Catechism - New Series - Basic Introduction to Eastern Orthodox Theology

We have begun our new series and are in Chapter 2 of the book A Basic Guide to Eastern Orthodox Theology: Introducing Beliefs and Practices by Eve Tibbs. You can view the recorded sessions from the last two weeks at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXy21wafqLrA

Let me know if you need a copy of the book and please plan to join us each Thursday at 7:00 pm by Zoom or Livestream. I will send out the links during the day on Thursday. The sessions are recorded to YouTube if you are not able to join us.

________

Byzantine Chanting Class

If you are interested in Byzantine Chanting, please let me know, and I will add you to the email list. We have a 30-minute lesson each week by Zoom on Thursdays at 6:00 pm, and the session recording and resources are sent out each week.

________

Schedule of Upcoming Services - https://orthodoxsanangelo.org/worship-schedule

Sunday, September 6 - Fourteenth Sunday of Matthew
10:00 am Reader's Service

Sunday, September 13 - Sunday before Holy Cross
10:00 am Reader's Service

Saturday, September 19
6:00 pm Great Vespers

Sunday, September 20 - Sunday after Holy Cross
9:00 am Orthros - 10:00 am Divine Liturgy

Sunday, September 27 - First Sunday of Luke
10:00 am Reader's Service

With love in Christ,

Fr. Nektarios

09/01/2026

Commemorating the Ecclesiastical New Year

Greetings in Christ!

Services on Tuesday morning will commemorate the Ecclesiastical New Year. Services will be available livestream from St. Stephen Orthodox Mission at https://www.youtube.com/.stephenorthodoxmission8116/streams Orthros will begin at 7:00 am followed by the Divine Liturgy.

Also, you can read the Encyclical for this Feast by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at https://orthodoxobserver.org/ep-bartholomew-message-26-ecclesiastical-new-year/

This day is also designated as the day of Prayers for the Natural Environment.

May the blessings of the Lord be with all of you and your families on this blessed day.

With love in Christ,

Fr. Nektarios

09/01/2026

Guide: Celebrating the Church New Year

08/31/2026

Sermon Brief - August 30, 2026 - Thirteenth Sunday of Matthew

Watch, Stand Firm, Be Courageous, Be Strong, and Love
1 Corinthians 16:13–14

“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love."

As the Church commemorates the Beheading of St. John the Baptist and prepares to begin the Ecclesiastical New Year on September 1, St. Paul gives us a timely spiritual rule for Christian life. We live amid uncertainty, anxiety, conflict, and rapidly changing values, but Christians have faced difficult times before. The response of the Church is not fear or withdrawal, but faithful attention to Paul's five exhortations.

1. Watch

Christian life requires spiritual attentiveness. We must watch not only what is happening around us, but what is happening within our own hearts. St. John the Baptist called people to repentance because spiritual renewal begins with recognizing where we have drifted from God. As a new Church year begins, we should ask: What is shaping my thoughts, occupying my attention, or drawing me away from Christ?

2. Stand Firm in the Faith

Paul does not simply tell us to stand firm; he tells us to stand "in the faith". St. John remained faithful whether he was preaching to crowds, pointing his disciples toward Christ, or standing before Herod. The circumstances around him changed, but his commitment to God did not. In an unstable world, the Church continually anchors us in Christ through worship, Scripture, the Sacraments, and the cycle of the liturgical year.

3. Be Courageous

Christian courage is not the absence of fear but faithfulness in the presence of fear. John the Baptist knew the danger of confronting Herod, yet he refused to compromise the truth. Most Christians will never face martyrdom, but we regularly face quieter moments requiring courage—to speak truthfully, forgive, admit when we are wrong, resist temptation, defend another person, or remain faithful when Christian belief is unpopular. The question is whether Christ or our fear will determine how we live.

4. Be Strong

Christian strength does not mean relying solely upon ourselves. Our strength comes from God. Before John stood courageously before Herod, there had been years of prayer, fasting, simplicity, repentance, and devotion. Spiritual strength is developed before the crisis comes. The beginning of the Ecclesiastical New Year therefore offers an opportunity to strengthen our prayer, worship, participation in the Holy Mysteries, reading of Scripture, service, fasting, and generosity.

5. Let Everything Be Done in Love

Paul's final command governs all the others. Watchfulness without love can become suspicion. Standing firm without love can become stubbornness. Courage without love can become aggression, and strength without love can become hardness. Christian faithfulness must always be expressed through love. We do not abandon truth in order to love, but neither can we faithfully defend the truth while abandoning love. Every relationship, disagreement, act of service, and decision should be shaped by love for God and neighbor.

A Rule for the New Ecclesiastical Year

The witness of St. John the Baptist reminds us what faithful discipleship looks like, while the Indiction gives us the opportunity for a new beginning. As we enter another ecclesiastical year, St. Paul's words can become our spiritual resolution:

When anxiety comes—Watch.
When the world shifts—Stand firm in the faith.
When faithfulness becomes difficult—Be courageous.
When you grow weary—Be strong in the Lord.
And in everything—Love.

May God bless the beginning of the new ecclesiastical year, strengthen us in faith, give us courage in times of uncertainty, and fill everything we do with the love of Christ. Amen

08/29/2026

Homily, on the Beheading of St. John the Forerunner and Baptist (29 August 2026)

Come, friends, we gather for a celebration! We do not celebrate like Herod’s household, who laud the day of that murderer’s birth; but, we stand in the life-giving Kingdom heralded by John, to whom we raise our voices in songs of praise.

*There*, was the false cheer of drunkenness;
*here*, is the true joy of sober celebration imitating John’s clear vision of the promised Lamb

*There*, the ensnaring dance of lust;
*here*, the glorious procession of the Forerunner’s relics

*There*, Herodias, scheming, grasps for the throne;
*here*, Elizabeth — mother of him whom we honor — recognizes God’s royal entry through the Theotokos

*There*, Salome, dancing, entices lust with murderous intent;
*here*, Panagia, in purity, brings forth Life from her womb

*There*, Herod is glorified — weak, pathetic, and carried away by passions of pleasure;
*here*, John is magnified — strong in virtue, self-possessed in asceticism

*There*, the fleeting fascinations of a puerile political puppet’s birthday party;
*here*, the eternal celebration of heaven and earth, angels, Apostles, ascetics from all ages honor the Forerunner,

And we — standing in the midst of this heavenly company — gaze in awe at his glory:
• coarse camel hair become more splendid than soft, exotic silks;
• a belt of unadorned leather more luxurious than pendants of pearl and precious stones;
• a diet of wild locust pods and honey, more delectable than royal delicacies

*For*
• ⁠where righteousness has fled away, even royal raiment appears as fetid rags;
• where truth turns to flattering falsehood, even luminous jewels become as lumps of dung,
• and where love is exchanged for lust, even the most magnificent feast turns to ash on the tongue

But we keep festival this day with the Saints — as our gift, we offer our obedience to the Forerunner’s call and example, following the one who runs before us into that Kingdom which has drawn near — indeed, which has now arrived — where the festival is unceasing of those whose dance is the movement toward Christ in repentance, and the feasting is the vision of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

08/28/2026

Assumption Weekly Newsletter - August 30, 2026 - Join us for Services this Weekend

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Join us for services this weekend at Assumption. We will have Great Vespers and Holy Confessions on Saturday evening at 6:00 pm. On Sunday, August 30, Orthros will begin at 8:45 am followed by the Divine Liturgy. We will also have fellowship/coffee hour in the parish hall after services. Saturday, August 29 is the commemoration of the Beheading and Repose of St. John the Baptist. Services will be at St. Stephen in Stephenville in the morning and available livestream. You can learn more about this commemoration at https://www.goarch.org/-/commemoration-of-the-beheading-of-the-holy-and-glorious-prophet-forerunner-and-baptist-john

This Sunday is the Thirteenth Sunday of Matthew. If you are not able to join us in person, services for Sunday will be available livestream on our parish YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com//streams Also, the Reader's Service for Sunday has been sent by email for use at home and with your families.

We will have services in Stephenville on Tuesday, September 1 for the Feast of the Indiction, the beginning of the new ecclesiastical year. For a brief explanation of this commemoration visit https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2045/09/01/501-church-new-year

_______

Catechism - New Series - Basic Introduction to Eastern Orthodox Theology

We have begun our new series and are through Chapter 1 of the book A Basic Guide to Eastern Orthodox Theology: Introducing Beliefs and Practices by Eve Tibbs. You can view the recorded sessions from the last two weeks at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXy21wafqLrA

Let me know if you need a copy of the book and please plan to join us each Thursday at 7:00 pm by Zoom or Livestream. I will send out the links during the day on Thursday. The sessions are recorded to YouTube if you are not able to join us.

________

Byzantine Chanting Class

If you are interested in Byzantine Chanting, please let me know, and I will add you to the email list. We have a 30-minute lesson each week by Zoom on Thursdays at 6:00 pm, and the session recording and resources are sent out each week.

________

Schedule of Upcoming Services - https://orthodoxsanangelo.org/worship-schedule

Saturday, August 29 - Beheading of St. John the Baptist
6:00 pm Great Vespers and Holy Confessions
________________________________________
Sunday, August 30 - Thirteenth Sunday of Matthew
9:00 am Orthros - 10:00 am Divine Liturgy
________________________________________
Sunday, September 6 - Fourteenth Sunday of Matthew
10:00 am Reader's Service
________________________________________
Sunday, September 13 - Sunday before Holy Cross
10:00 am Reader's Service
________________________________________
Saturday, September 19
6:00 pm Great Vespers
________________________________________
Sunday, September 20 - Sunday after Holy Cross
9:00 am Orthros - 10:00 am Divine Liturgy
________________________________________
Saturday, September 26
6:00 pm Great Vespers
________________________________________
Sunday, September 27 - First Sunday of Luke
9:00 am Orthros - 10:00 am Divine Liturgy

With love in Christ,

Fr. Nektarios

Icon of the Thirteenth Sunday of Matthew (21:33-42)

08/24/2026

Sermon Brief - Sunday, August 23, 2026

What Are We Unwilling to Leave Behind?

Twelfth Sunday of Matthew — Matthew 19:16–26
College Student Sunday
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 15:1–11

Introduction

In today’s Gospel, the rich young man comes to Jesus sincerely asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. He has kept the commandments and lived a respectable life, yet he still asks, “What do I still lack?” Jesus reveals the one thing he is unwilling to surrender: his possessions. The issue is not simply wealth. The deeper issue is that something in his life mattered more to him than following Christ.

That same question comes to each of us: What am I unwilling to give up if Christ asks it of me?

1. Good Things Can Still Become Obstacles

The rich young man had done many good things, but he still held something back from Christ. For us, the obstacle may not be money. It may be comfort, success, career, reputation, a relationship, resentment, or our desire to control our own future.

The danger is not always in obviously sinful things. Sometimes good things become too important and take a place in our hearts that belongs to God alone. Christ does not ask to be one priority among many. He calls us to place Him first.

On College Student Sunday, this is especially important. Education, career preparation, achievement, and future plans are all good, but they must remain secondary to the deeper question: “Lord, what do You want me to do with the life You have given me?”

2. Following Christ Requires Surrender

At the heart of the Gospel are Jesus’ words: “Come, follow Me.” Christ was not simply asking the young man to become poor. He was removing the obstacle that kept him from complete discipleship.

The tragedy is that the young man walks away sorrowful. He wanted eternal life, but he was unwilling to release the thing that stood between him and Christ.

Every Christian eventually faces the same challenge. We cannot follow Christ while insisting that nothing in our lives may change. Sometimes following Him means letting go of pride, resentment, comfort, ambition, popularity, or our own plans.

For students—and for all of us—the question is not simply, “What do I want to accomplish?” but “Where is Christ calling me, and am I willing to follow?”

3. Grace Makes Surrender Possible

The disciples respond to Jesus by asking, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus answers, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

We cannot free ourselves from every attachment through willpower alone. We need the grace of God.

That connects directly with today’s Epistle. Saint Paul says, “By the grace of God I am what I am.” Paul’s entire life had been redirected by Christ. His past, ambitions, and plans were transformed by grace, and he became an Apostle of the Gospel.

That same grace can transform us. Grace teaches us to trust Christ more than our money, success, comfort, reputation, or plans. It gives us the strength to pray, “Lord, if something is keeping me from You, help me to let it go.”

Conclusion

The rich young man stood before Christ and heard the invitation, “Come, follow Me,” but he walked away because there was something he could not surrender.

Christ places the same invitation before us today.

What are we holding onto? What are we pursuing more than we pursue Him? What are we afraid He might ask us to release?
For our college students: pursue your education, develop your gifts, prepare for your future, and seek meaningful work—but pursue Christ more than you pursue any of these things.

And that is true for all of us. The goal of the Christian life is not simply to become successful, comfortable, or accomplished. It is to become completely Christ’s.

May God give us the grace to release whatever keeps us from Him, to seek His will above our own, and whenever Christ says, “Come, follow Me,” to have the faith to follow wherever He leads. Amen.

Address

801 Montecito Drive
San Angelo, TX
76903

Telephone

+3256421340

Website

http://orthodoxsanangelo.org/

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