St. Michael Ukrainian Orthodox Church
9201 60th St, Pinellas Park, FL 33782 • Tel: 727-777-4450 • stmichaeltampabay.org
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA · Ecumenical Patriarchate
Victoria Pechenizka, Parish President
July 2026
A July of Saints
Dear parish family,
July gives us a month full of saints, and they all tell one story: how the faith came to our people, and how it traveled with them across the world.
The month opens on July 2 with a saint of our own century, John of Shanghai and San Francisco, born near Kharkiv and glorified in America. On July 4 we give thanks to God for this country that opened its doors to so many of our families. And the month rises to its height on July 24 and 28 with Saints Olha and Volodymyr, who led Rus-Ukraine down to the Dnipro for holy baptism more than a thousand years ago.
From the baptism of Kyiv, to a wonderworker in San Francisco, to our own small parish in Pinellas Park, it is one faith, carried by one people, kept alive from generation to generation by the saints. That is the quiet miracle we celebrate every Sunday: the same Gospel that Prince Volodymyr received in 988 is the Gospel we receive at the chalice this morning.
Come to the Liturgy this summer. Pray for one another, and for Ukraine.
With love in Christ, Fr. Stephen Siniari
July Schedule of Services
Regular Sunday Schedule
- 9:30 AM, Hours and Confession
- 10:00 AM, Divine Liturgy (Ukrainian and English)
This month:
- Sunday, July 5, 10:00 AM, Divine Liturgy, 5th Sunday after Pentecost; Fourth of July parish celebration and cookout after Liturgy
- Sunday, July 12, 10:00 AM, Divine Liturgy, 6th Sunday after Pentecost
- Sunday, July 19, 10:00 AM, Divine Liturgy, 7th Sunday after Pentecost
- Sunday, July 26, 10:00 AM, Divine Liturgy, 8th Sunday after Pentecost; commemoration of Sts. Olha and Volodymyr; Akathist to the Theotokos Pantanassa after Liturgy
Our parish serves the Divine Liturgy on Sundays. The great July feasts that fall on weekdays are lifted up at the Sunday Liturgy nearest to them.
Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco
On Thursday, July 2, the Church keeps the feast of Saint John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco, the Wonderworker. He was born in 1896 near Kharkiv, into a family of the old Ukrainian nobility, and the revolution carried him into exile like so many of our own grandparents. He became a bishop in Shanghai, where he gathered thousands of orphans off the streets and built hospitals and homes for a city of refugees. When the communists took China, he led some five thousand of his people out to a camp on a Philippine island and would not rest until he had gone to Washington himself and opened the doors of America to them.
Men called him “John the Barefoot” for his poverty and his ceaseless prayer. He never lay down to sleep. His last and greatest city was San Francisco, where he reposed in 1966 and where his body was found incorrupt twenty-seven years later. His relics rest there still, and pilgrims from every Orthodox people, our own among them, come to ask his prayers.
He was born in Kharkiv, in Ukraine, and made holy in the country we now call home. We have written a full account of his life. Read it at Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco.
Independence Day: Gratitude and Prayer
On Saturday, July 4, our country keeps its Independence Day. For a parish so many of whose families found a home and freedom on these shores, it is a day of real thanksgiving. This land opened its doors to our grandparents in their exile, and it opens them still to the newest arrivals from a Ukraine at war. We do not take that freedom for granted.
We will celebrate together as one parish family on Sunday, July 5. Come first to pray: Hours and Confession at 9:30 AM, the Divine Liturgy at 10:00 AM, with prayers of thanksgiving for our country after the Liturgy. Then stay to celebrate. After the Liturgy we gather for a parish potluck and cookout: a table full of tasty Ukrainian food, hot dogs and shashlyk fresh off the grill, and good company in the sunshine. Bring a dish to share if you are able, and most of all bring your children, your friends, and your whole family. There is room at our table for everyone.
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” (Psalm 33:12)
We give thanks for the freedom and the peace of the United States, and in the same breath we pray for the freedom and the peace of Ukraine: that the war may end, the captives be freed, and her people return home. God bless America, and God protect Ukraine. Read more about our Fourth of July parish celebration.
The Baptism of Rus-Ukraine: Saints Olha and Volodymyr
The heart of the month comes at its end, with the two saints who gave our people the faith. On Friday, July 24, the Church commemorates Saint Olha, princess of Kyiv, the first Christian ruler of Rus, the morning star who went first to the faith when her whole court was still pagan. Four days later, on Tuesday, July 28, we keep Saint Volodymyr the Great, her grandson, who in the year 988 led the people of Kyiv down to the waters of the Dnipro for the great baptism we still remember as the founding of the Church among our people. Across the Orthodox world this day is kept as the Day of the Baptism of Rus-Ukraine.
These two are not distant figures. The language of our Liturgy, the shape of our icons, the very fact that a Ukrainian child can be baptized in Florida and grow up knowing the Jesus Prayer, all of it rests on the courage of an old princess and a young prince who said, with their lives, that Christ is Lord.
Because our parish serves on Sundays, we will lift their names and sing their hymns at the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, July 26. Read more about them on our page for Saints Volodymyr and Olha.
Akathist to the Theotokos Pantanassa, Sunday, July 26
On the last Sunday of the month, July 26, after the 10:00 AM Divine Liturgy, we will serve the Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos «Всецариця» (Pantanassa, the All-Queen). The Pantanassa icon, given to our parish by His Eminence Archbishop Daniel, is venerated throughout the Orthodox world for the healing of cancer and other grave illnesses, and for the comfort of those who carry heavy burdens.
All are warmly invited to come and pray. Please bring with you the names of those you wish to lift up before the Mother of God: the sick, the wounded, prisoners of war, and the soldiers of Ukraine on the front lines. Read more about Akathists at our parish and how to pray them at home.
Saints and Name Days of Late July
The end of July is rich with beloved saints. On July 22 the Church honors Saint Mary Magdalene, Equal-to-the-Apostles, the first witness of the Resurrection. Then come our own Saints Olha (July 24) and Volodymyr (July 28). Between them, on July 25, we keep the repose of the righteous Anna, mother of the Theotokos, and on July 27 the Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, one of the most beloved saints in all of Ukraine. Panteleimon gave his life healing the sick without payment, and his icon hangs in nearly every Ukrainian church. His feast falls the day after our Pantanassa Akathist for the sick, and we ask his prayers for all who are ill among us.
These days are also name-days for many in our parish. Многая літа to everyone named Maria, Olha, Hanna, Panteleimon, and Volodymyr!
The Dormition Fast Begins August 1
A gentle heads-up for the month ahead. The Dormition Fast begins on August 1 and runs two weeks, to the great feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos on August 15. It is a short, intense fast in honor of the Mother of God. We will say more in the August bulletin; for now, simply mark the date, and begin to prepare your heart.
Please Pray for Ukraine
The war in Ukraine continues, and our people at home carry burdens most of us can scarcely imagine. Please keep them in your daily prayers: the soldiers, the wounded, the prisoners of war, the displaced, and the children. If you are able to help, our parish supports the humanitarian work of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA. Learn how to give and how to help on our Ukraine Aid page.
Hospitality After Liturgy: Volunteers Welcome
The coffee hour and fellowship after Liturgy is one of the warmest parts of our parish life, and it does not happen by itself. We are always grateful for parishioners who can help set up, bring something to share, or stay a few minutes after to clean up. If you would like to join our hospitality rotation, please speak with Fr. Stephen or any council member after Liturgy. Even one Sunday a quarter is a real gift to the parish.
Online Giving
We accept donations through credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can give online from anywhere, or in person at the church by scanning the QR code with your phone.
Ways to give online:
- General Fund for the ongoing needs of the parish
- Candles to pay for candles you light for prayer, intention, or memorial
- Roof Repair Fund to help cover the cost of recent roof repairs
- AC Fund to help cover the cost of the new altar AC unit
Donate at stmichaeltampabay.org/donate
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Image credits: icons of St. John of Shanghai (CC BY 2.0) and St. Panteleimon (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons. The Baptism of Rus by Viktor Vasnetsov and the Dormition by Andreas Ritzos are in the public domain.
St. Michael Ukrainian Orthodox Church | Fr. Stephen Siniari, Parish Priest | 727-777-4450 | 9201 60th St, Pinellas Park, FL 33782