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
August 2026
A Month of the Mother of God
Dear parish family,
If July was a month of saints, August belongs to the Mother of God.
The month opens on August 1 with the Procession of the Precious Cross and the Holy Maccabean Martyrs, and with it the Dormition Fast, two short weeks in which the whole Church turns toward the Theotokos. On August 6 the Lord is transfigured on Mount Tabor and shows three frightened fishermen what a human being looks like when it is full of God. And on August 15 we come to the heart of it all, the Dormition, the falling asleep of the Mother of God, the feast that tells us plainly what death has become for those who belong to Christ.
There is a reason our people love this month so much. In Ukraine these weeks hold the three Saviors: honey blessed on August 1, apples and grapes on August 6, bread and nuts on August 16. The harvest comes into the church and is set before God, and the year’s first fruits are given back to the One who gave them. Faith and the kitchen table have never been far apart among us.
August also carries Ukraine’s Independence Day on the 24th. We will serve a Moleben for Ukraine after the Liturgy on Sunday, August 23.
Come and pray with us this month. Bring fruit, bring your burdens, bring your children.
With love in Christ, Fr. Stephen Siniari
August Schedule of Services
Regular Sunday Schedule
- 9:30 AM, Hours and Confession
- 10:00 AM, Divine Liturgy (Ukrainian and English)
This month:
- Sunday, August 2, 10:00 AM, Divine Liturgy, 9th Sunday after Pentecost
- Sunday, August 9, 10:00 AM, Divine Liturgy, 10th Sunday after Pentecost; the Transfiguration observed; blessing of grapes and fruit
- Sunday, August 16, 10:00 AM, Divine Liturgy, 11th Sunday after Pentecost; the Dormition of the Theotokos observed
- Sunday, August 23, 10:00 AM, Divine Liturgy, 12th Sunday after Pentecost; Moleben for Ukraine after Liturgy for Independence Day
- Sunday, August 30, 10:00 AM, Divine Liturgy, 13th Sunday after Pentecost; Akathist to the Theotokos Pantanassa after Liturgy
Our parish serves the Divine Liturgy on Sundays. The great August feasts that fall on weekdays are lifted up at the Sunday Liturgy nearest to them.
The Dormition Fast: August 1 to 14
The Dormition Fast begins on Saturday, August 1 and runs to Friday, August 14, the eve of the feast. It is the shortest of the four fasts of the Church year, and one of the most loved, two weeks of quiet preparation before we stand at the bier of the Mother of God.
The rule of the fast:
- On most days, a strict fast: no meat, no dairy, no fish, no oil, no wine
- Oil and wine are permitted on Saturdays and Sundays
- Fish is permitted on Thursday, August 6, the day of the Transfiguration itself. The relaxation follows the calendar date, even though the parish keeps the feast at the Liturgy on Sunday, August 9
- Friday, August 14, the eve of the feast, is kept most strictly of all
- The Dormition itself, August 15, is fast free
The fast begins on the same day the Church carries the Precious Cross in procession and blesses water, honey, and the new herbs of the field. Fasting has never been about the food. It is about making a little room. If the full rule is more than your health or your household allows, speak with Fr. Stephen and keep what you can keep with a peaceful heart. A fast kept in love is worth more than a fast kept perfectly.
The Transfiguration of Our Lord
On Thursday, August 6, the Church keeps the Transfiguration of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Christ took Peter, James, and John up Mount Tabor, and there, as the Gospel says, his face shone like the sun and his garments became white as light. Moses and Elijah stood beside him, and the voice of the Father came out of the cloud: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear him.”
The disciples fell on their faces. They had walked beside this man for years, eaten with him, argued with him, and now for one moment the curtain lifted and they saw who he had been all along. The Church teaches that the light on Tabor was not created light. It was the uncreated glory of God, and Christ did not change on that mountain. Their eyes did.
Please bring grapes and fruit to be blessed at the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, August 9, when we will observe the feast together. The custom is ancient. In the Old Testament the first fruits of the harvest were brought to God in thanksgiving, and the Church kept the practice. Grapes come first because they become the wine of the Eucharist, the created thing that is offered on the altar and, by the Holy Spirit, becomes the Blood of Christ himself. That is the whole promise of the feast in a single bunch of grapes: everything God has made is destined to be filled with his glory, and so are we.
The Dormition of the Theotokos
On Saturday, August 15, the Church celebrates the Dormition of Our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, her falling asleep and her passage into heaven. We will observe the feast at the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, August 16.
When our Lord was dying on the Cross, he saw his mother and the disciple John standing there, and he said to her, “Woman, behold your son,” and to John, “Behold your mother.” From that hour the apostle took her into his own home. Tradition tells us she remained in Jerusalem, and that when the time of her repose drew near, the apostles who were scattered preaching across the world were gathered back to her bedside, all but Thomas. At the moment of her death, Christ himself descended and received her soul.
Her body was carried in procession and laid in a tomb near Gethsemane. When Thomas arrived three days later and asked to see her, the tomb was found empty.
Look carefully at the icon of the feast. The Mother of God lies on her bier, the apostles bending over her in grief, Peter censing at her head and Paul bowed low at her feet. And standing above her, in golden robes and surrounded by angels, is her Son, holding in his arms a swaddled infant in white cloths. That infant is her soul. At the birth of Christ she held the infant God in her arms; at her death, he holds her. The whole Gospel is in that reversal.
This is why the Dormition is a feast and not a funeral. We call it a falling asleep, because for those who belong to Christ death has become sleep, and the grave has become a bed. As we gather each year around this icon, we gather in hope around our own beloved dead, and commend them, with her, into the hands of her Son.
Ukraine Independence Day: A Moleben for Ukraine
On Monday, August 24, Ukraine marks its Independence Day. It is the thirty-fifth anniversary of the day in 1991 when Ukraine declared herself free, and the fifth such day her people have kept under the weight of a full-scale war.
We will serve a Moleben for Ukraine after the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, August 23. That Sunday is itself the Day of the State Flag of Ukraine, and it is also the Leavetaking of the Dormition, so we will end the great feast of the Mother of God by placing Ukraine in her hands. Please come and pray with us: for the soldiers who stand on the front lines, for the wounded, for prisoners of war, for the families who wait for news that does not come, for the children, for the dead, and for a just and lasting peace.
Many in our parish still have parents, brothers, sisters, and friends there. Some of us have buried people we could not go home to bury. Bring their names with you.
O Lord, save your people, and bless your inheritance. Grant peace to Ukraine, and protect her people.
Akathist to the Theotokos Pantanassa, Sunday, August 30
On the last Sunday of the month, August 30, 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.
It is fitting that this month of the Mother of God should end at her feet. Please bring with you the names of those you wish to lift up before her: the sick, the wounded, prisoners of war, and the soldiers of Ukraine.
On the New Calendar that our parish follows, the Church commemorates the Pantanassa icon on August 18. Read more about Akathists at our parish and how to pray them at home.
The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, August 29
On Saturday, August 29, the Church commemorates the Beheading of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John, put to death by Herod for telling a king the truth about his own life.
Of him the Lord said that among those born of women there had risen none greater. He was the last of the prophets and the first to point at Christ and say, “Behold the Lamb of God.” He asked nothing for himself, and when his own disciples grew jealous that the crowds were leaving him for Jesus, he answered simply: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
The day is kept as a strict fast day, out of reverence for his death. By ancient custom many of the faithful will not eat from a round dish or use a knife on this day, in memory of the platter and the sword.
By a grave coincidence, August 29 is also Ukraine’s Day of Remembrance of the Fallen Defenders. On the day the Church remembers a man beheaded for speaking the truth, Ukraine remembers her own dead. Pray for them together.
The Three Saviors of August
August in Ukraine is the month of the three Saviors, and on the New Calendar that our parish follows they fall this way:
- The Honey Savior (Медовий Спас), August 1. The Procession of the Precious Cross. Honey from the new harvest, water, and herbs are blessed. August 1 falls on a Saturday, so bring your honey to the Liturgy on Sunday, August 2.
- The Apple Savior (Яблучний Спас), August 6. The Transfiguration. Apples, grapes, and the fruits of the orchard are blessed. We will keep this at the Liturgy on Sunday, August 9.
- The Nut Savior (Горіховий Спас), August 16. The Translation of the Image of the Savior Not-Made-by-Hands, also called the Bread Savior, when the new grain and nuts were blessed. This year August 16 falls on a Sunday, so bring bread, grain, and nuts to our Liturgy that day.
If your family kept these days in Ukraine, keep them here. Bring the honey, bring the apples, bring the bread. Our grandparents understood something we are always in danger of forgetting: that the faith is not only for the soul, and that a jar of honey set before God on a summer morning is a real prayer.
Ukrainian Saints of August, and the Turn of the Church Year
August is quietly full of the saints of our own land. The fathers of the Kyiv Caves are remembered all month: Gregory the Iconographer on August 8, the venerable martyrs Theodore and Basil on August 11, Alypius the Iconographer on August 17, and on August 28 the whole Synaxis of the Fathers who rest in the Far Caves. That same day, August 28, the Church keeps the Uncovering of the Relics of Saint Job of Pochaiv, the great wonderworker of Volhynia. Read about him on our page for Saint Job of Pochaiv.
August 31 is the last day of the Church year. The ecclesiastical year begins again on September 1, and it is no accident that the cycle of great feasts opens with the Nativity of the Theotokos and closes with her Dormition. Even the last day of the year belongs to her: August 31 is the Placing of the Sash of the Theotokos. The year of the Church ends where every Christian life is meant to end: at the falling asleep of a faithful soul, gathered up into the arms of Christ.
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: the Transfiguration by Theophanes the Greek, the Procession of the Precious Cross (1510), the Dormition by Andreas Ritzos, and Saint John the Forerunner (Yaroslavl, 1551) are in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
St. Michael Ukrainian Orthodox Church | Fr. Stephen Siniari, Parish Priest | 727-777-4450 | 9201 60th St, Pinellas Park, FL 33782