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
September 2026
A New Year of Grace
Dear parish family,
On Tuesday, September 1, the Church begins a new year. The civil world changes its calendar in the dead of winter, with fireworks; the Church begins quietly, in September, the way a farmer begins: the harvest is gathered, the seed for next year is set aside, and everything starts again from gratitude.
The Church calls this day the Indiction, and the Gospel read on it tells why. It was in the synagogue of Nazareth, at the beginning of his ministry, that our Lord opened the scroll of Isaiah and read: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor… to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Every church year since is that acceptable year, offered to us once more.
It is no accident that the first Great Feast of the new year is the Nativity of the Theotokos on September 8, and that two weeks after it we lift up the Precious Cross. The year opens with a birth and immediately shows us the Cross, which is the whole shape of a Christian life. And this year September gives our parish a particular joy: the very first Sunday of the month, September 6, is the feast of the Miracle of the Archangel Michael at Chonae, the wonder of our own heavenly patron, falling on the one day of the week when we are all together.
Come and pray with us this month, and let the new year of grace begin where every good thing begins: at the chalice.
With love in Christ, Fr. Stephen Siniari
September Schedule of Services
Regular Sunday Schedule
- 9:30 AM, Hours and Confession
- 10:00 AM, Divine Liturgy (Ukrainian and English)
This month:
- Sunday, September 6, 10:00 AM, Divine Liturgy, 14th Sunday after Pentecost; the Miracle of the Archangel Michael at Chonae, the feast of our parish’s heavenly patron, falls on this very Sunday
- Sunday, September 13, 10:00 AM, Divine Liturgy, 15th Sunday after Pentecost; the Nativity of the Theotokos observed
- Sunday, September 20, 10:00 AM, Divine Liturgy, 16th Sunday after Pentecost, the Sunday after the Exaltation; the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross observed
- Sunday, September 27, 10:00 AM, Divine Liturgy, 17th Sunday after Pentecost; Akathist to the Theotokos Pantanassa after Liturgy
Our parish serves the Divine Liturgy on Sundays. The great September feasts that fall on weekdays are lifted up at the Sunday Liturgy nearest to them.
The Miracle of the Archangel Michael at Chonae
On Sunday, September 6, the Church commemorates the Miracle of the Archangel Michael at Chonae, and this year the feast of our parish’s heavenly patron falls on a Sunday, so we will keep it together at the Divine Liturgy.
Near Colossae in Asia Minor, where the Apostle Paul’s converts once lived, there was a spring whose waters healed the sick, and beside it a small church of the Archangel Michael. For sixty years a monk named Archippos served there, a man so poor and so prayerful that the pagans of the region hated him for it. At last they resolved to destroy the shrine and its keeper at once. They dug channels to join two mountain rivers and turned the combined torrent straight at the little church.
Archippos did not run. He stood inside and prayed. And the Archangel Michael appeared, struck the rock with his staff, and the mountain split open. The flood poured down into the chasm, and the place has been called Chonae, “the funnels,” ever since. The waters still ran into the earth centuries later.
Our parish carries the Archangel’s name, and this story is part of the family inheritance. It teaches what the angel of the Lord does: he stands between God’s people and the flood, whatever the flood happens to be. When the waters rise around you this year, in whatever form they take, remember Archippos: stay at your prayers, and let the Archangel do what he has always done.
Holy Archangel Michael, defend us in the day of trouble.
The Nativity of the Theotokos
On Tuesday, September 8, the Church celebrates the Nativity of Our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, the first Great Feast of the church year. We will observe the feast at the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, September 13.
Joachim and Anna were old, and they were childless. In Israel that was carried as a public shame; Joachim’s offering was once refused in the Temple because a man without children was thought to be without God’s blessing. The two of them did not grow bitter. They grew more fervent. Joachim went into the wilderness to fast and pray; Anna prayed alone in her garden. And to each of them, separately, the angel came with the same word: you will have a child, and the whole world will rejoice in her.
The child was Mary. The Church keeps the memory of her parents so tenderly that it commemorates Saints Joachim and Anna the very next day, September 9, and names them in the dismissal of nearly every service: the holy and righteous ancestors of God.
The feast is quiet, as the birth of any child is quiet. But the Church year opens with it deliberately, because this birth is where the rescue of the world visibly begins: the one is born who will say yes to God on behalf of us all. The troparion of the feast says it plainly:
Your birth, O Theotokos, brought joy to the whole world, for from you dawned the Sun of righteousness, Christ our God. Freeing us from the curse, He gave us His blessings. Abolishing death, He granted us eternal life.
If you have prayed for something for years and heard nothing, this is your feast. Joachim and Anna prayed for fifty years. God’s delays are not God’s refusals.
The Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross
On Monday, September 14, the Church keeps the Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross, one of the twelve Great Feasts. We will observe the feast at the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, September 20, the Sunday after the Exaltation.
The feast remembers a real morning in Jerusalem. In the year 326, Saint Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine, went to the Holy City to find the Cross on which the Lord was crucified. Under the ruins of a pagan temple built over Golgotha, three crosses were found, and the true Cross made itself known: a dying woman was restored by its touch. When the people heard, they pressed in such crowds that no one could come near. So Patriarch Makarios stood on a high place and lifted the Cross up over the people, and they bowed to the ground and cried out, over and over, “Lord, have mercy.” That lifting up, that exaltation, is what we re-enter every September. Three centuries later, when Persia carried the Cross away as spoils of war, Emperor Heraclius won it back and carried it into Jerusalem on his own shoulders, in the year 628.
September 14 is a strict fast day, whatever day of the week it falls on: no meat, no dairy, no fish. We fast because the Cross is not a decoration; it cost the Lord everything, and one day of self-denial is our small bow before it.
The troparion of the feast is one our parish knows by heart, because it is the same hymn we sing when we pray for Ukraine:
O Lord, save Your people, and bless Your inheritance. Grant victories to the Orthodox Christians over their adversaries, and by the virtue of Your Cross, preserve Your habitation.
Come on September 20 and venerate the Cross with your whole household.
Parish News
Thank You for the Feast!
Our parish family celebrated the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence with an amazing potluck after the Divine Liturgy. A huge thank you to everyone who brought food and helped set up! The food was delicious, and the fellowship was a wonderful blessing to our community.
Sunday Lunch Rotation
A very special thank you to all the families who prepared our Sunday hot lunches throughout July and August. Everything was delicious, and it has been such a joy to share a warm meal and fellowship together as a church family after the Divine Liturgy. We truly appreciate the time, effort, and love that each family puts into this wonderful tradition!
Upcoming openings: our next available dates are October 18 and October 25. If your family would like to host one of these Sunday lunches, please check the sign-up sheet or speak with our Parish President, Victoria.
Akathist to the Theotokos Pantanassa, Sunday, September 27
On the last Sunday of the month, September 27, 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.
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. Read more about Akathists at our parish and how to pray them at home.
Vira, Nadiya, Lyubov, and Their Mother Sophia, September 17
On Thursday, September 17, the Church commemorates the holy martyrs Faith, Hope, and Love, and their mother Sophia: Віра, Надія, Любов і мати їхня Софія. A widowed mother in second-century Rome raised three daughters and named them for the three great virtues; all four confessed Christ before the emperor, and the mother buried her children rather than let them deny him.
Among our people this is one of the most beloved days of the year, the name day of countless Ukrainian women. To every Vira, Nadiya, Lyubov, and Sofia in our parish family, and to all who celebrate their angel day this month: многая літа! May your holy patrons pray for you.
The Saints of Kyiv in September
September closes with the saints of our own land. On September 28 the Church keeps the Synaxis of the Venerable Fathers of the Kyiv Caves who rest in the Near Caves of Saint Anthony, the first generations of monks who made the hills above the Dnipro a school of holiness. And on September 30 we remember Saint Michael, the first Metropolitan of Kyiv, who came to Kyiv in the days of Grand Prince Volodymyr and stood at the font when Rus-Ukraine was baptized in 988. Our parish bears the name of the Archangel; it is a quiet joy that the first hierarch of Kyiv bore it too.
The month also holds two feasts of beloved friends of the Lord: the Conception of Saint John the Baptist on September 23, the answer to another elderly couple’s long prayer, and the Repose of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian on September 26, the disciple whom Jesus loved, who ended his long life at Ephesus with one sermon left in him: “Little children, love one another.”
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.
New: Request a Commemoration at the Liturgy Through Our Website
The commemoration slips we fill out at the candle desk, «За здоров’я і спасіння» for the living and «За упокій спочилих» for the departed, can now also be submitted from home, on our website. The names you send are commemorated by Fr. Stephen at the Proskomedia, the preparation of the Holy Gifts before the Divine Liturgy, where a particle of bread is removed for each name and placed on the diskos beside the Lamb.
The online form keeps the two slips you already know, the red one for the living and the black-bordered one for the departed:
If you cannot be at church some Sunday, or your family’s list is long, or a name comes to you midweek, request a commemoration here:
stmichaeltampabay.org/commemorations
Please use baptismal names. You can also ask for a Panakhyda on the same form. An offering is welcome but never required; the prayers of the Church are not for sale. And the paper slips are not going anywhere: they are at the candle desk every Sunday, as always.
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
We use Zeffy, a free platform for nonprofits, so 100% of your donation goes to our parish. At checkout, Zeffy may suggest an optional contribution to support their service. This contribution is optional: you may select “Other” and enter $0 if you wish.
Image credits: the Miracle of the Archangel Michael at Chonae (Sinai, 12th century), the Nativity of the Theotokos (16th century, Hermitage Museum), the Exaltation of the Cross by Osip Chirikov (Hermitage Museum), the September menologion icon (17th century), the Synaxis of the Kyiv Caves Fathers of the Near Caves (1894), and Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia by Karp Zolotaryov (1685) 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