Diocese Update - August 2025
Camp St. Joseph Update
Daily photo updates from camp will be posted and linked through the website (www.campstjoseph.org) and social media.
Mahrajan - August 16-17 at St. Mary Pawtucket
St. Mary Church in Pawtucket presents their annual Mahrajan. Live music by Andre Keedy (Saturday) and George Maalouf (Sunday). Saturday 11 am to 11 pm and Sunday 11 am to 5 pm. Enjoy delicious authentic Arabic food. Option to RSVP table for 10 people including food from the menu. Contact to RSVP: Walid Nakhoul (401-692-1250) or Ghassan Armani (781-414-1091).
OCF College Student Sunday - August 24
Sunday, August 24, 2025, has been designated by the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops as College Student Sunday. It is a national opportunity for parishes to honor and uplift Orthodox students by taking up a special tray collection to support the work of OCF.
We would be grateful if you could share this timely press release with your community to help keep OCF's vital mission growing.
Diocese Council Zoom - August 26 @ 7pm via zoom
The next Diocese Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 26 at 7:00 pm via Zoom. All clergy and laity are invited to attend to help His Grace Bishop John in the planning of events for our Diocese. For more information, please contact Bishop John.
Save the Date! Diocesan Choral Workshop November 15
Diocesan Choral Workshop
with Mareena Boosamra Ball
Chairwoman of the Department of Sacred Music
Saturday, November 15
10am - 4pm
St. John of Damascus Church
Also, COMING SOON:
Registration for Fall Semester
Antiochian Orthodox
Ecclesiastical Online Music School
Classes start the week of September 8
Please contact Diocese Sacred Music Coordinator Charlie Marge with questions.
Patriots Raffle to benefit St. Michael Church Cotuit
St. Michael Church in Cotuit is raffling off two tickets to the Patriots vs. Steelers at Gillette Stadium on September 21 at 1:00 pm. Raffle tickets are $10 each or 3 for $25. Send checks to St. Michael Church (62 Main St, Cotuit, MA 02635) or Venmo @Soraya-Bandeli
Show Patriots Raffle in the memo line. Venmo payers, please send an email with your name, address, and phone to stmichael@stmichaelcapecod.org Drawing will take place on September 7, 2025. Proceeds support St. Michael's Women's Group Stewardship
Diocese Represented at Archdiocese Convention
The Archdiocese Bible Bowl and Oratorical Festivals were held last month during the Archdiocese Convention in Chicago. St. Michael Church in Cotuit represented our diocese in the Bible Bowl, and Isabella Bitar from St. George Cathedral in Worcester represented the Diocese in the Oratorical Festival. See the links below for photos from both events:
Archdiocese Oratorical Festival Photos
Archdiocese Bible Bowl Photos
AXIOS to Fr. Anthony & Kh. Evangelia Niqula on their new assignment
Fr. Anthony Niqula recently was appointed to the pastorate of St. Nicholas Church in Grand Rapids, MI and began his ministry there this past Sunday. He and his family have been at St. George Church of Boston since 2019 and will be greatly missed. May God bless Fr. Anthony & Kh. Evangalia on their new assignment and grant them many years!
St. Euphemia Mission Opens the Doors at Newly Constructed Church in Maine
Flickr Link: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCmeBU
From July 10-11, 2025, His Grace Bishop John visited the newly constructed temple of St. Euphemia Antiochian Orthodox Church in the Midcoast of Maine. The St. Euphemia mission was started in early 2020 in a small barn in the midcoast of Maine. It quickly blossomed into a large mission centered in Rockland.
Please read the complete story here.
Norwood hosts PLC & Future PLC Schedule
On Saturday, June 21, the Diocese of Worcester and New England gathered for its annual Parish Life Conference, hosted this year by St. George Church in Norwood. The event brought together over 200 faithful from all 12 parishes and missions across the Diocese for a full day of worship, learning, fellowship, and celebration. Read the full article about the PLC here: https://www.antiochian.org/regulararticle/2517
2025 PLC Photo Album: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCmCK1
Upcoming PLC Host Parish Schedule
2026: St. George Church, Lowell
2027: St. George Church, Boston
2028: St. Mary Church, Pawtucket
2029: St. George Church, Lawrence
2030: St. George Cathedral, Worcester
Thank you to the Diocese for the Bus to AV Session 2
We had 37 campers from our Diocese ride the charter bus together to the Antiochian Village for Session 2 (June 29-July 11). As in year's past, the cost per camper was subsidized by the Diocese Council. We thank the chaperones: Fr. Milad Selim, Andre Kassis, Gayle Mackoul, and Samir Tokatli for volunteering their time to be with our campers. The campers themselves would like to thank all of you for your generosity. Here are a few notes from some of them:
- I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart to all those who helped make camp possible for me. I am so grateful that I was able to grow closer to God because of Bishop John and my parish.
- Thank you for paying most of the money for the bus! My home is very far away from camp and without you guys, I probably wouldn't be able to go. I loved camp so much and enjoyed every single moment!
- Thank you so much for your generous donations that made it possible for all of us to go to Antiochian Village Camp! We had an amazing time growing in our faith, making new friends, and creating memories we’ll never forget.
- We’re so grateful for your support it truly means a lot to us!
- Thank you so much to Bishop John, all the parishes in the New England diocese, clergy, parishioners and donors, for your kind and loving generosity and support for the youth in the church, we truly do appreciate it for the opportunities and experiences it provides. Antiochian Village is a place many people will say is their home away from home, but that can’t be understood until someone goes and experiences it for themselves. Father Chris the Camp Coordinator was asked why he believes the Village changes people, and his response sums it up perfectly; through Christ. In a secular world where there is little emphasis on faith, it is an oasis of spiritual focus and Christ centeredness in everything, allowing campers to see what it truly means to be Orthodox Christians among others with the same passion for the Church. I know for me, in the two years I’ve gone to the village, there was certainly a difference between the person I was going in and leaving the arch. It evokes emotions and feelings of innocence and forgiveness that aren’t felt to the same degree anywhere else, through the love of everyone there. The opportunity to continue to go I know, though I can no longer go as a camper, will foster a deeper sense of connection to the faith in my younger brothers and all youth who continue to call the village their home.
Silent Auction for Hand Painted Icon to benefit St. Michael Church Cotuit
St. Michael in Cotuit MA is excited to offer an online auction for a beautiful hand-painted icon by our in-house iconographer, Zoya Sheglov, in the traditional Russian style.
Please click the link for icon and bid details. The highest bidder will be supporting St. Michael’s general fund.
https://forms.gle/MMFrDVqp5cWNdhn29
May you always be blessed. Thank you for your generosity and your prayerful consideration on our behalf.
For questions, please contact Soraya Bandeli 617-842-8591 / sbandeli@comcast.net
OCAMPR Conference: Oct 2-4 in Illinois
OCAMPR (Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology, & Religion) is pleased to announce the 2025 Fall Conference will be taking place at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, IL October 2-4, 2025. The conference theme this year is, “The Passions: The Theology & Science of Addictions and Compulsions.”
The conference is an opportunity for Orthodox professionals to gather together for fellowship and learning in an Orthodox Christian context. Conference participants will have an opportunity to hear invited lectures by Orthodox experts in their fields, as well as workshops and papers presented by members.
For more details, please visit https://ocampr.org/2025-ocampr-conference/
Save the Date!
- August 6: Feast of the Transfiguration
- August 9-16: Special Olympics Sports Camp at Antiochian Village
- August 11-16: Camp St. Joseph in Lennox, MA
- August 15: Feast of the Dormition
- August 16-17: Mahrajan at St. Mary Pawtucket
- August 24: OCF College Student Sunday
- August 26: Diocese Council Meeting (Zoom)
- October 2-4: OCAMPR Conference
- November 15: Diocesan Choral Workshop in Dedham