On Sunday, March 16th, St. Thekla received the gift of a beautiful Gospel cover donated by the Galanos family in loving memory of Thomas Galanos. Tom was a very active, supportive member of St. Thekla during our earliest years. His contributions to our church included serving on the parish council, as well as helping in many other areas that benefitted our church. Tom always greeted you with a smile and friendly words each Sunday. We are so grateful to his family for their donation which we will use with love for many years. May his memory be eternal!
We are pleased to share with you that on January 31, 2025, St. Thekla Orthodox Church closed on the purchase of property and buildings that will soon become our permanent home. The property that we purchased is the current site of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Hillsboro, Maryland, located at the corner of Maple & Church Streets. In addition to the church building the purchase also includes the existing retreat house.
The existing church building is an historic Episcopal church that features a board-and-batten Carpenter Gothic-style structure set on a brick foundation. Its design is based upon a book of plans and sketches published in 1852 by Richard Upjohn.
St. Paul’s Church Hillsboro was established in 1748, and a church was built in 1768, but fell into decline in the early 19th century. The current church building was constructed in 1856-1857 and consecrated in 1858. Rev. George Beaven was the first Rector who served for 52 years until his death in 1909. The church continued until the 1950’s when it was deconsecrated and sold to an individual who intended to move it to another location, however, the move did not take place. In the late 1960’s, the church was purchased by members of the Beaven family and re-consecrated by the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Easton.
In the 1990’s, Rev. Marianne Ell became Rector. At that time work was begun to build a parish hall and community center on the church property. That work was suspended in 1994 when the Ells family moved. The church and the nearly finished parish hall lay empty for 20 years. In 2014, then-Bishop Bud Shand allocated funds to finish the parish hall and invited Francie Thayer to establish a Retreat House.
In late 2023, the Parish Council of St. Thekla’s Orthodox Church received confirmation from the Episcopal Archdiocese of Easton of their intention to enter into a purchase agreement for the property. The Parish Council requested final approval from our parishioners to pursue the property purchase, as well as approval and blessing from the Antiochian Archdiocese to move forward. The past year has been a time of great activity preparing the property for purchase as our new home.
There is still work to be done as we deal with some needed repairs as well as renovations. Some of this is already underway as we begin to transform the existing church into a temple for Orthodox worship. We know that with God’s help, as well as that of our parishioners, we will be making our move soon.
Please visit our Photos page to see the property. We will be updating these as work progresses.
We will keep you updated on our progress, and may God bless our parish community!
During Divine Liturgy on February 9, Fr. John Monto installed the newly elected members of St. Thekla's Parish Council for 2025. Those are:
- President - Sbdn. Andrew Ristvey
- Vice-President - Sh. Ellen Kaloroumakis
- Secretary - Aaron Amick
- Treasurer - Pat Rogers
- Trustees - Diane Pappas and Rob LeCompte
Join us as we read through seventy-nine books of the Orthodox Study Bible in one year. It's never too late to pick up with us as we journey from Genesis to Revelation! Email or text Lowen Howard (lowen.howard@gmail.com / 410-989-3220) if you would like to be added to the online men's book club Slack group.
The men's book club meets on the second Tuesday of every month at 6:30pm. Locations are subject to change.
Prior to Divine Liturgy on Sunday, January 12, Dn. George and Reader Dylan installed the new icon of St. Thekla on our iconostasis. The icon was generously donated by Rob and Emily Lowe and was written by the artist who did the original icons on the iconostasis.
On January 5th, the faithful of St. Thekla's celebrated the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil for the feast of Theophany (January 6). In addition, we celebrated St. Basil's Day (January 1) by blessing and partaking in St. Basil's bread (Vasilopita).
During his homily Deacon George shared information on the significance of St. Basil's bread.
"As we know, Jan. 1st is significant for several reasons, Christ’s circumcision, the civil New Year, and the feast day of St. Basil. On his feast day, a tradition began centuries ago to acknowledge his defense of the faith, love for his flock and his charity. A special bread or “pita" is baked on January 1, to honor of our Holy Father Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia - hence Vasilopita.
One year, during a time of terrible famine, the emperor levied an excessive tax upon the people. TFAiling to pay would certainly put one in prison. The families had to relinquish their few remaining coins as well as pieces of jewelry, including precious family heirlooms. Learning of this injustice against his flock, St Basil the Great, armed with the gospels went to the emperor seeking his repentance. By God's grace, the emperor repented! He canceled the tax and instructed his tax collectors to turn over to St Basil all of the chests containing the coins and jewelry which had been paid for taxes by the people of Caesarea.
But now St Basil was faced with the daunting and impossible task of returning these coins and pieces of jewelry to their rightful owners. After praying for a long time before the icons of Christ and His All-holy Mother, St Basil had all the treasures baked into one huge "pita." He then called all the townspeople to prayer at the cathedral and, after Divine Liturgy, he blessed and cut the "pita," giving a piece to each person. Wondrously each owner received in his piece of Vasilopita his own valuables. They all joyfully gave thanks to God who had delivered them from abject poverty, and to their good and holy bishop, St Basil the Great.
We observe the tradition of the Vasilopita each year on January 1st - the date on which St Basil reposed in the Lord in the year 379".
adapted from AOCNA
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Fr. John presents an icon of St. Thekla to George Cody |
On Sunday, October 27th, the parishioners of St. Thekla's came together for a farewell luncheon for George Cody. George was instrumental in the creation and development of our church and will always be regarded as our "godfather". He began by running an ad in the local paper to see if there was interest in establishing an Orthodox presence on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. His dedication and work enabled us to move from monthly meetings to semi-montly Liturgies, and finally to our current calendar of regular Sunday Liturgies. He served as a reader during Liturgy and was an invaluable mamber of the Parish Council, serving as Treasurer and as a member of St. Thekla's Financial Committee.
George is relocating to Connecticut where he will be close to his family (especially his grandson who is the apple of his eye). We will certainly miss him, but wish him all the best in his new home. May God grant him many years of health and happiness!
On Sunday, September 29, Georgia and Peter Pappas held an organic egg sale following Divine Liturgy. We are happy to report that they raised $85 which they donated to St. Thekla's Church School Fund.
Prior to Divine Liturgy on Sunday, September 8th, Denise Howard and Jason Wise were received into the Orthodox Church. The service was conducted by Fr. John Monto and Dn. George Kaloroumakis and was attended by many family members, friends, and parishioners of St. Thekla's.
On August 29, 2024, Deacon George Kaloroumakis received the Master of Theological Studies from the Antiochian House of Studies. The ceremony took place at the Antiochian Village in Bolivar, PA.
On March, 23, 2024, George Kaloroumakis was ordained to the Diaconate by his grace, Bishop Thomas. The ordination took place at Holy Cross Orthodox Christian Church.
