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1 THE SHEPHERD • FEBRUARY 2026 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO www.theshepherdnews.com The Shepherd Newsletter The official newsletter publication for the parish of Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church of San Diego I S S U E 3 5 7 • F E B R UA R Y 2 0 2 6 IN THIS ISSUE FROM THE DESK OF FR. ANDREW ...... p. 1 PRESIDENT OF THE PARISH COUNCIL, WOMEN OF THE WORD, BOOKSTORE .p. 2 DIVINE SERVICES, HOLY SACRAMENTS, DEATHS, MEMORIALS, NEWS FROM THE LOFT ........................................................... p. 3 YOUTH MINISTRIES ................................. p. 4 GREEK LANGUAGE SCHOOL, DANCE & CHORAL, ZATHAS FOUNDATION ........ p. 6 PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS .......................... p. 7 SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS ................ p. 8 PARISH CALENDAR ................................ p. 10 YOUNG AT HEART SENIORS ................. p. 11 CONTACT INFORMATION....................... p. 12 FROM THE DESK OF FATHER ANDREW My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, We are once again ready to enter into what is called the period of Tri- odion , which begins this year on Sunday, Febru- ary 1, 2026. Triodion is both a period of time and a liturgical text of the Orthodox Church. It is a period of time, in that Triodion begins four Sundays before the commencement of Great and Holy Lent and continues until Great and Holy Saturday evening. It is im- portant to know a little about the period of Triodion because it is part of our ecclesias- tical cycle , which, if you include the text and period of time that follows Triodion (The Pentecostarion) when combined, that period of time together includes and requires a third of our ecclesiastical time and cycle. The Triodion, as a liturgical text of the Church, is a book of Lenten hymnography, biblical readings and prayers. Its basic struc- ture of hymns, readings and prayers is for the services of Vespers (evening services), Or- thros) morning/preparatory services), and the Divine Liturgy. It also contains hymns for both Great and Small Compline, and for the Hours of prayer. The Triodion as a text is a book of biblical hymnology, readings and prayers, which not only relates to us the truths of the New Testament, but of the Old Testament as well. It is, in a sense, as some- one has said a return to our biblical roots, which, for the most part, is put to liturgical music. The hymns within the text of the Triodion not only concentrate on the Sunday Gospel lessons, like the Publican and the Pharisee and the Prodigal Son and so on. They also fo- cus on the historical books of the Old Testa- ment, like Genesis and Exodus. The Triodion also makes good use of the Prophetic books of Isaiah and Ezekiel, and the Wisdom books of Proverbs and Job. Again, as someone once said: To understand the New Testament, you have to understand the Old Testament. When you read the New Testament, you have to keep one foot in the Old Testament. The Triodion, as a period of time , takes place from the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee (Sunday, February 1st), until Great and Holy Saturday evening (April 11th). The period of Triodion can further be divided into three (Tri) other periods (odes) of time: The first ode is from the Sunday of the Pub- lican and the Pharisee until the beginning of Great and Holy Lent proper (Monday, Feb- ruary 23, 2026). This is a three-week time of preparation and it is interesting to note that the Orthodox Christian is even preparing to enter into the preparation time of Great and Holy Lent. The second ode is marked from Clean Monday (Monday, February 23rd) un- til the Saturday of Lazarus (Saturday, April 4th) and includes an intense period of fast- ing, prayer, reflection, good works and at- tending the many and varied divine services of the Church. The third ode begins on the evening of Palm Sunday until Pascha (Sun- day, April 5th – Sunday, April 12, 2026) and is known as Great and Holy Week. My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Triodi- on is both a beautiful text and a period of time used to assist Orthodox Christians in their continued spiritual growth and disci- pline. As the Triodion begins (the first three weeks), it eases the faithful into a period of preparation, which starts out rather simple and as we advance in our journey, the path becomes more difficult, only to end with the joy of the Resurrection. The period of the Triodion helps the Orthodox faithful better understand biblical truths as they prepare to continues 5 Congratulations To our 2026 Leon Balaban Award recipients George & Ioanna Capetanakis Andreas Capetanakis