Services at St Mary’s Church
Monday:
Mass 9 - 11 am
Tuesday
Liturgy 5:30 - 7am
7:30pm The Way Orthodox Fellowship in Englisg for adults - All ages
Wednesday: Mass 9 – 11 am
6:30-8pm School of Deacons Adults
Thursday
Mass 9 - 11 am - English
English Midnight Praises 7:30pm
English Bible Study 7:30pm
Friday: Mass Mass 9 – 11 am
Youth 25 and above 7-9pm
Discipleship Clas Class 7-8:30pm
Saturday: Mass: 8:30 – 11am
Sunday School 4 – 5.30pm
Vespers & youth meeting 7-8:30pm English
Vespers &Bible Study Arabic 5:30-7pm
Scouts 1:30 - 3pm
School of Deaconsgip 3 - 4pm
Sunday:
1st Mass 6:30 - 8:30 Arabic & English
2nd Mass.8:30 - 10:30 English - St Mary’s
Church
3rd Mass 8:30 - 10:30 Arabic - St John’s
Chrysostom Church
Family Meeting fortnightly 11:30am
Hymns Class - English 11:45 - 12:30pm
Church Priests:
Fr Tadros Sharobeam 0414251251
Email: frtadros@me.com
Fr Habib Girgis Younan: 0401238177 – 94498871
Email: habibgirgisyounan@hotmail.com
Fr Michael Salib: 0422431821
Email: frmichael@sac.edu.au
Church Address: 5 Epsom Rd., Kensington Vic 3031 Tel: 93766651
Fr Kerillos Tawadros 0411 518 399
Fr John Makary 0433 445 636
The Departure
of St. Abraam (Abraham(, Ebn-Zaraa, 62nd Pope (, of Alexandria.
15th December - 6th Keiahk
On this day, of the year 970 A.D., the saint Anba Abraam, 62nd Pope of Alexandria, departed. This father was a descendant of the Christians of the East, whose name was Ebn-Zaraa the Syrian. He was a rich merchant who visited Egypt often, then finally settled there. He was blessed with many virtues, including mercy to the needy. His reputation of righteousness and knowledge became well known. When the Patriarchal Chair became vacant, the bishops and the learned elders all agreed to choose him as Patriarch. When he sat on the chair of the See of St. Mark, he gave all his possessions to the poor and needy. During his days, Cosman Ebn-Mina, the Coptic minister, was appointed a Governor over Palestine. Before his departure to his new position, he entrusted one hundred thousand dinars to the father, the Patriarch, asking him to hold them until his return. He asked the Pope to give the money to the poor, the needy, the churches and the monasteries, if he died there. When the news of the taking over of Syria and Palestine by Hafktin (Kormati(, reached the Patriarch, he thought that Cosman had died. He distributed that money according to Cosman›s instructions. But Cosman was saved from death and returned to Egypt. The father, the Patriarch, told him what he did with the money, and Cosman was glad and exceedingly happy. Among his accomplishments was the abolition of some corrupt and erroneous customs. He prevented and excommunicated everyone who took bribes from anyone for the purpose of gaining a clerical position. He also strongly forbade the keeping of concubines. When the people who were practicing that knew his orders, the fear of God moved them, for they also feared that the Patriarch might excommunicate them. They set all their concubines free and went to the Patriarch repenting, except for one of the rich men of the country. This man did not fear God nor did he heed the fact that this father, who chided him repeatedly and was very patient with him, would excommunicate him. He did not return from his evil way and was not afraid lest God should destroy him. In spite of that, this father did not slacken in teaching and rebuking him. Furthermore he humbled himself like Christ, his teacher, and he went to that man›s house. When the man heard of the arrival of the Patriarch to his house, he shut the door and refused to let him in. The father remained standing at the door for two hours knocking but the man neither opened the door for him, nor did he speak to him. The father realized that this wretched man had intentionally separated himself from the flock of Christ and became a corrupt member. The Pope saw it fit to cut him from the body of the church, so as not to corrupt the rest of the body. He excommunicated him saying, «Let his blood be on his own head,» and then the Pope shook off the dust from his sandals at the door of the house of that man. At this moment God manifested a sign before the eyes
of those who were present, for the doorstep, which was made of granite, had split in two. Later on, the Lord showed his might, and the man lost all his wealth and he was fired from his position in disgrace. He became ill which led to his death in a horrible way. He became an example to the others; since many sinners learned a lesson and were afraid as a result of what happened to him.
During the days of this father, El-Mu›izz, the Khalifa, had a Jewish Vizier; his name was, Jacob-Ebn-Yousef, who adopted the Muslim faith (Islam(. That minister had a Jewish friend (Ebn-Killis(, who used to go with him frequently to the Khalifa and converse with him. That Jew took advantage of the favor that his friend had with the Khalifa, and found this to be an opportunity to ask for the presence of the father, the Patriarch, in order that he might have a debate with him.
Abba Abraam came along with Anba Severus Ebn-EI-Mukafaa, Bishop of Ashmunein. El-Mu›izz ordered them to sit, so they sat down silently. He asked, «Why are you not debating?»
Anba Severus answered, «How can we argue in the presence of El-Khalifa, with a man who is less intelligent than an ox?» ElMu›izz asked for an explanation. Anba Severus said, «God has declared by the mouth of the prophet, ‹The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master›s crib: but Israel does not know.»› (Isaiah 1:3( They debated that Jew and shamed him with all the unrefutable arguments that prove the soundness of the Christian faith. Then they left El-Mu›izz with great honor. The minister and his Jewish friend were not able to bear the insults. So they sought the chance to take revenge of on Christians.
A few days later, the Jewish Vizier; Jacob-Ebn-Yousef went to El-Mu›izz and maliciously told him, «Your royal highness knows that the faith of the Christians does not have a sound base. Their Bible states, ‹If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it will move.› (Matthew 17:20( Prince of the faithful(1(knows the falsehood of these sayings. And to verify this, we will summon the Patriarch to give us the proof that their Christ›s sayings are true.»
The Khalifa thought to himself, «If the saying of Christ is true, that would be of great benefit to us, for the Mukatam mount is too close to Cairo. If the mountain can be moved away, that would make the position of the city greater than what it is now. If the saying is not true, that will give us the justification to persecute the Christians.»
El-Mu›izz called the father, the Patriarch, and placed this saying before him, and asked for the proof of its soundness. The Pope asked for a three-day respite, which was granted. When the Pope left El-Khalifa, he gathered the monks and the bishops nearby and they all stayed in El-Mualaqua (the Suspended( Church in Old Cairo, three days fasting and supplicating God. Before dawn of the third day as Abba Abraam dozed off out of sheer weariness, our Holy Lady, the Virgin, St. Mary, the Mother of God, appeared to him and told him to rise up and go to the
street which leads to the market. There he would find a one-eyed man bearing a pot of water on his shoulder. She instructed Abba Abraam to tell him that he was the man designated by God to perform this sign.
This holy man›s name was Simon and he was a Tanner. The father, the Patriarch, took him along with some of the priests, monks and people to see El-Mu›izz, who was out with the government leaders and the nobles of the city nearby the Mukatam Mountain. The father, the Patriarch, stood with those who were with him on one side and El-Mu›izz and his entourage stood on the other side. The father, the Patriarch, and the believers prayed and knelt down three times, and every time they knelt, they said, «Kirya-layson» Lord have mercy. Whenever the Patriarch and the congregation lifted up their heads after each bow, the mountain would lift up and when they bowed down, the mountain was lowered down to the ground, and whenever they walked, the mountain moved before them.
A great fear came on the Khalifa and his companions and many fell on the ground. The Khalifa advanced on his horse toward the Patriarch and said, «O great teacher, I now know that you are a holy man, ask whatsoever you wish and I will give it to you.»
The Patriarch refused to ask for anything; but when the Khalifa insisted, he asked the Governor to allow him to build churches, especially the church of St. Mercurius (of the two swords( which was in Old Cairo. He wrote him a decree permitting the building and the renovation of churches and he gave him a large sum of money from the treasury. The Patriarch thanked him and prayed for him, but he refused to take the money. As a result, El-Mu›izz revered and respected him more for his piety and righteousness. When they started building the church of St. Mercurius, some evil men prevented them from working, whereupon El-Mu›izz came to the sight and kept the troublemakers away. He remained there, standing until they completed laying the foundation.
This father renovated many churches all over the See of St. Mark. When he completed his course, he departed in peace after he sat on the chair for 3 years and 6 days. His prayers be with us. Amen.
The Martyrdom of the Saints: Barbara and Juliana. 17th December - 8th Keiahk
On this day also Sts. Barbara and Juliana, were martyred. Barbara was the daughter of a noble man from one of the countries in the east, called Dioscorus, during the days of Maximianus the Emperor, in the beginning of the third Christian century. Because of his strong love for her, he built her a tower to live in. The saint always raised up her eyes to the sky from the top of the tower and contemplated the beauty of the sky and what was in it: the sun, the moon and the stars. She came to the conclusion that they must have an able and wise maker and that would be none other than the Almighty God who created them. Origen, the scholar, happened to be in this area and was informed of the saint. He went to her and taught her the principles of Christianity. There were two windows in the bathroom and she ordered a third one to be opened and a cross to be placed over the
water basin. When her father came to see her and saw the changes that were done, he asked her for the reason. She told him, “Don’t you know, my father, that with the Holy Trinity everything is complete, and here are three windows in the name of the Holy Trinity. This sign is the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, wherein was the salvation of the whole world. I ask you, O my dear father, to turn away from the wrong way that you are in and worship the God Who created you.”
When her father heard these words, he became angry, drew his sword and ran after her. She fled, and he ran after her. There was a rock in front of her that split into two halves and she went through. The rock then returned to its earlier state. Her father went around the rock and found her hidden in a cave. He jumped over her like a wolf, seized her and took her to Marcianus, the governor. The Governor talked to her kindly, promising her many things. Then he threatened her, but could not take away her love for the Lord Christ. Thereupon, he ordered her to be tortured with different kinds of torture.
There was a damsel called Juliana, who watched St. Barbara while she was being tortured and wept for her. Juliana saw the Lord Christ strengthening and comforting St. Barbara; she was enlightened and believed in the Lord Christ. They cut off her head and that of St. Barbara and they both received the crown of martyrdom.
St. Barbara’s father perished shortly after and so did the Governor who tortured her. The water of the basin that had the cross over it in the tower had the power to heal everyone who washed with it. They placed the bodies of these two saints in a church outside of the city of Galatia. Years later, they relocated the body of St. Barbara to the church in Cairo which is named after her to this day. Their prayers be with us. Amen.
The Departure of St. Samuel the Abbot of El-Qualamon Monastery (Abba Samuel the Confessor(. (. Also on this day the saint Abba Samuel, the head of El-Qualamon Monastery, departed. He was born in the city of Dakluba, diocese of Masil, from holy parents and he was their only child. Arselaos, his father, who was a priest, saw in a vision at night, a resplendent man telling him, “Your son must be entrusted with a large congregation, for he is chosen by the Lord to be His all the days of his life.”
Samuel was pure from his youth, like Samuel the prophet, and he was always harboring thoughts in his heart about the monastic life. One day he found a means to go to the desert of Scete, but he did not know the way. The Angel of the Lord, in the form of a monk, appeared to him and accompanied him as he was himself going to the monastery, until they came to the desert of Scete. There, the Angel delivered him to a holy man called Abba Agathon who accepted him as the Angel of the Lord instructed. Abba Samuel lived with Abba Agathon for three years in total obedience in every way. Later on, the holy old man Abba Agathon departed. Abba Samuel devoted himself to many prayers and fasting. He fasted a week at a time. He was ordained a priest over the church of St. Macarius in Scete.
An envoy came to the desert carrying Leo’s Tome (2( and when
the envoy read it to the elders, Abba Samuel became zealous, with the zeal of the Lord. He jumped up in the middle of the gathered monks and seized the letter and rent it into pieces saying, “Excommunicated is this tome and everyone who believes in it and cursed is everyone who might change the Orthodox faith of our Holy Fathers.” When the envoy saw this, he became furious and angry. He ordered him to be beaten with pins and to be hanged up by his arms, and that his face be smitten. One of these strikes enucleated one of St. Samuel’s eyes. Then he was driven away from the monastery. The Angel of the Lord appeared to St. Samuel and commanded him to depart and to dwell in El-Qualamon. He went there and built a monastery, lived in it for a while teaching those gathered around him and confirming them in the Orthodox faith. When El-Moquakas heard about Abba Samuel, he came to him and asked him to recognize the Council of Chalcedon. When he did not listen to him, he smote him and expelled him out of the monastery. He went and lived in one of the churches and after a while he returned to the monastery. When the Barbers raided the monastery, they took him with them on their way back to their country. He prayed to the Lord Christ to rescue him from them. Whenever they set him on a camel, the camel was unable to stand up with him on it, so they left him and he went back to his monastery. When the Barbers raided the wilderness again, they took St. Samuel with them to their country. They had captured before Abba Yoannis the heagomen (Archpriest( of Scete. So they were joined together and comforted each other. The captive of Abba Samuel tried to persuade him to worship the sun. When he failed, he tied the leg of Abba Samuel to the leg of one of his maidens and sent them to attend to the camels. He intended for Abba Samuel to fall into sin with her and then he would submit to him, according to Satan’s advice. Through it all, the saint was gaining more courage and became stout-hearted. He remained in these circumstances until the master’s son fell ill and was close to death; Abba Samuel prayed for him and the boy was healed of his sickness. The news was spread all over this country and whosoever was sick came to him; he prayed over him and anointed him with oil and the sick were healed. His master loved him exceedingly, he apologized and asked for Abba Samuel’s forgiveness. He told him to ask for anything he wished. Abba Samuel asked to go back to his monastery. His master allowed him to return. When Abba Samuel returned, many of his sons gathered around him and they increased in number until they became thousands. The Virgin, St. Mary, appeared to him and told him, “This place shall be my abode forever,” and from that day the Barbarians never attacked this monastery again. Abba Samuel wrote many discourses and articles. He prophesied concerning the coming of Islam to Egypt. When the time of his departure drew near, he gathered together his sons and commanded them to be strong in the fear of God, to walk according to His commandments and to fight for the sake of the Orthodox faith till their last breath. Then he departed in peace. His prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.
Meditations on the Bible Readingds
First Sunday Blessed month of Keiahk
Luke 1:1-25
And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless (Luke 1:6(. (.
How many families would the Holy Bible attest for them this testimony … “And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances … blameless” … we find many testimonies for numerous individuals … the Holy Bible is full of biographies of righteous and pure saints … but the testimony to be concurrent for all members of the family (is rare( to be righteous and blameless … this is indeed is an exemplary model of the family every man’s heart desire who is life of virtue lover … a family which encourage one another to grow in virtues … supporting one another in their spiritual efforts … all agreeing on good deeds … the elders will not stumble the young nor the young anger the elders … this is the exemplary family which the Lord wants and testifies for it … can you measure your family to the measure of Zechariah and Elizabeth’s (family(? Where does your family lie according to this measurement??
+ They were both righteous before God …
History tells us a nice story about one of the famous Copts at the time of the Mamluks; his name was Master (Moalem( Fanous … he was the minister of treasury at that time … and he was a righteous man caring for the poor and meek … adhering to the Church teachings … and his wife too was a good Christian woman who never refused the needy nor not listen to their requests (for help( … one day, she received a grieving woman whose husband, one of the scribes has been imprisoned as a result of a false accusation … who insisted that she ask her husband (Fanous( to intervene on her husband’s behalf to free him … the wife (of Master Fanous( clamed the woman down and it so happened that it was the eve of a feast, so Master Fanous’s wife sent her one of her servants with food for the feast and presents for the children … and as it was the feast’s eve; Master Fanous went to the Church as usual and came back after midnight … upon his arrival home, he found all lights dimed and no celebrations and found his wife weeping tears from her eyes … inquiring of the reasons, his wife explained; how can we celebrate the feast and our neighbour is imprisoned and his wife and kids weep his absence … Master Fanous left his house to seek all the officials who can do something about this poor man’s release till he succeeded in releasing him and returned to his house at sun rise … and only then the feativities in house started and joy and happiness returned to him, his wife and children … the reaon of this joy in this family is their agreement on doing good deeds and to live a life of holiness … we should not forget from the church history the righteous Emperor Constantine and his mother the righteous Empress Helena … when their hearts were filled with the love for the Lord Jesus … the whole family were dedicated to serving the Lord Jesus (Christ( and the advancement of Christianity
… we find Emperor Constantine orders the convening of the Council of Nicaea to protect the church from heresy and heretical doctrine; placing his regal sowrd before the assembled bishops saying “you are the authority (of the church( and I am a mere servant (of the church( to carry out what the Holy Spirit guides you to” … and his mother St Helena rushes to Jerusalem in search of the Holy Cross and establishing the places of holy worship.
The Holy Bible, also tells us about families where the (two( partners agreed on disobeying God … and even on a life of evil … example of this is the family of Ahab the king and his evil wife Jezebel … Jezebel enticed her husband Ahab’s heart and distanced him from worshiping God … and undoubtedly her evil plots met much acceptance by Ahab’s heart … they indeed deserved the Holy Bible description “But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the LORD” (1 Kings 21:25(. Also, (the Bible( tells as about Esau the careless person … who married the daughters of the Canaanites and the Holy Bible says of them “And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah” (Genesis 26:35(. Also, Ananias and Sapphira who agreed together to test the Holy Spirit … conceived between them on evil … on lying … (Acts 5:1-13( Also, the Holy Bible tells us, how careful were the early fathers on having their sons and daughter marry among God’s people and their great attention that they do not mix with evil ones … we find Abraham asks his servant to choose a wife for his son Isaac from his country and among his people … and the servant prays for Gods guidance for the good wife (Genesis 24( … again, we find Isaac sends his son Jacob to marry from his people and not to do what his brother (Esau( did and married from the evil Canaanites (Genesis 28( … Now, you my beloved … is your family lives a life of righteousness?? a life of purity and virtue?? Does the husband encourages the wife and the children to a holy living ?? is he an example for them ?? or a stumbling block ?? does the wife encourage her husband to a life of honesty and orthodoxy … or she is pushing him on deceiving, lying and dishonesty … to you husbands … what do you say to your partner if she (or he( gossips about others and asks you to join in condemning others … Do you say – in a loving manner – this is not becoming of us as Christians … and instead in a warm and loving attitude direct the conversation towards the lives of the saints and similar helpful topics! … do you encourage your partners and children to live a life of prayers and take care that you pray together and study the Holy Bible … do you make sure that they are diligent in part-taking of the sacraments of confession and communion … do you encourage them on fasting and spiritual practice … why not be an example … start by yourself … then with them … this is what is meant by “the husband is head of wife (Ephesian 5:23( … that he is an encourager and and a leader in a life of righteousness and virtue … leadership with love and
tenderness and not by dictating, haughtiness and arrogance. And you wives … do you encourage your husband on doing wrong?? If he is troubled with someone, do you throw fuel on the fire and escalate the issue … or with tender spirit and loving care you reduce the hate and anger to a state of forgiveness and acceptance! … do you condone dishonesty?? What if your husband is evading taxes?? Taking what does nott belong to him?? Would you still encourage your husband because of money and worldly treasures on doing what he does?? Even if it is wrong … or in a loving attitude and assuredly; it is not allowed for you and your children to live on dishonest takings … that your house will not receive illbegotten money or income?
Both of you husband and wife partners in Christianity …. And a life of righteousness … a life of communion where every one encourages and strengthen the other with prayers to continue (in a life of righteousness and virtue(. + walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless
Manoah and his wife were greatly joyous with the revelation by the Angel (of the Lord( of the birth of Samson ( (Judges q3( … they longed the Angel would come and guide them on the upbringing of the boy … and how the can make him a Nazirite of the Lord and be a man of God … a holy desire in their hearts to walk in the commandments of the Lord and His ordinance without a blame.
Abigail the righteous and wise woman (1 Samuel 25( … tried to awaken her husband Nabal from his mistakes and his distance from the life of virtue … but Nabal was a harsh man and evil in his doings fully immersed in his lusts and worldly affairs which was the cause of his destruction … his wise wife saved him from the wrath of David by her wisdom and understanding … but the Lord smitten him and died because of his evil doings.
The family of Eli the priest (1 Samuel 2:12-17( … is an example of the family who defied God’s commandments … Eli has advised his sons to stop their evil doings and behave in virtue and righteousness as it is befitting of a priest’s family … but his sons were evil … they infuriated the Lord … and because of them all the house hold of Eli the priest were destroyed … the 2 sons died at war and the wife of one of the sons died giving birth … and Eli fell of his chair and broke his neck and died.
Many are the problems which come to our homes because of lack of aherance to God’s commandments of love … not walking in all God’s commandments and ordinances without blame.
There is an imaginary story of 2 Angels … the 2 Angels came down to earth to observe what goes on and found 2 brothers playing … but the 2 brothers were always quarrelling … they couldn’t agree on anything … the 2 Angels wondered how can they spend all day playing yet quarrelling … then one said to the other … maybe in quarrelling a specific pleasure which we don’t know … why don’t we quarrel to experience this pleasure too … the 2nd Angel agreed … they decided
to imitate the 2 brothers … they went to sit on a seat in a garden … one pushed the other saying you took my place … the other Angel forgot they were suppose to quarrel and quickly said; I am sorry and vacated a place beside him … surely this is not a way of quarrelling. They decided to follow another example of the 2 brothers … they plucked a green orange to play with it as a ball … and here one said to the other … I will throw first then snatched the ornge from his hand … and quickly the other one said … well you throw it first then I will follow … thus they could not quarrel … and this is natural because of their angelic nature … anyone with an angelic nature cannot be devilish. What do say about a husband and wife who differ all the time and quarrel for the simplest of reasons … and house becomes a real fire for the smallest and least important issues … indeed, they are not walking in all the commandments and ordinance of the Lord … wives must submit (in Christ( to their husbands in a loving spirit … according to God’s commandment, also husbands must treat his wife with gentleness and love as the weaker vessel and co-inheritor of the Kingdom of Heavens … not a spirit or attitude of control and overpowering which is not befitting of God’s children. Indded Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord (1 Peter 3:6( … but at the same time we never hear of Abraham being angry with Sarah or troubled her with anything … on the contrary, he was always endeavouring to please her and bring joy to her heart and we see the same treatment between Isaac and Rebecca … and between Jacob and his wives Rachel and Leah. If a husband and wife live according to God’s commandment to them … and according to the law of Christian marriage … without any doubt their house will become a heavenly place and they will be a source of blessing to their children and all those around them … for a saintly children are raise in a saintly household … we hear of timothy … St Paul praises his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5( … and without a doubt a great saint like David was raised in a saintly family. His father is Jesse of Bethlehem and his grandfather was Boaz and Ruth his grandmother. And you beloved, do you want to make your home a paradise to enjoy and rejoice in it … do want your home to produce saints, the name of the Lord is glorified in them … here is the practical example before you … the family of Zechariah and Elizabeth both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless (Luke 1:6( to give birth to St John the Baptist, the greatest ever born of a woman … it more than sufficient for Zechariah and Elizabeth to be said of them the parents of St John the Baptist … he is great before the Lord preparing the way for the Lord of a prepared nation.
