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 Assembly of the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus to Judge Nestorius, Archbishop of Constantinople. 22nd September12th Tote
On this day of the year 431 A.D., the Holy Council at Ephesus which was attended by 200 bishops, was convened. It was the third of the Ecumenical Councils. That was in the twentieth year of the reign of Theodosius II, son of Arcadius, son of Theodosius the Great. They assembled because of the heresy of Nestorius who was Archbishop of Constantinople. He believed that St. Mary did not give birth to the incarnated God, but only to a human being, and that afterwards the Son of God dwelt in him, not the dwelling of unity but just the dwelling of will, and therefore, Christ because of that reason, had two natures and two wills. So these fathers convened, debated with Nestorius, and proved to him that He, who was born of the Virgin, was the incarnated God, as the angel said, “The Lord is with you; that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:28-32( And according to the saying of Isaiah, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel,” (Isaiah 7:14( and also, “His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father.” (Isaiah 9:6( St. Cyril, 24th Pope of Alexandria, explained to Nestorius that, “Natures cannot be separated after they have become one by their union. Therefore we say that the Incarnated Word of God has only One Nature.” Nestorius would not turn from his teaching nor change his opinion. St. Cyril along with the whole Council rebuked him and threatened that they would excommunicate him, but he was adamant. Therefore, they excommunicated him and banished him from his chair. They confirmed that the Virgin St. Mary had given birth to the Incarnated God the Word, (Theotokos( or “The Mother of God”. They drew up the Canons and laid down the Laws. These are the laws of the faithful till this day. If it is said that the Nestorians do not say that today, we reply by saying that it is because they have mingled with the Christians of the East, and that some of them have turned from their erroneous opinion.
We beseech our God and our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ to guide us in the path of salvation - to whom is the praise, glory, and worship now and ever. Amen.
The Commemoration of the Miracle performed by St. Basilius (Basil(, Bishop of Caesarea, Cappadocia (, Cappadocia.
23rd September - 13th Tote
On this day also is the commemoration of the great miracle performed by St. Basilius, Bishop of Caesarea, Cappadocia. A young man, who loved his master’s daughter, Satan, his enemy and the enemy of the human race, deceived him. Satan made him resort to a magician who made him write a covenant to deny the faith and to surrender completely to Satan, so that Satan might grant him his wish. Satan kindled lust in the heart of the girl, and she loved the young man exceedingly. She asked her father insistingly not to object to her marriage to that young man. Eager for his honor and fearing for her life, he married her to him. When she had spent with him a long period of time, she noticed that he did not enter the church or partake of the Holy Sacraments, or make the sign of the Holy Cross over himself. She revealed to
him her doubt about his faith and his love of God. He told her what had happened to him, and how he had written to Satan a covenant of obedience till death. She cried much and rebuked him for his deed. She took him to St. Basilius, Bishop of Caesarea. He listened to the confession of the young man and saw his grief and desire to go back to the life of worship, fellowship, and righteousness. St. Basilius comforted him and asked him to stay with him for a while in seclusion, fasting and praying. He shut him up in a nearby room for three days. On the third day St. Basilius visited him and the young man told him that the evil spirits had not ceased disturbing and fighting him in many ways. He strengthened him, calmed him down, gave him food and prayed for him. St. Basilius asked him to remain in seclusion, praying and fasting. After a few days, he came back to visit him again. The young man told St. Basilius that he did not see the devils any more, but he still heard their cries and threats. St. Basilius fed him again and prayed for him and left him to the life of seclusion to fight and pray, and the bishop went to pray on his behalf also. And this went on until 40 days were completed. When the Saint came to him and asked him about his state, he told the Saint that he saw him (the Saint( fighting against Satan on his behalf, and he vanquished him and finally was victorious. The Bishop gathered all the priests and the monks and prayed for the young man all that night. On the following morning he led him into the church while everyone was crying, “Lord have mercy on us,” and they continued to cry out until that writing, which the young man had written as a covenant to deny the faith and to surrender to Satan, fell down in the midst of all the people. The Bishop, the young man and his wife, and all the people rejoiced exceedingly. The Bishop blessed that man and administered to him the Holy Sacraments. The man and his wife departed to their house full of joy for the peace and repentance they received. They praised God and thanked St. Basilius by whose prayers they were saved. The blessings of his prayers be with us all, and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.
The Commemoration of the Consecration of the Sanctuaries of the church of Resurrection in Jerusalem.
27th September - 16th Tote
Today we celebrate the consecration of the sanctuaries of the church of Resurrection in Jerusalem in the year 326 A.D. In the twentieth year of the reign of Emperor Constantine and after the meeting of the Holy Council at Nicea, the saint Queen Helena told her son Constantine that she had vowed to go to Jerusalem to receive the blessings of the holy places and to search for the wood of the lifegiving Cross. He rejoiced at this, gave her much money, and sent her in the company of a large number of soldiers. When she arrived there and received the blessings of the holy places, she searched for the wood of the Cross and found it after much toil. She praised it with great veneration and paid to it much reverence and honor. She commanded the building of the sanctuaries of the Resurrection, the Golgotha, Bethlehem and the manger, the upper room of Zion, Gethsemane and other sanctuaries, and that they be inlaid with pearl and covered with gold and silver There was in Jerusalem a saintly bishop who advised her not to do that, saying, “After a while foreign people will come and seize this
place and destroy it and take the precious stones and the silver and the gold. But it is preferable to construct the buildings well and give the remainder of the money to the poor and the needy.” She accepted his advice, gave him the money and set him in charge of the work. When she returned to her son and told him what she had done, he rejoiced, and sent large sums of money and commanded to pay the workers their wages in full so they would not complain. When the building of the holy places was finished in the thirtieth year of the reign of Emperor Constantine, he sent vessels and precious vestments for the altars. He sent word to the Archbishop of Constantinople and to St. Athanasius, Pope of Alexandria, to take their bishops and to go to Jerusalem where they would meet the Archbishop of Antioch and the Bishop of Jerusalem, to consecrate these sanctuaries. They tarried there until the sixteenth of the month of Tute, when they consecrated all the altars that had been built. On the seventeenth day they marched with the Honorable Cross around all the holy places where they worshipped God, offered the offerings, and venerated the Cross and honored it. Then they returned to their chairs. Their prayers be with us to the last breath. Amen.
The Feast of the Consecration of the Church of the Honorable Cross.
27th September - 17th Tote
On this day the church celebrates the appearance of the Honorable Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was revealed by the lover of God, Queen Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, from under the pile of Golgotha, after she ordered its removal. As to the reason for how this great pile of dirt came into being, it was thus: the Jewish leaders when they saw all the signs and wonders which were made manifest from the sepulchre of the Savior, such as raising the dead and healing the sick, became angry, and they sent forth throughout Judea and Jerusalem ordering all the people to cast the sweepings of their houses and the dirts over the sepulchre of Jesus of Nazareth. They continued to do so for more than 200 years, until it became a very great heap.
When St. Helena came to Jerusalem, and asked the Jews about the whereabouts of the Cross, they did not inform her. Finally, some of them told her about an old Jew called Judas who knew the place. She called him, and he denied it at first, but when she urged him, he told her about that pile. She ordered its removal and the Holy Cross was found. She built a church for it, consecrated it and celebrated for the Honorable Cross on the seventeenth day of the month of Tute. Christians make pilgrimages to that place every year as they do on the feast of the Resurrection.
A certain Samaritan called Isaac, as he was travelling with his family among the people going to Jerusalem, reproved the people for taking such trouble in going to Jerusalem to worship a piece of wood. Among the people was a priest whose name was Okhidus. While travelling along the road, they became thirsty. They found no water and they came to a well where the water was foul and bitter. The people became dismayed. Isaac the Samaritan started mocking them, saying, “If I witness a power by the name of the Cross, I will become a believer of Christ.” The priest Okhidus was moved with divine zeal and prayed over that foul water and made the sign of the Cross on it, and it became sweet. All the people and their animals drank, but when Isaac drank, the water was bitter and wormy. He regretted and cried and came to the saint, Father Okhidus, bowed down at his feet and
believed in the Lord Christ. Then he drank from the water, and he found it sweet. The water of that well possessed the power of becoming sweet for the believers and bitter for the others. A cross of light appeared in the well and a church was built there. When Isaac the Samaritan arrived in Jerusalem, he went to its bishop who baptized him and his family. Because the feast of the appearance of the Honorable Cross, which is on the tenth of Baramhat, always comes during fasting, it was substituted by the fathers for the Seventeenth of Tute which is the day of consecration of its church. Glory and worship be to Jesus Christ our Lord forever and ever. Amen.
The Departure of St. Theognosta.
27th September - 17th Tote
On this day also, the blessed Theognosta, departed. She was contemporary of the righteous Emperors Honorius and Arcadius.
One day an envoy came with gifts from the King of India to the two emperors. On their way back, they found this Virgin Theognosta holding in her hand a book that she was reading. They seized her and took her back with them to their country. She became the head of the King’s attendants and his wives. One day, the son of the King fell sick with a grievous sickness. She held him in her arms and made over him the sign of the Cross, and he recovered immediately. This report spread throughout that land, and since that day she was set free. Once the King went to war, there came upon him thick clouds and fog. Knowing of the sign of the Cross that St. Theognosta used to make, the King made the sign of the Cross over the fog and it cleared up. With the sign of the Cross he also vanquished his enemies.
When the King returned from war, he bowed down at the feet of the Saint, and asked her for the holy baptism for him and for the people of his city. She told them that it was not for her to baptize. They sent to Emperor Honorius to inform him of their acceptance of the faith and asked him to send a priest to baptize them. He sent to them a priest who was a saintly anchorite, and he baptized them all and he gave them the Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Christ. The virgin rejoiced for his coming and they blessed each other. She built a convent for herself and for the many virgins who desired the monastic life. When the priest returned to the Emperor and related to him how the people of the city entered into the faith of our Lord Christ, he rejoiced exceedingly. The Emperor agreed with the Archbishop to ordain the priest a bishop and to send him back to them, and they rejoiced greatly. There they built a big church and they needed pillars. There was a large temple for idols which had pillars so they took them to build this church. The rest of the people of this city joined the faith of the Lord Christ.
The virgin St. Theognosta rejoiced for all that had happened. Later on she departed in that convent and was surrounded by the virgins. Her prayers be with us, and Glory be to our God, orever. Amen.
Meditations on the Liturgy bible readings
Second Sunday of the blessed month of Tote of the Coptic calendar
Luke 10: 21-28
You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes (Luke 10:21(. The lord appointed another seventy apostles … He sent them out two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go (Luke 10:1( … and the seventy went out proclaiming the good news of salvation … He sent them without the earthly supplies and armed with the Word of God … without money bag, knapsack, nor sandals … and they went to accomplish the works assigned to them by the Lord … they returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name … and the Lord rejoiced with them and said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven … and He gave them authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy … and their names were written in heaven ... the Lord rejoiced in the Spirit … for this wisdom and blessing which these simple people received were hidden from all the wise and prudent of the world … for the world wise and philosopher’s labour searching and examining the secrets of this world … but alas, without any benefits … mankind laboured hard in seeking happiness and comfort but did not find it … and man has strived intensively to control the natural forces of life on earth and still incapable of finding enough … (while true( happiness and peace are in the hearts of babes … in the strong faith which children possesses … all of these, the wise and philosophers of the word are incapable of acquiring.
+ For so it seemed good in Your sight …
How often does mankind seek happiness and peace … one can find that psychiatric clinics are no longer able to accommodate those who are seeking a cure for depression, despair and frustration … all are modern cities diseases which the more people are attracted to such cities the more they develop these psychological illnesses … to the extent that psychiatrists are almost unable to find a suitable cure for such diseases which does not have any physical symptoms in the body but it’s psychological effects can be destructive … and thus the most common cure nowadays is to medicate with analgesics and anti-depression medications with the hope that the patient will forget his or her troubles and delusions and thus be comforted … but how can one ask those who live in a battlefield to forget that there is a war and killing?
The true peace is comfort of the soul within (us( and (our( total dependence on the Lord Jesus and submitting to Him.
For David the young youth who shepherded a few sheep in the wilderness … with his simple flute, indeed was (one of( the happiest people on earth, singing his psalms with joy and jubilations … feeling that he was in a continuous true relationship with God … for he was much more happier than king Saul who sat on the thrown of Israel whilst his heart was full of his own ambitions and personal thoughts.
And Moses the prophet found in the calmness and serenity of the wilderness, true happiness and peace which he did not find in Pharaoh’s palace and the richness of the land of Egypt.
For the two saints Maximus and Domadious … they were the sons of an Emperor … they searched for peace and happiness in their father’s palace among all the duties a prince and they could not find peace … so, they went to the wilderness of St Macarius (the great( … they gave the attires of the kings’ … and appeared in the wilderness as lowly strangers and in their remoteness they found happiness and peace which many great kings of the world cannot achieve … and (in contrast( there are those who searched for happiness with their own approaches … and failed … one of those is Emperor Nero of the Roman Empire … who, believed that he will find happiness in destruction, killing and burning … he burned the Capital of his country (Rome( … also, he killed the closest person to him … he persecuted the Christians severely … but he did not find happiness indeed … and at the age of thirty two years he disappeared suddenly and it was said that he killed himself by committing suicide in despair and neither his body of a tomb for him were found.
Another of those is Diocletian who was famous with his extreme cruelty and brutality specially in persecuting the Christians … believing such was the way to preserve the peace and happiness of his emporium … and Diocletian failed … and he was attacked with diseases and lived to see with his own eyes all his statues and posters being destroyed and being subjected a humiliation no other Emperor has seen before him … and he was afflicted with many illnesses and he became unable to ingest food, rest or sleep and he became blind and mad and finally in an act of desperation he killed himself with his own hands at the same year the (Emperor( Constantine issued a decree legalising the Christian religion … The history is full of those who failed in their quest for happiness … and also full of those who in absolute simplicity and complete faith in a life of holiness with God, have fulfilled this lost happiness. Many think that their happiness is in becoming exalted above others … or, in being harsh and stern … or, in despising others … or, in achieving their worldly goals
and being preoccupied with fulfilling such goals fully … and all those, definitely will not achieve happiness … but (more likely( misery … just a simple single smile on a child’s face is what those people desire and they cannot find it … + Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see
…
God’s children, their lives are full of glory … for what they see and live many others desire to see, even if a little part of it but they do not … for, the amazing great salvation which we received many prophets and the saints of old, desired to see … and here we are see it and live by it … but, there are many who do not recognise the extent of this glory we live in …
The Pharaohs in order to build a single pyramid, they subjugated thousands of labourers for thirty years … but, God’s children with fasting and prayers and pleadings before God, have shifted a whole mountain from its original place after three days of fasting and prayers … the miracle of shifting the Moqatam mountain … indeed, who ever saw such amazement
…
Scientists have spent their lives and health with great efforts … to invent an automobile or an aeroplane … but, God’s children were not in need of such inventions … for we find St Philip travels hundreds of miles without and aeroplane or a car … in a few moments (Acts 8( … Doctors and physicians till today have not seen a dead person resurrect death … they spend a great effort in treating a disease or preforming a lumpectomy …
But God’s children saw Lazarus raised from the dead (John 11:38-44( and they saw the young man Eutychus who was listening to St Paul fell to his death and raise alive again (Acts 20: 9-12(. But, what do we say of those who have eyes … these blessed eyes … which it suppose to see what the generations (of old( yearned to see and they did not and (these eyes( do not see … they were born in Baptismal font and took these heavenly eyes and ears and all the sanctified senses to see what the world cannot see … and to hear what the world does not hear … and to live in (heavenly( glories the world cannot feel … but, alas … they prefer what the world sees and what the world hears and love what the world loves … favouring the darkness over the Light … indeed, isn’t this a sad concern … beloved, always remember that you possess the true happiness (in Christ(. You have the true source of peace … why, then we forget and search a new and afar … in the streets
and roadways … among the noise of cities and metropolitans … or, before the televisions and the internet and the soke of cigarettes and the laughter’s of drunkards … all of those have failed to achieve happiness … why then do you want to reside among the failures? … + what shall I do … to inherit eternal life?? What shall I do then … the world has overcome me and is dominating me with these vanities and I have become a slave to many sins … the cure is clear and simple … you are searching for a person to love and loves you … or a person you can depend upon and he or she will depend on you … a person you trust and offer them all your life … then, do not mistake your search … there is nothing like God … give all your love and trust (in God( and make His love fill your heart, thought and soul … and (indeed( you shall find the comfort you miss …
You seek a solution for your problems … an answer to your troubles … don’t you know all these troubles and problems are just a delusion and deception of the world … come out of all these … for it is not true … trample upon it and transcend to the Loving Lord and with one word (from Him( all your troubles will disappear and all the darkness will be lite up …
The lord does not accept false love … nor half solutions … He wants all your love without any lessening … He wants you to love Him from all your heart … and all your soul … with all your strength … and all your mind and also, to love your neighbour as yourself … examine yourself … for you have failed many times because your love was not a total love … come (then( and offer a true and absolute repentance and adhere to the Lord in total love and be assured your eyes will be opened once more … and you shall see what many have desired to see and did not … and hear what many have longed to hear and did not … and you shall live in this wisdom and happiness which is hidden from the wise and prudent (of the world( and have been revealed to those young babes.
This is the rightful … do this and you shall live. (Amen Lord, take my stony heart and give a heart of flesh like those young babes that I see everything with simple and loving eyes, give to come to you in repentance in the sacrament of confessions that I might be able to touch the hemp of your garment to be cured from may many sins. Amen(.
