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
Arabic ; 7-8:15pm English (Zoom)
Hymns Class Arabic 8-9pm (Zoom)
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
Family Meeting 7-9pm (fortnightly)
Discipleship Clas Class 7-8:30pm
Year 10-12 Sunday School 6-9pm
Saturday: Mass: 8:30 – 11am
Sunday School 4 – 5.30pm
Vespers & youth meeting 7-8:30pm
English
Vespers &Bible Study Arabic 5:307pm
Scouts 1:30 - 3pm
School of Deaconsgip 3 - 4pm
Sunday:
1st Mass6 - .7:45am Arabic & Eng-
lish
2nd Mass.7:45 – .9:30am English
3rd Mass 9:30 - 11:15am Arabic
Hymns Class - English 11:4512:30pm
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., Kens-
ington Vic 3031 Tel: 93766651
Fr Kerillos Tawadros
0411 518 399
Fr John Macary 0433 445 636
The Martyrdom of St. George )Girgis) known as El-Mezahem.
26th June - 19 Baouna
This day also, in the year 675 A.M. (June, 959 A.D.), marks the martyrdom of St. George, the new martyr, known as El-Mezahem. His father was a Moslem bedouin. He married a Christian woman from the city of Demerah El-kibliah. He had from her three sons, one of them was this Saint, and they called him El-Mezahem. He used to go with his mother to the church at a young age. He also used to see the children of the Christians dress in white on the days that they partook of the Holy Mysteries. He longed that his mother would dress him like them, and allow him to eat from whatever they ate at the altar. His mother told him that could not be, unless he was baptized. She gave him a portion of the blessed Eulogia bread, that they distributed to the people, and it tasted in his mouth like that of honey. He meditated in his heart and said, «If the taste of this bread that was not consecrated by prayers tastes like this, what will be the taste of the Offering?» His longing for the faith in Christ increased from that time.
When he grew up, he married a Christian woman, and he told her that he wished to become a Christian. She told him that he had to be baptized. He went to Birma, was baptized there and was called George (Girgis). When this matter became known, he went to Domiat. The Moslems there recognized him, seized him and tortured him. Then he escaped and fled to the city of Saft Abu-Trab, where he stayed for three years. When his matter became known again he went to the city of Katurah, and remained there serving the church of St. George, then went back to Demerah. When the Moslems of the city of Demerah knew his history, they seized him, and delivered him to the governor who put him in prison. The Moslems assembled and broke the door of the prison. They beat the Saint severely, split open his head, and left him between life and death. When some of the believers came on the morrow to bury him, for they thought that he was dead, they found him alive. The Moslems convened a council, and threatened him, but he did not change his conviction. They hung him up on the mast of a ship, but the governor ordered that he be taken down and cast him up in prison. His wife strengthened him, and comforted him. She taught him to believe that the punishment which had come upon him was because of his sins; lest Satan lead him astray and he might boast that he became like the martyrs. The angel of the Lord appeared to him, comforted him, strengthened him, and informed him that he would receive the crown of martyrdom on the next day. On the next morning, the Moslems gathered with the governor and demanded from him that the head of El-Mozahem be cut off. He handed him over to them. They took him, and cut off his head near the church of the angel Michael in the city of Demerah. They cast
his body in hot fire for a day and a night. But his body did not burn, so they put him in a barrel and threw him into the river. By the Will of God the barrel landed on the shore of an island, which was inhabited by a believing woman. She took his body, shrouded him, hid him in her house until they built a church for him, in which they laid his body. May his intercession be with us. Amen.
The Departure of Elisha, the Prophet.
27th June - 20th Baouna
On this day, of the year 3195 of the world, the holy prophet Elisha, departed. This prophet was born in one of the villages of Israel called Alamut. His father›s name was Shaphat. Elisha was a servant to the holy prophet Elijah. When the Lord would take up Elijah the prophet into heaven, he went with him to the river Jordan. Elijah said to Elisha, «Ask what I shall do for you, before I be taken away from you.» Elisha asked, «I pray you, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me,» and it was as he asked. (2 Kings 2:1-18)
Elisha divided the river and passed through it. Then he went to Jericho and went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, «Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!» So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. (2 Kings 2:23-24)
A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, «Your servant my husband is dead, and the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.» So Elisha said to her, «What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?» And she said, «Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.» Then he said, «Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors; empty vessels; do not gather just a few.» With his prayers the Lord blessed the oil and all the vessels became full. The woman sold the oil and paid off her debt. (2 Kings 4:1-7) He also raised the son of the Shunammite woman from the dead. When Naaman the Syrian came to him, he healed him from his leprosy. Naaman offered him much money and costly clothes, but he refused them. Nevertheless, when his servant Gehazi took them for himself, the prophet knew that by the spirit. Elisha became angry and told him, «Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever.»
Elisha had performed many signs and miracles. He prophesied for about fifty years. When Elisha died, they buried him. And the raiding bands from Moab invaded the land in the spring of the year. So it was, as they were burying a man, a plundering band was seen, and they cast the man in the tomb of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, stood on his feet, and went back to his people.
(2 Kings 13:20-21)
May his prayers be with us and Glory be to God forever. Amen.
The Departure of St. Abba Noub the Confessor.
On this day, the holy and pure father Abba Noub the confessor, departed. This Saint was a devoted monk in one of the monasteries of Upper Egypt. That was during the time of Diocletian, who tortured the martyrs severely and shed their blood. One day, someone mentioned the name of the saint Abba Noub before Arianus, governor of Ansena. Arianus brought him and asked him to worship the idols. The Saint replied, “How can I abandon my Lord Jesus Christ and worship the idols that are made of stones?” Arianus tortured Abba Noub much then exiled him to the five western cities )Pentapolis(. Abba Noub stayed in prison there for seven years, until God had perished Diocletian. When the righteous Emperor Constantine reigned, he ordered the release of all those who were in prison for the Name of Christ. Constantine also asked that they be brought to him, so that he might be blessed by them, especially the honored ones as Zacharia El-Ahnasy, Maximus El-Fayyumy, Agabius from the city of Dakhnin, and Abba Noub from the city of Balaos. The envoy of the Emperor went to all the countries releasing the prisoners, who left singing and praising God.
The holy father Abba Noub returned from the five cities )Pentapolis) and lived in mount Beshla (Sebla) near his hometown. The envoy of the Emperor met Abba Noub, and took him with him to Ansena. There he met the Christians and the bishops who ordained him a priest. While he was consecrating the Offering and as he said, “Hollies for the Holy,” he saw the Lord Christ, to Him is the Glory, in His heavenly splendor, in the altar forgiving the sins of the people who were repentant.
The envoy traveled back to the Emperor along with the holy fathers who were seventy two in number. Every two of them rode a chariot. They passed by a city, where there were convents for the virgins. Seven hundred virgins went out to meet them with songs and hymns and they sang to them until they were out of their sight. When the holy fathers arrived and came before the Emperor, he asked them to change their clothes with new ones, but they refused. He was blessed by them, kissed their wounds and honored them. He offered them money, but they refused to take any except what the churches needed for vestments and vessels. The Emperor then embraced them and bid them farewell, and they returned to their countries. St. Abba Noub went back to his monastery and when he finished his strife he departed in peace.
May his prayers be with us and Glory be to God forever. Amen.
Martyrdom of the Great Saint Anba Moses the Black
1st July - 24th Baouna
On this day, St. Moses the Black, whose life story is remarkable, was martyred. This saint took the Kingdom of Heaven by force, exactly as our Lord Jesus Christ said: The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. (Matthew 11:12). In his early life, St. Moses was a slave to people who worshiped the sun. He was a mighty man who loved to eat and drink excessively. He killed, robbed and committed all evil. No one could stand up before him, or challenge him. On many occasions, he lifted up his eyes to look to the sun and to talk to it saying, O Sun!! if you are God, let me know it. Then he said,
And you O God whom I do not know, let me know you. One day, he heard someone saying to him, The monks of Wadi El-Natroun know the real God. Go to them and they will tell you. Instantly, he rose up, girded his sword and went to the wilderness of Shiheat. He met St. Esidorous (Isidore) the priest, who was frightened when he saw him, because of his appearance. St. Moses comforted him by saying that he came to the monks so that they might let him know the real God. St. Esidorous took him to St. Macarius the Great, who preached to him, taught him the faith and baptized him. He accepted St. Moses as a monk and taught him to live in the wilderness. St. Moses dashed in many worships, and fought a spiritual fight which was greater than that fought by many saints. However, the devil fought him intensively with his old habits of excessive eating, drinking, and fornication. He informed St. Esidorous about everything which came upon him in his fight with the Enemy. He comforted him and taught him how to overcome the snares of the devil. It was told about him, that when the elders of the Monastery slept, he used to go round to their cells and take their water pots and fill them with water which he brought from a well at a far distance from the monastery. After many years in spiritual struggle, the devil envied him, and struck him with a sore on his foot which made him sick and bed-ridden. When he knew that this was from the devil, he increased in his asceticism and worship, until his body became as a burnt wood. God looked to his patience, healed his illness, and removed all his pains. The blessing of the Lord came upon him. After a while, he became the Father and the spiritual guide of 500 brothers, who elected him to be ordained a priest. When he came before the Patriarch to be ordained, the patriarch wanted to test him by asking the elders, Who brought this black here? Cast him out. He obeyed, and left saying to himself, It is good what they have done to you, O black colored one. The Patriarch, however, called him back and ordained him a priest, and said to him, Moses, all of you now has become white.
One day, he went with some elders to St. Macarius the Great, who said to them, I see among you one to whom belong the crown of martyrdom. St. Moses answered him, Probably it is me, for it is written: ‘For all they that take with the sword, shall perish with the sword.’ (Matt. 26:25) After they returned to the monastery, it did not take long until the Barbarians attacked the monastery. He told the brethren, Whoever wants to escape, let him escape. They asked him, And you O father, why do you not also escape? He replied that he had waited for this day for long time. The Barbarians entered the monastery and killed him with seven other brothers. One of the brethren was hiding, and saw the angel of the Lord, with a crown in his hand standing by and waiting for him. He went out from his hiding place to the Barbarians and he was also martyred. Beloved Ones, contemplate in the power of repentance, and what it did. It transformed an infidel slave who was a murderer, adulterer and robber into a great Father, teacher, comforter, and priest who wrote rules for the monks, and saint whose name is mentioned on the altar in our prayers.
His Body is located now in the Monastery of El-Baramouse. May his prayers be with us, and glory be to God forever. Amen.
Meditations on the Holy Bible readings
Third Sunday of the Blessed month of Baounah Matthew 12 :22-37
“out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” Matthew 12:34. Every kingdom divided against itself, cannot survive … Satan will not cast out demons and similarly Satan cannot do the deeds of saints … and Satan’s mouth will not speak of God’s greatness … from the evil comes evil … and from the righteous comes holiness, wisdom and goodness … and the evil ones speak idle words … and for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment (Matthew 12:36) … For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned (Matthew 12:37) … and plenty are the words which brings condemnation … do you know, beloved that one bad word is enough for your destruction … but even more austere is the condemnation of many as well … whilst a word of love … a single word of grace can be the salvation of a whole town … one sentence spoken by the thief on the right (of Christ) on the Cross … was the cause of his salvation and admittance to paradise … words of apology and love spoken by the wise woman Abigail to David … were the reason for her and her house hold to escape punishment (1 Samuel 25) … Jacob did not speak idle words , but he offered a gift representing what is in his heart of love … which returned his brother’s love and saved him and his house hold from destruction (Genesis 32) …
How great and precious are the words of pleading which Abraham, father of fathers, spoke before God. For the sake of ten righteous men the Lord was willing to forgive Sodom with all its evil and sins (Genesis 18: 16-33) … Indeed, how great is a good word … which comes forth from a heart full of goodness … it is a word of love … a word of praise … a word of excuse … a word of benefit … a word of faith … a word of reassurance … it is a word which protects and delivers from death … on the other hand, how harsh is the bad word which destroys, demolishes and sends many a stray … An evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things +++
The bad words are numerous natures … a word of heresy … a word of hatred … a word of jealousy … a word of gossip … a word of destruction and devouring …
For one word, one does not protect against, it
might destroy … perhaps, one of the most famous words that (was the cause of destruction) is the word Shibboleth which means a spikelet of wheat or a water way depending on the pronunciation or the dialect used … this was the pass word Jephthah used with the Ephraimites (read the book of Judges chapter 12) and all the escapees from the Ephraimites, as they crossed the river would be asked to pronounce this word … the Ephraimites used to pronounce this word as Sibboleth (s instead of sh) and thus anyone pronounced it as Sibboleth was an Ephraimite and was slaughtered and by this word 42 thousand humans were killed from the Ephraimites …. A word of destruction … be alert, beloved that you speak words of destruction … and how numerous are the words of destruction which can reject the true orthodox faith … such as the word heresy …. And the Church history is full of examples …
Arius the Libyan presbyter (from Alexandria) relaced the Homoosian in the creed of faith (Consubstantial or One with the Father in essence) with a similar word in Greek which is Homoiosian, and the difference is one letter (the addition of the letter i) which the second word means (in the likeness of the Father) but the difference in meaning is enormous … for the Greek word Arius insisted on using in the nature of Christ, make the lord a mere human and not Consubstantial (One) with the Father in essence and attributes … thus Arius was able to promulgate his heresy using the similarity in the two words in the Greek language rapidly and if it wasn’t for the alertness of the church fathers led by saint Athanasius the apostolic, this heresy almost destroyed the orthodox faith and caused many troubles at the time
From the heretical words, also one word added to the creed of faith without any biblical reference, but it is against many of the Church faith and teachings and this word is proceeding from the Father and Son (the creed of faith states proceeding from the Father (only)) and the addition of the Son was added by some and rejected by the Church (fathers) because it contradicts our biblical teachings. Jehovah’s witness try to add a heretical words to the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 1:1 … “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (and they (Jehovah’s witness) will replace “God” with “a god” and in this they commit a heresy close to the Arian heresy which denies the divinity of the Lord Jesus.
The subject of heretical word is huge but we cannot list all here … so, let us be aware and vigilant that heretical words are for destruction and contradictory to the (orthodox) faith … and from the evil words … the evil advice … Balaam son of Beor … despite he spoke God’s prophecies by his mouth … but his heart was full of evil … he spoke what God prophesised by his mouth … and gave with the prophecy, evil advice … and because of his evil advice, it caused the death and destruction of 24 thousands of the Israelites (Numbers 23 to 27) … and you … do you accept evil advice … evil advice asks you to use force and harshness instead of love and understanding … bad advice asks you to revert to physical pleasures to ease the troubles surrounding you instead of seeking God’s word … instead of praying and submitting your problems to God’s loving hands … evil advice advices you of cheating, lying and deceitful ways to achieve monetary gains making you believe that honesty and truthfulness will not lead to gains … and thus you destroy yourself for a handful of vain money … be careful of the idle words in evil advice …. Every idle word … they will give account of it
Do not imagine that idle words has any benefits … but it brings loss and destruction … and from the idle word are the words carelessness and some might think it is a method of fun and leisure and spending good times … thus one finds oneself in dirty bars and sinful seatings … with vulgar stories and lewd songs … this is the filthy language St Paul meant )in his letter to Colossians 3:8) … also, when he says “neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting” )Ephesians 5:4( Beloved, be careful of foolish talking and coarse jesting … it quenches the warmth of the spirit and reduces the inner humility and disturbance of pure thoughts … be aware of songs, films and plays which popular and full of filthy )and coarse jesting( words which are not fitting … Also, the words of gossip … and words of slander … devouring others
The psalmist says “Whoever secretly slanders his neighbour, Him I will destroy” (Psalm 101:5) and St James says “ Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law” (James 4:11)
Another saint said; it is better to dwell with lions and lionesses to dwell with a gossiper, hold your tongue from gossiping about others … for he who makes a sword of his tongue to slay others, will be slain by the same sword … beloved, remember God is protecting you and if you don’t protect others, God might not protect you too.
Many are the idle words … there are words flattery and hypocrisy … there are words of jealousy and malice and anger … there are words of cursing and taking an oath, also there are words of criticism and judgement, scrutinise yourself, beloved … are one of those who poses idle words … to control ones self and tongue … and remember there are idle words spoken by the eyes instead of the tongue … and other words pronounced in your actions and behaviours … always remember you shall give an account of every idle word you utter or think of … train your self on words of benefit … words that build and not destroy … train yourself words of benefit not destruction … and if you cannot say a word which builds or of benefit … at least be silent and pray fervently and tears that God grants you wisdom to learn how to say words of benefit …
The good word of benefit require a heart full of goodness … for your heart to be full of goodness, one must get rid of all evil first …. Get rid of evil (thoughts and words) by repentance … wash your heart with tears of repentance … let the word of God come into your heart to adore and enlighten your heart so that the Holy Spirit works in your inner self and adores you with the spiritual gifts … then your tongue will speak from the treasures heart which full and adored by the gifts of the Holy Spirit … Beloved, … left your heart to God and aske fervently that you be saved of the idle words … for if the idle words grow in your heart, it will lead to a much worse sin, that is the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit … but if you pluck it (the idle words) from its roots then all your life and words will become a source of blessing to you and all those around you. (Amen, come Lord Holy Spirit and dwell in my heart).
Words of Spiritual Benefits
HH Pope Shenouda III
One of the saints once said, “If ten thousand angels assembled together, they would have one opinion, but when few humans gather together, they disagree! Division could be an evidence of the existence of the self...
The self that works on its own, far from the Spirit of God ... which aims at enforcing its own opinion, no matter what the outcome would, which does not care about the dangerous results that are caused by division! What are these consequences?... A writer once said, “Two eagles had a fight over a prey, it was taken by the fox”.
For this, the Lord Jesus said, “Every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” (Matt. 12:25). Splitters always forget this saying. Very often, a group would take an act of division and leave behind a ruined atmosphere, then goes its own way as if it has done nothing! But God seeks the blood of what its actions destroyed...
Division among brothers is a sign of lack of love...
The division of the young against the old means rebellion, lack of obedience and lack of respect to superiors... These are all sins. Division also proves pride in oneself or self-importance. Most likely, the confession Father is left out of all this; he is not consulted...
In St. Paul’s Epistle to the Corinthians, he rebuked them for their division and described them as being carnal (1 Cor. 3), as the splitters are far from the unity of the Spirit. Members of the one body collaborate together for the good of that body.
If they all felt this unity, they would work jointly for the good that everyone is aiming at. Unity needs respecting others’ opinion, or at least training oneself to do so, without revolt, anger, defamation of others or destruction... A piece of advice to anyone who leads a way of division:
+Try to gain others instead of splitting from them.
+ Be objective and stay away from personal affairs.
+ Train yourself to cooperate with the spirit of a group.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit gives many meanings to which the Old Apostles spoke (1Cor 12: 8-10): Words of Wisdom - Words of knowledge - Faith - Gifts of Healing - Works of miracles - Prophecy – Discerning of spirits – different kinds of tongues – Interpretation of tongues
The second Gift of the Holy Spirit which St Paul talked about (1Cor 12: 8-10) is; Spirit of Knowledge:
The Holy spirit opens the minds and hearts of knowledgeable to understand and discover the hidden mysteries to benefit human. The person who seek knowledge to benefit human, the Holy Spirit will grant him special knowledge and understanding. The Physician who treat a patient uses the knowledge he learned to diagnose the disease and prescribe the medicine. Many time science stand unable to know many things. Along with the faith of the patient the Holy Spirit can give more knowledge for the doctor to discover new cures for diseases. Amazing story of a famous scientist who discovered Penicillin. In his youth, he rescued a young man from drowning. This young man belonged to a very rich family in England. The parents of this young man wanted to reward this courageous person who rescued their son. He refused to accept any money. But he asked if they can help him to be accepted at the faculty of medicine to pursue his career as a doctor. They sponsored him and supported him to achieve his goal. He graduated and pursued his career to discover new cures for fatal discuses. One day he discovered Penicillin which cured many millions from fatal infections which killed many at that time. One day This young doctor was called to meet Mr Churchill the prime minister of Britain who thanked him for rescuing his life twice, once when he was young and about to drown and secondly when he was treated and cured by this new medicine discovered by this young man Dr Alexander Fleming in 1923. A group of scientist were studying the position of Sun and other stars using the new technology available. The started to prepare timed list for all the changes happened over time. One scientist at Yale University discovered that there is a gap in the sun history of 23 hours and twenty minutes which they cannot scientifically account for. Another scientist started to follow events at the Bible and came across the story of sun and moon stopping for a day at the time of Joshua (Joshua 10:13). He showed this story for other scientists but they claimed that was an error from the Bible as the story talks about a whole day. Reading the passage again they found that the Bible says: about the space of a
day. Then where are the missing forty minutes. Reading further they came across of the story of King Hezekiah (Isaiah 38 & 2 Kings 20). King Hezekiah was very sick and was told that he was going to die. He prayed and the Lord sent Isaiah the Prophet to tell him that the Lord granted him extra 15 years to live. To confirm that the shadow of sundial was turned back ten degrees, which correspond exactly to 40 minutes in the face of a clock. When he found his day of missing time accounted for in the Bible, the astronomer bowed his head in worship of its Author, saying, “Lord, I believe!”. We are not looking for science to prove the Bible as we truly believe that the Bible is true. The Holy Spirit gives us this knowledge to learn and understand every day about facts we never knew before. It is the nature of the scientists not to rush to conclusions. That was it is surprising that some scientists claim that the human evolutes from monkeys. They usually refer to Darwin theory of Evolution. Darwin himself never dared to claim that for sure. He just tried to find possibilities of developing species on earth. He left huge gaps which could not be filled. He never claimed that evolution of species is a fact. It actually proved that there is one maker for all these species and you can see His fingerprints shown in all His creation. The more research is conducted the closer scientist will get the fact of Creation. The Holy Spirit grants more understanding to those who work with humility and humbleness not those who boost themselves with quick conclusion to their research and discoveries. The Holy Spirit leads human to stand in owe and humbleness facing the unlimited wisdom of God’s creation. How much we need wisdom when we deal with knowledge so that we do not use if for our destruction. St Peter warns us about misinterpreting words of St. Paul the Apostle as some use it without proper knowledge leading to their destruction (2Peter 3:15). St Peter describes them as the untaught and unstable people. We can get real knowledge from the abundance of the work of the Holy Spirit inside us not from mentally arguments and worldly philosophies. The deep treasures of the Bible can be only found by the humble person through prayers and bent knees. Most of the heresies were taught by those proud lofty persons boosted by selfbride and desire to be praised and rewarded by the people of this world. Let us gain word of knowledge to build us internally and become sources of spiritual nourishments for ourselves and those whom we meet or serve aiming to the Glory of God.
Gifts of the Holy Spirit (3)
1 Corinthians 12: 8 - 10
The third gift is Faith
The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. Human can exhaust his mind to understand causing a lot of trouble to himself and others. The Holy Bibles tells us that no one can say that Christ is God except through the Holy Spirit (1Cor 12:3). You can be amazed how the heretics rush in a lot on enthusiasm to spread their heresies. Arius used to compose his heresy in lyrics and songs which becomes so popular and people sing them in the streets and markets without realizing that they are spreading a heresy. He got devious ways to approach kings and rulers and convince them about his heresy. The church used to face all of that in a very strong stand. St Athanasius stood very strongly to defend the faith. In the council of Nicaea he faced Arius exposing his errors and presenting the correct strong statement of Faith in the Creed which we still uses today. He faced the kings and emperors of the world bravely getting deposed from his See five times. When they told him that the world is against you, he said and I am against the world. The Holy Spirit gave him the strength, wisdom and courage to face the world. The devil is very clever in deviating people away from the true faith. In the Old Testament, we hear about Micaiah son of Imlah (1Kings 22). King Ahab did not like him for used to say the truth. One day the king went to war with King Jehoshaphat king of Judah and they called the prophets to seek guidance if they should go to war or not. All the prophets can with one opinion to go to the war and they will succeed, except Micaiah who told them to let the soldiers go home and do not go to a losing war. He told them that the Lord revealed to him that the satan has put a lying spirit in the mouths of the prophets. Micaiah was truthful and did not want to deceive the kings just for a worldly reward even if he must suffer. The seriousness of many heresies that they start on that way. A desire to have special position or a reward of satisfy own’s ego. Many of the heretics groups today are actually working through huge establishments which claim religious goals but actually they have political and financial motivations. Even some of these establishments are controlled by world intelligence agencies and being run for financial gains. The earn millions through their activities of employing their followers with very little wages to distribute their books and material. The devil leads them to very strange ways of controlling the minds of their followers mentally and emotionally. They even have universities and schools to teach and equip their followers to attract and recruit many others. Amazingly most of their earnings are never used for any charity. They only help and support those who belong to them. Most of the funds are controlled and used only by the leaders of these groups for their own interests. The only weapon the Christian person has to face these heresies and devilish activities is the true Faith through the work of the Holy Spirit. How much we need today to submit in humbleness and owe to the work of the Holy Spirit to open our hearts and minds to understand and have the wisdom not be deceived by those who use uncomplete verses and half the truths or just big decorated banners and even sometimes ways of making the people unsafe unless they follow their teachings. The Holy Spirit gives us shield and shelter against all these attacks of the heretics. They try to deviate the simple people away from the true faith. They also use worldly attractive and exciting ways which appeal to many minds. The calm persisting teachings of our church may be difficult for those who got used to the noisy colourful ways of today’s world. They like to use their noisy dancing and music to get their
message through. They can also use very emotional ways of even tend to get people to feel scared or unsatisfied away from them. They used all the ways of social media, television and internet. They even have special TV and satellite channels. They employ and method which appeal to people and in particular to the young under the banner of the Holy Spirit. They give themselves names that deceive people for their real goals. They also lead their followers for a life with not effort or struggle or proper discipline. Eventually their followers get filled with self-righteousness feeling no need for repentance or means of spiritual growth. Only the Holy Spirit can give you the strong faith which keeps you in the straight path. The Faith in our church is a product of the great struggle and persistence of our fathers for many centuries since the start of Christianity. It is very precious Faith. Do not be deceived and lured to the easy ways of this world. Remember to wide easy ways only lead to destruction. Do not give the devil a chance to mislead you. The Holy Bible teaches us that we should not accept those who come with different teaching in our houses (2John 1: 10). You are very protected by the work of the Holy Spirit in you. Follow in the steps of our Saviour to strengthen you faith and keep you in the right path to the last breath of your life..
St Mary’s Church
Friday 16th June 2023
Construction of New Buildings started Thursday 28th April
The new Building is expected to be ready within 6 months. church services are continuing as normal as in the Timetable inside the Bulletin. You can donate monthly contribution using Direct Debit forms available in the church or downloaded from church website. Cost of building works is around $13,000,000. Your support and donations will be blessing and very appreciated.
Donations to St Mary’s Church and Building project can be made by the following Link
for all who keep working tirelessly for the success of this project. May the Lord reward them all and bless all their works
