Weekly Bulletin 2nd June 2024

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 5:307pm

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

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., Kensington Vic 3031 Tel: 93766651

Fr Kerillos Tawadros 0411 518 399

Fr John Makary 0433 445 636

.The Martyrdom Of St. Thomas, the Apostle 3rd June - 26th Bashans

On this day St. Thomas the apostle was martyred. He was born in Galilee, and the Lord chose him among the twelve disciples )Mathew 10:3(. When the Lord wanted to go to raise Lazarus from the dead, Thomas said to the other disciples: “ )John 11:16(. He also asked the Lord at the supper: “ )John 14:5-6(. When the Lord Christ appeared to the disciples after the resurrection, and said to them “Receive the Holy Spirit”, Thomas was absent. On his return, the disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” He said to them: “ .)John 20:19-29(

After the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost in the Upper room in Zion, the apostles dispersed everywhere to preach the Gospel, Thomas went to India. He worked there as a slave at one of the friends of the king, whose name was Lukios, who brought him to the king who inquired about his profession. Thomas said: “I am builder, carpenter and a physician. He preached in his master’s palace, and .Lukios’ wife believed and all his household The king asked him about his achievements, and he said: “The palaces that I built were the souls that have become the temples of the King of Glory; the carpentry that I did was the Gospel that removes the thorns of sin; and the medicines I practiced are the Holy Mysteries which heal the poison of the evil one. The king became angry and tortured him, and bound him among four poles, cut off his skin and rubbed his wounds with salt and lime. The apostle Thomas endured the pains. Lukios’ wife saw him suffering, and she fell from the window and died. Lukios came to him and said: “If you raise my wife from the dead, I believe in your God.” Thomas went to the room where the dead body was, and said: “Arsabona )Arsonia(, rise up in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” She rose instantly and bowed to the Saint. When her husband saw that, he believed and many more with him from the people of the city, and Thomas baptized .them

Once the sea drove a huge tree to the shore that no one could lift it up. St. Thomas asked the king for permission to lift it up and to use its wood in building a church. He got the permission, he made the sign of the cross, and he raised it and later he built the church, .to which he ordained a bishop and priests St. Thomas left and went to a city called “Kantoura” )Kontaria(, where he found an old man weeping bitterly because the king killed his six children. The

Saint prayed over them, and the Lord raised them up. The idol priests were angry, and wanted to stone him. The first raised a stone to throw it at him, and his hand was paralyzed. The Saint prayed over his hand, he was healed instantly, and all the idol priests believed in the Lord Christ. Then St. Thomas went to the city of “Parkenas” and other cities, where he preached in the Name of Je

put him in prison. When he found out that he was teaching the prisoners the way of God, he tortured him, and at last he cut his head off, and he received the crown of martyrdom. He was buried in “Melibar”, then his body was relocated to El-Raha. May his prayers be with us, and

.Glory be to God forever. Amen

The Commemoration of the Appearance of the Bod.ies of St. John the Baptist and Elisha the Prophet 2nd June - 25th Bashans

On this day, the church celebrates the appearance of the bodies of St. John the Baptist and Elisha the Prophet, the disciple of Elijah the Prophet, in the city of Al.exandria

Julian the Infidel wished to rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem, having been destroyed by Emperor Vespasian and his son Titus. He intended with malice to prove the invalidity of the saying of the Lord in the Holy Gospel: «Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left her upon another, that shall not be thrown down« )Matthew 24:2(. He supplied the Jewish people with money to rebuild it. He put Elebius, who asked the Jews to .assist him secretly, in charge

Many of the Jews, men, wome, old and young, gathered. They started digging the foundation with eagerness, transferring the dirt and rocks away, some with baskets and the others in the tails of their dresses. St. Kyrillos )Cyril(, bishop of Jerusalem, ridiculed what .they were doing

When they finished raising the rocks of the old foundation, they started to put down the new one. A severe earthquake took place, filled the excavation with dirt, dispersed the building material and killed many of the workers. The Jews were not terrified of that, and returned to the work again. Out of the depths of the earth, fiery balls came, showering the workers with rocks and hitting them so they stopped building. Many of them believed because of that and especially because they had fulfilled the prophesy of the Lord Christ, with their hands, about the destruction of the .building of the temple from its foundation St. Gregory the Theologian and St. John Chrysostom

had mentioned this incident. The Jewish historian Emian, in the fifth century, had mentioned this account also .incidentally in his writings

Nevertheless, the Jews told the Emperor, «The reason for what happened is the presence of the bodies of Christian leaders in that place. They must be removed from it, otherwise the temple will not be built.« Julian ordered that the bodies of the saints be removed from the place and burned. When they took the bodies of St. John the Baptist and Elisha the Prophet to burn them, some believers came forward to the soldiers, gave them a sum of silver and took the two bodies. They brought them to St. Athanasius, Pope of Alexandria. He was pleased and placed them in a special place until he could build a .church for them

One day St. Athanasius was sitting in the garden with his scribe, the one to be Pope Theophilos )23rd Pope( who succeeded him on the Chair, and told him, «If God gives me long days, I will build in this place a church in the names of St. John the Baptist and Elisha the Prophet, «.and I will lay their bodies in it

When Pope Theophilos was enthroned on the Chair of the See of St. Mark, he remembered what Pope Athanasius had told him. He built the church and relocated the pure bodies to it. On their way to the church carrying the holy bodies, they passed by a house of a pagan woman. This woman was in labor for the last four days. She had a difficult labor and she was in severe pain. When she heard the singing and the chanting of the people as they passed by, and when she knew what was happening, she vowed, saying, «O John, the saint of God, if you deliver me from this tribulation, I will become a Christian.« Before she had finished what she was saying, she gave birth to a boy, and she called him John. Then, her family and she were baptized. They laid the bodies with great honor in the church. Many miracles and wonders were .manifested through them

:As of the end of Julian the infidel was as follows He decided to declare a war against Sapor, King of Per.sia

St. Basilius the Great, the author of the liturgy, and some bishops went to meet him. Emperor Julian asked them, «Why have you come.« St. Basilius replied, «We came asking for a shepherd« He mocked them saying, «Where did you leave the son of the carpenter?« The Saint answered with courage and pride, «We left him making a coffin for you, for you have lost all wisdom and knowledge.« Julian told him, «I have read and memorized it.« St. Basilius replied, «But you did not comprehend it.« Julian became angry and ordered them seized, to be

slain after his return from the war with Sapor. St. Basilius told him, «You will not come back, for God has spoken by my mouth.« The .Emperor ordered them imprisoned The Emperor went to the war. St. Basilius prayed before the icon of St. Marcurius Abu-saifain, asking for the chastisement of the Emperor because he insulted his Lord Christ. St. Marcurius disappeared from the icon, and when he returned, his sword was dripping .blood

During the war, Julian was shot by an arrow in his liver. Thlodoritius said in his history of the church: «When this infidel Emperor was stabbed, he took a handful of the blood that was pouring out of his side and scattered it toward the heaven, saying, ‹You have defeated me O Son of Mary.›« The prophesy of St. Basilius was fulfilled in him and the church .was saved from his evil When St. Macarius, Bishop of Edko, was martyred, they placed his body with the bodies of .St. John the Baptist and Elisha the Prophet .May their prayers be with us. Amen .The Departure Of St. Simon the Stylite 6th June - 29th Bashans

On this day of the year 461 A.D., St. Simon departed. He was born in Antioch in 392 A.D. His father›s name was John, and his mother›s name was Martha. Many miraculous things happened because of him. Before his mother had conceived of him, St. John the Baptist appeared to her in a dream and told her of her conception and what he would become. At age sixteen, he became a monk in the mountain of Antioch, and he led a great ascetic life in worship and prayer. An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and guided him in his monastic life to the life of St. Pachomius. He excelled in his worship to a level beyond the normal human level, so that he lived alone on a high place like a pillar, for 45 years, during which he ate grass. This father wrote many useful ascetic teachings, and explained many church books. He departed in peace.

May his prayers be with us, and glory be to God forever. Amen.

Fourth week of Pentecost

John 12: 35-50

Today, Sunday, 2 June 2024 - 25th Bashans 1740 is the fourth Sunday of the Holy Pentecost.

The Pauline Epistle: 2 Thessalonians 2: 13-3: 5 “Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught.”

Catholicon 1 John 4: 7-13 “Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

The Acts: Acts of the Apostles 14: 8-23. He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did well, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”

The Holy Gospel: John 12: 35-50 “The light is with you for a short time, so walk in the light lest the darkness overtake you.”

A little while longer the light is with you …

The Light is the Lord Jesus, the saviour of the human race … truly He offers salvation freely to mankind … and indeed, this offer is open to all who believe, baptised and live a righteous life and holiness … and truly, this offer )od salvation( is offered to all regardless of colour, creed or nationality … but a little while longer … and this little while is your life my beloved … and if you thought this little while has lots of time … you are wrong and misjudged )the availability of time( … and one must reconsider his or her expectation anew … for there are people who lived multiples of your age ... and departed to )the everlasting( darkness … and there are those who lived less than half your life and abided in the light and gained the light and became sons of light … There are those who saw the light with their own eyes … but, they closed their eyes and blocked their ears … because they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God )John 12:43( ... and there are those saw the light … but turned their back )on the light( and went away … because they loved the life in darkness … and there are those who saw the light and abided in the light and because of the light they sacrificed all even themselves to become sons of the light … Beloved, come … and to see where are you heading???

+ Lord, who has believed our report and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed +++

There are those who see the light … but they ignore )the light( … without a care … for they loved the life of darkness … or maybe they find going of the life in darkness into the light difficult … how many thousands of people had seen the Lord Jesus and witnessed His miracles and heard His teachings … and how many thousands among those people also cried out crucify Him .. crucify Him among those who crucified )the Lord( … )indeed( there are thousands who saw and heard the Lord … but how many of them enjoyed the joys of the resurrection … How many thousands in Sodom saw and heard Lot … they saw the righteous life he led … but they joked about him as if he was a fool in the eyes of those closest to him … and from all those in Sodom only three people were saved )Geneses 19( … How many thousands )of the Israelites( crossed the red sea … and saw the Lord as a pillar of light … and heard His voice in the clouds )Exodus 14 to 18( … and lived in the wilderness being carried by Him as babes carried by their mothers … He fed and cared for them, supporting and protecting them from the enemies … for forty years in a barren wilderness … they saw the might of the light which no man had ever seen before … but, how many souls stayed fast across the wilderness to enter the land of Canaan ) Numbers 14( … to the land of the light … from three quarter million people … only two people entered the land of Canaan … Joshua son on nun and Caleb son Jephunneh ) Numbers 32:12, Joshua 14:6-14(. And you beloved … the Lord had much laboured with you … and still labours for you … and you still living while the light is )with you( a little longer … and everyday you see the works of the Light in your life … even, your presence now, to read these words or hearing it is from the grace of the Light which God bestows on your life … for there are many who were deprived of this opportunity … how many thousands drive their cars on the road … but some of them will never return to their homes again … but you witness many miracles God performs with you

every day on the road …

How many thousands lose their lives in the world to accidents … wars … famines … diseases … but you still not one them … but, don’t dismiss the possibility of being one of them … you still living in the light …

Everyday you read the news or hear the news bulletins, you find that God has accorded you special care which thousands others and maybe millions in the world were not given the same care … then, why do you still turn your back – beloved – to the little while longer, the light is with you??? Don’t you know )the light( is you a little while longer only …

What is troubling you beloved or preventing you of walking in the light??? + they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God +++ Is this the reason for you??? That you love the praise of men more than the praise of God … Are you like Gehazi … who loved the silver, robes and riches more than becoming a profit and man of God like his master Elisha )2 Kings 5( … which is better for you Naaman the Syrian’s money and treasures … or the poverty and sojourn of Elisha … where is the glory and freedom of God’s children … the life in the light which there is no other like it …

Or, are you like Demas … who loved the present world more )2 Timothy 4( … loved )the world( riches, money and splendour … or comforts … do you prefer to live with Demas in the world comforts and follies … turning your back to a life in the light … or, do you prefer to accompany St Paul the apostle … despising all things )in this world( as if it was nothing to you … as the poorest of all people in the world … enduring discomfort, long nights, distress and pains … focusing on the heavenly crowns which is everlasting … Which is better for you … to rejoice with sons of the world; prising you and welcoming your company with them in their sins and transgressions … to go and dance, sing and get drunk with them … a life of )vain( pleasures … which is the life in darkness … or to endure being a stranger in the world … and the world looks at you as a odd … they ) people of the world( might see you as backward and uncivilized … for they cannot accept the life of righteousness you lead … perhaps you will

be shunned and troubled by the world … but, you will progress in the life of the light to become sons of the light … beloved … there are thousands of knees haven’t bowed for Baal yet )1 K ings 19:18 & Romans 11:4( … there are many who prefer the life in the light … are you one of them??? And if you were not … why don’t you start now??? + whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness +++

There are young children who very much loved the light and became sons of the light … We hear of a young boy Behnam of ten years cries out before the ruler I am a Christian … and thus he emerged to the martyrdom and to live in light )ever after( … and again, we hear of the young child Zachariah who saw the crowns being placed on the heads of the martyrs, and he shouts out declaring this to all present and he himself went to gain one of those crowns as a martyr …

And there are those who caught the light in the last few minutes of their lives … just as those who catch a moving train from the last carriage as it leaves the train station … like Demas the thief on the right )in the crucifixion( …

Beloved … you still for a while longer in the light … why not benefit of this light???

Believe in the light … believe on the power of the light in your life … come and pour your self before God and expel all love of the darkness within you … aim the light of the Lord Jesus on this darkness )within( and eliminate it … come and reveal it before God … come and confess )in confession( all the works of darkness that you have committed before … and let the Lord to wash you with His )Holy( Blood to be cleansed and purged to whiter than snow )Psalm 51:7( … then you can progress to be confirmed in the light and grace … come and part-take of His Holy Body and Blood to be abided in Him for ever … and your life will be filled by the light and you become one of the sons of light …

You are all ) beloved( sons of light … so, do not let the darkness once more in your life … but eliminate all the works of darkness which is fruitless … and whoever walks in the light and knows the value of the light, despises darkness and all its works …

Now beloved … walk in the light … lest the darkness comes to you )again(. A men.

From Resurrection to Pentecost –

4. Christ the Light of the world )John 12:46( 12:46 “He who walks in darkness does not know where he is going” )John 12:35(. In the midst of the dark wilderness the Israelites needed light to find their way out. God, in His divine mercy provided them with a pillar of fire )Exodus 13:21( that went constantly before them. Without that pillar it would have been impossible for them to survive. Similarly and symbolically we, the sons of the Resurrection, in order for us to know the direction in the wilderness of our life on earth, and how to reach our goal which is Heaven, we need to walk in the light of the Resurrected Jesus Christ and His divine Word. Our Lord called Himself and us the light of the world thus putting us on the same footing with Him. This is to be understood better when we remind ourselves of the unity that we have with Him, this unity being achievable only through having Him as the center of our life. One of the early Fathers described this unity by saying that Jesus Christ is the Sun, the source of righteousness and light. We are the moon which, being in itself with no light, derives its source of light from Him and in turn reflects this light to the earth. If the earth comes between the sun and the moon, this light is eclipsed and stops being reflected. That is how it is when the worldly desires come between Christ, the Sun of righteousness and us who are to reflect His light to the world; we then become dim and useless to the earth. That is why it is important that we keep the love of the world out of our hearts in order for us to continue reflecting the light of Jesus Christ to the world. Our church, in its insightful thinking, has arranged a ritual called The Bathing Prayer to be administered by the priest to newly born babies. The priest prays over water to which salt and oil have been added in compliance with our Lords words You are salt to the earth and light to the world, signifying the importance of an early realization of who we are and what our role is here on earth. A man walking in darkness is very much similar to a blind man. That is why St. John reiterates the prophet Isaiah’s words “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them” )John 12:38-40(. The blindness that this verse refers to is actually the resultant outcome of having refused to obey His Word. God never imposes Himself. As St. Augustine says God who created you without you will not save you without you. The first step to walk in light is to have the will to do so. Gods Word to the Israelites in Deuteronomy, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” )Deuteronomy 30:19(. The difference between the will and the ability is like the difference between night and day. God appreciates weak ability more than a weak will since He can function within the first but not the second. St. Paul describes the status of unwilling people as “God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting” )Romans 1:28( which is scary. That is why a blind man with an enlightened spirit is luckier than a man with natural sight but suffering from spiritual blindness manifested in stubbornness and lack of repentance. St. Anthony described this condition best in his words to St. Didymos the blind by telling him do not grieve, my brother, because you lost the eyes that you share with all creatures, human and non-human. Rather, rejoice, because you have the enlightenment of your heart by which you can search the depth of God.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Word of God, the Logos. It follows that the light of the world is also the Word of God. The best person to attest to that is David the Psalmist who pictured his love for the Word of God by saying “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path!” )Psalms 119:105(, hence he became educated in and by the word of God and could boldly say “I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Your precepts” )Psalms 119:100(.

5. Christ the Way to life )John 14:6( John 14:6

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father. “No one comes to the Father except through Me” )John 14:6(. In Christ, the only Begotten Son, we become children of God the Father; and in Him we can inherit the Kingdom of God. This is the readings and the theme of the fifth week before the descent of the Holy Spirit. In order for us to reach the Father, we have to become sons to the Father. The only way to achieve this sonship is through unity with His Son Jesus Christ who is the real Son of God who has raised us to the status of adopted sons to God the Father. St. Paul says, “if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” )Romans 8:17(. Unity with the Lord Jesus Christ has not only adopted us to the Father but also made us inheritors in the Kingdom of God. This unity with Christ is achieved by the Holy Spirit through His work in the mysteries of the Church.It is important for us to understand our relation with the Holy Trinity which can be explained as follows: we are children to the Father in His Son Jesus Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit in the church and its Holy mysteries. For example, during the Divine Liturgy, the Holy Spirit changes the bread and wine into the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. When we receive Holy Communion, we unite with Christ. In the same manner, in baptism, the Holy Spirit sanctifies the water of baptism so that when we get baptized in it we receive the new life in Jesus Christ “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” )Galatians 3:27(. These are two examples of how the Holy Spirit, through the church Mysteries, unites us with Christ.After this unity we can boldly pray calling God our Father. In the past only baptized believers were allowed to pray this prayer after having received the sonship from the Holy Spirit through the church Mysteries.

Blessed Baptism

Baby Chloe

Daughter of Victor & Sara Soliman

Saturday 18th May 2024

St. Mary’s Church

Blessed Engagement

Nathan O’Shaughnessy & Marina Lamey

Sunday 26th May 2024

St. John Chrysostom Church

Blessed Baptism Baby Benjamin Daniel Son of David & Monica Goubrial

Monday 27th May 2024 - St Mary’s Church

New Church, New Building and Car Park are ready

We started to use the New Building and church last on Lazarus Saturday 27th April 2024. 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. We thank Our Lord for this great Gift 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

https://www.stmc.org.au/donate )Copy & Paste on Web Browser( New