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 Commemoration of the Angel Raphael, the Archangel
8th
September - 3rd Nasi
On this day, the church celebrates the commemoration of the honorable Angel Raphael, the third of the Archangels, and the dedication of his church outside the city of Alexandria. During the time of Pope Theophilus, the twenty-third Patriarch, a faithful woman came from Rome, with her children and had with her a picture of the honorable Archangel Raphael. She had inherited much money from her husband. She revealed to the Pope her desire to build many churches. He showed her a large heap, which was in front of the patriarchate, which she removed and built a church in its place. Then she built another church in the name of the Angel Raphael, which was consecrated on this day.
The Departure of St. Poimen, the Hermit. 9th September - 4th Nasie
On this day also, the ascetic saint, Anba Poimen )Baymon(, departed. He was born about the year 350 A.D., in one of the cities of Egypt. He had six brothers, John, Jacob, Job, Joseph, Sonosyos, and Abraham. They all agreed to become monks, and they dwelt in a remote place.
They forsook the love of the world, they bore the yoke of the Lord Christ, and they lived an ascetic life. Once their mother desired to see them, so she came to them, stood outside, and she sent a message for them to come to see her. They replied saying, “You shall not see us except in the age to come.” She understood their answer and returned to her town.
Anba Poimen was a teacher, counselor, and comforter to the old and young men of the wilderness. Whenever tribulation or temptation befell anyone, he would come to him, and St. Poimen would cure him.
This father left to us many profitable teachings such as: If you see a brother who has transgressed, despair not of him, but wake up his soul, comfort him, and lighten his burden, so that he may rise up from his fall. Teach your heart what your tongue says.
One of the brethren said to him, “If I see a brother whose conduct is wicked, I do not feel comfortable to bring him to my cell. On the other hand, if his conduct is good, I rejoice and bring him to my cell cheerfully.”
The saint replied, “If you treat well the brother who is good, then you must treat that brother whose works are inferior with a double portion of goodness, for he is sick and needs healing.”
Then he told this brother, “There was a monk in a monastery, who had fallen into a transgression, and he was always weeping, and supplicating God saying, ‘O Lord,
I have sinned against You, please forgive me.’ A voice came to him, ‘I have not forsaken you, except when you have forsaken your brother in the time of his trial.’” Anba Poimen also added, “If we cover over the sins of our brethren, God will cover over our sins. And if we make it known, God will do the same of our inequities.” Having finished his days and having arrived at a good old age that was pleasing to God, he departed in peace. May his prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.
The Departure of the Righteous Amos, the Prophet. 8th September - 5th Nasi
This day also marks, the departure of the righteous prophet Amos, one of the twelve minor prophets. He prophesied in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and Jeroboam the son of Joash, King of Israel. God had sent him to the children of Israel to caution them and advise them to bear fruit that befits repentance before the coming of the day of vengeance. He prophesied concerning the passion of the Lord and the darkness of the sun on that day. He also prophesied concerning the lamentation and sorrow which should come upon the children of Israel after this, how their festivals should be turned into days of sorrow, and their joy into weeping; how they should lack the help of God, and how they should hunger and thirst through the lack of teaching and knowledge, how they should be scattered in all countries among the nations. And all these things were fulfilled upon them. It was said that this prophet was killed because of his harsh rebuke for their sins. This prophet lived about eight hundred years before the advent of the Lord Christ. May his prayers be with us. Amen.
The Departure of St. Barsoma, the “Naked”.
10th September - 5th Nsie
On this day also, in the year 133 A.M., the great saint who was perfect in the love of God, Anba Barsoma the “Naked” )El-Erian(, departed. He was born in Misre )Cairo(. His father called El-Wageeh Moufdel, was the scribe of the Queen “Shagaret El-dor”, and his mother was from the family of El-Taban. When his parents departed, his uncle took possession of all that they had left. Barsoma did not quarrel with him but forsook the world and lived the life of the righteous hermits. He lived outside the city for five years suffering the harshness of the summer heat and the winter cold. He wore no clothing except a hairy sackcloth, following the example of the Saint Anba Paul )Anba Paula(, the first hermit. Then he shut himself in a cave inside the church of St. Marcurius Abu-Saifain for twenty years in ceaseless prayer and fasting, by day and night. There was a huge serpent in that cave. When he entered
the cave and saw this serpent, he cried saying, “O my Lord Christ, the Son of the Living God, who gave us the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions and every power of the enemy. You granted healing to the children of Israel, who were bitten by the serpents, when they looked to the brass serpent. Now I look to you, O You Who was hanged on the Cross, so that you might grant me power to be able to overcome this beast.” Then he made the sign of the cross over himself, and moved toward the serpent saying, “You trampled the serpent and the snakes, and You tread upon the lion and the dragon. The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?” Then he said to the serpent, “O blessed one stand still in your place,” and then he made the sign of the cross over it. He prayed to God and asked Him to remove the beastly nature from it. As he finished his prayer, the serpent changed its nature and became tame. The saint said to the serpent, “Henceforth, O blessed one, you shall not have power or might to harm any man, but you shall be subject and obedient to what I say to you.” The serpent manifested signs of submission and obedience, and became with the saint as the lion was with Daniel, the prophet, in the din. Then he left the cave and lived on the roof of the church. He endured the summer heat and the winter cold, until his skin became dark from much worship and asceticism. He remained in this state for fifteen years. During his days, a great persecution befell the Christian nation. The churches were shut and the Christians were forced to wear blue turbans. As for this saint, the ruler seized him, severely smote him, then cast him in prison. When he was released, he went to the monastery of El-Shahran, where he lived on the roof of the church and he increased in his asceticism. He did not replace his white turban. The rulers of that time from princes, judges and others, visited him and saw his white turban, but no one dared to force him to wear a blue one for they knew that the power of God was with him. The saint continually asked and supplicated God to take his anger away from His people. Having completed his strife, he departed at a good old age, in the year 133 A.M. He was then sixty years old, and was buried in the monastery of El-Shahran. May his prayers be with us. Amen.
Feast of El-Nayrouz 11th September - 1st Tote 1735
)Beginning of the Blessed Coptic Year(. Beginning Today is the beginning of the blessed Coptic year. It is necessary to keep it a holy day with full purity and chastity. Let us start a new demeanor as St. Paul the Apostle says, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: old things have passed away; behold, all things have
become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” )2 Cor. 5:17-18( And Isaiah the Prophet says, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the meek; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” )Isaiah 61:1-2( And David the Prophet says, “You crown the year with Your goodness; and Your paths drip with abundance.” )Psalms 65:11(
We ask our God to keep us without sin and help us to act according to His will with the intercessions of the pure Saint Mary, all the Martyrs and Saints. Amen.
The Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist. 12th September - 2nd Tote
On this day, the forerunner and great prophet, St. John the Baptist, son of Zacharias the priest, was martyred by the order of King Herod. When St. John rebuked Herod because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Phillip whom he had taken as a wife, he said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” )Mark:6:18( Herod seized the Saint and cast him into prison; however, he feared John. An opportune day came when Herod, on his birthday, gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers and the chief men of Galilee. And when Herodias’ daughter herself came in and danced and pleased Herod. He promised her anything she might ask for, even as much as half of his kingdom. She went to her mother and asked her, “What shall I ask?” Her mother said, “Ask for the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” When Herod heard this, he was exceedingly sorry. But because of his promise and those who were sitting with him, he did not want to refuse her request. He therefore commanded his servants to cut off the head of Saint John and they gave it to the damsel and the damsel gave it to her mother. )Mark 6:20-28( There was great consternation that day, and their joy soon turned into sorrow. It was said that when the holy head of St. John was cut off, it flew up off their hands into the air, and it cried out saying, “It is not right for you to take your brother’s wife.” It is also said that the head now is present at Homs in Syria. As of the holy body, the disciples of St. John took it and laid it in a grave until the days of Pope Athanathius, when God Willed to uncover his body. His blessings be with us all. Amen.
Sunday of the Month of Nasie - Fr Tadros Yacoub
Matthew 24 : 3-35
“But for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened”
Matthew 24:22
1- Destruction of the old temple:“
As He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him,‘Teacher, see what massive stones ! What magnificent buildings!’And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down’ ” )Verses 1, 2(
That question was posed by one of His disciples, while the Lord Christ was going out of the temple; the great buildings of the temple were then preoccupying the minds of the Jews, as a sign of God’s pleasure with them. The building the second temple began at the time of Zerubbabel , with permission of Cyrus, king of Persia, who allowed the Jews to return from captivity, and to rebuild the temple, during the sixth century BC. The new temple was greater, although not as magnificent as the old one. At the time of Herod, before the birth of the Lord Christ, about the year 20 BC, an extensive project of reconstruction and restoration started, and went on up till the year 60 AD, seven years prior to its ultimate devastation, as stated by the Jewish historian Josephus. Its location is the Mosque or the Dome of the Rock in the Old Jerusalem.
That question came, while the Lord was “going out” of the temple ... Its motive probably has been, a wish by that disciple to hear from the Lord’s mouth, what was going on in the minds of all of them, that the Lord cleansed the temple, in order to prepare it, as the center of His kingdom, and as His royal palace, from which He is going to reign over the world. The Lord’s response came to completely destroy their materialistic thoughts, contrary to what they expected. The Lord Christ used that chance to proclaim to His disciples the total abolishment of the temple, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the end of the material world as a whole, in order to draw their hearts to the spiritual kingdom, and the heavenly glory.
St. Cyril, the Great says: [The disciples expected Him to admire what He was seeing; 237 but He, whose throne is in heaven, did not give any impotence to earthly establishments, considering them worth nothing, if compared to exalted ones. He halted the conversation concerning these structures, directing it to what is of benefit to them. That temple, the subject of their pride and admiration, will, in the right time, be devastated, by the Romans, who will also burn up Jerusalem, so that Israel would get what it deserves for killing the Lord; all of which happened after His crucification].
Yet, the Lord, while uttering that, was not seeking revenge, nor desiring the devastation of His adversaries, but, being the Word of God, was revealing to His disciples the true way: On one side, He is committing them to refrain from binding their hearts to stones and buildings, but to bind them to an inner spiritual temple, where the Lord would dwell and establish His kingdom. On the other side, He is proclaiming the necessity of destroying those stones of literal thoughts, in order not to walk the way of the law literally, but to enjoy it spiritually. Finally, we should have the temple of our old man completely destroyed, with no one stone left upon
another, not thrown down. This is our experience concerning what occurs in the water of Baptism, in which the Holy Spirit of God destroys our old man, to leave no trace of him in our life. If we walk according to God’s Spirit, a new spiritual building, a free grace of God, would be set within us; But, if our hearts get back to seek what was behind, we shall, again, have inside us the old temple of sin, and our life would be turned into a pillar of salt, like Lot’s wife, losing the splendor of God’s kingdom and His exalted glories in us.
St. Ambrosius says: [These words refer to the temple of Solomom, and its destruction by the enemies before the time of judgment; as there would be no work of our hands, that would not be destroyed and consumed by fire. They also refer to the synagogue of Jews ... when the visible material temple of the material law, would be destroyed, so also would be the visible material Passover ... ; the temple would be spiritual, the law would be spiritual, and the Passover would also be spiritual]
2- Appearance of false christs:
Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, 238 Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, “Tell us, when will these things be ? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled? ‘And Jesus, answering them, began to say, ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He’, and will deceive many” )Verses 3 - 6( (
The Lord Christ’s talk about the destruction of the temple, was a chance for Him to have a private talk with four of His disciples. These were the first four, the Lord chose and invited to follow Him as His disciples. As we have seen, He called them two by two; They represent the team of horses set forth with the Divine chariot towards heaven; carrying the Church, as a chariot of fire, from glory to glory, towards the Divine bosom. They also represent the four living stones set by the Lord for the building of His living Church. They may also represent the four virtues, necessary for the Church, in order to enjoy the knowledge of the secrets of His ultimate coming: Peter, refers to the )Rock of faith(; Jacob, or ‘Chase’, refers to )persistent strife or wrestling(; (; John, that is to say, ‘God is compassionate’, refers to the )grace and compassion of God(; and Andrew, that means ‘seriousness or (; manhood’, refers to )setting forth towards eternity, seriously and without delay(. In other words, these four disciples enjoyed that . private Divine talk, concerning His coming, so that we, would also enjoy it, if we have inside us, these four: the faith, that raises us over the earthlies, towards Christ the Savior; the practical strife, springing from our faith in Him who loved us; the grace of God, on which we lean, to take us away from the earthlies, raising us to eternities; and finally, seriousness on the way, as God would never work in negligence.
That talk happened while the Lord Christ was sitting on the Mount of Olives, facing the temple. That was not without meaning; as on the Mount of Olives the Lord, on His day, will stand with His feet, to abolish evil )Zech. 14: 4(; It is the mountain, east of the city, on ) (; which the cherubim lifted up their wings, to set forth with the Divine chariot, not to depart from the temple alone, but from the whole city of Jerusalem )Hez. 11: 22, 23(; 239 On that mountain, ) ( the Lord proclaimed His departure from the old temple, raising
our sight towards a new temple, He would, Himself, build within us, setting His heavenly kingdom in us.
The Mount of Olives, is likewise the Holy Church of God, in which believers are planted, as olive trees, in the house of God; In it, God, Himself, sits with His believers, to carry them over to His exalted Divine secrets. ..., to proclaim to them the destruction of the old temple, and set a new one within them, that would never get old, but would always be renewed by His Holy Spirit.
The first sign of His coming, would be the appearance of false christs and prophets, to deceive humanity, and to set the kingdom of the devil; pretending to do that in the name of God. It might be that the Lord started by it because of its importance; as, in every generation, the evil one does his best to deceive men, to draw them away from the kingdom of God, and from enjoying His salvation.
He presented them, at the beginning of His talk, with that sign of the end of age, and proclamation of His eternal kingdom, in order to reveal to them, that the way to the kingdom, is a very narrow one, that requires persistent strife against the powers of darkness. The disciples became sad, hearing about the utter destruction of the temple, and started to inquire about the time of realization of those things, with the hope that they would enjoy with the Lord, His kingdom, or that they would have a share with Him in the temple, before its utter destruction. Now, the Lord Christ drew their hearts, from sadness over the destruction of stones and buildings, to getting ready to oppose the evil one himself, who seeks the destruction of the kingdom of God within every soul.
That is why, St. Paul, the apostle, says: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against 240 flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” )Ephes. 6: 10 - 12( It is as though, the Lord Christ, is warning His disciples, not to preoccupy themselves with the destruction of the temple, but rather with getting aware of the deceits of the devil, who is opposing them , using the name of Christ Himself, confirming: “Take heedthat no one deceives you; for many will come in my name, saying: ‘I am He’, and will deceive many”. The Jewish historian Josephus mentioned, that several magicians and swindlers have drawn many people to the wilderness, some of whom lost their minds, and many others were condemned by ‘Felix’ the governor, like that Egyptian whom the prince mentioned as he said to St. Paul: “Are you not the Egyptian who some time ago raised an insurrection and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness? “)Acts 21: 38(
If the Word of God is offering all practical love, to draw souls to Him with truth, in order to enjoy union with Him, the evil one, on his part, is deceiving many, dispatching his accomplices, to pretend piety, to lead people astray; sometimes even working under the name of Christ Himself
The martyr St. Ceprianus, warns us, not only from the devil who hides behind the name of Christ, but even from ourselves, lest we may bear the name of Christ, and not His power, saying: [The same way the devil deceives, through falsely using the name of Christ, so also the one who bears the blessed name, but does not abide in the truth of His Gospel and faith in Him, would not be truthfully called a Christian]. 3- Occurrences of wars and disasters:
“When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be troubled, for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there 241 will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows” )verse 8( That sign would precede the destruction of the temple, on the hand of the Roman leader Titus; The Roman empire was aflame with wars, all along the interval between the ascension of the Lord Christ and the destruction of the temple; like that war which took place in Alexandria at about the year 38 A.M., between the Egyptians and the resident Jews; and the war in Selukia, in which 50,000 Jews were killed ... ; as well as the great tension between the Jews and the Samaritans; the famines like the one prophesied by the prophet Agabus )Acts 11: 28(, that occurred 28 , in the year 49 AD; the plague that took place in Rome with its 30,000 victims; and the earthquakes in Crete, 46 AD; in Rome, 51 AD; in Aphamia, 53 AD; in Ladakia Frigia, 60 AD; and in Jerusalem, 67 AD That sign, of the occurrences of wars, troubles, earthquakes, and famines, will also precede the end of the world, and the second coming of the Lord Christ. As the last day approaches, the devil feeling the collapse of his kingdom, and the setting up of the eternal kingdom of God in His heavenly Church, will exert all his energies to draw souls to him, away from the Lord Christ, confusing them with human concerns, that would disturb man, like wars, natural catastrophes, as earthquakes and famines. But the soul, steadfast in Christ, would not be disturbed, but would rise above all events, to get to enjoy His kingdom and exalted peace. In the same way, the evil one, would not stand to watch you encounter your Savior; so he surrounds you with troubles to preoccupy you and deprive you of His transfiguration within your heart ... I wish you do not get concerned with the wars within you, nor with the famines or earthquakes, but put your trust in the Lord Christ, the giver of peace, fulfilment, and real comfort. St. Ambrosius says: [Beside wars, plagues, and famines, we find other wars that may confronts the Christian, wars of lusts and conflicts of various desires ... ; fear of, 242 “spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” )Ephes. 6: 12( A brave Christian, however, will say with the Psalmer:“Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear” )Psalm 27:3( He will stand firm, even if faced by the giant Goliath; will be like David who, in the midst of the fear of others, cast away the weapons and equipments of the king )1 Sam. 17(, held the ) (, sling of true faith, and placed in it the stone of pure faith; With it he broke the arrogance of the oppressor, to be worthy of being mentioned by the Lord Christ ...
Before that conqueror of Goliath, the Philistines escaped, to make the Israeli girls sing, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousand” )1 Sam. 18: 7( Which proves that those who overcome this world, would surely, precede even kings.
