S T . J OHN
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T HE F ORERUNNER V OLUME XXXV
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M ARCH -A PRIL 2018
S PECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST :
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Icons in Lent—Orthodoxy in action
Parish Council Capsule
Stewardship for 2018
Youth Ministries News
The First and Second Resurrection
Meditation on Great Compline
Troparion of Kasiani
Blessing of Baskets After Pascha
Philoptochos News
March-April Calendar
1. Icons, doors in the reality of the Kingdom We, the Orthodox, like our processions. The First Sunday of the Great Lent, the Sunday of Orthodoxy, makes no exception, as flocks of priests and faithful carrying icons, circle around their churches, singing hymns and proclaiming the victory of the Orthodox and the restoration of the icons. But why is it so important today, in the twenty first century, to remember every year a theological debate that happed many moons ago? Well, maybe because what was at stake then, it is at stake now. The battle of the orthodox with the iconoclasm is far from being over. The fight for the icons was not a debate about art in the Church, it was a struggle for the understanding of Man, his purpose in Creation and his salvation in God. The icons hold the key to the Orthodox response. What sets apart us, the Orthodox, from others, is our understanding that God created man in His image, so that man, acting in harmony with the divine grace, will achieve the likeness of (Continued on page 2)
I NSIDE THIS ISSUE :
C OUNCIL C APSULE Brothers & Sisters in Christ,
C OUNCIL C APSULE
The Parish Council has gotten off to a great start in 2018. We are happy to welcome our two new members Bill Coltrin & Zach Reimer. We would also like to acknowledge our departing members Mike Strong & Connie Rafailedes & thank them for their efforts while with us over the past couple years. The parish council has recently completed our council retreat. Here we have spent some time together discussing our roles in the parish & how we can best work together with the parish to strengthen our faith, ministries, & community. We brainstormed ideas for our committees that will help strengthen & guide each toward the goals set for 2018. We look forward to growing our community involvement in each of our committees to put these ideas into practice. (Continued on page 2)
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C OUNCIL ’ S C APSULE (Continued from page 1)
A LL C O M MITEE LEADERS ARE EAGER TO SHARE THEIR GOALS WITH THE COMMUNITY & FIND PARISH MEMBERS THAT ARE INTERESTED TO PARTICIPATE
members of our community have always been able to take upon themselves to address. We are very fortunate that these needs always been met. It is perhaps time we look to how we can sustain these needs as our community grows & we move into the future.
We have seen members of our parish community getting involved already & many that have always contributed through their involvement in many of our ministries. This is a very exciting thing to witness. Communication was a common topic in our discusEach of our committee leadsions, and is at the heart of us ers are eager to share their achieving our goals. There are goals with the community & needs of the church that some find parish members that are
We would like to wish everyone a blessed & fulfilled Lenten season. God bless! Michael Poriotis
A GELESS W ONDERS On Monday, March 26, 2018, the Ageless Wonders will meet at the church hall and carpool to lunch and a movie. Details to follow.
“Live” production, at the theater there, called “On Stage”. The matinee performance is at 3 PM. More details to follow!
gave us a heads up on the plans for our new church hall. 34 members attended and renewed their membership.
On Sunday, April 29, 2018, we are going to the Bedford Boys Ranch to see the latest
We had a fabulous potluck luncheon in February. Harry Karegeannes and Fr. Vasile
Let me know if you are interested in joining our group. Margaret
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(C ONT )
was forged for all of us: the path of askesis, or the holy his prototype, God, becoming struggle. This includes a perhimself god, not by nature, of manent awareness of our hucourse, but by full participaman weakness and a continution in the life of the Godous collaboration with the head. It is what we call theosis grace of God to transcend it or deification. This concept is and such regain our place in the engine of everything we God’s presence. This path do, all our efforts are subser- goes through the stages of vient to this ultimate goal. Or purification of passions, illuat least that was the plan… mination and finally theosis.
stages of our life in Christ: illumination and theosis. The holy persons we see depicted in lines and colors are ahead of us, having already fulfilled the potential of their humanity and they are now resting in the glory of God. Icons become therefore doors through which we can walk in the divine reality, lost through disobedience.
In paradise, Adam and Eve have lost through sin the original straight path to theosis and, as sin entered the human nature, a new path
Sin, as Fr. Rafail Noica, a disciple of Elder Sophrony (Saharov), was saying re-
(Continued from page 1)
The Trasnsfiguration
interested in contributing their time & talent to achieve these goals. We know there are those of us in the community that want to help but simply may not know what needs to be done. Together, we can strengthen our community by growing our committee members through the parish & improving our communication.
While we all sinners are still stumbling through the first stage of our purification from passions, the Orthodox iconography expresses the later
(Continued on page 3)
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cently, is not the true reality, but a sort of virtual reality that conveys to us a perverted, illusory experience, that only leads us further away from the original goal of our existence. We can say that living in sin is like living in one of these virtual reality games, like World of Warcraft or Second Life, where the player gets to control his appearance, his intellect, his powers and, through cybernetic manipulation, becomes in a way the god of his virtual universe. This is nothing else but a perverted theosis, the same kind of corrupt thinking that made the devil fall with his angels. The icons offer us a direct vision in the “true” reality of God and the saints become model men and women who broke the veil of deception and met God in His Kingdom. In order to escape the perverted reality of sin and access the authentic existence depicted in the icons, we have to clean our nous, or heart as the Fathers call it. The nous is our only sensory organ capable to see God. This is the purpose of our purification from passions: to clean our hearts so we can reach the vision of God: theoria. This is the way of the ascetics, whom we venerate in the icons. If we venerate them in the icons, we also have to imitate them. We cannot live a bipolar life in which we love the saints but dislike what they
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IN ACTION
have done in order to become saints. The holy struggle, askesis, follows in the footsteps of these great luminaries. As the late Fr. John Romanides was saying that we have no ethics, but ascetics. God does not need us to behave. He is not a moralist, nor a Puritan. He does not change if we sin, but we do. God is perfect, He loves the sinner, the atheist, the moralist, the philosopher and the saint all the same, because God Himself is Love. It is us who have not achieved yet perfection, who need to collaborate with Him to attain it, who need to become love at our turn. The transformation we are called to make in our lives includes developing a new relationship with the entire Creation, with all that is material. God fashioned man out of the most primordial material: earth. He breathed into him life and placed him in a physical place, paradise. He also gave him permission to eat out of all trees and enjoy the company of other living beings: animals, birds, insects etc. Man was put in charge of all Creation, but this physical world was not the end but was only intended as a mean of sustenance until Man was ready to live “by every word coming out of the mouth of God” (Mat 4:4). Through sin, however, man lost this purpose and, dressed in garments of skin, matter gain, started to consume it and be consumed by it.
(C ONT )
Fr. Dumitru Staniloae says that the material world, originally meant to be a stairway to heavens, through misuse and abuse, has been transformed in a wall between us and God, and between us and our neighbor. The physical world has lost its transparency and becomes an opaque barrier that does not allow us to perceive the reality of God. The prodigal son demanded his portion of inheritance from his Father. He could not see past the pleasures this wealth would bring him and wanted to possess it alone, in a far country. But once the treasure spent, and the illusion gone, the veil was lifted from his eyes and he started to see something different. He realized that what he has truly lost was not wealth, but the communion with his Father. This is why, with a renewed appreciation, with a changed mind, metanoia, he came back into himself, and went to attempt again to live in Communion with Him. More so, he did it fully knowing that he may have to accept the lower status of a servant. Losing everything, but accepting the responsibility of his deeds, he recovered what Adam has lost through sin, the true purpose of his existence, which is not acquiring material things and worldly pleasures, but being in God’s loving presence. This is why the Great Lent is so important for us, and this is why, year after year, we go through this training of will and detachment. Leaving be(Continued on page 10)
St Macarius the Great with the Cherubim
T HE
ICONS OFFER US A DIRECT VISION INTO THE “ TRUE ” REALITY OF G OD
Christ Tempted in the Desert
T HE F ORERUNNER
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S TRIVING TO T ITHE – S TEWARDSHIP 2018
F OR 2018 P LEASE CONSIDER A
10% INCREASE OVER YOUR CURRENT YEAR 2017 S TEWARDSHIP P LEDGE .
Many wonderful events have occurred within St. John the Baptist Church in recent years. It is amazing to see how God continues to bless us, as well as challenge us to do more with the resources He has provided. Our Church offers our parishioners wonderful opportunities for spiritual growth and fulfillment through its numerous ministries. St. John’s desire to strengthen our faith, our families and our community is made possible only through a vibrant Stewardship Program, which fosters a personal relationship with Christ of all its members. The call to increase the talents God has placed in our care, is for all to “work with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” (Col 3:23). As our parish and ministries continue to grow, we thank you for your continuing support and we ask you to prayerfully establish your Stewardship support by completing the 2018 Stewardship Pledge Card in the following manner: The Lord speaks through this Scriptures and encourages us to tithe (which is
the first 10% of what we have received as our treasure) and in exchange He promises us all the heavenly blessings: “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.” (Malachi 3:10). If you are not there yet, prayerfully consider an increase from year to year, in attempt reach this goal.
of these ministries include:
Feeding, visiting and praying with the poor/homeless
AGAPE Fund (outreach for parishioners in need)
Visitation Ministry (home/facility visits, small gifts, cards/ phone calls, prayer)
Gladsome Light Dialogues and other Adult Faith Enrichment opportunities
GOYA/JOY/HOPE Youth Ministries and Summer Camps
Sunday School and many more
Please reflect and con-
sider your 2018 Stewardship Pledge at 10% of family income. Please consider an in-
crease in your 2018 Stewardship Pledge according to the following measures: Percentage-based
- Please consider a 10% increase over your current year 2017 Stewardship Pledge. Dollar-based -
Please consider a $5 or $10/week over your 2017 Stewardship Pledge. Actively participate in at
least one or two ministries of the Church. Your increased Stewardship support and ministry participation will help us expand existing ministries and develop new one as the needs are identified. Some
With the continued support of the entire St. John the Baptist community, we will strive to fulfill God’s mission and calling to true Christian Stewardship as a reflection of our complete Thanksgiving to God…”for where your treasure is, there will your heart be” (Matthew 6:21). In Christ’s service, Rev. Protopresbyter Vasile Tudora Chrysanthi Andromalos, Stewardship Chairwoman Florentina Constantineanu, Stewardship CoChairwoman
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G OD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER . (2 C ORINTHIANS 9:7). One day, a person complained to his priest that the Church and Christianity is one continual “give, give, give.” To which the priest replied: “Thank you very much for the finest definition of Christianity I have ever heard. You’re right., Christianity is all about a constant “give, give, give.” God giving His only Son to the world to show His unconditional love. His Son Jesus giving His life on the cross to forgive our sins and destroy death. Then our Lord’s disciples giving all they had to make sure God’s Good News of love was preached to all people everywhere. They not only gave away their homes and businesses, but even gave up their lives as martyrs in gratitude to God! During this Lenten Season, there are four important elements that will give muchneeded insight and direction in the area of giving: Attitudes, Advantages, Amount, and Approach. Attitudes. God evaluates our actions on the basis of our attitudes. Absolutely critical in our giving must be an attitude of love: “If I give all my goods to feed the poor . . and have not love, it profits me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3). Jesus used the occasion of the widow casting two mites into the temple treasury to remind us that our attitude is more important than the amount. He looks past the amount of the gift to the heart of the giver. Whenever we
give, we should remind ourselves that we are actually giving our gift to the Lord Himself. In doing that, it becomes an act of worship – an expression of our gratefulness and love to God as our Creator, our Savior, and our faithful Provider. Advantages. There are many advantages to giving; here are three significant areas. 1.Increase in intimacy with Jesus. Above all else, giving directs our attention and heart to Christ. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). When you give your gift to Him, your heart will automatically be drawn to the Lord. We can share in the reward that Jesus promised to the faithful stewards, “enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew25:21) 2. Increase in Heaven. When we give to the Lord, we are investing for eternity. “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:20). Although we “can’t take it with us,” the Word teaches us that we can make deposits to our heavenly account before we die. 3. Increase on Earth. There are a number of Scripture passages which teach us that giving results in material blessings flowing back to the giver. Consider just these two: “The liberal [generous] soul shall be enriched: and he that waters shall be watered .” (Proverbs 11:25). “He whom sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he whom sows bountifully shall reap bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6). But we must understand that
the reason the Lord produces an increase is so that we may give more and have our needs met at the same time. He wants us to recognize that He is behind it. Amount. In the Old Testament, the Law required a tithe (ten percent). The children of Israel were condemned for not tithing properly: “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But you say, How are we robbing thee? In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me; the whole nation” (Malachi 3:8-9). The New Testament teaches that we are to give in proportion to the material blessing we receive. How much should you give? Each one should earnestly seek God’s will concerning giving. Ask Him to help you obey Christ’s leading. Consider a tithe for a minimum and then give above that as the Lord prospers or directs. Approach. The Apostle Paul gave the Corinthian believers some very practical directions for their giving: “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that contributions need not be made when I come” (1Corinthians 16:2). From this, we learn that our giving should be regular, personal, and out of a private deposit. Other passages tell us that our giving should be a priority, premeditated, and without pride. With love and Prayers in Christ, Chrysanthi Andromalos Stewardship Chair
T HE B IBLE STRONGLY ENCOURAGES
TITHING WHICH IS THE FIRST 10% OF OUR TREASURE AND PROMISES AN ABUNDANCE OF HEAVENLY BLESSINGS
(M ALACHI 3:10)
N EWSLETTER T ITLE
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T HE F IRST AND S ECOND RESURRECTION By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos
The Resurrection
"I F C HRIST
HAS NOT BEEN RAISED , OUR FAITH IS FUTILE AND WE REMAIN IN OUR SINS " (1 C OR . 15:17).
The Resurrection of Christ, which we festively celebrate after several days of fasting, repentance and prayer, is the central mystery of faith and the life in Christ. Without the Resurrection of Christ we would be under the power of death, sin and the devil and there would be no way out of life. That's why the Apostle Paul declares: "If Christ has not been raised, our faith is futile and we remain in our sins" (1 Cor. 15:17). Christ by His Resurrection gave Grace to us to be spiritually resurrected in this life, as well as bodily at the Second Coming of Christ, as we confess in our Symbol of Faith: "I expect the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the future age When we examine the issue of the Resurrection in terms of liturgical order, we usually talk about the First Resurrection as that of the Matins and Divine Liturgy which occurs the night of Pascha, and the Second Resurrection as the Service of the Vespers of Agape, which occurs on the day of Pascha, that is, the evening of the Sunday of Pascha. However, in Holy Scripture the expression first and second resurrection is associated with the Christian faithful and refers to the spiritual life. Characteristic is the passage from John the Evangelist which is written in Revelation: "Blessed is he who has a part in the first resurrection" (Rev. 20:5). This means that there is a first resurrection, which the saints participate in, and a second. To see what is the theological meaning of the first and second resurrection we must first consider what is the first and second death. The first death is the sepa-
ration of man from God, Who is the real life, and the second death is the definitive separation of sinners from God that will occur at the Second Coming of Christ. Thus, the first resurrection is the communion of man with God, as long as man lives in this world within the Church, and the second resurrection is the communion of man with God at His Second Coming, when his body also will be resurrected. Therefore, the first resurrection that is within the Church is very important, where man lives biologically. This is the "period of a thousand years". In Revelation, John the Evangelist speaks of those who did not worship the beast and his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand, and who "lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years" (Rev. 20:4). What is this period of a thousand years? According to Saint Andrew of Caesarea, the time of a thousand years is symbolic and characterizes a period "from the time of Christ's coming to the appearance of the Antichrist", that is, the period of the Church in history. Those who truly live in the Church with its Mysteries and asceticism live the first resurrection, and the second resurrection will occur when their bodies are raised at the Second Advent of Christ. Thus, according to Saint Andrew of Caesarea, there are two deaths and two resurrections. The first death is the spiritual and physical death, which came from man's disobedience to the command of God, and the second death is eternal hell. By extension, the first resurrection is "those who are brought to life from dead works",
which occurs through Baptism, Chrismation and the deadening of the passions, while the second resurrection is the alteration "from the corruption of the body to incorruption." This means that when we live in the Orthodox Church, with the Mysteries and asceticism, we partake in the first resurrection, which, as Anthimos of Jerusalem writes, "is the the glory of God and grace", which is received "in this life by the saints". For those living the first resurrection there is no power "in the second death, which is the distancing from God." John the Evangelist blesses those who partake in the first resurrection who now live this biological life. These are saints: "Blessed and holy are they who have a place in the first resurrection", because "on these the second death has no dominion." Those who partake in the first resurrection will be "priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with them a thousand years" (Rev. 20:6). The Church, beloved brethren and children in the Lord, with all the splendor in which it celebrates the Resurrection of Christ, wants to encourage and motivate us to live the first resurrection from now, that is, the liberation from the passions and the life of the Resurrection of Christ in our hearts. Thus, we avoid the death of sin acting within us. In this way we will experience Grace, the love and peace of Christ within us, and this life unfolds around us. And then there will be hope for a second resurrection, the eternal communion with Christ. Source: April 2011 (Paschal Encyclical, 2011). Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
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A MEDITATION ON THE G REAT C OMPLINE By Stylianos Gerasimos The overnight hours have always offered the opportunity for man and God to communicate and have a relationship. This is because man at this time has a certain capacity to remove himself from the earth, in order to develop his path towards heaven. The Lord Himself often prayed at night: "Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God" (Lk. 6:12). The Church, realizing this need of man, established that besides ones personal prayers there ought to be common prayers for this time, and they came to be known as Compline [It was named Apodeipnon because it was established to be performed "after supper”]. After the fourteenth century it seemed necessary to cut short the Compline, which over the years became quite lengthy due to continuous additions. Eventually the Service of Small Compline prevailed, which is read throughout most of the year. The older and more extensive Service prevailed to be read during the period of Great Lent and came to be known as the Great Compline. Since Great Lent is a solemn period, this Service "is a prayer for the forgiveness of the sins of the day and for an un-scandalous
passage through the night." The Great Compline is read on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights during Great Lent. Wednesday night the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is performed, and Friday night is chanted the Salutations to the Most Holy Theotokos. Saturday night the Small Compline is read. In monasteries the Small Compline is
read in the narthex of the church. The entire Great Compline is read in the nave. With the help of the Psalms and prayers of Great Compline, the believer is able to make an inventory of the events of the day that passed. This self-evaluation will help stir within him repentance for his spiritual failures. "Every night my couch is drenched with tears, my bed is soaked through" (Ps. 6:6). During Great Compline we chant two ancient hymns of our Church. The first is “God is with us. Understand, all ye
nations, and submit yourselves: For God is with us." This comes from the hymn of Isaiah in the ninth chapter of his Old Testament book. The second poem chanted begins “With never-silent hymns, the bodiless powers of the Cherubim glorify Thee." It is a hymn of doxology addressed to God the Father, which is an expression of the soul's exaltation of man to God. Man, with this doxological hymn, has the feeling of abandoning himself to the grace and mercy of God We thus observe, that God's ineffable love for man extends even when he sleeps. This fact is emphasized in the following prayer: <i>"Lord, Lord, Who deliverest us from every arrow that flieth by day... Vouchsafe us also to pass without reproach the course of the night.” Only God can provide effective assistance for His creation in every course of life, especially when we are being tested. Man is tested and grieved day and night, until he cries out: "Lord of the Powers, be with us, for we have no other help in times of distress but Thee. O Lord of the Powers, have mercy upon us."
Our Lord Jesus Christ
“G OD
IS WITH US . U NDERSTAND , ALL YE NATIONS , AND SUBMIT YOURSELVES : F OR G OD IS WITH US ."
T HE F ORERUNNER
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Y OUTH M INISTRIES R EPORT
L OTS
OF THINGS HAPPENING WITH OUR GOYA! MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR ALL O UR SPECIAL EVENTS DURING THE S PRING AND S UMMER
In Ancient News… Belated congratulations to everyone who participated in 2017 Christmas pageant. We had almost 50 kids join us. The costumes were beautiful, thanks to Tera Bogdos and the singing was lovely— many thanks to Kirsten Shah. We also applaud Alex Shah who once again served as our narrator. Last, but not least, thanks to the Morton brothers who remade our manger barn just in time for the production. We hope that next year we can get a good turnout for the advent retreat so that the kids have a little more time to rehearse. That said, we think the children did amazingly well.
- we thank them for each of their 10+ years as GOYA advisors. Bravo! Youth Ministries held its annual Loukoumades fundraiser Jan. 28. Many thanks to members of the YM committee who helped pull it off, including assembling the fryer: Khanh and George Moutafis, Connie Rafailedes, Maria Kerbow, Gail Poriotis and Hope File. Money raised will go to youth-related activities at St. John’s.
The 2018 Oratorical Festival was held Feb. 4. All our presenters did a wonderful job - we only wish there were more of them! I hope to make the speeches available for those who would like to read them in the The 2018 GOYA Basketupcoming weeks. Our young ball Tournament was orators spoke on a variety of seriheld Jan. 12-15, in Dallas. ous topics and their deep thinkWe had 16 GOYAns partici- ing was evident in the essays they pate: Maddie Chokas, Chris- produced. Matei Tudora was our tian and Lexie Eftimie, only participant in the Junior Vivian Geil, Katerina Division; Penelopi Yiantsou and Genovezos, Sydney and Zoe Luca Tudora presented their esGeorgulas, Ethan Hodges, says for the senior division. George and Sophia Manos, Matei and Penelopi will proceed Abbie Molhoek, Alex Shah, to the Metropolis round which Luca and Matei Tudora, will take place March 9-11 at St. Penelopi Yiantsou and SanAnna Parish in Cottonwood dro Zingas. Seven advisors Heights, Utah. Congratulations also attended: Daniel to all three presenters, their Bishop, Alex Genovezos, speeches were all amazing. We Michael Poriotis, Gina Poula- also want to thank our distinkos, Ian Rehmet, Elizabeth guished judges: Maria Halkias Seals and Maria Tudora. The and John Lucas from Holy Tringirls’ team lost all three of ity, and Zach Lueth from St. Bartheir games; the boys won all bara’s. three. Win or lose, the kids enjoyed the fellowship of the Applications for the 2018 other Orthodox youth in Philoptochos Scholarship attendance. The 2018 tourare now available - both online nament was the last hurrah and on hard copy in the Narthex. for advisors Gina and Michael The scholarship is open to all
high school seniors at St. John's. See Gail Poriotis for details (poriotis@sbcglobal.net or 214-707-1827). In new news… The Youth Ministries Committee will hold its YM spring planning session on Sunday, March 11. The committee welcomes new members who have an interest in the youth of our parish. We will meet in the conference room following church. Among the items to be discussed will be Pascha. We are fortunate to have Khanh Moutafis, who is once again organizing the luminaries which will line the walkway around the church during Good Friday (April 6) and the Agape service (April 7/8). She welcomes assistance with this project from the GOYA. Melissa Barnes also has agreed to continue to coordinate the Myrofores girls for the Good Friday service, April 6. An email will be sent out later this month regarding this. And Athena Russo will return as our maestro of the egg hunt for Pascha, April 8. An email on what’s needed will be sent out shortly. Thank you Khanh, Melissa and Athena for all you do. The annual Youth Ministries High School Graduation Luncheon will take place April 29. We will honor our high school grads and at the same time (Continued on page 9)
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PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS Greetings… In the past year, the St. Irene Philoptochos ladies have been true to our mission. Since the beginning of September, 720 sack lunches have been provided to the Union Gospel Mission. Our next Sandwich Making day will be on Wednesday, March 7th, at 5:00 p.m. Friday, February 23rd was our first Lenten soup sup-
per of the season. Please speak with Kathy Fox if you would like to provide a dish for either of the upcoming soup suppers. (March 9th and March 23rd) Easter Bake Sale forms are now available. Baked goods will be available for pick up on Palm Sunday.
ing money for the flowers to be used in our Easter Church decorating. Each year the Kouvouklion looks amazingly beautiful. I look forward to seeing you all at our next meeting, March 18th Veronica Fisher President, St. Irene Philoptochos
Sunday March 4, 11th and 18th, we will be collectP HILOPTOCHOS
C HURCH S CHOOL Greetings… We are in the midst of our Journey to Pascha. I look forward to many more families participating in the Journey and learning just a bit more about our beautiful Lenten services. Here are some upcoming dates to note: 2/18 -- Forgiveness Sunday 2/25 -- No class, Sunday of Orthodoxy (Procession of Icons)
3/16--No class due to Spring Break 3/31 --- Lenten Retreat 4/1 --- Palm Sunday 4/8 --No class, Great and Holy Pascha 5/20 --End of Church School Year Awards and Picnic We will be looking forward to lots of help during our Lenten Retreat. All Church School students are invited to our Lenten Retreat and are encouraged to attend. Father Vasile will be
providing a lesson and offering Confession. A Lenten friendly lunch will be provided. We make Palm Crosses for Palm Sunday, and it takes many hands to make enough for everyone to have a Cross. Please feel free to contact me with questions, ideas and to hear about volunteer opportunities. May your journey to Pascha be beautiful! Veronica Fisher
Y OUTH M INISTRIES R EPORT (C ONT ) announce the winner of the 2018 Philoptochos Scholarship. This year’s grads are: Maddie Chokas, Zoe Crawford, Zoe Georgulas, Christian Eftimie, Abbie Molhoek, Alex Shah and Sandro Zingas.
Mark your calendars... The End-of-Year Picnic for Church School takes place May 20. Camp Emmanuel takes place in June, but registration is April 30. The senior session is
June 10-16; the junior session is June 17-23. Vacation Bible School is schedule for June 5, 6, 7 and 8 Harriet Blake
REMINDS YOU OF THE E ASTER BAKE S ALE AND THE F LOWER COLLECTION FOR THE K OUVOUKLION
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(Continued from page 3)
Expulsion from Paradise
hind this fallen world and setting aside all that is material will eventually happen at death. The soul leaves the body that returns to the earth and the immaterial soul reaches toward God. Our access to material goods is over at that point and, if we have formed attachments, too bad, I suppose this will be a component of hell for us, as we will crave them in vain like an addict in withdrawal. 2. Great Lent, the regaining of the purpose of Creation
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COMES TO BREAK OUR ADDICTION TO MATTER AND ALLOWS US TO REGAIN THE TASTE OF PARADISE LOST
The Great Lent
What shall we do then? In Monasteries, the first week of Lent, Clean Week, is spent in deep, compunctionate prayer, eating pretty much nothing, except for partaking twice in Holy Communion. Even with one’s best efforts and practice, at the end one feels exhausted, because we cannot leave without material food, we are not yet saints, at least not yet. Like the prodigal son we should try instead to use this beautiful practice of the Church to recover the original meaning of the physical world and use it only to get in a closer communion with God. At the conclusion of Clean Week, EVERYTHING will taste wonderfully. After leaving behind most everything, our taste for life is renewed and we get to enjoy again what we were taking for granted. Apples, where have you been? Bread? Taste of heaven! Kale? What a sweet fragrance! And
IN ACTION (CONT)
more interestingly, we now feel a different taste that only a cleansed heart can feel: the taste of heaven! I am not advocating that people should starve to death to re-discover the taste of life but, eating simply during fast, should allow us to rekindle our relationship with the material world and open us a little more every year towards the uncreated. Today we have so much of everything! Go to a grocery store and you’ll see fruits that my great-grand parents never knew existed: bananas, kiwi, pineapple...goji berries?! Even regular seasonal fruits like strawberries and my favorite raspberries are available year-round. We don’t have to wait for anything. We have so much to taste and yet nothing pleases us and we are always looking for new things for our discerning palate to experience. After a while, however, all acquire the same bland taste, and nothing satisfies us anymore, yet, paradoxically, we cannot leave without them. We need our fix every day, we are junkies of matter. Elder Cleopa tells a story on how he received three new shiny coins from a faithful and he liked them so much, because they were new and glittery, and he could not stop himself from looking at them all the
time. Then he started to be obsessed with anyone stealing them and begun to suspect plots against him from the brothers. In the end, he realized that he was struck with the love for silver and, in order to escape it, he gifted the money to a beggar and this is how he was cured. Lent comes to break our addiction to matter and allows us to regain the taste of paradise lost, to smell once more the fragrance of prayer that is lifted up to God, to feel the loving embrace of the Father welcoming His prodigal Son, to hear the words of forgiveness from His holy mouth and see for ourselves that the Lord is Good! All our senses are prepped to perceive the reality of the Kingdom. Lent is not a rejection of matter, but a return to its meaning and a pre-taste of the “new heaven and the new earth” that is to arrive with Christ at His second coming. In this new world, our newly refashioned spiritualized bodies, after the model of the resurrected Christ, will crave no more the fallen Creation, but will simply live by being in eternal and complete communion with God, fulfilling the purpose that was given to us since the beginning of the world. The renewed Creation will cease to be just an icon, a reflection of the original, but will identify itself with God, whose living body is, and shall always be. Amen.
V OLUME XXXV C HRIST R EMOVED
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T HREE O BSTACLES B ETWEEN G OD
manhood, the second by being put to death on the cross. As for the final barMen were triply separier, the tyranny of death, rated from God; by naHe eliminated it completely ture, by sin and by death yet the Savior made them from our nature by rising to attain to Him perfectly again. and to be immediately united to Him by succes- For this reason Paul says: sively removing all obsta- “the last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 15:26). He cles. would not have called it an enemy unless it were an obThe first barrier He restacle to our true joy. It is moved by partaking of By St. Nicholas Cabasilas
AND
M AN
necessary that the heirs of the immortal God should be set free from corruption, for Paul says, “corruption does not inherit incorruption: (1 Cor. 15:50). After the common resurrection of mankind of which the Savior’s resurrection is the cause, the “mirror” and the “dimness” (1 Cor. 13:12) recede.
St Nicholas Cabasillas
From “The Life in Christ”
P RAYER FOR B LESSING OF F OOD A FTER PASCHA Blessed is our God: Amen. Paschal Troparion Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down Death by death, and upon those in the tomb bestowing life. (Thrice.) A. Flesh-meat Let us pray to the Lord.Lord have mercy. O Lord Jesus Christ, our God, look down upon this meat, and sanctify it, as You sanctified the ram which the faithful Abraham brought to You, and as the lamb which Able offered to You as a whole-offering; likewise, also, the fatted calf which You commanded to be slain for Your prodigal son when he returned to You, that, as he was counted worthy to delight in Your good things, so
may we also delight in those things that are sanctified and blessed by You for the nourishment of us all. For You are the true Nourishment, and the Giver of good things, and to You we send up glory, together with Your Father Who is without beginning, and Your Most-holy, Good, and Life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. B Cheese and eggs and other foods O Master, Lord our God, Author and Creator of all things: Bless the cheese and the eggs, and preserve us in Your goodness, that, as we partake of them, we may be filled with Your gifts, ungrudgingly bestowed, and with Your ineffable goodness. For Yours is the might, and Yours is the Kingdom, and
the power, and the glory, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. The Dismissal of the day is pronounced.
D ON ’ T FORGET TO BRING YOU PASCHA
B ASKET TO BE BLESSED AFTER L ITURGY ON P ASCHA
T HE F ORERUNNER
P AGE 12 B OOK AND S OUP FOR THE S OUL
During lent we are reading again a book fruitful for the soul, “The Return” by Archmandrite Nektarios Antonopoulos . The books details the consequences of sin and offers advice for our spiritual preparation before Holy Confession. A must read for all Orthodox Christians. Copies at the Bookstore.
PARISH W EBSITE AND S OCIAL MEDIA
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C ATECHISM 2017-2018 CLOSE TO THE E ND
Our Catechism / Faith Enrichment that started on September 10 will conclude on Holy Saturday when some of the graduates will be received in the Orthodox Faith Many thanks to all who helped us during this time: Serban Morcovescu, Laurentiu Popa, Presbytera Mirela Tudora, Betsy Hayes, Cristina Korzun and many others. Join us at 9am on Holy Saturday, April 7, to welcome home our new brothers and sisters!
A COLYTE S CHEDULE
B OOK AND S OUP T HE R ETURN A RCHMANDRITE N EKTARIOS A NTONOPOULOS
U SHER S CHEDULE 1st Sunday: Bill Coltrin/ Florentina Constantine 2nd Sunday: Steven Killfoil/ Zachary Reimer 3rd Sunday: Michael Poriotis / Ivo Ivanov 4th Sunday: Chrisanti Andromalou / Margo Yiantsou 5th Sunday: Michael Poriotis/ Larry Leeders
C OFFEE H OUR D UTIES SETUP Arrange pastries/food in a desirable manner on the appropriate tables in the parish hall. You are responsible for making the coffee. Make two pots: one regular, one decaf. Plug in be-
1st Sunday: Alex Genovezos, Caleb Ellis, Luca Tudora, Matei Tudora 2nd Sunday: Dimitri Rodgers, Alex Shah, Chris Eftimie, Joseph Berca, Noah Ellis 3rd Sunday: Alex Genovezos, Caleb Ellis, Luca Tudora, Matei Tudora 4th Sunday: Noah Ellis, Alex Shah, Chris Eftimie, Dimitri Rodgers 5th Sunday: Matei Tudora, Alex Genovezos, Alex Shah, Luca Tudora fore going into church. The instructions are in the kitchen. Prepare a tray with sugar, creamer, sugar substitute, mixing straws, a few spoons. Set with trash bucket. Put donation basket out with appropriate sign.
C OFFEE H OUR H OST
As you probably know already , we have recently switched to a new Coffee hour system where every family will host a coffee hour per year. Please see Connie Rafailedes or Michael Strong to schedule Your Sunday.
CLEAN UP Wash all dishes soiled, including coffee pots. Return sugar tray to kitchen and replenish it. Wash off hall tables and kitchen counters. Thank-You
V OLUME XXXV
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T HE T ROPARION OF KASSIANI By P.B. Paschou Let us now come to the famous poetic masterpiece of Kassiani, which is chanted on Great Tuesday evening and is part of Matins for Great Wednesday, that begins "Lord, she who had fallen in; many sins". This troparion is chanted in plagal of the fourth tone, and is a poetic lyrically clear elaboration of a scene from the Gospel, that is very dramatic: the scene is of the prostitute who came weeping to Christ, when He was in the house of Simon the Pharisee, and she began to pour precious myrrh and hot tears on His feet, and then wiped them off with her loosened hair, which until then was a net with which she fished young men into sin. One must not have the slightest idea and knowledge of literature in general, and poetry in particular, to ascribe the sins of the woman of the poem to the woman who wrote the poem, and so equate the prostitute of the Gospel with the venerable nun Kassiani, who wrote this famous poem That the poem was made for the prostitute of the Gospel is shown a) from internal testimony ("offering Thee myrrh before Thy burial") and b) from external testimony, given by the Tradition of the Church, which has put this troparion to be chanted on that day of Holy and Great Week, when repentance is spoken about with the public confession of "the prostitute woman who anointed the Lord
with myrrh.
of my head; those feet which, one evening, when Eve heard the steps Finally, it would not be of in Paradise, she ran to hide out improper to give a rough of fear. I am very sinful, Lord. translation of the troparion, For, just as one cannot count the even though if delivered multitude of sins that I have comwell with Byzantine music mitted so far, so also can no one it has no need of an intercount the abyss of Your just judgpretation - for those Chris- ment and Your love, by which you tians of the Orthodox save our souls, my Savior and my Church, of course, who God. Do not now overlook and be love to follow the services. in contempt of Your servant, who Therefore, this troparion of is repentant and pleads with You Kassiani is as follows: for Your compassion, You who are of immeasurable and infinite Lord, the woman who strayed compassion. from Your path and fell into many sins, as soon as she real- The "love of sin", which ized how close she was to aublinds the wise and shreds the thentic love, the Lord of all, powerful, has mounted all of God, she sold everything to buy us and holds us by our pasprecious myrrh, and like ansions and weaknesses, as if other myrrhbearer, she comes holding the mane of a horse, with sighs and tears, bringing and the inspiration of deto You shortly before Your bauchery pushes us to fall into burial, the myrrh of her love. the abyss of loss. Hopefully Woe to me, groans the sinful we can all shake off, these woman, having within me days, the inspiration of denight of complete darkness, bauchery and the passionate and the only thing churning love of sin, that governs us, to inside my thick darkness, is the burn away all our loves for inspiration for debauchery and sin, and with the myrrh of our the eternal passionate love for tears wipe the immaculate sin, that makes my life like a feet of Christ, that journey gloomy night, without a moon. along the road of martyrdom, for our sake. But You, my Lord, accept the tears that run like a faucet Translated by John Sanidofrom my eyes, You, who makes poulos here the water of the sea into a cloud, that gently falls back to earth. Bend down and hear the heavy sighs of my pained heart, You, who lowered the heavens by Your inexpressible incarnation. Let me kiss all over and wash with my tears Your immaculate feet, and then wipe them with the hair
T HE " LOVE OF SIN ", WHICH BLINDS THE WISE AND SHREDS THE POWERFUL , HAS MOUNTED ALL OF US AND HOLDS US BY OUR PASSIONS AND WEAKNESSES ,
St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church March 2018 SUN
MON
TUE
WED
THU 1
FRI
SAT
2
3
Hesychios the Martyr Nicholas Planas
Eutropios, Kleonikos, Vasiliskos, Theodoretos of Antioch
Presanctified 6 am Salutations 6pm
Orthros 8am Divine Liturgy 9am Vespers 5pm
Fasting Symbols Strict Fast
Eudokia of Heliopolis Andonina the New Martyr
Wine/Oil Allowed Fish Allowed
4 Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas Gerasimos the Righteous Paul & his sister Juliana 8:30 am Orthros 9:30 am Byzantine Divine Liturgy 12 pm Catechism 6pm Pan Orthodox Vespers (Sts C-tine & Helen)
11 Sunday of the Holy Cross Sophronios, Pat. of Jerusalem Theodora the Righteous 8:30 am Orthros 9:30 am Divine Liturgy Procession with True Cross 12 pm Catechism 6pm Pan Orthodox Vespers (St. John)
18 Sunday of St. John Climacus Cyril, Patriarch of Jerusalem 8:30 am Orthros 9:30 am Divine Liturgy 12 pm Catechism 6pm Pan Orthodox Vespers (St. Demetrios)
25 Annunciation Greek Independence Day 8:30 am Orthros 9:30 am Divine Liturgy Annunciation/Greek Independence Luncheon 6pm Pan Orthodox Vespers (St. Seraphim)
5
6
7
8
9
10
Konon the Gardener Mark the Ascetic
42 Martyrs of Amorion Finding the Cross by Helen
7 Hieromartyrs of Cherson Laurence of Megara
Theophylaktos, Bp. Nicomedea Hermas of the 70
40 Martyrs at Lake Sebaste Caesarios the Righteous
Kodratos & his Companions Anastasia of Alexandria
Great Compline 6pm
Presanctified 6pm Byzantine Concert 7:00pm
12
13
Theophanes the Confessor Symeon the New Theologian
Removal of Relics of Nicephoros Pouplios, Bishop of Athens
Great Compline 6pm
19
Fathers Monastery of St. Savas Cuthbert the Wonderworker
Great Compline 6pm
26 Synaxis of Archangel Gabriel 26 Martyrs in Crimea Great Compline 6pm
Benedict of Nursia Euschemon, Bp. Lampasakos
21 James the Confessor Thomas, Pat. Of Constantinople
Orthros 8am Divine Liturgy 9am Vespers 5pm
15
16
Agapios & his Companions Manuel of Crete
Savinos of Egypt Christodoulos of Patmos
Alexios the Man of God Patrick of Ireland
Presanctified 6 am Salutations 6pm
Orthros 8am Divine Liturgy 9am Vespers 5pm
Presanctified 6pm Book and Soup
20
Chrysanthos & Daria Demetrios the New Martyr
14
Presanctified 6 am Salutations 6pm Soup and Salad
22 Great Canon of Andrew of Crete
23 Nikon & Companions Anatolios & Protoleon
Basil of Ancyra Kalliniki & Vassilisa
17
24 Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow Orthros 8am Divine Liturgy 9am Vespers 5pm
Presanctified 6pm Boook and Soup
Great Canon 6pm
Presanctified 6 am Akathist 6pm Soup and Salad
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28
29
30
31
Matrona of Thessaloniki Paul, Bishop of Corinth
Hilarion the New Herodion of the 70
John Climacus Sosthenes, Apollos, Cephas, & Caesar & Epaphroditos
Lazarus Saturday
Presanctified 6pm Book and Soup
Mark, Bishop of Arethusa Cyril the deacon
Presanctified 6 am Vespers 6pm
Hypatios the Wonderworker Innocent of Alaska Orthros 8am Divine Liturgy 9am Church School Retreat 10am Vespers 5pm
St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church April 2018 SUN
MON
TUE
WED
THU
1
2
3
4
5
FRI
SAT
6
7
Palm Sunday
Holy Monday
Holy Tuesday
Holy Wednesday
Holy Thursday
Holy Friday
Holy Saturday
8:30 am Orthos 9:30 am Divine Liturgy Bridegroom 7pm
Presanctified 6 am Bridegroom 7pm
Presanctified 6 am Bridegroom 7pm
Presanctified 6 am Holy Unction 5:30pm Holy Supper Matins 7pm
Washing of the Feet 9:30am Vesperal Liturgy 10 am Passions Service 7pm
Royal Hours 8am Taking from the Cross 3pm Lamentations 7pm
Baptisms 9am Vesperal Liturgy 10 am Resurectional Service Service 11:30pm
9
10
11
12
13
14
Renewal Monday
Renewal Tuesday
Renewal Wednesday
Renewal Thursday
Renewal Friday
Eupsychios the Martyr Vadin the Righteous of Persia
Terrence & his Companions Gregory V. Pat. Of Constan. Raphael, Nicholas and Irene
Antipas, Bishop of Pergamon Pharmuthios the Anchorite
Basil the Confessor of Parium Anthoussa of Constantinople
Theotokos of the Lifegiving Font Martin, Pope of Rome
Renewal Vigil 6pm
Divine Liturgy 6am
16
17
18
Agape, Chionia, Irene, Martyrs
Symeon, Bishop of Persia Makarios, Bishop of Corinth
8 GREAT AND HOLY PASCHA
12:30 Agape Vespers
15
19
20
Aristarchos, Pudens, Trophimos Thomais of Alexandria
Vespers 5pm
21
Thomas Sunday Crescens the Martyr Leonidas, Bishop of Athens 8:30 am Orthos 9:30 am Divine Liturgy
John the Righteous, Disciple of Gregory of Decapolis Euthemios, Enlightener of Karelia
Paphnoutious the Holy Martyr George the Confessor
Theodore of Trichinas Zacchaeus of Caesaria
Paraklesis 6pm
22 Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women
23
24
Great Martyr George
Theodore the Skyeote Nathaniel, Luke, & Clement 8:30 am Orthos 9:30 am Divine Liturgy PC Meeting Vespers 6pm
29 Sunday of the Paralytic Jason & Sosipater of the 70 Martyr Cercyra 8:30 am Orthos 9:30 am Divine Liturgy Graduation Luncheon
Divine Liturgy 6am
Elizabeth the Wonderworker Savvas the General of Rome
25 Mark the Apostle & Evang. Emmanuel, Theodore, Gregory, Michael, Gregory New Martyrs
Vespers 5:00 pm
26 Basil, Bishop of Amasea Glaphyra the Righteous
27 Symeon the Holy Martyr Eulogios the Innkeeper
Divine Liturgy 6am
28 9 Monk-martyrs of Cyzikos Memmon the Wonderworker
Vespers 5pm
30 Fasting Symbols James the Apostle Argyra the New Martyr
Ianouarios and Companions Alexandra the Empress
Strict Fast Wine/ oil allowed Fast Free Fish Allowed Dairy Allowed
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THE FORERUNNER
Vol. XXXV No. 02 March-April 2018
Christ the Bridegroom