Lay Leadership. Matushka Terri Smith Choir Director Chris Romano

Transcription

1 SAINT MARY OF EGYPT ORTHODOX CHURCH IN AMERICA Newsletter SEPTEMBER Beaver Ruin Rd. Norcross, GA Clergy Archpriest Peter Smith Rector Hieromonk Cyprian DuRant) Deacon Lazarus Muska Archpriest Dimitri Oselinsky (attached) Priest Thomas Alessandroni (attached) September 1 September 8 September 11 September 14 Calendar Highlights Beginning of New Liturgical Year Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos Sunday School Begins Feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross Lay Leadership Matushka Terri Smith Choir Director mommatisme@aol.com Chris Romano chrisromanorn@gmail.com Janice Douglass Co-Treasurer douglass5@aol.com David DeMar Co-Treasurer dfdemar@gmail.com Reader Thomas Hobbs Warden brantley.hobbs@gmail.com Taylor Hostetter hostetter@charter.net Debra Peterson ivyharp@mindspring.com Michael McKinley Secretary Stickman21@comcast.net By Thy Nativity, O Most Pure Virgin, Joachim and Anna are freed from barrenness; Adam and Eve, from the corruption of death. And we, Thy people, freed from the guilt of sin, celebrate and sing to Thee: The barren woman gives birth to the Theotokos, the nourisher of our life! - Kontakion of the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos

2 PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION ARE NEEDED FOR: The Orthodox Church in America Metropolitan Jonah; Archbishop Dmitri, Our Holy Synod, Bishop Nikon Archpriest Peter, Matushka Anastasia Hieromonk Cyprian, Priest Thomas; Matushka Angela Archpriest Dimitri; Matushka Maryanne Deacon Lazarus Archbishop Seraphim Metropolitan Theodosius; Metropolitan Herman, Our catechumens: Cameron; Margaret, Christina The infant Juliana & family David, Elizabeth and David Danielle and Michael (Ralph Geeza s niece and brother) Demetrios, Tamara, Maura Faith, Caroline Hope and Thomas Reilly Pridmore; Nellie Pridmore Sasha, Natalie, Kristina and Peter Anthony Alessandroni Babylos, Tatyana, Natalie and the newly born child Leah Niphon, Thea and the child to be born of her Jason & Elizabeth and the child to be born of her and Coleman Patrick Dawn and Mike Bloechl in Anchorage and their 4 year old daughter Ellie battling leukemia; Logan and Connor in Alaska (brothers requiring kidney transplants) Deacon Kevin, Kamilla Joy, Justin Peter, Abigail Marie, Symeon Basil and Miranda Rose Smith Lottie Sivulich; Dena Smith; Gordon and June Smith, Mary Kowalski (Fr. Peter & Mother Terri's families) Mary (Janice Douglass mother), Robert and Xenia Peterson Ellen, Michael & Serah (Margaret s family) Elaine Calugar and family, Carole; Nicodemus and Elizabeth Anna, Victor; Tanya and family - especially Veronica; Ed, Allan, Pauline; Todd, Kimber, Mathew, Maggie, Amanda and Scott; Irene and Jimmy (Vilma Irene s daughter in law and son) "Baby Leo" - the son of Fr. & Matushka Tregubov. Meghan; Nick as he battles a brain tumor Millie, Ron, BJ, Gail, Dustin, Jordan, Donna and Christopher Karen Elrod Williams (sister of Curtis Elrod who is battling stage 4 ovarian cancer) Adam and Rachel Harris and their family Carol, Peter Vien,Ruth, Henry and all of Peter s family Devon, Matthew & Tracey Bonaker, Steve & Earlene Nesselrote All Seminary students from the Diocese of the South; All Missions and Mission Stations in the DOS All those who have suffered and/or are suffering at the hands of others or without friends or family Those Who Have Fallen Asleep in the Lord Gayle Brown (Demetrios Pridmore s mother) Elizabeth (Ralph Geeza s aunt) All who have lost their lives through the violence and natural disasters around the world The Nativity of the Theotokos - September 8 By Fr. Stephen Freeman Today marks the birth of the Mother of God on the calendar of the Orthodox Church (New Calendar). It is one of the twelve major feasts of the year. It is also a feast which shares a great deal in common with many other events in the course of Scripture all of which emphasize the character of our salvation. The story of Mary s conception and birth, as received by Tradition in the Orthodox faith, is similar to many stories within Scripture: it is the story of fruitfulness within the context of barrenness. The account tells us that Mary s parents, Joachim and Anna, were elderly. St. Joachim served as a priest in the Temple in Jerusalem his wife had never given him a child. In the story, Joachim bears the reproach of his fellow priests. He and Anna offer prayers to God in their barrenness and God shows mercy: they conceive a child and become the parents of her who is to be the Mother of our Lord. The story of barrenness is common in the Old Testament. Abraham and Sarah cannot have a child. Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel, cannot have a child. God hears their prayers and gives a blessing. From their barrenness will come the salvation of Israel. The ultimate barrenness in this understanding is the virginal womb of Mary. How can a virgin give birth to a child and yet remain a virgin? All the stories of barrenness in Scripture look forward to and prefigure this final barren womb. God will bring fruitfulness out of barrenness. Mary s fruitfulness itself is a prefigurement of the cosmic barrenness of a world that has cut itself off from God. Hades is the ultimate barrenness. There the dead cannot even offer praise. But Christ becomes the firstborn of the dead a phrase that is so rich in contradiction and paradox that it is often overlooked. How can death yield life? How can the barrenness of Hades yield a firstborn anything? And yet it does. God, Who so loves the world, has emptied Himself and entered the most barren of all places. There He has trampled down death by death and made a path to the resurrection for

3 all. Hades becomes the place of new birth. Thus it is into Christ s death we are Baptized that we might be raised in the likeness of His resurrection. These things remind us that the barrenness of our own lives are not the final say. God brings life from death and undoes the emptiness of the universe by making it full. May She who was born this day, the mother of God the Word, pray for us all that we, too, might be fruitful bearers of the word of God to the praise of the glory of His grace! signed the Edict of Milan to oblige Constantine, still fanatically continued the persecutions against Christians. Only after his conclusive defeat did the 313 Edict of toleration extend also to the Eastern part of the empire. The Holy Equal of the Apostles Emperor Constantine, having gained victory over his enemies in three wars with God's assistance, had seen in the heavens the Sign of the Cross, and written beneath: "By this you shall conquer." Ardently desiring to find the Cross on which our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, St Constantine sent his mother, the pious Empress Helen (May 21), to Jerusalem, providing her with a letter to St Macarius, Patriarch of Jerusalem. Although the holy empress Helen was already in her declining years, she set about completing the task with enthusiasm. The empress gave orders to destroy the pagan temple and the statues in Jerusalem. Searching for the Life-Creating Cross, she made inquiry of Christians and Jews, but for a long time her search remained unsuccessful. The Elevation of the Venerable and Life-Creating Cross of the Lord - Commemorate September 14 The pagan Roman emperors tried to completely eradicate from human memory the holy places where our Lord Jesus Christ suffered and was resurrected for mankind. The Emperor Hadrian ( ) gave orders to cover over the ground of Golgotha and the Sepulchre of the Lord, and to build a temple of the pagan goddess Venus and a statue of Jupiter. Pagans gathered at this place and offered sacrifice to idols there. Eventually after 300 years, by Divine Providence, the great Christian sacred remains, the Sepulchre of the Lord and the Life-Creating Cross were again discovered and opened for veneration. This took place under the Emperor Constantine the Great ( ) after his victory in the year 312 over Maxentius, ruler of the Western part of the Roman empire, and over Licinius, ruler of its Eastern part. In the year 323 Constantine became the sole ruler of the vast Roman Empire. In 313 he had issued the Edict of Milan, by which the Christian religion was legalized and the persecutions against Christians in the Western half of the empire were stopped. The ruler Licinius, although he had Finally, they directed her to a certain elderly Hebrew by the name of Jude who stated that the Cross was buried where the temple of Venus stood. They demolished the pagan temple and, after praying, they began to excavate the ground. Soon the Tomb of the Lord was uncovered. Not far from it were three crosses, a board with the inscription ordered by Pilate, and four nails which had pierced the Lord's Body (March 6). In order to discern on which of the three crosses the Savior was crucified, Patriarch Macarius alternately touched the crosses to a corpse. When the Cross of the Lord touched the dead one, he came to life. Having beheld the raising of the dead man, everyone was convinced that the Life-Creating Cross was found. Christians came in a huge throng to venerate the Holy Cross, beseeching St Macarius to elevate the Cross, so that even those far off might reverently contemplate it. Then the Patriarch and other spiritual leaders raised up the Holy Cross, and the people, saying "Lord have mercy," reverently prostrated before the Venerable Wood. This solemn event occurred in the year 326. During the discovery of the Life-Creating Cross another miracle took place: a grievously sick woman, beneath the shadow of the Holy Cross, was healed

4 instantly. The elder Jude and other Jews there believed in Christ and accepted Holy Baptism. Jude received the name Cyriacus and afterwards was consecrated Bishop of Jerusalem. During the reign of Julian the Apostate ( ) he accepted a martyr's death for Christ (see October 28). The holy empress Helen journeyed to the holy places connected with the earthly life of the Savior, building more than 80 churches, at Bethlehem the birthplace of Christ, and on the Mount of Olives where the Lord ascended to Heaven, and at Gethsemane where the Savior prayed before His sufferings and where the Mother of God was buried after her death. St Helen took part of the Life-Creating Wood and nails with her to Constantinople. The holy emperor Constantine gave orders to build at Jerusalem a majestic and spacious church in honor of the Resurrection of Christ, also including under its roof the Life-Giving Tomb of the Lord and Golgotha. The temple was constructed in about ten years. St Helen did not survive until the dedication of the temple, she died in the year 327. The church was consecrated on September 13, 335. On the following day, September 14, the festal celebration of the Exaltation of the Venerable and Life-Creating Cross was established. Another event connected to the Cross of the Lord is remembered also on this day: its return to Jerusalem from Persia after a fourteen year captivity. During the reign of the Byzantine emperor Phocas ( ) the Persian emperor Khozroes II in a war against the Greeks defeated the Greek army, plundered Jerusalem and captured both the Life-Creating Cross of the Lord and the Holy Patriarch Zachariah ( ). The Cross remained in Persia for fourteen years and only under the emperor Heraclius ( ), who with the help of God defeated Khozroes and concluded peace with his successor and son Syroes, was the Cross of the Lord returned to the Christians. With great solemnity the Life-creating Cross was transferred to Jerusalem. Emperor Heraclius in imperial crown and royal purple carried the Cross of Christ into the temple of the Resurrection. With the emperor went Patriarch Zacharios. At the gates by which they ascended Golgotha, the emperor suddenly stopped and was not able to proceed farther. The holy Patriarch explained to the emperor that an angel of the Lord was blocking his way. The emperor was told to remove his royal trappings and to walk barefoot, since He Who bore the Cross for the salvation of the world from sin had made His way to Golgotha in all humility. Then Heraclius donned plain garb, and without further hindrance, carried the Cross of Christ into the church. In a sermon on the Exaltation of the Cross, St Andrew of Crete (July 4) says: "The Cross is exalted, and everything true gathers together, the Cross is exalted, and the city makes solemn, and the people celebrate the feast". O Lord, save Thy people, And bless Thine inheritance. Grant victories to the Orthodox Christians Over their adversaries. And by virtue of Thy Cross, Preserve Thy habitation. St. John the Theologian Commemorated September 26 From the OCA.org Lives of Saints The Holy, Glorious All-laudable Apostle and Evangelist, Virgin, and Beloved Friend of Christ, John the Theologian was the son of Zebedee and Salome, a daughter of St Joseph the Betrothed. He was called by our Lord Jesus Christ to be one of His Apostles at the same time as his elder brother James. This took place at Lake Gennesareth (i.e. the Sea of Galilee). Leaving behind their father, both brothers followed the Lord. The Apostle John was especially loved by the Savior for his sacrificial love and his virginal purity. After his calling, the Apostle John did not part from the Lord, and he was one of the three apostles who were particularly close to Him. St John the Theologian was present when the Lord restored the daughter of Jairus to life, and he was a witness to the Transfiguration of the Lord on Mount Tabor. During the Last Supper, he reclined next to the Lord, and laid his head upon His breast. He also asked the name of the Savior's betrayer. The Apostle John followed after the Lord when they led Him bound from

5 the Garden of Gethsemane to the court of the iniquitous High Priests Annas and Caiphas. He was there in the courtyard of the High Priest during the interrogations of his Teacher and he resolutely followed after him on the way to Golgotha, grieving with all his heart. out many devils from the pagan temples, and he healed a great multitude of the sick. Sorcerers with demonic powers showed great hostility to the preaching of the holy apostle. He especially frightened the chief sorcerer of them all, named Kinops, who boasted that they would destroy the At the foot of the Cross he stood with the Mother of God and heard the words of the Crucified Lord addressed to Her from the Cross: "Woman, behold Thy son." Then the Lord said to him, "Behold thy Mother" (John 19:26-27). From that moment the Apostle John, like a loving son, concerned himself over the Most Holy Virgin Mary, and he served Her until Her Dormition. After the Dormition of the Mother of God the Apostle John went to Ephesus and other cities of Asia Minor to preach the Gospel, taking with him his own disciple Prochorus. They boarded a ship, which floundered during a terrible tempest. All the travellers were cast up upon dry ground, and only the Apostle John remained in the depths of the sea. Prochorus wept bitterly, bereft of his spiritual father and guide, and he went on towards Ephesus alone. On the fourteenth day of his journey he stood at the shore of the sea and saw that the waves had cast a man ashore. Going up to him, he recognized the Apostle John, whom the Lord had preserved alive for fourteen days in the sea. Teacher and disciple went to Ephesus, where the Apostle John preached incessantly to the pagans about Christ. His preaching was accompanied by such numerous and great miracles, that the number of believers increased with each day. During this time there had begun a persecution of Christians under the emperor Nero (56-68). They took the Apostle John for trial at Rome. St John was sentenced to death for his confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but the Lord preserved His chosen one. The apostle drank a cup of deadly poison, but he remained alive. Later, he emerged unharmed from a cauldron of boiling oil into which he had been thrown on orders from the torturer. After this, they sent the Apostle John off to imprisonment to the island of Patmos, where he spent many years. Proceeding along on his way to the place of exile, St John worked many miracles. On the island of Patmos, his preaching and miracles attracted to him all the inhabitants of the island, and he enlightened them with the light of the Gospel. He cast Monastery of St. John on Patmos apostle. But the great John, by the grace of God acting through him, destroyed all the demonic artifices to which Kinops resorted, and the haughty sorcerer perished in the depths of the sea. The Apostle John withdrew with his disciple Prochorus to a desolate height, where he imposed upon himself a three-day fast. As St John prayed the earth quaked and thunder rumbled. Prochorus fell to the ground in fright. The Apostle John lifted him up and told him to write down what he was about to say. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord, Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty" (Rev 1:8), proclaimed the Spirit of God through the Apostle John. Thus in about the year 67 the Book of Revelation was written, known also as the "Apocalypse," of the holy Apostle John the Theologian. In this Book were predictions of the tribulations of the Church and of the end of the world. After his prolonged exile, the Apostle John received his freedom and returned to Ephesus, where he continued with his activity, instructing Christians to guard against false teachers and their erroneous teachings. In the year 95, the Apostle John wrote his Gospel at Ephesus. He called for all Christians to love the Lord and one another, and by this to fulfill the commands of Christ. The Church calls St John the "Apostle of Love", since he constantly taught that

6 without love man cannot come near to God. In his three Epistles, St John speaks of the significance of love for God and for neighbor. Already in his old age, he learned of a youth who had strayed from the true path to follow the leader of a band of robbers, so St John went out into the wilderness to seek him. Seeing the holy Elder, the guilty one tried to hide himself, but the Apostle John ran after him and besought him to stop. He promised to take the sins of the youth upon himself, if only he would repent and not bring ruin upon his soul. Shaken by the intense love of the holy Elder, the youth actually did repent and turn his life around. John's brother James the name "Sons of Thunder" as an awesome messenger in its cleansing power of the heavenly fire. And precisely by this the Savior pointed out the flaming, fiery, sacrificial character of Christian love, the preacher of which was the Apostle John the Theologian. The eagle, symbol of the lofty heights of his theological thought, is the iconographic symbol of the Evangelist John the Theologian. The appellation "Theologian" is bestown by Holy Church only to St John among the immediate disciples and Apostles of Christ, as being the seer of the mysterious Judgments of God. St John when he was more than a hundred years old, he far outlived the other eyewitnesses of the Lord, and for a long time he remained the only remaining eyewitness of the earthly life of the Savior. When it was time for the departure of the Apostle John, he went out beyond the city limits of Ephesus with the families of his disciples. He bade them prepare for him a cross-shaped grave, in which he lay, telling his disciples that they should cover him over with the soil. The disciples tearfully kissed their beloved teacher, but not wanting to be disobedient, they fulfilled his bidding. They covered the face of the saint with a cloth and filled in the grave. Learning of this, other disciples of St John came to the place of his burial. When they opened the grave, they found it empty. Each year from the grave of the holy Apostle John on May 8 came forth a fine dust, which believers gathered up and were healed of sicknesses by it. Therefore, the Church also celebrates the memory of the holy Apostle John the Theologian on May 8. PanOrthodox Women's Retreat participants learning to tie prayer ropes The Lord bestowed on His beloved disciple John and We must always remember that we are not condemned for the multitude of our evils, but because we do not want to repent and learn. And those who have sinned must not despair. Let that never be.' - St. Mark the Ascetic Children of the parish greeting Bishop Mark during his visit on August 13-14, 2011

7 Sunday School News: Sunday School will begin on September 11 Please contact Anya Gill with your children s names, ages and grade level We will be offering Sunday School for Preschool through High School Parish Council Corner Hall Cleanliness - We have made a new start on the clutter in the Parish Hall, with lots of extra kitchen and storage items being given new homes. Thanks to those who have worked so hard on this! It's now up to all of us to help keep the hall neat and free of clutter. Again, thanks to all of you for your efforts here. They are much appreciated! Coffee Hour - I have heard the remark "I've never seen a parish that does Coffee Hour as well as this place!" Thanks to all of you for your willingness to share and serve coffee hour occasionally. Please continue to take a look at the sign-up sheet in the hall, and consider helping out on those Sunday's that don't have anyone signed up. And, serving as a team is a wonderful way to spend time with your fellow parishioners. Finally, please remember that while the food, drink and service are "free", a donation to the coffee hour basket is a good way to ensure that we have all the proper supplies week to week. Thanks! Parish Website update - At long last, we've made a start on posting the videos that Mother Terri has been making each week (Yay!). There's a new section on the parish website named "Homilies and videos" (in the menu on the left). Please take a look and let Rdr. Thomas (Brantley) have some feedback. As of right now, there aren't many videos posted, but more and more will show up over time, both with new videos being posted, and the "backlog" of old videos being gradually uploaded. See to get started. Pressure washing temple - The parish council will decide today among the requested quotes for pressure-washing and sealing the temple. This is not a maintenance item that was budgeted for, but it simply must be done to preserve our beloved temple. There may be a fundraiser for this a little later in the year; suggestions are welcome! Preparation for pledge drive - Hard to believe, but the new Liturgical year is upon us. That means a new start in the festal cycle, and it also marks the point for us as a parish to start planning for the new fiscal year, starting in January. As in years past, there will be pledge forms circulated asking for our commitment in time and treasure. Please consider giving with both as much as possible. For our guests If you are a visitor or still new to our parish, please know first of all that you are most welcome. You are our honored guest today, but if you stay around we will soon make you a part of the family. Immediately following the Liturgy, we gather in the Church Hall for coffee and a snack. Please join us for a little food and socializing. We have a special table prepared in St. Julia s hall just for you! If you have children, we offer Church School for Preschool through High School immediately after we sing We Have Seen the True Light. Please let us know if you have any questions or if we can serve you in any way. God Bless You. Communion We are delighted to welcome non-orthodox friends, family, visitors and spiritual seekers. However, please know that the sacrament of Holy Communion is given only to those Baptized Orthodox Christians who have prepared themselves with recent Confession, Prayer, Fasting, and are right with their neighbors as much as possible. The Antidoron, or blessed bread and wine, are given to all and we are pleased to share these gifts with you.

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