VOL. 47 ISSUE 2 FEBRUARY Jesus saw a large crowd, and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.

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1 THE CANON St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church Lorain, Ohio VOL. 47 ISSUE 2 FEBRUARY 2019 Father s Message Jesus saw a large crowd, and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. (Mark 6: 34) My Dear Spiritual Children, As God looked upon Adam, He said that it is not good for man to be alone. However, necessary as human companionship is, there is another companionship which is also indispensable to our earthly existence, namely the companionship of God. When the Second Person of the Holy Trinity chose to work out our redemption in human form, He offered us a visible companionship with God. In the company of Christ we can obtain knowledge that is essential to our earthly and eternal welfare, and strength to overcome the moral weakness of our nature. Christ offers us a friendship that is closer, more reliable, and more enduring than all other friendships. He offers us His understanding in our fears and self-doubts, His acceptance, in our self-disgust, His pardon, in our sinfulness, His unflagging interest, in our personal longing and efforts, His constant concern for our mental confusion and doubt, and His supernatural strength against our temptations. His offer of friendship is whole hearted. The only limit to it is our lack of knowledge. Our only obstacle to it is sin. A well-developed friendship with Jesus is the closest thing to heaven on earth. Unfortunately, many people are acquaintances rather than friends of Christ. They know Him, as it were, in passing, but not with the understanding and ease that comes from frequent association. Instead of seeing Him as He showed Himself in the Gospel, they know Him only as He was presented by others and imagined by themselves. The image of Christ often suffers when transmitted through the limited knowledge of others or one s own emotional learnings. Through a daily prayerful reading of His life, we can modify our mistaken notions about Jesus and slowly draw closer to Him in the true friendship. In Christ s Love, + Fr. Michael C. Gulgas Night With Father February 21, :00 PM

2 February 2019 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat NO AHEPA OR SENIORS 1 2 MEETINGS THIS MONTH 3 Orthros 9:15 Divine Liturgy 10:00 am Orthros 9:15 Divine Liturgy 10:00 am Philoptochos 7:00 pm 13 Parish Council 7:00 pm GODPARENT SUNDAY Orthros 9:15 Divine Liturgy 10:00 am Godparent s Sunday Brunch Night with Father 7:00 pm Orthros 9:15 Divine Liturgy 10:00 am February March April May Philoptochos Seniors

3 Ask Father Q: What is the purpose of the Divine Liturgy? A: There are several important purposes to the Divine Liturgy. The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is one of a number of different liturgical forms of the Holy Eucharist. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the most common way of celebrating the Eucharist, is the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. So your real question is What is the purpose of the Eucharist? There is not only one purpose, there are several. some of the most important are: a) communion with Christ; b) manifesting the life of the Kingdom; c) thankful remembrance of the life and saving work of Jesus Christ; d) the forgiveness of sins; e) sharing in the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ; and f) the koinonia (fellowship) of the Christian community. Because of the importance of this question, nearly all of the rest of this column is devoted to answering it. I strongly recommend that you read it attentively. All of the purposes mentioned above are inter-related and connect one with another. We separate them out only in order to discuss them. From the very beginning, the Eucharist was taught by Christ and the Apostles as a means by which Christians were able to come into actual real communion with Christ. In this sacrament Christians receive the Body and Blood of Christ. For example, at the institution of the sacrament, Jesus said: Take, eat; this is my Body. And He took the cup and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you for this is my blood of the New Covenant (Matthew 26:26-27) In a totally mystical way, we receive the very body and the very blood of Christ in the Eucharist. (Read John 6 and 1 Corinthians 11:27-29) The whole Eucharist service manifests the Kingdom of God wherever it is conducted. When God and His people, including both the clergy and the laity are gathered together in the Eucharist, there is a momentary realization on earth of the life of the eternal Kingdom. United together in one locality are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the people of God, the angelic hosts and all of the created and technically formed world (bread and wine). As we have seen above, the sacrament given by Christ, is of the new covenant which is the inauguration of the Kingdom of God. Then at the Second coming, it will be complete and total; now we have a foretaste of it. Matthew, Mark and Luke all recorded that Jesus referred to the Kingdom: at the institution of the sacrament. In the Eucharist we are most fully the Church, manifesting the life of God s Kingdom on earth. That is why the Divine Liturgy is the central act of the Church. In the Divine Liturgy we remember with gratitude and thanksgiving the saving and redeeming work and person of Jesus Christ. Jesus began the initial Eucharist by giving thanks (Greek eucharistesas from which the name of the sacrament came.) Jesus specifically said, Do this in remembrance of me (1 Corinthians 11:24). The Liturgy is so constructed that much of its symbolism, in fact, reminds us of Jesus and His work of salvation. Equally specific is Jesus; statement that communion of his Body and Blood is for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 2:28). But St. Paul warns us that whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and the blood of the Lord let a man examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup (1 Corinthians 11:27-28). Forgiveness comes through the Eucharist to those who approach the chalice with reverence and a spirit of faith and repentance. (Continued on page 4)

4 (Continued from page 3) From the earliest times, the Eucharist has been understood as a sacrifice. Thus, St. Paul records Christ as saying: For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord s death until He comes. (1 Corinthians 11:26) Many efforts have been made by theologians to understand the precise nature of the sacrifice in the Eucharist. Recent studies have shown that the early Fathers tended to understand our sharing in the sacrifice of the Eucharist in spiritual and moral terms, emphasizing humility and selfless acts of love for others. The sacrificial aspect of the Eucharist also leads to an understanding of the communal and fellowship aspect of the life the Church, its koinonia life. Just before the Great Eucharistic Prayer of the Divine Liturgy, the priest calls upon all the people saying: let us make the Holy Offering in peace. This is followed by the offering of the gifts of bread and wine: The things that are Yours from the things that are Yours do we offer to You ( ta sa ek ton son, si frosfeormen kata panta ke dia panton ) according to all things and for all things. We do this all together clergy and laity as a shared act of the Church. In the Eucharist we are united together in a communion of faith and sacrificial offering. And since we share the same cup together we are one, as a family of faith and God s people, a true koinoina. ST. HARALAMBOS FEBRUARY 10 This courageous Christian, Haralambos, was a priest in the city of Magnesia, near Smyrna in Asia Minor around the year 198 A. D., Sevirus was the Emperor of the Roman Empire. He had appointed Loucius to govern Asia Minor. Many Christians were persecuted for their beliefs under his reign. At the same time, Haralambos was in Magnesia and openly taught the Christian religion. When Loucius discovered this, he ordered his soldiers to capture Haralambos for trial. Asked why he condemned the idols and why he disobeyed the laws of the Empire, Haralambos informed Loucius that he adhered to the laws of Jesus Christ, and no others. The Saint performed many miracles by curing the faithful of many sicknesses. When Sevirus heard of this, he was greatly angered and sent three hundred soldiers to Magnesia. Their task was to find the Saint, drive nails into his back, and then drag him from Magnesia to Antioch. The soldiers found Haralambos and carried out their orders. They tied a rope to his beard and ragged him behind a horse. A voice told them to leave this man alone for God was with him. When the soldiers heard this they became frightened. They took Haralambos to Antiooch without further torture. Sevirus, informed of what had happened, sent another group of soldiers to torture the Saint. They tied a skewer to his chest and gathered wood so that they could burn him. He was turned on the skewer with the fire burning him for several hours. Through Divine Help, the Saint was not hurt. Sevirus ordered that the Saint be brought before him. He asked the Saint what his age was and was informed that he was 113 years old. A young man had died in the city. Sevirus ordered the Saint to resurrect him to show the strength of his God. After praying several hours, God through Haralambos, performed the miracle. Many pagans converted to Christianity when they saw this; however, an eparch named Crispos asked Sevirus to execute the Saint because he had performed this miracle through the use of magic. Sevirus asked Haralambos to sacrifice to the gods so that he could save himself. The Saint refused; therefore, Sevirus ordered his soldiers to hit the Saint s jaw with rocks and burn his face and beard with torches. The fire reflected off of the Saint s face and burned the bystanders. Sevirus was amazed at this and was curious to know who Christ was. Crispos exclaimed that a harlot named Mary had borne Him. A man named Aristarchos warned Crispos not to blaspheme. A fit of madness overcame Sevirus and as he shot arrows towards the sky, he ordered Christ to come and fight him. Suddenly, the earth quaked and a fierce storm arose. Sevirus and Crispos begged the Saint to save them. Sevirus daughter, Galinee, came into the room and warned her father to believe in Christ. She asked the Saint to forgive her father and to pray to God to end this calamity. The Saint prayed and the acts of God stopped. After thirty days, Sevirus again told Har- (Continued on page 5)

5 (Continued from page 4) alambos to sacrifice to the gods, but Haralambos refused. He then ordered that a bridle be placed in the Saint s mouth and that he be taken throughout the city, in the same manner as a horse. Galinee begged her father to stop these tortures or else he would be condemned to eternal damnation. Seviurs was angered by his daughter s words and ordered her to sacrifice to the gods. She went to the Temple of Zeus and told the priest that she had cursed the gods. Then she prayed to the true God. Immediately, the statues of all the gods were destroyed. Sevirus ordered 300 sculptors to make more statues and place them in the temple before the next morning, so that the people would not mock the gods. The next morning Galinee was returned to the temple where she saw the new statues. Realizing what her father had done, she prayed again and the statues were smashed once more. To insult Haralambos, he was given to a widow to be guarded. When he arrived at the home, he leaned against a dry wooden beam. The beam was immediately transformed into a large tree, bearing great amount of fruit. The woman was so frightened that she asked the Saint to leave her home since it was not worthy of his presence. and he told her to have faith in God an she would have nothing to fear. The next day the neighbors saw the large tree in in her garden and upon asking, they learned of the miracle of Saint Haralambos. They sat with the Saint and discovered Christianity. The pagans told Sevirus about these happenings and the eparch advise Sevirus to have Haralambos beheaded. The Saint was captured, but before his execution he prayed to Christ. Just as his executioners were about to carry out the sentence, a voice said, Well done, my faithful servant; enter in the Kingdom of Heaven. He died in peace before the soldiers could behead him. The two executioners were immediately converted. Galinee took his body and placed it in a golden coffin. Saint Haralambos guarded his people much as a shepherd would guard his flock; therefore, he is considered to be the protector of shepherds their flocks. The body of Saint Haralambos is now in the Monastery of Saint Stephen in the Meteora, Greece, where it performs miracles to this day. COMMUNITY NEWS Cc Congratulations to our new Executive Board of the Parish Council: Vasilios Tsardoulias Athena Antoniou Thomas Kalivas Annie Peskiris President Vice-President Treasurer Secretary Thank You: Philoptochos would like to thank the kitchen crew for the wonderful meal they created for the Vasilopita Luncheon. Thanks to all who attended and supported this event! Missing Cable Box: Philoptochos is missing a cable box. This equipment was last seen in the social hall following the Clambake. We returned the other 2 boxes but cannot locate the third. If anyone knows where it might have been moved or stored please let the office know. Philoptochos is paying a monthly fee until the box is returned and if not found will need to pay for the cable box. Your help in locating this equipment will be greatly appreciated. Thanks! February Events February 17th GODPARENT S SUNDAY BRUNCH March Events March 2 Apokriatiko Glendi March 17 Sunday of Orthodoxy April 21 Plaki Dinner

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