GOOD NEWS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF THE ANNUNCIATION, ROCHESTER, NY. January Blessed Theophany

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1 GOOD NEWS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF THE ANNUNCIATION, ROCHESTER, NY January East Ave Rochester, NY St. Basil Blessed Theophany Scholarship Opportunity Fr. Catalin Mot offers some information about St. Basil the Great Theophany is a major feast of our church celebrated on January 6th Attention High School students! You won t want to miss this opportunity.

2 MESSAGE FROM FR. CATALIN My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, In the beginning I would like to wish everybody a Happy New Year, 2015, may God bless you and grant you good health and all the god things for salvation! ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΠΟΛΛΑ! At the beginning of each calendar year, on January the 1st,we celebrate, Saint Basil The Great one of the most important saints of our Church. Saint Basil the Great was born in the year 329 in Caesarea of Cappadocia, to a family renowned for their learning and holiness. His parents names were Basil and Emmelia. His mother Emmelia (commemorated July 19 and May 30) and his grandmother Macrina (January 14) are Saints of the Church, together with all his brothers and sisters: Macrina, his elder sister (July 19), Gregory of Nyssa (January 10), Peter of Sebastia (January 9), and Naucratius. Basil studied in Constantinople under the sophist Libanius, then in Athens, where also he formed a friendship with the young Gregory, a fellow Cappadocian, later called the Theologian. Through the good influence of his sister Macrina, he chose to embrace the ascetical life, abandoning his worldly career. He visited the monks in Egypt, in Palestine, in Syria, and in Mesopotamia, and upon returning to Caesarea, he departed to a hermitage on the Iris River in Pontus, not far from Annesi, where his mother and his sister Macrina were already treading the path of the ascetical life; here he also wrote his ascetical homilies. About the year 370, when the bishop of his country reposed, he was elected to succeed to his throne and was entrusted with the Church of Christ, which he tended for eight years, living in voluntary poverty and strict asceticism, having no other care than to defend holy Orthodoxy as a worthy successor of the Apostles. The Emperor Valens, and Modestus, the Eparch of the East, who were of one mind with the Arians, tried with threats of exile and of torments to bend the Saint to their own confession, because he was the bastion of Orthodoxy in all Cappadocia, and preserved it from heresy when Arianism was at its strongest. But he set all their malice at nought, and in his willingness to give himself up to every suffering for the sake of the Faith, showed himself to be a martyr by volition. Modestus, amazed at Basil s fearlessness in his presence, said that no one had ever so spoken to him. Perhaps, answered the Saint, you have never met a bishop before. The Emperor Valens himself was almost won over by Basil s dignity and wisdom. When Valens son fell gravely sick, he asked Saint Basil to pray for him. The Saint promised that his son would be restored if Valens agreed to have him baptized by the Orthodox; Valens agreed, Basil prayed and the son was restored. But afterwards the Emperor had him baptized by Arians, and the child died soon after. Later, Valens, persuaded by his counselors, decided to send the Saint into exile because he would not accept the Arians into communion; but his pen broke when he was signing the edict of banishment. He tried a second time and a third, but the same thing happened, so that the Emperor was filled with dread, and tore up the document, and Basil was not banished. The truly great Basil, spent with extreme ascetical practices and continual labors, at the helm of the church, departed to the Lord on the 1st of January in 379, at the age of forty-nine. His writings are replete with wisdom and erudition, and with these gifts he set forth the doctrines concerning the mysteries both of the creation (see his Hexaemeron) and of the Holy Trinity (see On the Holy Spirit). Because of the majesty and keenness of his eloquence, he is honored as the revealer of heavenly things and the Great. Saint Basil is also celebrated on January 30 with Saint Gregory the Theologian and Saint John Chrysostom. These great Fathers and Theologians of the Church are commemorated on this day as the Three Hierarchs. With all my love in Christ, I remain prayerfully yours, His unworthy servant, + Father Catalin ANNOUNCEMENTS There is no fasting allowed from the Nativity (12/25) through January 4 th. Annunciation offices will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year s Day. Please submit all donations for 2014 by December 28 th. The Sunday School will be continuing their toy/supply drive through January 17 th. Please see the December bulletin for details. Sunday School will hold classes on Sunday, January 4 th. REGISTRY BAPTISMS Brody Matthew Brown, son of Matthew John Brown & Chrisavge Brown (Spyropoulos) was baptized on November 30, 2014 Vasiliki Theodorou, daughter of Michael Theodorou & Dorothea Theodorou (Zissis) was baptized on December 14, 2014 IN MEMORIAM Mary Kostarellis was interred on November 28, 2014

3 EVENT CALENDAR To see an always-up-to-date calendar, visit annunciationrochester.org/calendar YOUTH ICE SKATING Saturday, January 3, at 5:30pm at Webster Ice Arena All Annunciation Youth are invited to join us on a trip to the Webster Ice Arena on January 3 rd for an evening of ice skating! Cost for the afternoon TBA. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: OPEN DOOR MISSION Monday, December 29 at 6:00 pm We need 6-8 volunteers for our monthly trip to the Open Door Mission. This is a wonderful opportunity to serve our neighbors in the city of Rochester. Learn more at There is a sign-up sheet on the blue bulletin board in the church. Students will earn 2 hours of community service for participating. PANHELLENIC DANCE REGISTRATION Sundays, January 4 and January 11 immediately following the Divine Liturgy Our church s dance ministry program will be holding open registrations for kids of all ages on the first two Sundays of Please make every effort to register your kids for this wonderful program of our church. Dance practices will begin on January 18 th and will continue through the Greek Festival. PHILOPTOCHOS VASILOPITA LUNCHEON Sunday, January 11 immediately following the Divine Liturgy Please join us for the annual cutting of the Vasilopita at Annunciation. All proceeds from the luncheon will go to St. Basil s Academy in Garrison, NY. This is a wonderful community event, and all are invited. LASERTRON YOUTH RETREAT IN BUFFALO Friday, January 16 to Saturday, January 17 All teenagers (grades 6-12) are invited to join us in a trip to Buffalo for the annual Lasertron Lock-In and Retreat. We will depart from Annunciation at 6:00 pm on Friday, and we will return in the morning on Saturday. This is a wonderful opportunity to get your teens involved in the Upstate NY Youth program, and no prior involvement is requrired. Please contact Youth Director Niko Tzetzis at niko@tzetzis.com with any questions. HOPE/JOY SCAVENGER HUNT Saturday, January 17 at 1:30 pm Please join us for a HOPE/JOY event. All youth up through 5th grade are invited to participate in this fellowship/ educational program that immediately follows Greek School at Annunciation. Snacks will be provided. APOKREATIKO DANCE Saturday, February 7, start time TBA Please save the date for a community dance on February 7 th. This will be a dance open to the whole community. We hope you ll join us for this pre-lenten party! SERVICES JANUARY 1, THURSDAY Divine Liturgy for St. Basil the Great JANUARY 6, TUESDAY Divine Liturgy for Theophany JANUARY 7, WEDNESDAY Divine Liturgy for St. John the Baptist JANUARY 17, SATURDAY Divine Liturgy for St. Anthony the Great JANUARY 30, FRIDAY Divine Liturgy for The Three Hierarchs SATURDAY SERVICES Vespers 5:00 pm SUNDAY/WEEKDAY SERVICES Orthros 9:00 am Divine Liturgy 10:00 am SUNDAY ONLY Sunday School begins after Communion Sunday School ends at 12:00 pm MEMORIALS DECEMBER 28 Mary Kostarellis (40 Days) DECEMBER 28 Dimitrios Manou (6 Months) DECEMBER 28 Alice LaGrou (1 Year)

4 We Welcome Our Newest Members! We welcome our new members to our Annunciation Family. As a community, we would like to rejoice with you in times of joy, and sympathize with you in times of sorrow. We would like to be your center of worship and we hope you will find it nourishing and enriching, both spiritually and emotionally. Victoria DiPietro Nicholas Harisis Constantine Kostarellis 2014 Stewardship Statements & Reminders The 2014 Stewardship statements and reminders to submit your pledged have been mailed. Kindly send the balance of your Stewardship and/or your Stewardship Pledge in full to the Church Office by Tuesday, December 30, Community Christmas Card We thank all our parishioners who have contributed towards our Community Christmas Card. Please note the following additions/corrections to this year s card: Gloria & Alexandra Kokorotsis - Case Photo Directory Business & Family Ads The directory is in the final stages of completion and will contain several pages of advertisements to cover the cost of providing a free copy for all our parishioners. There are options for: Business card size $100 1/4 page at $200 1/2 page at $400 Full page at $800 Ben & Karina Onderdonk If you would like to support the directory with either a Business Ad, Family Ad or Memorial Ad please contact Presvytera Felicia at or Julie Eveleigh at Deadline for submitting ads and personal listing information is January 9th, Your personal listing information may dropped off, mailed to the church office or ed to Sylvia at sbchurchone@aol.com. FINANCIAL INFORMATION OMITTED IN ONLINE VERSION

5 Deck the Halls with boughs of Holly. and with abundant wreaths, Nativity Scene, toy soldiers, angels, lit garlands, and a beautiful Christmas tree decorated with hundreds of lights and ornaments and we have a community center that has been transformed into a Christmas wonderland! A very special Thank You goes out to Tom Mihalitsas who has once again outdone himself with the Christmas decorations. Tom, your labor of love is evident in every detail! The 2015 Parish Council Oath of Office will be administered on Sunday, January 4, 2015 to the Parish Council following the Divine Liturgy. SUNDAY SCHOOL UPDATE by Sunday School Co-Director Rhonda Stamatis I am pleased to announce the Annunciation Parish Council has approved a Sunday School College Scholarship program. The scholarship will be awarded through the Senior Division of the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival which is run through the ministry of Sunday School. A year ago at an annual presentation to the Parish Council on the status of Sunday School the members of the board expressed a desire to create a program that would support the youth of our parish. As I began to contemplate what this program would be it became clear that first it should encourage and cultivate spiritual growth and understanding of the Orthodox Faith and second give them support as they strive to achieve their goals in life. What better way to do this than have the scholarship tied to participation in the Oratorical Festival and have a dollar award that is to be used towards the skyrocketing expenses of college. Continued on Next Page LOCAL AHEPA CHAPTER AWARDS $8,500 IN SCHOLARSHIPS The Flower City Chapter # 67, Order of AHEPA, and the AHEPA Rochester Foundation have announced the 2014 scholarship winners. Receiving the Dean Zutes Memorial Scholarships each for $1,500 are awarded to: Ms. Erika Bauer, Ms. Jessika Irene Bauer, Ms. Alexandra Case, and Mr. Nikolaos Viron Receiving the Papapanu-Dedetsinas Memorial Scholarship, for $500 is awarded to Ms. Dina Loverde. Receiving the Panagiota E. Tonias Scholarship for $500 is Ms. Mariana Eleni Manou. The AHEPA 67 scholarships each for $500 are awarded to Ms. Brianne Evevsky, Ms. Efrosyni Kostakis, and Mr. Gregory Matos, The Order of AHEPA and the AHEPA Rochester Foundation congratulates all the scholarship winners, and wishes them success in achieving their goals. Award presentations will take place on Sunday, January 11, :00 pm at a reception to be held at the AHEPA 67 Apartments, 100 AHEPA Circle, Webster, NY Since 1992, the Order of AHEPA has proudly awarded $130,250 in scholarships to local recipients. The AHEPA scholarship program for 2015 is open to all high school graduates and undergraduate college students from Holy Spirit Church and Annunciation Church. New applications will be available January 2015 and must be submitted to the AHEPA Rochester Foundation by June 30, Those wishing to apply for a scholarship application should contact any member of AHEPA, Anargyros Caloyeras, Nikolas Tzimas, or Dennis Kiriazides. Anargyros Caloyeras Scholarship Chairman aj.caloyeras@gmail.com

6 The Oratorical Festival is a nationwide Archdiocese competition. As stated in the official manual The purpose of the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival is to give teenagers an opportunity to learn, write, and speak about their Orthodox Faith, Church and Heritage. For the past four yeas we have been preparing our Sunday School students in class starting in January for the Oratorical Festival. Teachers support them in picking out topics and framing a general essay. Paul Vieron, who has worked very closely with the Oratorical Festival in other parishes, makes a presentation to students so they understand what comprises an essay that is needed to advance through the competition. Students who attend Sunday School regularly, beginning in Kindergarten, will build the foundation of knowledge and understanding of their Orthodox Faith that they will need to integrate into their essays. We hope that you as parents will support your children in their spiritual growth and maturity by bringing them to Sunday School on a regular basis and encourage them to participate in the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival. Below are the official rules of the Annunciation Sunday School Scholarship. In January we will have a presentation for parents of children of all ages on the scholarship. Please look for the announcement of the date and time of this meeting through the Sunday School and announcements in the bulletin. If you are not registered or are not receiving s from Sunday School and would like to please contact me at annunciationss@gmail.com. If you would like more information about the festival you can go to St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival 2014 to find the official manual. - Rhonda Stamatis ANNUNCIATION SUNDAY SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP AWARD SCHOLARSHIP PURPOSE This scholarship was established to promote students participation in the Annunciation Sunday School program and in the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival (SJCOF) in order to encourage and strengthen their knowledge of their Orthodox faith. Scholarships will be awarded to any students who meet all eligibility requirements and who advance from the District level (round 2) to the Metropolis level. Scholarships will be awarded based on the age of the participant advancing in the following amounts: $2,000 for students who are in 12th grade $1,000 for students who are in 11th grade $500 for students who are in 10th grade In addition, any student who advances to the National Oratorical Festival will be given an additional $1,000 in scholarship money for their laudable achievement. Students who advance to the Metropolis and/or National level and who meet the criteria below will have travel costs (fuel costs OR airfare and lodging) for two parents and the participant covered and arranged by Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church. ELIGIBILITY Student s families must be members in good standing at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church. Students must be registered in the Annunciation Sunday School Program, and students must regularly attend Sunday School classes. Students must participate in the senior division (grades 10-12) of the speech portion of the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival. No scholarships will be awarded to participants of the essay or poetry contests, though participation in those programs is encouraged. Student will receive the scholarship money only if ALL of the following conditions are met that (1) the student must win the District Level of the SJCOF AND (2) the student continues on in the competition to each subsequent level of the competition as they win. Students will NOT receive the scholarship money if they refuse or are otherwise unable to advance to the next stages of the competition. Student must adhere to all of the rules and regulations of the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival as outlined by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (

7 CLARIFYING YOUTH MINISTRY AT ANNUNCIATION by Youth Director Niko Tzetzis If you can believe it, it s been over a year now since my first day here at Annunciation. It was just a year ago that Ivey and I started regularly commuting from Boston out to Rochester to start to interact with the families in this community. It was just over a year ago that almost everyone here was still a stranger to us. In that last year, Ivey finished up her degree at Hellenic College, and the two of us packed up our home in Boston and moved out here to Rochester. Since the beginning of June, I have been here at the church serving as the full-time Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries. So what have I done in that time? My mission at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church is to assist the community to guide our young people to Christ through the creation and nurturing of sustainable youth programs. The key word in that mission is sustainable. Sustainable youth programs require a network of dedicated volunteers. They require a stable source of funding. They require families that are committed to teaching their children about their faith and heritage. They require cooperation and communication between the different organizations in order to foster mutual growth. This is why, starting in January of 2015, I will be meeting regularly with the leaders of the different youth programs in our church. Together, we will discuss the successes and challenges that we encounter, and together we will grow the entirety of the Youth Ministry program at Annunciation. We will have eight cornerstone programs represented: Our educational programs, our open Sunday School and our modestly priced, tuition based Greek School form our backbone. They teach our children about our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, and they teach them about their heritage and history. Our fellowship and service organizations, HOPE & JOY for our youngest ones ages Pre-K through 5th grade and GOYA for our teenagers in grades 6th through 12th, provide opportunities for all of our kids to get together outside of Sunday mornings. We also will be offering a new fellowship and service ministry called REAL for adults ages Panhellenic Dance Ministry is a program that teaches traditional Greek dances to the youth at Annunciation in preparation for our annual Greek Festival. All of our youth, regardless of their participation in any of the above programs, are invited to participate in Upstate NY Regional Ministry including all year-round retreats and St. Timothy Camp. Last, but absolutely not least, are our Altar Boys. The men of our church learn to serve God in his Altar with the blessing of our priest, Fr. Catalin and the help of Paul Vieron. None of our programs conflict with one another. No one is prohibited from being a part of any of these organizations. Get your children involved in Annunciation Youth Ministry today! Revised: 12/17/14 ANNUNCIATION 2015 YOUTH ORGANIZATION CHART Proistamenos Fr. Catalin Mot frcatalin7@gmail.com 2014 PC Exec Committee Jim Stathopoulos, Amiel Mokhiber. Kathy Markaakis, Eric Vangellow Dorothea Sanchez, Toula Destounis Youth Director Niko Tzetzis niko@tzetzis.com Sunday School Rhonda Stamatis Beverly Hageman annunciations@gmail.com Greek School Dimitri Katsetos dkatsetos@yahoo.com Altar Boys Paul Vieron paulnv3570@yahoo.com REAL Young Adult Ministry Niko Tzetzis niko@tzetzis.com JOY/HOPE Lynn & Andrew Tempest Lynne.geoca@verizonwireless.com GOYA Adult Volunteers Needed PanHellenic Dance Ministry Maria Dembeyiotis mdembeyiotis@hotmail.com Upstate NY Regional Ministry Note: Sub-organizations have been omitted for the sake of clarity. If there are any questions, contact Niko Tzetzis

8 Vasilopeta (St. Basil Bread) Brunch Sunday, January 11, 2015, following Liturgy Sponsored by Philoptochos Proceeds to benefit Saint Basil Academy Donations accepted (checks payable to Philoptochos) ALTAR BOY MEETING & SUPER BOWL PARTY Please save the date! On February 1 st immediately following Sunday School we will have an Altar Boy Orientation and Meeting. If your son has never been in the Altar before, this is a great opportunity for him to start. Also, in the evening, all Altar Boys are invited to Niko & Ivey s house to watch the Super Bowl. Please, for planning purposes, register online for this event at annunciationrochester.com/altarboys. SENIOR S CLUB MESSAGE All of us at the Senior s Club express our best Wishes for a Healthy, Peaceful, and Prosperous New Year 2015 to all the Annunciation families. Demetra Korovessis Senior s president SAVE THE DATE We will have an Apokreatiko dance at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church on Saturday, February 7 th in the evening. The entire community is invited! VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Our GOYA is in need of 1-2 volunteers age 21+ to assist our teenagers in running a successful program. Please see the volunteer job description below: GOYA Coordinator(s) The GOYA Coordinator(s) is responsible for being the primary liaison between the GOYA and the Youth Committee of directors. The GOYA Coordinator will: Attend bi-weekly GOYA meetings on the first and third Sunday of each month Provide an adult perspective in the GOYA decision-making process Inform the Annunciation Youth Director of any conflicts that arise Attend monthly Youth Committee meetings on the second Monday of the month from 6:00pm to 7:00pm Attend GOYA trips and out-of-area retreats (when able) The GOYA Coordinator(s) must: Be 21+ years of age Enjoy working with kids Be a responsible adult and good role model If you are interested in being a GOYA Coordinator, please contact youth director Niko Tzetzis at (315) or by at niko@tzetzis.com.

9 Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation 962 East Avenue Rochester, NY14607 Address Service Requested Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Rochester, N.Y. Permit No 900 CONTACT INFORMATION PARISH COUNCIL Maria Aslani-Breit Philip Broikos Dr. Stamatia Destounis Helen Eisenberg Julie Eveleigh Tasos Kolokouris Dr. Kathryn Markakis Amiel Mokhiber Jr. Dorothea Sanchez Demetrios Stathopoulos Chris Theodorou Eric Vangellow Van Zissis Rev. Fr. Catalin Mot Proistamenos Rev. Fr. Jerry Tasikas Emeritus Priest Nicolaos Tzetzis Youth Director Sylvia Bauer Parish Administrator Voice: (585) Fax: (585) Web: annunciationrochester.org Greek Fest on the Web: rochestergreekfestival.org Submit your Good News today at annunciationrochester.org/goodnews