THE CANON. ST. NICHOLAS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH June/July Volume 45 Issue 6/7 A GREAT MIRACLE GIVEN BY GOD ONLY TO THE ORTHODOX CHURCH

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1 ST. NICHOLAS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH June/July 2017 THE CANON Volume 45 Issue 6/7 A GREAT MIRACLE GIVEN BY GOD ONLY TO THE ORTHODOX CHURCH The ceremony of the Holy Light in Jerusalem: This ceremony takes place in the Orthodox Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem in such a way that bewilders the soul of the Christians. On Easter Saturday, at noon, the Orthodox Patriarch, enters the Holy Sepulcher, recites special prayers and remains waiting. Sometimes the waiting is long, sometimes short. The crowd, in the darkened church, repeats continually with a loud voice: Lord have mercy. At a certain moment, the Holy Light flashes from the depth of the Holy Sepulcher in a supernatural way, miraculously, and lights up the little lamp of olive oil put on the edge of it. The Patriarch, after having read some prayers, lights up the two clusters of 33 candles he is holding, and begins to distribute the Holy Light to the multitude of pilgrims, who receive it with great emotion, accompanied with the peeling of bells, acclamations, and an unbridled enthusiasm. The Holy Light is not only distributed by the Archbishop, but operates also by itself. It emits from the Holy Sepulcher having a gleam of a hue completely different from that of natural light. It sparkles, it flashes like lighting, it flies like a dove around the tabernacle of the Holy Sepulcher, and lights up the unlit lamps of olive oil hanging in front of it. It whirls from one side of the church to the other. It enters to some of the chapels inside the church, as for instance the chapel of the Calvary (at a higher level than the Holy Sepulcher) and lights up the little lamps. It lights up also the candles of certain pilgrims. In fact, there are some very pious pilgrims who, every time they attend this ceremony, noticed that their candles lit up of their own accord! This divine light also presents some peculiarities: As soon as it appears it has a bluish hue and does not burn. At the first moments of its appearance, if it touches the face, or the (Continued on page 3)

2 11 June 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Saturday of the Souls Orthros 9:30 10:15 am 4 Pentecost Orhtros 9:15 am General Assembly 5 6 AHEPA 6:30 PM 7 PARISH COUNCIL 7:00 PM am Philoptochos 6:00 Cole s Public House/Amherst Guests welcome! am 25 am

3 3 July 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 (Continued from page 1) mouth, or the hands, it does not burn. This is proof of its divine and supernatural origin. We must also take into consideration that the Holy Light appears only by the invocation of an Orthodox Archbishop. Each time the heterodox bishops tried to obtain it, they failed. Once the Armenians paid the Turks, who then occupied the Holy Land, in order to obtain permission for their Patriarch to enter the Holy Sepulcher. The Orthodox Patriarch was standing sorrowfully with his flock at the exit of the church, near the left column, when the Holy Light split this column of marble vertically and flashed near the Orthodox Patriarch Divine Lituryg Independence Day Parish Council 7:00 pm Prophet Elias Orthros 9:30 D. Lit 10:15am A Moslem Muezin, called Tounom, who saw the miraculous event from an adjacent mosque, abandoned immediately the Moslem religion and became an Orthodox Christian. This event took place in 1549 under Sultan Mourad IV, when the patriarch of Jerusalem was Sophrony II. The appearance of the Holy Light is an event which occurs every year in front of thousands of visual witnesses. Nobody can deny it. On the contrary, this miracle can reinforce those who have lack of faith. There are some very touching recent cases of some Jews, who believed in Christ after having seen the Holy Light, and who said to their compatriots: Why are you still waiting for the Messiah? The messiah has come indeed. Someone has give me the Holy Light from the Tomb of Christ and it is presently burning on our Holy Altar Table. I will have this Light available for you in the Narthex of the Church on Sunday June 4. When you light your Sunday Candle, you can do so from the Holy Light. (Be very careful not to put it out!!!) Anyone wishing can get a red glass candle and light it to take to your homes. +Fr. Michael

4 9 The Icon of Pentecost On the seventh Sunday after Pascha, the Orthodox Church celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles as one of her very great festivals. It is called Pentecost- a Greek word meaning Fiftieth - Because it is the fiftieth day after Pascha. The icon that depicts the event uses this word as its inscription, taking it from the New Testament. The word appears in the Acts of the Apostles and in Saint Paul s First epistle to the Corinthians. (To the Jews- Pentecost was that when Moses climbed Mount Sinai on the fiftieth day he received the Ten Commandments.) Traditional icons of Pentecost depict the event in the following manner: An upper room, indicated by means of walls pierced by windows and embellished at the upper part by drapery. Inside the room are twelve Apostles, seated on a large semicircular bench. They are shown occupying places in accordance with their age and relative importance. Peter and Paul are seated at the center of the composition, at the upper part of the arch of the semicircle formed by the bench, while the youngest of the apostles are sown in the foreground, at either end of the semicircle. In traditional icons of Pentecost, twelve Apostles are shown. Among them, as we noted is Paul, although he was not there. One of the other Apostles- their names are not written on the icon was left out so that Paul could be included. As in the icon of the Ascension, Paul is included despite the fact that he was not present- for symbolic reasons, because he was destined to become one of the chief Apostles. Above the Apostles is represented the heavenly vault, from which there emanate twelve rays descending upon them. Typically, and properly, in this scene the Apostles have halos, and a tongue of fire is either within each halo, at its upper part, or with the ray which terminates in the halo. The faces, postures, and gestures of the Apostles indicate a peaceful yet vigilant and prayerful state of soul. Below the Apostles, set off from them by one or two arches, is depicted a bearded old man with a crown on his head. He holds with his hands which are extended to the sides a sheet within which is twelve scrolls. This man symbolizes the inhabited world (Oikoumeni), while the scrolls symbolize the teaching by each one of the twelve Apostles that was to take place in various parts of the world. RACE INFORMATION All participants will receive a race T-shirt! July 30, K race begins at 9 a.m., 3K walk begins at 9:05 a.m. Black River Landing, 421 Black River Lane, Lorain, Ohio Age Divisions: 12 & under, 13-15, 16-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, , 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70 & over 3K WALK $15, $10 Students 12 & under 5K RUN $15 Pre-Registered, $20 Race Day The Ladies of Philoptochos once again this year plan to sponsor and participate in the Ritenauer Run at The Journal Jog. This year s race will take place on Sunday, July 30th. The proceeds received from this annual event are used to provide college scholarship opportunities to high school students that reside in the City of Lorain. As such, rising seniors who attend St. Nicholas and are residents of Lorain are eligible to apply for these scholarship opportunities. Mayor Ritenauer continues to name a scholarship in memory of Andy Georgas. In April, there were a total of five recipi0ents who were awarded monies from this scholarship in recognition of their extracurricular activities. Our collective and continued efforts will enable additional students to further their education opportunities in Andy s memory. Application forms for participation in the Journal Jog will be available in the church office. If interested in making a monetary donation, checks are to be made payable to: Mary Lee Tucker Clothe-A-Child. All donations are tax deductible and will be designated specifically for the Andy Georgas Scholarship. For further information contact the church office or Andrea Korogianos Thank You!

5 T Independence Day GOD BLESS AMERICA America the beautiful May it always stay that way- But to keep Old Glory flying There s a price that we must pay For everything worth having Demands work and sacrifice And freedom is a gift of God That commands the highest price For all our wealth and progress Are as worthless as can be Without the faith that made us great And kept our country free. Nor can our nation hope to live Unto itself alone, for the problems of our neighbors Must today become our own So in these times of crisis Let us offer no resistance In giving help to those in need Our strength and our assistance Ad the stars and strips forever Will remain a symbol of A rich and mighty nation built on faith and truth and love. Serafim John Anadiotis Graduated from: Amherst Steele High School. SALUTE TO OUR GRADUATES CONGRATULATIONS!!! Honors and Awards: Graduated with Honors. 4 years Honor Academic Award. President s Award. 4 years Varsity Letter Swimming. 2 times Coach s Award Winner. 4 years Letter Marching Band. 4 years Gold Jazz Band Participant, and the Amherst Summer Swim Team Scholarship. Plans for the Future: the Honors Engineering program at the University of Toledo. Alison Eleni Christo Graduated from: Elyria Catholic High School Honors and Awards: 1 year junior Varsity Soccer Letter, 3 year Varsity Soccer Letter. 3 year Academic Letter. Plans for the Future: To attend Lorain County Community College to begin her pursuit towards her Nursing Degree and completing it at the University Demetria Nicolaou Graduated from: Firelands High School. Honors and Awards: Magna cum laude. National honor Society and member of Firelands Marching Band. Plans for the Future: To attend Lorain County Community College for 2 years and transfer to the University of Toledo for Nursing. Demitri Cullen Graduated from: Elyria Catholic Honors and Awards: Academic letter for first honors. Sports letter for Golf. President of the Socratic Club. Plans for the Future: To Attend John Carroll University for English. 5

6 7 TO OUR DAD ON FATHER S DAY WHAT IS A DAD? A Dad s a man whose life is spent In working hard each day, In tending to his family s needs And brightening their way, In sharing and in caring And in understanding, too, In helping with a problem And in making dreams come true And while it s seldom the he gets The praise he s sure to rate He can be sure his family thinks He s absolutely great! WE WISH ALL THE FATHERS AND GRANDFATHERS A HAPPY FATHER S DAY AND A SPECIAL PRAYER FOR ALL THOSE FATHERS WHO HAVE LEFT THIS WORLD. MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE ETERNAL! Baptisms Congratulations to Dean and Nicole Shelly upon the Baptism of their son, Joseph Dean, on May 7, His Godfather is Anthony Chagaros. Congratulations to Athanasios and Sara Koutsaftis upon the Baptism of their son, Anastasios Athanasios on May 13, His Godparents are Zacharias and Melina Kantouros. Νά μάς ζήσουν!!! Pancreatic Cancer Walk On June 10th our YAL group will be participating in the Pancreatic Cancer Walk at the Cleveland Zoo. If you wish to make a donation or are planning to walk with our group please visit and enter St. Nicholas YAL. For more information... Contact Athena Antoniou. Philoptochos Spring Dinner The Philoptochos Spring Dinner will take place on Tuesday, June 13th at 6:00 pm at Cole s Public House located at 209 S. Main Street, Amherst. Please call the church office to make your reservation by June 9th. Guests are welcome! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU WE DID IT AGAIN!!! I would like to thank everyone who came and gave of their time, talents and energy these past few months in preparing, working and cleaning up at our Gyro Drive Thru Festival. It was only through your dedicated love and hard work for the Church that we had another successful event. God Bless you all. Και του χρόνου!!!