SAINT JAMES ORTHODOX CHURCH

Transcription

1 SAINT JAMES ORTHODOX CHURCH 195 N. Main Street Milpitas, Ca Matins 8:00 a.m. Liturgy 10:30 a.m. The Very Reverend Fr. Jiris Hanna (408) Fr. Dcn. Joseph Kawar (408) Sunday November 9 (10/27), nd Sunday after Pentecost Martyr Nestor of Thessalonica (306) األحد الثاني والعشرون بعد العنصرة تذكار القديس الشهيد نسطر Matins (Eothina XI): John 21:15 25 Epistle: Galatians 6:11 18 Gospel: Luke 8:41 56 Celebrating the Feast of the Holy Apostle James, the Brother of the Lord and the Patron of our church This Wednesday 11/5 (10/23) at 7pm We will also celebrate the Divine Liturgy of St. James this Sunday 11/9 The Divine Liturgy of St. James is different than the usual Sunday liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. We will have a special Potluck Lunch this Sunday 11/9 after liturgy for this occasion in the church hall. Please contact Ghada Khoury (925) or Georgette Isied (408) for food information. Please come celebrate and get the blessings of St. James

2 About The Life of St. James 11/5 (10/23) In the Epistle to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul writes that together with the Apostle Peter, the Apostles James and John were also considered to be pillars of the Church. Saint James was the son of Joseph the Betrothed by his first wife and therefore is called the brother of the Lord in the Gospel. According to tradition, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him after His Resurrection and set him as bishop of the Jerusalem Church. In this way, a special work fell to James' lot: he did not travel about various countries preaching as did the rest of the Apostles, but taught and performed the sacred ministry in Jerusalem, which has such an important significance for the Christian world. As the head of the Jerusalem Church, he presided at the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem in the year 51 AD. The Apostle James' ascetic life strengthened his significance even more. He was a strict virgin, did not drink either wine or other spirituous beverages, abstained from meat and wore only linen clothing. He had the custom of going off by himself in the temple for prayer, and there he would pray for his people on bended knee. He was so often stretched out on the ground in prayer that the skin on his knees became calloused. The Apostle James' ministry was difficult amidst a multitude of the most vehement enemies of Christianity. But he acted with such good sense and fairness, that not only Christians esteemed him, but also Jews, and they called him the support of the people and a righteous man. Remaining in the office of Bishop of Jerusalem about thirty years, he spread and established the holy faith in Jerusalem and in all of Palestine. When the Apostle Paul visited the Apostle James on his final journey, at that time the presbyters gathered together unto him and told him of the successes of the Christian preaching among the Jews in the following words: Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law (Acts 21:20). Many of the Jews were converted to the Church by trusting the word of the righteous one alone. Seeing such influence of the Apostle, the Jewish leaders began to be apprehensive lest all the people be converted to Christ, and decided to make use of the interval of time between the departure of the Procurator Festus and the arrival of Albinus in his place (62 AD), in order either to incline James unto denying Christ or to kill him. The godless Sadducee Ananias was the high priest at that time. During a great conflux of the people, they led the Apostle to the portico of the temple, and after a few flattering words they disdainfully asked: "Tell us about the Crucified?" "Are you asking me about Jesus?" the righteous one said loudly. "He is sitting in the Heavens at the right hand of the Most High and shall come again on the clouds of heaven." It turned out that in the crowd were many Christians, who joyfully exclaimed: "Hosanna to the Son of David!" Then the chief priests and the scribes cried: "O, even the righteous one himself is in error!" and they cast him down to the ground. James was still able to raise himself to his knees and said: "Lord, forgive them! They know not what they do!" "Let us stone him", cried his enemies. A priest from the tribe of Rechab (they did not drink wine, lived in tents, did not sow wheat, nor cultivate grapes) began to try to persuade them: "What are you doing? See: the righteous one is praying for you." But at that minute a fanatic, a cloth worker by trade, struck the Apostle in the head with his fuller's club and killed him. Many Christians were killed together with him. The Jewish historian, Josephus Flavius, in enumerating the reasons for the fall of Jerusalem, says that the Lord chastised the Jews, among other things, for the murder of the righteous James. The Apostle James wrote his Epistle not long before his death. The main purpose of the Epistle was to comfort and strengthen Jews that had converted to the faith in the sufferings which lay ahead for them, and to warn them against the error that allegedly faith alone can save a man. The holy Apostle explains that faith not accompanied by good works is dead and does not lead to salvation. Church tradition ascribes to the Apostle James the composition of the most ancient order of the Divine Liturgy, which we shall perform also this Wednesday on the 5 th of November.

3 عن حياة القديس الرسول يعقوب اخي الرب 32 تشرين األول )5 تشرين الثاني( تعي د له الكنيسة في 32 تشرين األول )5 تشرين الثاني( وهو غير الرسول يعقوب بن حلفى احد االثني عشر. يذكره االنجيل كواحد من اخوة الرب يسوع األربعة والثالثة الباقون هم يوسي وسمعان ويهوذا )متى 55 : 32 ومرقس 2( : 6 الذين لم يؤمنوا به اوال )يوحنا 5(. : 7 اما نسبة هؤالء االخوة الى الرب يسوع فقد كان لها منذ البدء اكثر من تفسير :كانوا عند بعض المفسرين اوالد اخت مريم او كانوا عند بعضهم اوالد يوسف وهؤالء في عرف اليهود اخوة. والتفسير الثاني - وهو األكثر شيوعا في التراث - انهم اوالد يوسف من زواج سابق العتقاد القدماء ان يوسف كان ارمل عندما اقترن بمريم. أم ا ان يكونوا اوالد يوسف ومريم معا فهذا غير ممكن ألنه ال يوجد اي نص يقول ذلك وألسباب اخرى منها ان اثنين منهم اوالد مريم ام يعقوب ويوسي التي كانت بين النساء اللواتي كن ينظرن من بعيد الى يسوع المصلوب "وبينهن مريم المجدلية ومريم ام يعقوب ويوسي وسالومه" )مرقس :04(. 35 ونعلم ايضا ان كلمة اخ لها عند اليهود معان عدة غير القرابة الجسدية والمثال على ذلك في سفر التكوين حيث ي ذكر ان ابراهيم عم لوط )33: 37( وفي مكان آخر ان ابراهيم اخ لوط )30: 36( االخ هو القريب بشكل عام. وفي انجيل يوحنا "وكانت واقفات عند صليب يسوع امه واخت امه مريم زوجة كليوبا ومريم المجدلية" )39: 35( فكيف تكون اختان باسم واحد يعقوب هو كاتب الرسالة الجامعة المدونة في العهد الجديد والمعروفة باسمه ومطلعها" من يعقوب عبد هللا والرب يسوع المسيح الى المؤمنين...". يذكره الرسول بولس في رسالته الى اهل غالطية 39 : 3 التي نقرأها في عيده: "...صعدت الى اورشليم ألرى بطرس فأقمت عنده خمسة عشر يوما وما رأيت غيره من الرسل سوى يعقوب أخي الرب."نفهم من هذا انه كانت له مكانة هامة بين الرسل. وفي كتاب اعمال الرسل نقرأ في االصحاح الخامس عشر لما اجتمع الرسل والشيوخ لينظروا في امر الختان والجواب عن السؤال :هل يجب ان يختتن كل من آمن بيسوع من االمم ام ال يومذاك وقف يعقوب كرأس للجماعة في اورشليم وقال كلمة الفصل وأجمع الرسل عليها. وقد اختاره الرسل اول اسقف على اورشليم -كما نعرف من التراث- فرعاها لمدة ثالثين عاما يبشر اليهود واالمم ويأتي بهم الى المسيح. فحقد عليه اليهود وبينما كان يعظ من مكان عال دفعه الكتبة والفريسيون فسقط ارضا وضربه احدهم فرقد شهيدا. ت نسب اليه ايضا ليتورجيا" قداس القديس يعقوب أخي الرب" التي يظن الدارسون انها تعود إلى أواخر القرن الرابع أو أوائل القرن الخامس وأنها ت عتبر المصدر األساسي لقداس باسيليوس وقداس الذهبي الفم اال انها سقطت من االستعمال في نهايات القرن الثاني عشر. وتجدر المالحظة أن هذه الخدمة تقام مرة واحدة في السنة في كنيسة أورشليم نهار عيده. هذا أبرز ما نستقيه من العهد الجديد عن يعقوب الرسول أخي الرب. أما ما هو شائع عنه غير ذلك فينتمي إلى التراث. وفي التراث أنه كان يعرف بيعقوب البار وأنه كان نذير ا منذ الطفولية وأنه بقي عفيف ا إلى نهاية حياته وكان يكتفي من الطعام بأقله وأنه كثير ا ما كان يحيي لياليه في الصالة حتى أضحت ركبتاه كالحجر من كثرة السجود.وقد اختاره الرسل باإلجماع أول أسقف على أورشليم فكان عليه ثالثين عام ا. وإليه تنسب أقدم ليتورجيا "قداس القديس يعقوب الرسول" التي يظن الدارسون أنها في أصل قداس كل من القد يسين باسيليوس الكبير ويوحنا الذهبي الفم. وقد قيل أنه جاء بالكثيرين يهود ا وأمميين إلى اإليمان بالمسيح فحقد عليه اليهود وقر روا التخ لص منه. القديس إيرونيموس قال عنه: إنه كرز باإلنجيل بش ر فيها. ألسباط إسرائيل اإلثني عشر في الشتات. وفي تقليد الكنيسة في أسبانيا أن يعقوب

4 وقد وعظ الشعب مرة من على سطح أحد البيوت أو ربما من جناح الهيكل فجاءه الكتبة والفريسيون وألقوه من علو فسقط أرض ا وأصيب لكنه لم يمت. غير أن مهووس ا عاجله بضربة عصا على رأسه قضت عليه فرقد في الرب شهيد ا وهو في الثالثة والستين من العمر. وقد كان ذلك في العام ٢٦ للميالد. ثم أن يهود ا أتقياء أشاعوا فيما بعد أن محاصرة أورشليم وهدمها في السنة السبعين كان عقاب ا من هللا على قتله PERSECUTION Persecution and oppression are beneficial for us, for they strengthen us in our faith. - St. Nikon New Bookstore Grand Opening This Sunday 11/9 SCRIP Season With Christmas season is just around the corner, please keep our SCRIP program in mind when you plan your shopping. A great and very easy way to benefit the church without costing you any extra money. Big variety of vendors including AMEX cards that can be used in almost any store including. Not familiar with it? No problem please call Lilian Kawar (408) and she can answer all your questions about how to use it. You can also visit the Scrip table at the church hall every Sunday and have an idea about what Scrip is and how you can help. Please stop by the Bookstore and have a look. We can do special orders for your favorite items. Please ask Heba Khoury for details. Bookstore is closed during Liturgy Service. Please do not help yourself with bookstore items. All items are entered in an inventory system. Thank you for your understanding. Happy Birthdays Ieden Gegan 11/4 Marina Mihaila 11/4 Samira Nassar 11/6 Wafa Mansour 11/6 Ezabella Nijmeh 11/6 Bernard Crinigan 11/6 Natalia Nasser 11/6 Maya Zoumut 11/6 Joseph Bosl 11/8 Elias Shehadeh 11/9 عقبال المئة سنة!!! We try to raise funds for our church in every possible way please help us accomplish this goal and be part of it. Thank you for your support to your church. Christmas 2014 Ladies Auxiliary Bake Sale Sunday November 23 If anyone would like to bake their favorite baked goods to share, or would like to donate money toward the bake sale please let Ghada Khoury or Georgette Isied know. sjoc@earthlink.net or call (408) for your bulletin personal announcements, comments, or feedback.

5 St. Basil / St. James Joint Family Retreat Saturday, November 8 "Orthodox Family Life in Contemporary Society" Holy Cross Monastery Palomares Castro Valley, CA Guest Speaker: Father Ninos Oshaana, Assistant Priest, Ascension Cathedral, Oakland RSVP by Monday, November 3 (St. James) Dcn. Joseph Kawar: dcn.joseph@earthlink.net, Cell: (St. Basil) Karen Ambus: karenambus@yahoo.com, Cell: Agenda 9:00 am Orthros 10:00 am Divine Liturgy 12:00 pm Lunch 1:00-3:00 pm Father Ninos's Presentation 1:00-3:00 pm Children's Activities 3:00 pm Free Time / Depart Goodwill Donation Optional (All proceeds to go to Holy Cross Monastery)

6 St. James Upcoming Events Joint Retreat to the Holy Cross Monastery Castro Valley St. James Orthodox Church & St. Basil Greek Orthodox Church are having joint retreat at the Holy Cross Monastery in Castro Valley. Please see flier for details. Saturday 11/8/14 Deadline to sign-up Monday 11/3/ Can-Food Drive St. James Orthodox Church is sponsoring Thanksgiving Food Drive again this year. Three large bins are now available at the church entrance and in the church hall for your food donation. Deadline - Sunday 11/24/ Project Mexico & St. Innocent Orthodox Orphanage Sponsoring an orphan for Christmas St. James Orthodox Church is sponsoring Kevin an orphan from Mexico to our St. James family with his Christmas list of basic needs. Please see Kevin s wish list in this bulletin. Please call Heba Khoury (714) for questions or information. More details coming soon. Deadline - Sunday 11/30/ St. James Annual Dunlap/Hume Lake trip St. James Orthodox Church Annual fun retreat to Dunlap (Life Giving Spring Monastery) & Hume Lake for fun time on snow. Sign-up sheet available on bulletin board at the church entrance. Please contact Dcn. Joseph for information. Deadline to RSVP - Sunday 12/7/ Sunday School Kids Christmas Show St. James Sunday School kids will wish you a Merry Christmas when performing a beautiful show and Christmas chanting. Sunday 12/21/ Christmas Gift Wrapping St. James Orthodox Church annual volunteering at a warehouse to wrap gifts given to the poor and needy. Fun event all ages are welcome Maximum 12 people only! Please contact Heba Khoury (714) to sign-up Monday 12/22/14 from 12pm 2pm

7 Holy, Glorious Demetrius the Myrrh-gusher of Thessalonica Saturday 11/8 (10/26) The Myrrh-gushing Miracle of St. Demetrios in 1987: A Testimony It was October 26, The time was past 10:00 p.m. The city was celebrating the memory of the contest of its patron saint, St. Demetrios, and the freedom from the nearly five hundred years ( ) occupation by the Ottomans. The Church of St. Demetrios with open doors received its nightly venerators, who were kneeling in front of the silver casket with the holy relics of the Myrrhgusher. At that moment there must not have been more than thirty to forty people in the church. A circle of about ten women were in front of the shrine, chanting the Paraklesis of the Saint. The only clergyman who attended, was the young and newly-ordained deacon of the church with his deaconess-wife. The then head of the church and now Metropolitan Panteleimon of Beroia, Naousa and Campania, had ordered them to be there and wait for him. Suddenly, the women singing the Paraklesis began to yell. The deacon ran to them and the women, with mixed feelings, showed him the casket. It was literally bathed in an oily myrrh formation (we say myrrh because the smell was incomparable). One could have said with certainty that someone poured onto it at least two "buckets" of aromatic liquid (I use the word "buckets" to mean that the quantity of myrrh that slid down the solid walls of the silver casket to the embossed depiction was great). The deacon for a moment was baffled: the Saint is gushing myrrh! Without any doubt at all about the miracle, and finding himself in a state of joy, surprise and excitement, he ran to bring cotton from some furniture of the sanctuary. He returned running and started wiping with cotton the myrrh from the outer walls of the shrine and gave parts of this fragrant cotton to pilgrims. He would wipe it up and the myrrh would not stop, but kept mystically flowing, without any visible source. Characteristically, one fact made an impression: with a large piece of cotton he wiped the myrrh of a smooth area of the casket. The cotton wiped away the myrrh, like when you wipe a glass with a dry cloth, pressing it well and removing moisture that can exist on it. A woman wiped with the palm of her hand on the part of the shrine that had just been wiped. The deacon, with amazement, saw her hand wet by the oily yellow myrrh! Meanwhile, the scent flooded throughout the church and overflowed from the open doors to St. Demetrios Street, attracting passers-by who rushed in to see what was happening and from where came this fragrance. Everyone headed to the casket with the relics of Saint Demetrios, who was not placed in the tomb (it had not yet been constructed), but in front of the iconostasis. The pleasant surprises did not stop there! The pilgrims found that all the icons of the church, wherever they were, in the shrines or church, flowed myrrh. Indeed, the deacon saw pilgrims take out paper towels and wipe the glass protected icons of the church and the paper towels turned yellow from the myrrh which "ran" from both sides of the glass, interior and exterior. The size of the miracle did not leave the slightest room for doubt. We did not understand what we were witnessing, it was like a dream in the mist, but we lived it! We touched it with our hands, we saw it with our eyes, we smelled it with our sense of smell! In a short time there formed a line of people with tears in their eyes venerating the casket of the Myrrhgusher, who realized why he was so nicknamed. Meanwhile there arrived to the church the head priest and other clergy. They unlocked the openings of the casket and found the holy relics of the patron saint of Thessaloniki. Though fragrant, it was the particular scent of sacred relics. The fragrance of myrrh was different and distinctive. The blessed Metropolitan Panteleimon II Chrysofakis of Thessaloniki, attributed the miracle of the myrrhgushing of St. Demetrios to this fact: That evening, at the gala ceremony at the University for the freedom of Thessaloniki, the keynote

8 speaker ignored in his speech entirely the Saint and there was no reference to him. Saint Demetrios spoke with his myrrhgushing that he never left the city of Thessaloniki, so now he is always present, and this is what saved her from slavery and from earthquakes, but complains when Thessalonians prove ungrateful and distance themselves from Christ and His saints. 24 years have passed since then. I was the then deacon of the church, and now a priest in Thessaloniki, and I write the facts as I remember. That moment was like living a mystery. I cannot describe what I felt! Joy, surprise, excitement, enthusiasm... I cannot determine exactly. However, it is the events that reinforce belief that fill us with joy, hope and a sense of the presence of Christ and the saints. Our faith is "alive". Fr. Christos Kotios Vicar of the Holy Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos Saranta Ekklesies, Thessaloniki St. James Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive For I was hungry and you gave Me food - Matthew 25:35 It is that time again Time of giving and thinking of others who are less fortunate. St. James Orthodox Church is sponsoring Thanksgiving Food Drive again this year. Three big bins are now available at the church entrance and in the church hall for your food donation. The Food bank is in need of the following: The bins will be available through Monday November 24 th. Meals in a can (stew, chili, soup) Tuna and canned meat Peanut butter Canned foods with pop-top lids Low-sugar cereals 100% fruit juices in single serving boxes Canned fruit packed in juice Canned vegetables (low salt) Frozen whole Turkeys or Ham are also acceptable Please avoid donating items packaged in glass. Please do not donate bulk quantities of rice, flour, or sugar. God gave us a gift by having food on the table. Please share this gift with the poor and needy families in the community.

9 Favorite: Color: Red Subject: Spanish Book: The Bible Movie: Ironman Kevin Likes to: Play with his brothers at the Ranch Likes to read about: Animals He wants to be a: Elementary Teacher 2014 Santa s Helpers Wish List ITEM SIZE 2 Pairs Casual Pants Men s 30x30 1 Pair Slacks/Suit Pants Men s 30x30 1 Pair Jeans Men s 30x30 1 Pair Shorts Men s Small 1 Belt Men s Small 1 Warm-up Suit Men s Small 1 Pair Pajamas Men s Small 2 Collared Shirts Polo Men s Small 1 Collared Dress Shirt Men s Small 1 Casual Shirt T-shirt Men s Small Tennis Shoes Men s 9 Casual Dress Shoes Men s 9 Indoor Soccer Shoes Men s 9 Dress & Sports Socks Swim Trunks Underwear White Undershirts Men s Small Men s Small Men s Small Men s Small Shower Sandals Men s 9 Thank you for helping us to make this Christmas special for our boys! Special Wish List Items Nike Indoor Soccer Shoes Neon Size 9 Available at: soccercorner.com DC Hoodie BLACK Available at: DCShoes.com Aeropostale Zip Hoodie BLACK Available at: aeropostale.com

10 Beautiful and fun evening on Fall Fest Friday 10/31 Many thanks to everyone who planned and supported this event. May God Bless you all!

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