Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral HERALD OCTOBER 2014

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1 Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E Dean s Message 2 President s Message 3 Philoptochos News 4 Stewardship 5 Philanthropia News 5 Philoptochos VIP 5 Ministries List 8 Sacraments/Memorials 9 Greek Fest Pictures 14,15 Greek Fest Donations 16,17 Feast Day Article 18 Orthodox Calendar 19 HERALD OCTOBER 2014 Page Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral V. Rev. Fr. John S. Bakas, Dean Rev. Fr. Allan Boyd, Assistant Priest 1324 S. Normandie Blvd., Los Angeles, CA Tel Fax Saint Luke, El Greco Oil on Canvas, c Toledo Cathedral, Toledo, Spain October 18th - Saint Luke the Evangelist October 26th - Saint Demetrios of Thessaloniki October 26th after the Divine Liturgy Celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Demetrios the Mirovlitis (Myrrh streamer) of Thessaloniki and the Anniversary of OXI Exquisite Macedonian delicacies will be served followed by an inspiring program

2 Page 2 DEAN S MESSAGE Five Expectations Most of you know by now that I am recovering from some recent emergency surgery. While hospitalized, there has been ample time to reflect upon what got me here. To put it very simply, one part of my body decided to function contrary to the overall purpose of the rest of my body. You might say, it decided to have a mind of its own. Some scar tissue on part of my intestine began to twist it into a knot, so that it stopped functioning according to the needs of the rest of my body. It became inflamed, bringing everything to a halt. The surgeon had to cut me open and then make some incisions on the intestine so that it could be untwisted and freed up to do the job for which it was intended. It had to be brought back into unity, doing its part toward the purpose of the rest of my body, so that I could be restored to good health. Remarkably, when Saint Paul wrote to Christians in the city of Corinth, he used an example of the human body to talk about the Church which he referred to as the Body of Christ. There in Corinth, parts of the Body of Christ had also begun to develop minds of their own. People were coming to Church, each of them with a different talent given by God for the building up of the Body, but some were using their talents for their own reasons, ignoring what Christ had called them to. Because of that, a kind of twisting-up occurred there too, bringing illness to the Body of Christ in Corinth. All of this begs the question of you, my beloved Body of Christ in Los Angeles: Are you using the gifts and talents that Christ gave you for the purpose He intends, or have you too simply scarred over, beginning to twist your part of the Body to meet your own individual desires instead? Thus, we are asking our Cathedral s Ministry Leaders, beginning with our Parish Council, and energizing outwardly, all the way into every other ministry, like Philoptohos; choir; docents; Sunday School teachers; basketball; dance; and camp; to begin setting the example of the healthy direction in which Christ wants to keep us growing. The following are the Five Expectations to which we hope our ministry leaders will commit themselves as mature Orthodox Christians. 1. Discipleship: The primary goal of each Ministry Leader is to fulfill the mission that Christ gives to every Orthodox Christian (expressed within the Gospel Reading at every baptism), to make Disciples (students) of Christ and to grow Disciples of Christ (Matthew 28:16-20). Of course, it stands to reason that if a Leader is going to Make and Grow Disciples of Christ, he or she needs to set the example as someone whose very life continually reflects discipleship (a perpetual pupil) of Christ so that they are modeling this to those within their ministry. This is foundational to being an Orthodox Christian. 2. Love: Ministry Leaders fulfill this mission through an ever deepening understanding-of and participation-in the twofold command of Christ. Love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind and love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). 3. Conscientious Worship: Ministry Leaders are conscientiously punctual, weekly participants in the Divine Liturgy. Being there to offer worship from the beginning of Divine Liturgy is an offering to God that is only a very small part of our lives. Habitually coming late and/or habitually missing Liturgy creates a serious detriment to one s growing in the Lord and to celebrating one s relationship with Him. If a Ministry Leader is also a husband and a father, his enthusiastic attendance becomes an especially acute issue regarding his family s future perpetuation (or eventual rejection) of the Faith. 4. Stewardship: Ministry Leaders fill out a pledge card and are generous Stewards of the Church, with both their monetary offerings and their offering of time and talent. Supporting the mission and ministries of the Church is what helps Saint Sophia Cathedral to participate in God s work of transforming the lives of people around us. Ministry Leaders encourage those within their ministry (or the parents of those in their ministry) to do the same. 5. Good News of Jesus: Ministry Leaders are able to articulate the Gospel (or Good News) of Jesus Christ, as understood in the Orthodox tradition. The Good News is that God became human (through the Son s taking human flesh), so that humans could have (by God s grace) unity with God. That is Good News for us because, when we immerse ourselves in the teachings of Christ and in His Church and we become what Christ guides us to become, we are transformed into Good News. The more deeply we enter into that Good News; by God s grace, we become participants in His miraculous works; we have Life and have it abundantly; we are able to experience joy, even in difficult circumstances; our eyes are opened to an eternal perspective of things on earth; our hearts are healed from past wounds; we are freed from the things in life that enslave us; our families and other relationships become stronger and more loving; we have tools to equip our children to deal with the difficulties of life; and we get to experience the blessings of living heaven on earth. Ministry Leaders make this Good News a vital part of everything they do. As we all become unified together towards Christ s purposes, we will find ourselves attending a Church that is no longer twisted into painful knots, or infected with the disease of selfishness, but rather becoming ever more healthy and joyful and life-giving. In Christ, V. Rev. Fr. John S. Bakas, Dean

3 Page 3 PARISH COUNCIL MESSAGE What s Right with our Community This is an important time for me to thank all of our staff, our volunteers, our donors, supporters and attendees for helping us with our 2014 L.A. Greek Fest! This is such a large undertaking, full of challenges and definitely a back breaking effort. There is so much that goes into planning and in delivering a three day event that requires us to be able to serve 5000 hot meals, all at the same time, and made just like how our mothers made it. For everyone who loves to have lots of dill in their spanakopita, there are others who cringe and complain if it s in it at all. One person wants Coke with ice; another says that they want a Pepsi without. Some like smaller portions, others want large ones. People say it s too hot in the ballroom; others complain it s too cold. Everyone has an opinion including those who never even attended the event and instead listen to someone else that is in the complaining mode and then passes it on to others who want to only believe this negativity and hurtful and misguided rumors. As a person who worked countless hours on the festival the last thing I want to hear is when a person approaches me and says, I heard that. I find that my practice of only giving credence to those who labored, supported and worked for our Church and our Fest deserve my attention (which I gladly give). I am always open to criticisms as well as receiving good reviews, too. However, when I hear the whispers from non-attendees who believe it s okay to criticize, never help and spread nasty rumors, then I draw the line. We must change the behavior of beating up on each other, especially when it comes over as nonproductive criticisms and not even a good solution to the problem. We are all volunteers and we work for each other and for our Church. I, for one, thank all of you who participated in our 2014 L.A. Greek Fest. I also wanted to share how proud I felt when I was with Metropolitan Gerasimos recently on his visit to the Cathedral and USC. During our drive from his hotel, we spoke about ways to continue to reach-out to the less fortunate, the poor, the homeless, and how to support and connect with Father John and Father Allan s efforts in defining where will we be 25 years from now; how do we bring new members into the Church? I shared with his Eminence all about the direction of our different Ministries, helping our ministry leaders to understand their responsibilities, how they are spokespeople for Orthodoxy and our Mission, how we re creating fun and different events to meet the needs of all age groups, and all of the efforts of our Parish Council and Trustees in working with Loyola High School and St. Thomas Church in creating a neighborhood educational center within the Byzantine-Latino Quarter. Metropolitan Gerasimos shared that after Liturgy he wanted to spend time with the Parish so he visited our Book Store and positively commented about its beauty, it s offerings and warmth emitted by our volunteers and shoppers, to the Maniatakos Hall where he met many different age groups and generation of families who are our pillars of support in so many ways (financially and spiritually), visited with university aged students and discussed their roles within our Church, met, and then addressing our Philoptochos and thanking them for their continued support and efforts in the many outreach programs they support. After his visit at USC with President Dr. Max Nikias and his wife, Niki, author Gene Rossides (Kissinger & Cyprus: A Study in Lawlessness), friends and students in attendance, Metropolitan Gerasimos discussed the importance of advocacy to our leaders about the important issues of Greece and Cyprus. I was pleased to see many friends of Saint Sophia and also the respect of everyone and reverence to Metropolitan Gerasimos who were in attendance there. Afterwards we met with some of the USC Greek Students and urged them to come to one of our beautiful services and to stay to meet our parishioners in the Center. Metropolitan Gerasimos and I met with Father Bakas in the hospital and was surprised by Father Kezios who also came to see Father. Together with John Kopatsis, myself, Presvytera Maria Bakas, the Metropolitan gave Communion to Father and we prayed for his health, recovery and long life. It was a beautiful sacrament and it reminded me how important it is to pray and support our Priests and our Church each and every moment of the day. Wouldn t it be nice for Father to hear about how much we love him and appreciate everything he does for all of us. It s time for the supporters of our Church to stand up and help protect what s right with our Community instead of how can we bring down our Community. Yours in Christ, Brent A. Noyes, Parish Council President

4 Page 4 PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS The ecclesiastical year has begun. There are projects and donation drives coming that you may participate in if you wish. As the holidays get closer, we ll be discussing how to help the women and children who are in shelters, through the Domestic Violence Agency. We will also be doing our Angel Tree again this year and hope to put some gifts on the tree for those victims in the shelters. If you should know of an individual, or a family, that could use some Christmas cheer and help from Philoptochos, please send us a note and mail it or leave it for us, in our mailbox at church. All names will be held in very strict confidence. The Fall Meeting Schedule for General Meetings is as follows: Assembly Sunday, October 19 - Maria Kootsikas, Pharm. D - Vaccinations: Children, Adults, and the upcoming Flu Season Sunday, November 16 - Thanksgiving Luncheon Please look for the reservation flyer that will be in the Herald bulletins. Reservations must be paid in advance and are mandatory. We will be in the big hall this year so that we can accommodate everyone! There is no meeting in December so that everyone may enjoy the holidays. Thank you to everyone who donated stuffed animals for our collection last month. All the animals were very much appreciated by the children who received them and made their cancer treatments a little more bearable! MAILING LIST: Please add your address to our Philoptohos listing so that you don t miss out on our projects and events! Send your information to us in care of the Cathedral and we ll be happy to add you to our lists. Christmas Candy Sale: Philoptochos will be putting out flyers soon so that you may pre-order See s Christmas candy for the holidays and at the same time, support the Bishop Anthony Student Aid Endowment Fund which helps young men from our Diocese attend the seminary to become priests. All Philoptochos chapters in our Southern California area must donate to this and we will donate all the profits from our candy sale to this fundraiser. We will be selling Assorted chocolates, Nuts and Chews, a children s box and large chocolate Santas. If there is a special item you would like to order from us, please contact the chairman, Scarlett Billis, and speak with her. Her contact information will be on the flyer and she can take your special order request. Be sure to MAIL your order form to Scarlett - do not hand it to a Philoptochos member. It is necessary that the order form go directly to her. Look for the flyer in this Herald! Preordered items will be available for pickup at our Thanksgiving luncheon and there will be some boxes of candy available for purchase as well. This is a great way to get your gifts for family, friends and business associates while helping this important event! Just think - you don t have to stand in line and wait behind a ton of people who can t decide what they want to buy! You just place your order and we do the rest! It can t be much easier than this!! Angel Tree: Ho Ho Ho. The Angel Tree will be up in the Narthex over Thanksgiving weekend. We are accepting names of individuals and families who may need some Christmas help from Philoptochos. We ll be placing tags on the tree with gift wish items for children and adults. Philoptochos always provides food cards for the people on the tree as well, so that they may purchase a nice Christmas dinner. All names will be confidential. If you wish to let us know of someone who could use assistance this holiday season, please send their name and contact information to our Philoptochos mailbox at the Cathedral. Thank you so much. Philoptochos work is very rewarding but sometimes it s emotionally difficult too. The women of Philoptochos are the right arm of the church to assist wherever we are needed. We re always looking for new members who wish to join in the work. If you are considering running for the Board of Directors, please see the paragraph below. May 2015 will be Philoptochos Board of Directors elections, so is an election year. In order to run for the Board: a member must be in good standing with the church as a steward and a paid member of Philoptochos. You must also have attended 4 general meetings within the year before elections, meaning May 2014 through April Anyone running for the Board must attend the election meeting unless you have been excused for illness or an emergency. With love in Christ s service, Virginia Noyes and the Philoptochos Board of Directors

5 Page 5 Believe and Belong through Christian Stewardship $6,000 To $7,999 Oldknow, Mrs. Dina $2,000 To $3,999 Kirages, Mr. & Mrs. John Mellos, Mr. & Mrs. Anthony* $1,000 To $1,999 Athans, Ms. Artie STEWARDSHIP FAMILIES AUGUST 2014 Kourafas, Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Kontogiannis, Mr. Alexandros Anonymous (1) Koumontzis, Mr. Nikos $650 To $999 Kyriacou, Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas Chrysanthopoulos, Dr. Andreas Linardos, Mrs. Rose Demopoulos, Peter & Vivi Markos, Mrs. Alexandria Stamos, Mr. & Mrs. Andy OTHER * Life Members Endowment Fund +Blessed Memory PHILANTHROPIA NEWS Used Clothing and Canned Goods: Thank you for all the generous donation of used clothing. Please label all clothing donations on the outside of the bags by indicating whether they are for men, women or children. Thank you! Street Outreach: Dr. Nikos Stefanidis, Ph.D. a Staff Psychologist at Children s Hospital, L.A., is the Clinical Director of this High Risk Program. Your continued help will assure that these children are cared for year round by purchasing new items such as the following: T-Shirts (M-L); Boxers (M-L); White Socks; Blankets; Sleeping Bags; Sweatshirts; Snacks; Water/Juices; Bus Tokens; Sneakers; Hygiene Items (Travel Size); Tooth Brushes & Toothpaste; Shampoo; Deodorant; Sun Screen - be sure to label them for Dr. Nikos Stefanidis and leave them by the clothing bins. God bless you! Father Peter PHILOPTOCHOS VIP Harrah's Rincon located north of San Diego near Temecula. For Reservations call the Chairman Irene Mitropetros at (323) , or co-chair Mary Kezios at (562) Write your check to Philoptohos VIP for $10.00 per person and mail it to Irene Mitropetros at: th Avenue. Los Angeles CA.90018, or to Mary Kezios at Casanes Avenue, Downey, CA Make sure that you include your full name, address and birthdate. Be at Saint Sophia 8:30 am. The Buss will depart 9:00 am and will be back 6:00 pm. November 2, 2014: Our annual artoclasia which is offered for the health of the Philoptohos VIP members. December 11, 2014: Our annual VIP Christmas Luncheon at 11:00 am in the Maniatakos Hall. Co-chairs Vivi Demopoulos and Faye Demetriou. Reservations are required. Please call Stella Morris at (818) or Mersy Loukaris (323) Donation $25.00 make your check payable to Philoptohos VIP and mail it to Stella Morris Dickens Street Studio City, CA In His Service, Athina Lolonis, VIP President RALPH S REWARD PROGRAM For those of you who are part of our Saint Sophia Community Fund Raising efforts through Ralph s, please remember to register your Ralph s reward card every September 1st. You may take the following barcode into the store and have the cashier scan the code before check out. Philoptochos VIP is planning a trip on Thursday October 23, 2014 to visit Harah s Resort in Southern California, formerly

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8 Page 8 MINISTRIES Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral Very Reverend Father John S. Bakas, Dean Reverend Father Allan (Gabriel) Boyd Jim Kollias, Choir Director Dimitris Liogris, Protopsaltis Michael Kontaxis, Assistant Psaltis Christopher Yokas, Organist James Karatsikis, Sexton FOUNDATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES Executive Officers George E. Preonas, President Andrew Evangelatos, Executive Vice President Dr. James A. Demetriou, Vice President & C.F.O. Constantine M. Boukidis, Secretary Tina Callas, Treasurer Members V. Rev. Fr. John S. Bakas Nicholas Bissias Timi Loomos Freshman Alek Haidos Steve Hanna Michael Huffington Gig Kyriacou Brent Noyes John T. Pappas Jim Zaferis Presidential Appointments Anthony A. Demetriou, Presidential Assistant John G. Marakas III, Sr. Advisor to the Board Andrew J. Demetriou, Foundation General Counsel PARISH COUNCIL BOARD OF DIRECTORS Executive Officers Brent Noyes, President Michael Kraios, Acting V.P., Treasurer & C.F.O. Irene Andreadis, Recording Secretary Karen Sarames, Corresponding Secretary Members Bertha Angels Eleni Constantine Manolelis Jeanine Hanna Glenn Lianos Loula Moschonas Peter Pallas Dean Peratsakis Dorothy Spirus Tom Ward Anna Yallourakis Auditing Committee James Ananias Anthony Demetriou Tom Moore PHILOPTOHOS SOCIETY Executive Officers Virginia Noyes, President Helene Ballas, 1st Vice President Marianna Politis, 2nd Vice President Mary Gallanis, Recording Secretary Lola Gialketsis, Corresponding Secretary Scarlett Billis, Treasurer Dina Oldknow, Advisor Honorary Life Members Jennie Doumak Members Christine Peratis Allison Stavaridis Frances Bissias Judith Christopoulos Pauline Evangelatos Olga Jordan Tricia Kremer Coni Manders Sophie Mastor Jan Pastras Christina Peratsakis Mary Tassop Jayne Poullos Sonia Stathes Maria Toczek ADMINISRTATIVE AND CUCTODIAL STAFF John Kopatsis, Huffington Center Director Helen Ellis, Office Administrator Jessica Benitez, Admin. Assist. Noah Johnson, Events Coordinator Marcial Cerna, Oscar Castro, Mauricio Mira, Miguel Rosales, Custodians ALTAR BOYS Chris Halekakis BASKETBALL Gig Kyriacou & Paul Cooper BIBLE STUDY Very Rev. Father John Bakas Rev. Father Allan Boyd BOOK STORE William Striglos CHILD CARE Kathy & Marsha Zagorianos CHOIR Jim Kollias COFFEE HOUR Ann Pappas Georgia Vasila DOCENTS Faye Demetriou EASTER PICNIC Ted Pappas GREEK DANCE GROUPS Barbara Kappos Eleni Constantine Manolelis Demitra Koutsos GREEKS in HOLLYWOOD Dina Demetrius HELLENIC ACADEMY Alex Oxyzoglou HOSPITALITY Niki Korbakis Maria Pelargos L.A. GREEK FEST Parish Council Executive Board MR. & MRS. CLUB Dean & Christine Peratsakis ODOS The Way Helen Lambros PARENTING Nick Stefanidis Barbara Kappos PHILANTHROPIA Rev. Father Peter Lambert PHILOPTOHOS V.I.P. Athina Lolonis, President SAINT SOPHIA CAMP Melanie O Regan Jack Stumpus (Golf Event) Tony Mastor (Tennis Event) Mary-Kay Demetriou (Tennis Event) SUNDAY SCHOOL Eleni Yokas YOUTH Rev. Father Allan Boyd

9 Page 9 SACRAMENTS AND MEMORIALS October 4 October 18 October 19 October 25 October 26 WEDDINGS Julie Alexander and Nader Salib Mary Narguizian and Gregory Ohahnian Natalie Berberian and Nicholas Kontogiannis Koumbaros: Alexandros Kontogiannis Lernik Sardariani and Pierre Keshishian Marizol Cruz & Emad Daoud Koumbaros: Jimmy Karatsikis Christine Rofail and Jesus Alanis Sandra Barsoum and Arin Babakhanian Stephanie Seif and Tamer Younan MEMORIALS October 5 Nicholas Faklis Ero Cosfol - 6 months William Minford Geraldine Kyriako Michael Ballas Shirley June Otis - 40 days Lefkou Christofi October 19 October 12 Pantelis Giatzoglou - 3 years Michael Faklis Penelope Faklis October 26 Jennie Anastassiou - 1 year BAPTISMS EPISTLE READERS October 4, 2014 October 11, 2014 Calista Christine Basconcillo Daughter of Raymond Basconcillo and Mollie Basconcillo Sponsor: Karen Scherrer Kerry Joseph Blackman Sponsor: Andrea Smith October 5 October 12 October 19 October 26 Ariana Prappas Chris Stavaridis Jeanine Hanna Jim Boltinghouse

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13 Page 13 The Hellenic Academy under the auspices of Saint Sophia Parish Council and with the support of the Los Angeles Chapter of t he PanMacedonian Association invites you to a memorable LUNCHEON AND PERFORMANCE in the dual celebration of Saint Demetrios Feast Day and OXI Day S u n d a y O c t o b e r 2 6 th :00 noon following the Divine Liturgy Huffington Center at St Sophia Cathedral; 1324 S. Normandie Ave, Los Angeles $20 per person, luncheon and refreshments For more Information and tickets, contact Alex Oxyzolou, AlexOxyz@hotmail.com, (310) ; or Jessica Benitez at Saint Sophia Cathedral Offices: (323) Mail checks to 1324 South Normandie Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90006, payable to SAINT SOPHIA CATHEDRAL SPACE IS LIMITED; please RSVP by October 20 th

14 Page 14 Our Heartfelt Appreciation to the 2014 L.A Greek Fest Family of Supporters Needs Lists Donors, Advertisers, Raffle prize Donors, Booth Sponsors And to all our fantastic Captains and wonderful volunteers all photographs by allen altrech allen@holdthatsmile.com

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18 Page 18 Saint Luke the Evangelist By John Kopatsis The Apostle and Evangelist Luke is the author of the Gospel of Luke, the companion of the Apostle Paul, and he is numbered among the Seventy Apostles. He was of Greek origin, a native of Antioch, and Paul calls him "our beloved physician." Luke appears in Acts during Paul s second journey. He accompanied Paul to Jerusalem and remained near him when he is imprisoned in Caesarea. He accompanied Paul on the dangerous journey to Rome where he was a faithful companion. "Only Luke is with me," Paul writes (2 Timothy 4:11). His emblem is the ox, the third symbolical beast mentioned by Ezekiel (1:10), which is a symbol of Christ's sacrificial and priestly office. After Saint Paul's martyrdom, Saint Luke preached the Gospel throughout Italy, Dalmatia, Macedonia, and other regions. Luke was 84 years old when he was tortured and hanged from an olive tree in the town of Thebes, Greece. Saint Luke wrote one of the major portions of the New Testament, comprising the third Gospel and Acts of the Apostles. In the two books he shows the parallel between the life of Christ and that of the Church. Most historians regard Saint Luke s writings as highly accurate. Based on his accurate description of towns, cities and islands, as well as correctly naming various official titles, archaeologist Sir William Ramsay wrote that "Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy he should be placed along with the very greatest of historians." Professor of Classics at Auckland University, E.M. Blaiklock, wrote: "For accuracy of detail, and for evocation of atmosphere, Luke stands, in fact, with Thucydides. The Acts of the Apostles is not shoddy product of pious imagining, but a trustworthy record... it was the spadework of archaeology which first revealed the truth." Christian tradition states that Saint Luke was the first icon painter and he is considered the founder of Christian iconography. He painted icons of Theotokos holding the infant Jesus, in particular an icon kept in Constantinople. This icon depicted a half-length portrait of Theotokos holding the child and pointing toward Him as the way of salvation. Known as the Hodegetria (she who points the way) the original icon was taken in the fifth century to the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, and installed there in the Hodegon monastery. The original Hodegetria seems to have vanished following the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in Copies of the icon, however, could be found everywhere from Russia to Ethiopia. Throughout Renaissance, painters guilds across Europe were commonly named after Saint Luke. Images associated with Saint Luke had enormous authority. Depictions of Saint Luke painting the Virgin were themselves popular. One example is an icon by Domenikos Theotokopoulos, better known as El Greco. El Greco, born in 1541, had trained and worked as an icon painter in the Byzantine tradition in his native Crete before he left to study painting in Venice and Florence in Ten years later he finally settled in Toledo, Spain, where he gradually developed his extremely idiosyncratic style achieved through the catalyst of his artistic genius and Saint Luke Painting the Virgin and Child, Domenikos Theotokopoulos (El Greco) Tempera and Gold on Canvas, c Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece personal explorations. Saint Luke Painting the Virgin and Child icon was created during his Cretan period. Together with the icon of The Dormition at Syros, this is one of El Greco's earliest works. It suffered serious losses but much of the paint surface remains intact and legible. It shows Saint Luke in the act of painting the icon of Theotokos. El Greco kept strictly to the Byzantine canon in the representation of the icon on the easel, but he allowed himself greater freedom in the rest of the depiction. This icon is a transitional work that demonstrates how the artist was seeking to graft Renaissance elements on to Byzantine compositions, which led him to the creation of a new idiom through the amalgamation of Byzantine and Renaissance tradition. El Greco painted several series in which Christ and the Apostles appear as separate images (Apostolados). El Greco included Saint Luke in several of his Apostolates, although he was not one of the twelve apostles. The Saint Luke painting on the cover page is from a cycle for the Toledo Cathedral. Of all Christ's disciples that El Greco painted for the various Apostolates, the figure of Saint Luke is possibly the most attractive. He appears dressed in the typical clothing of a craftsman, being the patron saint of artists, omitting the usual tunic and cloak of the apostles worn by others such as Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Andrew. Saint Luke shows us an open book in which we can see an image of the Virgin and Child and in his right hand he is holding a paintbrush. He is completely lost in thought, like an artist searching for something in his interior world. The figure is silhouetted against a neutral background and is facing forwards. The green-yellow color of his outfit is very typical of Late Renaissance Mannerism. The bright light hardly casts any shadows on the figure and instead illuminates him entirely. The reflection of the figure's character has led more than one expert to think that it is a portrait and it has been suggested that it could be a self-portrait.

19 Page 19 OCTOBER 2014 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat :30pm Old Testament w/fr. Allan nd Sunday of Luke 8:15am Orthros 9:15am Faith Studies 9:45am Memorials 7:30pm The Why s of Orthodoxy w/fr. Allan 7:00 pm Young Adult Forum 7:30pm Old Testament w/fr. Allan 12 Sunday of the 7th Ecumenical Council 8:15am Orthros 9:15am Faith Studies 9:45am Memorials 13 7:30pm The Why s of Orthodoxy w/fr. Allan 7:00 pm Young Adult Forum :30pm Old Testament w/fr. Allan Luke the Evangelist 8:30 am Orthros 9:30 am Divine Liturgy rd Sunday of Luke 8:15am Orthros 9:15am Faith Studies 9:45am Memorials 7:30pm The Why s of Orthodoxy w/fr. Allan 7:00 pm Young Adult Forum Saint Iakovos 8:30 am Orthros 9:30 am Divine Liturgy 7:30pm Old Testament w/fr. Allan th Sunday of Luke 8:15am Orthros 9:15am Faith Studies 9:45am Memorials 7:30pm The Why s of Orthodoxy w/fr. Allan 7:00 pm Young Adult Forum 7:30pm Old Testament w/fr. Allan Strict Fast Fish Allowed Wine and Oil Allowed Dairy, Eggs, and Fish Allowed Fast Free

20 Page Saint Sophia 20 Greek Cathedral Greek Orthodox Community 1324 South Normandie Avenue Los Angeles, California Place address label here Phone Fax We re on the Web! Where there is peace and meditation, there is neither anxiety nor doubt