St. Demetrios. Champion. Celebrating Vasilopita. Upcoming Coffee Hosts. Apolytikion of St. Basil the Great:

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1 St. Demetrios Champion MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF ST. DEMETRIOS ORTHODOX CHURCH JANUARY VOLUME 3 Celebrating Vasilopita One of the more beautiful and inspirational Q: I was traditions of the Greek Orthodox Church is the annual family celebration of the Vasilopita. This original event which happened in Cappadocia of Caesarea in the last half of the fourth century, is very much alive in our Orthodox homes each year. The Greek word Vasilopita is directly translated as Sweet Bread of Basil. When the Vasilopita is prepared, a coin is baked into the ingredients. Sweet flavoring is added to the bread which symbolize the sweetness and joy of life everlasting. It also symbolizes the hope that the New Year will be filled with the sweetness of life, liberty, health, and happiness for all who participate in the Vasilopita Observance. When the observance begins, usually on New Years Day, the bread is traditionally cut by the senior member of the family, and the individual who receives the portion of the Pita which contains the coin is considered Blessed for the New Year. Each portion of the Vasilopita are distributed as follows: The first portion is cut in remembrance of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The second is for the Holy Mother of our Lord, The Virgin Mary. The third is for St. Basil the Great, the other portions are cut for the members of the family beginning with the eldest. Portions may also be cut for the Church, the house, the traveler, the visitor and the poor. Apolytikion of St. Basil the Great: Thy sound hath gone forth into all the earth, which hath received thy word. Thereby thou hast divinely taught the Faith; thou hast made manifest the nature of all things that be; thou hast adorned the ways of man. O namesake of the royal priesthood, our righteous Father Basil, intercede with Christ God that our souls be saved. What is an apolytikion? It is the dismissal hymn sung in honor of a saint, Christ, or the Virgin Mary on the occasion of their feast day. This is the hymn sung to honor the saint our church is named after, St. Demetrios. Upcoming Coffee Hosts Jan. 8 th - Mike Kontos Jan. 15 th - George and Mike Nicholas Jan. 22 nd - VASILOPITA Jan. 29 th - Natasa Sarkic Feb. 4 th - Jim and Gretchen Telios Feb.12 th - Donna Yordanoff Feb. 19 th - Jim and Jean Zarifis Feb. 26 th - Taste of Our Cultures Potluck If the time is not convenient for you to serve, PLEASE contact another person on the above list to exchange dates.

2 Information We will be sending out bulletins once a month to keep everyone up-to-date with church information. If you have anything that needs to be in the church bulletin, or have anything specific you would like to see in future bulletins, please contact Amber Haley by the third Sunday of each month for inclusion in the next month s bulletin. You may contact her via to amberyintar@yahoo.com, or call her at Please leave a message if no one answers. We are working on getting a parish list set up. If you have an address and would like to receive church news via the internet, please send an to amberyintar@yahoo.com. Use the subject line Church and include your name in the message. Thank you. How good and pleasant it is when God s people live together in community! Psalm 133:1 Church Happenings Sun. Jan. 8: Father will bless the waters. Sun. Jan. 15: Oath for Board members Sat. Jan. 21: Father will bless homes Sun. Jan. 22: Vasilopita Sun. Feb 26: Taste of Our Cultures Potluck Dinner Parish Council members 2012: Bill Anthopoulos, Mary Canakes, Tony Chardoulias, Karen Gartelos, Amber Haley, Mike Jocic, Mike Kontos, George Nicholas, Natasa Sarkic, Shirley Skarlis, Jim Zarifis, Jean Zarifis Lana Jocic, wife of newly elected parish council member, Mike Jocic, received her MAE in school counselling from UNI in December. Congratulations, Lana! Sat. Jan 14 th : George and Mary Jean Nicholas request your presence at an open house celebrating their 44 th wedding anniversary and George s 70 th birthday. Please come and celebrate! Mama Nick s 1934 Washington St. 1-3 pm Where and When Please join our community for Divine Liturgy every Sunday at 4:00 p.m. Our Proistamenos (Parish Priest) is Father Joseph Mirowski. We are located at: 613 W. 4 th Street Waterloo, IA All are welcome! Please join us for refreshments following the Liturgy in the church basement.

3 Daily Bible Readings: Nov. For the Orthodox, the Bible is the book of the Church, written by and for those who believe in God and constitute His people Father John Matusiak 1/1: Matins: John 20:1-10 Epistle: Colossians 2:8-12 Gospel: Luke 2:20-21, /2: Epistle: Hebrews 5:4-10 Gospel: John 3:1-15 1/3: Epistle: 2 Timothy 4:5-8 Gospel: Mark 1:1-8 1/4: Epistle: Acts 10:44-48; 11:1-10 Gospel: John 1: /5: Epistle: 1 Corinthians 9:19-27 Gospel: Luke 3:1-18 1/6: Matins: Mark 1:9-11 Epistle: Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7 Gospel: Matthew 3: /7: Epistle: Acts 19:1-8 Gospel: John 1: /8: Matins: John 20:11-18 Epistle: Ephesians 4:7-13 Gospel: Matthew 4: /9: Epistle: 2 Timothy 2:1-10 Gospel: Mark 1:9-15 1/10: Epistle: Ephesians 4:7-13 Gospel: Luke 3: /11: Epistle: Hebrews 13:7-16 Gospel: Matthew 11: /12: Epistle: Acts 18:22-28 Gospel: John 10: /13: Epistle: Hebrews 10:32-38 Gospel: Luke 12: /14: Epistle: Ephesians 6:10-17 Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11 1/15: Matins: John 20:19-31 Epistle: Colossians 3:4-11 Gospel: Luke 17: /16: Epistle: Acts 12:1-11 Gospel: John 21: /17: Matins: Matthew 11:27-30 Epistle: Hebrews 13: /18: Matins: John 10:1-9 Epistle: Hebrews 13:7-16 Gospel: Matthew 5: /20: Epistle: 2 Corinthians 4:6-15 1/21: Epistle: Philippians 1:12-20 Gospel: Luke 12:8-12 1/22: Matins: John 21:1-14 Epistle: Timothy 4:9-15 Gospel: Luke 19:1-10 1/23: Epistle: Phil. 3:20-21; 4:1-3 Gospel: Mark 2:23-28; 3:1-5 1/24: Epistle: Galatians 5:22-26; 6:1-2 Gospel: Matthew 22: /25: Epistle: Hebrews 7:26-28; 8:1-2 Gospel: John 10:9-16 1/26: Epistle: 2 Cor. 1:21-24; 2:1-4 Gospel: Matthew 25: /27: Epistle: Hebrews 7:26-28; 8:1-2 Gospel: John 10:9-16 1/28: Epistle: Galatians 5:22-26; 6:1-2 1/29: Matins: John 21:14-25 Epistle: 2 Cor. 6:16-18; 7:1 Gospel: Matthew 15: /30: Matins: John 10:9-16 Epistle: Hebrews 13:7-16 Gospel: Matthew 5: /31: Epistle: 1 Cor. 12:27-31; 13:1-8 Gospel: Matthew 10:1, 5-8 St. Basil the Great. Feast Day January 1st St. Basil was one of the greatest Fathers of the Christian Church and appeared on the spiritual horizon of the Orthodox Faith. He was Bishop of Caesarea, Cappadocia (Asia Minor). He was born four years after the First Ecumenical Council held in the year 325 A.D. Saint Basil was one of the three Cappadocian Fathers of the Church (the others were Gregory of Nazianzus, his best friend, and his brother, Gregory of Nyssa). Saint Basil was the first person in human history to establish an orphanage for little children. He also founded the first Christian hospital in the world. His fame as a Holy Man spread like wildfire throughout the Byzantine world. He was considered one of the most wise and compassionate clergymen in the entire history of the Church. His Feast Day is observed on January 1st, the beginning of the New Year and the Epiphany season. The Church, therefore, in respect for his many contributions to the Church and to mankind in general, combined the joy and happiness of the New Year with the glory of the birth of Christ, and the Epiphany into what is known in the Orthodox Church as the Vasilopita Observance. The bread that you store up belongs to the hungry; the coat that lies in your chest belongs to the naked; the gold that you have hidden in the ground belongs to the poor. ~St. Basil the Great 1/19: Epistle: Galatians 5:22-26; 6:1-2 Gospel: Matthew 22:2-14

4 On the feast of St. Basil and the New Year The Encyclical of Archbishop DEMETRIOS for the feast of St. Basil and the new year. From January 1, 2012 As we begin this new year, with the blessings of our Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in the service of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy Church, we give thanks to Him for His abiding presence with us. It is in Christ s presence that we find the grace to transform our lives and restore our communion with God. In His presence we know the truth of the Gospel and the endurance of hope, and we experience the forgiveness and mercy that sets us free from the bondage of sin and death. In Christ, we find enduring joy in the assurance of His eternal promises and peace in the comfort of His love. As His people and His servants, we are granted wisdom and strength to offer a witness of hope and ministries of compassion and healing. All of these blessings of the presence of Christ in our lives are the fruit that we bear when our hearts, minds and souls are connected to the True Vine, Christ. In addition, our connection to Him, to His presence and words, to His guidance and power, and to His love is essential for our ministry. To touch and transform lives and to bear fruit that leads others to a real new life, every effort, action, and word must reveal the presence of Christ. Our daily awareness of His presence and our commitment to bear fruit that brings honor and glory to God in this new year is so vital in our contemporary world. Around us are many conflicting messages that are disconnected from Christ, and thus disconnected from truth and from the Source of life and love. We have to be consistently the voice and witness of Christ, calling those around us to come to Him and experience a beautiful and fulfilling grace that will bring assurance and peace to their souls and meaning to their lives. This is why we must always remain united to Him. On this New Year s Day as we consider the priority and necessity of living in Christ, we also commemorate the Feast of Saint Basil the Great and give thanks to God for the blessed ministry of Saint Basil Academy. This center of philanthropic ministry continues to provide a loving and Christian environment where children are nurtured in the ways of the Lord and guided into adulthood as young men and women of God. This sacred work, strengthened by the grace and power of Christ, is possible because the directors, staff, and donors abide in Christ. They know that this is a ministry of love. It is a spiritual service that will produce beautiful fruit in young lives. It is an offering of faith that brings honor and glory to God Thus, they know that they need the presence and power of Christ to guide children and youth to Him and give them the spiritual resources to remain connected to the True Vine for the rest of their lives. In support of Saint Basil Academy, our National Ladies Philoptochos Society and the local chapters in our parishes lead us on this feast day and during the month of January in collecting a special offering. This is a way which in conjunction with our prayers will connect us to this very critical and highly specialized work of creating a bright future for young people. May I wish you and your families a blessed new year filled with the presence and joy of Christ. In this new year of 2012, may we find renewed strength and abundant grace in our service to Him. Each day let us seek to abide in Him through prayer, worship, and service, and as we live in His presence, may our lives be filled with great blessings and our offering to others lead them to His saving and unfailing love. With paternal love in Christ, DEMETRIOS Archbishop of America We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Romans 6:4 Did You Know? The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in America has a wonderful website full of information about our faith.

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