Christ is risen! Truly He is risen!

Transcription

1 VOLUME 26 NUMBER 5 May 2017 Christ is risen! Truly He is risen! Dearest Spiritual Ohana, Christ is risen! Truly He is risen! As we enter into the month of May, we continue to celebrate amidst the Glory and Joy of our Lord s Resurrection. We conclude our yearly Paschal Greetings of Christ is risen on the eve of the Ascension on May 24th, then proceed to celebrate the Ascension and then make our way toward the celebration of Holy Pentecost. I pray that the light of the Resurrection continue to burn in your hearts always, throughout the year and ever-resoundingly illumine your everyday lives. The Resurrection of our Lord is so central in our lives as Orthodox Christians. It expresses the ultimate love of our Lord in that He conquers death by His Death and grants us the opportunity to live in and through Him forever. Even though we take leave us this Glorious Season, toward the end of the month, we continue to celebrate the Resurrection practically every Sunday throughout the entire year. Sunday in Greek ( ) means the Lord s Day. To keep the flame of the Resurrection ignited in your hearts, I share with you a few facts about the Miracle of the Holy Fire which takes every year at the Holy Sephulcre (the location of Christ s Tomb) in Jerusalem, and has taken place for centuries upon centuries every year during the Celebration of Orthodox Holy Pascha. 1. General Description of the Miracle On the appointed day at noon, the Greek Orthodox patriarch, followed by the Armenian archbishop, march in grand and solemn procession with their own clergies, while singing hymns. They march three times round the Church of the Holy Sephulcre. Once the procession has ended, the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem or another Orthodox Archbishop recites a specific prayer, removes his robes and enters alone into the Sephulcre. Before entering the Tomb of Christ, the patriarch is examined by Jewish Israeli authorities to prove that he does not carry technical means to light the fire. This investigation used to be carried out by Muslim Turkish Ottoman soldiers. The Armenian archbishops remain in the antechamber, where the angel was sitting when he appeared to Mary Magdalene after the Resurrection of Jesus. The congregation subsequently chants Kyrie eleison ( Lord, have mercy in Greek) until the Holy Fire spontaneously descends on 33 white candles tied together by the Patriarch while he is alone inside the tomb chamber of Jesus. The patriarch then reveals himself from the tomb chamber and recites some prayers, before he lights either 33 or 12 candles and distributes them to the congregation. The fire is considered by believers to be the flame of the Resurrection power, as well as the fire of the Burning Bush of Mount Sinai. 2. In the Patriarch of Jerusalem s Own Words I find my way through the darkness towards the (Continued on page 2) 1

2 thus have received the flame on my candles, I go out and give the fire first to the Armenian Patriarch and then to the Coptic. Hereafter I give the flame to all people present in the Church. (Continued from page 1) inner chamber in which I fall on my knees. Here I say certain prayers that have been handed down to us through the centuries and, having said them, I wait. Sometimes I may wait a few minutes, but normally the miracle happens immediately after I have said the prayers. From the core of the very stone on which Jesus lay an indefinable light pours forth. It usually has a blue tint, but the color may change and take many different hues. It cannot be described in human terms. The light rises out of the stone as mist may rise out of a lake it almost looks as if the stone is covered by a moist cloud, but it is light. This light each year behaves differently. Sometimes it covers just the stone, while other times it gives light to the whole sepulchre, so that people who stand outside the tomb and look into it will see it filled with light. The light does not burn I have never had my beard burnt in all the sixteen years I have been Patriarch in Jerusalem and have received the Holy Fire. The light is of a different consistency than normal fire that burns in an oil lamp. At a certain point the light rises and forms a column in which the fire is of a different nature, so that I am able to light my candles from it. When I Shorelines is published Monthly by: Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Pacific 930 Lunalilo Street Honolulu, Hawaii Phone : (808) Fax : (808) office@greekorthodoxhawaii.org Parish Web Site: Regular Office Hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday thru Friday Rev. Father Alexander M. Leong fralexanderleong@yahoo.com The Holy Fire is a great miracle that takes place every year, confirming our Lord s Resurrection. There exist written accounts dated all the way back to the 4th Century by which authors write about the holy events occurring in the 1st Century. St. John Damascene and St. Gregory of Nyssa, for example, make accounts of how the Apostle Peter saw the Holy Light in the Holy Sephulcre after Christ s Resurrection. For us who have not seen and witnessed the Miracle of the Holy Fire, firsthand, there exists video footage of it on YouTube. Just type, for example, Holy Fire/Light in Jerusalem, and you can see for yourselves! Of course, there are miracles that are before us, continuously, in our daily lives. Our every breath is a miracle! Glory to God in all things! With Love in Christ, +Fr. Alexander Church Staff Cris Devine - Office Coordinator office@greekorthodoxhawaii.org Erica Jansen - Bookkeeper 2017 Parish Council pc@greekorthodoxhawaii.org Maria Naval, President Trish Kiladis, Vice President Roni Katsikas, Treasurer Christina Dimitrion, Secretary John Kiladis, Cleopatra Kritikos, Nicholas Kyriakakis, Dimitri Nicholas & Andrew Tujios. Dimitri Nicholas, & Mindy Scordilis Philoptochos Board Alma Chu, President; Anita Akel, Vice President; Marina Saikevych,Treasurer; Alice Malick,Recording Secretary; Valentina Yarovaya, Corr. Secretary; Harriett Medes, Advisor Choir-Chanters Orest Saikevych, Music Director Gregory Malick, Protopsaltis Parish Ministries Stelio Scordilis, Aloha Youth Choir; Sunday School Director T.B.A., Bookstore; Dianna Graves, Presbytera Nicole Leong Greek Dance Groups; Stelio Scordilis, Sunday School Teachers Greek School; Julie Ličina Web Master; Alice Malick, Greg Malick, Maria Naval, Anita Higashi, Facebook George Kalantzis, 2

3 LITURGICAL LIFE OF OUR PARISH WEEKDAY SERVICES IN MAY ST. JOHN THE THEOLOGIAN Mon. 5/8 Orthros/Liturgy 8:30/9:30 am GREAT VESPERS Sat. 5/20 Vespers 6:30 pm GREAT VESPERS Wed. 5/24 Vespers 6:30 pm ASCENSION OF OUR LORD Thu. 5/25 Orthros/Liturgy 8:30/9:30 am MAUI SERVICES Sat. 5/27 Liturgy 10:30 am Please join us for the Spring General Assembly on Sunday, May 7, 2017! May Parish Council Teams 05/07 Dimitri Nicholas 05/14 Tina Dimitrion 05/21 Trish Kiladis 05/28 Andy Tujios Please remember in your prayers Dina Giannakopoulos Suzanne Keyser Julie Licina Alice Malick John Mitsis & all those who need our prayers Announcements Adult Religious Education/Cathechism Stay tuned for announcements on upcoming classes and series. Due to the wide array of schedules, Catechism is done individually and by appointment. For more opportunities for Catechism, Fr. Alexander plans to set up a series of studies in the near future with set dates and times for group learning opportunities that work for the majority. Learn Greek In addition to our classes after Sunday School, we offer the following classes in the conference room: Elementary: 5:30 PM Advanced Youth & Adults: 6:00 PM 3

4 Thank you to all who made the celebration of Holy Week and Pascha so very special through your generosity of time, talents and treasures! Each of your contributions have not gone unnoticed, whether it be through chanting, reading, serving in the altar, cleaning, contributing toward Holy Week Items, decorating of the Kouvouklion, cooking, baking, etc. May our Lord bless each and every one of you! Share your news! Announcements that you would like to see in the June issue of Shorelines should be submitted to the church office by May 15th. Weekly Bulletin announcements should be submitted by noon on Thursday for the upcoming Sunday. Our Vision: To be a beacon of Orthodoxy in the Pacific and proclaim the Gospel of Christ to all people in accordance with the Orthodox faith Our Mission: To proclaim the Gospel of Christ to all people in accordance with the Orthodox Faith. To sanctify and minister to the spiritual growth and needs of the faithful through liturgical worship and spiritual programs. To safeguard and keep the traditions, values, and faith of the Orthodox Church pure and undefiled. office@greekorthodoxhawaii.org Call: Or drop by with a copy of your announcement. Maui Orthodox Christian Mission reminds those who attend services on Maui to visit or call to verify services. or look for other activities that may be posted. 4

5 Christ is Risen! Aloha Ss. Constantine & Helen Ohana, I hope you have been enjoying this beautiful Paschal Season. Yes, we are still celebrating His Resurrection. We pray, sing and greet one another with Christ is Risen! for 40 days until Ascension. The Deacon s (North & South) doors are open, Fr. wears white (or bright color) vestments, and lilies are placed to beautify our Church. These things remind us of the continuation of the Paschal celebration. You may want to ask your children if they see or do anything different at Church during the Paschal Season. This year, Ascension will be on Thursday, May 25 th. Unfortunately, many people cannot attend the Liturgy on this holy day since it is on Thursday. Yet, Ascension is a very important Lord s Feast Day. I encourage parents to talk about Ascension with your children at home. Here are some resources that you may want to use: X Ascension Day explained with Lego characters YouTube v=6d0kmwj5nce X Ascension Craft (Coloring) assets/asset_manager/ e99a5a84333ba33b10a74cfd228c33c6.pdf X Orthodox ABCs The Ascension of Christ uploads/2012/06/022-en-ed02_ascensionof-christ.pdf May 14 th is Mother s Day. I thank all the mothers who bring their children and support our Sunday School. I wish you a Happy Mother s Day! I also like to share the inspiring stories about St. Nonna and St. Emilia. You can read about them visiting May 21 st is already the last day of Sunday School for the year As we celebrate our Church Name Day on this day, we also congratulate our High School students Graduations and all students Promotions. Please mark your calendar! Thank you to all the dedicated teachers who share their faith and love with our children. Without them, there will be no Sunday School Program. Now, S.S. teachers and I are looking for people who may volunteer to become a teacher or assistant teacher. Our veteran teachers are willing to guide you working with you in the classroom. Please let me or Fr. Alex know if you are interested. Have a wonderful summer! Pres. Nicole, S.S. Director 5

6 What is Christian Stewardship? Christian Stewardship is learning how to be a responsible and concerned caretaker of Christ s Church; it is learning how to enjoy Church life and be happy in Church work., for in Her dwells the fullness of the Spirit of God. our active commitment to use all our time, talent and treasure for the benefit of humankind in grateful acknowledgment of Christ s redeeming love. caring for the needs of others. offering one s self to God as He offered Himself to us. what a person does after saying I believe, as proof of that belief. devotion and service to God and His Church as persons, as families, as Diocese/Metropolis, as National Church and as Church Universal. 6

7 Dance Group News The Dance Groups and I, as Director, would like to thank Parish Council and the Parishioners for the FDF Budget that helped us defray our costs in going. Angeliki Scordilis and Sharon Higashi both got full and partial scholarships to Ionian Village in Greece this summer. Please support them in needed funds that are not covered by their scholarships. Please take a look at our FDF 2017 picture album on our dance shelf by the TV area. I asked the dancers to write in one to three sentences only, why they liked FDF? Nisiopeda Dancers Lilinoe Pe'ahi, 7 years: I love dancing on stage and being with my friends. Miabella Naval, 10 years: I like going to FDF because I get to be with my friends. Joanna Leong, 12 years: I enjoyed spending time with all the other dancers from Church. I also liked seeing friends from the summer camp. Nisiotes Dancer Constantine Papazacharioudakis, 22 years: I like FDF because of all the good music, dancing, and Greek fellowship. These are a few responses, more to come in the June Bulletin. Dance Trivia: Did you know that three former dancers have their daughters in the Nisiopeda Dance Group? Answer: Moms Jean Pe'ahi, Maria Naval, Tanya Chadwick. Recycle Recycle Recycle Give HI 5 only plastic and aluminum cans. Give glass to Dianna for the Dance Group; this is our year-round fundraiser. Mahalo for your support, Dianna Graves, Dance Ministry Director & Dance Instructor C O F F E E H O U R Each individual/ family is requested to sponsor a coffee hour one Sunday per year. Sign up on the calendar posted outside the Social Hall or contact Suzanne A. or Frances R. Instructions/tips for sponsoring a coffee hour are available in a 3-ring binder in a cupboard in the hall. The Ladies of Philoptochos appreciate any donations of coffee supplies, including paper supplies to help defray some of the coffee hour expenses. If you are hesitant to prepare and serve a coffee hour 7 yourself, consider making a monetary donation. Please do not bring non- Lenten food including cake & ice cream during fasting periods. Thank you to our April Sunday Coffee Hour sponsors! 2017 Coffee Hour Sign-up Calendar posted outside the Social Hall. Please sign up to host a Sunday. 4/2 Medes Family 4/9 Philoptochos 4/16 Agape Picnic 4/23 Philoptochos 4/30 Angeliki and Sharon

8 We reached to our goal, $700! Thank you to all who generously donated to this important ministry. Also, a special Big Mahalo to our Philoptochos Ladies who hosted the Mochas for Missions fundraiser during the coffee hour, counted the collection every Sunday, and contributed an extra $200. 8