INSIDE THIS ISSUE Fr. Nick s Net

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1 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Fr. Nick s Net Parish News & Events Special Address of His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew Pg. 2 Pg. 3 Pg. 5 & Pg. 6 HOLY TRINITY GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH STEUBENVILLE, OHIO DECEMBER 2009 VOLUME I ISSUE 7 ALSO INCLUDED IN THIS ISSUE: December Parish Calendar Family Fun Night Flyer BLESSED ARE YOU, O CHRIST OUR GOD, WHO DID SHOW FORTH THE FISHERMEN TO BE ALL-WISE, BY SENDING DOWN UPON THEM THE HOLY SPIRIT. AND THROUGH THEM, YOU DREW THE WORLD INTO YOUR NET, O FRIEND OF MAN, GLORY TO YOU! HYMN OF PENTECOST

2 Fr. Nick s Net December 2009 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The Net is the Monthly Newsletter of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church PARISH INFORMATION PARISH PRIEST: FR. NICHOLAS M. HALKIAS PHONE: (740) HOME: (724) FRNICK@HOLYTRINITYSTB.ORG ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: MARY ANNE JACOBS OFFICE@HOLYTRINITYSTB.ORG PARISH ADDRESS: 300 SOUTH 4 TH STREET P.O. BOX 788 STEUBENVILLE, OH PHONE: (740) FAX: (740) OFFICE@HOLYTRINITYSTB.ORG WEB: Holy Trinity Church is a parish of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh ( and Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America ( under the Spiritual Jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( PARISH MINISTRIES PARISH COUNCIL Niko Mastros, President Spiro Alexander Tony Demitras Rikki Kamarados Nick Maragos Angela Mastros Paul Mastros Greg Matzorkis Tony Mougianis George Parikakis John Synodinos Nick Terezis Philoptochos... Mary McElhaney Religious Education... Angela Mastros Stewardship... George Parikakis GOYA... Rikki Kamarados JOY... Connie Shea/Nicole Zorne HOPE... Angela Mastros / Shanley Demitras Choir... Pete Caleodis Library / Bookstore... Mary Romios Senior Citizens... Angie Kayafas Aghia Markella Society... Marie Kamarados Chian Society... John Synodinos Pan-Icarian Brotherhood... Stacey Kotsanis AHEPA... Nicholas Kotsanis 2 The Net / December2009 In the months of October and November, our country was blessed with the visit of His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. His primary concern for his visit was to see some of the devastated areas in the south that have been plagued with hurricanes. He also had two other items to complete: his appeal to President Obama for the president s efforts in offering religious freedom to the Christian citizens of Turkey, and his reminder to all Orthodox Christians of our first and foremost responsibility that we were ever given by God the care and nurturing of the earth itself. Patriarch Bartholomew has had a long-standing position on the world as a whole: He preaches and teaches that it was given to us by God, and as such we must nourish and cherish it. It was, as the head of the Patriarchate of Constantinople tells us, one of the primary tasks that the first humans were given as God put them on this earth. It is for these reasons, along with repeated lectures and encyclicals with the preservation of the earth as its focus, that the Patriarch has been nicknamed The Green Patriarch. (Green, of course, is the color of Holy Spirit and also the color that symbolizes life. That is why parishes celebrating the feast of Pentecost or Holy Trinity have the color green for their feast day.) Green, therefore, represents the earth the first gift that we were given by God. This gift, as our Green Patriarch tells us, is one that we are masters of, but not as masters that constantly and carelessly consume all of its resources. Rather we must look as the earth as the gift that we have been given but, like all other gifts God gives us, we will be required to show what we have done with this gift. And more importantly, we will be required to show how have we helped enable it to grow and prosper during our time using the gift. In this issue of the Net, we extend our view of stewardship to include the entire earth. We cannot forget that in addition to everything that we have been given personally by God, we also have been given gifts that apply to all humanity. Furthermore, we are just as responsible to these global gifts as we are to the ones that He has handed to us within our own familial and private lives. May God, through the words and guidance of our spiritual leader, Patriarch Bartholomew, grant us a better understanding of the stewardship to which we have been entrusted. God Bless You!

3 News & Events WORSHIP SCHEDULE Sunday Worship... December 9:00 am Sunday Orthros 9:30 am Sunday School 10:15 am Sunday Divine Liturgy Wednesday Paraklesis Services... December Paraklesis Service will be offered every Wednesday at 7 PM. Weekday Services... December These are the weekday services for the month of December. Please check your schedules and plan on attending. DECEMBER Wednesday, December 2 7:00 pm Service of Supplication to the Theotokos Friday, December 4... St. Barbara 8:30 am Orthros 9:30 am Divine Liturgy Tuesday, December 8 4:00 pm Confession Wednesday, December 9 7:00 pm Service of Supplication to the Theotokos Saturday, December St. Spyridon 8:30 am Orthros 9:30 am Divine Liturgy Sunday, December Stewardship Sunday 9:00 am Orthros 10:15 am Teaching Liturgy Tuesday, December 15 9:00 am Holy Unction Wednesday December 16 7:00 pm Service of Supplication to the Theotokos Thursday, December 17 11:00 am - Confession Wednesday December 23 7:00 pm Service of Supplication to the Theotokos Thursday, December Eve of the Nativity 9:00 am Royal Hours 7:00 pm Vesperal Liturgy followed by Christmas Pageant Friday, December Nativity of our Lord 9:00 am Orthros 10:00 am Liturgy Thursday, December Eve of St. Basil 7:00 pm Vesperal Liturgy ANNOUNCEMENTS Trisagion... December December 6 Stamatoula Vogagis, Nicholas Vogagis, Eugenia Zograsos December 13 Mary and Steve Collaros Memorial... December December 27 Nick and Mary Mastros, Gus, Eleni and Tom Yalanis, Mike and Nina Loejos, Nick Loejos and Angela Kefalos COMMUNITY NEWS FELLOWSHIP HOSTS... December December 6... Senior Citizens December Senior Citizens December Senior Citizens December Senior Citizens COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS CARD Once again our church will be sending out our Community Christmas Card. If you wish to have your name on the Christmas card, please do so by December 6 th. The cost of the donation is $ CHRISTMAS POINSETTIAS If you would like to donate a poinsettia to be placed in front of the church, please complete the form you were sent in the mail, or pick up a form in the back of the church, fill it out and place it in the office before December 13 th. The cost of the poinsettia is $ CHRISTMAS CAROLING The GOYANS will be Christmas Caroling on Sunday, December 20 th after church services. Please open your hearts and your homes to this group of young adults. GOYA Rikki Kamarados will be hosting a New Year s Ever party at her home following church services. All Goyans and their families are invited to join them. There will be more details in the Bulletin in the weeks to come. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION C.A.F.E.N.I.O.... Every Wednesday C.A.F.E.N.I.O. is offered on Wednesdays at 8:00 pm directly following Paraklesis. C.A.F.E.N.I.O. Our Adult Forum for learning more about the Scriptures, Orthodoxy, and how to be better Christians in our present day. We are using the book The Law of God. SENIOR CITIZENS BREAKFAST BIBLE STUDY... December 14 The Senior Citizen s Breakfast Bible Study has its monthly meeting on the 2 nd Monday of each month at 10:00 am in the 3 The Net / December 2009

4 Special Address of His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew church social hall. We will continue our study of early Christian documents that did not make it into the canon of Scripture. FAMILY FUN NIGHT...December 21 The Religious Education Committee invites you to join us for FAMILY FUN NIGHT and learn about the Fruits of the Spirit. This month along with Family Fun Night we will be having our First Annual Christmas Party. It will be held on Monday, December 21 from 5:00 7:00 pm. All families are welcome. For more information please contact Shanley Demitras at Please mark your calendar for our next event: January 25, PARISH GROUPS PHILOPTOCHOS... December 3 The Ladies Philoptochos Society met on Thursday, November 5 for their annual anniversary dinner. This year we celebrated our 62 nd year as Holy Trinity Ladies Philoptochos Society. Honored guest was our Metropolis Philoptochos President, Rosemary Nikas, from Canonsburg, PA. She told us about her great honor to have met with Patriarch Batholomew, in New York, on his recent trip to the United States. She presented the past president pin to Grace Kourpas, for her service for the past two years. We had 38 members in attendance. We made donations to the GOYA for their Thanksgiving baskets, the Salvation Army and the Urban Mission for the month of October. On November 10, we held our monthly Gyro sales. Once again Janoski Farms donated the tomatoes and onions for the Gyros. This month we also sold pastries along with the Gyros. It was a very successful fundraiser. I wish to THANK all those who volunteered to make it such a success. Our next meeting is December 3. This will be our Christmas Party at 6:00 pm at Holy Trinity Church. The ladies decided not to have a $5 gift exchange instead; they will donate their $5.00 to the children s Christmas Wish Tree at the Mall. Anyone wishing to donate to this cause please see Paula Riley. AGHIA MARKELLA & CHIAN SOCIETY... December 6 The Aghia Markella and Chian Societies will be holding their Christmas party on Sunday, December 6 th at 1:30 pm. Please plan to attend. BYZANTINE CHANTING CLASSES... December 7 & 21 The Byzantine Chanting classes are held on the first and third Monday of each month at 7:00 pm in our upstairs fellowship hall and will continue until Holy Week. This class explores our ancient Byzantine hymns and teaches the theory behind its music and theology. PARISH COUNCIL... December 8 Parish Council meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm at the church. AHEPA... December 10 & 15 The AHEPA Society, along with The Daughters of Penelope, will hold their annual Christmas party on December 10 th at 6:00 pm. More information will be forthcoming. The monthly meeting for AHEPA will be held Tuesday, December 15 th at 6:30 pm. CHOIR... December Rehearsals are held weekly when possible and the times vary. Choir members are notified through our One-Call System. Anyone who would be interested in joining the Choir is welcome to do so. Please contact Pete Caleodis if you are interested in joining the choir. SENIOR CITIZENS... December The Senior Citizens held its annual Thanksgiving Dinner on Thursday, November 12 th at Lancelot s. There were 35 in attendance. Rikki Kamarados spoke regarding the Lions Club and their goals for the upcoming year. A Christmas party is being planned for sometime after Christmas. MONTHLY FINANCIALS OCTOBER October average weekly income $2, October average weekly expenses $8, A LITTLE CHRISTMAS HUMOR Don t Be Rushed For Christmas A friend of ours waited until the last minute to send Christmas cards. She knew she had 49 folks on her list. So she rushed into a store and bought a package of 50 cards without really looking at them. Still in a big hurry, she addressed the 49 and signed them without reading the message inside. On Christmas Day when things had quieted down somewhat, she happened to come across the one leftover card and finally read the message she had sent to 49 of her friends. Much to her dismay, it read like this: This card is just to say A little gift is on the way. 4 The Net / December2009

5 Special Address of His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew Saving the Soul of the Planet - Address at the Brookings Institution Αddress of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch BARTHOLOMEW (Delivered November 4, 2009) What does preserving the planet have to do with saving the soul? Let us begin to sketch an answer by quoting an Orthodox Christian literary giant, Fyodor Dostoevsky, echoing the profound mysticism of Isaac the Syrian in the seventh century through Staretz Zossima in The Brothers Karamazov: Love all God s creation, the whole of it and every grain of sand. Love every leaf, every ray of God s light! If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Everything is like an ocean, I tell you, flowing and coming into contact with everything else: touch it in one place and it reverberates at the other end of the world. This passage illustrates why, with respect to the priority and urgency of environmental issues, we do not perceive any sharp line of distinction between the pulpit and this lectern. One of our greatest goals has always been to weave together the seemingly disparate threads of issues related to human life with those related to the natural environment and climate change. For as we read the mystical teachings of the Eastern Church, these form a single fabric, a seamless garment that connects every aspect and detail of this created world to the Creator God that we worship. For how can we possibly separate the intellectual goals of this institution namely, the advancement of democracy, the promotion of social welfare, and the security of international cooperation from the inspirational purpose of the church to pray, as we do in every Orthodox service, for the peace of the whole world, for favorable weather, an abundance of the fruit of the earth, and for the safety of all those who suffer? Over the past two decades of our ministry, we have come to appreciate that one of the most valuable lesson to be gained from the ecological crisis is neither the political implications nor the personal consequences. Rather, this crisis reminds us of the connections that we seem to have forgotten between previously unrelated areas of life. It is a kind of miracle, really, and you don t have to be a believer to acknowledge that. For, the environment unites us in ways that transcend religious and philosophical differences as well as political and cultural differences. Paradoxically, the more we harm the environment, the more the environment proves that we are all connected. That is why the Orthodox Church has been a prime mover in a series of inter-disciplinary and interfaith ecological symposia held on the Adriatic, Aegean, Baltic, and Black Seas, along the Amazon and Danube Rivers, as well as on the Arctic Ocean. The last of these symposia concluded only a few days ago in New Orleans, seeking ways to restore the balance of the great Mississippi River. The mention of New Orleans brings to mind another truth. Not only are we all connected in a seamless web of existence on this third planet from the Sun, but there are profound analogies between the way we treat the earth s natural resources and the attitude we have toward the disadvantaged. Sadly, our willingness to exploit the one reflects our willingness to exploit the other. There cannot be distinct ways of looking at the environment, the poor, and God. This is one of the reasons why we selected New Orleans as the site of our latest symposium; and this is why our visit there was in fact the second since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. There, images of poverty abound, too close for comfort. We witnessed them in August of 2005 on the Gulf of Mexico; they are still evident over four years later not only sealed forever in our memory, but soiling the Ward 9 to this day! How could the most powerful nation on earth appear so powerless in the face of such catastrophe? Certainly not because of lack of resources. Perhaps because of what St. Seraphim of Sarov once called lack of firm resolve. The truth is that we tend somewhat conveniently to forget situations of poverty and suffering. And yet, we must learn to open up our worldview; we must no longer remain trapped within our limited, restricted point of view; we must be susceptible to a fuller, global vision. Tragically, we appear to be caught up in selfish lifestyles that repeatedly ignore the constraints of nature, which are neither deniable nor negotiable. We must relearn the sense of connectedness. For we will ultimately be judged by the tenderness with which we respond to human beings and to nature. Surely one area of common ground, where all people of good will of all political persuasion and every social background can agree is the need to respond to those who suffer. Even if we cannot or refuse to agree on the root causes and human impact on environmental degradation; even if we cannot or refuse to agree about what would define success in sustainable development, no one would doubt that the consequences of climate change on the poor and disadvantaged is unacceptable. Such denial would be inhumane at the very least and politically disadvantageous at worst. 5 The Net / December 2009

6 Special Address of His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew Many argue that the wealthy nations of the West became so by exploiting the environment they polluted rivers and oceans, razed forests, destroyed habitats, and poisoned the atmosphere. But now that that the poorer nations are developing and improving the quality of life for their citizens like the West did during the 19th and 20th centuries all of a sudden the rules are being changed and developing nations are being asked to make sacrifices the nations of the West never made as they were developing. They are being asked to reduce their impact on the environment in other words, to curb their development. They are being asked to drive fewer cars, consume less oil, build fewer factories, raze fewer forests, and harm fewer habitats all in the name of protecting the environment. Brothers and sisters this simply cannot be. Not only is it unfair to ask the developing nations to sacrifice when the West does not it is futile. They care not what we say they watch what we do. And if we are unwilling to make sacrifices, we have no moral authority to ask others, who have not tasted the fruits of development and wealth, to make sacrifices. Fortunately, the West, and in particular America, is now showing that it recognizes this inconvenient truth that if we are to save our planet, sacrifices must be made by all. The Obama administration, as you know, has been very active in this regard. The President has signed an Executive Order challenging government agencies to set 2020 greenhouse reduction goals, and using the government s $500 billion per year in purchasing power to encourage development of energy-efficient products and services. There are also many promising developments at the global level. Representatives of the 16 countries that emit the highest levels of greenhouse gases met recently in London to discuss the amount of aid they will give lessdeveloped nations to help them adopt cleaner energy technology. And there are growing expectations that meaningful progress can be made as a result of the United Nations Climate Change Conference scheduled to take place in Copenhagen next month. Sacrifices will have to be made by all. Unfortunately, people normally perceive sacrifice as loss or surrender. Yet, the root meaning of the word has less to do with going without and more to do with making sacred. Just as pollution has profound spiritual connotations, related to the destruction of creation when disconnected from its Creator, so too sacrifice is the necessary corrective for reducing the world to a commodity to be exploited by our selfish appetites. When we sacrifice, we render the world sacred, recognizing it as a gift from above to be shared with all humanity if not equally, then at least justly. Sacrifice is ultimately an expression of gratitude (for what we enjoy) and humility (for what we must share). 6 The Net / December2009 For our part, in addition to our international ecological symposia, the Orthodox Church has decided to establish a center for environment and peace. Hitherto, the Ecumenical Patriarchate has endeavored to raise regional and global awareness on the urgency of preserving the natural environment and promoting inter-religious dialogue and understanding. Henceforth, the emphasis will be educational on the regional and international levels. The Center for Environment and Peace is planned to be housed in a historical orphanage, on Büyükada, one of the Princess Islands near Istanbul. The building was once the largest and most beautiful wooden edifice in Europe, and it will embody a new direction in the initiatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Whereas the orphanage was at one time forcibly closed by Turkish authorities in an act of religious intolerance, it is highly expected to be returned to the Ecumenical Patriarchate through a just process in the European Court of Human Rights, which ruled in favor of returning this historic property of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The purpose of the Center will be to translate theory into practice, providing educational resources to advance ecological transformation and interfaith tolerance. The Center will focus on climate change and the related changes needed in human behavior and ethics. It will serve as a source of inspiration and awareness for resolving religious issues related to the environment and peace, in cooperation with universities, and policy centers on both local and international levels. Dear friends, as we humbly learned very early on, and as we have repeatedly stressed throughout our ministry over the last twenty years, the environment is not only a political issue; it is also indeed, it is primarily a spiritual issue. Moreover, it directly affects all of us in the most personal and the most tangible manner. We can no longer afford to be passive observers in this crucial debate. In 2002, at the conclusion of the Adriatic Symposium, together with His Holiness, the late Pope John Paul II, we signed a declaration in Venice that proclaimed in optimism and prayer. Our conclusion was that: It is not too late. God s world has incredible healing powers. Within a single generation, we could steer the earth toward our children s future. Let that generation start now. Because ΝΥΝ Ο ΚΑΙΡΟΣ -- now is the kairos the decisive moment in human history, when we can truly make a difference. Because now is the kairos when the consciousness of the world is rising to the challenge. Because now is the kairos for us to save the soul of our planet. Because now is the kairos there is no other day than this day, this time, this moment. Indeed, let it start now. May God bless all of us to bring our labors to fruition. Thank you.

7 The Net-Minders The Parish of Holy Trinity would like to thank the following benefactors for making this Monthly Newsletter possible: 7 The Net / December 2009

8 Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church P.O. Box South Fourth Street Steubenville, OH NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE P A I D STEUBENVILLE, OH PERMIT NO. 83 Submissions for THE NET are to be submitted by the 20 th of each month About the Icon on the Cover THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST (CELEBRATED DECEMBER 25 TH ) The incomprehensible and inexplicable Nativity of Christ came to pass when Herod the Great was reigning in Judea. He was in every way foreign to the royal line of David; rather, he had received his authority from the Roman emperors, and had ruled tyrannically over the Jewish people for some thirty-three years. The tribe of Judah, which had reigned of old, was deprived of its rights and stripped of all rule and authority. Such was the condition of the Jews when the awaited Messiah was born, and truly thus was fulfilled the prophecy which the Patriarch Jacob had spoken 1,807 years before: "A ruler shall not fail from Judah, nor a prince from his loins, until there come the things stored up for him; and he is the expectation of the nations" (Gen.49:10). Thus, our Saviour was born in Bethlehem, a city of Judea, whither Joseph had come from Nazareth of Galilee, taking Mary his betrothed, who was great with child, that, according to the decree issued in those days by the Emperor Augustus, they might be registered in the census of those subject to Rome. Therefore, when the time came for the Virgin to give birth, and since because of the great multitude there was no place in the inn, the Virgin's circumstance constrained them to enter a cave which was near Bethlehem. Having as shelter a stable of irrational beasts, she gave birth there, and swaddled the Infant and laid Him in the manger (Luke 2:1-7). From this, the tradition has come down to us that when Christ was born He lay between two animals, an ox and an ass, that the words of the Prophets might be fulfilled: "Between two living creatures shalt Thou be known" (Abbacum 3:2), and "The ox knoweth his owner and the ass his master's crib" (Esaias 1: 3). But while the earth gave the new-born Saviour such a humble reception, Heaven on high celebrated majestically His world-saving coming. A wondrous star, shining with uncommon brightness and following a strange course, led Magi from the East to Bethlehem to worship the new-born King. Certain shepherds who were in the area of Bethlehem, who kept watch while tending their sheep, were suddenly surrounded by an extraordinary light, and they saw before them an Angel who proclaimed to them the good tidings of the Lord's joyous Nativity. And straightway, together with this Angel, they beheld and heard a whole host of the Heavenly Powers praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men" (Luke 2:8-14). -Paraphrased from: