CHRIST IS RISEN!! The Ascension. #Unselfie - Page 2. Post Pascha - Page 3. May 21st - Page 5. May Volume 22 Issue 5.

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1 Volume 22 Issue 5 CHRIST IS RISEN!! #Unselfie - Page 2 Post Pascha - Page 3 May 21st - Page 5 The Ascension May 2015 The Wednesday which follows the Sixth Sunday after Pascha is the last day of the after feast of Pascha. It is called the leave-taking of Pascha. It is on this day that we celebrate the final day of Christ s physical presence on earth. To celebrate the resurrection once more, the Church repeats the services (Vespers, Orthros, Divine Liturgy) of Pascha. On the 40th day after Pascha, which is Thursday, May 21st this year, the Orthodox Church celebrates the Ascension of Christ. During the Vespers for the Ascension, which is the night before, three texts from the Old Testament are read: The first is Isaiah 2:2-3, which speaks of the mountain from which Christ ascended to His Father, the Mount of Olives.. The second text, Isaiah 62:10-63:3, 7-9 because of the following words, Go through the gates; prepare you the way of the people. Jesus Christ ascending into heaven opens the gates to His people; He prepares a way for them, He carries them and raises them up with Him. The Third text, Zachariah 14:1,4,8-11 also speaks of the mountain, which was the scene of Christ s final triumph. Behold the day of the Lord comes And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem. The incredibly obvious prophesy here is amazing. Throughout Orthros we hear allusions to the coming of the Holy Spirit (See Pentecost on back page). During the Divine Liturgy we read the account of the Ascension in the book of Acts (1:1-12) and in the Gospel of Luke (24:36-53). The Disciples filled with joy return to Jerusalem and await the Holy Spirit. They see Christ s ascension as another triumph not just of Jesus but for themselves as God continues to pave the way for our reality. He who is fully God and fully man brings into heaven, Human Nature. And He raises us up with Him eternally. In addition to all this Christ did not leave them empty handed or without promise. He promised that they would soon receive the Holy Spirit and they were looking forward to that. And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. (Luke 24:51). This is what the feast of the Ascension should be to us. Every blessing of Jesus even as He ascends into heaven gives us hope, life, and excitement. As we worship in Church, every Sunday celebrating the Resurrection, we should be filled with joy and excitement.

2 Dear Friends is an in-print outreach effort to the Orthodox Christian community of St. John as well as the community at large. This monthly publication aims to inform, edify, and serve as a witness to its readers of the Truth of Jesus Chirst as confirmed in the Holy Gospel. Dear Friends is a ministry of: St. John The Baptist Greek Orthodox Church Metropolitan Parkway Sterling Heights, MI Phone: (586) parish@stjohngoc.net Clergy: Fr. Nicholas Kyritses, Proistamenos Pastoral Assistant: Nick Lionas Chanter: Christos Strubakos Office Staff: Carol Pacey Church Maintenance: Manoli Papastamatis Parish Council: Dr. Ted Tangalos, President Philoptochos: Dina Stavropoulos, President Seniors: Nick Prantzalos, President Choir: John Tangalos & Dr. Andy Kotsis Bible Study: Helene & Jim Lionas REAL: Paula Terenzi Sunday School: Dr. Maria Aretakis, Mary Singos & Tara Kosmides Greek School: Elli Patouhas Altar Boys: George Collins & Nick Stavropoulos GOYA: Ellene Balalas, Angela Kotsonis, Dr. Steve Kotsonis & Angie Stathakios Evan Tangalos, President HOPE & JOY: Skye Bastounis, Irene Kourtesis, Dimetra Mansoor, Julia Thomas & Donna Kostolakis Little Angels: Sofia Papastamatis & Popi Stavrou #Unselfie by Nick Lionas We live in an age of social media. But what does it mean to be social and how does it relate to media? Our good man Webster defines it as, Elating to or involving activities in which people spend time talking to each other or doing enjoyable things with each other. Naturally being social is interacting with others. Social Media is a good tool for connecting with people that perhaps you would otherwise lose touch with, or perhaps it offers us new ways for others to see us or express ourselves. However, social media falls far short of reality. We re all broken people but when everyone is having apparent fun and displaying it online, it can make us feel left out or give us a sense of loneliness. Reality is most often not what we see. We also like to showcase ourselves in the best way possible. We take pictures of ourselves and post to facebook, instagram, twitter and more. We show ourselves doing fun things or just in front of a mirror because we think we look good or more often because we want others to tell us how good we look. We crave personal attention and unfortunately it has become normal to turn to our electronic versions of our friends for that support. That support however is NOT a enough. Face-to-face interaction is where we must meet others for true friendship. While social media can keep us connected, true friendship is found in looking each other in the eyes with no medium in-between. The hardest part about this is that we are becoming engulfed in our technology. We keep our heads down and buried in our phones. We can t miss what s going on in the news, or sports, or the social lives of others but we miss what is going in our very own lives. At dinner I have to make an effort to put my phone away or I ll find myself missing out on the true relationships around me. Furthermore we ve lost our sense of patience. When every answer to every question can be found in a matter of seconds we actually get upset when things take even a short amount of time. If patience is a virtue, than technology may be the most dangerous assault on that virtue. I don t want to make the point that technology and our phones which do help keep us connected in some ways is a bad thing. These things can be very positive and we should be thankful for them. We just have to be careful not to abuse it and become tech addicts. Perhaps one way to do that is to involve the world around you, especially other people in your technology. Instead of taking a selfie, take an unselfie a picture with many people, not just you. The world of just one person who shuns others or does things simply for his or her own glory, is a lonely embodiment of hell. We need each other, we re called to be with each other in true genuine relationships. In the future we will begin to see the effects of those who live attached to the virtual world versus those who have spent time growing relationships in the reality. Which side will you be on?

3 Time of Easter After Pascha, Christ is Risen. We have gone through a period of preparation (Lent) and have traveled through Passion Week with Christ and have now a period in which we celebrate the Risen Lord walking on earth appearing to people after the Crucifixion and Resurrection. During this 40 day period we greet each other with the exclamation, CHRIST IS RISEN! or CHRISTOS ANESTI! We sing the Pascha Triparion throughout. As we have during lent, each Sunday after Pascha until the Resurrection commemorates something or someone. The Second Sunday of Pascha is The Sunday of St. Thomas (April 19). The Orthodox Church does not dishonor St. Thomas who was not present at the time when Christ first appeared. (John 20:19-31) We honor the heartbroken Disciple s turn from disbelief to a faith so deep that it led his evangelistic mission as far east as India and to his martyrdom for Christ there. The Third Sunday of Pascha is The Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women (April 26). The first to witness Christ after His Resurrection were these women. (Mark 15:43-16:8). Mary Magdalene (meaning from Magdala), Mary the Mother of James, Salome, Joanna, Susanna, Mary and Martha go to the tomb and see it empty! They go not knowing who would roll a way the giant stone, but they go anyway. And Christ appears to them, women first. Women who at this time in history had little to no authority in testifying truth and yet the Gospel writers use their testimony. Another moment where Christ turns everything upside down for His glory. The Fourth Sunday is the Sunday of the Paralytic (May 3). From John s Gospel 5:1-15, we commemorate Christ s life giving miracles and forgiveness. The other reading of the day form Acts 9:32-42 recounts two miracles worked by St. Peter: The healing of Aeneas in Lydda and the bringing back to life of a woman named Tabitha. This parallel shows Christ s healing power through His Apostles and demonstrates that Christ heals us both Physically and Spiritually. The Fifth Sunday is dedicated to the Samaritan Woman, or the Woman at Jacob s Well (May 10). (John 4:4-30) Here Christ speaks to a woman and reveals Himself as Christ and speaks to her of the Holy Spirit. The previous Wednes day was Mid-Pentecost, the halfway point between Pascha and Pentecost when the Apostles receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in tongues of fire. In the other reading of the day, Acts 11:19-30 we read of Barnabas and Saul s mission in Antioch. This is a continuation of Christ s message to the Samaritan Woman and to all people. The Sixth Sunday is called the Sunday of the Blind Man (May 17) from John 9:1-38. Christ is the light of the world and He gives the Blind Man sight, as He gives us spiritual sight. He illumines the world In addition to all this Christ did not leave them empty handed or without promise. He promised that they would soon receive the Holy Spirit and they were looking forward to that. And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. (Luke 24:51). This is what the feast of the Ascension should be to us. Every blessing of Jesus even as He ascends into heaven gives us hope, life, and excitement. As we worship in Church, every Sunday celebrating the Resurrection, we should be filled with joy and excitement. 3

4 Pentecost Ten days after the ascension of Christ into Heaven, the Apostles gather and receive the Holy Spirit. It is referred to as the Church s birthday. Now of course the reality of the God and His people has always been, but here begins the mission of the Church, the mission to open the doors of heaven to ALL PEOPLE. Pentecost is Greek for 50th day, referring to it happening 50 days after the Resurrection of Christ. It was celebrated in the Old Testament to commemorate the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. On this Pentecost however, the Apostles are given the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:1-41). The Reading from Numbers (11:16,17, 24-29) tells us how Moses, at God s command chose seventy elders to whom God would communicate part of the spirit He had given to Moses, much like the 70 Apostles who followed Christ (the outer circle of followers). The reading from the Prophet Joel (2:23-32) foretells what will happen at the day of Pentecost, It shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. And the reading from the Prophet Ezekiel (36:24-28) also announces an inner renewal, A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put in you We adore the Holy Spirit, we worship Him and we honor Him in Vespers saying, The Holy Spirit provides all; overflows with prophecy; fulfills the priesthood; and has taught wisdom to the illiterate. He has revealed the fishermen as theologians. He brings together all the laws of the Church As they are filled with the Holy Spirit, they are given the ability to speak in the tongues necessary to reach people all around the world. The mission of the Church begins as given to us in Matthew 28:19-20, Go there fore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all the things that I have commanded you With the power and encouragement that I am (Christ) with you always even to the end of the age. 4

5 Sts. Constantine and Helen (From goarch.org) This great and renowned sovereign of the Christians was the son of Constantius Chlorus (the ruler of the westernmost parts of the Roman empire), and of the blessed Helen. He was born in 272, in (according to some authorities) Naissus of Dardania, a city on the Hellespont. In 306, when his father died, he was proclaimed successor to his throne. In 312, on learning that Maxentius and Maximinus had joined forces against him, he marched into Italy, where, while at the head of his troops, he saw in the sky after midday, beneath the sun, a radiant pillar in the form of a cross with the words: By this shalt thou conquer. The following night, our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him in a dream and declared to him the power of the Cross and its significance. When he arose in the morning, he immediately ordered that a labarum be made (which is a banner or standard of victory over the enemy) in the form of a cross, and he inscribed on it the Name of Jesus Christ. On the 28th Of October, he attacked and mightily conquered Maxentius, who drowned in the Tiber River while fleeing. The following day, Constantine entered Rome in triumph and was proclaimed Emperor of the West by the Senate, while Licinius, his brother-in-law, ruled in the East. But out of malice, Licinius later persecuted the Christians. Constantine fought him once and again, and utterly destroyed him in 324, and in this manner he became monarch over the West and the East. Under him and because of him all the persecutions against the Church ceased. Christianity triumphed and idolatry was overthrown. In 325 he gathered the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, which he himself personally addressed. In 324, in the ancient city of Byzantium, he laid the foundations of the new capital of his realm, and solemnly inaugurated it on May 11, 330, naming it after himself, Constantinople. Since the throne of the imperial rule was transferred thither from Rome, it was named New Rome, the inhabitants of its domain were called Romans, and it was considered the continuation of the Roman Empire. Falling ill near Nicomedia, he requested to receive divine Baptism, according to Eusebius (The Life of Constantine. Book IV, 61-62), and also according to Socrates and Sozomen; and when he had been deemed worthy of the Holy Mysteries, he reposed in 337, on May 21 or 22, the day of Pentecost, having lived sixty-five years, of which he ruled for thirtyone years. His remains were transferred to Constantinople and were deposed in the Church of the Holy Apostles, which had been built by him. As for his holy mother Helen, after her son had made the Faith of Christ triumphant throughout the Roman Empire, she undertook a journey to Jerusalem and found the Holy Cross on which our Lord was crucified (see Sept. 13 and 14). After this, Saint Helen, in her zeal to glorify Christ, erected churches in Jerusalem at the sites of the Crucifixion and Resurrection, in Bethlehem at the cave where our Saviour was born, another on the Mount of Olives whence He ascended into Heaven, and many others throughout the Holy Land, Cyprus, and elsewhere. She was proclaimed Augusta, her image was stamped upon golden coins, and two cities were named Helenopolis after her in Bithynia and in Palestine. Having been thus glorified for her piety, she departed to the Lord being about eighty years of age, according to some in the year 330, according to others, in

6 We re Honoring 2015 High School Graduates! Fill out the form below and return it with a senior picture to the Church office by Sunday, May 10 th, in order for us to recognize their hard work and achievements in Dear Friends and Church! It is also important to fill this form out because we would like to stay connected with them after high school, wherever that may be. Student s Name: Cell: Birthdate: / / High School Graduating from: Plans after graduation: Short Bio (What clubs/sports/interests/honors/recognitions they had in high school, possible ambitions after high school): Form also available at under Ministries - > REAL You may form to nick@stjohngoc.net, mail or hand deliver to church office. 6

7 To hang this page on fridge, tear at the perforated edge. 7

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9 St. John the Golden Mouth Oratorical Festival St. John Chrysostom was an eloquent speaker who conveyed God s message of love and resurrection with strength and truth. Like many glorious Saints of Christ, He was given a title or nickname; Chrysostom is not a last name, but a title meaning Golden Mouth, because how good he was at speaking. Today we celebrate this saint and his strength with the festival of spiritual speeches. Congratulations to everyone who participated in this event. May you continue to grow spiritually from this experience and may your words carrying Christ s loving message to all who hear it! 9

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