Liturgy Intentions

May 12, 2013

Robert Walsh—Marie Patchoski

Eleanor Milewski Grado—Bertha

Milewski

May 17, 2013

Joseph Barron—Tony and Kathie Barrett

Karen Murray —Jerry, Marcella, Jerome

and Mark

E-Mail: scrantonmelkite@yahoo.com Web: http://melkitescranton.org Webmaster: Sal Zaydon

May 12. 2013

Tone 6 and Orthros Gospel 10 Sunday of the Fathers of the Council of Nicea

Liturgy Schedule: Saturday Vespers 5 pm Compline Weds 8:30PM

Sunday Orthros 8:55 am Sunday Divine Liturgy 10:00 am

Saint Joseph Melkite Greek Catholic Church 130 North Saint Francis Cabrini Avenue

Scranton, PA 18504

Rev. Protodeacon Michael Jolly Administrator pro tempore 570-213-9344 Reader Michael Simon Reader John Fitzgerald

Parish Office 570-343-6092

Parish Notes:

Welcome back Father Jerome Wolbert who serves at our altar this week

The Qurban consecrated at today’s liturgy was baked by Elizabeth Dessoye

The Saint Joseph Rummage Sale will be the held on June 8th. You can start collecting for your surplus, priceless treasures.

The Cover Icon: This Sunday we commemoration of the First

Ecumenical Council which has been celebrated by the

Church of Christ from ancient times. The Lord Jesus Christ left the Church a great promise, “I will build My Church,

and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mt.

16:18).

The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom

Antiphons: O Lord, Who are Good beyond description, we ask You through the intercession of Your All-pure

Mother and the Holy Fathers who participated in the Ecumenical Councils, to support the Church,

uphold the faith and make us all partake of Your heavenly Kingdom, when You come to judge the

whole creation.

For You are the Way, the Truth and the Life, O Christ God and we render glory, to You and to

Your Eternal Father and Your All-holy, Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and always and for ever

and ever.

People: Amen.

First Antiphon

R. Through the prayers of the Mother of God, O Savior save us! Tone 2 Pg. 11 Second Antiphon

R. O Son of God, Who are risen from the dead… Tone 2 Pg, 11 Hymn of incarnation Tone 4 Pg. 13 Third Antiphon

R. Resurrectional Troparion Tone 6 Pg. 18

Hymns: Troparion of the Resurrection Tone 6 Pg. 18 Troparion of the Ascension Tone 4 Pg 90 Troparion of the Fathers Tone 8

O Christ our God, You are infinitely glorified, for You established our Fathers as

radiant stars on earth: You led us to the true faith though them. O Most Merciful One,

glory to You! Troparion of Saint Joseph Kontakion of Ascension Tone 6 Pg. 91

Prokiemenon (Tone 7) Daniel 3:26, 27 Blessed are You, O Lord God of our fathers, and Your name is worthy of praise and glorious forever.

Stichon For You are just in all You have done to us, and all Your works are true and Your ways right.

Reading from the Acts of the Apostles, 20:16-18, 28-36 In those days Paul decided to sail past Ephesus so as not to waste time in Asia. For he was hurrying as

much as he could in order to reach Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost. From Miletus, however, he had

sent an invitation to Ephesus for the presbyters of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to

them, (20:28) “Be careful about yourselves and the whole flock over which the Holy Spirit has placed you

as bishops, to herd the Church of God which He has redeemed through His own blood. For I know this,

that after I am gone fierce wolves will get in among you and will not spare the flock. And from among

you, some men will rise, speaking perverse doctrines, to draw away the disciples after them.

“Watch, therefore, and remember that for three years, night and day, I did not cease to warn with tears

every one of you. And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace, Who is able

to edify and to grant you an inheritance among all His blessed ones.

“I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothing. You, yourselves, know these hands of mine have

provided for my needs and those of my companions. In all things, I have shown you that by working in

this way you should help the weak, and remember that the Lord Jesus said in person, ‘It is more blessed to

give than to receive.’” And after saying this, he knelt down and prayed with them all.

Alleluia (Tone 1) Psalm 49:1,5 The God of gods, the Lord has spoken and summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Stichon: Gather His faithful ones around Him, those who have made a covenant with Him through

sacrifices.

The Holy Gospel according to Saint John 17:1-13, p 44 At that time Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come! Glorify Your Son, that

Your Son may glorify You, even as You have given Him power over all flesh, in order that to all You

have given Him, He may give everlasting life. Now this is everlasting life, that they may know You, the

only true God, and the One You have sent, Jesus Christ. I have glorified You on earth; I have

accomplished the work You have given Me to do. And now do You, Father, glorify Me with Yourself,

with the glory that I had with You before the world existed. I have manifested Your name to the men You

have given me out of the world. They were Yours, and You have given them to Me, and they have kept

Your word. Now they have learned that whatever You have given Me is from You; because the words

that You have given Me, I have given to them. And they have received them, and have known as a fact

that I came forth from You, and they have believed that You did send Me. I pray for them; not for the

world do I pray, but for those whom You have given Me, because they are Yours; and all things that are

Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but

these are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep in Your name those You have given

Me, that they may be one even as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name.

Those You have given Me, I guarded; and not one of them perished except the son of perdition, in order

that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to You and these things I speak in the world,

in order that they may have My joy made full in themselves.”

Hymn to the Theotokos / Hirmos It is truly right... Tone 8 Pg. 40

Hymn after communion— Troparion of the Ascension

Saint Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus, “a last relic of

ancient piety,” as St. Jerome calls him, lived during the

fourth century in Phoenicia. The Roman empress Honoria

was his sister. He was of Jewish descent, and in his youth

he received a fine education. He was converted to

Christianity after seeing how a certain monk named Lucian

gave away his clothing to a poor person. Struck by the

monk’s compassion, Epiphanius asked to be instructed in

Christianity.

He was baptized and became a disciple of St. Hilarion the

Great (October 21). Entering the monastery, he progressed

in the monastic life under the guidance of the experienced

Elder Hilarion, and he occupied himself with copying

Greek books.

Because of his ascetic struggles and virtues, St. Epiphanius

was granted the gift of wonderworking. In order to avoid

human glory, he left the monastery and went into the

Spanidrion desert. Robbers caught him there and held him

captive for three months. By speaking of repentance, the

saint brought one of the robbers to faith in the true God.

When they released the holy ascetic, the robber also went

with him. St. Epiphanius took him to his monastery and

baptized him with the name John. From that time, he

became a faithful disciple of St. Epiphanius, and he

carefully documented the life and miracles of his

instructor.

Reports of the righteous life of St. Epiphanius spread far

beyond the monastery. The saint went a second time into

the desert with his disciple John. Even in the wilderness

disciples started to come to him, so he established a new

monastery for them.

After a certain time, St. Epiphanius made a pilgrimage to

Jerusalem to venerate its holy shrines, and then returned to

the Spanidrion monastery. The people of Lycia sent the

monk Polybios to St. Epiphanius asking him to take the

place of their dead archpastor. When he learned of this

intention, the clairvoyant ascetic secretly went into the

Pathysian desert to the great ascetic St. Hilarion (October

21), under whose guidance he had learned asceticism in his

youth.

The saints spent two months in prayer, and then Hilarion

sent St. Epiphanius to Salamis. Bishops were gathered

there to choose a new archpastor to replace one who

recently died. The Lord revealed to the eldest of them,

Bishop Papius, that St. Epiphanius should be chosen

bishop. When Epiphanius arrived, St. Papius led him into

the church, where in obedience to the will of the

participants of the Council, Epiphanius agreed to be their

bishop. St. Epiphanius was consecrated as Bishop of

Salamis in 367.

St. Epiphanius won renown because of his great zeal for

the Faith, his love and charity toward the poor, and his

simplicity of character. He suffered much from the slander

and enmity of some of his clergy. Because of the purity of

his life, St. Epiphanius was permitted to see the coming of

the Holy Spirit upon the Gifts at Divine Liturgy. Once,

when the saint was celebrating the Mystery, he did not see

this vision. He then became suspicious of one of the clergy

and quietly said to him, “Depart, my son, for you are

unworthy to participate in the celebration of the Mystery

today.”

At this point, the writings of his disciple John break off,

because he became sick and died. The further record of the

life of St. Epiphanius was continued by another of his

disciples, Polybios (afterwards bishop of city of

Rinocyreia).

Through the intrigues of the empress Eudoxia and the

Patriarch Theophilos of Alexandria, towards the end of his

life St. Epiphanius was summoned to Constantinople to

participate in the Synod of the Oak, which was convened to

judge the great saint, John Chrysostom (September 14 and

November 13). Once he realized that he was being

manipulated by Chrysostom’s enemies, St. Epiphanius left

Constantinople, unwilling to take part in an unlawful

council.

As he was sailing home on a ship, the saint sensed the

approach of death, and he gave his disciples final

instructions: to keep the commandments of God, and to

preserve the mind from impure thoughts. He died two days

later. The people of Salamis met the body of their

archpastor with carriages, and on May 12, 403 they buried

him in a new church which he himself had built.

The Seventh Ecumenical Council named St. Epiphanius as

a Father and Teacher of the Church. In the writings of St.

Epiphanius, the PANARIUM and the ANCHORATUS are

refutations of Arianism and other heresies. In his other

works are found valuable church traditions, and directives

for the Greek translation of the Bible.

In his zeal to preserve the purity of the Orthodox Faith, St.

Epiphanius could sometimes be rash and tactless. In spite

of any impetuous mistakes he may have made, we must

admire St. Epiphanius for his dedication in defending

Orthodoxy against false teachings. After all, one of the

bishop’s primary responsibilities is to protect his flock

from those who might lead them astray.

We also honor St. Epiphanius for his deep spirituality, and

for his almsgiving. No one surpassed him in his tenderness

and charity to the poor, and he gave vast sums of money to

those in need.

Among Today’s Saints

Salvation History

Abraham Salvation history, properly so

-called, begins with Abram,

whom God named Abraham

which means “father of a

multitude.” Abraham was the

first patriarch of the people

of Israel. The word

patriarch means “the father

of the people.” In the person

and life of Abraham, the

central events of the

salvation of the world by Christ in the New

Testament have been prefigured.

God made the first promise of His salvation of all the

people of the earth to Abraham, with whom He also

made His covenant to be faithful forever.

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your

country and kindred and your father’s house to

the land that I will show you. And I will make

you a great nation, and make your name great, so

that you will be a blessing ... and in you all

families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen 12:1-

3, See also 17:1-8, 22:1-18).

The fulfillment of the promise to Abraham comes in

Jesus Christ. He is the descendent of Israel’s first

father in whom all the families of the earth are

blessed. Thus, Mary, the Mother of Jesus, sings at

her time of waiting for the Savior’s birth, that all

generations will call her blessed because the

fulfillment has come from God “as He spoke to our

fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity forever” (Lk

1:55, see also Zachariah’s Song in Lk 1:67-79). All

through the New Testament the claim is made that

God’s promise to Abraham is fulfilled in Jesus.

Now the promises were made to Abraham and to

his offspring. It does not say, “And to off

springs,” referring to many; but, referring to one,

“And to your offspring,” which is Christ (Gal

3:16).

The faith of Abraham is prototypical of al those who

in Christ are saved by faith. The New Testament

stresses faith as necessary for salvation. The model

for this faith is Abraham.

Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to

him as righteousness (Gen 15:6, Rom 4:3).

Abraham’s faith was united to his works, and was

expressed in his works.

Was not Abraham our father justified by works,

when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?

You see that faith was active along with his

works, and faith was completed by works, and

the scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham

believed God, and it was reckoned to him as

righteousness;” and he was called the friend of

God. You see that a man is justified by works

and not by faith alone (Jas 2:21-24).

God tested Abraham by commanding him to

sacrifice his beloved son Isaac as a burnt offering.

Abraham believed and trusted in God. He obeyed his

will, and went to the mountain to slay his child. God

stopped him and placed a ram in Isaac’s place saying

“for now I know that you fear God, seeing that you

have not withheld your son, your only son, from

me” (Gen 22:12). Then once more God made the

promise that “by your descendants shall all of the

nations of the earth be blessed ...” (Gen 22:18).

The sacrifice of Isaac is not only a testimony to

Abraham’s faith. It is also the original sign that God

Himself does what He does not allow the first and

foremost of His People to do. No ram is put in the

place of God’s Son, His only Son Jesus, when He is

sacrificed on the cross for the sins of the world.

The perfect priesthood of Christ is also prefigured in

Abraham’s life. It is the priesthood of Melchizedek,

the King of Peace. It is the priesthood in which the

offering is bread and wine. It is the priesthood which

is before that of the Levites, and the one which is that

of the Messiah, Who is “a priest forever according to

the order of Melchizedek” (Ps 110:4, Heb 5-10).

So also Christ did not exalt Himself to be made a

high priest, but was appointed by Him Who said

to Him, “Thou art my Son, today I have begotten

thee;“as He says also in another place, “Thou art

a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek.”

In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers

and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to

Him Who was able to save Him from death, and

He was heard for His godly fear. Although He

Devotions and Readings for this week

Mon 5/13

Holy Martyr Glyceria Acts 21:8-14 Jn 14:27-15:7

Tues 5/14

Holy Martyr Isadore of Chio Acts 21:26-32 Jn 16:2-13

Weds

5/15

Father Pachomious the Great and Isadore, Bp. Of

Rostov Acts 23:1-11 Jn 16:15-23

Thurs 5/16

Father Theodore the Sanctified Acts 25:13-19 Jn 16:23-33

Fri 5/17

Apostles Andronicus and Junias Acts 27:1-28:1 Jn 17:1&7:18-26

Sat 5/18

Martyrs Peter, Denis and their companions Acts 28:1-31 Jn 21:14-25

was a Son, He learned obedience through what He

suffered; and being made perfect He became the

source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,

being designated by God a high priest after the order

of Melchizedek (Heb 5:5-10).

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the

Most High God, met Abraham returning from the

slaughter of the kings and blessed him; and to him

Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He

is first, by translation of his name, king of

righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem,

that is king of peace. He is without father or mother

or genealogy, and has neither beginning of days nor

end of life, but resembling the Son of God he

continues a priest for ever (Heb 7:1-3).

The most sublime of the New Testament revelations,

that of the Holy Trinity, was also prefigured in

Abraham’s life. This is the famous visit of the three

angels of God to Abraham under the oaks of Mamre.

And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of

Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of

the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and

behold, three men stood in front of him. When he

saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them,

and bowed himself to the earth, and said, “My lord,

if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by

your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash

your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I

fetch a morsel of bread, that you may refresh

yourselves, and after that you may pass on ... since

you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do

as you have said” (Gen 18:1-5).

Abraham addresses the three

angels as one, calling them

Lord. They eat in his presence

and foretell the birth of Isaac

from Sarah in her old age. In

this visitation of God to

Abraham, the Orthodox Church

sees the prefiguration of the full

revelation of the Holy Trinity in

the New Testament.

Because there can be no depiction of God the Father and

the Holy Spirit in human form, Orthodox iconography

has traditionally painted the Holy Trinity in the form of

the three angels who came to Abraham. The most

famous icon of the Holy Trinity, the one often used in

the Church on the feast of Pentecost, is that of Saint

Andrew Rublev, a disciple of Saint Sergius of Radonezh

in Russia in the fourteenth century.

Thus the salvation of the world which has come in

Christ was prefigured in the life of Abraham, as well as

the Christian doctrine about faith and works and the

Christian revelations about the sacrifice, the priesthood,

and even the most Holy Trinity. Truly in Abraham every

aspect of the final covenant in Christ the Messiah was

foreshadowed and foretold.

Sunday after the Ascension

IN MONASTIC OR RELIGIOUS CIRCLES it is common for

spiritual leaders to leave their followers a “spiritual

testament,” an outline of the teachings and instructions

which they want uppermost in their disciples’ minds.

Christ’s prayer in John 17 is a kind of spiritual testament. In

it the Lord expresses His holy will for Himself, for His

apostles, for the Church and for all mankind on the eve of

His crucifixion.

The Time of His Glorification – The prayer begins with

Christ praying for Himself: “Father, the hour has come.

Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify You” (verse 1).

What the Scripture calls Christ’s “hour” refers to the time of

His redeeming sacrifice. Christ prays that He would be

glorified by the completeness of this self-emptying. He

totally enters into our experience of suffering and death in

order to be one with us in all things except sin. His glory

would not be the earthly idea of glory – power and might –

but the glory of absolute and unconditional love.

Jesus as the Eternal Word Made Flesh – The prayer

continues: “glorify me in your presence with the glory I had

with You before the world began” (verse 5). The heavenly

glory, known to the angels, was to be manifested to us on

earth through the cross.

This reference brings us back to the proclamation of who

Jesus is, which is found in the very first verse of John’s

Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word…” The Gospel

proclaims Jesus as the pre-eternal Word of God who is

glorified with the Father before all ages. Jesus is not simply

a prophet or inspired teacher – He is the One whom the

Gospel says “…was in the beginning with God. All things

were made through Him and without Him nothing was made

that was made” (John 1:2, 3).

This portrait of the eternal Word as one with the Father

shows us a God who is in an eternal relationship and who is,

therefore, love by His very nature (see 1 John 4:8). God’s

relationship is, first of all, with the true and entirely

appropriate object of His love: His divine Word who is

glorified with Him from all eternity. Based on the words of

this prayer the Church would go on to speak of Christ as

“equal in glory with the Father.” Combining this with

Christ’s teaching on the Holy Spirit, later believers would

express this relationship as the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.

Our Re-creation is in Christ – Between verses 1 and 5 we

find a third concept recorded in the Gospel: “…You have

given Him authority over all flesh that He should give

eternal life to as many as You have given Him” (verse 2).

The Word of God, through whom all things were made, is

now incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth as the agent of a new

creation. Mankind is given a new life which is, in fact, a

second chance at the life intended for him from the

beginning as described in the book of Genesis.

This life is then described: “And this is eternal life: that

they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ

whom You have sent” (verse 3). Eternal life, authentic life is

communion: that knowledge which flows from a

relationship with God. It was a relationship of communion

which Genesis describes as God “walking with Adam” in

the Garden. That fellowship, once lost, is restored through

Christ.

Some scholars believe that this verse is the Evangelist’s

commentary on Christ’s prayer, an aside in the text, since it

refers to the Lord in the third person. There were no

quotation marks, punctuation or even paragraphs in first-

century Greek manuscripts so it is possible that this is so.

This verse does make an excellent commentary, a kind of

liturgical refrain not only to this prayer but to our entire life

in Christ. All of the Church’s life – our liturgies, icons,

practices – draws its power from the relationship which we

have with God. When we are in a living communion with

Him, everything that we do as Christians shows forth that

life. Our interior eyes gain the power to see what is present

in the Scriptures, the Eucharist or the saints. They become

means for us to deepen the life which comes from our

relationship with God in Christ. If we are not living in that

relationship then these practices are simply outward forms

which will increasingly bore us.

Prayer That His Disciples Be One – The prayer continues:

“I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have

given me out of the world…. and they have believed that you

sent me” (verses 6, 8). The Apostles had been called forth

by Christ to leave their families and their livelihoods to

follow Him. They were about to see Him arrested,

humiliated and killed. They in their turn would face similar

ends. Yet He prays, not that they remain steadfast, but that

they remain one. “Holy Father, keep through Your name

those whom You have given me, that they may be one as we

are” (verse 11). The unity of the Apostles in Christ would

be more significant than the physical lives of any one of

them, because from that communion would come the

ongoing life of the entire Church.

Prayer for the Church and the World – A few verses later

we find a similar prayer for the whole Church and the

world as well: “I do not pray for those alone, but also for

those who will believe through their word that they all

may be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I in You that

they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe

that You sent Me” (verses 20-21).

This mutual interaction of Father, Son and Holy Spirit in

the Trinity is extended to humanity in the Church. The

bond we have with God is no longer simply that of

creature to Creator; it is the filial relationship of the Son

to the Father. “as You, Father, are in Me and I in You.”

The Church, then, is not simply a human association of

Jesus’ followers but an organic union of those who are

“one in Us.”

Finally, the world’s conversion to Christ is tied to the

communion of the Church with God. This passage is

often explained to mean that when Christians are united to

one another the rest of the world will believe. It is perhaps

more accurate to say that when the Church in “one in Us”

– finding the source of its unity in the life of the Trinity

rather than in authority, political power or other external

factors – people will be drawn to it.

The Icon of Our Communion with God

The icon which most perfectly expresses this vision for

the communion of the Church as being “one in Us” is the

adaptation by St Andrei Rublev of the traditional image,

“The Hospitality of Abraham.” The patriarch himself and

other details from the Genesis story are deleted and all we

see are the three guests whom he entertained, seated

around a table. In Gen 18:2 these visitors are described as

“three men” but Rublev depicts them as angels. In fact

Gen 18:13 and verses following refer to Abraham’s

company as “the LORD,” causing the Fathers to see this

visitation as an early indication of the Trinity. Their

eternal relationship is expressed by the fluid motion of

their gestures.

The fourth place at the table, included in these gestures, is

set for us. Through baptism we have been brought into the

eternal relationship of the Father, the Son and the Holy

Spirit. The single vessel on the table suggests the means

of our ongoing communion with God, the Eucharist.

Being

“One in Us”

The First Ecumenical Council The Melkite Church today prayerfully remembers the Fathers

of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, which once met in

the city of Nicaea in order to investigate and judge the heresy

of Arius. We know that in the first centuries of Christianity,

the Church endured severe persecution, first from the Jews

and then from the pagan Roman imperial power. But despite

the fact that the persecution was bloody, despite the fact that

thousands of Christians died under torture for their confession

of faith, nonetheless, it was not dangerous for the Church.

The Christian of the first centuries remembered well that the

Lord Jesus Christ said: “And fear not them which kill the

body, but are not able to kill the sou: but rather fear him

which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mt

10:28). And in the Apocalypse He said: “be thou faithful unto

death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Rev 2:10). In

these bloody persecutions Christians were faithful to death,

went to martyric death, and received from the Lord Savior the

crown of eternal life earned by them.

When the era of persecution ended, another began. This was

much more dangerous for the Church. Then inside the Church

appeared heresy, delusion, and distortion of the truth. They

appeared immediately, but the first were not much noticed,

and did not attract many followers. The heresy of Arius,

which appeared when the persecution had ended, agitated the

entire Church. Arius was a scholar and an eloquent presbyter,

that is, a priest – a pastor in the city of Alexandria. The

bishop of Alexandria died. At that time the flock choose its

own pastors. The eloquent, educated Arius, who held a

prominent position, was certain that he would be chosen, and

that he would be the bishop. But the majority of the clergy

and people chose another bishop, the presbyter Alexander,

who was also well read, educated, and knowledgeable. He

was not as outstanding and talented as Arius, but he was

marked by his piety, and was truly of righteous and holy life.

For this reason the clergy and flock honored him and elected

him.

This piqued Arius’ wounded self-love. Unfortunately, this is

always the story in the history of heresies. In the beginning

there lies an evil motive, an evil impulse of a personal

character, which is wrapped in a robe as a kind of fidelity to

truth.

Thus Arius, in his self-love, decided to speak out against his

own bishop – he could not accept the fact that he was not a

bishop. Once Bishop Alexander spoke with his clergy about

the Mystery of the Holy Trinity, about the equality of its

Persons, that the Holy Trinity is a Trinity of Unity, inasmuch

as in three Persons there is One Divine Essence, One Divine

Nature. Arius boldly stood up and began to contradict him

and began to assert that the Son of God is not equal to God

the Father, as Bishop Alexander had said, or not born of Him,

but created by Him, as a creature, as creation. True, higher,

more perfect, but still creation, a creature. Alexander tried to

reason with gentle admonitions to reason with Arius, but he

persevered. And since he was eloquent, this heresy arose, and

because of him it spread and eventually roused the entire

Church.

Alexander, as a bishop, excommunicated him from the

Church. He left, but began to spread his doctrine further and

further. In the end, the Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor

Constantine himself commissioned the Elder Hosius of

Cordova, well known for his piety and deep wisdom to

determine if this was a heresy. The elderly Bishop Hosius,

pious and wise, arrived in Alexandria. Without any prejudice,

absolutely impartial, he investigated this question, and

returned and told the Emperor that Arius was preaching a

horrible heresy, which subverts all of Christianity. For if the

Son of God is not equal to God the Father and is not born of

Him, then He is not God, but creation, which means that he

was not incarnate as the true God-Man. That means that the

deed of our salvation was not accomplished as our Christian

faith teaches us.

In the end, an Ecumenical Council assembled. Arius had only

a few bishops on his side. The overwhelming majority of

bishops (and more than 300 assembled for the Council) stood

firmly for the orthodox faith, condemned the heresy of Arius,

and excommunicated him himself from the Church, as a

persistent and uncorrected heretic.

This heretic died a horrible death, but his heresy agitated the

Church for a long time. Only gradually did it begin to

subside. It had to be fought by Basil the Great, Gregory the

Theologian, and John Chrysostom, who lived after Arius.

But, in the end, truth triumphed, but there was a moment

when in the East, of all Orthodox bishops, only St Athanasius

the Great remained, and in the West only St Hilary of

Poitiers; all the other episcopal cathedras, hundreds of

cathedras, were taken by bishops who were themselves Arian

heretics.

The Church, however, was not lost. It was difficult for St

Athanasius to fight with the heretics in the East. Many times

he was exiled, but he remained unmoved. When he learned in

his solitude that at last he had an ally, a successor, in St Basil

the Great, did this great defender of Orthodoxy breathed a

sigh of relief. Thus did the Church experience this heresy,

that is how it was disturbed by it.

After Arius there were other heretics. They were also

condemned by Ecumenical Councils. But today we remember

the First Ecumenical Council, which condemned Arius and

his heresy.

Prayer Requests

Rev. Deacon John Karam

Rev. Basil Samra

Rev. Father David White

Michael Abda Yolande Haddad

Marie Barron Marylou Iandoli

Mary Sue Betress Niko Mayashairo

Chris Carey Mary McNeilly

Nikki Boudreaux Marie Patchoski

Dr. Frances Colie Theodore Petrouchko Jr.

John Colie Charles Simon

Mark Dillman Charlene Simpson

Margaret Dillenburg Ruth Sirgany

Carol Downer James Shehadi

Karen Haddad Kennedy Stevenson

Jemille Zaydon

All those Serving in our Armed Forces

The Christian Community in the Middle East

Sacrificial Giving 5/5/2013

Weekly $573.10

Candles $11.00

The Weekly Quiz Where was Jacob when he told Joseph of the death of his mother, Rachel, and her burial at Bethlehem?

in Bethlehem.

in Ur of the Chaldees.

in the City of Sodom.

in Egypt.

Last week’s answer: Q. In the days of which king was the temple first

built? A. Solomon

Parish Calendar

May

19 Pentecost

27 Memorial Day

June

8 Parish Rummage Sale

17 Parish Baseball outing—Rail Riders vs

Rochester 7PM

We celebrate the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council who served us by formulating a statement of our faith and helped us to understand it correctly. In the Gospel, Jesus prays for His clergy, His fellow workers in ministry. In the epistle, Paul prayed for and with the clergy of his early churches, urging them to watch over the flocks entrusted to them and be dedicated servants, protecting the faith and the faithful. Let us pray for our priests, and pray for an increase in the number of priests serving our diocese.