SAINT GEORGE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCHORTHODOX … 2016 Trophybearer.pdfWe should respond to acts of...
Transcript of SAINT GEORGE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCHORTHODOX … 2016 Trophybearer.pdfWe should respond to acts of...
INS IDE TH IS
I S SUE :
January
Calendar
2
President’s
Corner
3
Community
News
5
Stewardship
Update
6
Bookstore
News
7
Lives of the
Saints
9-
10
Test your
Faith
12
S A I N T G E O R G E G R E E K S A I N T G E O R G E G R E E K S A I N T G E O R G E G R E E K S A I N T G E O R G E G R E E K
O R T H O D O X C H U R C HO R T H O D O X C H U R C HO R T H O D O X C H U R C HO R T H O D O X C H U R C H
The Trophybearer J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 6 V O L U M E 6 I S S U E 1
CHURCH
STAFF
• Parish Priest:
Fr. Michael
Constantinides
• Parish Council
President:
Mary Rankin
• Philoptochos
President:
Susan Matos
• Sunday School
Director:
Deacon
Paul Speed
• Caretaker:
Jason Leon
PASTORAL MESSAGEPASTORAL MESSAGEPASTORAL MESSAGEPASTORAL MESSAGE
Happy New Year! We are all filled with excited expectations for the coming year. It is a time of new begin-
nings, yet it is also a time of reflection. As we reflect on the happenings of last year, we are thankful for so
many blessings that have been bestowed upon each of us. The words “thank you” describe our gratitude for
the many occasions that we have helped or were helped by others. Let us take a moment to discuss what one
should be thankful for; why we were blessed with such good fortune; and how we should respond to those
that have helped us.
We should be thankful for the forgiveness of our sins. As Orthodox Christians, sin is considered a disease,
not a breaking of a law. For this reason, we must receive healing of our sins through Confession and Com-
munion.
By partaking in Holy Confession and Holy Communion, we strengthen our relationship with God and our fel-
low man. These sacraments allow us to restore and keep the image and likeness of God along with becoming
more God-like. We are called to become gods by grace. The only difference between God and man is that
man Needs God!
Each of us should also be thankful for our assistance on our journey to being God-like. Those people who
guide us along our way include our spiritual ancestors, bishops, priests, deacons and lay people. These role
models will help us, our children and grandchildren both spiritually and physically to become better Christians.
Why are people blessed with guidance from others? The answer is love. The topic of love is expressed in the
Eleventh Orthros Gospel, when Christ says to Peter, “Do you love me?” What is love? Love, agape, means
etymologically selfless love, maternal love, unconditional love. Love is the key to God, because God is love.
Our world was created in love. Adam fell because he had no love, or rather the wrong kind of love. The new
Adam did what God wanted because he had the right kind of love. Forgiveness is the ultimate example of love.
We should respond to acts of kindness by following God’s example of forgiveness. The Lord’s Prayer tells us
that before God forgives our trespasses, we must forgive those who trespass against us. We must listen and
honor those who lead their flocks. Our leaders are chosen by God and should be honored by all. In fact, we
should follow those leaders in: Fasting — which allows us to have a proper attitude towards our faith; Prayer
— which allows us to communicate with God; Confession — which removes the spirit of rejecting God’s
grace from us and Holy Communion — which puts God within us.
We indeed have much to be thankful for this year. We should be thankful for God’s forgiveness of our sins
and restoration of His image and likeness within us. We should be thankful to our leaders, who model for us
how to become closer to God and our faith. We should be thankful for the unconditional love that God gives
us everyday by calling us his children. Let us live as though we are forgiven, by forgiving others. In this way we
may, as St. Paul tells us, “Be all things to all people that in all ways we may save a few.”
Fr. Michael Constantinides
Parish Priest
January 2016
SundaySundaySundaySunday MondayMondayMondayMonday TuesdayTuesdayTuesdayTuesday WednesdayWednesdayWednesdayWednesday ThursdayThursdayThursdayThursday FridayFridayFridayFriday SaturdaySaturdaySaturdaySaturday
1
Fast Free
The Circumcision of
Our Lord
Saint Basil the
Great
Office Closed
8:30 a.m. Orthros
followed by the
Divine Liturgy
2
Fast Free
3 Sunday before Theophany Fast Free
8:30a.m. Orthros 10:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy
Family Worship only
4
Fast Free
5
Eve of Theophany
Strict Fast Day
7:00 p.m. Vesperal
Divine Liturgy
followed by the
Blessing of the waters
6 The Theophany of
Our Lord Fast Free
8:30 a.m. Orthros followed by the Divine Liturgy *Please Note: the Great Blessing of the Waters will occur following Orthros as is the ancient Tradition of
the Church*
6:00 p.m. Orthodox
Study Forum
7 The Synaxis of Saint John the
Baptist 8:30 a.m. Orthros followed by the Divine Liturgy
8
Fast Day
9
10
Sunday after
Theophany
Parish Vasilopita 8:30a.m. Orthros
10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy
Sunday School Class
resume following
Holy Communion
Parish Council Oath
of Office
11
12
7:00 p.m. Parish
Council Meeting
13
Fast Day
10:00 a.m.
Orthodox Study
Forum
6:00 p.m. Orthodox
Study Forum
14
15 Fast Day
16
Oil and Wine
Allowed
17
12th Sunday of
Luke
8:30a.m. Orthros
10:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy Sunday School Class
following Holy Communion
18
19
6:30 p.m. Prayer Ministry Meeting
20 Fast Day
10:00 a.m.
Orthodox Study
Forum
6:00 p.m. Orthodox
Study Forum
21
22
Fast Day
23
24
14th Sunday of
Luke
8:30a.m. Orthros
10:00 am.
Divine Liturgy
Sunday School Class
following
25
26
27 Fast Day
10:00 a.m.
Orthodox Study
Forum
6:00 p.m. Orthodox
Study Forum
28
29 Fast Day
30 The Synaxis of the Three Hierarchs 8:30 a.m. Orthros
followed by the Divine Liturgy
31
15th Sunday of
Luke
8:30a.m. Orthros
10:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy
Sunday School Class
following
Holy Communion
P A G E 3 V O L U M E 6 I S S U E 1
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Parish Council
Elections
On December 6 the
following parishioners
were elected to two-
year terms to the Par-
ish Council: Brad
Crosson, Mariellen
Crosson, Mike Patra-
manis, and Ken Stiegel.
In addition, Dale Alli-
son, Dennis Spurgetis,
and Diana Spurgetis
have agreed to be ap-
pointed to vacancies
on the council after
January 1st. Those who
have a year remaining
on their current term
are Joe Burmeister,
Mary Kay Eckert, and
Mary Rankin. This
means there are two
more vacancies on the
2016 council, and if
any parishioner is in-
terested in serving in
this capacity, please
contact Father Michael
to learn more.
The parish council
wishes to thank Steve
Eckert and Gus Pappas
who are leaving the
council at the end of
December for their
many years of service.
Both Steve and Gus
will continue to be of
service on the festival
committee and other
endeavors.
Prayer Ministry to
Begin
Gus Pappas will head
this new ministry to
be instituted in 2016.
On January 19 a meet-
ing will be held at
church at 6:30 pm for
people who are inter-
ested in participating
in this endeavor. If you
would like more infor-
mation, contact Gus
or Father Michael. See
you on the 19th!
Council Thank You
Notes
The council would like
to thank all of the pa-
rishioners who have
supported the minis-
tries of St. George
throughout the past
year. We appreciate
the hard work of Fa-
ther Christodoulos
and Father Michael in
Christ’s vineyard!
Thank you to Jason
Leon for keeping the
premises so sparkling
and pleasant! Thank
you to the chanters,
choir members and
director, Sunday school
teachers, Prosphoro
bakers, youth workers,
handymen, Philopto-
chos workers, senior
outing organizers, fes-
tival workers, coffee
hour hosts/hostesses,
and on and on. Each
person’s contribution,
be it in time, talent or
treasure (or all of the
above!), is greatly ap-
preciated and furthers
the mission of the
church. Thank you for
a wonderful 2015!
Yours in Christ,
Mary RankinMary RankinMary RankinMary Rankin
Mary Rankin
Parish Council
President
Serving on
the Parish
Council is a
sacred
opportunity!
If you wish
to serve
please
contact
Father
Michael or
Mary
Rankin!
P A G E 4 T H E T R O P H Y B E A R E R
Epistle Readers Sunday,
January 3, 2016
Sunday before
Theophany
Alexa Florence
Sunday,
January 10, 2016
7th Sunday of Luke
Michael Pyevich
Sunday,
January 17, 2016
12th Sunday of Luke
Michael Gust
Sunday,
January 24, 2016
14th Sunday of Luke
Angela Spurgetis
Sunday,
January 17, 2016
hosted by:
Open
Sunday,
January 24, 2016
hosted by:
Open
Sunday, January 3, 2016
hosted by:
Open
Sunday, January 10, 2016
hosted by:
Open
Sunday,
January 17, 2016
Brad Crosson,
Mariellen Crosson
Mike Patramanis
Sunday,
January 24, 2016
Mary Kay Eckert and
Mary Rankin
Sunday,
January 3, 2016
Brad Crosson,
Mariellen Crosson
Mike Patramanis
Sunday,
January 10, 2016
Mary Rankin,
Joe Burmeister, Ken Stiegel
Parish Council Sunday Duty
Coffee Hour Hosts for January 2016
Sunday,
January 31, 2016
Mary Rankin,
Joe Burmeister, Ken Stiegel
Sunday,
January 31, 2016
15th Sunday of Luke
Kay Coin
Sunday,
January 31, 2016
Open
Fellowship
and fun!
“O Lord, open my lips and
my mouth shall show forth
your praise!”
Anyone interested in being
an epistle reader should
contact the church office!
Hospitals: 3
Shut-in: 9
Please
keep the
sick and
the shut-
ins in your
prayers!
Monthly Pastoral
Visits
P A G E 5 V O L U M E 6 I S S U E 1
Community News THEOPHANY
CELEBRATION
SCHEDULE
•On Tuesday, January 5, the
Eve of Theophany, beginning
at 7:00 p.m. we will have the
Vesperal Divine Liturgy fol-
lowed by the Great Blessing
of the Waters
•The Great Blessing of the
Waters on the Feast Day of
Theophany, Wednesday,
January 6, will take place fol-
lowing the 8:30 a.m.
Orthros, as is the ancient
Tradition of the Church (not
following the Divine Liturgy).
HOUSE BLESSINGS
Call Father Michael if you
wish to have your house
blessed. Father Michael will
be blessing homes from
Wednesday January 6
through the beginning of
Great Lent. All appoint-
ments are on a first call first
served basis, so telephone
today
SUNDAY SCHOOL
NEWS
Classes resume on Sunday
January 10, 2015
PARISH COUNCIL
NEWS
The Parish Council Oath of
Office will be administered
and the Election of Officers
will occur on Sunday January
10, 2016, following the Di-
vine Liturgy
VASILOPITA
CELEBRATION
Our Parish Family will be
celebrating our Annual Vasi-
lopita Celebration on
Sunday, January 10, 2016.
HOSPITAL VISITS
If you or a family member are in the hospital, please call
the office. Ever since the change in the privacy laws, hospitals are reluctant to call churches. Please call us so that we can avoid missing our parishioners in their
time of need.
PRAYER MINISTRY
We are announcing a minis-try that we are beginning here at Saint George that involves us praying for those who have needs, just as the Lord instructs us to. For information and to partici-pate please contact Gus
Pappas.
SHUT-IN VISITATIONS
Father Michael would like to know if anyone needs a home visit because they are not able to come to Church. Father visits with them once a month. Please call the church office if you know of
anybody who needs a visit!
Our Saint George Parish Community
PRAYERS FOR
OUR SHUT-INS
Have we taken for
granted our health?
Some of our mem-
bers who are no
longer able to
come to church
would always ap-
preciate a phone
call just to say
hello.
Anne Allen
Ted Bagatelas
Xenia Bagatelas
Helen Corelis
Stella Cudworth
Jim Patton
Xenia Patton
Janice Smirles
Pat Grevas
Election News Thank You!
Thank you to the 2015
Parish Council whose
terms expired. They
were:
Mary Rankin, President;
Mike Patramanis,
Vice President;
Brad Crosson, Secretary;
Mary Kay Eckert,
Treasurer;
Joe Burmeister
Steve Eckert
Gus Pappas
We thank you for your
Service to our Saint
George Family.
2016 Parish Council
Congratulations to the
2016 newly elected Parish
Council:
Joe Burmeister
Brad Crosson
Mariellen Crosson
Mary Kay Eckert,
Mike Patramanis
Mary Rankin
Ken Stiegel
P A G E 6 T H E T R O P H Y B E A R E R
Sunday School News The New Year shows
promise for the St.
George Parish Sunday
School. We have started
the year well, and it is safe
to say our numbers are up
and our teachers are do-
ing a great job. We will
take a short break for the
holidays, on December 27
and January 3. We will
have a teacher available,
however, for activities if
we have any children in-
terested in gathering.
All of this has been said
before, but our children
have a lot of competition
for Christ's message.
Nickelodeon has done a
survey saying children av-
erage 35 hours of time in
front of a TV a week.
Web MD will tell you our
children need at least nine
hours of sleep a day, or 63
hours a week. The school
day runs close to 40 hours
a week. This very rough
estimate tells us they have
about 30 hours a week for
everything else in their
lives.
That very rough estimate
tells us how vital it is that
our children are church
every Sunday (and other
services when possible),
and in Sunday School. We
have little time to pass on
our faith to the next gen-
eration; let's not allow a
single opportunity to pass
us by.
We will have some special
events for Sunday School
children in the coming
spring; be ready to take
advantage of these oppor-
tunities to nurture our
faith in the next genera-
tion.
Deacon Paul
St. Philip the Deacon
is the patron saint of
Religious Education.
He was an inspired
evangelist and
teacher whose mis-
sionary work brought
a multitude of new
believers to Christ in
Samaria and other
cities. along the coast
of Palestine
Vasilopita 2016
On Sunday, January 10,
2016 Vasilopita will be dis-
tributed at the end of lit-
urgy in honor of St. Basil
and best wishes for a
healthy, peaceful New
Year, 2016. In addition to
a gift of a slice of this fa-
vorite sweet bread, some
lucky person will be the
recipient of a hidden Vasi-
lopita coin. Tradition tells
that this coin will bring
you a blessed new year.
Of course, in honor of St.
Basil a special collection
will be taken at the end of
liturgy to help support the
academy bearing his name
in Garrison, New York.
And if this isn’t enough,
we will also hold a raffle
for the extra loaves of
bread. Each loaf will con-
tain a wrapped coin to
share with your family.
Tickets will be sold at the
bookstore (Stavro Logo
for those who do not re-
member our name) begin-
ning Sunday, January 3rd
and following liturgy Sun-
day, January 10th. Father
Michael will draw the win-
ning ticket(s) in the green
room. Cost of each
ticket is one ticket for
$5.00, three tickets for
$10.00.
Please join
Father
Michael in
welcoming
a new
family
among us:
John and
Jennifer Kay
as well their
children!
Welcome!
P A G E 7 V O L U M E 6 I S S U E 1
P A G E 8 T H E T R O P H Y B E A R E R
2015 Stewards
Tony and Candace Elias
Paul and Cathy Farrell
Edward Filip
Scott and Alexa Florence
Elaine Froumis
Jim Gartelos
John and Randi Gartelos
Carol Gillian
George Gnatovich
Steven Goodell
Nick Grevas
Pat Grevas
Mary Jane Griffin
Michael Gust
Pete and Arlene Gust
Gus and Irene Harb
Nidal Harb
Vanessa Hayden-Porter
J.P. and Andrea Jacobs
Nick and Claudette Jannes
Tim and Kathy Joannides
Scot and Adrienne Johnson
Candice Kalman
Georgia Kalomas
Louis and Amanda
Kantzavelos
George and Diane Karoules
Chris and Lennice
Kavallieros
John and Jennifer Kay
Ermioni Keber
Quinn and Anne Kirkpatrick
Deborah Kutsunis
George and Linda Kutsunis
Ted and Debra Kutsunis
Chris and Nikki Lebessis
Jennifer Lensgraf
Joan Lensgraf
Jason Leon
Von Lillios
Darlene Lingris
Tassos Liras
Dena Manta
Emmanuel and Tracy
Mathews
Nancy Mathews
Peter and Susan Matos
John and Linnea Mekus
Helen Moorhead
Steve Morgan
Ken and Pam Mott
John Natsis
Marguerite Nelson
Anthony and Marianne
Nichols
Pauline Nichols
Scott and Leesa Palmer
Demetrios and Kathy
Papageorgiou
Maria Papageorgiou
Chris Pappas
Gus and Kerri Pappas
Judy Pappas
Matt and Lori Pappas
Nick Pappas
Tim Pappas
George and Alexia
Patramanis
Mike and Vickie Patramanis
Angela Perantinos
Marina Pikis
Demetrios Pliakos
Mike and Vickie Pyevich
Mary Rankin
Jovanka Rastovic
David Ray
Alex Reese
Dennis and Marina Reese
Effie Skafidas
Frank J. and Mary Jane
Skafidas
Janice Smirles
Gordon and Helen Smith
Randy and Chris Smith
Angela Spurgetis
Colette Spurgetis
Dennis and Nancy Spurgetis
Father and Presbytera
Michael Constantinides
Deacon and Deaconess
Paul Speed
Father and Presbytera
Chris Matos
Jorg and Basema Alias
Anne Allen
Marcia Allen
Ray and Connie Allen
Dale and JoElaine Allison
Jeff and Elaine Amidon
John and Pat Andrews
Mike and Nancy Avgenackis
Paul and Christine Baga-
telas Polly Bagatelas
Ted and Karen Bagatelas
Tom and Jenny Bakeris
Georgena Barnes
Pascal Booras
Frances Bourboulas
Spiro Bruskas
Elaine Burmeister
Joe Burmeister
John and Darcy Callas
Emily Caras
Peter and Becky Caras
Carol Chickris
George and Nancy Coin
Harry G. and Susan Coin
Harry S. and Paula Coin
Nick and Nancy Coin
Stan and Kay Coin
Helen Corelis
John and Shan Corelis
Brad and Mariellen Cros-
son Cleo Dalamaggas
Mrs. Sam Demou
Niki Doty
Angeline Douglas
Angela and Sean Doyle
Steve and Mary Kay Eckert
Daniel and Mari Elias
Maurice and Sue Elias
We are deeply
grateful to our
Lord Jesus
Christ for our
faithful and
committed
Stewards.
Listed here are
the individuals/
families who
pledged their
commitment
in 2015!
Diana Spurgetis
Helen Spurgetis
Lucille Spurgetis
Mary Spurgetis
Nick and Fran Spurgetis
Ken and Helen Stiegel
John and Martha Stratton
Marge Stratton
Marlowe Suess
James and Elizabeth Teros
Veronica Tolescu
Gus and Virginia Tripilas
Ellen Tsagaris
James Tsagaris
Ted Vlahos
Frank Vretis
Bill and Diane Whitehead
Kim and Mary Winters
Kulla Wiss
John and Joanna Zaimes
P A G E 9 V O L U M E 6 I S S U E 1
2016 Stewards
Scot and Adrienne
Johnson
Georgia Kalomas
Louis and Amanda
Kantzavelos
George and Diane
Karoules
Jason Leon
John and Jennifer Kay
Deborah Kutsunis
Ted and Debra Kutsunis
Von Lillios
Darlene Lingris
Nancy Mathews
John and Linnea Mekus
Anthony and Marianne
Nichols
Pauline Nichols
Dimitri and Kathy
Papageorgiou
Mike and Vickie
Patramanis
Jimmie Pliakos
Mike and Vickie Pyevich
Mary Rankin
David Ray
Effie Skafidas
Randy and Chris Smith
Angela Spurgetis
Colette Spurgetis
Dennis and Nancy
Spurgetis
Ken and Helen Stiegel
John and Martha
Stratton
Marge Stratton
James and Elizabeth
Teros
Veronica Tolescu
Frank Vretis
Bill and Diane
Whitehead
Kim and Mary Winters
Father and Presbytera
Michael Constantinides
Deacon and Deaconess
Paul Speed
Dale and JoElaine Alli-
son
Jeff and Elaine Amidon
John and Pat Andrews
Mike and Nancy
Avgenackis
Tom and Jenny Bakeris
Diane Breckon
John and Darcy Callas
George and Nancy
Coin
Harry G. and Susan
Coin
Nick and Nancy Coin
Helen Corelis
John and Shan Corelis
Brad and Mariellen
Crosson
Cleo Dalamaggas
Steve and Mary Kay
Eckert
George Gnatovich
Mike Gust
Pete and Arlene Gust
Nick and Claudette
Jannes
Tim and Kathy
Joannides
There is your
brother,
naked and
crying! And
you stand
confused over
choice of
floor
covering.
St. Gregory of
Nyssa
P A G E 1 0 T H E T R O P H Y B E A R E R
The Circumcision of the Lord (January 1)
On the eighth day after His
Nativity, our Lord Jesus
Christ was circumcised in
accordance with the Old
Testament Law. All male
infants underwent circumci-
sion as a sign of God’s Cove-
nant with the holy Forefa-
ther Abraham and his de-
scendants (Gen. 17:10-14,
Lev. 12:3).
After this ritual the Divine
Infant was given the name
Jesus, as the Archangel
Gabriel declared on the day
of the Annunciation to the
Most Holy Theotokos (Luke
1:31-33, 2:21). The Fathers
of the Church explain that
the Lord, the Creator of the
Law, underwent circumci-
sion in order to give people
an example of how faithfully
the divine ordinances ought
to be fulfilled. The Lord was
circumcised so that later no
one would doubt that He
had truly assumed human
flesh, and that His Incarna-
tion was not merely an illu-
sion, as certain heretics
(Docetists) taught.
In the New Testament, the
ritual of circumcision gave
way to the Mystery of Bap-
tism, which it prefigured
(Col. 2:11-12). Accounts of
the Feast of the Circumci-
sion of the Lord continue in
the Eastern Church right up
through the fourth century.
The Canon of the Feast was
written by St Stephen of the
St Sava Monastery (October
28 and July 13).
In addition to circumcision,
which the Lord accepted as a
sign of God’s Covenant with
mankind, He also received
the Name Jesus (Savior) on
the eighth day after His Na-
tivity as an indication of His
service, the work of the sal-
vation of the world (Mt.1:21;
Mark 9:38-39, 16:17; Luke
10:17; Acts 3:6, 16; Phil 2:9-
10). These two events, the
Lord’s Circumcision and
Naming, remind Christians
that they have entered into a
New Covenant with God
and “are circumcised with a
circumcision made without
hands, in putting off the body
of the sins of the flesh by the
circumcision of Christ” (Col.
2:11). The very name
“Christian” is a sign of man-
kind’s entrance into a New
Covenant with God.
The Circumcision
of the Lord
Thoughts to Ponder Wherever we live, we
observe two common
items made of glass: win-
dows and mirrors. We
look through a window but
at a mirror. A mirror sim-
ply reflects what is in
front of it. We look, in a
mirror to see how we
look, but we don't need a
mirror to see how other
people look; we need a
window.
Our life style can be like
a window or like a mir-
ror. "Window" people
look beyond themselves,
at other people, at the
world. "Mirror" people
see only themselves.
There in l i e s the i r
misery.
Christ and His followers
are "window" people.
T h r o u g h Ch r i s t i a n
stewardship they find
life's highest joy in help-
ing support God's work
in the world through His
Church
…Send your
treasures to the
heavenly storage
room. Deposit
your wealth in
God’s Bank,
distributing it to
the poor, the
orphans and the
widows, so that
you can receive a
million times more
in the Second
coming of Christ…
Saint Joseph the
Hesychast
P A G E 1 1 V O L U M E 6 I S S U E 1
The Theophany of the Lord (January 6) Theophany is the Feast
which reveals the Most
Holy Trinity to the world
through the Baptism of
the Lord (Mt.3:13-17;
Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-
22). God the Father spoke
from Heaven about the
Son, the Son was baptized
by St John the Forerunner,
and the Holy Spirit de-
scended upon the Son in
the form of a dove. From
ancient times this Feast
was called the Day of Illu-
mination and the Feast of
Lights, since God is Light
and has appeared to illu-
mine "those who sat in
darkness," and "in the re-
gion of the shadow of
death" (Mt.4:16), and to
save the fallen race of
mankind by grace.
In the ancient Church it
was the custom to baptize
catechumens at the Ves-
pers of Theophany, so
that Baptism also is re-
vealed as the spiritual illu-
mination of mankind.
The origin of the Feast of
Theophany goes back to
Apostolic times, and it is
mentioned in The Apos-
tolic Constitutions (Book
V:13). From the second
century we have the testi-
mony of St Clement of
Alexandria concerning the
celebration of the Baptism
of the Lord, and the night
vigil before this Feast.
There is a third century
dialogue about the ser-
vices for Theophany be-
tween the holy martyr
Hippolytus and St Gregory
the Wonderworker. In
the following centuries,
from the fourth to ninth
century, all the great Fa-
thers of the Church:
Gregory the Theologian,
J o h n C h r y s o s t om ,
Ambrose of Milan, John of
Damascus, commented on
the Feast of Theophany.
The monks Joseph the
Studite, Theophanes and
Byzantios composed much
liturgical music for this
Feast, which is sung at Or-
thodox services even to-
day. St John of Damascus
said that the Lord was
baptized, not because He
Himself had need for
cleansing, but "to bury hu-
man sin by water," to fulfill
the Law, to reveal the
mystery of the Holy Trin-
ity, and finally, to sanctify
"the nature of water" and
to offer us the form and
example of Baptism.
On the Feast of the Bap-
tism of Christ, the Holy
Church proclaims our
faith in the most sublime
mystery, incomprehensible
to human intellect, of one
God in three Persons. It
teaches us to confess and
glorify the Holy Trinity,
one in Essence and Indi-
visible. It exposes and
overthrows the errors of
ancient teachings which
attempted to explain the
Creator of the world by
reason, and in human
terms.
The Church shows the
necessity of Baptism for
believers in Christ, and it
inspires us with a sense of
deep gratitude for the illu-
mination and purification
of our sinful nature. The
Church teaches that our
salvation and cleansing
from sin is possible only
by the power of the grace
of the Holy Spirit, there-
fore it is necessary to pre-
serve worthily these gifts
of the grace of holy Bap-
tism, keeping clean this
priceless garb, for "As
many as have been bap-
tized into Christ, have put
on Christ" (Gal 3:27).
On the day of Theophany,
all foods are permitted,
even if the Feast falls on a
Wednesday or Friday.
The
Theophany
of our Lord
Feeding the
hungry is a
greater
work than
raising the
dead.
St. John
Chrysostom
P A G E 1 2 T H E T R O P H Y B E A R E R
The Apostle Timothy (January 22)
The Holy Apostle Timothy
was from the Lycaonian city of
Lystra in Asia Minor. St Timo-
thy was converted to Christ
in the year 52 by the holy
Apostle Paul (June 29). When
the Apostles Paul and
Barnabas first visited the cities
of Lycaonia, St Paul healed
one crippled from birth. Many
of the inhabitants of Lystra
then believed in Christ, and
among them was the future St
Timothy, his mother Eunice
and grandmother Loida (Lois)
(Acts 14:6-12; 2 Tim. 1:5).
The seed of faith, planted in St
Timothy’s soul by the Apostle
Paul, brought forth abundant
fruit. He became St Paul’s dis-
ciple, and later his constant
companion and co-worker in
the preaching of the Gospel.
The Apostle Paul loved St
Timothy and in his Epistles
called him his beloved son,
remembering his devotion and
fidelity with gratitude.
He wrote to Timothy: “You
have followed my teaching,
way of life, purpose, faith,
longsuffering, love, and
patience” (2 Tim. 3:10-11).
The Apostle Paul appointed St
Timothy as Bishop of Ephesus,
where the saint remained for
fifteen years. Finally, when St
Paul was in prison and await-
ing martyrdom, summoned his
faithful friend, St Timothy, for
a last farewell (2 Tim. 4:9).
St Timothy ended his life as a
martyr. The pagans of Ephesus
celebrated a festival in honor
of their idols, and used to
carry them through the city,
accompanied by impious cere-
monies and songs. St Timothy,
zealous for the glory of God,
attempted to halt the pro-
cession and reason with the
sp i r i tua l l y b l ind ido l -
worshipping people, by
preaching the true faith in
Christ.
The pagans angrily fell upon
the holy apostle, they beat
him, dragged him along the
ground, and finally, they
stoned him. St Timothy’s mar-
tyrdom occurred in the year
93.
…If you
change from
inhumanity to
almsgiving,
you have
stretched forth
the hand that
was withered.
If you
withdraw from
theaters and
go to church,
you have cured
the lame foot.
If you draw
back your eyes
from a
harlot ... you
have opened
them when
they were
blind ... These
are the
greatest
miracles.
St. John
Chrysostom
The Apostle
Timothy
Church Etiquette
In the Orthodox Church, there
are many customs and tradi-
tions that are an important part
of our worship. Some are cul-
tural and some are pious cus-
toms. Some are essential and
some are not. From time-to-
time, we need to address some
of these various etiquette issues
to better inform the faithful
THE IMPORTANCE OF
PUNCTUALITY
The time to arrive at Church is
before the service starts. If you
arrive after the Divine Liturgy
begins, try to enter the Church
quietly and observe what is
happening. If the Epistle or Gos-
pel is being read or the Little or
Great Entrance is taking place,
wait until it is finished to quickly
find a seat. Try not to interrupt
the Liturgy by your entrance.
The best way to avoid this
situation is to arrive on time.
“LET US ATTEND”
In some Orthodox cultures,
crossing one’s leg is taboo and
considered to be disrespectful.
In our American culture, while
there are no real taboos, we
tend to cross our legs to get
comfortable when sitting.
Crossing one’s legs in Church is
not permitted, not because it is
“wrong”, but rather because it
is too casual and relaxed for
being in Church. Remember,
sitting in Church is a conces-
sion, not the normative way of
prayer. You surely do not want
to get too relaxed and let your
mind drift off. In fact when you
do sit in Church, you should sit
attentively. Keep both feet on
the floor, ready to stand at at-
tention, which is what “let us
attend” means.
P A G E 1 3 V O L U M E 6 I S S U E 1
Answers to Last Month’s “Test Your Faith…”
Service and Liturgical
Books
Across
3. The service book con-
taining the canons and
hymns of the eight tones
or modes of Byzantine Mu-
s i c i s c a l l e d t h e
_____________.
5. This liturgical book con-
tains instructions about the
order of the various
Church services and cere-
monies in the form of a
perpetual calendar.
6. A brief biography of a
saint read in the church on
occasions of his feast day is
called the __________.
8. This liturgical book con-
tains all the prayers, hymns
and services performed
during the period of fifty
days between Easter and
Pentecost.
9. This liturgical book
contains the prayers and
ceremonial order of the
various church services
including the Divine Lit-
urgy for the priest.
10. The Greek term for
the Gospel Book is the
____________.
Down
1. A liturgical book con-
taining the hymns,
prayers and services of
the movable feast before
Easter, beginning with
the Sunday of the Publi-
can and the Pharisee un-
til Easter Sunday.
2. The liturgical Book
containing the various
Apostolic (Epistle) Read-
ings is cal led the
_________.
4. The Liturgical book
containing the different
services and prayers of
the hours of the day is
called _________.
7. A liturgical book con-
taining the lives of the
saints and the special
hymns (Stichera) for the
feast-days of the Ortho-
dox Saints. It is divined
into twelve volumes, one
for each month.
P A G E 1 4 T H E T R O P H Y B E A R E R
TRUE OR FALSE
1. In the Orthodox
Church, we feel that mate-
rial things are bad and only
spiritual things are good.
2. The bishops acting
within the church are not
capable of making mis-
takes—they are infallible.
3. The Orthodox Church
believes that God is one in
substance but three in per-
sons.
4. Christ was born perfect
God and perfect man.
5. The Orthodox Church
allows only one baptism.
6. The Virgin Mary is the
Birth-giver of Christ the
Man and not of Christ
God.
7. The salvation of man
needs the cooperation be-
tween God and man.
8. We fast because we are
commanded to do so by
Christ; fasting starves the
body to feed the soul and
brings us closer to God.
TRUE OR FALSE
The book of the Acts of the
Apostles tells us how the first
Christians lived and wor-
shiped God. Mark True or
False after the following sen-
tences:
1. The first Christians “were
of one heart and soul.”
_________
2. They shared everything
they had. _________
3. They had their worship
gatherings only in the
Temple of Solomon.
_________
4. The Feast of Love (Agape)
was a part of their wor-
ship. _________
5. The Feast of Love was a
Jewish custom that the
Christians kept.
_________
6. They kept the Sabbath as
the most important day of
their public worship.
________
Below are some of the names
of the disciples. Can you find
them in this puzzle?
Andrew – James – John –
Judas – Matthew – Peter –
Philip – Simon – Thomas
S A M O H T
P H I L I P
W J S R E L
E P A T C J
H N E M O W
T R S H E G
T W N R Q S
A T D C R O
M N O M I S
A S A D U J
Test Your Faith...