Newsletter July August 2013

Transcript

1 Newsletter July August 2013 chairman s comment Once again we commemorate the tragic events of 1974 in our beloved homeland Cyprus. After 39 years of Turkish occupation and intransigence, Greek Cypriots are still hopeful that the deadlock will be broken, that our island will be unified and our refugees will be able to return to their homes. Our recent Greek Evening function was a fundraising success but the attendance was rather disappointing in that many ticket holders stayed away on the night for various reasons such as school timetables, examinations etc. Such a poor attendance is discouraging for the people who work hard behind the scenes to put together our functions for all community members to participate and enjoy. Unfortunately there was a marked absence of young people at the function and this has been a worrying development lately. It has been noticed that there has been a general marked absence of interest, participation, involvement from our younger members in the affairs of the community. This may be a world-wide phenomenon in this day and age but we can see the danger signs clearly that if this should continue, the long-term future of our community could be threatened. I would like to appeal to all our young people in our community to consider their involvement more seriously and take more interest in our affairs, with more responsibility and maturity, making time to attend our functions, church services, cultural event etc. Only if this happens can we ensure the continuity and safe future of our community for the next generations. With effect from the end of June, Mr Apostolis Roditis has retired from his duties as caretaker at Amajuba Street and I take this opportunity to thank him on behalf of all our members, for his services and hard work that he provided to the community and our church. We were saddened to learn of Mr Apostolis illness while on a visit to Greece. He has since returned from overseas and is recuperating at home. We recently heard of the untimely death of Mrs. Stavroula Skoura, Greek coordinator of education in South Africa. We extend our heartfelt condolences to her family, her colleagues and friends. 1

2 Mrs. Skoura was a beacon of light to our children and her endeavours in education will be sorely missed by all of us here in Krugersdorp and the environs. Our Honorary Chairman Mr Andreas Hadjipavlou has also suffered a from ill health whilst on holiday overseas in Cyprus and he too has returned and is recuperating in the ICU at Flora Clinic. We wish him and Mr Apostolis an early and full recovery. Where is our youth? Father Evangelos column On Entering Our Beloved Church When we enter our Church, we enter into the glory of Christ; we step onto the Path that is Christ Himself that is ascending through time up to the Holy of Holies, the sanctuary of the temple of the world: that is the human heart where the glory of God wants to dwell to make us body and soul radiant with life. This is why we should switch our mobile phones off and not chat with friends or family but focus on our spiritual life. The Church is the union of this material world with the glory of God in the mystery of Christ. In all our liturgical rites, sacramental mysteries, our icons, hymns, prayers, dogmas, ecclesiastical appointments, in all our things she is the embodiment of Christ, His continuing Incarnation in the glory of His life-giving Cross, transformed by His sacred Pascha into a weapon of victory radiant with life. The liturgical movements of the Church's daily and weekly and yearly worship, by which she measures the movement of space-time in the essential principle of its being, are the spiritual reality of biblical history. They reveal space-time in its essential principle to be a spiritual Exodus on a path of ascent that leads from the deliverance of Adam out of the dark abyss of His Fall up Mt Sinai, Mt Tabor and finally Golgotha, all the way back to the Garden of Eden at the summit of Mt Zion. This union between the material world and the spiritual world of heaven, the movement of history with the ascension of Christ is the mystery of the Church, effected by the Holy Spirit. There is a power that fills all the things of the Church, a power that unites them to Christ and makes them alive in the glory of Christ that He had with the Father from before the creation of the world. That power is 2

3 the Holy Spirit; it is the power of God that is able to call the world into existence from nothing, the power to destroy death by death, and the power to give life to the dead. The authority of the Church comes from the power of the Holy Spirit that is in her, the power to raise the dead and to make them live. There is no argument with this life-creating power that is in the Church; for to defy her authority is to invite death. Consequently we should reverence our clerics and listen to their counsel on all ecclesiastic matters and issues- they are there for us to guide and pray with and for us. They are available all hours for us and love us and we need to respect them as spiritual fathers called to ordination by the Holy Spirit. It is in the power of the Holy Spirit that the Church can take children of flesh and blood and make them children of God, born of the Spirit from above. One simply cannot enter into the Church and continue to live in the world and exist as though one is ones business or workplace. For, the Church is in Exodus, she is on the path (odos) of Christ that is moving away from (ex) the world of Egypt, taking those who receive Christ in the obedience of faith with her. She is the cosmic ark of Noah riding the stormy sea of life to the calm haven of Paradise at the top of Mt Ararat. If we continue to live by the worldly values that shape our secular culture, we are making our home in Egypt that the Church is leaving. We must maintain the steadfastness and respect for church authority that our parents and our grandparents taught us. When we come into the Church, we unite ourselves to Christ in whom the glory of God dwells bodily. Here we encounter the God who alone was able to descend into the tomb of our heart and to penetrate the thick wall of death all the way to our soul that lay dead in the tomb of our heart, and to touch the corpse of our soul with His Glory, to breathe on us the Holy Spirit, and to raise us to life as children of God and to clothe us in the Robe of Light, the Garment of Immortality. In the mystery of the Church alone do we find ourselves immersed in the living waters of the Holy Spirit that flow from the side of Christ and catch us up in their stream that ascends up to the Garden of Eden at the summit of Mt Zion. Here is the vision of the believing Orthodox Christian: Christ crucified, Christ resurrected, Christ ascended in glory, Christ pouring out the Living Waters of His Holy Spirit on all who receive Him in fear, faith and love. Here is the vision of creation, the revelation of why we exist, why we were created that inspires the believing Orthodox Christian with hope and joy: we were created to become the temple of God in whom Christ God dwells bodily that we may live in Him forever in the life-giving power of His Glory. We were created for nothing less than to become partakers of God s own glory and virtue, illumined and vivified in body and soul as a sacred temple of God in whom God loves to dwell, continually offering Himself to us on the altar in the sanctuary of our heart that we might be made alive in Him as children of God in the Glory and Life-giving Power of His divine nature, making us one with Him even as He is one with the Father in the Glory of the Holy Spirit. O Most Holy Theotokos, save us! O Holy Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us! Private and Public Prayer Private Prayer Private prayer is a form of communication between God and humankind. It is a conversation, a dialogue between you and your Creator. You reveal your inner most secrets, requests, needs and problems to God. And God reveals His will to your mind. You acknowledge your faults and shortcomings with the assurance that He is a merciful God. In return, you experience the satisfaction of forgiveness. At times, your prayers are words of gratitude and glorification to God 3

4 for His benevolence to you. Regardless what type of prayer you offer, when it pertains to you personally it is a private prayer. This is a worthwhile and beneficial effort, and it must be pursued. Public Prayer However, a private prayer cannot satisfy our spiritual needs unless it is intimately connected with our public prayers. Public prayer or worship is offered by the Church, a group of people that proclaims the same beliefs and makes the same requests to God. "In God we live and move and have our existence," St. Paul preached to the Athenians. Since we share "every good and perfect gift that comes from above," we render a common thanks and glory to the Giver God. Our common needs, aspirations and realizations of God's benevolence are united with our prayer, and as one family we acknowledge God as our Father. The culmination of the public prayer is the Divine Liturgy. In fact, the Divine Liturgy is the chief act of Greek Orthodox public worship. It is a public service of approximately two hours that is a worshiping testimony of the Revelation of God. It unfolds before the worshipers the essence of the theology, the mystical existential character, and the devotional traditions of Greek Orthodoxy. Dionysios the Areopagite writes: How else can we imitate God if we do not repeat His divine life through the mystagogy of the Liturgy? The Lord ordained that the mystery of the Divine Liturgy should be constantly performed in order that we humans, however imperfect, should unite with a perfect God. As cells are united and make up the human body so the faithful are united as cells upon the body of God and partake of His holy life otherwise, we become dead organisms, foreign to a healthy and living God. In the Divine Liturgy the divine and the human, time and eternity, the now and the remote, spiritual longings and earthly desires, cries of distress and exclamations of joy, and several other contrasts and antinomies are united into an organism of harmony and real life. Πράξεων τῶν Ἀποστόλων τὸ Ἀνάγνωσμα Ἐν τῷ συμπληροῦσθαι τὴν ἡμέραν τῆς Πεντηκοστῆς ἦσαν ἅπαντες οἱ ἀπόστολοι ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό. Καὶ ἐγένετο ἄφνω ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἦχος ὥσπερ φερομένης πνοῆς βιαίας καὶ ἐπλήρωσεν ὅλον τὸν οἶκον οὗ ἦσαν καθήμενοι καὶ ὤφθησαν αὐτοῖς διαμεριζόμεναι γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός καὶ ἐκάθισεν ἐφ ἕνα ἕκαστον αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπλήσθησαν ἅπαντες πνεύματος ἁγίου καὶ ἤρξαντο λαλεῖν ἑτέραις γλώσσαις καθὼς τὸ πνεῦμα ἐδίδου ἀποφθέγγεσθαι αὐτοῖς. Ησαν δὲ ἐν Ἰερουσαλὴμ κατοικοῦντες Ἰουδαῖοι ἄνδρες εὐλαβεῖς ἀπὸ παντὸς ἔθνους τῶν ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανόν γενομένης δὲ τῆς φωνῆς ταύτης συνῆλθεν τὸ πλῆθος καὶ συνεχύθη ὅτι ἤκουον εἷς ἕκαστος τῇ ἰδίᾳ διαλέκτῳ λαλούντων αὐτῶν. Ἐξίσταντο δὲ καὶ ἐθαύμαζον λέγοντες πρὸς ἀλλήλους Οὐχ ἰδοὺ ἅπαντες οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ λαλοῦντες Γαλιλαῖοι; καὶ πῶς ἡμεῖς ἀκούομεν ἕκαστος τῇ ἰδίᾳ διαλέκτῳ ἡμῶν ἐν ᾗ ἐγεννήθημεν; Πάρθοι καὶ Μῆδοι καὶ Ἐλαμῖται καὶ οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὴν Μεσοποταμίαν Ἰουδαίαν τε καὶ Καππαδοκίαν Πόντον καὶ τὴν Ἀσίαν Φρυγίαν τε καὶ Παμφυλίαν Αἴγυπτον καὶ τὰ μέρη τῆς Λιβύης τῆς κατὰ Κυρήνην καὶ οἱ ἐπιδημοῦντες Ῥωμαῖοι Ἰουδαῖοί τε καὶ προσήλυτοι Κρῆτες καὶ Ἄραβες ἀκούομεν λαλούντων αὐτῶν ταῖς ἡμετέραις γλώσσαις τὰ μεγαλεῖα τοῦ Θεοῦ. Questions & Answers Do we believe in the Holy Eucharist? How and why do we believe that the bread and wine is the body and blood of Christ? Answer: In the Orthodox Church we believe that the greatest work that is performed on earth is the Divine Liturgy. And this is because during the Divine Eucharist we relive the occasion of the Last Supper for the redemption of the human race. Just as then when in the upper room in Jerusalem Christ surrendered His Body and His Blood to His disciples, so it is that at every Divine Liturgy Christ Himself is invisibly present hypostatically and 4

5 essentially as victim and sacrificer and imparts His Body and His Blood to the baptized faithful, who occupy the place of the Apostles. And, of course, we who receive Holy Communion believe that we commune the same holy Body and Blood of Christ for the redemption of sins and unto life eternal. Not symbolically, because Christ did not say during the Last Supper to His disciples, Receive, eat, this is like My Body or Drink from this all of you, this is like my blood but this is My Body and this is My Blood. What are the main differences between us and Protestant churches? Answer: The great difference between Orthodox worship and Protestant Churches is the fact that in they worship an imaginary representation of the sacrifice of Christ, namely a fictitious act of the Last Supper. In contrast, in the Orthodox Divine Liturgy the Last Supper, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Christ are present, and Christ is given again and many times to be eaten and be drunk by the faithful Always consumed but never spent. The Apostles received the tradition of the celebration of the Last Supper from the Lord. They passed it on to their disciples and the Orthodox Church continues this tradition to this day without interruption. In the ecclesiastical history of the Early Church there are great number of references to the time of the persecutions and the catacombs that testify to the zeal of the first Christians and the dangers they ignored by participating in the Eucharistic gatherings to commune the Body and Blood of Christ. For us Orthodox, it is incomprehensible how Protestant theology interprets passages of Holy Scripture that speak most clearly about the heavenly Bread, such as those found in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of St. John: He who eats of my Body and drinks of my Blood has eternal life and I shall raise him in the last day (John 6:54) and he who eats of my Body and drinks of my Blood dwells in Me and I in him. (John 6:56) Just as our body has absolute need of actual, and not symbolic, food and drink to be sustained in life, likewise our soul has absolute need of the Body and Blood of Christ that it may not die spiritually. We cannot live either in this or the next life if we do not eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ. Perhaps this sounds harsh. However, let us remember that many of the disciples ceased to follow Christ after everything He told them about His flesh and His blood. And addressing the twelve He asked them Don t you too wish to leave? (John 6:67) He repeats the same even today to all who wish to be Christians but do not wish to believe and accept the whole teaching of Christ. West Rand Hellenic Community Cultural Society ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS Living By Faith Fr. Evangelos 1 In his last talk on 20 th June, father Evangelos explained the importance of confessing our sins before God (1 John 1:19) and also of petitioning God for what we need (1 Samuel 1:27). He urged the attendees to thank God for what He has done for us through His Grace (Ephesians 5:20) and to pray for others (Ephesians 6:18-19). Through Jesus we have a New Life but we must allow God to transform our life daily all our attitudes, actions, relationships - and we must then live with the assurance of eternal life. 5

6 Holy week - kalh anastash - xristos anesth!! 6

7 Our West Rand Hellenic Community greek school Εξετάσεις Ελληνομάθειας Θα ήθελα να ενημερώσω τους αγαπητούς συμπατριώτες της κοινότητας, ότι στις 14 και 15 Μαΐου, διεξήχθησαν όπως κάθε χρόνο, οι εξετάσεις ελληνομάθειας στο Σαχέτι. Οι εξετάσεις αυτές διεξάγονται με την επιμέλεια του Ελληνικού Κράτους και τα γραπτά αξιολογούνται από ελληνικό πανεπιστήμιο. Επίσης, τα αποτελέσματα των εξετάσεων πιστοποιούν το βαθμό κατοχής της ελληνικής γλώσσας και είναι επισήμως αναγνωρισμένα. Στις σημαντικές αυτές εξετάσεις, το σχολείο της Κοινότητάς μας, συμμετείχε για πρώτη φορά. Αυτός όμως δεν ήταν ο μόνος λόγος που εντυπωσίασε. Ένας κόμη λόγος είναι ο μεγάλος αριθμός συμμετοχής. Σε μια περίοδο που το φρόνημα του ελληνισμού δοκιμάζεται, τα παιδιά της Κοινότητάς μας θέλησαν να δοκιμάσουν τις δυνατότητές τους στη γλώσσα των προγόνων τους. Ο βασικός όμως λόγος που τα παιδιά μας εντυπωσίασαν τους υπεύθυνους των εξετάσεων, είναι το ήθος και η συμπεριφορά που επέδειξαν, τόσο κατά τη διάρκεια των εξετάσεων, όσο και στα νεκρά διαστήματα και διαλείμματα. Η στάση τους μας κάνει υπερήφανους, καθώς, χωρίς να προκαλέσουν καθόλου, είχαν διαρκώς την αίσθηση της ομάδας και συνείδηση της αποστολής τους. Επίσης, βρίσκονταν διαρκώς δίπλα στο δάσκαλό τους, προσπαθώντας ακόμα και την τελευταία στιγμή να κερδίσουν μια επιπλέον γνώση. Περιμένοντας τα αποτελέσματα των εξετάσεων (Ιούλιο-Αύγουστο), ευχόμαστε αυτά να μας κάνουν το ίδιο ευτυχείς όσο το ήθος και η συμπεριφορά των παιδιών. Πάντα στη διάθεσή σας, Ο δάσκαλος της κοινότητας, Φώτης Ασημακόπουλος Attainment tests I would like to inform the dear compatriots of our community, that on 14 and 15 May, as every year, the attainment tests took place at Saheti School. These examinations are conducted at the instigation of the Greek State and the writings are evaluated by a Greek university. The results of the examinations also attest to the degree of the entrenchment of the Greek language and are officially recognized. Our community school participated in these important tests for the first time. But this is not the only impressive fact. Another impressive fact is the large number of participants. At a time when the morale of Hellenism is being tested, the children of our community wanted to try their hand in the language of their ancestors. But the main reason that our children have impressed the developers of the tests, is the ethos and the behaviour that they displayed both during the exam, and during their free periods and break times. Their attitude makes us proud as well, as without purposefully cause they, had a sense of team identity and awareness of their mission. Also, they were constantly next to their teacher, trying even at the last minute to gain that much additional knowledge. As we await for the results of the tests (July-August), we wish that they will make us as happy as the ethos and behaviour of the children themselves. Always at your disposal, The community teacher, Fotis Assimakopoulos 7

8 NeWs from our overseas members We again appeal to all our overseas members/readers to please let us have articles of news on their families, their new homes etc..we wish to stay in touch with you all SO PLEASE LET US HEAR FORM YOU! We pray for their speedy recovery We pray for the speedy recovery of our community members and their return to full health: M r Andreas Hajipavlou became seriously ill whilst on holiday on his beloved Cyprus. After a great deal of difficulty he was able to return to South Africa for specialist attention and is currently making good progress in the ICU section of Flora Clinic. The family is hoping to bring Mr Hajipavlou back home shortly and make him more comfortable. Mr Apostolis Roditis also fell ill whilst on holiday in Greece, and has since returned home to receive the necessary specialist help for a faulty heart valve. He is now making good progress. Mrs Sofia Roditis has been fighting a brave battle against a cancerous condition for some time and is now recouperating eiving specialist care at Frail Care section of the Panorama Estate. On behalf of the the Hajipavlou and Roditis families, we appeal to all our members to keep them all in your prayers through these difficult times. We wish them all a speedy recovery and a return to good health. MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR THE VICTIMS OF THE 1974 TRAGIC EVENTS IN CYPRUS SAINT JOHN'S CHURCH, GERMISTON, JOHANNESBURG, 21 JULY

9 know YOUR COMMUNITY - PERSONALITY PROFILE - Dr andreas halkas Fulll name: ANDREAS CHRISTOS HALKAS Occupation: Paediatric Pulmonolgist / Senior Paediatric Consultant Netcare Krugersdorp Hospital Place of birth: Pretoria Time in WRHC: 21 years Favourite cuisine / meal: Souvlaki and Seafood Favourite hobby / pastime: Astronomy, game and bird watching in the bush Favourite holiday destination: North Coast Shaka s Rock, Paralimni Cyprus Favourite music: George Dallaras, Antonis Remos Favourite book/author: Stratis Myrivilis Life in the Tomb Favourite sport: Golf, Soccer and Rugby Philosophy in life: Steadfast in faith give of one s best, respect the sanctity of life Biggest influence in life: The children I have treated over the years Source of happiness: My Family and their achievements * Personal achievement: Presently completing PhD thesis, Fellow American College of Chest Physicians and European Respiratory Society Message to the community: Be strong and resilient in your faith and assist others whenever you have the opportunity. *CHRISTOS PANAYIOTIS ANDREAS HALKAS Congratulations on an outstanding achievement in Matric! Christos attended Trinity House High School.He was awarded Full Academic colours in grade 10, 11 and 12 and junior academic colours in grade 9. He was awarded a Bursary in grade 11 for achieving the highest combined mark in Mathematics and Physical Science. He attained distinctions for both Public Speaking and Redenaars in grade 12. He matriculated with a full house of eight distinctions in English, Afrikaans, Mathematics, Mathematics Paper3, Life Orientation, Accounting, Life Sciences and Physical Sciences. He was placed in the top 1% of learners in Life Sciences. Christos is currently studying Medicine at the University of the Free State. We congratulate young Christos on his amazing achievements and wish him all success in his future career. This success story answers the question of Where is our youth and what are they doing? We look forward to similar success stories from our readers both here and overseas. Please refer us to any interesting news sources that you may be aware of and we will contact the parties concerned if they are a little modest to contact us directly. Thank you. 9

10 Summary - Speech by the High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus in the memorial service for the fallen in the Coup, the Turkish invasion, and the Ethnarhi Makarios III (St John s Church, Germiston, 21 July 2013) In his speech Mr Petros Nacouzis paid tribute to all the fallen Greek Cypriots during the barbaric coup and the Turkish invasion. He honoured the memory of the Ethnarhi President Makarios and his invaluable contribution to his homeland Cyprus who died an embittered man as he was convinced that there could not exist a single Greek hand that would harm and destroy the island. He said that President Makarios had repeatedly warned of the dangers for Cyprus from the destructive activities of EOKA B knowing full well that Turkey was awaiting the opportunity to invade the island The division of Cyprus was the objective of Turkey who began under-cover activities in arming and training the Turkish Cypriots in preparation for the future implementation of the policy of the partition of the island into two separate states. Turkey now seeks a solution to the Cyprus problem on the basis of its original proposals, as per the Annan plan which would lead to the tourkopoiisi of the island if accepted. In addition Turkey seems to challenge the sovereignty of Cyprus in its exclusive economic zone in regard to the exploitation of natural gas with overt threats which are threatening the stability of the region. Cyprus is also currently experiencing an unparalleled financial crisis as a result of criminal mistakes in the financial sector, affecting the entire Cypriot people. As we have done so successfully after the tragic events of 1974 we will continue to fight and will not allow the economic crisis to force us to accept an undignified and fragile political solution. We remain committed to a solution bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality, as defined by the United Nations Security Council resolutions, a united Cyprus with a single sovereignty international personality and one citizenship. In honouring and remembering the martyrs and heroes of the resistance against the junta and against the Turkish invasion, we promise that we will always defend democracy at all costs. In the words of the Ethnarhi Makarios: We will remain standing. We will not bend and we will not surrender, no matter how many years pass, how many difficulties we may meet.. Nations that have the strength and courage to struggle and if need be to be sacrificed, such nations live and never die. And the Cyprus Hellenism is destined to live and shall live ". Contact us Contact us: Street Address: 26 Amajuba Street, Noordheuwel, Krugersdorp 1739 Postal Address: P O Box 1108, Krugersdorp 1740 Tel: Fax: Our Parish Priest, Father Evangelos The Chairman of the WRHC, Mr Antonis Antoniades tony@antoniades.co.za The Greek School teacher, Mr Fotis Asimakopoulos Editorial: Hon Secretary, Peter Mammous supremex@yebo.co.za West Rand Hellenic Community We re on the Web! (New website under construction) West Rand Hellenic Community Our Newsletter is again generously sponsored by Demos Stephanou 10

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