Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral New Orleans, Louisiana

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1 Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral New Orleans, Louisiana August 4, 2013 The Holy Seven Youths of Ephesus Sunday, August 4 ~ 8:45 am Orthros, 10:00 am Divine Liturgy 6 th Sunday of Matthew 12:00 pm ~ Daughters Officers Meeting in Boardroom OFFICERS ONLY! Monday, August 5 ~ 5:00 pm Vespers Tuesday, August 6 ~ 9:00 am Divine Liturgy Holy Transfiguration 10:30 am ~ Workshop for Upstairs Cleaning/Sorting Project Meet in Boardroom Wednesday, August 7 ~ 6:00 pm Paraklesis Thursday, August 8 ~ 9:00 am to 12:00 pm Vacation Church School Friday, August 9 ~ 9:00 am to 12:00 pm Vacation Church School Saturday, August 10 ~ 9:00 am to 12:00 pm Vacation Church School 12:00 pm ~ MARTIROSOV BAPTISM 6:00 pm ~ Vespers Sunday, August 11~ 8:45 am Orthros, 10:00 am Divine Liturgy 7 th Sunday of Matthew CATHEDRAL ICONS If it seems as if something is missing in our Cathedral, you are right. Our Cathedral is minus the four original icons created in 1872, which hung in the first little church. The icons are receiving conservation services and will return to us in a few months. REGISTRATION FORM DEADLINE FAST APPROACHING The new comprehensive registration forms, enclosed in the July issue of The Flame, are due Sunday, AUGUST 25, These forms, which encompass all aspects of youth related activities in the Holy Trinity Cathedral community, as well as the adult Greek School classes, simplify and consolidate the annual registration process and enable each family to complete only one form. The information, in turn, will be shared among the various directors. Please submit your completed form to the Cathedral office on or before the aforementioned deadline. LOOKING FOR CAREGIVER Diana and Brian Peterson are looking for an experienced daytime caregiver from 2-3 days a week for their twin one year old daughters. If interested, please contact Diana dnmpeterson@gmail.com or PHILOPTOCHOS BACK TO SCHOOL Many thanks to all of you who have already brought in school supplies. If you haven t yet contributed, Chairperson Cornelia Koniditsiotis reports that donations are still being accepted. There is still time to help us support those, who are less fortunate, by donating notebooks, crayons, pencils, erasers, and other school supplies. GARAGE SALE The Philoptochos annual Garage Sale will take place October 5 and 6. Please contact Elaine Nugent with any questions, donations, or offers to help. We need kitchen items, small appliances, art, frames, lamps, furniture, and other bric-a-brac. Your donations may be brought to the center and placed on the stage beginning September 29. SENIOR CITIZENS LUNCHEON Senior Citizens are invited to our first luncheon on September 17, 2013, at 11:30 am in the Coffee Room. If you would like to sponsor this luncheon, please contact Connie Tiliakos. COME AND SEE DINNER SILENT AUCTION Silent Auction Chairperson Helen Malachias welcomes items for the Silent Auction and asks that you give your solicitations to her or Viki Moustoukas. Additional solicitation letters are available in the Narthex and the Cathedral office. All solicited gifts must be submitted to Philoptochos by October 1, Your support will be deeply appreciated. UPDATE ON TABLESCAPE DINNER Plans for the Philoptochos Come and See Dinner, scheduled for Saturday, November 2, 2013, in the Hellenic Cultural Center, are underway. The dinner, which will feature beautiful tablescapes and a silent auction, is one of two annual fundraisers that sustain the worthy philanthropic projects of Philoptochos. A planning meeting to discuss details and responsibilities of tablescape hosts and hostesses will be slated within the month. If you wish to host a tablescape, please contact Vickie Catsulis at or Anthoula Malachias at VACATION CHURCH SCHOOL Vacation Church School is here! Please check the schedule below for the allotted times. Thursday, August 8 9:00 am to 12:00 pm Friday, August 9 9:00 am to 12:00 pm Saturday, August 10 9:00 am to 12:00 pm VCS packets were ed to parents, who registered their child/children for the 2013 session. If you did not receive this information, please contact the Cathedral office. Don t forget to check for postings of the weekly Sunday bulletins and the monthly issues of The Flame.

2 CATHEDRAL ROOF UPDATE Work on the Cathedral roof is slowly progressing. The daily work schedule is from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm including weekends, if needed for rain delays. The roofer and the Parish Council are greatly concerned about safety issues while the crew is working. For this reason parishioners are asked to be mindful of the construction area, the dangers it entails, and the necessity for limiting access to the facilities while the roofers are working. As a community we shall follow this request until all the scheduled repairs are completed. PARAKLESIS SERVICES DORMITION OF THE THEOTOKOS From the evening of August 1 until the evening of August 14, it is customary for one of two Supplicatory Canons to the Theotokos be chanted, alternately; on the first day the Small, on the second day the Great, and so forth, except for Saturday evenings and those of August 5, when the Great Vespers of the Feast of the Holy Transfiguration is chanted, and August 14, when the Great Vespers of the Feast of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary is chanted. Please check the calendar enclosed in the August issue of The Flame for times on each scheduled service and the Sunday bulletin for updates. REPEATED APPEAL FOR AUDIT COMMITTEE RECRUITS At this time there is only one member of the Audit Committee. The parish bylaws, as well as the Uniform Parish Regulations, state that three members are needed to conduct an audit. Parish Council members are prohibited from serving in this capacity. The Parish Council has made inquiries but has been unsuccessful in recruiting additional members to serve on this committee. If you are interested and "qualified" to serve, please submit your name to the Parish Council for consideration. SEEKING SPONSOR FOR 2014 ECCLESIASTICAL CALENDARS The Cathedral office received ordering information from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Department of Communications regarding the 2014 Parish Ecclesiastical Calendars. Last year Holy Trinity Cathedral was one of over 380 parishes that ordered this high-quality, educational resource for use by the parishioners. This year the Parish Council asks any individual or business interested in sponsoring this project to please contact the Cathedral office at as soon as possible. Cost for the complete project, including mailing, is $1,200. Orders and payment must be received by the Archdiocese by September 1, For this reason a sponsor s layout information must be submitted to Vickie no later than Friday, August 23, Please keep in mind that sources outside of the immediate Cathedral Family can be considered as sponsors. UPSTAIRS CLEANING AND REORGANIZING PROJECT PROGRESSES If you wish to help with revamping the upstairs areas of the Hellenic Cultural Center, please join the group of volunteers meeting this Tuesday, August 6, 2013, at 10:30 am. Why Fast for the Dormition? by Daniel Manzuk The Word, June 2008 Every Orthodox Christian is aware of the reason behind the fasts for Pascha and Christmas. But, while they may know of the Dormition Fast, few follow it, and more than a few question why it is there. First, given the pervasive misunderstanding of the purpose of fasting itself, a refresher on its purpose is always a good idea. There is a perception that we should fast when we want something, as though the act of fasting somehow appeases God, and seeing us suffer gets Him to grant our request. Nothing can be further from the truth. It is not our fasting that pleases God, it is the fruits of our fast (provided we fast in the proper mind set and do not merely diet) that please Him. We fast not to get what we want but to prepare ourselves to receive what God wants to give us. The purpose of fasting is to bring us more in line with another Mary, the sister of Lazarus, and away from their sister Martha, who in the famous passage was anxious and troubled about many things. Fasting is intended to bring us to the realization of the one thing needful. It is to help us put God first and our own desires second, if not last. As such, it serves to prepare us to be instruments of God s will, as with Moses in his flight from Egypt and on Mt. Sinai, as well as our Lord s fast in the wilderness. Fasting turns us away from ourselves and toward God. In essence it helps us become like the Theotokos, an obedient servant of God, who heard His word and kept it better than anyone else has or could. So, why do we fast before Dormition? In a close-knit family, word that its matriarch is on her deathbed brings normal life to a halt. Otherwise important things (parties, TV, luxuries, personal desires) become unimportant; life comes to revolve around the dying matriarch. It is the same with the Orthodox family; word that our matriarch is on her deathbed could not (or at least should not) have any different effect than the one just mentioned. The Church, through the Paraklesis Service, gives us the opportunity to come to that deathbed, eulogize, and entreat the woman, who bore God, the vessel of our salvation and our chief advocate at His divine throne. And, as in the earthly family, daily routines and the indulgence in personal wants should come to a halt. Fasting in its full sense (abstaining from food and desires) accomplishes this. Less time in leisure or other pursuits leaves more time for prayer and reflection on her, who gave us Christ and became the first and greatest Christian. In reflecting on her and her incomparable life, we see a model Christian life, embodying Christ s retort to the woman, who stated that Mary was blessed because she bore Him: blessed rather are those who hear His word and keep it. Mary did this better than anyone. As Fr. Thomas Hopko has stated, she heard the word of God and kept it so well that she of all women in history was chosen not only to hear His Word but give birth to it (Him). So, while we fast in contemplation of her life, we are simultaneously preparing ourselves to live a life in imitation of her. That is the purpose of the Dormition Fast.

3 ANOTHER APPEAL FOR CHILD CAREGIVER A couple in our Holy Trinity Cathedral community is looking for someone to care for their baby while they are at work. The job, which will begin in January 2014, is for three days a week from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm at the couple's home in Metairie. Greek speaking is preferred but not required. If you are interested or have questions, please call (w), (c), or at ChiosNewOrleans@yahoo.com. Holy Trinity Cathedral Greek Orthodox Community of New Orleans 1200 ROBERT E. LEE BOULEVARD NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA PHONE: (504) FAX: (504) Very Reverend Father Maximos Pafilis FrMaximos@holytrinitycathedral.org

4 4η Aὐγούστου 2013 ΚΥΡΙΑΚΗ ΣΤ ΜΑΤΘΑΙΟΥ Τῶν Ἁγίων ἑπτά παίδων τῶν ἐν Ἐφέσῳ Ἑωθινόν 4 th August th SUNDAY OF MATTHEW The Seven Holy Youths of Ephesus Eothion 6 Ἀπουτίκιον τῆς Ἀνάστασης Ἦχος πλ α Τὸν συνάναρχον Λόγον Πατρὶ καὶ Πνεύματι, τὸν ἐκ Παρθένου τεχθέντα εἰς σωτηρίαν ἡμῶν, ἀνυμνήσωμεν πιστοὶ καὶ προσκυνήσωμεν ὅτι ηὐδόκησε σαρκί, ἀνελθεῖν ἐν τῷ Σταυρῷ, καὶ θάνατον ὑπομεῖναι καὶ ἐγεῖραι τοὺς τεθνεώτας, ἐν τῇ ἐνδόξῳ Ἀναστάσει αὐτοῦ. Ἀπολυτίκιον τῆς Ἁγίας Τριάδας Ἦχος πλ δ Εὐλογητὸς εἶ, Χριστὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, ὁ πανσόφους τοὺς ἁλιεῖς ἀναδείξας, καταπέμψας αὐτοῖς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, καὶ δι' αὐτῶν τὴν οἰκουμένην σαγηνεύσας, φιλάνθρωπε, δόξα σοί. Κοντάκιον της Μεταμορφώσεως Ἦχος Βαρύς Ἐπὶ τοῦ ὄρους μετεμορφώθης, καὶ ὡς ἐχώρουν οἱ Μαθηταί σου τὴν δόξαν σου, Χριστὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἐθεάσαντο, ἵνα ὅταν σὲ ἴδωσι σταυρούμενον, τὸ μὲν πάθος νοήσωσιν ἑκούσιον, τῶ δὲ κόσμω κηρύξωσιν, ὅτι σὺ ὑπάρχεις ἀληθῶς, τοῦ Πατρὸς τὸ ἀπαύγασμα. Resurrection Apolytikion Plagal Tone 1 Let us worship the Word who is unoriginate with the Father and the Spirit, and from a Virgin was born for our salvation, O believers, and let us sing His praise. For in His goodness He was pleased to ascend the Cross in the flesh, and to undergo death, and to raise up those who had died, by His glorious Resurrection. Apolytikion of the Holy Trinity Plagal Tone 4 Blessed are You, O Christ our God, who made fishermen all-wise, sending upon them the Holy Spirit and, through them, netting the world. O Loving One, glory to You. Kontakion of the Transfiguration Grave Tone You were transfigured upon the mount, O Christ our God, and Your disciples, in so far as they could bear, beheld Your glory. Thus, when they see You crucified, they may under-stand Your voluntary passion, and proclaim to the world that You are truly the effulgence of the Father. Seven Holy Youths of Ephesus The Seven Youths hid themselves in a certain cave near Ephesus in the year 250 to escape the persecution of Decius. By divine grace, a sleep came upon them, and they slept for 184 years until the reign of Saint Theodosius the Younger, when the doctrine of the resurrection was being assailed by heretics. They then awoke, that is were resurrected, confirming in the sight of all the bodily resurrection; and, again after a short time, by divine command, they reposed in the Lord in the year 434.

5 ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΟΣ Ρωμαίους ιβ 6-14 Σὺ Κύριε, φυλάξαις ἡμᾶς καὶ διατηρήσαις ἡμᾶς. Σῶσον με, Κύριε, ὅτι ἐκλέλοιπεν ὅσιος. Ἀδελφοί, ἔχοντες χαρίσματα κατὰ τὴν χάριν τὴν δοθεῖσαν ἡμῖν διάφορα, εἴτε προφητείαν, κατὰ τὴν ἀναλογίαν τῆς πίστεως εἴτε διακονίαν, ἐν τῇ διακονίᾳ εἴτε ὁ διδάσκων, ἐν τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ εἴτε ὁ παρακαλῶν, ἐν τῇ παρακλήσει ὁ μεταδιδούς, ἐν ἁπλότητι ὁ προϊστάμενος, ἐν σπουδῇ ὁ ἐλεῶν, ἐν ἱλαρότητι. Ἡ ἀγάπη ἀνυπόκριτος. Ἀποστυγοῦντες τὸ πονηρόν, κολλώμενοι τῷ ἀγαθῷ. Τῇ φιλαδελφίᾳ εἰς ἀλλήλους φιλόστοργοι τῇ τιμῇ ἀλλήλους προηγούμενοι τῇ σπουδῇ μὴ ὀκνηροί τῷ πνεύματι ζέοντες τῷ κυρίῳ δουλεύοντες τῇ ἐλπίδι χαίροντες τῇ θλίψει ὑπομένοντες τῇ προσευχῇ προσκαρτεροῦντες ταῖς χρείαις τῶν ἁγίων κοινωνοῦντες τὴν φιλοξενίαν διώκοντες. Εὐλογεῖτε τοὺς διώκοντας ὑμᾶς; εὐλογεῖτε, καὶ μὴ καταρᾶσθε. ΤΟ ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΟΝ Ματθαῖον θ 1-8 Τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ, ἐμβὰς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἰς πλοῖον διεπέρασε καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν πόλιν. Καὶ ἰδοὺ προσέφερον αὐτῷ παραλυτικὸν ἐπὶ κλίνης βεβλημένον καὶ ἰδὼν ὁ Ιησοῦς τὴν πίστιν αὐτῶν εἶπε τῷ παραλυτικῷ θάρσει, τέκνον ἀφέωνταί σοι αἱ ἁμαρτίαι σου. καὶ ἰδού τινες τῶν γραμματέων εἶπον ἐν ἑαυτοῖς οὗτος βλασφημεῖ. καὶ ἰδὼν ὁ Ιησοῦς τὰς ἐνθυμήσεις αὐτῶν εἶπεν ἵνα τί ὑμεῖς ἐνθυμεῖσθε πονηρὰ ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν; τί γάρ ἐστιν εὐκοπώτερον, εἰπεῖν, ἀφέωνταί σου αἱ ἁμαρτίαι, ἢ εἰπεῖν, ἔγειρε καὶ περιπάτει; ἵνα δὲ εἰδῆτε ὅτι ἐξουσίαν ἔχει ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας - τότε λέγει τῷ παραλυτικῷ ἐγερθεὶς ἆρόν σου τὴν κλίνην καὶ ὕπαγε εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου. καὶ ἐγερθεὶς ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ. ἰδόντες δὲ οἱ ὄχλοι ἐθαύμασαν καὶ ἐδόξασαν τὸν Θεὸν τὸν δόντα ἐξουσίαν τοιαύτην τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. THE EPISTLE Romans 12:6-14 You, O Lord, shall keep us and preserve us. Save me, O Lord, for the godly man has failed. BRETHREN, having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching; he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who contributes, in liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. THE GOSPEL Matthew 9:1-8 At that time, getting into a boat Jesus crossed over and came to his own city. And behold, they brought to him a paralytic, lying on his bed; and when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven." And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming." But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say 'Rise and walk?' But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" he then said to the paralytic -- "Rise, take up your bed and go home." And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.