ARK - ΚΙΒΩΤΟΣ. the H. Assumption Greek Orthodox Church. 111 Island Pond Road, Manchester, NH 03109

Transcript

1 APRIL/ΑΠΡΙΛΙΟΣ 2013 VOLUME 8, ISSUE 4 the H ARK - ΚΙΒΩΤΟΣ MONTHLY BULLETIN OF THE ASSUMPTION OF OUR MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH ΜΗΝΙΑΙΟ ΔΕΛΤΙΟ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗΣ ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΗΣ ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑΣ ΤΗΣ ΚΟΙΜΗΣΕΩ Σ ΤΗΣ ΘΕΟΤΟΚΟΥ Assumption Greek Orthodox Church 111 Island Pond Road, Manchester, NH Phone: Fax: info@assumptionnh.org Join us on Facebook Saturday, March 23rd - 3rd Annual Greek Independence Day Celebration INSIDE THIS ISSUE Monthly Calendar (Greek) 2 Ministries List 3 Parish News 4 Philoptochos News 4 Stewardship Report 5 Youth News 6 Spiritual Readings 9 Monthly Calendar (English) 15 Sunday, March 24th - Sunday of Orthodoxy

2 ΑΠΡΙΛΙΟΣ 2013 ΚΥΡΙΑΚΗ ΔΕΥΤΕΡΑ ΤΡΙΤΗ ΤΕΤΑΡΤΗ ΠΕΜΠΤΗ ΠΑΡΑΣΚΕΥΗ ΣΑΒΒΑΤΟ Πρόβα παιδικής Χορωδίας 4:30µµ Προηγιασμένη Θ. Λειτουργία 6:00µµ Ελληνικό Σχολείο 3:15-7:45µµ Γ Χαιρετισμοι της Θεοτόκου - 7:00μμ Κυριακή της Σταυροπροσκυνήσεως Ορθ: 9:00πµ Θ. Λειτ: 10:00πµ Κατηχητικό Σχολείο Παρέλαση για την Ηµέρα της Ελληνικής Ανεξαρτησίας στη Βοστώνη - 1:00µµ (Δείτε Parish News) Συνάντηση Συµβουλίου Φιλοπτώχου 7:00µµ Πρόβα παιδικής Χορωδίας 4:30µµ Προηγιασμένη Θ. Λειτουργία 6:00µµ Ελληνικό Σχολείο 3:15-7:45µµ Δ Χαιρετισμοι της Θεοτόκου - 7:00μμ Ανοιξιάτικο Καθάρισμα - 10:00πμ Κυριακή του Αγιου Ιωάννη Κλίμακος Ορθ: 9:00πµ Θ. Λειτ: 10:00πµ Κατηχητικό Σχολείο Συνάντηση Διοικητικού Συµβουλίου 7:00µµ Πρόβα παιδικής Χορωδίας 4:30µµ Προηγιασμένη Θ. Λειτουργία 6:00µµ Ελληνικό Σχολείο 3:15-7:45µµ Ακάθιστος Ύμνος - 7:00μμ 21 Κυριακή Μαρίας της Αιγυπτίας Ορθ: 9:00πµ Θ. Λειτ: 10:00πµ Κατηχητικό Σχολείο Ελληνικό Σχολείο 3:15-7:45µµ Σάββατο του Λαζαρου Ορθ: 8:30πµ Θ. Λειτ: 9:15πµ 28 Κυριακή των Βαΐων Ορθ: 9:00πµ Θ. Λειτ: 10:00πµ Κατηχητικό Σχολείο Fish Dinner - 12 µµ (Δείτε το Flyer) Κλήρωση Πασχαλιάτικου αρνιού Δείτε το Προγραμμα της Μ. Εβδομάδας 2

3 Rev. Fr. Athanasios Nenes (603) Parish Council 2013 President: Costas Georgopoulos Vice President: Dean Kacos Secretary: Mike Rokas Treasurer: Ted Rokas James Folopoulos Charles Mardanes Nicholas Karagianis Vasilios Palaskas Tasos Karatzoulidis Louie Pliakos Peter Lazos Penny Papastathis Coordinator: YOUTH MINISTRIES Stephanie Piet GOYA Advisor: Carol Georgopoulos JOY Advisors: Julie Karagianis Patty Tingos Director: PARISH SCHOOLS Sunday School Stephanie Piet Philoptochos Board ( ) President: Nancy Mardanes 1st Vice President: Areti Galanis Recording Secretary: Andrea Moutsioulis Corresponding Secretary: Martha Galanis Treasurer: Esther Kereakoglow Assistant Treasurer: Lucie Skouteris Director: Teacher: Greek School George Kitsis Connie Stamoulis Newsletter Staff Tasos Karatzoulidis Iris Belinsky Phyllis Brown Maria Chronas Anastasia Galanis Georgia Gancarz Mariana Gasis Evangelia Gregorious Artemis Lazos Georgia Palaskas Editors: Fr. Athanasios Nenes Sophia Annas Costa Georgopoulos Ellen Healy Janet Malin Nancy Mardanes Stephanie Piet Staff Secretary: Janet Malin Custodian: Paul Tsolakidis Chanter: Vasilios Rokas ADDRESS CHANGES Please notify the Church Office if you are moving so we may update our database. Office Hours for Fr. Athanasios Nenes: Tuesday, Thursday & Friday: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm Any other time or day with appointment Pastoral Home Visitation If a loved one is in the hospital, or in a nursing home, or is house-bound due to illness, please feel free to contact Fr. Athanasios Nenes at the Church Office to arrange for a visit. 3

4 Parish News Greek Independence Day Parade in Boston - Sunday, April 7th, 2013 Please join us as we participate in this short walk and enjoy the festivities following at the end of the parade route. Activities for the children and the History of our forefathers at Boston Common. A bus will provide transportation to and from the Assumption Church. The cost will be $10 per person. For more information please contact Stephanie Piet at or the church office at Spring Cleaning Saturday, April 13 at 10:00 a.m. We encourage all of you to lend a helping hand. All supplies will be provided. As we prepare our homes for this most important holiday, we must prepare our church. Palm Sunday Fish Dinner - Lamb Raffle This year s Fish Dinner will be held on Sunday, April 28th following the Sunday Church Service. During the dinner we will also hold our annual lamb raffle. If you would like to donate to help defray the expenses please contact a parish council member or the church office at All donations are greatly appreciated. (See Flyer Enclosed) Assumption Spring Dance to be held on May 25th Save the Date Our Annual Spring Dance will be held on Saturday, May 25th. We would like to invite everyone to join us for an evening filled with good fun, food, fellowship and lots of dancing! Look for more information in the May newsletter. Various Scholarships There are various scholarships available for graduates or college students. Please contact the church office at (603) to obtain a copy of the applications. Philoptochos News Now that we have entered the Lenten Period, the Philoptochos Board is collecting money for flowers. Monies collected will be used for flowers throughout the coming year: every Friday of Lent, March 25th celebration, Holy Week (which also includes the flowers needed to decorate the Epitaphion), Easter, August 1-15 Lenten Period, Sept. 14th, etc. Thank you, in advance for your generosity. The 2013 Philoptochos dues ($25.00) are now being collected. Per Capita monies to the National Philoptochos and to the Metropolis Philoptochos must be paid in May. We will only submit the money and names of members who are in good standing, so it is important to keep your dues current. You may contact any board member for further information. May is election month. Any member in good standing (dues paid-in-full) is welcome to run for the Philoptochos Board. We are always looking for new, young faces and ideas. Please consider giving of 4

5 your time and talents. Your current board is planning a Mother's Day Celebration/General Assembly where elections will take place. Look for more news to follow. Please save the following dates: Saturday, April 13th - Spring Cleaning. Everyone is invited and encouraged to help spruce up OUR Church for the Easter Holiday Friday, May 3rd - All are welcome to participate in the decorating of the Epitaphon. We will start following the morning Church Services (app. 10:00 AM). Saturday, May 4th - Red Easter Eggs! Please bring your dyed red eggs to the Church Office no later than Saturday, May 4th, so we may prepare them for distribution after the Paschal Liturgy and the Agape Service on Sunday. Wishing all of you a blessed Lenten Period and Pascha. Your Philoptochos Board STEWARDSHIP REPORT Stewardship Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Alexander James Camberis Mr. & Mrs. Peter Camberis Mr. & Mrs. John Demos Sandra Flynn Georgia Gancarz Evangelia Gregorious Mr. & Mrs. Nick Hart Dr. Peter Kachavos Mr. & Mrs. Aristidis Kalampalikis Demetrios Kamberis Esther Kereakoglow THROUGH February 2013 Mr. & Mrs. Dimitrios Krideras Thomas Krideras Mr. & Mrs. Leon Lampes Mr. & Mrs. Evangelos Pervanos Mr. & Mrs. Mark Piet Mr. & Mrs. Louis Pliakos Mr. & Mrs. Costas Tonas Nicholas Vailas ADDITIONAL PLEDGE RECEIVED FOR 2012 Dr. Peter Kachavos Reminder!! Please do not forget to submit your 2013 Stewardship Pledge Card Stewardships are the greatest source of income for our Church. Thank you! Baptism April 6th - Raymond Buckley, son of Wayne and Barbara Buckley 40-day Blessing April 14th - John David, son of Vasilios and Julie Skouteris Sacraments Memorial Services March 17th - 40 day for Thomas Riggas April 14th - 40 day for James Hatzibiros April 21st - 6 month for Konstantinos Zisis April 21st - 1 year for Marianthe Zisis Funerals March 20th - James Hatzibiros March 25th - Theresa Mardanes 5

6 Youth News Great Lent is here and we all hope that our children will make every effort to attend all our beautiful church services. As Holy Week gets closer, we will send home a list of activities that our children will be participating in. Our children will be involved in another great fundraiser coming up after Easter. More information to follow with all the details. Our Goyans will use their part of the fundraiser to travel to New York City in June. Our JOY group will use their part to travel to Canobie Lake as we have done for the past three years. Sunday School Please remember that our children are expected to be in church for 10:15AM. We will continue to participate in Great Lent activities in our classrooms. Greek School Thank you to all our children and their families for the wonderful Greek Independence Day Celebration. Everyone did a great job. Thank you to all the parents that helped with the Youth sponsored coffee hour. Dance Group Thank you to everyone for your participation at both, the third annual celebration at St. George and also at our festivities at the Assumption. We, as a community are so proud of our dancers!! Thanks to Tom Katsiantonis for his dedication to our children and also to Lily Hitchen and Eleni Dellas for their continued dedication in helping our children every week during dance group. Following our presentations on March 23rd and March 24th, we will not have dance lessons until after Easter. Please join us on Sunday, April 7th, as we participate in the annual Greek Independence Day Parade in Boston. We will travel by bus, the cost per person is $10-. Please call Stephanie Piet ( ) if you will be joining us. It will be a great day of faith & fellowship and to celebrate our culture. We all look forward to welcoming spring, we begin our Great Lenten Period too. During Great Lent, please check your s as we are working towards the completion of Lenten activities for the children. 6

7 New Horizon's Soup Kitchen continues to be a great success with many parishioners volunteering their time on the fourth Sunday of every month. We would love to see more new faces helping out as it continues to be the same volunteers. Our work with New Horizons was meant to involve all parishoners that are willing to give up 2 hours of their time, once a month. Please help us in accomplishing this goal. Contact me for any information or if you would like to participate. I guarantee you will not be sorry if you join us. It is a mission that our church community has undertaken and we want you to be a part of the success. Stephanie Piet, (603)

8 ASSUMPTION GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH PHILOPTOCHOS SOTERIA GREEK EASTER BREAD TSOUREKIA DONATION $10.00 Orders must be placed by Sunday, April 21. Easter breads will be ready for pick up on Sunday, April 28. Place your order today for delicious Easter bread! Church Office Andrea Moutsioulis Lucie Skouteris Effie Kalampalikis Artemis Lazos

9 Spiritual Readings As Western Christians prepare to celebrate Easter this Sunday, March 31st, permit me to shed some light on the reasons why the Orthodox Christian Church celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on May 5th, While the issue is somewhat complicated, it may be summarized in the two factors at work that cause this conflict in dates: 1) The issue of the calendar; and 2) the adherence by the Orthodox to the early practices of the Christian Church. The first factor, the calendar, has to do with the fact that the Christian Orthodox Church continues to follow the Julian calendar when calculating the date of Pascha (Easter). The rest of Christianity uses the Gregorian calendar. There is a thirteen-day difference between the two calendars, the Julian calendar being thirteen (13) days behind the Gregorian. The other factor at work is that the Orthodox Church continues to adhere to the rule set forth by the First Ecumenical Council, held in Nicea in 325 AD, that requires that Pascha must take place after the Jewish Passover in order to maintain the Biblical sequence of Christ s Passion. The rest of Christianity ignores this requirement, which means that on occasion Western Easter takes place either before or during the Jewish Passover. As a consequence of these two factors, the Orthodox Church usually celebrates Pascha later than the Western Churches anywhere from one to five weeks later (as it is this year). Occasionally we do celebrate Pascha on the same day. The last time that occurred was in 2011 and the next time will be in The two dates coincide when the full moon following the equinox comes so late that it counts as the first full moon after 21 March in the Julian calendar as well as the Gregorian. This is not a regular occurrence, but it has happened more frequently in recent years - in 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2017, but, after that, not again until For many people this is a confusing and frustrating issue. Especially those of us who have families that are not Orthodox wonder why we have to celebrate this important holiday at different times. In order to better understand why we do, we will take a closer look at how the date of Pascha is calculated and also examine the issue of the calendar. HOW THE DATE OF PASCHA IS DETERMINED During the first three centuries of Christianity, there was no universal date for celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Churches in various parts of the world followed different traditions. Some Christians celebrated Pascha on the first Sunday after Jewish Passover and others celebrated the feast at the same time as Passover. In order to come up with one unified date for celebrating Pascha, the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council in 325 AD took up the issue. They devised a uniform formula for calculating the date of Pascha that was in line with the early traditions of the Church and the Biblical sequence of events. The formula is this: Pascha is to be celebrated on the first Sunday, after the first full moon, following the vernal equinox, but always after Jewish Passover. In order to ensure that there was no confusion as to when the vernal equinox occurred the date of the vernal equinox was set to be March 21 (April 3 on the Julian Calendar). This formula was universally accepted by all of Christianity, ensuring that Pascha was celebrated on the same day throughout the world. The Orthodox Church continues to follow this formula exactly as prescribed by the Council of Nicea. 9

10 However, in modern times, the Western Church has rejected the part of the Nicene formula that requires that Pascha always follow the Jewish Passover. Western theologians (and, unfortunately, a few misguided Orthodox Theologians as well) now claim that this provision was never a part of the council s intention, saying that it is not necessary for Pascha to follow the Jewish Passover. This is hard to understand since, by rejecting this provision of the council, they ignore that the celebration of Jesus Resurrection was celebrated at the same time from , as well as the written witness of early Church historians and even earlier canons such as Canon VII of the Apostolic Canons which reads: If any Bishop, or Presbyter, or Deacon celebrate the holy day of Pascha before the vernal equinox with the Jews, let him be deposed. THE CALENDAR ISSUE In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII instituted a reform of the traditional Julian calendar. This new calendar, called the Gregorian calendar, was more astronomically correct and is the calendar used by most of the world today. As mentioned above, there is a difference of 13 days between the Gregorian and the Julian calendars. Eventually, all of the Western Churches adopted this New calendar. The Orthodox Church, however, vigorously opposed the use of the Gregorian calendar. This resulted in the West and East celebrating all Church feast days on different dates, the Orthodox celebrations always falling thirteen days behind the Western. In 1923, an inter-orthodox congress was held in Constantinople attended by representatives of some, but not all, Orthodox churches. This congress made the very controversial decision to follow a revised calendar that was essentially the same as the Gregorian calendar, for all things except the celebration of Pascha, which continued to be calculated according to the original Julian calendar. The result being that today we celebrate most feast days, like Christmas, Epiphany and the rest, at the same time as Western Christians and only Pascha and the feast days that are connected with it like Pentecost and the Ascension, are dated according to the Julian calendar and celebrated on different dates. For Orthodox, it is important to maintain the teachings and traditions of the Church intact and pure. Fr. Jon Magoulias - Annunciation Church, Modesto, CA February Donations Fuel Fundraiser Mr. & Mrs. Costas Liolios - $10.00 Mr. & Mrs. John Karakostas - $15.00 Barbara Brown - $20.00 James Camberis- $20.00 Esther Kereakoglow - $20.00 Mr. & Mrs. Vasilios Palaskas - $20.00 Mr.& Mrs. Chris Spirou - $20.00 Georgia Gancarz - $25.00 Mr. & Mrs. Evangelos Pervanas - $25.00 Virginia Zarakotas $25.00 Mr. & Mrs. Peter Camberis $40.00 Mr. & Mrs. John Kitsis - $50.00 Lucie Skouteris - $50.00 Mr. & Mrs. John Stergiou - $50.00 Other Fuel Fundraisers - $25.00 Memorial Donations In memory of Helen Gabardina - $25.00 In memory of Arthur Papageorge $25.00 In memory of John Harrises - $40.00 In memory of Susan Tsamparlis Janosz - $ In memory of Thomas Riggas - $ In memory of Lieselotte Hartofelis $

11 Ο ΆΆγιος Ιωάννης της Κλίμακας Ο άγιος Ιωάννης γεννήθηκε στην Παλαιστίνη γύρω στα 523. Μόνασε από νεαρή ηλικία (16 ετών). Παρακολούθησε ανώτερο κύκλο μορφώσεως. Στην ζωή της ερήμου Σινά αξιοποίησε την σοφία του και ανέβηκε σε υψηλές κορυφές αγιότητας. Είχε και το χάρισμα της θαυματουργίας. Σε μεγάλη ηλικία έγινε ηγούμενος της μονής του Σινά. Συνέγραψε τριάντα λόγους περί αρετής, όπου ο καθένας λόγος περιλαμβάνει και μια αρετή, ξεκινώντας από τις πιο πρακτικές και ανεβαίνοντας σαν σκαλοπάτια κατέληξε στις θεωρητικά υψηλές. Στη πνευματική ζωή έχουμε βαθμίδες χαμηλές και υψηλές, καταστάσεις κατώτερες και ανώτερες. Γι' αυτό και το σύγγραμμα ονομάζεται Κλίμακα των αρετών. Στο έργο του αυτό ο συγγραφέας παρουσιάζει συστηματικά τις ιδέες του για την κοινοβιακή κυρίως, αλλά και για την ερημιτική ζωή, ταξινομώντας αυτές κατά τρόπο που δείχνει πορεία προς την ηθική τελείωση. Είναι γραμμένο σε κομψή ελληνική γλώσσα, καλοδουλεμένη μέ χάρη και μελωδικότητα. Εχει διαύγεια, γλαφυρότητα, παραστατικότητα και παρουσιάζει πλούτο εκφράσεως, καλαισθησία και ευγένεια. Στη διακόσμηση του λόγου με εικόνες και παρομοιώσεις ο ιερός συγγραφέας είναι απαράμιλλος. Πάσης φύσεως σχήματα λόγου αναδύονται καθώς και ωραίες και επιτυχημένες προσωποποιήσεις. Οι διδασκαλίες του είναι ολοκάθαρα νάματα που προέρχονται από αγιασμένη πηγή. Είναι ένα θεόπνευστο κείμενο. Οι σύγχρονοι ψυχολόγοι θαυμάζουν τον συγγραφέα της Κλίμακας για την βαθύτητα των ψυχολογικών του γνώσεων και παρατηρήσεων, και διαπιστώνουν ότι τα τελευταία αξιόλογα πορίσματα της ψυχολογίας του Βάθους ήταν γνωστά στους Πατέρες της ερήμου. Ο ΆΆγιος Ιωάννης κοιμήθηκε στις 30 Μαρτίου το 603, σε ηλικία ογδόντα ετών. Από την αρχή της Σαρακοστής το σύγγραμμά του διαβάζεται σε όλα τα ορθόδοξα μοναστήρια. Επειδή είναι παγκόσμιο κειμήλιο αναλύσεως όλων των παθών και των αρετών, η Εκκλησία τιμά ιδιαίτερα σε αυτή τη πνευματική περίοδο τον συγγραφέα άγιο Ιωάννη της Κλίμακας και το προτείνει για ανάγνωσμα.

12 Supreme House of Pizza 72 Main Street Raymond, NH (603) BUSINESS CARD ADVERTISING Anyone with a business that would like to advertise in our monthly bulletin, please contact the Church Office. A business card format, about 2 ½ x 1 ½ will run for a period of 12 months for one set fee of $ a year. This will help to defray the ever-increasing costs of printing and mailing these bulletins to our homes as well as advertising your business to our parishioners and through word of mouth, to their friends. This is a great opportunity for all! 12

13 2160 Candia Road, Manchester, NH (Across from Lakeside Lanes) We Deliver! Call ahead for pick up or delivery order zoeyspizzaonline.com Warehouse Outlet 350 Gay Street John C. Mongan Industrial Park Manchester, NH (603)

14 ASSUMPTION GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH Sunday, April 28th, :00 noon Assumption Church Hall ADULTS: $12.00 CHILDREN: $ Palm Sunday Fish Dinner Tickets can be purchased through Parish Council Members, Philoptochos Board Members or the Church Office at (603) DINNER IS ALSO AVAILABLE FOR TAKE OUT During the Fish Dinner we will also hold the Lamb Raffle 14

15 April 2013 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY Youth Choir Rehearsal 4:30pm Presanctified Liturgy 6:00pm Greek School 3:15-7:45pm 3rd Salutations to the Theotokos - 7:00pm Sunday of the Holy Cross Orthros: 9:00am Div. Lit: 10:00am Sunday School - 10:15am Greek Independence Day Parade in Boston - See Parish News Philoptochos Board Meeting 7:00pm Youth Choir Rehearsal 4:30pm Presanctified Liturgy 6:00pm Greek School 3:15-7:45pm 4th Salutations to the Theotokos - 7:00pm Spring Cleaning - 10:00am Sunday of St. John Climacus Orthros: 9:00am Div. Lit: 10:00am Sunday School - 10:15am Parish Council Meeting 7:00pm Youth Choir Rehearsal 4:30pm Presanctified Liturgy 6:00pm Greek School 3:15-7:45pm Akathist Hymn - 7:00pm 21 Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt Orthros: 9:00am Div. Lit: 10:00am Sunday School - 10:15am Greek School 3:15-7:45pm Saturday of Lazarus Orthros: 8:30am Div. Lit: 9:15am 28 Palm Sunday Orthros: 9:00am Div. Lit: 10:00am Sunday School - 10:15am See Holy Week Schedule Fish Dinner / Lamb Raffle, following the Div. Liturgy 15

16 ASSUMPTION GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH 111 Island Pond Road, Manchester, NH NON-PROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE PAID MANCHESTER, NH PERMIT NO. 6249!""#$%&'()*+,--.*/,&0(1(2*30#,40*!!!"#$%&'(")*'("+*&(,"-&'./0$102,"34"56!57 *!"!#$%"&'()"%*+) Page 12,-)$"-(.*/)!"#$% 0.!12/-(/%3)!2) $/%0'()!"+)4567) P L A C E Y O U R A D H E R E I N F U L L C O L O R Anyone with a business that would like to advertise in our monthly bulletin, please contact the Church Office at (603) !!!!! 16