ΚΑΛΟ ΠΑΣΧΑ-HAPPY EASTER

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1 ΚΑΛΟ ΠΑΣΧΑ-HAPPY EASTER Προς το Πάθος.. Αγαπητοί μου αδελφοί Βρισκόμαστε στη Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή και οφείλομε αποτελεσματικά να ακολουθήσωμε τα βήματα του Νυμφίου Χριστού που πορεύεται προς το Πάθος, και να αρχίσωμε τον «αγώνα τον καλόν» με την έναρξη της πνευματικής αυτής περιόδου, σταυρώνοντας τον «παλαιόν άνθρωπον συν τοις παθήμασι και ταις επιθυμίες», τον άνθρωπον της αμαρτίας. Στον πνευματικό αυτό αγώνα αρωγός και βοηθός έρχεται η Αγιωτάτη μας Εκκλησία με τα αγιαστικά της Μυστήρια και τις μελωδικότατες και κατανυκτικές ακολουθίες. Επιτακτική ανάγκη όλων είναι η συμμετοχή στη λατρεία της Εκκλησίας μας και συγκεκριμένα στις προηγιασμένες Θ. Λειτουργίες, στους Χαιρετισμούς και στον Ακάθιστο Υμνο της Παναγίας μας, στον Μεγάλο Κανόνα και σε όλες τις Ακολουθίες της Μεγάλης Εβδομάδος. Μόνο τότε μπορεί κάποιος να ομολογήση με παρρησία ότι συμπάσχη με τον παθόντα Ναζωραίο, ότι εννούται και συνανίσταται μαζί Του, ότι γιορτάζη τη μεγάλη αυτή γιορτή της Χριστιανωσύνης, το Πάσχα,ορθόδοξα και χριστιανικά. Είθε ο σταυρωθείς και αναστάς δια την σωτηρίαν του ανθρωπίνου γένους Ιησούς να μας αξιώση ώστε να αισθανθούμε την αγάπη Του και την ευεργεσίαν Του για να εορτάσωμε αληθινά το Πάθος και την Ανάστασή Του. Με αγάπη Χριστού π. Κων/νος 1

2 On the way to the Passion.. My dear brethren, As we are in the Great and Holy 40 days of Lent, we are obliged to follow the footprints of the Bridegroom Christ on the way to His Passions, crucifying the old person within us with its evil ways and sinful thoughts. In this spiritual struggle our succor and strength is our Holy Orthodox Church with its Holy Sacraments and its spiritual, melodic, and compunctious services. Imperative for all of us is our presence and participation in the Holy Services. These include the Presanctified Liturgies, the Salutations of the Virgin Mary, the Great Canon and the services of Holy Week. Only in this way, can we too suffer along with Christ the Nazarene during his Holy Passion and be risen up along with Him on the Feast of the Pascha. May the Crucified and Risen Christ, who for us men and for our salvation came down upon this earth, make us worthy to feel His Love and his beneficence, so that we may truly celebrate His Passion and His glorious Resurrection. With Christ s Love, Father Konstantinos 2

3 18 A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Dear parishioners and friends, First, I hope you all have enjoyed our wonderful Apokriatiko dinner we had. It was fun, food was great and the best was sharing time with our fellow parishioners and friends. I would like to especially thank all the guests from the other parishes that joined us and celebrated with us. Spring is in the air, and with it comes the lent season and the holy Easter celebration. I hope this message finds you all well and ready to attend church and enjoy the special services that help us to reflect on our life and make the changes or adjustments to become better people, as family members and parish members as well as members of our society. Please remember to fill up your stewardship cards and become also an active member of our church. Everyone is welcome to help and join us in organizing the events and activities of the church. Happy Easter and Kali Anastasia! Mary Yaffa Iacobsohn Parish council presidentthe services, and I wish us all a meaningful Lent and a wonderful Holy Pascha! 3

4 Holy Week Services Saint Lazarus Orthros/Divine Liturgy 8:30 AM April 23 (Breakfast/Loukoumades) Palm Sunday Divine Liturgy 10:00 AM April 24 (Luncheon after Liturgy) Bridegroom Service-NYMPHIOS 7:00 PM With Procession of the Icon of Christ Holy Monday Bridegroom Service-NYMPHIOS 7:00 PM April 25 Holy Tuesday Bridegroom Service-NYMPHIOS 7:00 PM April 26 Kassiani s Hymn Holy Wednesday The Sacrament of Holy Unction 5:00 PM April 27 Bridegroom Service-NYMPHIOS 7:00 PM Special Thanks! Thanks to all that came to our Apokriatiko Dinner Dance Special thanks to our cook, Mr Panayotes Triantafelles Special thanks to Mrs Adriana Bonorris, Eleni Korolis and the ladies that helped. Special thanks to the donors, Fr Konstantinos Douvikas, Mr & Mrs Antonis Apostolakis, Mrs Yaffa-Mary Iacobsohn & Mrs Rebecca Lawdis. WE INVITE ALL LADIES OF OUR CHURCH TO COME AND JOIN OUR LADIES PHILOPTOCHOS SOCIETY DUES ARE $50 WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL THE FOLLOWING LADIES WHO HAVE ALREADY SIGNED FOR PHILOPTOCHOS FOR 2016 Holy Thursday Divine Liturgy of St Basil 8:30 AM April 28 Passion of Christ 6:30 PM The Twelve Gospel Readings-Procession of Christ Crucified Holy Friday Royal Hours.. 9:00 AM April 29 Apokathelosis 11:00 AM Lamentations (Epitaphios) 7:00 PM Holy Saturday D.Liturgy/First Anastasis.. 8:30 AM April 30 HOLY PASCHA (Resurrection) 11:00 PM (Easter Supper after Liturgy) Pascha Sunday Agape Services (Vespers).. 10:00 AM May 1 (The Gospel is read in various languages) 4 Pieratos, Presv.Yota Milatos, Presv.Clara Basaites, Effie Bonnoris Adriana Drakou, Katia Iacobsohn, Yaffa-Mary James, Jocelyn Kloutsiniotis, Penny Kyriakides, Louloudia Marinos, Helen Lawdis, Christine Lawdis, Rebecca Polychroniou, Helen Post, Heather Sarantopoulos, Helen Sfakianakis, Evangelia Ziad, Nora

5 Dear brothers, Easter 2016 CHRIST IS RISEN Again this year, we celebrate the Greek Easter based on our tradition, morals and customs. Every year, during the Holy Week, we live the divine Passion, we empathize with our lord who suffered for our salvation, we try to lift up, as Cyrine, his heavy cross, we descend with Him to Hades and finally we partake in his Resurrection which is the guarantee of our own redemptive Resurrection. The orthodox icon of Resurrection does not show the scene of the Resurrection. The Gospels do not care to show what or how something happened, but why it happened. This image shows the Risen Christ to lift up from Hades kingdom two people, Adam and Eve, as representatives of the human race. In this way the Lord, underlines the anthropological implications of his Resurrection which means that Jesus was risen from the dead with all his race giving to all mankind the possibility of immortality and incorruptibility. Our resurrection as a fruit and consequence of the Resurrection of Christ, is a momentous event for us, which Includes the certainty of defeat of death, but also reassert our rights in the inheritance of the kingdom of our Father God and the warranty by grace of our adoption from our Father God.But in daily occupations our resurrection by symbolic character prepares our endurance, strengthens our consciences, revives our morals and ontologically gives us hope, peace and dispassionate view of the phenomena of the world. So, rejoice with all your strength the joy of the resurrection. Replace throughout the period of Pentecost your daily greeting with CHRIST IS RISEN. Show in every direction that we are, as Christians, through the resurrection, strong, sober, well- oriented, good fighters and immortal. Experience within the Church the dimensions of liberation from the specter of death, due to the devaluation of our face. Today the world is dominated by death, hatred, terrorism, violence, wars and disrespect. PALM SUNDAY LUNCHEON SUNDAY APRIL 24, 2016 SAINT NECTARIOS CHURCH After the Divine Liturgy Who will save us from the tyranny of uncertainty and adversity? Only Christ Who is our resurrection and regeneration. Suffice to want and to seek. CHRIST IS RISEN FATHER KONSTANTINOS 5

6 Holy Week Meditation and Study Guide Fr. Andrew Demotses The services of Holy Week transform us into eyewitnesses and direct participants in the awesome events of the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. In readings taken from both Old and New Testaments, in hymns, processions, and liturgical commemoration, we see the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies, and the mighty acts by which God Himself, in the person of Jesus Christ, grants us forgiveness for our sins, and rescues us from the pain of eternal death. PALM SUNDAY EVENING - This evening's service calls to mind the beginning of Jesus' suffering. The gospel describes the plotting of the priests and elders to trap Jesus into convicting Himself as a religious heretic. Through parables, Jesus tells us of His coming betrayal, trial, conviction and execution by crucifixion. The hymns of this service commemorate two things; the first, the prophetic figure of Joseph, who, while virtuous, nonetheless suffered unjustly at the hands of his brothers before being greatly rewarded, and the second, the parable of the fig tree, which in failing to bear fruit, became a symbol of fallen creation, and of our own lives, in which we also have failed to bear spiritual fruit. HOLY MONDAY EVENING - This evening's theme is the need for watchfulness and preparation, lest we be called unprepared before the awesome judgement seat of Christ to render an account of ourselves. The gospel reading contrasts the efforts of the Pharisees to trick and discredit Jesus, with the forceful resistance which Christ mounts against their evil. The hymns remind us of the parable of the Ten Virgins, in which the faithful Christian is exhorted to vigilance. HOLY TUESDAY EVENING - The need for true repentance is the concern of Tuesday evening's service. This transformation from the life of sin to a life of faith and obedience is exemplified for us in the person of the sinful woman who received the gift for forgiveness when she anointed Jesus with myrrh and washed His feet. The highlight of the service is the hymn written in honor of this woman by St. Kassiani. The Gospel meditation foretells of the coming suffering of Christ and recalls 6 Let no one grieve at his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed. Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again; for forgiveness has risen from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free. He has destroyed it by enduring it. He destroyed Hell when He descended into it. He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh. Isaiah foretold this when he said, "You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below." Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with. It was in an uproar because it is mocked. It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed. It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated. It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive. Hell took a body, and discovered God. It took earth, and encountered Heaven. It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see. O death, where is thy sting? O Hell, where is thy victory? Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated! Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down! Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice! Christ is Risen, and life is liberated! Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead; for Christ having risen from the dead, is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. To Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen! 15

7 The Easter sermon of John Chrysostom re there any who are devout lovers of God? Let them enjoy this beautiful bright festival! Are there any who are grateful servants? Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord! Are there any weary with fasting? Let them now receive their wages! If any have toiled from the first hour, let them receive their due reward; If any have come after the third hour, let him with gratitude join in the Feast! And he that arrived after the sixth hour, let him not doubt; for he too shall sustain no loss. And if any delayed until the ninth hour, let him not hesitate; but let him come too. And he who arrived only at the eleventh hour, let him not be afraid by reason of his delay. For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first. He gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour, as well as to him that toiled from the first. To this one He gives, and upon another He bestows. He accepts the works as He greets the endeavor. The deed He honors and the intention He commends. Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord! First and last alike receive your reward; rich and poor, rejoice together! Sober and slothful, celebrate the day! You that have kept the fast, and you that have not, rejoice today for the Table is richly laden! Feast royally on it, the calf is a fatted one. Let no one go away hungry. Partake, all, of the cup of faith. Enjoy all the riches of His goodness! 14 His inner struggles and agony. HOLY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING - The primary theme of Holy Wednesday is our human need for the healing and forgiveness that comes into our lives when we establish a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We are reminded that the way to this relationship is to be found, above all else, through the life of prayer. In the Sacrament of Holy Unction, the faithful are anointed and thus, healed both physically and spiritually. They are also reconciled to God and one another so that they might receive the gift of the Holy Eucharist instituted by Christ at the Last Supper. HOLY THURSDAY MORNING - On Holy Thursday morning, we ascend Mt. Zion with Christ and the Twelve, and enter into the upper room. Once there, we witness the awesome moment when, at the Last Supper, Christ abolishes the ritual practice of the Old Covenant and establishes the ritual of the New Covenant, prophesied by Jeremiah, through the Sacrament of Holy Communion. The faithful receive Holy Communion at that Holiest of Liturgies. HOLY THURSDAY EVENING - In this service, we commemorate the undeserved suffering of Jesus Christ, endured for our sake, so that we might be reconciled anew to God our Father. The Gospel readings witness for us the betrayal and arrest of Jesus, his trial and conviction, and finally his torture, crucifixion and death at the hands of a sinful humanity. This evening's service also includes the procession representing Christ carrying His own cross along the Via Dolorosa, and ends when we see before us the King of Glory crucified. HOLY FRIDAY AFTERNOON - In this service, we are once again reverent witnesses to the undeserved suffering of Christ, to his terrible passion and death. What is remembered in a special way through liturgical commemoration and procession, is the faithfulness and love of Joseph of Arimathea who tenderly removed Christ's body from the cross, wrapped it in clean linen, and carried it to his own unused tomb for burial. HOLY FRIDAY EVENING - On Good Friday evening, the theme is Christ's descent 7

8 into Hades during which the Gospel of repentance and reconciliation with God is shared with those who died before Christ's saving dispensation in the flesh. The service begins with lamentations sung as we stand before the tomb of Christ commemorating His unjust punishment and the shedding of His innocent blood. But the service ends on a note of joy and hope, with the reading of the Prophet Ezekiel in which he describes his vision of our resurrection yet to come; in the midst of despair, we are told there is hope, for not even death can separate us from the unfailing love and power of God. Death is about to be conquered and faithfulness rewarded. HOLY SATURDAY MORNING - On Holy Saturday morning we celebrate the theme of faithfulness receiving its reward. The crucifixion is over, Christ is buried, the twelve apostles and other disciples are scattered and defeated. And yet, three myrrh-bearing women come in faithfulness to perform the last act of love--to anoint Jesus according to the Jewish burial custom. Their unwavering devotion is rewarded--they are the first to share in Christ's triumph over evil and death. They are the first witnesses to the Resurrection. This joy is commemorated through the scattering of bay leaves and rose petals by the priest. HOLY SATURDAY EVENING - EASTER SUNDAY MORNING - The lamentations of the previous night are repeated and the church is plunged into darkness to symbolize the despair and defeat experienced before the dawn of Christ's victory over the Enemy of our salvation. Precisely at midnight, a single light emerges from the altar representing the victory of Christ over death, the defeat of the Prince of Darkness by Jesus, the Light of the World. As the light is passed from person to person, it pushes back the darkness of the church and defeats it completely. The Resurrection is proclaimed in song and triumphant procession, and after the Liturgy, its light is carried into our homes so that they too might be filled with its light and warmth and triumph. IF YOU WANT TO MAKE ANY OF THE HOLY WEEK OR EASTER OFFERING, YOU CAN SEND YOUR OFFER TO THE CHURCH. PLEASE FILL OUT THAT FORM SO WE KNOW THE ITEM YOU WANT TO OFFER. ΕΆΝ ΘΕΛΕΤΕ ΝΑ ΠΡΟΣΦΕΡΕΤΕ ΟΠΟΙΟ ΗΠΟΤΕ ΑΠΌ ΤΑ ΩΡΑ ΓΙΑ ΤΗ ΜΕΓΑΛΗ ΕΒ ΟΜΑ Α ΚΑΙ ΤΟ ΠΑΣΧΑ ΠΟΥ ΘΑ ΧΡΕΙΑΣΤΕΙ Η ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ ΜΑΣ ΜΠΟΡΕΙΤΕ ΝΑ ΣΤΕΙΛΕΤΕ ΤΗΝ ΠΡΟΣΦΟΡΑ ΣΑΣ ΣΤΗΝ ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ. ΜΠΟΡΕΙΤΕ ΕΠΙΣΗΣ ΝΑ ΣΥΜΠΛΗΡΩΣΕΤΕ ΤΗ ΦΟΡΜΑ ΓΙΑ ΝΑ ΞΕΡΟΥΜΕ ΠΟΙΟ ΕΙ ΟΣ ΘΕΛΕΤΕ ΝΑ ΠΡΟΣΦΕΡΕΤΕ. ΝΑΜΕ (Όνομα) ΙΤΕΜ I WANT TO DONATE (Είδος που επιθυμώ να προσφέρω). LOUKOUMADES BREAKFAST WE INVITE ALL CHILDREN OF OUR CHURCH SATURDAY APRIL 23, 2016 (Saturday of St. Lazarus) at 9:30 AM TO MAKE THE PALM SUNDAY CROSSES A DELICIOUS LOUKOUMADES BREAKFAST IS GOING TO BE SERVED EASTER SUNDAY MORNING - Christ's Resurrection and victory is affirmed in this morning's theme. The Gospel is read in several languages to illustrate the universality of the Good News of the Resurrection and its proclamation to the very 8 13

9 HOLY WEEK AND EASTER OFFERINGS ΩΡΑ ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΜΕΓΑΛΗΝ ΕΒ ΟΜΑ Α ΚΑΙ ΤΟ ΠΑΣΧΑ The number of parishioners have inquired about the offering for the Pascha Season. The following is the list of these offering for Holy Week and Easter. Πολλά μέλη της ενορίας μας ζήτησαν να μάθουν τι μπορούν να προσφέρουν για τη Μεγάλη Εβδομάδα και το Πάσχα. Ακολουθεί μία κατάσταση των αναγκαίων. 1. Flowers during Holy Week Λουλούδια για την Μεγάλη Εβδομάδα 2. Wreaths for the Crucifix Στέφανα για τον Εσταυρωμένο 3. Wreath for the Resurrection Ενα στεφάνι για την Ανάσταση 4. Oil for the Holy Unction Service Ελαιόλαδο για το Ευχέλαιον 5. Two Virgin Candles for the Nymphios, Palm Sunday ύο καθαρές λαμπάδες για τον Νυμφίο 6. Twelve candles for the reading of the 12 Gospels ώδεκα μικρές λαμπάδες για τα δώδεκα Ευαγγέλια 7. Two Virgin candles for the Resurrection ύο καθαρές λαμπάδες για την Ανάσταση 8. Rose petals for the Epitaphion Ροδοπέταλα για την Αποκαθήλωση και τον Επιτάφιο 9. Rose Water for the Epitaphio (Good Friday) Ανθόνερο για τον Επιτάφιο ή άρωμα λεμόνι 10. Incense Μοσχολίβανο 12 ends of the earth. Love, forgiveness, reconciliation, triumph and joy--these are the gifts which we receive because Christ lived and died and triumphed for our sake. GLORY BE TO HIM FOR ALL THINGS, AND MAY YOUR EASTER BE BLESSED Ο Αναστάς Κύριος δεν αποχωρίζεται ποτέ το Σταυρό. Παραμένει ο αιώνια ανιστάμενος αλλά και αιώνια σταυρούμενος. Ούτε στιγμή δεν κατεβαίνει από το Σταυρό, γιατί είναι η σταυρουμένη αγάπη. Αλλά ούτε και μια στιγμή δεν κυριεύεται από το σκότος του Αδη, γιατί είναι ο ίδιος το Φως. Και η Ζωή. Και η Ανάσταση. ACOLYTES If you would like to have your son become an acolyte (Altar Boy), lease see Father Kostas after Church on Sundays or call Michael Frentzos at (909) Altar Boys MUST be at church by 10:00 AM on Sundays. MYROFORES (Myrr-bearers) The Myrr-bearers had brought funeral spices and ointments to finish committing Christ s body to the grave. They were the first to see the empty tomb and were instructed by the risen Lord to bring the joyful news to the Apostles. On holy Friday evening (around 8:00 pm) during the Lamentation, the priest with the Altar Boys and the Myroforores gather about the Epitafios representing the Myrr-bearing women. Any of your young ladies of the community who wish to be Myrofores please speak with father Kostas or call the church office and leave your name and telephone number and we will contact you. 9

10 PRESANCTIFIED LITURGY The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is of very early and, in a sense, practical origin; practical in that it was seen as the means for the faithful to commune of the Sacrament on days when the Eucharistic Liturgy could not be celebrated. In early times, at least until the fourth century, Communion was considered so much a part of the Eucharistic Sacrifice that it was unthinkable to attend without partaking. In fact, the faithful sometimes received the Sacrament more often than they attended the Liturgy, usually celebrated on Sunday only, the Lord's Day, and this by virtue of taking the Sacrament home, in a special "arca "fashioned for this purpose. Tertullian testifies to the practice when he asks, "Will not your husband know what it is that you secretly consume before any other food?" In Syria the practice was still current in the sixth century. John Moschos, a spiritual writer of the period, speaks of the faithful taking home with them on Holy Thursday enough of the Eucharist to last the year. But it is the Prayers of the Faithful that really illuminate the Lenten road, giving us a fuller understanding of the meaning and purpose of the Lenten discipline: "Liberate all our senses from killing passion, setting over them as benevolent sovereign our inner reason. Let the eye be averted from every evil sight, and the ear be deaf to idle talk. May the tongue be purged of unseemly speech. Purify these lips that praise You, Lord. Make our hands abstain from wicked deeds, doing only such things as are pleasing to You, thus sealing with Your grace all our members, and our mind." Of all the Lenten rules, one is unique to Orthodoxy, and so gives us a key to its liturgical spirit: it forbids the celebration of the Divine Liturgy on weekdays in Lent, as incompatible with fasting, the sole exception being the Feast of the Annunciation. But so as not to deprive the faithful of "the food of immortality", the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is prescribed, that is, a "Eucharistic synaxis" without the Consecration. The festal nature of the Eucharist is thus reserved for Saturdays and Sundays in Lent, while on the days of total fasting, Wednesdays and Fridays, the people receive the Holy Gifts that were sanctified on the previous Sunday. The Presanctified was from the start an evening service, Communion following Vespers, to be conducted after the Ninth Hour, i.e. three o'clock in the afternoon. The daylong fast was thus broken early in the evening, much as the total fast on Sunday is broken after Communion. It is likely that this service was not always confined to Lent, but was common to all of the Church's fasting seasons. However, permeated as it is with the "bright sadness" of Lent, it has taken on a special beauty and solemnity. As we pray for the Catechumens, those being made ready for Holy Baptism on Easter Saturday, we sense a direct connection with the Christian Church of the early centuries, and understand the initial character of Lent as preparation for Baptism and for Easter