MAY 2011 • Vol. 76 • No. 1265
AHEPA, IOCC Aid
Victims of Deadly
Storms, Tornadoes
WASHINGTON-BALTIMORE – The
devastating storms that wreaked havoc
across the South from Arkansas to North
Carolina in late April and resulted in more
than 300 people killed prompted immediate action by the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA),
and the International Orthodox Christian
Charities (IOCC).
AHEPA has made available its Emergency Relief Fund to help the victims of
the deadly tornadoes and storms that devastated six states, Supreme President and
Archon Nicholas A. Karacostas announced.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with
our fellow Americans during this most
difficult time,” Karacostas said. “We hope
to be able to help the communities that
are in dire need of assistance. Philanthropy
is an integral part of our mission, and we
must work together to assist the victims of
this terrible natural disaster.”
AHEPA has a significant presence in
the South, especially in Alabama where
there are 17 U.S. Department of Housing
Senior Housing Complexes under AHEPA
management and Penelope House, a family violence center dedicated to helping
victims of domestic violence.
Donations may be sent to: AHEPA
Emergency Relief Fund, Attn: Tornadoes
Relief, 1909 Q Street, NW, Suite 500,
Washington, DC 20009.
The AHEPA Emergency Relief Fund
is a 501 (c)(3) entity that helps AHEPA
fulfill the philanthropic facet of its mission. Since its inception, the Emergency
Relief Fund has provided philanthropic
donations and disaster relief to aid the
greater community, including: Haitian
Earthquake (2010), Greek Wildfires Relief
(2007), September 11 Relief (2001-2002),
and Athens Earthquake (1999).
IOCC has been in contact with Orthodox Christian communities and partner
organizations in several U.S. states to assess the needs of survivors.
“While some areas of the United
States have been unseasonably dry and
experiencing widespread fires, there have
been reports of more than 750 tornadoes
already this year,” says IOCC Executive
Director Constantine Triantafilou. “We
have been contacting Orthodox hierarchs and parishes, ecumenical partners,
and local authorities in communities
across the South and Midwest to assess the needs and offer our support.”
Orthodox faithful can help the victims
of disasters around the world, like the
natural disasters in the United States,
by making a financial gift to the United
States Emergency Response Fund, which
will provide immediate relief as well as
long-term support through the provision
of emergency aid, recovery assistance and
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$1.00
www.observer.goarch.org • e-mail: [email protected]
Archdiocesan
Council Gives
Total Support
on Lynn Issue
by Jim Golding
The Ascension
And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came
to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up to heaven. And they
worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple
praising and blessing God. (Luke 24:50-53).
Two TV Programs Offer
a Rare Look at Orthodox Faith
NEW YORK – Pascha weekend this
year marked a first for the Orthodox faith
and for American TV with the broadcast of
programs on the Jesus Prayer and Mount
Athos.
“Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer,” a
new book and documentary feature film
presents an inner–view of Orthodox monasticism.
It aired in an abbreviated public TV
version on 218 PBS TV stations especially
for Pascha. The national TV broadcasts
were partially funded by the Order of St.
Andrew the Apostle, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The program was distributed by
American Public Television.
The program on Mount Athos aired
April 24 on “60 Minutes” and featured an
inside look into the workings of the Holy
Mountain and lives of its monks by Correspondent Bob Simon, who had previously interviewed Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew on 60 Minutes in 2009,
who facilitated the Mount Athos story.
BOSTON – Archdiocesan Council
members at their spring meeting May 6
unanimously approved a resolution calling
on the St. George parish in Lynn, Mass., to
comply with the Uniform Regulations of
the Archdiocese. Lynn leaders have refused
to meet parish financial commitments as
determined by the Clergy Laity Congress, in
open defiance of the Metropolis of Boston
and Archdiocese officials.
The Archdiocesan Council resolution
gives the parish 10 days to conform to the
regulations of the Archdiocese or be considered in schism. (Full text of resolution
on page 3).
Being in schism would separate the
parish from the body of the Church and its
sacraments.
The issue, festering for several months,
initially was over the parish’s refusal to
submit its full National Ministries commitment, but has since turned into an issue of
blatant refusal to follow the Regulations of
the Archdiocese and directives of Metropolitan Methodios of Boston, Archbishop
Demetrios of America, and the Holy Eparchial Synod.
A lengthy discussion of the situation
took place during the report of the National
Finance Committee whose chairman is
George Vourvoulias. He, along with other
committee members and Archdiocese and
Metropolis officials, reported that they
met with Lynn parish representatives in an
attempt to resolve the issue. Vourvoulias
told Archdiocesan Council members at the
May 6 meeting that “the Lynn, Mass, situation is at a crossroads. The very policies
we all agreed to and worked hard to put
into effect, as a National Church, and which
are being followed by every Parish in the
Archdiocese, are being challenged because
they are not acceptable to some people in
the Lynn Parish.”
Background perspective
The Holy Mountain Athos, the
more than 1,000-year-old sanctuary of
Orthodox Christian monasticism, which
is directly under the spiritual jurisdiction
of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew,
aired “The Monks of Mount Athos” on
Pascha Sunday,
In 2006, the Clergy-Laity Congress
adopted the current National Ministries
Allocation System that was designed to be
equally fair to all parishes in the Archdiocese
and also provide for accountability and
responsibility at all levels of the Church.
(The St. George Parish, however, did
not send representatives to the Nashville
Congress, or to subsequent Clergy-Laity
Congresses.)
According to an information packet
from the Metropolis of Boston containing
all correspondence between Metropolis
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‘60 Minutes’ Features Mount Athos
2
A RCHDIOCESE N E WS
MAY 2011
Icon Presentation Commemorates
First Greek Burials in New World
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Orthodox and
Roman Catholic Christians held a joint
ceremony on April 15 at the chapel on
the grounds to the Tolomato cemetery on
Cordova Street, burial site of the first Greek
Orthodox Christians in the continental
United States.
The event recalled the footsteps of Fr.
Pedro Camps who saw all his parishioners
as members of one Church, although they
were both Orthodox and Roman Catholic.
As Fr. George Ioannou (chaplain of St.
Photios Chapel and priest of Holy Trinity
Church in St. Augustine) mentioned during the service, “Following the example of
Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Benedict
XVI, we are here to take a step toward the
two Churches being in ecumenical union
under our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Polly Hillier, director of St. Photios
Greek Orthodox National Shrine, and
Fr. George presented the icon “Christ
the Teacher,” by iconographer Fernando
Arango-Fernandez to Fr. Tom Willis of the
Roman Catholic basilica in St. Augustine.
He received the gift in the name of the
Catholic community. The icon was hung in
the chapel of the cemetery in honor of the
Greeks buried there.
The beginning
Following the Treaty of Paris in 1763
that ended the Seven Years War (known
in the U.S. as the French and Indian War),
the Spanish, after 250 years of colonization,
were forced to leave Florida after siding
with the losing French. The indigenous
population who had been baptized Catholic
left with them. (Most went to Cuba where
Timucuan bloodlines can still be traced).
The British wanted to colonize Florida
and Dr. Andrew Trumbull, a Scotsman, was
granted 20,000 acres of land 75 miles south
of St. Augustine in an area known as “the
Mosquito Coast.”
Unable to interest native British colonists because of the unsuitable climate and
living conditions, he turned his attention to
recruiting people from southern Europe,
which had a climate more comparable to
that of Florida.
Trumbull recruited 1,255 people from
the islands of Minorca and Corsica, and
from Italy and Greece for what was the
largest white migration to date–twice as
many settlers as the Plymouth, Jamestown
and Roanoke colonies combined, although
148 migrants died during the three–month
trans–Atlantic crossing.
He named his tract New Smyrna after
the homeland of his Greek wife, Maria. With
other backers and associates his plantation
To Contact Us
For questions about submitting information/news to the Orthodox Observer: Jim
Golding, 212.570.3557, [email protected].
Advertising & Greek sections, Lefteris Pissalidis, 212.570.3555, [email protected].
grew to more than 100,000 acres.
Fr. Camps and another Roman Catholic priest, Fr. Bartolome Casanovas, accompanied the settlers. They joined the
expedition and ministered to the multiethnic group, who by now were intermarrying and procreating. No Greek Orthodox
priests accompanied the group, although
they were described in a book about the
colony as “waving goodbye from the dock”
at the expedition’s departure from a small
port in the Peloponnesus.
But the colony was doomed to failure
from the outset because of bad planning
and poor logistics on Dr. Trumbull’s part,
and incompetent management by his
choice of overseers, which led to suffering and mass starvation after their arrival
in Florida–some 300 died within the first
five months.
By chance, one day two Cuban fishermen plying the coast saw the tower of the
newly erected St. Peter Church at New
Smyrna and spoke with Fr. Camps. As they
left, privately he asked them to deliver a
message to the Roman Catholic bishop in
Santiago, Cuba, expressing his need for
holy oil and liturgical supplies. In secret the
bishop responded to Fr. Camps. When the
British learned of the liaison between the
Catholics in Florida and those in Cuba they
labeled it “Spanish Intrigue” and blamed
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ISSN 0731–2547
In 2011, published monthly
except February - March and July - August
by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
Editorial and Business Office:
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TEL.: (212) 570–3555
FAX (212) 774–0239
(Above) Archbishop Demetrios administered the
oath of office April 7 to the new Board of Trustees
of Holy Trinity Archdiocesan Cathedral at the Chapel of St. Paul at the Archdiocese (random order
with Archbishop Demetrios and Bishop Andonios
of Phasiane): Fr. Frank Marangos, dean; Stephen
Cherpelis, president; Robert Shaw, 1st vice president; Herbert Butler, 2nd vice president; Andrew
Yiannakos, treasurer; Richard Economou, assistant. Treasurer; Lilly Gerontis-Pritchard, secretary;
Dorothy Poli, assistant secretary; Michael Beys, Peter Chrisanthopoulos, Charles Connant, Emanuel
Demos, James Gianakis, Antoine Harovas, William
Ioannides, Theodore Klingos, Nicholas Koutsomitis, Chris Neamonitis and Dean Poll.
Archon D. Panagos photo
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Aid Storm Victims
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u from page 1
ORTHODOX OBSERVER photo
Heroes revisited
Joe McNally, former Life magazine staff photographer, took numerous photos of Archbishop Demetrios at the Archdiocesan Chapel of St. Paul on April 27 with relics from the St. Nicholas Church at
Ground Zero that was destroyed during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. A few months after
that tragic event, he produced a series of life-size portraits of 272 people involved in heroic roles for
a traveling exhibit and a Time-Life book. He currently is producing a follow-up volume to that book
that will be released in September to mark the 10th anniversary of the attacks.
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EDITOR IN CHIEF Jim Golding (Chryssoulis)
GREEK SECTION EDITOR
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Meanwhile, Metropolis of Atlanta
officials said no storm-related problems were reported by the parishes.
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3
A RCHDIOCESE N E WS
MAY 2011
Editor’s note: The following is the
final approved text of the resolution
unanimously passed by the Archdiocesan
Council supporting the Holy Eparchial
Synod and Metropolitan Methodios of
Boston regarding the Lynn, Mass., parish.
A matter of grave concern affecting
the harmony of our Holy Archdiocese
has arisen. As a result of this situation,
on May 5 and 6, 2011, the Archdiocesan Council took an unprecedented
action by discussing the unfortunate
development at St. George Church of
Lynn, Mass. As a direct consequence of
the parish leadership’s open defiance of
the Canonical order and ecclesiastical
authority of our Holy Church, the Regulations of the Archdiocese and the decisions of the Clergy-Laity Congresses,
the Archdiocesan Council adopts this
statement affirming the decision of our
Holy Eparchial Synod and the actions of
His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios
of Boston.
The situation first arose out of the
parish leadership’s categorical refusal
to fulfill the community’s allocation
under the Archdiocesan Regulations,
despite the fact that the parish’s audited
financial statements clearly demonstrate an ability to fully meet its commitments and even though the parish was
given several years of partial financial
relief. Parish leadership has ignored
the clear and appropriate direction of
its Metropolitan, the letter of His Eminence communicating the decision of
the Holy Eparchial Synod and the communications of the Finance Committee
of the Archdiocesan Council, which
repeatedly urged the parish to conform
to the Archdiocesan Regulations and
Clergy-Laity Congress decisions.
Parish leadership was given multiple
opportunities to resolve this issue in a fair
and pastoral manner.
The priest and parish council met,
over a three-year period, with representatives of the Metropolis and Finance
Committee of the Archdiocesan Council.
Last December, the priest and entire
Resolution Adopted by the Archdiocesan Council
in Support of Metropolitan Methodios
ARCHIEPISCOPAL ENCYCLICAL
AHEPA Sunday
To the Most Reverend Hierarchs, the
Reverend Priests and Deacons, the Monks
and Nuns, the Presidents and Members
of the Parish Councils of the Greek Orthodox Communities, the Distinguished
Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,
the Day, Afternoon, and Church Schools,
the Philoptochos Sisterhoods, the Youth,
the Hellenic Organizations, and the entire
Greek Orthodox Family in America
Beloved Brothers
and Sisters in Christ,
Christ is Risen!
Χριστός Ἀνέστη!
Archon D. Panagos photo
Metropolitan of Boston addresses the Archdiocesan Council on the situation with the Lynn, Mass.,
parish. Also shown, from left, are Archbishop Demetrios, Archdiocesan Council Vice Chairman Michael
Jaharis, Emanuel Demos and George Vourvoulias.
parish council met with Metropolitan
Methodios, the Metropolis Finance
Committee and the Chair of the national
Finance Committee. Still, the parish has
refused to meet the obligations required
of every parish of the Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese of America, as determined
by the Clergy—Laity Congresses. Even
more disturbing, the priest and parish
council convened a general assembly
which voted not to fulfill the parish’s
allocation, in clear violation of the Archdiocesan Regulations.
The parish’s actions have necessitated this statement by the Archdiocesan
Council urging the community to conform
to the same standards that apply to all
parishes of the Archdiocese. If, within
ten days, the parish does not conform to
these standards, restoring Christian peace
within the community, the Archdiocesan
Council fully supports the imposition of
all necessary canonical and administrative
sanctions. Failure to comply would lead
it into schism, separating those involved
from the body of the Church and the sacramental life of the Church.
The Archdiocesan Council also fully
supports all actions of His Eminence
Metropolitan Methodios of Boston in enforcing the Archdiocesan Regulations and
Clergy-Laity Congress decision.
President Invites Archbishop to Easter Prayer Breakfast
WASHINGTON -- Archbishop Demetrios, at the personal invitation of President Barack Obama, attended an Easter
Prayer Breakfast at the White House on
April 19, joining 11 other Christian leaders from around the nation, members of
Congress and the administration.
It is the second consecutive year
that the President has hosted an Easter
Prayer Breakfast in the East Room. The
Christian leaders, mostly Roman Catholic, Evangelicals and other Protestants,
joined the President for a time of prayer,
reflection, and celebration of Easter.
Following the 7:30 a.m. breakfast a
briefing took place for the faith leaders
on issues of concern to the religious
community.
CLERGY UPDATE
Ordinations to the Diaconate
Correction
Demetrios (Walter) Belsito – Bishop
Andonios of Phasiane – Holy Trinity
Church, Waterbury, Conn. 10/03/10
Ordinations to the Priesthood
Dn. Athanasios DeMedeiros – Metropolitan Iakovos of Chicago – Sts. Constantine & Helen Church, Palos Hills,
IL 03/20/11
Assignments
Fr. Athanasios DeMedeiros – Sts. Constantine & Helen Church, Palos Hills,
IL 03/20/11
Fr. Athanasios Nenes – Assumption
Church, Manchester, NH 04/27/11
Fr. Constantine Christofis – St. George
Cathedral, Philadelphia, PA 05/01/11
V. Rev. Fr. Nektarios Cottros – St. Demetrios Church, Upper Darby, PA 05/01/11
Fr. Peter Day – Holy Trinity Church,
Roanoke, VA 05/01/11
Fr. Constantine Nastos – Holy Trinity
Church, Wilmington, DE 05/01/11
Offikia
Fr. Michael Platanis – Office of Protopresbyter, bestowed by Metropolitan
Alexios 03/20/11
Fr. Luke Melackrinos – Office of Economos, bestowed by Archbishop Demetrios of America 04/17/11
Fr. James Kordaris – Office of Economos,
bestowed by Archbishop Demetrios of
America 04/25/11
Receptions
Fr. Athanasios Nenes / April 4, 2011
(from the Church of Greece)
The Associated Press, which provided the White House pool coverage,
noted that the President said that “the
agony of Jesus Christ through death and
resurrection puts mere political struggle
in perspective.”
Obama said “critical national debates” are raging, and “my plate has
been full as well. The in-box keeps
accumulating. But then comes Holy
Week” ...”As busy as we are, as many
tasks as pile up, during this season, we
are reminded that there is something
about the resurrection ... of Our Savior
Jesus Christ that puts everything else in
perspective.”
The President also said he started
the Prayer Breakfast last year, in part
“because it gave me a good excuse to
bring together people who have been
such extraordinary influences in my life
and such great friends.”
On this fourth Sunday after the
Great and Holy Feast of Pascha, we commemorate the healing of the paralytic by
our Lord Jesus Christ. This Sunday has
also been designated in 2011 as our annual recognition of the American Hellenic
Educational Progressive Association. The
connection of the Sunday of the Paralytic
and AHEPA Sunday is very appropriate, as
it offers to us a substantive and spiritual
focus on the service that is offered in our
communities and around the world by the
AHEPA family.
The healing of the paralytic is one
of many beautiful witnesses we have of
the compassion of Christ for those in
need. In His abundant grace He offered
physical healing, but He also encouraged
spiritual renewal through the restoration of the relationship with God. In the
spirit and grace of our Lord, the members
of AHEPA continue to offer remarkable
service through their philanthropic and
civic programs and through their commitment to the intellectual and spiritual
development of our youth. This work
compliments the ministry of the Church
and offers a witness of the faith of Greek
Orthodox Christians who are members
of this esteemed organization and faithful
members of our parishes.
Thus, it is fitting that on this AHEPA
Sunday we honor the members of the
AHEPA family and support their work in
our communities. I encourage all of our
parishes to give special recognition to
AHEPA on this day, asking through our
prayers for the continued blessings of God
upon our calling of offering compassionate and sacrificial service to all humanity.
With paternal love
in the Risen Lord,
† Archbishop DEMETRIOS
of America
Archdiocesan Support on Lynn Issue
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officials and the parish(including its financial statements) the Lynn Parish Council
has refused to pay in full its allocated
amount for the National Ministries since
2006, even though their financial statements clearly show an ability to do so. At
about the same time, the parish completed
a $3.5 million construction project that in-
cluded renovations to the church’s facade
and new mosaics.
Stories have been circulated that the
Archdiocese “demanded a $20,000 increase
in the parish’s allocation.” This simply is not
true. In fact, the allocation has not changed
since 2007. (See table graphic below) From
2007-2009, St. George Church owed a total
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4
MAY 2011
ARCHONS
Archbishop Demetrios
of AmericA
the first DecADe 1999-2009
60 Minutes team
(Photo courtesy of Aggelos Petropoulos for 60 Minutes).
At the Vatopedi monastery during their filming of Mount Athos, from left, correspondent Bob Simon, and
producers Michael Karzis and Harry Radliffe. Karzis is the son of Greek immigrants, speaks Greek and was
raised as a Greek Orthodox Christian.
TV Programs Present Orthodoxy

 from page 1
T
his beautifully produced book presents a full
spectrum of the activities in the life of the
Greek Orthodox Church in America from
the years 1999-2009, the first ten years of
Archiepiscopal Ministry of Archbishop Demetrios
of America. The 368-page hard cover book
contains 537 photographs, all taken by the Official
Photographer of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese
of America Dimitrios Panagos, and masterfully
compiled & edited by Revekka Papadopoulou.
Chapters include:
Biography, Enthronement,
Archpastoral Ministry, Education
& Youth, Ecumenical Patriarchate,
Official trips, Welcoming Visitors,
At the Nation’s Capital,
Omogeneia & Cultural Events,
September 11-2001, Ecumenical
Relations & SCOBA,
40th Anniversary of Episcopacy,
and Honors & Degrees.
“A must for every Greek Orthodox parish & home in America.”
To order your copy of this book ($75 per copy + $10 S&H) please call
212-774-0244, or email [email protected], or complete this order form
and mail it to GOTelecom, 8 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075.
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It recounted 60 Minutes Correspondent Bob Simon’s journey to the remote
peninsula in northern Greece that millions
of Orthodox Christians consider the most
sacred place on earth, Mouth Athos.
On the recommendation and with
the blessing of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who opened the doors for the
“60 Minutes” team, and after two trips to the
mountain and two years of dialogue with the
Anthonite community, Simon and the “60
Minutes” team were given unprecedented
access last fall to document monastic life on
the Holy Mountain. The result is a portrait
of a place rarely seen where prayer has been
offered by holy men everyday, with no interruption, for more than a thousand years.
Harry Radliffe and Michael Karzis were the
producers of the segment.
The program featured interviews with
several monks, including Fr. Iakovos, of
Winthrop, Mass., who discussed his attachment to the Holy Mountain and its way of
life. The program may be viewed on YouTube and the 60 Minutes website.
MYSTERIES OF THE JESUS PRAYER
The book and documentary film “Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer” by documentarian
and professor by Norris J. Chumley, Ph.D.,
reveals the history, practices, and abiding
wisdom of this mystical tradition to the rest
of the world.
It is based on Chumley’s travels to
some of the early Church’s holiest sites
with the Very Rev. Dr. John A. McGuckin,
a priest and professor. They visited St. Anthony’s Monastery in the Egyptian desert
and St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mount
Sinai, monasteries on Mt Athos, convents
in Transylvania and monasteries in Russia
and Ukraine—in search of Christianity’s
first mystical tradition and its modern-day
practitioners.
The monks and nuns he met taught
him how to move through the stages of
the Jesus Prayer, and how it can foster an
unceasing, and ever-deepening, conversation with God.
Enriched with stunning color photographs of these holy sites, where photography is rarely allowed, Mysteries of the Jesus
Prayer reveals the powerful theology packed
into this prayer’s few words
For a more information and to obtain the full-length film on DVD visit
www.JesusPrayerMovie.com. Churches
who want to show the movie to their
parishioners can contact the producers: [email protected]
The HarperOne book, by Dr. Norris J.
Chumley with the foreword by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, is available in
bookstores everywhere, or on Amazon.
com at www.amazon.com/Mysteries-JesusPrayer-Experiencing-Spirituality.
Archon Behrakis Slated as First
Recipient of Nicholas J. Bouras Award
The Order of St. Andrew has announced that Archon Depoutatos George
D. Behrakis has been named as the first
recipient of the “Nicholas J. Bouras Award
for Extraordinary Archon Stewardship.” A
special tribute dinner dance will be held
on June 5 at the Metropolitan Club in New
York. Archon George Safiol, Award Committee chairman, said, “Archon Behrakis
has exemplified tremendous stewardship
of time, talent and resources in support of
the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the mission
of the Order of St. Andrew.
His stewardship has also extended into
the Orthodox Christian Church throughout
the United States. Our committee deemed
it appropriate to recognize his efforts and
name him as our first recipient of this prestigious award in recognition of the extraordinary service of Vice Commander Bouras.”
Archon Behrakis has distinguished
himself as a pioneer in the pharmaceutical
industry as a researcher and marketer of
asthma and allergy products. He is a devout churchman who has served as a past
president of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox
Church in Lowell, Mass; serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees
of the Archdiocesan Council; was vice chairman of Hellenic College/Holy Cross School
of Theology; an Archon of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate; and as chairman of Leadership 100. He is an alumnus and served as
chairman of the Board of Trustees of Northeastern University. He is also a member of
the Board of Overseers of Tufts University
Medical School and the Boston Symphony.
The National Council of the Order of
St. Andrew unanimously voted in 2010 to
establish the Nicholas J. Bouras Award.
5
MAY 2011
ARCHONS
NY Legislators Support Ecumenical
Patriarchate Religious Freedom Bill
ALBANY, N.Y. – All 50 members of the
New York State Senate and 144 members
of the New York State Assembly recently
signed letters calling for the Turkish government to cease its discrimination of the
Holy See, to recognize the status of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate, to respect its rights
to property and to ecclesiastic succession,
and to grant it the right to train its clergy-including by opening the Theological
Seminary at Halki.
The effort was led by Sens. Dean Skelos
and Michael Gianaris and Assemblywomen
Aravella Simotas and Nicole Malliotakis,
each of whom diligently approached
colleagues individually to educate them
about the Turkish government’s harmful
policies toward the Ecumenical Patriarchate and to encourage them to sign on to
the letter. Archbishop Demetrios noted
the significance of the overwhelming support the letters received. “This is a great
day for the State of New York and for the
Greek Orthodox Church in America,” His
Eminence stated.” He praised the efforts
of the four legislators in getting unanimous
support for the bill. The legislative religious
freedom initiative for New York State was
coordinated by Archons John Catsimatidis,
Peter Skeadas, Nikiforos Mathews, Theodore Klingos and John Kassimatis. Fortythree legislative chambers in 37 states have
now either passed resolutions or signed
religious freedom letters in support of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate. For more information about the Order of St. Andrew’s state
legislative religious freedom project, visit
www.archons.org/resolutions.
Fordham Professor, National
Commander Speak at Symposium
BROOMALL, Pa. – The Order of St.
Andrew’s Philadelphia region hosted its
third annual symposium titled “St. John
Chrysostom on Fasting: What’s the Point?”
and “The Ecumenical Patriarchate: What’s
the Latest?” at St. Luke Church on May 7.
Aristotle Papanikolaou, Ph.D., associate
professor of theology at Fordham University
in New York and co-founder of its Orthodox
Christian Studies program, addressed the
first part of the symposium on “Can fasting be strict or lax, mandatory or optional,
carnal or spiritual? What is the purpose and
goal of fasting?”
Dr. Papanikolaou explored St. John
Chrysostom’s homilies on fasting and an-
swered the question, “What’s the Point of
Fasting?”
Anthony J. Limberakis, M.D., national
commander of the Order of St. Andrew,
spoke at the second half of the symposium.
Fresh off the International Archon Religious
Freedom Conference in Brussels, Belgium
and Turkey’s returning the confiscated
patriarchal orphanage to the Ecumenical
Patriarchate; the Order of St. Andrew continues to fight for religious freedom for the
Holy See of Constantinople, the Ecumenical
Patriarchate.
Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey
also offered his personal reflections on fasting and his perspective on the 21st century.
Admiral to Receive Athenagoras Award
NEW YORK - The Order of St. AndrewArchons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate has
announced that Admiral James G. Stavridis,
the supreme allied commander of NATO
and commander of the United States European Command, will be the recipient
of this year’s Athenagoras Human Rights
Award on Oct. 15.
Admiral Stavridis will accept the award
on behalf of the heroic members of the
Armed Forces who place themselves daily in
harm’s way to protect our freedom, liberties
and American way of life.
The Athenagoras Human Rights Award
will be presented during the Grand Banquet
of the Order of Saint Andrew, which will be
held as part of the Order’s annual three-day
assembly, Oct. 14-16, at the Hilton hotel in
New York. National Commander Anthony
J. Limberakis, M.D., said, “With the presentation of the 2011 Athenagoras Human
Rights Award to Admiral James G. Stavridis
the Order is recognizing the extraordinary
contributions of the 2.3 million members
of our nation’s Armed Services who protect
our inalienable freedoms bestowed to us
by our Creator, but are only experienced
by a minority of the world’s 7 billion inhabitants.”
Adm. Stavridis is a 1976 distinguished
graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a
native of South Florida.
National Lenten Retreat Held in NJ
SOUTH BOUND BROOK, N.J. – Rev.
Dr. John Chryssavgis, former professor at
Holy Cross School of Theology and currently serving as advisor to the Ecumenical
Patriarchate on environmental issues, led
the 8th National Archon Lenten Retreat
at the Ukrainian Center of the Ukrainian
Orthodox Church. The theme of the retreat
was “An Ancient Faith for a Modern World”
and addressed fundamental principles of
Orthodox Christian spirituality and in particular of Great Lent - such as fasting, prayer,
forgiveness, silence, and love - interpreting
these in light of Scripture and the early Desert Fathers and Mothers, but also in relation
to contemporary challenges and reality.
Over 50 Archons and their spouses
were introduced to the world and thought
of the early desert monastics of Egypt, Pales-
tine and Sinai, particularly with reference to
“The Sayings of the Desert Fathers.”
Archon Peter Skeadas, Spirituality
Committee chairman, organized the retreat. Archons John Halecky Jr., and James
C. Fountas coordinated the event with the
Ukrainian Center. In gratitude to Fr. Chryssavgis, Archons National Commander Dr.
Anthony J. Limberakis said, “Every year, we
are blessed to have a speaker who deepens
our understanding of our holy Orthodox
Christian faith. This year at the Ukrainian
Center, reflective of the ecumenicity of our
Holy Mother Church, Father Chryssavgis a
renown Orthodox theologian, eloquently
and effectively referenced important teachings from the Desert Fathers that we should
implement with the ultimate goal of becoming more Christ-like in our daily lives.”
6
MAY 2011
Reflections on a Missionary Journey to East Africa
of the ritual and sacrifice in that sense.
They invoke the spirit in times of illness
and drought.
by Jim Golding
From March 19 to April 1, Bishop
Savas of Troas, director of the Office of
Church and Society, led a mission team
on his first-ever journey to a remote
part of northwestern Kenya.
The team consisted of Fr. Martin
Ritsi, director of the Orthodox Christian
Mission Center and seven students from
Hellenic College-Holy Cross School of
Theology.
Their mission was to bring the Orthodox faith to people of the Turkana
tribe, a group of mostly nomadic people
who live in the semi-arid savannah, a region stretching south of the Sudan and
the Sahara desert. For their livelihood,
they rely on camel herding, cows, goats
and some sheep grazing.
The Turkana tribe numbers about
400,000 and relies on two rivers and a
lake (formerly known as Lake Rudolf),
for their survival. Except for the rainy
season, the region is very dry.
According to a website about the
Turkana, their social structure is very
loose and flexible, a necessity given
the constant movement of families as
they search for better grazing land and
water. Each family is a self-contained
social unit, with four or five families
sometimes grazing together. Families
can get quite large as married sons (and
their wives and children) will stay with
their father’s family.
Initiation into adulthood is subdued with minor rituals marking the
event for boys every four years. Girls
are considered adults once they are
married.
The OCMC has had a relationship
with theTurkana people for several
years. After his return to the Archdiocese, Bishop Savas gave the following
interview to the Observer on his missionary experience in Kenya.
O.O: How did you become involved with the OCMC mission to
Kenya?
BISHOP SAVAS: I was appointed
by Archbishop Demetrios as the OCMC
liaison to the Assembly of Bishops.
Because my knowledge of the OCMC
was limited to what I read in their
magazine, I thought, “What better way
to learn about the Mission Center than
by attending the board of trustees meeting in St. Augustine (in March) and by
accompanying Fr. Martin Ritsi and an
OCMC team to Africa.” The visit was
in two parts; the first part was spent in
Kenya, for a week. For the second part,
Fr. Martin and I visited Tanzania. The
team included seven HC-HC students
who raised their own funds to pay their
expenses.
O.O: How was your “commute?”
BISHOP: We went by way of Amsterdam to Nairobi; then by small plane
to Lodwar in northwestern Kenya; then
by land rover to the village of Loupwala,
a 4-hour drive over unmarked roads.
O.O: How would you describe a
typical day?
BISHOP: We rose with the sun and
the roosters. We slept on the ground in
individual tents and there were small
huts for sponge baths. We ate one meal
a day.
The first day, we held a liturgy un-
Bishop Savas (above) distributes antidoron to these Turkana children following the Divine Liturgy.
(below) Fr. Martin Ritsi assists Fr. Zecharias, the celebrant at the liturgy. (Photos by Stephanos Ritsi)
O.O: What is the current state of
the Orthodox faith there?
BISHOP: The Orthodox faith is,
in a sense, thriving there. The OCMC
helped build a church in Lodwar. St.
John the Baptist. It’s the largest town
in Turkana province, though it’s just
a shanty town; nothing that we would
call a city. There are unpaved roads and
extreme poverty. Education is offered
for children from kindergarten to fifth
grade. Archbishop Makarios of Kenya
is dean of the Orthodox seminary in
Nairobi, which has 40 to 60 African students. Archbishop Makarios of Cyprus
founded the seminary. The churches
are rapidly growing, but the need is
even greater. These churches quickly
fill up. The need for priests and places
of worship is great there.
The Church has accepted the local
customs and practices of each tribe.
O.O: Is language a barrier to
spreading the faith?
BISHOP: About 80 languages are
spoken in Kenya from five different
language families.
The main language is Swahili, the
common language, and English also is
spoken.
The Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria has been rising to the challenge.
They translated the liturgy into many
local languages. The liturgy is done
entirely in the Turkana language.Fr.
Zecharias, the chief celebrant, celebrated
with great ease.
I commend the Patriarch of Alexandria in allowing people to express
themselves in their own way. They occasionally break out in song; and jump
and dance after communion. They sing
locally composed songs about Jesus.
der a tree in the village. On the second
day, we visited a village about three
miles away, Nacabosan. Fr. Martin had
been in conversations with the shaman,
the spiritual head of the village to get
his approval. His name was Selawe
and he met Fr. Martin at the site where
some baptisms were to be performed.
He approved of the visit. We walked for
three miles in 115-degree heat since we
couldn’t use a car.
We spent the day with the villagers, performing skits, illustrating Jesus’
teachings and parables; talking to them
about Jesus as Lord, healer, conqueror
of demons; the Lord of nature.
The Liturgy was followed by the
baptism of 129 people who had been
prepared by the priests prior to their
arrival. The region was in the eighth
month of a drought and we had to walk
more than a kilometer to find enough
water in an otherwise dry riverbed for
immersion to be possible. The baptism was followed by an afternoon of
celebratory singing and dancing by the
tribe.
O.O: Is Orthodox Christianity
gaining acceptance among the Turkana?
BISHOP: Kenya is about 80 percent
Christian – half are Roman Catholic and
the rest are mostly Lutheran, Anglican
or Pentecostal. About 10 percent are
Muslim and the remaining 10 percent
are animists, worship nature and spirits.
The Turkana are largely animist and we
were going to a place where the gospel
had not been preached before. It’s not
a question of getting those who already
are Christians to convert to ours, but
we were going to where Jesus had not
been preached before and giving them
the good news
Not all are new to gospel. Some
villages have already embraced Orthodoxy. Two Turkana Orthodox priests
laid the groundwork for the visit, working with Fr. Martin and one purpose of
going was to strengthen their ministry
by visiting their people.
We spent a couple of days instructing 16 men to be catechists. Each of the
seminarians prepared a presentation on
various aspects of Christian faith, which
the priests interpreted.
Their (animist) theology is not
terribly developed. They attribute occurrences to a “great spirit,” but they
don’t appeal to that spirit on a regular
basis. They don’t have a strong sense
O.O: What impressed you most
about the people?
BISHOP: Their participation in
worship; daily orthros and vespers in
Lodwar and in Tanzania. Every night
there is a two-hour service and the
people are there from beginning to end.
The church is full and there is perfect
silence. You could hear a pin drop. Everybody communed. There was simplicity and naturalness. This comes partly
because the liturgy is entirely in their
language. There is no language barrier.
They listen carefully and sing along. The
melodies are largely familiar Byzantine
melodies, but they sing the words in
their own language. Occasionally tribal
melodies are adapted for Christian use.
O.O: What experiences and observations have you come away with
from your mission?
BISHOP: Parts of the experience
were among the most difficult things
I have ever done because of the heat,
the poverty, and my age. The memory
of those difficulties is very vivid, but
the joy I derived from the experience
is such that I would go back in a heart
beat. It was a soul-expanding, horizonexpanding experience; that as many
Orthodox people as possible should
take advantage of.
Groups from Greece and Cyprus
come regularly; teams that teach, do
cooking, and whatever they can to
advance the cause of the missions.
Doctors from outside come and serve
in the clinics. The Church has built
clinics in remote areas, built schools
and dug wells.
MAY 2011
The Voice of Philoptochos
The Importance
of the Proposed
Philanthropy Center
President Skeadas’
Easter Message
Editor’s note: The following is an abbreviated version of National Philoptochos
President Aphrodite Skeadas’ address to
the National Board Members at their April
2 meeting in Michigan.
by Aphrodite Skeadas
TROY, Mich. -- This year the Greek
Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society celebrates a milestone 80th anniversary serving
those in need with love, respect, caring and
compassion. We, the members of Philoptochos, are privileged to be recipients of
this great legacy from our grandmothers
and earlier generations. We must continue
what our pioneer heroes began in 1931 by
serving with determination and agape, the
less fortunate. Our philanthropic mission
has no boundaries as our good works are
unlimited.
Through your concerted efforts and
those of our entire chapter’s 27,000 membership, the National Philoptochos Society
distributed in 2010 alone, an amount just
under $1.4 million in financial assistance
to our National Ministry Commitments,
special projects and to the underprivileged.
The National Society could not achieve this
great giving without the support of this Holy
Metropolis.
Metropolitan Nicholas, I sincerely
thank you for your spiritual guidance,
for your blessed prayers and considerate
support for every member of each of the
chapters in this Holy Metropolis and for us
all. Your generosity of faith and agape, as
well as your devotion and commitment to
the Philoptochos Society and its ideals are
examples of action and intent which brings
forth spectacular achievements so that aid
is offered to the physically and emotionally
wounded and by making better the lives
of others.
The Philoptochos Society continues
for eight decades beginning in 1931 when
Archbishop Athenagoras designated Philoptochos the official philanthropic auxiliary of
the Archdiocese.
Today, under the chairmanship of
Archbishop Demetrios, the dedicated and
faithful Orthodox women demonstrate that
the Philoptochos is the exemplary sisterhood, truly the philanthropic heart and soul
of our Church.
It has been said that “necessity is the
mother of invention.” What is factual is the
imperative need to house our 80-year-old
noble and blessed organization.
Necessity has created urgency for the
National Philoptochos Society to secure a
stable and permanent home.
We are the mothers of invention. We
are not lingering to awake one morning to
the next residence crisis... at which time...
we would pose the “Where are we going
to go?” question. We are not seeking to
drift. We are seeking to anchor. We must
establish a permanent Philoptochos Center
of Philanthropy that will exist for all future
generations.
After being headquartered for more
than 20 years at the Holy Trinity Cathedral
in Manhattan, the National Philoptochos
has begun an initiative to purchase a permanent home.
To preserve what has been established
7
Metropolitan Nicholas, National President Aphrodite Skeadas, honored guest Vefa Alexiadou and
other dignitaries at the National Board meeting.
and to foster future development of the
Philoptochos mission, the National Board
unanimously voted and the 2010 National
Philoptochos Convention delegates unanimously supported the founding of a permanent home for Philoptochos to be located
in New York.
Great efforts have been made by
Philoptochos volunteers overcoming what
many thought to be as insurmountable
obstacles and even perhaps unlikely aspirations. To date, more than $1 million
has been raised towards this goal. You as
heroes are victorious, and together with
your diligence and prayers, Philoptochos
will expand the dimensions of its mission,
calling to serve with compassion, dignity
and respect.
The Philoptochos Center of Philanthropy will provide hope and enlightenment for
the battered, the suffering, the disabled and
the hungry. Several potential properties for
the Center are presently being researched.
The Center also will provide a perma-
nent residence to expand our current social
services assistance. Broader programs will
include counseling for medical and mental
health wellness, case management, and advocacy for women, children, families and seniors. In addition, educational workshops,
forums, training sessions and seminars will
be developed for our Society on a chapter,
metropolis and national level.
The Center will allow us the opportunity to better serve those most in need and
our chapters nationwide. It will provide the
space necessary to meet physically, face to
face, and conduct workshops and a safe
space for archives.
Philoptochos is not now what it was 80
years ago and will not be in 80 years what
it is today. The Center of Philanthropy will
be the keystone to foster the evolution of
the future Philoptochos.
Sisters in Philoptochos and friends,
with your support and with God’s grace
and blessing we are well charted to our
permanent home.
Metropolis Ladies Raise Funds for Center
by Angie Bournias
TROY, Mich.-- In an exclusive personal
appearance, internationally renowned
authors Vefa Alexiadou, and her daughter,
Alexia Alexiadou, traveled from Greece to
present a major benefit luncheon for the
National Philoptochos with all proceeds
benefiting the Philoptochos Center of
Philanthropy.
The sell-out audience of 400 attendees
enjoyed the colorful, imaginative and very
informative culinary commentary at the Metropolis of Detroit Philoptochos Luncheon
held on April 2. Maria Stavropoulos, served
as luncheon chairman for this second major
Metropolis fundraiser to benefit the Philoptochos Center of Philanthropy.
The National Philoptochos Board held
its spring meeting in conjunction with the
benefit luncheon. Other activities included
a visit to the women’s shelter, a cooking
demonstration, press conference and participation at services at St. John’s Church in
Sterling Heights, Mich. followed by a Lenten
supper offered by the parish Philoptochos,
under the chairmanship of Katherine Kotsis.
The entire Metropolis Philoptochos,
under President Eleni Zeferis, was apprecia-
tive of Kiria Vefa’s visit and the outstanding
support and tremendous hospitality of the
women of the communities the Detroit
Metropolis serves.
The program also included remarks
by Metropolitan Nicholas, National Philoptochos President Aphrodite Skeadas, Luncheon Chairman Maria Stavropoulos and
Metropolis President Eleni Zeferis.
Christine Karavites, National Board
member, served as master of ceremonies.
In her remarks President Skedas stated,
“To realize our mission to establish our Center of Philanthropy, we are reaching out to
our chapters across the country. The Center
will be more than a home but a Center of
our social welfare outreach, the Center for
resources to assist our membership and our
chapters nationwide, the Center for young
and old to gather to continue the tradition
of providing care, support and aid throughout the nation and the world.”
The National Philoptochos urges all
chapters, parishes, organizations and individuals to support the Philoptochos Center
of Philanthropy especially at this time of its
Paschal Appeal to reach its goal of $50,000
from Pascha to Pentecost. To donate visit:
www.philoptochos.org.
CENTER OF PHILANTHROPY PASCHAL APPEAL
Help us celebrate Pascha and Pentecost with your donation to the Paschal
Appeal so that we reach our goal of
$50,000 raised in 50 days.
To reach our goal we need You.
Please give! Donations large and small
($5. $50, $500, $5,000) may be sent to
the Philoptochos Center of Philanthropy
Capital Campaign, National Philoptochos, 7 West 55th Street, New York,
NY 10017 or donate on line at www.
philoptochos.org.
Beloved National Board Members, Chapter Presidents and Fellow
Members of the Greek Orthodox
Ladies Philoptochos Society,
Christos Anesti!
I greet you during the Great and
Holy Lent as we walk together in the
sacred mystery of unconditional love
found in the crucifixion and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ.
The anguishing events of the
past months that have unfolded
throughout the world, natural rippling catastrophes, man created wars
and the dampening economic crises,
make us pause ruefully and truly appreciate the delicate, yet perilous,
nature of life.
We are constantly reminded that
the environment, humankind and
our lives are fragile. The events that
occur in nature directly affect us all
and our own actions and decisions
have powerful ramifications for ourselves and others. All this reflection,
with spiritual solace, makes us more
aware of how precious the gift of life
is, how truly priceless each day is and
the need to protect both the environment and humankind for universal
redemption.
During these past holy days, we
were reminded there is one universal
and timeless action that affected all
of nature and humankind: the selfless sacrificial love of Christ, offered
for all, through His crucifixion and
Resurrection.
This one act of immeasurable
love redeemed all of nature and
humankind. All things were transfigured; all things were made anew
and recreated by the love of God that
shined forth from the empty tomb
that first Paschal morning. As we
read in the Gospel according to Matthew (27:51) when the Lord Christ
breathed His last on the Cross, “…
the earth quaked, and the rocks were
split.” The love of God for all of creation penetrated the deepest parts of
the earth and to the farthest reaches
of the heavens. It was the one act of
love by the Savior that redeemed all.
There is extensive suffering in
our nation and throughout the world.
We are exhorted by the Lord to express our faith through daily actions
inspired by unbounded agape to help
change lives of the disenfranchised
just as His act of love has changed us.
The faithful women of Philoptochos
are blessed as they battle adversity
and continually follow the example
given to us by the Lord. Believe in the
power of the Resurrection and believe
that our actions make a difference.
May we glorify the Lord Christ
especially during this holy season by
being charitable and offering hope
to the physically and emotionally
wounded, by participating individually and collectively in unity in the
good works of the Greek Orthodox
Ladies Philoptochos Society and by
glorifying His Resurrection by making
better the lives of others.
With sisterly love and hope
in the Resurrected Christ,
Aphrodite Skeadas
A RCHDIOCESE N E WS
8
MAY 2011
Archdiocesan Council Gives Total Support on Lynn Issue
u
u from page 3
balance of $48,778, which was forgiven by
the Archdiocese. The allocations for 2010
and 2011 should have been $90,576 and
$97,017, according to national allocation
formula used for all parishes in the Archdiocese; however the Metropolis of Boston
lowered the Lynn Church’s commitment to
$88,000 in order to give them more time to
adjust to their fully allocated amount.
In October 2010, Archdiocese Finance
Committee Co-Chairman George Matthews
met with leaders of the Lynn parish, who regrettably continued to refuse to pay their allocation. Then in December 2010, National
Finance Chairman George Vourvoulias, at
the invitation of Metropolitan Methodios
and the Metropolis Finance Team, met in
Brookline with the parish priest, Fr. George
D. Tsoukalas, and the Parish Council to
resolve the issue. The Parish Council
President, John Meklis, admitted during
the meeting that the Lynn community “has
the ability to pay” but “refuses to do so.”
He also said the church would “take any
consequences the Metropolis or the Archdiocese gave them.” Thereafter, both the
parish priest and council members abruptly
walked out ending the meeting.
In February of this year, the parish
convened an unauthorized general assembly during which Parish Council leaders
warned parishioners to support the Parish
leadership’s stance or “risk closing the
church.” They claimed that “the Archdiocese has demanded an assessment against
our church that your Parish Council has
determined is unreasonable, unfair, and
unaffordable.” The letter announcing the
assembly to parishioners signed byMr. Meklis and Fr. Tsoukalas, dated Jan. 31st, cites
“difficult economic times and diminishing
revenues” as presenting a hardship for the
community in paying the additional allocation. It further states, “the community’s
needs outweigh the needs of the Archdiocese.” It warned the members of the St.
George community that if they agree to pay
the full Archdiocesan allocation, the consequences would be “immediate across the
board increase in all minimum Stewardship
commitments to twice their current levels,
elimination of certain church programs, failure to meet approved 2011 budget, possible
temporary closure of church to save funds.”
The end of the letter warns the members:
“Your attendance is mandatory if you want
to save our church.”
Metropolis Chancellor Fr. Theodore
Barbas advised the priest and Parish Council
that the assembly’s agenda was “in violation of Archdiocese Regulations and out of
order.” Metropolis documents also note
that Lynn is the only parish of 63 in the Metropolis of Boston that did not contribute
its full National Ministries Commitment.
Metropolitan Methodios has stated that we
In his letter, the Archbishop cites
biblical references in the Book of Acts
that spell out the financial obligations
Christians must undertake for the good
of the entire Church.
Likewise, Metropolitan Methodios’ correspondence reflects a tone of pastoral care.
Also lending its voice encouraging a
swift resolution of the issue, a letter was
signed by the priests of the Metropolis of
Boston expressing dismay with the language that has been used in reference to
Metropolitan Methodios which has “embarrassed us all.” The letter encourages the
Lynn leadership to “abide by the decisions
that we all collectively make at our biennial
Clergy-Laity Congresses that are ratified at
the Ecumenical Patriarchate.”
Unequivocal support
Archon D. Panagos photos
Dr. Anthony Limberakis adds the full support of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
are one united Archdiocese, and “if every
Bishop, priest or layman, whether a Parish
Council member, Archon or member of
Leadership 100 (no matter how powerful
and influential he may think he is) ignored
the provisions of the Patriarchal Charter and
Uniform Regulations, our church in America
would be regulated to a state of chaos.”
Subsequent actions
Since December 20, 2010, the Metropolitan applied certain sanctions against the
parish for its defiance, such as confining Fr.
Tsoukalas to exercising his priestly ministry
exclusively to Lynn and not permitting him
to participate in church services in any other
church in the Metropolis. Three months
later the Metropolis was forced to add additional sanctions in order to encourage
the Lynn parish leadership to return to
canonical order.
On March 24, Archbishop Demetrios
sent a letter to the priest and Parish Council, expressing the decision of the Holy
Eparchial Synod to support the “decision
and actions of Metropolitan Methodios” in
enforcing the regulations of the Archdiocese
as they apply to all parishes.
Additionally, a joint meeting on March
22 in Chicago of the Archdiocesan Finance
Committee consisting of representatives of
all Metropolises of the Archdiocese unanimously approved a motion urging the Lynn
Parish to comply with the decisions of the
Clergy-Laity Congress and the Regulations
of the Archdiocese. However, in a letter
from the St. George Parish Council to
parishioners dated April 6, the parish leaders declared that the community “will not
succumb to the intimidation and bullying
tactics of His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios…The entire St. George community
remains united and committed to fulfilling
its sacred spiritual mission as established by
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
The tone of the correspondence from
not only Metropolitan Methodios, but also
the Chancellor of Boston, and Archbishop
Demetrios is not one of “intimidation and
bullying,” as alleged by the Parish Council.
PARISH NATIONAL
MINISTRIES
ALLOCATION YEAR
PARISH NATIONAL
MINISTRIES
ALLOCATION AMOUNT
AMOUNT
PAID
COMMENT
2007
$81,948
$66,500
Balance Due $15,448
FORGIVEN
2008
$87,535
$66,000 *
Balance Due $11,535
FORGIVEN
2009
$87,795
$66,000
Balance Due $21,795
FORGIVEN
2010
(Amount should have
been $90,576)
$68,000
Balance Due $20,000
NOT FORGIVEN
2011
(Amount should have
been $97,017)
$88,000
$88,000
Past Due of 2010:
$20,000
*Does not include a $10,000 private donation to the Archdiocese on behalf of the Lynn Community.
A large turnout of Archdiocesan Council members, including Bishop Andonios of Phasiane and
Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos, listen intently to a presentation.
Archdiocesan Council members also
expressed strong support at the spring
meeting.
Mr. Vourvoulias added to his previous
comments, “I’m appalled at the false and
misleading stories I read in the (Greek)
paper that completely insulted the position
of every one of our Metropolitans,” he said.
He added that several parishioners
from St. George Church had offered to pay
the balance of the Lynn commitment, to
avoid further embarrassment for the parish,
“but a certain individual warned them not
to get involved.”
“I’m saddened that we have come to
a point where one person, or two, or the
priest defies the authority of the Church,
said Arthur Anton of Boston, a member of
the Archdiocesan Council for more than
40 years. “I am disappointed we cannot
reach out to a few people on the (Parish)
Council.” He continued, “Metropolitan
Methodios has shown patience to the Lynn
church. I regret we have to resort to this.”
Attorney Demitrios Moschos of Worcester, Mass., referring to the decision to put
forth the resolution, stated, “We tried to
reach out to that Parish Council.” He added,
“The Metropolitan has been very patient,
very understanding; he has suffered unfortunate attacks, regrettably.”
“An attack on any Metropolitan is an attack on all,” declared Lou Kirkos of Detroit.
“We tried to be politically correct and
what did we achieve? Nothing,” said Savas
Tsivicos of New Jersey. “They ignore the
Metropolitan, ignore the Synod, ignore the
Clergy-Laity Congress.
We must take action that is clear and
decisive. It’s not about the money; it’s
about the disregard and disrespect of the
Metropolitan, and the Regulations of the
Archdiocese.”
The legal counsel for the Archdiocese,
Emanuel Demos, noted that the Lynn
parish leadership had not followed estab-
u
u to page 12
Members of the Archdiocese Finance Committee, led by co-Chairmen George Vourvoulias and George
Matthews, meet in an all-day session on May 5 prior to the meeting of the full Council on the following day.
9
MAY 2011
TALES FROM L.A.
Connected to Community
by Fr. John S. Bakas
As you read this article, Pascha 2011
is becoming a pleasant and comforting
memory. You’ve probably kept the palm
cross you received in church on Palm
Sunday and put it near your home icons.
In your home icon corner you may
have saved some holy oil from Holy
Wednesday service and a flower from
the Epitaphio. It’s possible that buried
in your refrigerator are one or two red
Easter eggs, left over memories of the first
moments you wished a friend or relative
Christos Anesti.
These simple yet tangible connections
to the most holy of days on our Orthodox
Calendar have meaning, not only in themselves, but because they were received by
you and your family in the context of our
Orthodox Christian community.
Community – our connections to
God and to one another – is another way
to define our ancient faith. It is in the
context of community, the family of God
that we worship, pray and participate in
the sacraments. Together on an ongoing
participating basis we can experience the
sense of Church.
Another word for Heaven is the word
“connected.” Another word for Hell is
the word “disconnected.” The Church
connects us to God. St. Ignatius the
Martyr says, “Where Christ is, there is His
Church.” Sometimes our own apathy and
ignorance disconnects us from God and
isolates us from our fellowship in God’s
family…the Church.
So many disconnected Greek Orthodox people unfortunately treat the church
the way they treat the Department of Motor Vehicles. Their focus is “how do I get
what I need, pay for it and move on.”
In other words, what does it cost to
register my car, renew my driver’s license
or transfer my car title. Once the transaction is completed we don’t think about the
DMV until the next time we need them.
In like manner, the Church becomes
for many a “hatch, match, patch and dispatch operation” in our life.
“How do I baptize my child and what
does it cost?”
“What’s the process of getting my
daughter married and what does it cost?”
“My marriage is falling apart – Father
help!” or “My Aunt Mary passed away two
days ago. How do I arrange a funeral for
her and what does it cost?”
The question often is not only what
does it cost but can I get a break on the
price because Aunt Mary was a member
of Philoptochos in the 80’s. From 40-day
children’s blessings to home blessings,
many people who are disconnected from
the total life of the church see it as a
religious retail store where we buy a religious commodity. This is a sad but real
commentary.
Even Holy Week and Pascha itself is
treated by some as a visit to a charming
religious Disneyland that is visited once a
year. I got phone calls during Holy Week
such as:
• “What day is the Holy ‘lubrication’
service this year?”
• “How long is the ‘Curcifi-cation’
service this year?”
• “How long does it take to take the
‘Wooden flower box’ around the church
on Friday night?”
• “What time ‘exactly’ is communion
at Easter Liturgy?”
The people calling with their questions are not trying to be funny or strange.
They just don’t know.
They are disconnected from the daily
life of the Orthodox family of God. They
are on the outside, occasionally looking
in. If Easter tells us anything, it is to call
us to life in Christ, to life and involvement
in His Church.
When we say “Christos Anesti” and
respond with “Alithos Anesti,” it is a witness to on-going faith in our truly risen
Christ. Pascha calls us to community and
communion with the death-defeating,
life-giving God. He calls us to a new consciousness and awareness. As you visit and
meet with disconnected Greek Orthodox
Christians and exchange the greeting of
Christos Anesti, invite them to be a part
of the community of saints.
Tell them what St. Cyprian says, “Do
not think that you maintain the true Gospel of Christ, if you separate yourself from
the flock of Christ.”
Encourage their on-going participation in the Church which was purchased
for them by the blood of our Lord, God
and Savior Jesus Christ.
Christos Anesti!
Fr. Bakas is dean of St. Sophia Cathedral, Los Angeles and a faculty member
of Loyola Marymount University, School
of Theology.
Icon Presentation Commemorates
First Greek Burials in New World

 from page 2
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of St. George Street to the Sebastian River
became the “Greek Settlement.” Fr. Camps
established a church in 1777 known as the
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house on St. George Street where St. Photios Chapel stands today.
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10
MAY 2011
‘Real Break’ Offers a Real Break for College Students Wanting Fulfillment
by Arianna Ranahosseini
For most college students, working
in a cemetery for a week wouldn’t be their
ideal way to spend spring break. But for
me, and the 14 other college students
that participated in Orthodox Christian
Fellowship’s (OCF) Real Break Program in
Constantinople, there wasn’t anywhere else
we would have rather been.
From March 11-19, students from
across the country traveled to Constantinople, present-day Istanbul, to refurbish a
Greek cemetery that was in total disarray,
destroyed in the 1950s during Turkish riots.
The trip was led by Fr. Mark Leondis,
national youth director, and executive director and board chairman of OCF. When we
arrived at the cemetery in Bebek, the site
was full of trash and covered with overgrown weeds.
Tombstones had been broken into
pieces and the cemetery’s pathways were
virtually inexistent. We even found bones
scattered throughout the cemetery, some
human, which they collected and placed
inside one of the tombs whose tops had
cracked.
But after three full days of very meaningful and labor-intensive work (the hardest
work I’ve done in my life), the cemetery
completely transformed.
With the help of a few neighbors, we
filled hundreds of bags with trash, weeds
and leaves. We painted the outside of the
chapel that was at the cemetery, washed the
graves, planted flowers, cemented headstones and tombstones back together and
repainted names on headstones.
After we completed all our work, we
had a Trisagion service and were joined
by one of the neighbors, Olga, whom we
discovered was Russian Orthodox when
she began singing “Christos Vosgrese,”
the Russian translation of “Christ is Risen,”
and tears filled most of our eyes. It was our
common language.
Along with the service project, we were
blessed to attend Divine Liturgy on the
Sunday of Orthodoxy with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew serving at the Church
of St. George at the Patriarchate and where
Metropolitan Stephanos of Kallioupoulis
and Madytos was consecrated.
Later that evening, we attended His
All Holiness’ annual Sunday of Orthodoxy
Concert Series, featuring Glykeria.
On our last day, we had a private audience with His All Holiness, who spoke with
us for more than an hour. After receiving
his blessing, he presented each of us with
a book on the Patriarchate, a beautiful gold
cross and a delicious piece of chocolate.
On another night, we had the opportunity to have dinner and socialize with the
Constantinopolitain Young Adult League,
who welcomed us and, though there was a
slight language barrier and we had just met,
we played games as if we had been friends
for years. It was because of the connection
of our faith and heritage that we were able
to bond after just hours.
The last days of our trip were spent
sightseeing through Istanbul, visiting Hagia
Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Hippodrome,
the Church of Chora, which has the most
magnificent mosaic icons and frescoes,
took a boat cruise around the Bosporus
and haggled at the Grand Bazaar and Spice
Market. We also went to the church of
Vlacherna, where the hymn Ti Ipermaho
was first sung. Singing the beautiful hymn
we were all so familiar with at its very origin,
knowing and witnessing the history was
absolutely incredible.
Later we visited The Church of the
Life-Giving Spring and received holy water
from the actual Life-Giving Spring.
Walking into Hagia Sophia, the Church
of Holy Wisdom, was absolutely magnificent. Its beauty and grandeur is something
very hard to understand until you have
stepped foot inside. It’s said that Hagia
Sophia employed more than 700 people
and there would be 70 deacons serving at
once. It is simply astounding and was such
a blessing to have stood where thousands of
faithful once worshiped, and to have hope
that one day Hagia Sophia will be restored.

 to page 12
‘Real Break’ in Guatemala
In addition to the Orthodox Christian
Fellowship’s Real Break group that traveled
to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, students
from Hellenic College and Holy Cross spent
their spring break in Guatemala and Kenya,
volunteering and doing mission work, as
part of two programs that annually send
young Orthodox men and women to bear
witness to their faith.
This year Hellenic College senior Katerina Giovos, juniors Nicholas Savas and
John Dalber, sophomores Hannah Pappas,
Marcellas Xyloportas and Minas Gregoriades, and freshmen Anna Efthimiades, Erin
Hunt, Sebastian Mot and Seraphim Ramos
traveled to Guatemala City, Guatemala, to
visit the Hogar Rafael Ayau orphanage that
is under the auspices of the Antiochian
Orthodox Church. The orphanage is run by
nuns. Advisors to the group were Fr. Peter
Chamberis, chaplain at HC-HC, and Alexia
Chamberis.
The week was spent gardening, painting and doing maintenance work but the
most gratifying experience was their interaction with the children in play and in worship, said Nicholas Savas of Annunciation
Church in Ft. Myers, Fla. “The Orthros and
Divine Liturgy Sunday morning was one of
the most beautiful services I have ever seen
and heard. The service was chanted by the
girls of Hogar Rafael entirely in Spanish. The
service truly sounded like a choir of angels
was singing.”
Prior to departing, the group collected
$400 from HC-HC students to spend on the
children. One day was spent at a petting zoo
with the younger children. Said Nicholas,
“We are all keeping our hearts and minds
open to learn from the simplicity of life and
from the children here. You hear people
talking about how trips with OCF Real Break
are life changing. Now I understand what
they mean.”
Sebastian Mot, of Annunciation Church
in Muskegon, Mich., described his stay as
“one of the greatest experiences of my life. I
have no doubt in my mind that I will return
there one day.”
“I fell in love with 65 kids the moment I
met them and although they made me realize how beautiful life is, I don’t know how

 to page 12
(Arianna Ranahosseini photo)
Fr. Mark Leondis (above) conducts a Trisagion service at the Greek Orthodox cemetery. (below)
Participants in the Constantinople trip gather for dinner on the last night of their visit.
MAY 2011
Celebrating Holy Week Around the Archdiocese
Hierarchs Celebrate
Archbishop Demetrios (left) celebrates
the midnight Service of the Resurrection at St. Nicholas Church in Flushing,
N.Y. (right) Metropolitan Gerasimos
of San Francisco applies holy oil at
the Wednesday Holy Unction Service
at Nativity of Christ Church in Novato, Calif. (below l. to r.) Metropolitan
Nicholas of Detroit prays during the
Bridegroom Service at Holy Trinity
Cathedral in Toledo, Ohio; Metropolitan Methodios at the Lamentations
Service at the Boston Cathedral; Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver at the Holy
Saturday Service at St. Catherine’s in
Greenwood Village, Colo.
(Photos
from other metropolises
not available by press time).
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Archdiocesan Council ...

 from page 8
lished procedures to file an official appeal.
Attorney Kathy Walsh of Hartford,
Conn., stated “the parish had multiple opportunities and meetings with Metropolis
officials. The Archbishop, Metropolis and
Archdiocese did every possible thing to
reach out to parish” however the Parish
remained defiant and unwilling to follow
the Regulations.
Dr. Anthony Limberakis, national
commander of the Order of St. AndrewArchons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,
said his organization “lends its full support in defending the canonical order of
Church in the United States.”
Metropolitan’s comments
Metropolitan Methodios expressed
his appreciation for the Archdiocesan
Council’s support. He noted “in 29 years
as a bishop, I’ve never come across anything like this.” The Metropolitan said
he is “deeply saddened at the complete
absence of Orthodox Church phronema.”
He spoke of misinformation, lies, character assignations, and gossip being spread
through the press and e-mails that have
totally distorted the truth.
Archbishop Demetrios’ statement
His Eminence, speaking at the end of
MAY 2011
the lengthy discussion of the issue, stated,
“This is not at all a matter of money…. We
have problems of disagreement. This case
involves something exceedingly serious;
schism, the threat of separating themselves
from the rest of the church. Schism and
heresy are two deadly things for the life
of the Church.”The Archbishop cited the
example in the Book of Acts for resolving
conflicts, specifically the first Apostolic
Synod’s resolving its conflicting issues
objectively, fairly and lovingly, and the
reference of two or three people being
brought together to resolve an issue, but if
the person in the wrong refuses to repent,
to bring the matter to the entire Church”
The Archbishop continued, “It’s a
very serious issue…the consequences to
the people involved are extremely grave.
“There is an enormous amount of ignorance about what the Church and gospel
is about. People think in terms of corporations and politics.” “They should not
push things to this kind of extreme,” he
added. “Schism means everyone (directly
involved in the parish’s action) is out of
communion with the Church.”
Still the Archbishop expressed hope
and prayer for a peaceful resolution to
the problem, urging Council members to
“communicate with people in the community in friendly way”…in an effort to “get
people to come to their senses.”
A Real Break for College Students

 from page 10
Reactions from other “Real Breakers”
From Andrew Kalina, freshman at Harvard University, from Edina, Minn.
“Simply put, Constantinople was a lifechanging experience. I wouldn’t want to
have spent my spring break any other way.
My faith grew so much stronger over the
course of just a couple of days.
“When I signed up to go on Real Break
Constantinople, I knew that I was going to
have an unbelievable start to my Lenten
journey. What I didn’t anticipate was how
much more special the culmination of this
Lenten journey would also be. St. John
Chrysostom’s Paschal Homily is inspiring
as it is, but having been able to venerate
his relics and walk along the Hippodrome
where he preached, I am going to be able
to relate to it on a whole other level.
“Unlike many of my other friends on
the trip, I didn’t know a whole lot about the
history of Hagia Sophia.
“All I knew was that it used to be a
spectacular church that was converted
into a mosque and that it has withstood
the test of time. So I had no idea what to
expect when I walked in. As I entered the
true wonder of Constantinople, I was overwhelmed. I couldn’t fathom how something
this magnificent was built by hand over 15
centuries ago.
“However, one part of the experience
spoke to me the most - the mosaic icons. In
a way, I felt like these mosaics were teaching
me how to live my faith. Despite centuries of
earthquakes and attempts by the Ottomans
to cover up and destroy the mosaics, they
continue to emanate beauty.
“As Orthodox Christians, this is what
we are called to do – act as beacons of
Christ’s light that shine constantly irregardless of the challenges we are faced with.”
From Argyro Sourias, Rutgers University, New Jersey: “Real Break made me want
to be a better Christian, it showed me that
our religion has struggled to come into this
modern world and I should not take that
struggle for granted.”
From Jenny Stasinopoulos, Northeastern State University, Tulsa, Okla: “While
visiting the holy site of Vlacherna, where the
Akathist Hymn was first sung, I remember
feeling a particularity stirring emotion that
is hard to describe. I guess I was just fiercely
proud to be singing this ancient hymn to
the Theotokos with young adults who have
proved to be champion leaders of the Faith,
themselves.
I have never been so proud to say
that I was a member of 15 souls that did
seemingly little to change the world, but
everything to change our worlds.”
Other OCF Real Break trips that took
place this spring were in Guatemala, Romania, Project Mexico and Toronto.
Arianna Ranahosseini is special correspondent for the Observer from the Denver
area and a senior journalism student at the
University of Denver.
A Real Break in Guatemala

 from page 10
I’m going to live mine without them.,” said
Marcella Xyloportas of St. Barbara Church
in Toms River, N.J.
Erin Hunt of St. Demetrios Church in
Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., described it as “The
most beautiful experience, where the children of Hogar Rafael taught me more than
I could ever teach them. Patience, silence
and give love unconditionally.”
“The experience we had at the orphanage was amazing. It was uplifting and gave
me hope,” said Minas Gregoriades of the
Church of Our Savior in Rye, N.Y.
Following in the footsteps of four students who went on a mission trip to Kenya
last year, six seminarians and students went
to Kenya on an Orthodox Christian Mission
Center trip.
This year, Holy Cross junior John Uhl
and his wife, Genevieve, freshman Thomas
Manuel, junior Stephanos Ritsi and his wife,
Hellenic College junior Alexandria, and
freshman Alexis Campbell, were accompanied by Bishop Savas of Troas, Fr. Martin
Ritsi, executive director of the OCMC, and
Sam Williams.
ΜΑΙΟΣ 2011
ΕΤΟΣ 76 • ΑΡΙΘΜΟΣ 1265
Δυο Τηλεοπτικά Προγράμματα Προσφέρουν
Σπάνια Ματιά στην Ορθόδοξη Πίστη
ΝΕΑ ΥΟΡΚΗ – Το Σαββατοκύριακο
του Πάσχα φέτος έγινε κάτι πρωτοποριακό για την Ορθόδοξη πίστη και την
Αμερικανική Τηλεόραση με την μετάδοση προγραμμ άτων με θέμ ατα την
Προσευχή του Ιησού και το Άγιο Όρος.
Το πρώτο με τίτλο Τα Μυστήρια της
Προσευχής του Ιησού, ο οποίος είναι
και τίτλος νέου βιβλίου, αποτελεί ταινία
μεγάλου μήκους η οποία προσέφερε μια
εσωτερική ματιά στον Ορθόδοξο μοναχισμό. Μεταδόθηκε σε συντετμημένη
έκδοση από την Κρατική Τηλεόραση
στο Κανάλι 218 PBS ειδικά για το Πάσχα.
Οι εθνικές τηλεοπτικές μεταδόσεις
ήταν μερικώς χορηγία του Τάγματος του
Αγίου Αποστόλου Ανδρέα, των Αρχόντων του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου.
Το πρόγραμμα διανεμήθηκε από την
Αμερικανική Κρατική Τηλεόραση.
Το δεύτερο πρόγραμμα σχετικά με
το Άγιο Όρος μεταδόθηκε στις 24 Απριλίου από την εκπομπή «60 Minutes»
και παρουσίασε μια εσωτερική όψη του
έργου το οποίο επιτελείται στο Άγιο
Όρος και του βίου των μοναχών.
Το πρόγραμμα επιμελήθηκε ο ανταποκριτής Bob Simon, ο οποίος στο
παρελθόν είχε πάρει συνέντευξη από
Εαρινό Συνέδριο
του
Αρχιεπισκοπικού
Συμβουλίου
στη Βοστώνη
uΣελίδα 17
τον Οικουμενικό Πατριάρχη Βαρθολομαίο η οποία μεταδόθηκε από την ίδια
εκπομπή το 2009.
60 «Λεπτά»
Το πρόγραμμ α Οι Μοναχοί του
Αγίου Όρους που μεταδόθηκε την Κυριακή του Πάσχα παρουσίασε το Άγιο
Όρος το οποίο αποτελεί άδυτο του
Ορθόδοξου Χριστιανικού μοναχισμού
επί 1000 και πλέον χρόνια, και το οποίο
ανήκει στην άμεση πνευματική δικαιοδοσία του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχου
Βαρθολομαίου.
Το πρόγραμμα παρακολούθησε την
περιήγηση του Ανταποκριτή Bob Simon
της εκπομπής «60 Minutes» στην απομακρυσμένη χερσόνησο της βόρειας
Ελλάδας, δηλαδή στο Άγιο Όρος, το
οποίο εκατομμύρια Ορθόδοξοι Χριστιανοί θεωρούν ως τον πιο ιερό τόπο της
γης. Κατόπιν προτάσεως και ευλογίας
του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχου Βαρθολομαίου, ο οποίος άνοιξε τις πόρτες για
το τ η λ ε ο π τ ικ ό συ νε ρ γ ε ί ο το υ 60
Minutes, και μετά από δύο ταξίδια στο
Όρος και δύο χρόνια διαλόγου με την
Αθωνική κοινότητα, στον Simon και
την εκπομπή του παραχωρήθηκε πρωτοφανής πρόσβαση στα ενδότερα του
μοναχικού βίου επί του Αγίου Όρους.
Το αποτέλεσμα είναι ένα πορτραίτο ενός
τόπου ο οποίος σπανίως θεάται όπου
άγιοι άνθρωποι προσφέρουν προσευχές
καθημερινά, χωρίς διακοπή, για 1000
και πλέον χρόνια.
Παραγωγοί του προγράμματος ήταν
οι Harry Radcliffe και Michael Karzis.
Στο πρόγραμμα προβλήθηκαν συνεντεύξεις με αρκετούς μοναχούς, συμπεριλαμβανομένου και του π. Ιακώβου από
το Winthrop, Mass, ο οποίος αναφέρθηκε στο δεσμό του με το Άγιο Όρος
και τον τρόπο διαβίωσης εκεί.
Μπορείτε να παρακολουθήσετε το
πρόγραμμα στο YouTube και στην ιστοσελίδα του «60 Minutes».
Α Ρ Χ Ι Ε Π Ι Σ ΚΟΠ Ι Κ Η Ε Γ ΚΥ Κ Λ ΙΟΣ
Κυριακή της AHEPA
Πρός τούς Σεβασμιωτάτους καί Θεοφιλεστάτους Ἀρχιερεῖς, τούς Εὐλαβεστάτους
Ἱερεῖς καί Διακόνους, τούς Μοναχούς καί Μοναχές, τούς Προέδρους καί Μέλη τῶν
Κοινοτικῶν Συμβουλίων, τά Ἡμερήσια καί Ἀπογευματινά Σχολεῖα, τίς Φιλοπτώχους
Ἀδελφότητες, τήν Νεολαία, τίς Ἑλληνορθόδοξες Ὀργανώσεις καί ὁλόκληρο τό Χριστεπώνυμον πλήρωμα τῆς Ἱερᾶς Ἀρχιεπισκοπῆς Ἀμερικῆς.
Προσφιλεῖς Ἀδελφοί καί Ἀδελφές ἐν Χριστῷ,
Χριστός Ἀνέστη!
Αὐτή τήν τέταρτη Κυριακή μετά ἀπό τήν Ἑορτή τοῦ Μεγάλου καί Ἁγίου Πάσχα,
ἡ Ἐκκλησία μας μνημονεύει τήν θεραπεία τοῦ Παραλύτου ἀπό τόν Σωτήρα μας
Ἰησοῦ Χριστό. Αὐτή ἡ ἴδια Κυριακή ἔχει ἀνακηρυχθεῖ γιά τό 2011 ὡς ἡμέρα ἐτήσιας
ἀναγνωρίσεως τῆς Ἑλληνοαμερικανικῆς Ἐκπαιδευτικῆς Προοδευτικῆς Ἑνώσεως
(AHEPA). Ὁ συσχετισμός τῆς Κυριακῆς τοῦ Παραλύτου μέ τήν Κυριακή τῆς AHEPA
εἶναι σαφῶς κατάλληλος διότι μᾶς δίδει τήν δυνατότητα νά ἑστιάσουμε τήν προσοχή
μας μέ οὐσιαστικό καί πνευματικό τρόπο στήν ὑπηρεσία ἡ ὁποία προσφέρεται στίς
κοινότητές μας καί σ’ ὁλόκληρο τόν κόσμο ἀπό τήν οἰκογένεια τῆς AHEPA.
Ἡ θεραπεία τοῦ Παραλύτου εἶναι μία ἐκ τῶν πολλῶν μαρτυριῶν τῆς εὐσπλαγχνίας τοῦ Χριστοῦ γιά τούς ἀνθρώπους πού χρειάζονται βοήθεια. Μέ τήν ἄφθονη
χάρη Του προσέφερε σωματική θεραπεία ἀλλά ταυτοχρόνως ἐνεθάρρυνε τήν πνευματική ἀνακαίνιση διά τῆς ἀποκαταστάσεως τῆς σχέσεως τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μέ τόν Θεό.
Στό πνεῦμα αὐτό τῆς χάριτος τοῦ Κυρίου μας, τά μέλη τῆς AHEPA ἐξακολουθοῦν νά
uΣελίδα 15
14
ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΟΣ ΠΑΡΑΤΗΡΗΤΗΣ
ΜΑΙΟΣ 2011
Ημέρα Μνήμης του Μαρτυρικού Πατριάρχου Γρηγορίου του Ε’
ôïõ Íéêüëáïõ Ìáããßíá
Ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης Βαρθολομαίος, μετά το τέλος της πρωϊνής
Θείας Λειτουργίας της 10 ης Απριλίου,
απευθύνθηκε προς τους πολυπληθείς
προσκυνητές από την Ελλάδα και το
εξωτερικό, μεταξύ των οποίων ήταν και
εκατοντάδες μαθητών ελληνικών Δημοτικών και Γυμνασίων, και αναφέρθηκε
στη μνήμη του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχου Γρηγορίου του Ε΄ λέγοντας τα εξής:
«Σήμερα είναι ημέρα πένθους και
πικρών αναμνήσεων, διότι σαν σήμερα,
10 Απριλίου, πριν από 190 χρόνια και
ήταν Πάσχα εκείνη την ημέρα, το 1821,
κρεμάστηκε, έξω στην αυλή του Πατριαρχείου, ο τότε Πατριάρχης Γρηγόριος
ο Ε΄. Έκτοτε και κάθε χρόνο τον θυμούμαστε τέτοια μέρα.
Πριν κατεβώ σήμερα στην Εκκλησία, πέρασα, καθ΄ ο είχα χρέος, και
έβαλα λίγα λουλούδια στην έκτοτε Κλειστή Πύλη, στον τόπο του μαρτυρίου του
Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχου και άναψα
ένα κερί ζητώντας την ευχή και την
προσευχή του για το Μεγάλο αυτό Μοναστήρι της Ορθοδοξίας που λέγεται
Οικουμενικόν Πατριαρχείον και για
όλους εμάς που έχουμε την ευλογία του
Θεού να διακονούμε σ΄αυτό το Μεγάλο
Μοναστήρι και ζήτησα ακόμη την ευχή
του για όλους τους Ορθοδόξους ανά την
Οικουμένη, διότι οι ευχές ενός τέτοιου
Μαρτυρικού Πατριάρχου ασφαλώς εισακούονται από τον Θεόν.
Ζήτησα την ευχή του για την ειρήνη του σύμπαντος κόσμου, για την ευστάθεια των Αγίων του Θεού Εκκλησιών και για την ένωση των πάντων,
ανθρώπων, Εκκλησιών, λαών και εθνών
της υφηλίου.
Αυτή την ενότητα χρει αζόμ εθα
σήμερα ιδιαιτέρως και γι΄αυτήν σας παρακαλώ να προσεύχεσθε και εσείς».
ΗΜΕΡΑ ΜΝΗΜΗΣ ΠΑΤΡΙΑΡΧΟΥ
ΓΡΗΓΟΡΙΟΥ ΤΟΥ Ε’
Τη δεκάτη Απριλίου τιμάται η μνήμη του Οικου μ ενικού Πατρι άρχου
Γρηγορίου του Ε΄ ο οποίος απαγχονίσθηκε στην κεντρική πύλη του Πατριαρχείου στο Φανάρι, στις 10 Απριλίου
1821, ανήμερα του Πάσχα.
Ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης Βαρθολομαίος κάθε χρόνο ανάβει ένα κερί
μπροστά στην κλειστή πύλη, εναποθέτει
λίγα λουλούδια και προσεύχεται τιμώντας με αυτόν τον τρόπο τη μνήμη του
μαρτυρικού προκατόχου του.
Δυστυχώς διάφοροι ξεναγοί, κυρίως
Τούρκοι, διαδίδουν ψευδώς και παραπληροφορώντα ς χαρακτηρίζουν την
κλειστή πύλη ως «Πύλη του μίσους» και
ότι δήθεν αυτή θα ανοίξει όταν κρεμαστεί εκεί κάποιος Μουσουλμάνος. Πρόκειται για ένα μεγάλο ψέμα και παραμύθι, μία διαστρεβλωμένη και κακόβουλη
διάδοση, την οποία δε διανοήθηκαν οι
Ορθόδοξοι, ούτε καν φαντάσθηκαν και
η οποία, φυσικά, αντίκειται στο Χριστιανικό πνεύμα. Έχει σκοπό μόνο την
δημιουργία τεχνητής έντασης.
Δεν είναι, όμως, ο Γρηγόριος Ε΄ ο
μόνος Πατριάρχης Κωνσταντινουπόλεως που απαγχονίσθηκε. Μετά την Άλωση της Πόλης αρκετοί Οικουμενικοί
Πατριάρχες που ανήλθαν στο θρόνο
ήλθαν αντιμέτωποι με την Οθωμανική
Διοίκηση, την «Υψηλή Πύλη».
Ορισμ ένου ς του ς απαγχόνισαν,
άλλους τους έπνιξαν στη θάλασσα, άλλους τους εξανάγκασαν σε παραίτηση,
Φωτογραφία: Ν. Μαγγίνας
Στις 10 Απριλίου 1821, Κυριακή του Πάσχα τότε, απαγχονίστηκε ο μαρτυρικός Πατριάρχης του
Γένους Γρηγόριος ο Ε’ στην κεντρική Πύλη του Πατριαρχείου στο Φανάρι. Έκτοτε η Πύλη αυτή
έμεινε κλειστή εις ένδειξιν τιμής και μνήμης. Κάθε χρόνο τη μέρα αυτή ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης
Βαρθολομαίος ανάβει το κερί της μνήμης και της πίστης και καταθέτει λίγα λουλούδια μπροστά
στην Πύλη του μαρτυρίου του Πατριάρχου Γρηγορίου. Αυτό έκανε και σήμερα το πρωί, εν σιωπή
και περισυλλογή.
άλλους τους έστειλαν σε εξορία, και
ορισμένοι άλλοι άφησαν την τελευταία
τους πνοή στις φυλακές. Και όλα αυτά
με αποφάσεις της Οθωμανικής Διοίκησης.
Στο σημείωμ α αυτό αναφέρουμε
συνοπτικά περιπτώσεις των Πατριαρχών που απαγχονίσθηκαν ή θανατώθηκαν και δεν είναι και τόσο γνωστές στο
ευρύ κοινό, χωρίς να γίνεται λόγος για
το σημαντικό αριθμό ιεραρχών, ιερέων
και μοναχών που απαγχονίσθηκαν ή
θανατώθηκαν.
Ο πρώτος Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης μετά την Άλωση Γεννάδιος Σχολάριος είναι και ο πρώτος που παραιτείται
λόγω διαφωνιών του με την Οθωμανική
Διοίκηση.
Ο Ιωάσαφ Α΄ (1465-1466): Αφού τον
ξύρισαν, εκθρονίσθηκε με εντολή του
Σουλτάνου.
Ο Ραφαήλ Α΄ (1475-1476): Μη δυνάμενος να πληρώσει τον καταναγκαστικό
φόρο (πεσκέσι) εκθρονίσθηκε, φυλακίστηκε όπου και μετά ένα χρόνο απεβίωσε.
Ο Ραφαήλ Β΄ (1603-1607): Με εντολή του Σουλτάνου Αχμέτ Ι΄ εκθρονίσθηκε και εξορίσθηκε και θανατώθηκε μετά
από φρικτά βασανιστήρια.
Κύριλλος Α΄ ο Λούκαρις (1620 –
1638): Πέντε φορές στο διάστημα αυτό
ανήλθε και κατήλθε του Θρόνου έχοντας υπηρετήσει σε αυτόν και πρώτα,
ήδη από το 1612 και για μικρό διάστημα,
ως επιτηρητής του από τη θέση του
Πατριάρχου Αλεξανδρείας.
Στις 20 Ιουνίου 1638 με εντολή του
Σαντραζάμη Μπαϊράμ Πασά συνελήφθη
και φυλακίσθηκε σε πύργο του Βοσπόρου.
Στις 27 Ιουνίου παραδίδεται σε γενίτσαρους και εκείνοι τον μεταφέρουν
με πλοιάριο ανοιχτά της θάλασσας όπου
και τον πνίγουν.
Κύριλλος Β΄ ο Κονταρής (1633-1639):
Λόγω των ενεργειών του εκθρονίζεται
και κατόπιν συλλ αμβάνεται από τις
Οθωμανικές Αρχές, φυλακίζεται και
εξορίζεται στην Καρθαγένη.
Ο εκει οθωμανός πασάς της Τύνιδος
του επέβαλε να ασπασθεί το Ισλάμ, αλλά
ο Κύριλλος αντιστάθηκε και για τον
λόγο αυτό τον απαγχόνησαν στις 24
Ιουνίου 1640.
Και μία εντυπωσιακή λεπτομέρεια:
κατά τον απαγχονισμό του το σχοινί της
αγχόνης κόβεται δύο φορές και κατόπιν
αυτού τον πνίγουν.
Παρ θένιος Β΄ (164 4 -1646, 16481651): Με εντολή του Σουλτάνου Ιμπραίμ
εκθρονίσθηκε και παραδόθηκε στους
γενίτσαρους για να τον πνίξουν. Το
σκήνωμά του βρέθηκε στη γύρω περιοχή της νήσου Πλάτης των Πριγκηπονήσων, από Χριστιανούς οι οποίοι και
το ενταφίασαν στο νησί της Χάλκης.
Παρθένιος ο Γ ΄ (1656-1657): Με
εντολή του Σουλτάνου μετά από φρικτά
βασανιστήρια απαγχονίσθηκε στην Καγκελωτή Πύλη (περιοχή Παρμα–καπί)
της Πόλης την 1η Απριλίου (Σάββατο του
Λαζάρου) και μετά απο τρείς ημέρες
ρίχθηκε στη θάλασσα.
Γαβριήλ Β΄ (23/4-5/5-1657): Στον
Πατριαρχικό Θρόνο παρέμεινε μόνο
δώδεκα μέρες.
Εκθρονίσθηκε και τοποθετήθηκε
στη Μητρόπολη Προύσσης. Έγινε καταγγελία-συκοφαντία Εβραίων της περιοχής ότι εκχριστιάνισε ένα μουσουλμάνο, ενώ στην πραγματικότητα αυτός
τον οποίον βάπτισε ήταν Εβραίος.
Αποτέλεσμα της κατασυκοφάντησής του ήταν η φυλάκιση και στη συνέχεια ο απαγχονισμός του στις 3 Δεκεμβρίου 1659.
Μελέτιος Β΄ (1768-1769): Μετά την
παραίτησή του συλλαμβάνεται μαζί με
άλλους τριάντα προκρίτους, κληρικούς
και λαϊκούς και φυλακίζεται βασανιζόμενος φρικτά.
Ενώ αθωώθηκε της κατηγορίας για
συνεργασία κατά του Οθωμανικού κράτους εξορίσθηκε στη Μυτιλήνη.
Εκεί υπέφερε περισσότερα από την
Οθωμανική Διοίκηση εξαιτίας και του
πυρπολισμού του Τσεσμέ από τους
Ρώσους.
Κ ατόπιν ζήτησε άδει α από τον
Σουλτάνο να μεταβεί στην ιδιαίτερη
πατρίδα του, την Τένεδο.
Από εκεί αναχώρησε για την Κωνσταντινούπολη όπου του επιτράπηκε να
μείνει μόνο 61 μέρες. Απεβίωσε στην
Τένεδο στα μέσα του 1777 σε μεγάλη
φτώχεια.
Κύριλλος Στ΄ (1813-1818): Επειδή δεν
κατέστη αρεστός στο Σουλτάνο Μαχμούτ του Β΄, εκθρονίσθηκε και εξορίσθηκε στο Άγιον Όρος.
Αργότερα εγ κ ατα στάθηκε στην
Ανδριανούπολη. Οκτώ μέρες μετά τον
απαγχονισμό του Γρηγορίου Ε΄, στις 18
Απριλίου 1821, ο Σουλτάνος δίνει εντολή να κρεμασθεί και εκείνος στην πύλη
του Μητροπολιτικού Μεγάρου.
Μετά από 3 μέρες ρίχθηκε στον
ποταμό Έβρο, και η αγία σωρός του
βρέθηκε στις όχθες του ποταμού κοντά
στο χωριό Πύθιο του Διδυμοτείχου
όπου και με άκρα μυστικότητα, παρά την
απαγόρευση που υπήρχε από τις Αρχές,
και με ευλάβεια τάφηκε από τους κατοίκους του.
Ευγένιος Β΄ (1821-1822): Διάδοχος
του απαγχονισθέντος Γρηγορίου Ε΄.
Παραδόθηκε σε διαδηλωτές και σύρθηκε στους δρόμους από τα γένεια και τα
μαλλιά και πέθανε λίγον καιρό αργότερα
από τις κακουχίες που υπέστη.
Αυτά προς γνώση της ιστορίας και
μόνο. Και όχι για να προκαλέσουν το
δίκαιο αίσθημα.
Αιωνία η μνήμη αυτών.
Η «ΕΠΙΣΤΡΟΦΗ» ΤΟΥ ΕΞΟΡΙΣΤΟΥ ΠΑΤΡΙΑΡΧΗ ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟΥ ΣΤ΄ ΣΤΗΝ ΠΟΛΗ
ôïõ Íéêüëáïõ Ìáããßíá
Ύστερα από 86 χρόνια «επέστρεψε»
στην Κωνσταντινούπολη ο απελαθείς Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης Κωνσταντίνος Στ΄.
Ο Μητροπολίτης Περγάμου Ιωάννης, Ακαδημαϊκός και διευθυντής του Γραφείου του
Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου στην Αθήνα,
μετέφερε στην Κωνσταντινούπολη τα λείψανα του μακαριστού Πατριάρχη που άφησε
την τελευταία του πνοή στην Αθήνα πριν 81
χρόνια. «Εκοιμήθη εν εξορία και κατά τούτο
υπήρξεν μαρτυρικός Πατριάρχης» είπε, μεταξύ άλλων, για τον προκάτοχό του, ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης Βαρθολομαίος, ο
οποίος ανέμενε στο Νάρθηκα όπου υποδέχθηκε τα λείψανα του προκατόχου του.
Ακολούθως τοποθετήθηκαν στο σολέα
απέναντι στον πατριαρχικό θρόνο και καλύφθηκαν με ένα αρχιερατικό ωμοφόριο. Στη
συνέχεια ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης Βαρθολομαίος τέλεσε τρισάγιο υπέρ αναπαύσεως
της ψυχής του αοιδίμου Πατριάρχου Κωνσταντίνου Στ΄.
«Τα οστά του αοιδίμου Οικουμενικού
Πατριάρχου Κωνσταντίνου Στ΄, ο οποίος
εκοιμήθη εν εξορία και κατά τούτο υπήρξεν
μαρτυρικός Πατριάρχης, όσο και αν η γη της
Αττικής, του Κλεινού Άστεως, είναι φιλόξενος και ευλογημένη γη, είμεθα βέβαιοι ότι η
ψυχή του μακαριστού προκατόχου ημών
επιθυμούσε να επανέλθει εις τον θρόνον, εδώ
όπου διηκόνησε, εδώ όπου εγεννήθη, ανετράφη εις τα πέριξ της Βιθυνίας, εις την
Κωνσταντινούπολιν και να αναπαυθεί μέχρι
της κοινής αναστάσεως πλησίον των προκατόχων και διαδόχων του εν τη ιστορική
Μονή Ζωοδόχου Πηγής Μπαλουκλή».
Υπενθυμίζεται ότι ο Πατριάρχης Κωνσταντίνος Στ΄ που έμεινε στο θρόνο του για
πολύ μικρό διάστημα απελάθηκε από τις
τουρκικές αρχές ως «ανταλλάξιμος», δηλαδή
ως υπαγόμενος στην συμφωνία της Λωζάννης για την ανταλλαγή των πληθυσμών.
15
ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΟΣ
ΠΑΡΑΤΗΡΗΤΗΣ
ORTHODOX
OBSERVER
ΜΑΙΙΟΣ 2011
Καθηγητής του Fordham και ο Εθνικός Διοικητής
των Αρχόντων μιλούν σε Συμπόσιο
BROOMALL, PA. – Το Τάγμα του
Αγ. Ανδρέα περιοχής Φιλαδελφείας διοργάνωσε το τρίτο ετήσιο συμπόσιό του
στην Εκκλησία του Αγίου Λουκά στις 7
Μαΐου με δύο θέματα: Ο Άγιος Ιωάννης
Χρυσόστομος περί Νηστείας:Ποιά είναι
το Νόημα της Νηστείας; και Οικουμενικό Πατριαρχείο: Ποιες είναι οι τελευταίες εξελίξεις;
Ο Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής Θεολογίας στο Fordham University, Νέα Υόρκη, Δρ. Αριστοτέλης Παπανικολάου και
συνιδρυτής του προγράμματος Ορθοδόξων Χριστιανικών Σπουδών μίλησε στο
πρώτο μέρος του συμποσίου με θέμα:
Μπορεί η νηστεία να είναι αυστηρή ή
χαλαρή,υποχρεωτική ή προαιρετική,
σωματική ή πνευματική; Ποιός είναι ο
σκοπός και ο στόχος της νηστείας;
Ο Δρ. Παπανικολάου εμβάθυνε τις
ομιλίες του Αγ. Ιωάννου Χρυσοστόμου
περί νηστείας και απάντησε στην ερώτηση, Ποιό είναι το Νόημα της Νηστείας;
Ο Μητροπολίτης Νέας Ιερσέης κ.
Ευάγγελος προσέφερε τις προσωπικές
του σκέψεις περί νηστείας και την άποψή
του περί της προοπτικής του 21ου αιώνα.
Ο ιατρός Αντώνιος Λυμπεράκης,
Εθνικός Διοικητής του Τάγματος του
Αγίου Ανδρέα μίλησε στο δεύτερο μέρος
του συμποσίου. Με τις πρόσφατες επιτυχίες του όπως είναι η Παγκόσμια Σύσκεψη των Αρχόντων με θέμα τις Θρησκευτικές Ελευθερίες στις Βρυξέλλες, Βέλγιο,
και η επιστροφή του κατασχεθέντος
Πατριαρχικού Ορφανοτροφείου από την
Τουρκία στο Οικουμενικό Πατριαρχείο,
το Τάγμα του Αγίου Ανδρέα εξακολουθεί
να μάχεται για την θρησκευτική ελευθερία της Αγίας Έδρας της Κωνσταντινούπολης. Ο κ. Λυμπεράκης ενημέρωσε
σχετικά με τις τελευταίες εξελίξεις των
συναντήσεων των Αρχόντων με κυβερνητικούς αξιωματούχους και θρησκευτικούς ηγέτες στη Βουδαπέστη, Άγκυρα και
Ισταμπούλ κατά τη διάρκεια της πρόσφατης Αποστολής Θρησκευτικής Ελευθερίας στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση.
Ο Ναύαρχος Stavridis θα τιμηθεί με το Αθηναγόρειο
Βραβείο Ανθρωπίνων Δικαιωμάτων 2011
ΝΕΑ ΥΟΡΚΗ – Το Τάγμα του Αγίου
Ανδρέα – Αρχόντων του Οικουμενικού
Πατριαρχείου ανακοίνωσε ότι ο Ναύαρχος
James G. Stavridis, ύπατος συμμαχικός διοικητής του ΝΑΤΟ και διοικητής του
United States European Command θα είναι
ο αποδέκτης του φετινού Αθηναγόρειου
Βραβείου Ανθρωπίνων Δικαιωμάτων στις 15
Οκτωβρίου τ.έ.
Ο Ναύαρχος θα δεχθεί το
βραβείο εκ μέρους των ηρώων των Ενόπλων Δυνάμεων οι οποίοι βάζουν την
ζωή τους σε κίνδυνο
για να προστατεύσουν την ελευθερία,
τα δικαιώματά μας
και τον Αμερικανικό
τρόπο ζωής μας.
Το Αθηναγόρειο
Βραβείο Ανθρωπίνων
Δικαιωμάτων θα απονεμηθεί στη διάρκεια του
Μεγάλου Συμποσίου του
Τάγματος του Αγίου Ανδρέα το
οποίο αποτελεί μέρος της ετήσιας
τριήμερης συνέλευσης του Τάγματος η οποία
φέτος θα πραγματοποιηθεί στις 14-16 Οκτωβρίου στο ξενοδοχείο Hilton της Νέας
Υόρκης. Ο Εθνικός Διοικητής ιατρός Αντώ-
νιος Λυμπεράκης δήλωσε: Με την απονομή
του Αθηναγορείου Βραβείου Ανθρωπίνων
Δικαιωμάτων 2011 στο Ναύαρχο James G.
Stavridis το Τάγμα αναγνωρίζει την εξαιρετική προσφορά των 2,3 εκατομμυρίων μελών
των Ενόπλων Δυνάμεων του έθνους οι οποίοι προστατεύουν τις αναφαίρετες ελευθερίες
που μάς χάρισε ο Δημιουργός μας, αλλά τις
οποίες απολαμβάνει μόνο μία μικρή
μειονότητα των 7 δισεκατομμυρίων ανθρώπων της γης. Ο
Ναύαρχος Stavridis, γηγενής της Νότιας Φλόριδας, αποφοίτησε με
διάκριση από την
Ναυτική Ακαδημία
των ΗΠΑ το 1976.
Έχει επίσης λάβει
διδακτορικό δίπλωμα και MALD (Master of Arts in Law
and Diplomacy) από το
Fletcher School of Law
and Diplomacy στις Διεθνείς Σχέσεις το 1984, όπου και
κέρδισε το Βραβείο Gullion για την
εξαιρετική του επίδοση ως φοιτητής. Έχει
επίσης λάβει διακρίσεις για την φοίτησή του
στο Ναυτικό Κολλέγιο και στο Κολλέγιο
Εθνικού Πολέμου.
Για ερωτήματα σχετικά
με τον Κανονισμό για θέματα επιλήψιμης σεξουαλικής
συμπεριφοράς κληρικών της Ιεράς Αρχιεπισκοπής Αμερικής
ή για σχετικές καταγγελίες
καλέστε χωρίς χρέωση τον ειδικό αριθμό (877) 554-3382
Όλες οι καταγγελίες θα ληφθούν σοβαρά υπ’ όψιν
και θα διερευνηθούν πλήρως και με απόλυτη αμεροληψία.
Μπορείτε να μιλήσετε Αγγλικά ή Ελληνικά σε εθελοντή ή εθελόντρια.
Α Ρ Χ Ι Ε Π Ι Σ ΚΟΠ Ι Κ Η Ε Γ Κ Υ Κ Λ ΙΟΣ
uΣελίδα 13
Κυριακή της ΑΧΕΠΑ
προσφέρουν ἐξαιρετική ὑπηρεσία μέσα ἀπό φιλανθρωπικά καί κοινωνικά προγράμματα καί μέσα ἀπό τήν φροντίδα τους γιά τήν διανοητική καί πνευματική ἀνάπτυξη
τῆς νεολαίας μας. Τό ἔργο αὐτό τῆς AHEPA εἶναι ἐπίκουρο τῆς διακονίας τῆς Ἐκκλησίας καί προσφέρει μαρτυρία πίστεως τῶν Ἑλλήνων Ὀρθοδόξων Χριστιανῶν οἱ
ὁποῖοι εἶναι μέλη αὐτοῦ τοῦ διακεκριμένου ὀργανισμοῦ καί πιστά μέλη τῶν ἐνοριῶν
μας.
Ἁρμόζει, λοιπόν, αὐτή τήν Κυριακή τῆς AHEPA νά τιμήσουμε τά μέλη τῆς οἰκογενείας τῆς AHEPA καί νά στηρίξουμε τό ἔργο τους στίς κοινότητές μας. Προσκαλῶ
ὅλες τίς ἐνορίες μας νά ἐκδηλώσουν τήν ἰδιαίτερη ἐκτίμησή τους στήν AHEPA αὐτή
τήν ἡμέρα, παρακαλώντας μέ τίς προσευχές μας τόν Θεό νά συνεχίσει τίς εὐλογίες
Του στήν κλήση πού μᾶς ἔκανε γιά νά προσφέρουμε εὐσπλαγχνική καί θυσιαστική
ὑπηρεσία σ’ ὁλόκληρη τήν ἀνθρωπότητα.
Μετά πατρικῶν εὐχῶν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἀναστάντι,
† ὁ Ἀρχιεπίσκοπος Ἀμερικῆς Δημήτριος
Παναμερικανική Σαρακοστιανή Σύναξη
στη Νέα Ιερσέη
SOUTH BOUND BROOK, N.J. – ο
Αιδ. Δρ. Ιωάννης Χρυσσαυγής, πρώην
καθηγητής στη Θεολογική Σχολή του
Τιμίου Σταυρού και νυν σύμβουλος περιβάλλοντος του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου επί περιβαλλοντικών θεμάτων,
ηγήθηκε της 8ης Εθνικής Σαρακοστιανής
Σύναξης των Αρχόντων που πραγματοποιήθηκε στο Ουκρανικό Κέντρο της
Ουκρανικής Ορθόδοξης Εκκλησίας.
Το θέμα της σύναξης ήταν Μία Αρχαία Πίστη για έναν Μοντέρνο Κόσμο
και ασχολήθηκε με τις βασικές αρχές της
Ορθόδοξης Χριστιανικής πνευματικότητας και συγκεκριμένα της Μεγάλης Τεσσαρακοστής –όπως νηστεία, προσευχή,
συγχώρηση, σιωπή και αγάπη – τις οποίες ερμήνευσε υπό το πρίσμα της Αγίας
Γραφής και των έργων των αρχαίων Πατέρων και Μητέρων της Ερήμου, αλλά
και σε σχέση με τις σύγχρονες προκλήσεις και την πραγματικότητα.
Περισσότεροι από πενήντα Άρχοντες
και οι σύζυγοί τους μυήθηκαν στον κόσμο και στη σκέψη των αρχαίων μοναχών
της ερήμου της Αιγύπτου, της Παλαιστίνης και του Σινά, ειδικώτερα σε σχέση
με τα έργα Αποφθέγματα των Πατέρων
της Ερήμου και Επιστολές των Αγίων
Βαρσανουφίου και Ιωάννου, των οποίων
η επίδραση και σχετικότητα με τη σύγχρονη πραγματικότητα τονίσθηκε με
ιστορίες και ανέκδοτα.
Ο Άρχων Peter Skeadas, πρόεδρος
της Επιτροπής Πνευματικότητας, διοργάνωσε τη σύναξη. Οι Άρχοντες John
Halecky, Jr. και James C. Fountas συντόνισαν την εκδήλωση με το Ουκρανικό
Κέντρο.
Σε έκφραση ευγνωμοσύνης προς τον
π. Χρυσσαυγή, ο Εθνικός Διοικητής των
Αρχόντων Δρ. Αντώνιος Λυμπεράκης
δήλωσε: Κάθε χρόνο έχουμε την ευλογία
της παρουσίας κάποιου ομιλητή ο οποίος
μας προσφέρει βαθύτερη κατανόηση της
ιερής Ορθόδοξης Χριστιανικής πίστης
μας. Φέτος, στο Ουκρανιικό Κέντρο,
χώρος ο οποίος αντανακλά την οικουμενικότητα της Αγίας Μητέρας Εκκλησίας
μας, ο πατέρας Χρυσσαυγής, διακεκριμένος Ορθόδοξος θεολόγος, εύγλωττα και
αποτελεσματικά ανέφερε σημαντικές
διδασκαλίες των Πατέρων της Ερήμου
τις οποίες πρέπει να εφαρμόσουμε με τον
απώτατο σκοπό να ομοιάσουμε στο Χριστό στην καθημερινή ζωή μας.
Η ΑΧΕΠΑ διανέμει προμήθειες έκτακτης
ανάγκης στις πληγείσες περιοχές
ΜΠΕΡΜΙΓΚΧΑΜ, Αλαμπάμα.- Το
Τμήμα 3 του Ελληνοαμερικανικού Εκπαιδευτικού Προοδευτικού Συνδέσμου
(AHEPA) διέθεσε $2,500 στο Ταμείο της
ΑΧΕΠΑ για την προσπάθεια αρωγής των
περιοχών που επλήγησαν από τους καταστροφικούς ανεμοστρόβιλους στις 27
Απριλίου.
Περισσότερα από τα 200 και πλέον
θύματα στην Αλαμπάμα προήλθαν από
την περιοχή της Τασκαλούσα και απομακρυσμένων περιοχών του Μπέρμιγχαμ.
Από την ημέρα εκείνη τα μέλη του τμήματος 3, με επικεφαλής τον πρώην Ύπατο Πρόεδρο Αικ Γκούλα και τον πρώην
Υπατο Πρόεδρο του Τμήματος 3 Στιβ
Νίκολσον, προχώρησαν σε διανομή νερού και διαφόρων προμηθειών στις δο-
κιμαζόμενες οικογένειες, τους διασώστες
και τους εργαζόμενους.
Το Γραφείο του Ομοσπονδιακού
Σερίφη της Κομητείας Τζέφερσον χορήγησε άδεια στην ΑΧΕΠΑ να διανείμει
προμήθειες στις πιο σοβαρά πληγείσες
περιοχές.
Ο πρώην Ύπατος Πρόεδρος κ. Γκούλας ανακοίνωσε ότι το τμήμα 3 της ΑΧΕΠΑ έχει τη δυνατότητα να δεχθεί δωρεές
εμφιαλωμένου νερού και προμήθειες.
Οι δωρεές μπορούν να γίνουν άμεσα
στη διεύθυνση:
AHEPA #3 Tornado Relief Fund
c/o The Ike Gulas Law Firm, PC
2031 2nd Avenue North
Birmingham, AL 35203
16
ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΟΣ ΠΑΡΑΤΗΡΗΤΗΣ
ΜΑΙΟΣ 2011
Η εμπειρία των «Αληθινών Διακοπών» ΤΑ ΜΥΣΤΗΡΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΠΡΟΣΕΥΧΗΣ ΤΟΥ ΙΗΣΟΥ
Το βιβλίο και το ντοκιμαντέρ με
Εμπλουτισμένο με εξαίσιες έγχρωστην Κωνσταντινούπολη
τίτλο Τα Μυστήρια της Προσευχής του μες φωτογραφίες από αυτούς τους ιερούς
της Arianna Ranahoseeini
Για τους περισσότερους φοιτητές
κολεγίου, η εργασία σε κοιμητήριο για
μια συνεχόμενη εβδομάδα δεν είναι ακριβώς ο ιδανικός τρόπος για να περάσουν
τις διακοπές της Άνοιξης.
Αλλά, αντίθετα, οι 15 φοιτητές που
συμμετείχαν στο πρόγραμμα «Αληθινές
Διακοπές» της Ορθοδόξου Χριστιανικής
Αδελφότητας (OCF) στην Κωνσταντινούπολη δεν θα ήθελαν να ήταν πουθενά
αλλού.
Από τις 11 ως τις 19 Μαρτίου, φοιτητές από όλη την εθνική επικράτεια των
ΗΠΑ ταξίδευσαν στην Κωνσταντινούπολη, σημερινή Ισταμπούλ, για να αναμορφώσουν ένα Ελληνικό κοιμητήριο το
οποίο τελούσε υπό πλήρη διάλυση από
τη δεκαετία του 1950, όταν καταστράφηκε κατά τη διάρκεια Τουρκικών εξεγέρσεων.
Του ταξιδιού ηγήθηκε ο π. Μάρκος
Λεοντής διευθυντής της παναμερικανικής νεολαίας και πρόεδρος της επιτροπής
της OCF.
Όταν έφθασαν οι φοιτητές στο κοιμητήριο στη Bebek, ο τόπος ήταν γεμάτος
σκουπίδια και καλυμένος από ζιζάνια που
με τον καιρό είχαν μεγαλώσει πολύ. Ταφόπλακες είχαν σπάσει σε κομμάτια και
οι διάδρομοι του κοιμητηρίου δεν διακρίνονταν.
Οι φοιτητές βρήκαν ακόμη και οστά
διάσπαρτα στο κοιμητήριο, ορισμένα
ανθρώπινα, τα οποία συγκέντρωσαν και
τοποθέτησαν μέσα σ’ έναν τάφο του
οποίου το πλάκα είχε σπάσει.
Μετά από τρεις ημέρες ουσιαστικής
και έντονης χειρονακτικής εργασίας, το
κοιμητήριο είχε μεταμορφωθεί.
Οι φοιτητές, με τη βοήθεια μερικών
γειτόνων, γέμισαν εκατοντάδες σακκούλες με σκουπίδια, ζιζάνια και φύλλα.
Έβαψαν το εξωτερικό του παρεκκλησίου
που βρίσκεται στο κοιμητήριο, έπλυναν
τους τάφους, φύτευσαν λουλούδια, επανακόλλησαν με τσιμέντο επιτύμβιες
στήλες και ταφόπετρες και έγραψαν πάλι τα ονόμ ατα των
κεκοιμημένων στις
στήλες.
Αφού τελείωσαν
την εργασία τους, τελ έσθ ηκε Τρισάγ ιο
στο οποίο συμμετείχε και μία γειτόνισσα,
η Όλγα, η οποία αποδείχθηκε ότι ήταν
Ρωσίδα Ορθόδοξη. Η
αποκάλυψη έγινε όταν
άρχισε να ψέλνει το
“Christos Vosgrese”,
δηλαδή το “Χριστός
Ανέστη” στα Ρώσικα.
Δάκρυα συγκίνησης
γέμισαν τα μάτια των
περισσότερων φοιτητών.
Κατά τη διάρκεια
της παραμονής τους,
οι φοιτητές παρακολούθησαν την Θεία
Λειτουργία την Κυριακή της Ορθοδοξίας με τον Παναγιώτατο Οικουμενικό Πατριάρχη κ.κ. Βαρθολομαίο στην εκκλησία του Αγίου Γεωργίου στο Πατριαρχείο, όπου έγινε η
χειροτονία του Μητροπολίτου Καλλιουπόλεως και Μαδύτου κ. Σεραφείμ. Αργότερα την ίδια ημέρα, παρακολούθησαν την
ετήσια συναυλία που δίδεται στα πλαίσια
του εορτασμού της Κυριακής της Ορθοδοξίας υπό την αιγίδα του Παναγιωτάτου
Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχου. Στη συναυλία
τραγούδησε η Ελληνίδα καλλιτέχνις
Γλυκερία.
Την τελευταία ημέρα του ταξιδιού, οι
φοιτητές συναντήθηκαν προσωπικά με
τον Οικουμενικό Πατριάρχη, ο οποίος
συνομίλησε μαζί τους επί μία και πλέον
ώρα. Αφού έλαβαν την ευλογία του, ο
Παναγιώτατος δώρισε στον καθένα ένα
βιβλίο που αναφέρεται στο Πατριαρχείο,
έναν χρυσό σταυρό και ένα κομμάτι σοκολάτα. Κάποιο άλλο βράδυ της παραμονής τους, οι φοιτητές δείπνησαν και
συναναστράφηκαν με μέλη της Ομάδας
Νέων Ενηλίκων Κωνσταντινουπόλεως.
Τις τελευταίες ημέρες του ταξιδιού,
οι φοιτητές επισκέφθηκαν τουριστικά
αξιοθέατα όπως την Αγία Σοφία, το Μπλε
Τζαμί, τον Ιππόδρομο και την Εκκλησία
της Χώρας, στην οποία μπορεί να θαυμάσει κανείς εξαιρετικά μωσαϊκά και τοιχογραφίες.
Έκαναν κρουαζιέρα στο Βόσπορο με
πλοίο και έκαναν αγορές στο μεγάλο
παζάρι και στην αγορά μπαχαρικών.
Επισκέφθηκαν, επίσης, την Εκκλησία των Βλαχερνών όπου εψάλη ο ύμνος
«Τη Υπερμάχω» για πρώτη φορά.
Άλλοι προορισμοί του Προγράμματος «Αληθινές Διακοπές» της Ορθοδόξου
Χριστιανικής Αδελφότητας φέτος την
Άνοιξη ήταν η Γουατεμάλα, η Ρουμανία,
το Μεξικό και το Τορόντο, Καναδά.
Η Arianna Ranahoseini είναι ειδική
ανταποκρίτρια του Ορθόδοξου Παρατηρητή στην περιοχή του Ντένβερ. Είναι
τελειόφοιτη Δημοσιογραφίας στο Πανεπιστήμιο του Ντένβερ και οικονόμος της
Εκκλησίας της Αγίας Αικατερίνης στο
Greenwood Village, Colorado.
Ιησού του Δόκτορα Norris J. Chumley,
αποκαλύπτει την ιστορία, τις πρακτικές
και την διαρκή σοφία αυτής της μυστικιστικής παράδοσης στον υπόλοιπο κόσμο.
Βασίζεται στα ταξίδια του Δρ. Chumley
σε τοποθεσίες αρχαίων ιερών Εκκλησιών
με τη συνοδεία του Αιδ. Δρ. John A.
McGuckin, ιερέα και καθηγητή.
Οι δύο άνδρες επισκέφθηκαν τη
Μονή του Αγίου Αντωνίου στην Αιγυπτιακή έρημο, τη Μονή της Αγίας Αικατερίνης στο Όρος Σινά, μονές στο Άγιο
Όρος, γυναικείες μονές στην Τρανσυλβανία και μονές στη Ρωσία και Ουκρανία σε
αναζήτηση της πρώτης μυστικιστικής
παράδοσης του Χριστιανισμού και αυτών
που την εφαρμόζουν στη σύγχρονη εποχή.
Οι μοναχοί και μοναχές που συνάντησε τον δίδαξαν πώς να κινείται μέσα
στα στάδια της Προσευχής του Ιησού και
πως η Προσευχή αυτή μπορεί να καλλιεργήσει μια ατέρμονη και συνεχώς εμβαθούμενη συζήτηση με τον Θεό.
τόπους, όπου η φωτογράφιση σπάνια
επιτρέπεται, το βιβλίο και το ντοκιμαντέρ
«Τα Μυστήρια της Προσευχής του Ιησού» αποκαλύπτει την δυναμική θεολογία
η οποία εμπεριέχεται στις λιγοστές λέξεις
της προσευχής αυτής.
Για περισσότερες πληροφορίες και
για την απόκτηση ολόκληρου του έργου
σε μορφή DVD επισκεφθείτε την σελίδα
www.JesusPrayerMovie.com.
Οι Εκκλησίες που επιθυμούν να
προβάλουν το ντοκιμαντέρ στους ενορίτες τους, μπορούν να επικοινωνήσουν με
τους παραγωγούς αυτού στην ηλεκτρονική διεύθυνση friends@Jesusprayermovie.
com.
Το βιβλίο του Δρ. Norris J. Chumley
το οποίο εκδίδει ο εκδοτικός οίκος the
HarperOne book, το οποίο προλογίζει
ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης Βαρθολομαίος διατίθεται από όλα τα βιβλιοπωλεία
ή την ιστοσελίδα Amazon.com στη διεύθυνση www.amazon.com/MysteriesJesus-Prayer-Experiencing-Spirituality
Πρόγευμα Πασχαλινής Προσευχής στο Λευκό Οίκο
WASHINGTON - Μετά από προσωπική πρόσκληση του Προέδρου Μπαράκ Ομπάμα, ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος Δημήτριος παρεκάθησε σε πρόγευμα πασχαλινής
προσευχής στο Λευκό Οίκο στις 19
Απριλίου, μαζί με άλλους 11 Χριστιανούς
ηγέτες απ’ όλη την επικράτεια, μέλη του
Κογκρέσου και της διοίκησης.
Είναι η δεύτερη συνεχής χρονιά
κατά την οποία ο πρόεδρος Ομπάμα παραχωρεί πρόγευμα πασχαλινής προσευχής στην ανατολική αίθουσα του Λευκού
Οίκου. Οι Χριστιανοί ηγέτες στην πλειονότητά τους Ρωμαιοκαθολικοί, Ευαγγελιστές και Διαμαρτυρόμενοι προσευχήθηκαν, διαλογίσθηκαν και γιόρτασαν το
Πάσχα μαζί με τον Πρόεδρο.
Μετά από το πρωινό το οποίο προσφέρθηκε στις 7:30 π.μ., οι θρησκευτικοί
ηγέτες ενημερώθηκαν για θέματα που
αφορούν στη θρησκευτική κοινότητα.
Το ειδησεογραφικό πρακτορείο
Associated Press (AP) το οποίο παρείχε
την κάλυψη στον Λευκό Οίκο, σημείωσε
τα λόγια του Προέδρου ο οποίος είπε ότι
η αγωνία του Ιησού Χριστού μέσα στο
θάνατο και την Ανάσταση καθιστά τα απλά
πολιτικά προβλήματα δευτερευόντως σημασίας. Ο Ομπάμα είπε: «κρίσιμες εθνικές
συζητήσεις μαίνονται και υπάρχουν πολλά θέματα προς επίλυση. Τα θέματα στοιβάζονται, αλλά μετά έρχεται η Μεγάλη
Εβδομάδα... Όσο απασχολημένοι και αν
είμαστε, όσα θέματα και αν στοιβάζονται
τις ημέρες αυτές, θυμόμαστε ότι υπάρχει
κάτι σχετικά με την Ανάσταση ...του Σωτήρα μας Ιησού Χριστού το οποίο τοποθετεί όλα τα άλλα προβλήματα στη σωστή
βάση τους». Ο Πρόεδρος είπε επίσης: «το
πρόγευμα προσευχής που ξεκινήσαμε την
προηγούμενη χρονιά μου έδωσε εν μέρει
μια καλή δικαιολογία να συγκεντρώσω
κάποιους ανθρώπους οι οποίοι άσκησαν
τεράστια επιρροή στη ζωή μου και είναι
υπέροχοι φίλοι». Ο Ομπάμα χρησιμοποίησε τα προηγούμενα πρωινά γεύματα
προσευχής για να υπογραμμίσει το βάθος
της Χριστιανικής πίστης εν όψει δημοσκοπήσεων που δείχνουν ότι οι Αμερικανοί αναρωτιούνται σχετικά με τις θρησκευτικές πεποιθήσεις του, σύμφωνα με
το AP.
Νομοθέτες της Νέας Υόρκης στηρίζουν τo Nομοσχέδιο περί
Θρησκευτικής Ελευθερίας του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου
ΑLBANY, N.Y. – Όλα τα 50 μέλη της
Πολιτειακής Γερουσίας και τα 144 μέλη της
Πολιτειακής Συνέλευσης της Νέας Υόρκης
υπέγραψαν πρόσφατα επιστολή η οποία
καλεί την Τουρκική Κυβέρνηση να σταματήσει να χειρίζεται την Αγία Έδρα με προκατάληψη, να αναγνωρίσει το καθεστώς του
Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου, να σεβασθεί το
δικαίωμα ιδιοκτησίας και εκκλησιαστικής
διαδοχής, και να χορηγήσει το δικαίωμα
εκπαίδευσης του κλήρου αυτού – συμπεριλαμβανομένης της επαναλειτουργίας της
Θεολογικής Σχολής της Χάλκης.
Της προσπάθειας ηγήθηκαν οι Γερουσιαστές Dean Skelos και Michael Gianaris
καθώς και τα μέλη της Συνέλευσης Aravella
Simotas και Nicole Malliotakis, οι οποίοι
επιμελώς πλησίασαν και ενημέρωσαν συναδέλφους τους προσωπικά σχετικά με τις
επιζήμιες πρακτικές της Τουρκικής Κυβέρνησης εναντίον του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου και τους ενθάρρυναν να συνυπογράψουν την επιστολή. Ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος Δη-
μήτριος μιλώντας για τη σημασία της τεράστιας υποστήριξης την οποία έλαβε η επιστολή είπε: «Αυτή είναι μία μεγάλη ημέρα
για την Πολιτεία της Νέας Υόρκης και την
Ελληνική Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία στην Αμερική». Ο Σεβασμιώτατος εξήρε τις προσπάθειες των τεσσάρων νομοθετών στην επίτευξη ομόφωνης στήριξης του νομοσχεδίου.
Η νομοθετική πρωτοβουλία περί θρησκευτικής ελευθερίας στη Νέα Υόρκη συντονίσθηκε από τους Άρχοντες Ιωάννη
Κατσιματίδη, Πήτερ Σκιαδά, Νικηφόρο
Μάθιους, Θεόδωρο Κλίγκο και Ιωάννη
Κασσιμάτη. Μέχρι στιγμής σαράντα-δύο
νομοθετικά τμήματα σε 36 πολιτείες έχουν
ψηφίσει δημοψηφίσματα ή υπογράψει επιστολές υπέρ της θρησκευτικής ελευθερίας
του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου.
Για πληροφορίες σχετικά με τις δραστηριότητες του Τάγματος του Αγ. Ανδρέα προς
υποστήριξη των θρησκευτικών ελευθεριών
του Οικουμενικού Πατριαρχείου, επισκεφθείτε: www.archons.org/resolutions.
17
ΟΡΘΟ∆ΟΞΟΣ ΠΑΡΑΤΗΡΗΤΗΣ
MAY 2011
Ομόφωνo Ψήφισμα Αρχιεπισκοπικού Συμβουλίου για την κοινότητα Αγ. Γεωργίου Lynn της Μασαχουσέτης
ΒΟΣΤΩΝΗ - Το Αρχιεπισκοπικό
Συμβούλιο της Ιεράς Αρχιεπισκοπής Αμερικής,
κατά τη διάρκεια της τακτικής εαρινής συνεδρίας
του, επιβεβαίωσε την ενιαία εφαρμογή των
Ομοιόμορφων Ενοριακών Κανονισμών και τις
αποφάσεις των Κληρικολαϊκών Συνελεύσεων
για όλες τις ενορίες, συμπεριλαμβανομένης και
της ενορίας του Αγίου Γεωργίου στο Lynn της
Μασαχουσέτης και ενέκρινε ομόφωνα και με
ονομαστική ψηφοφορία το ακόλουθο ψήφισμα:
Έχει προκύψει ένα πολύ ανησυχητικό
ζήτημα το οποίο επηρεάζει την αρμονική
λειτουργία της Ιεράς Αρχιεπισκοπής.
Ως αποτέλεσμα της καταστάσεως αυτής,
στις 5 και 6 Μαΐου, 2011, το Αρχιεπισκοπικό
Συμβούλιο προέβη σε μια άνευ προηγουμένου
συζήτηση για τις ατυχείς εξελίξεις στον
Ελληνορθόδοξο Ναό του Αγίου Γεωργίου στο
Lynn της Μασαχουσέτης.
Ως άμεση συνέπεια της ανοικτής
αμφισβητήσεως από την ηγεσία της
προαναφερθείσης ενορίας της κανονικής
τάξης, της εκκλησιαστικής αρχής, των
κανονισμών της Ι. Αρχιεπισκοπής και των
αποφάσεων των Κληρικολαϊκών Συνελεύσεων,
το Αρχιεπισκοπικό Συμβούλιο υιοθετεί το παρόν
ψήφισμα, το οποίο στηρίζει τις αποφάσεις
της Ιεράς Επαρχιακής Συνόδου και τις
ενέργειες του Σεβασμιωτάτου Μητροπολίτου
Βοστώνης κ. Μεθόδιου.
Η κατάσταση αυτή προέκυψε για πρώτη
φορά λόγω της κατηγορηματικής άρνησης
της ηγεσίας της ενορίας να εκπληρώσει την
οικονομική υποχρέωση της κοινότητας σύμφωνα
με τους Αρχιεπισκοπικούς κανονισμούς παρά
το γεγονός ότι οι ελεγμένες οικονομικές
αναφορές της ενορίας αποδεικνύουν σαφώς
την δυνατότητα της να ανταποκριθεί πλήρως
στις δεσμεύσεις της και παρόλο που η ενορία
έτυχε μερικής οικονομικής ανακούφισης για ένα
διάστημα αρκετών ετών.
Η ηγεσία της ενορίας αγνόησε τις σαφείς
και αρμόζουσες οδηγίες του Μητροπολίτη της,
καθώς και την επιστολή του Σεβασμιωτάτου
Αρχιεπισκόπου Αμερικής κ. Δημητρίου διά
της οποίας ανεκοινώθη η απόφαση της Ιεράς
Επαρχιακής Συνόδου, καθώς αγνόησε και
τις επαφές της Επιτροπής Οικονομικών του
Αρχιεπισκοπικού Συμβουλίου, διά των οποίων
έγινε επανειλημμένα η σύσταση προς την
15
ενορία να συμμορφωθεί με τους Κανονισμούς
της Ιεράς Αρχιεπισκοπής και τις αποφάσεις των
Κληρικολαϊκών Συνελεύσεων.
Έχουν δοθεί πολλές ευκαιρίες στην
ηγεσία της κοινότητος να διευθετήσει αυτό
το ζήτημα κατά τρόπο δίκαιο και ποιμαντικό.
Ο ιερέας και ο πρόεδρος του ενοριακού
συμβουλίου συναντήθηκαν αρκετές φορές σε
διάστημα τριών ετών, με εκπροσώπους της
Μητροπόλεως και της Επιτροπής Οικονομικών
του Αρχιεπισκοπικού Συμβουλίου. Τον
περασμένο Δεκέμβριο, ο ιερέας και ολόκληρο
το ενοριακό συμβούλιο συναντήθηκε με τον
Σεβ. Μητροπολίτη κ. Μεθόδιο, την Επιτροπή
Οικονομικών της Μητροπόλεως και τον
πρόεδρο της Επιτροπής Οικονομικών του
Αρχιεπισκοπικού Συμβουλίου. Παρ’ όλα αυτά,
η ενορία έχει αρνηθεί να ανταποκριθεί στις
υποχρεώσεις στις οποίες ανταποκρίνονται όλες
οι άλλες ενορίες της Ελληνικής Ορθοδόξου
Αρχιεπισκοπής Αμερικής, υποχρεώσεις οι οποίες
καθορίζονται από τις ανά διετία Κληρικολαϊκές
Συνελεύσεις.
Είναι δε ακόμα πιο ανησυχητικό το γεγονός
ότι ο ιερέας και το ενοριακό συμβούλιο του Lynn
συγκάλεσαν γενική συνέλευση στην οποία
εγκρίθηκε η μη καταβολή των υποχρεώσεων της
ενορίας, κατά σαφή παραβίαση των Κανονισμών
της Ιεράς Αρχιεπισκοπής Αμερικής.
Οι ενέργειες της ενορίας οδήγησαν
στην παρούσα δήλωση του Αρχιεπισκοπικού
Συμβουλίου η οποία προτρέπει την κοινότητα
να συμμορφωθεί με τα κριτήρια που ισχύουν
για όλες τις ενορίες της Αρχιεπισκοπής. Εάν,
εντός δέκα ημερών, η ενορία δε συμμορφωθεί
με τις προβλέψεις που ορίζουν οι κανονισμοί,
αποκαθιστώντας τη χριστιανική ειρήνη εντός
της κοινότητας, το Αρχιεπισκοπικό Συμβούλιο
υποστηρίζει πλήρως την επιβολή όλων
των αναγκαίων κανονικών και διοικητικών
κυρώσεων. Η μη συμμόρφωση της κοινότητας
θα την οδηγήσει σε σχίσμα, διαχωρίζοντας
όσους ευθύνονται από το σώμα της Εκκλησίας
και της μυστηριακής ζωής της Εκκλησίας.
Το Αρχιεπισκοπικό Συμβούλιο στηρίζει
πλήρως όλες τις ενέργειες του Σεβασμιωτάτου
Μητροπολίτου Βοστώνης κ. Μεθόδιου για
την εφαρμογή των Κανονισμών της Ιεράς
Αρχιεπισκοπής Αμερικής και την εκτέλεση των
αποφάσεων των Κληρικολαϊκών Συνελεύσεων.
χρόνια ελληνική
τηλεόραση
Παραμένουμε κοντά στον ελληνισμό
και με συνέπεια και επαγγελματισμό
σας προσφέρουμε τα καλύτερα της
ελληνικής τηλεόρασης.
Μόνο στο DISH Network.
Επιλέξτε DISH Network.
Επιλέξτε Ελληνικά.
Greek Elite Pack.
1.888.389.2594
Απαιτείται συνδρομή στο International Basic package των $10 ανά μήνα ή στο America’s Top package.
Η προσφορά του Digital Home Advantage προϋποθέτει 24μηνη δέσμευση και ικανοποίηση πιστωτικών προϋποθέσεων. Αν η υπηρεσία ακυρωθεί πριν από τη λήξη της δέσμευσης, θα χρεωθεί το ποσό των $17.50 ανά μήνα μέχρι το τέλος της σχετικής
δέσμευσης. Η προσφορά του Showtime (αξίας $39) προϋποθέτει υπηρεσίες AutoPay και Paperless Billing και μετά το πέρας 3 μηνών οι τρέχουσες τιμές θα ισχύσουν εκτός αν ο πελάτης υποβαθμίσει την σύνδεση του. Χωρίς χρέωση μόνο βασική
επαγγελματική εγκατάσταση. Όλες οι συσκευές είναι ενοικιαζόμενες και θα πρέπει να επιστραφούν στο DISH Network μετά την ακύρωση της συμφωνίας αλλιώς θα υπάρξει ανάλογη χρέωση για τις συσκευές που δεν έχουν επιστραφεί . Ισχύει
το όριο των 6 συχνοτήτων σήματος (tuners) ανά λογαριασμό. Προκαταβολικές και μηνιαίες χρεώσεις μπορεί να ισχύουν ανάλογα με το τύπο και αριθμό δεκτών (receivers) Όλες οι τιμές και τα πακέτα προγραμμάτων μπορεί να αλλάξουν χωρίς
προειδοποίηση. Για καινούργιους και πρώην πελάτες της DISH Network που πληρούν συγκεκριμένες προϋποθέσεις μόνο και η προσφορά υπόκεινται στους όρους του Promotional and Residential Customer Agreement. Επιπρόσθετοι περιορισμοί μπορεί
να ισχύσουν. Η προσφορά λήγει 05/17/11. All rights reserved. Το SHOWTIME και τα συγγενή σήματα και λογότυπα είναι ιδιοκτησία του Showtime Networks Inc., της εταιρείας CBS.
18
MAY 2011
METROPOLIS NEWS
Diane Primis photo
Major Gift Helps Build Alaska Church
by Diane Primis
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – In less than
two years the shell of the new Byzantine–
style Greek Orthodox church in Alaska is
nearly complete thanks to the large gift
from primary benefactor Nikolaos Theodore Kollias.
He was born Feb. 10, 1928 in Thisvi,
Thebes, Greece to Theodore and Panagiota Kollias. He had two sisters, Helen and
Garifalia, and one brother, Harry.
After finishing grade school Kollias
went to work with his father in the family
fields. He joined the Greek army in 1949.
Upon returning from the army, he continued to help his father with the family
business caring for 300 horses.
Kollias immigrated to the United
States in 1956 and settled in Elyria, Ohio
where he worked for General Electric.
He later moved to New York, where he
worked in various restaurants before moving to Alaska in 1959. He worked in several
Anchorage restaurants before taking a job
on the North Slope as a caterer.
He was a quiet, hard–working and
kind-hearted person who loved his family,
Loving baskets
his friends and his church. He sent money
to Thisvi to replace the church bell tower
that had been burned by the Germans
during WWII. He also installed a clock
in the church tower, and a chandelier in
the nave.
Before his death, Kollias anonymously
donated $500,000 to the church building
project in Alaska. He lived to see the dome
installed on his beloved church Dec. 1,
and then died on Dec. 20. He left the remainder of his estate to the building project. Without his generous donation the
new church building in Alaska would not
have become a reality. Nick was blessed to
have so many friends who loved him and
he in turn blessed all of the parishioners
of Holy Transfiguration by his love and
generosity.
The capital campaign for the Alaska
church construction continues with an
immediate goal of $150,000, which is still
needed to complete the bell tower and
the exterior finish of the building before
winter.
For further information about the
church in Alaska, visit www.transfiguration.ak.goarch.org
Eleven years and 5,000-plus Easter baskets ago, Fr. Dean Hountalas, priest of the 150-family Holy
Cross Church in Farmington Hills, Mich., had a vision for the parish Philotopchos’ first Lenten project.
His idea was to create 260 baskets for patients of Children’s Hospital of Michigan. It multiplied beyond
Philoptochos, to include GOYA, Sunday school, choir and most faithful, and the community Girl and
Boy Scouts programs, Brownie and Daisy troops resulting in more than 5,000 baskets. Also benefiting
are the community’s underprivileged children, and some special needs adults. Fr. Hountalas named
the Holy Cross outeach project, “With Agape.”
MAY 2011
Birmingham AHEPA
Helps Storm Victims
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Birmingham
Chapter 3 of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA) allocated $2,500 for AHEPA’s Tornado Relief
Effort for those areas affected by the April
27 devastating tornadoes.
Many of the 200-plus casualties in
Alabama came from the Tuscaloosa and
outlying Birmingham areas.
As of this morning members of Chapter
3, spearheaded by Past Supreme President
Ike Gulas and Past Chapter 3 President
Steve Nickolson, started distributing water
and supplies to families, rescue and utility
workers
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department granted AHEPA access to distribute
supplies to the most severely affected areas.
Past Supreme President Gulas announced
AHEPA Chapter 3 is able to receive donations of bottled water and supplies.
METROPOLIS NEWS
19
Boston OCF
Participants in the Orthodox Christian Fellowship group representing several Boston-area colleges and universities recently attended a retreat at the
Annunciation Cathedral of New England. Metropolitan Methodios of Boston addressed the gathering.
‘Bears from the Heart’ GOYA Service Project a Great Success
NEW YORK – GOYA chapters of the
Direct Archdiocesan District recently
completed their third annual “Bears from
the Heart” service project in which 135
Build-a-Bears were delivered to the Ronald
McDonald House of New York for all the
children residents and their siblings for
Valentine’s Day.
“Bears from the Heart” came to
fruition three years ago with an idea from
Christiana Vissas of Holy Trinity Church
in New Rochelle, that she and her fellow
GOYA members planned as a service
project.
Her idea was to visit a Build–a–Bear
workshop and make a few bears for some
of the children in the Ronald McDonald
House for Christmas. Athena Zapantis,
Holy Trinity youth director and GOYA
advisor, loved Christiana’s idea but knew
that gifts needed to be distributed equally
to all the children in the Ronald McDonald
House (RMDH).
To make enough bears for the entire
RMDH more people needed to be involved, so Zapantis expanded the idea to a
district–wide service project for the Direct
Archdiocesan District in 2009.
Since the children of RMDH receive
many gifts and donations during the
Christmas season, she felt Valentine’s Day
would be a better time to give the bears
to them.
It would be a time when they would
not be expecting any gifts but also a perfect
time for showing them that someone cares
for them during a day of love.
Each participating parish decided to
go with their GOYA members to a store
location to make the bears before the set
delivery date.
After each group had completed their
bears, the advisor(s) took a picture of the
Goyans with the bears they made. The
group also made Valentine’s Day cards.
A card and picture of the group were included in the bear gift to each child.
PARTICIPATING CHAPTERS
Participating GOYA chapters from
14 parishes of the Greater New York area
included: Holy Trinity Church, New Rochelle; Kimisis tis Theotokou, Poughkeepsie; Sts. Constantine and Helen Church,
West Nyack; Holy Cross Church, Middletown; Church of Our Savior, Rye; St.
Paraskevi Church, Greenlawn; Holy Cross
Church, Brooklyn; Kimisis tis Theotokou,
Brooklyn; Church of the Holy Resurrection, Brookville; Holy Trinity Church, Staten Island; St. Nicholas Church, Flushing;
and the Connecticut parishes of Church
of the Archangels, Stamford; Holy Trinity Church, Bridgeport; and St. Barbara
Church, Orange
Past years’ participants, in addition
to the above, have included: St. George’s
Church, Norwalk, Conn.; St. Demetrios
Church, Jamaica Hills, N.Y; Assumption
Church, Danbury, Conn.; and Assumption
Church, Port Jefferson, N.Y. Carnivale of
Love Foundation.
Patristic Institute
Conferences Set
at HC/HC
Thousands Celebrate Resurrection
ARCHON D. PANAGOS photo
An estimated 5,000 faithful fill the street and sidewalk areas in front of St. Nicholas Church in Flushing, N.Y. for the Resurrection service on Pascha
Sunday. Archbishop Demetrios officiated at the service, which was televised.
BROOKLINE, Mass. -- The Pappas
Patristic Institute each year holds three
conferences at Holy Cross School of
Theology.
The spring event is the Archbishop
Iakovos Graduate Student Conference
that brings together graduate students
from many parts of this country and
abroad who present papers on areas
in patristic studies of interest to them.
The recent conference in March
drew more than 70 students to the
campus from 34 colleges, universities
and institutes in the United States and
Canada and several countries in Europe, including Greece.
The Summer Program in Patristic
Studies will take place July 18-23.
Students can attend intensive classes
in patristics.
The annual fall conference is thematic in nature. This year the theme is
“Family and Children in the Patristic
Tradition,” slated Oct. 13-15.
More information about the activities of the Pappas Patristic Institute is
available at www.hchc.edu/patristics.
20
MAY 2011
TICKETS TO GREECE ON SALE
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HC/HC NEWS
First Graduates Ordained
in Special Diaconate Program
by Marilyn Rouvelas
Over lunch at a restaurant in spring
2009, Harry Chelpon excitedly told me
about his inspiring experience at the
new Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Special Program for the Diaconate which
he had attended the summer before at
Holy Cross School of Theology.
He was headed back again for another two weeks that August to study
such subjects as liturgics, chanting, and
scripture.
God-willing, after another two
weeks in 2010 and the completion of
three years of mentoring by his parish
priest, Fr. Konstantinos Pavlakos, his
call to become a deacon might happen.
God’s will was manifest on Jan. 9,
201l, with Harry’s ordination to the
diaconate by Metropolitan Evangelos
of New Jersey at St. Katherine Church
in Falls Church, Va.
Father (the correct form of address
for a deacon) John Mamangakis, one
of Harry’s program mates from New
Rochelle, N.Y., assisted with the ordination. Exclaiming “Axios” with the rest of
the congregation were four other program mates (not yet ordained): George
Kaloroumakis of St. George, Ocean
City, Md; Gary Kent of St. George,
Bethesda, Md; Nick Pappas, Nativity of
the Theotokos, Fredericksburg, Va; and
Louis Zagami, Annunciation Cathedral,
Baltimore.
That day Harry joined a small, but
growing group of laity that has been
called to serve our communities as
deacons.
Recognizing both a sincere desire of
the laity to serve in this special capacity
and the needs of churches and priests
for assistance, the Holy Eparchial Synod
of the GOA started the Special Program
for the Diaconate in 2007.
Already this grassroots movement is
putting down deep roots; and Dr. Jim
Skedros, Special Program coordinator,
is pleased and surprised at its growth.
When the program began in August
2007, only four students attended; but
by August 2010, there were 49 students
enrolled, 12 of whom were from the
Metropolis of Atlanta.
Now some of the graduates of those
early classes have been ordained to the
diaconate:
Fr. Sal Fazio in December 2009, by Metropolitan Methodios of Boston at Sts. Constantine and Helen in Andover, Mass; Fr.
John Mamangakis in May 2010, by Bishop
Andonios of Phasiane at Holy Trinity, New
Rochelle; and Fr. Dimitri Belsito in October
2010, also by Bishop Andonios of Phasiane,
at Holy Trinity at Waterbury, Conn.
At the ordination reception for
Fr. Chelpon, Fr. Mamangakis, clearly
inspired by his participation in the
ordination service, explained that his
experience so far as a deacon was everything he had hoped it would be: He
is helping with church services, visiting
the sick; and, thanks to his understanding priest, Fr. Nicholas Anctil, he is still
able to balance his family life and work
as a hospital administrator.
For Fr. Fazio, an electrical engineer, working with the youth ministry,
especially the younger Goyans and JOY
group, has been especially meaningful.
The service that these men are now
providing reflects the original purpose
of the ordained diaconate, a misunderstood ministry as many people wrongly
assume that it is simply a stepping
stone to the priesthood.
However, the diaconate is a distinct ministry in itself rooted in service
(diakonia), following Christ’s example:
“For the Son of Man came not to be
served, but to serve...“ (Mark 10:45).
Thus, since the Apostles chose the
first seven deacons (Acts 6:1-6) to help
with their work, the ordained ministry
in the Orthodox Church has been comprised of three distinct orders: deacon
(male and female), priest and bishop.
For the ordained ministry of the
Church to be fully expressed in all of
its potential, all three offices should
be vigorous.
Laity who are interested in exploring the GOA Special Program for the
diaconate may go to www.hchc.edu/
holycross/academics, and then prayerfully discuss the possibility with their
priest and, if so advised, their Metropolitan.
For in–depth history about the
diaconate, read the following seminal
books: John Chryssavgis,“Remembering
and Reclaiming Diakonia: The Diaconate Yesterday and Today “(Brookline,
MA: Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 2009)
and Kyriaki Karidoyanes FitzGerald,
“Women Deacons in the Orthodox
Church: Called to Holiness and Ministry” (Brookline, MA, Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 1998).
Marilyn Rouvelas is the author of A
Guide to Greek Traditions and Customs
in America.
Spiritual Formation Teacher Training
Course Slated at Hellenic College
BROOKLINE, Mass. – Catherine Varkas, founder and director of the nationally
accredited Palm Harbor Montessori Teacher Education Center in Palm Harbor, Fla.,
will offer a two-week course in teacher
training, exploring the religious nature
and vital needs of the 3- to 6-year-old child.
The program will take place June
6-17 at Hellenic College. Classes will be
held from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday
through Friday on the campus both weeks.
The course will immerse participants
in instruction and materials linked to the
Gospel and the liturgical experience of the
Orthodox Church.
Material presented will be sequenced
for a three-year curriculum.Tuition is
$700. The course is recommended for
pre–school teachers, Sunday school teachers, home school teachers and parents.
Catherine Varkas is a graduate of
Holy Cross School of Theology. Anyone
interested in attending is urged to contact
her at [email protected] or
508-367-7254.
21
MAY 2011
When the Parish Moved, They Took Their Church With Them
P A R I S H
profile
Name: St. Haralambos
Greek Orthodox Church
Location: Canton, Ohio
Metropolis of Pittsburgh
Size: about 556 families,
another 200 on mailing list
Founded: 1913
Clergy: Fr. Nicholas V. Gamvas (M.Div.
Holy Cross ’79; D.Min, Andover Newton
Theological School ’89 in psychology;
Ph.D. in clinical psychology, Boston
College ‘95)
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.stharalambos.com
Noteworthy: Mother Church of the
Canton area Greek Orthodox Parishes.
ST. HARALAMBOS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
In Matthew 17:20, Jesus told His
disciples “…if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain,
‘Move from here to there,’ and it will
move; and nothing will be impossible
for you.”
In 1958, the members of St. Haralambos parish put their faith into practice by successfully moving their existing church, which was built in 1919,
from one part of Canton to another in
the face of skeptics and naysayers who
thought the building would collapse or
sustain severe damage. Damage to city
streets totaled about $100.
But the story of St. Haralambos,
now a very active parish with many successful ministries, begins around 1898.
At the time, Canton native William
McKinley (born in nearby Niles) was
president of the United States.
According to a parish history by
historians George P. Michalos and
Evelyn W. Eustathios, St. Haralambos
Church and Community, a tailor named
George Loukas settled in Canton. In
1903, Christina Michalokopoulos from
Stemnitsa, Greece, became the first
Greek women to arrive when she came
to join her husband.
By 1910, more than 350 Greeks
had settled here, many from Chios
and Crete
In another parish history, Greeks
of Stark County, William H. Samonides
and Regine Johnson Samonides, the
current parish historians, note that
many Greeks came to Ohio in that era
as it was then the industrial center of
the nation.
Canton was the fastest-growing city
in Ohio, home to alloy steel manufacturing, brick making for street pavement, tinplate, Timken Roller Bearing
(still in business), vacuum cleaners
(Hoover was a major employer until
moving its manufacturing operation
to China several years ago), and other
labor-intensive industries.
In addition to the above-mentioned locations, a very large number
of immigrants came from Asia Minor,
especially the Pontos region.
Greeks clustered in the southeast
part of the city and eventually opened
their own businesses, or made “katsarolas” at the Canton Stamping and
Enameling Company.
After World War I, a large influx of
Greeks from Asia Minor arrived in the
area and efforts got underway to estab-
lish a Greek Orthodox church.
The first priest to serve the Greek
Orthodox faithful was Fr. Leonidas
Athanakos, who arrived in 1913. He was
a founder of what became Holy Trinity
Cathedral of New York.
Services took place for several
years in rented halls and other facilities.
The church became incorporated
in 1915 and property for a church was
purchased the following year.
Construction began in 1917 and
the church (the one they moved across
town 40 years later) was completed in
1919 at a cost of $60,000.
The cornerstone was laid by Archbishop Germanos of Brooklyn, the
acting head of the Syrian Orthodox
Church in North America (this was five
years before the creation of the Greek
Orthodox Archdiocese of North and
South America),
The dedication of the church in
February 1919 drew 10,000 participants and was officiated by Archbishop
Meletios of Athens.
The church received the name St.
Haralambos as a result of a drawing
from a hat.
The Great Depression created
hardship for the parish, which nearly
lost its building. But parishioners managed to pay off the mortgage. Also during the 1930s, Archbishop Athenagoras
was a frequent visitor.
Following World War II, the community experienced increasing growth
and purchased a 10–acre site for a new
church in 1951. Several building committees had formed, but the cost of
building a new church was prohibitive.
Parishioners also were reluctant to
leave their old house of worship.
A moving experience
The priest at the time, Fr. Theophilos Theophilos, while on a trip to
Cleveland, witnessed a hospital building being moved and he presented the
idea of physically moving the entire
church building to the community’s
new property.
Ninety two percent of the parish’s
250 voting members approved of the
plan.
In the meantime, Fr. Theophilos
was assigned to a parish in Montreal
and his successor, Fr. Leon Pachis,
oversaw the move.
An engineering firm was hired and
a cost estimate of $200,000 was deter-
mined for the relocation project, at
least half the cost of building a new
church.
The building was split into two
parts. A 16-foot middle section had
to be destroyed, but was later replaced after the move was complete.
There were hurdles to overcome
in making the move.
The City of Canton would not issue a moving permit until everyone
involved was in agreement and, because
it was the biggest move ever attempted
in Canton, the contractor couldn’t get
an insurance policy to cover the moving
of the church.
Considerable coordination was
required among the building committee, contractor, city officials and
utility companies.
The stained glass windows, the very
heavy slate roof, and a 16-foot section
of the church were removed before
the move.
Each exposed side was covered
with wood and tar paper. Any piece of
furniture that was secured to the floor
stayed in the two halves through the
move.
Skepticism ran high that the
building would not stand the strain.
Over two months in the summer
of 1958, the two sections weighing
about 300 tones were jacked up off
the ground, mounted on six dollies that contained 60 solid-rubber
wheels and they were moved separately, with each move taking 18 days
from the southeast part of the city
over four miles to the northwestern
quadrant.
More than 5,000 spectators
witnessed the beginning preparations, with estimates of up to 50,000
watching the event on one Sunday
afternoon.
The sections were placed on a
new foundation without significant
damage. They were connected with
a 32-foot addition that helped to
double the seating capacity of the
church to 500.
Many youth ministries
During the 1960s and ‘70s the
parish was served by Fr. Nichols
Manikas, who helped establish the
senior citizens group and the Boy
Scouts and Cub Scouts in the parish.
The contemporary parish offers numerous ministries especially
for young people, beginning with the
younger children in JOY, with 35. There
are 56 Goyans, 20 in the Hellenic Dancers Youth Program, and 45 in the YAL.
Athletics play a large part in the
community life of the young people,
with boys and girls JOY basketball
teams, GOYA boys and girls basketball
teams and volleyball for girls and boys.
Sunday school has about 120 students and Greek school has 35, plus a
Greek class with 20 adults.
Adult and teen Bible classes meet
monthly and draw up to 50 people.
There is a 25-member junior choir,
a 55-member senior choir and five
chanters.
The Philoptochos chapter has more
than 100 members and the men’s club
and a senior citizens group, the Silver
Liners, each with more than 100 members. An “Over 80” group has about
120 members.
There also is a sacred art icon and
book store, and a food pantry for the
needy.
A community and cultural center
added in the 1960s includes meeting
rooms, offices, a gymnasium, and an
event center with two stages.
St. Haralambos supports itself
through stewardship. A yearly Greek
festival is another major revenue
source.
The current priest, Protopresbyter Nicholas V. Gamvas, a native of
Fitchburg, Mass., began his career as
a marine biologist from 1973-76 after
graduating from the University of New
Hampshire.
He enrolled at Holy Cross and received his M.Div. in 1979.
Since then he has served the parishes of Sts. Constantine and Helen
Cathedral in Richmond, Va; Assumption Church in Manchester, N.H; St.
Demetrios Church, Fort Worth, Texas;
Sts. Constantine and Helen Church in
Honolulu and the Maui Misssion before
coming to Canton in 2007 as the parish’s 15th priest.
— Compiled by Jim Golding
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22
METROPOLIS NEWS
MAY 2011
‘hellenicare’ Coordinates Humanitarian
Outreach in Republic of Georgia
Clergy retreat
Archon D. Panagos photo
Priests of the Direct Archdiocesan District attended a Lenten retreat in April in Greenlawn, N.Y., led by
Archbishop Demetrios. The retreat theme was “Providing Relevant Ministry in Historic Times.”
Koraes School Competes in the Illinois Junior
Academy of Science Regional Science Fair
PALOS HILLS, Ill. – Students from
Koraes Elementary School, affiliated
with Sts Constantine and Helen Church,
participated in the Illinois Junior Academy of Science Regional Science Fair
in March. The students all presented
projects and were among more than 600
students from the southern Cook County
and DuPage County area. The top 199
projects qualified to go to the State Science Fair competition.
Seventh grade students Michael
Marx’s project, “Can You Tire Your
Muscles?” and Alexandra Lenz’s project
“The Effects of Friction on Objects in
Motion!” both received an outstanding
score qualifying them to attend the State
Science Fair competition. Seventh grade
student John Kladis received a first-place
ribbon. Seventh grade students Georgia
Hiotis, Antonia Pappas, Eleni Iglesis, and
Grace Davenport received second–place
ribbons.
Eighth grade students Evan Vouris,
Athanasios Makris, and Paul Davenport
also received a second-place ribbon.
CHICAGO – ‘hellenicare’s’ Greek
Medical Fund of Georgia recently was
asked by government and humanitarian
organizations in that country to provide
health care services through its medical mobile unit to the residents of the
St. George Mtatsmindeli Rehabilitation
Center. The center began as a homeless
shelter for street children after the Georgian civil war ended in 1995. Over the
years, it expanded its mission to include
homeless elderly.
“This is a very poor village and the center receives little money to provide medical
care and medicines,” says Alina Papanidi,
regional coordinator of hellenicare. When
the administrator of the regional council
heard about our medical mobile unit he
asked us if we would visit the village.” We
thought it would be a perfect opportunity
for our fellow Department of State (DOS)
grantees to join us and sponsor a humanitarian outreach program,” continued Ms.
Papanidi.
The small village of Dzegvi, Georgia
is located in the historic old capital of the
Republic of Georgia called Mtskheta. The
city dates back to the year 1000 B.C. and is
home to the sixth century monastery of Jvari
and an 11th century Orthodox cathedral.
Prior to the 19th century, the kings and
queens of Georgia were buried in Mtskheta.
Dzegvi is one of several small villages
perched along the banks of where the Aragvi
and Kura rivers converge in the MtskhetaMtianeti region which has a population of
approximately 20,000 people.
hellenicare’s medical mobile unit
(MMU) consisting of a general physician,
pediatrician and cardiologist, examined
residents at St. George Rehabilitation
Center and the Catharsis Nursing Home
as well as local residents. As hellenicare’s
MMU is equipped with a mini laboratory,
portable ultrasound and EKG unit, diagnostic tests were also able to be performed
in addition to physician examinations.
Joining hellenicare was the United
Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)
who provided the children of the Rehabilitation Center with school kits, Counterpart
International who distributed winter boots
as well as LDS-Charities who supplemented
medicines and medical supplies donated by
hellenicare. The outreach was also televised
on the three major news stations in Tbilisi
as well as local news media in the MtskhetaMtianeti region.
“This outreach effort is just one of the
many ways hellenicare actualizes its mission
to restore health and hope,” says Cynthia A.
Yannias, program director. “Our cooperative working relationship with other DOS
grantees and humanitarian organizations
strengthens our efforts to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable children and
the elderly. We thank our fellow NGOs for
making this outreach possible,” added Mrs.
Yannias.
For more information about hellenicare’s program visit www.hellenicare.org
or call 312-775-9000.
Parish leaders and dignitaries break ground for the new St. Sophia-Sts. Faith, Hope and Agape Church.
Pennsylvania Parish
Holds Groundbreaking Event
JEFFERSONVILLE, Pa. –St SophiaSts Faith, Hope and Agape parish broke
ground for a new church on March 6 in
West Norriton Township near historic
Valley Forge.
Bishop Andonios of Phasiane, the
Archdiocese chancellor, represented Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey at the
ceremony that followed the Divine Liturgy.
The event ushered in the initial phase of a
masterplan that features a dramatic domed
Byzantine-style church seating over 425
and future support facilities for parish
ministries.
The groundbreaking service was attended by more than 400 faithful and distinguished guests, including Congressman
Patrick Meehan, U.S. Sen. John Rafferty,
Pennsylvania state Representative Warren
Kampf and Montgomery County Commissioner Bruce Castor.
Architect Christ Kamages and his firm
CJK Design Group of San Francisco are
designing the Byzantine-style church.
The parish received its charter in
1981, but the parish’s history goes back
to a handful of faithful Greek Orthodox
immigrants who founded the community
in the 1920’s. It is a growing community
of more than 200 families, led by Fr. Peter
Thornberg.
For information on St Sophia & Ss.
Faith Hope & Agape Greek Orthodox
Church, visit www.stsophiavf.org/
MAY 2011
METROPOLIS NEWS
23
San Francisco Cultural Parade
Features 30 Participating Groups
by Kristen Bruskas
SAN FRANCISCO – The annual Greek
Cultural Parade took place April 10 for the
10th consecutive year. An annual parade
was held in the 1950’s for about 20 years
and then there was a hiatus until the late
1990’s.
The parade route began at 7th Street
and Mission and continued for about one
mile down McAllister to City Hall.
There were 30 participating groups,
including 5 floats: Ascension Cathedral
– Oakland, Annunciation – Sacramento,
Nativity of Christ – Novato, Pan-Arcadians,
Navarino-Messenian Society, United Greek
Cypriots of Northern California, Pan-Cretan
Association, Hellenic Heritage Institute
and Museum, Hellenic Law Society, OCF –
Berkeley (from the Patriarch Athenagoras
Orthodox Institute), AHEPA, Macedonian
Society, Lakonikos Syllogos, Zakynthian
Brotherhood. Various marching bands, drill
teams, and drum corps from local schools.
A reception immediately followed at
the San Francisco Civic Auditorium.
The number of participants and attendees/viewers was estimated at 2,000.
The parade was coordinated by Ted
Laliotis, president, Hellenic Federation
of Northern California, in cooperation
with the Metropolis of San Francisco and
the Consulate General of Greece in San
Francisco.
Traditional Evzones lead the Greek Cultural Parade in downtown San Francisco.
Minoan Dancers – The award-winning Minoan Dancers from the Nativity of Christ parish in Novato
perform in front of City Hall.
Parade Dignitaries – Watching from the main stage were: (L-R) Dr. Alexandros Kokkinides (retired
– Rear Admiral, Greek Navy), Metropolitan Nikitas of Dardanelles, Metropolitan Gerasimos of San
Francisco, Ioannis Andreades, consul general of Greece in San Francisco; Nicolaos Theophanous,
honorary consul general of Cyprus.
KRISTEN BRUSKAS photos
SF Parade Sacramento – The Greek School from the Annunciation Church in Sacramento participate
in the parade.
Ascension Cathedral dancers, Greek School students and their families enthusiastically participate
in the parade.
24
MAY 2011
Ionian
Village
Reflections of a
Camp Counselor
by Jaclyn Limberakis
There is nothing quite like the feeling
of pulling up to Ionian Village in a bus full
of campers and counselors who have been
traveling for hours in anticipation of that
moment. I was a 12-year-old camper the
first time I laid eyes on the big white Ionian
Village sign that marks the entrance to the
camp grounds. It is an image that has been
permanently etched in my memory. Fastforward 12 years to the summer of 2010
when I saw the big white Ionian Village
sign again, returning as a counselor for the
second time. My journey from Philadelphia
to Greece was full of excitement, nervousness, and countless recollections of past IV
summers, but when I saw that sign, there
was only one overwhelming feeling: “I’m
home.” Needless to say, the Ionian Village
program has left a lasting and treasured
impression on me. If I could spend every
summer of my young adult life as an IV
counselor, I would do it in a heartbeat.
What is it that makes being an IV counselor so great? Obviously, spending two
months in Greece at a summer camp is a
pretty amazing deal. But it only takes one
day working with an IV staff to realize that
you are part of something incredibly special;
something so much bigger than just a summer in Greece. It is impossible to pinpoint
Photo credit: Ted Davantzis
Ionian Village reunion
Young men and women from Minnesota, California, Virginia, New York and other states arrived in Boston Friday April 29, for a three–day Ionian Village reunion for campers of both sessions of the 2010 season. The 178 campers who participated under the direction of Ionian Village director, Fr. Jason Roll, had the
opportunity to renew their ties, share their experiences and faith, take part in some fun activities and worship together on Sunday at the St. Nectarios Greek
Orthodox Church in Roslindale, Mass, where this photo with Metropolitan Methodios of Boston was taken following the Divine Liturgy.
one defining moment that captures the
joy of serving on the IV staff. However, the
following list of memories is my attempt to
illustrate what the job meant to me. These
are snapshots from my summers, moments
that I hope will convey what a unique blessing it is to be an IV counselor.
Watching pride and confidence spread
across campers’ faces when they master
a new Greek dance...and then teach it to
a friend. Shedding tears of appreciation
and reverence after venerating the incorrupt body of a saint. The food. Viewing
landscapes of Greece that take my breath
away. Sharing stories in the pivotal Orthodox Life session or evening devotional that
transforms a cabin of strangers into a family.
Seeing a camper’s eyes widen with awe as
the Parthenon comes into view. The hymns
we sing each day during chapel, made so
much more beautiful by the unified voices
of the entire camp. Walking through the
camp grounds, surrounded by flowers,
feeling nothing but pure and unbridled
happiness. Junkyard wars, sandcastle contests, and music nights that evoke fierce
cabin unity. Learning the symbolism of a
holy icon. Dancing until our faces glisten
with sweat. Late-night heart-to-hearts with
new best friends. Did I mention the food?
Being completely at peace on the Ionian
Sea during ferry rides to the islands. The
simplicity and beauty of the IV chapel sitting
at the heart of the campus. Cheering until
we lose our voices when the winner of the
IV Olympics is announced. The smiles. The
laughter. The IV agape.
With God as the center of our lives,
each step we take closer to Him through
our work at Ionian Village also brings us a
step closer to each other. The relationships
we form are unbreakable because they are
rooted in our faith. In just two months, the
staff has become a family.
Together, we are teachers, mentors,
and friends to the campers we serve. It is
a responsibility not to be taken lightly, but
when carried out with love in our hearts, it
is one of the most rewarding and precious
experiences.
When we leave, we have gained far
more than any sum of money that any other
summer job could have paid. In our spiritual journey as young Orthodox Christians,
the Ionian Village program is unrivaled.
To those who are blessed with the opportunity to serve on the IV staff, seize it!
25
MAY 2011
Orthodox Christian Summer Camps
In just a short amount of time, school
will be out for the summer. Most students
are already daydreaming about what they
would like to do for their summer vacation.
There are a ton of things that teens can do
over the summer. Did you know that there
is an Orthodox Christian summer camp in
most every area of the U.S?
Summer camp can truly be a transformative experience in a young person’s life.
At camp, people learn and grow in their
relationship with Christ. They gather to see
all their old friends and make new ones.
It is also a unique opportunity for young
people to live in an Orthodox Christian
community of their peers. Why choose to
go to an Orthodox Christian summer camp?
Here are four great reasons:
WORSHIP
“Oh come, let us worship and bow
down; Let us kneel before the Lord our
Maker. For He is our God, and we are the
people of His pasture, and the sheep of His
hand.” Psalm 95:6-7
Outside of Divine Liturgy and the services of Holy Week, many young people do
not get to experience worship on a daily
basis. At an Orthodox Christian summer
camp, youth get to worship among their
peers. In addition to Divine Liturgy, most
camps offer morning and evening prayers.
Most importantly, campers truly experience
God by taking part in the Sacramental life
of the Church through the Holy Eucharist
and Holy Confession.
Worship becomes a teaching tool as
well. Campers can ask the priests and leaders about different aspects of the Divine
by Eva Kokinos
Just a month ago, the movie “Soul
Surfer” was released in movie theaters
across the country. The movie is based
on the true story of Bethany Hamilton,
who is played by Anna Sophia Robb.
She plays the 13-year-old surfer
whose life changed in 2003 when a
shark attacked her in Hawaii. The
movie’s cast includes many well-known
actors and celebrities, such as Helen
Hunt, Dennis Quaid, Craig T. Nelson,
and Carrie Underwood.
Soul Surfer, a PG-rated family movie, had been highly anticipated by many
Christian communities because it presents a message of faith and hope which
you cannot easily find in many movies
today. The movie illustrates how faith
and the support of family and friends
can help one through the overwhelming and unexpected challenges of life.
It also is a beautiful tribute to the spirit
that does not give up or lose hope.
Bethany and her friend, Alana,
are young and promising surfers. In
preparation for a major competition,
the girls head out one morning to
practice. Unbeknownst to Bethany
and Alana, a shark swimming below
noticed them. In one swift attack, the
shark comes up and takes Bethany’s
whole arm. Thankfully, she is taken to
the hospital and survives the attack.
Liturgy, the theology of the hymns, and
iconography of the Church. Orthodox
Christian camps offer young people an
opportunity to learn more about how we
offer worship and how to become active in
the Liturgical life of the Church.
WITNESS
“For you will be His witness to all
men of what you have seen and heard.”
Acts 22:15
One of the most difficult aspects of an
Orthodox Christian’s life is being able to
express, or witness, one’s faith to others.
The world is full of people who are Orthodox and non-Orthodox, Christians and
non-Christians, believers and non-believers.
There are so many conflicting messages
about belief and faith. It is easy for anyone to
get confused and lose sight of Christ’s path.
Orthodox Christian summer camps
provide young people a chance to learn
about the Orthodoxy so they can witness
their faith in word and in deed. With Orthodox Christian educational classes and
wonderful group discussions, campers
learn how to live and express their faith
every day and how to share it with others.
SERVICE
“For even the Son of Man did not come
to be served, but to serve ...” Mark 10:45
We live in a “Me” society. Many of the
messages we are given in the media talk
about focusing inward. What can I get for
myself? What do I want? What can others do
for ME? But in Orthodox Christian summer
camps, the focus is outward. Through service, campers learn more about giving their
time, talents, and treasure for the good of
others. A significant part of Christ’s ministry
is rooted in service, from washing the disciples’ feet to giving His own life for all of us.
Many camps provide service projects
throughout the day as part of their camp
programming. Some projects focus on the
camp community (helping serve meals,
helping clean the tables or camp sites).
Other projects might focus on the community outside of camp (making food for a
local shelter or soup kitchen, making icons
to send to a mission). Young people learn
how to be leaders through sacrifice, love,
unselfishness for their neighbor.
FELLOWSHIP
“Behold how good and pleasing it is
when brothers dwell in unity.” Psalm 133:1
Who doesn’t want to have fun over
the summer? Orthodox Christian summer
camps are definitely filled with fun activities
like swimming, canoeing, dances, Olympics,
and much more. But the most important
part of the fun is the fellowship that is
shared among campers. Through these
activities, campers build Christ-centered
friendships which last a lifetime.
Ultimately, camping ministries lights a
fire in the hearts of young people to love
Christ and to be an active Sacramental
members of the Church. It is at camp where
young people can be in a safe environment
to learn about themselves, about others,
and about God. For a list of Orthodox
Christian summer camps in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese or more information
about camping ministries, visit www.camp.
goarch.org.
Movie Review: Soul Surfer
A Message of Faith, Family, and Hope
She now has to face grueling physical
therapy, and emotional recovery from
such a traumatic event, and the reality
that she might never surf again.
It was a powerful and difficult process, yet Bethany was able to recover
physically and emotionally through
the power of faith, family, and hope.
Bethany’s had the support and love of
her family and friends.
The movie also depicts the important role that faith in her recovery.
Bethany reflects on her experience,
using her Christian belief to put things
into perspective. She also is supported
by her church community, especially a
youth leader who helps her through
some especially difficult times. Bethany is able to pull from the tragedy
with a renewed sense of strength and
spirit. Eventually, that renewed spirit,
strength and faith helps Bethany overcome her obvious physical challenge
and inspires her to surf again.
So what can we take from Soul
Surfer? We each have our own struggles and obstacles, whether they are
physical, emotional, or spiritual. Many
people today are dealing things like
addiction, depression, financial woes,
or a physical illness or disability. Yet
even when those challenges seem
insurmountable and we feel defeated,
we must remember that we are never
alone. Overcoming obstacles is possible
in and through Christ. We also have
our family, friends, and our brothers and sisters in Christ who give us
strength and help through even the
lowest times.
Soul Surfer delivers a story that
can resonate with all Orthodox Christians, especially as we still bask in the
celebration of Christ’s Resurrection.
Christ broke the bonds of death by
His own death, bestowing life to those
in the tombs and giving us hope for
eternal life.
The triumph of Bethany Hamilton
over death, hopelessness, and adversity, in real-life and as it is depicted in
Soul Surfer, is an inspiration to keep
hope alive against all odds.
Eva Kokinos is a 2003 graduate
of Holy Cross School of the Theology
and serves as the director of Youth and
Young Adult Ministries for the Greek
Orthodox Metropolis of Detroit. Email
her at [email protected].
5 Must–Haves
for Orthodox
Christian
Graduates
Commencement ceremonies are just
around the corner for high school and
college seniors. Instead of scrambling to
the local gift card store for a sentimental
or inspirational gift, consider getting an
item that will keep them connected to the
Church and connected to Christ!
1) Orthodox Study Bible – Graduates are done studying math or chemistry,
but it doesn’t mean they should stop
studying the Word of God! The Orthodox
Study Bible is available in paperback and
hardback versions. Plus, the Orthodox
Study Bibles provides beautiful commentary and helpful information about the
Holy Scriptures and the Faith.
2) An Icon – This is an important
item for any student to have in their dorm
room or new apartment. Select an icon
of their patron saint. Of course, an icon
of Christ or the Theotokos is always appropriate. Icons are not only a significant
part of the Orthodox tradition, but they
are a witness to our faith and Orthodox
Christian history.
3) An Orthodox Prayer Book –
Prayer is one of the most basic, yet essential, aspects of an Orthodox Christian’s life.
All graduates should have an Orthodox
Prayer Book so they can pray wherever
they are and for any reason.
4) An OCF “Connect Kit” – OCF
(Orthodox Christian Fellowship) is the official campus ministry of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. Give your high school
graduate a “Connect Kit” to keep them
connected to their own personal spiritual
life, as well as the Church as a whole. Visit
www.ocf.net for more information.
5) “The Orthodox Way” by Metropolitan Kallistos Ware – Metropolitan
Kallistos Ware, world-renowned Orthodox Christian scholar and author, offers
the reader a beautiful understanding of
what it means to following the Orthodox
Christian way of life. This is a great read
for graduates who are learning about making their way in the world and keeping
focused on the Orthodox Christian path.
Check with your parish bookstore or
www.orthodoxmarketplace.com to find
these items and even more gift ideas for
graduates this year.
30
26
SEPTEMBER 2010
MAY 2011
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27
MAY 2011
Good Intentions Gone Bad: Our Overextended Families
by Ary Christofidis, Ph.D.
Over the past 18 years I have asked
every family I’ve seen in therapy how often
they eat together. One father replied, “We’re
all very busy, but we try our hardest to eat
together at least once a week, on Sunday.”
More probing questions about the family’s
weekly schedule revealed that there were
other times during the week that everyone
was home at the same time. For a moment, I
sat there puzzled. “What’s happening those
other times?”
I asked. “Well... I grab my food and
go to my room, my brother goes into the
basement to eat and play video games, and
mom and dad sometimes sit at the table by
themselves,” one of the teenagers replied.
After all these years of listening to families describe their “crazy” schedules, I see a
growing trend that appears to be pushing
Orthodox Christian families further away
from each other and from God—a trend
that is hurting our relationships with our
family members and our relationship with
God.
God’s Commandments
“You shall have no other gods before
me.”
“You shall not make for yourself an
idol ... you shall not bow down to them
nor serve them.”
God’s first and second commandments
QUOTES FOR FAMILIES
“For generally the children acquire
the character of their parents, are
formed in the mold of their parents’
temperament, love the same things
their parents love, talk in the same
fashion, and work for the same ends.”
—St. John Chrysostom, On Marriage
and Family Life
If we pray, and learn little by little
to live in the spirit of prayer, we create
an atmosphere in which children taste
prayer and God’s presence. If we dwell
in this spirit, even without words, even
before children can speak, they can
acquire a natural taste for prayer, and
the desire to know God.
—Sister Magdalen, Children in the
Church Today
Do you want your children to be
obedient? Show them your love. Not
a love that weakens them, that gives
way to all their demands, but a wise
and heartfelt love that looks to their
true benefit. When a child sees such
love, he will obey not from fear but
from reverence.
Finally, never forget to invoke
the blessing of God on your work in
bringing up your children. Only then
will your labor, struggles and concern
be crowned with success. With God’s
help, your children will learn obedience.
—Bishop Irenaius, On the Upbringing
of Children
challenge us to look more deeply at distinguishing how we fail in our attempt to love
God and how we might fall into the trap of
idol worship.
In Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives:
Life and Teachings of Elder Thaddeus, the
elder says: When we see an object that attracts us, we easily become attached to it... If
this lasts for a length of time, then this object
becomes our idol... which takes the place
in our heart that belongs to God.
Though we might replace God with
idols, God does not change His love for
us or His desire for us to come closer to
Him. Remember how the lawyer answered
Christ’s question on the means of acquiring
salvation? “‘You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart, with all your soul,
with all your strength, and with all your
mind’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”
Christ’s response was simple and clear,
“You have answered rightly; do this and
you will live” (Luke 10:27-28).
“Remember the Sabbath day,
to keep it holy.”
As Christians, our day of rest and devotion to God is Sunday. However, over the
last decade, more and more activities have
been scheduled on this important day, even
in the mornings.
This makes it very difficult for parents
to say “no” to their child and teach them the
importance of attending church. (An even
more sad and difficult situation is when a
parent has to work on Sundays.)
I remember when the only things open
on Sunday were church and a few restaurants. You couldn’t even get gasoline for
your car! Boy, how times have changed—
but who changed and why? Have we forgotten the importance of worshiping God as
a family?
One of my favorite examples of the
significance of family worship comes from
the Book of Acts: “Cornelius, ... a devout
man who feared God with all his household, gave alms liberally to the people, and
prayed constantly to God ...he saw clearly
in a vision an angel of God coming in and
saying to him, ‘Cornelius... Your prayers
and your alms have ascended as a memorial
before God.’”
Here, the angel of God is confirming
Cornelius and his family’s commitment
to God by being obedient, prayerful and
charitable.
But how can we commit our lives to
God if we are too busy?
How can we become devout like Cornelius when there is not a free moment in
our daily lives?
In an intriguing story called “Satan’s
Convention,” an unknown author tells how
Satan directs his dark angels to lure Christians away from God. Satan says, “Distract
them from gaining hold of their Savior and
maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!”
“How shall we do this?” shouted his angels. “Keep them busy in the nonessentials
of life and invent innumerable schemes to
occupy their minds,” he answered.
We must be vigilant and recognize that
the devil is relentless in his pursuit to pull
us away from God.
Righting the Wrong
For many cultures, including the Greek
culture, well-rounded education and life
experiences (activities) seem reasonable
for future success – until they (rather their
schedules) begin to choke the life (time)
out of families and their worship of God.
Providing our children with all the
material comforts surely helps them enjoy
this life more.
But in order to provide our children
with all of those comforts, we work even
harder and spend more time away from
our loved ones and God. We convince ourselves, or should I say, deceive ourselves,
into believing that our efforts have good
intentions.
Let’s stop for a moment and ask, why?
Why do we let getting into college become
more important than getting into heaven?
Why do we let making money take priority
over making time for God? We’re feeding
their minds and bodies, but are we feeding
their souls?
Over the years many parents have told
me they were surprised their children did
not resist attending family therapy. I have
found that children welcome the time the
whole family spends together in the office
without any interruptions.
Children and parents begin to value
true “family time,” even in small amounts,
and to resist the distractions that surround
them.
When families seek therapy, their
“good intentions” are to remedy the conflict
they are experiencing in their homes. Their
struggle is to right the “wrong” – the busy
lifestyle that is pulling them apart.
If we put God first, for ourselves and
for our family, we too can receive the blessings from above. However, this does require
change and faith. My challenge to all families
is to consider a few adjustments at home:
• Spend quality family time with cell
phones, televisions, and games turned off.
• Carve out time for family devotions,
spiritual reading and preparing for church.
• Break bread together. As much as
possible, make it a point to gather around
the family table and share a meal and, by doing that, you will surely come a little closer
to each other and to God.
To that end, St. John Chrysostom is
very clear about what the bottom line is and
how to make sure that our good intentions
do not go bad.
We are so concerned with our children’s schooling [and worldly success]; if
only we were equally zealous in bringing
them up in the discipline and instruction
of the Lord... This, then, is our task: to
educate both ourselves and our children in
godliness; otherwise what answer will we
have before Christ’s judgment seat?
Ary Christofidis, Ph.D, is a licensed clinical psychologist and the founder and director
of the Orthodox Christian Counseling Institute (www.occiservices.org) in Chicago. Dr.
Christofidis attended Hellenic College–Holy
Cross School of Theology where he received
his Bachelor’s degree before completing his
Master’s and Doctorate at the University of
Pittsburgh.
Preparing for the Sunday Gospel
Parenting is a joy, but not one that
comes without great effort. From the
moment our children enter this world,
we work hard to give them what they
need to develop into healthy, happy, and
productive members of society. We must
ask: we feed their bodies but do we feed
their souls? Our children need us to help
them develop into active members of the
Body of Christ.
We need to teach them to pray. We
need to teach them to read the Bible and
follow its lessons. But most importantly,
we need to teach them to love the Lord
with all their heart, mind, and soul.
How do we, as parents, do this? How
do we teach our children to learn something that we ourselves are still learning?
We offer Family Gospel Lessons as
an aid and inspiration to your family and
especially to help direct your children’s
hearts and minds toward God. This
resource is meant to guide your family
through the church year according to the
Sunday Gospels.
It is our hope that through this resource, families will make reading the
Gospel a priority in their preparation for
the Divine Liturgy.
Condensed from the introduction to
the Family Gospel Lessons. These lessons
and full introduction can be accessed at
www.family.goarch.org.
28
MAY 2011
METROPOLIS NEWS
Boston Parade Draws Many New England Parishes
Scott Brown, Congressman Stephen
Lynch and the Consul General of Greece
Ilias Fotopoulos. Boylston Avenue
between Massachusetts Avenue and
Charles Street served as the parade route.
A celebration took place on the Boston Common after the parade featuring
live Greek music, traditional Greek dance
performances and Greek food.
Events leading up to the parade
began on Friday, April 8 at noon with the
Greek Independence Day Commemoration hosted by Gov. Deval Patrick and
the Massachusetts Legislature at the
State House.
Boston – The 17th annual Greek
Independence Day Parade took place
April 10 with 59 units, including 21 parishes from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island, student
groups from 13 colleges and universities
and police drill team, honor guard and
mounted units.
The parade is organized by the Federation of Hellenic-American Societies of
New England (FHASNE), in cooperation
with the Metropolis of Boston and the
Consul General of Greece in Boston.
The parade also featured Greek organizations, marching bands and floats.
Serving as grand marshals were Metropolitan Methodios, Mayor Thomas Menino
of Boston and Ambassador of Greece in
Washington Vasileios Kaskarelis.
Joining them were honorary Grand
Marshals U.S. Sen. from Massachusetts
The parade was grouped in four divisions.
Leading Division A, which followed the
headquarters division were students from
the following institutions of higher learning:
Boston University, Hellenic College-Holy
Cross School of Theology, Suffolk University,
MIT, Boston College, Northeastern University,
Mass College of Pharmacy, Harvard, University of Massachusetts-Boston, UMass-Lowell,
Bentley College, Emerson College, Wentworth
Institute of Technology and Tufts University.
A large number of parishes and youth groups
march in the parade, which was led by Metropolitan Methodios of Boston. In photo at upper
left, marching next to the Metropolitan is U.S.
Sen. and Mrs. Scott Brown
cd
P HOTO S BY
Areti Bratsis
and
Chryssa Golding

(45) και γαρ ο υιος του ανθρωπου ουκ ηλθεν διακονηθηναι αλλα

Πρόγραμμα συνεδρίου

Μπροσούρα - L`eros nest

Μ2 - Linguaglobe

orpheus tripolis

Basic CMYK

John Jay College of Criminal Justice City

Choir Of Tripolis

“OMORFI KAI PARAKSENI PATRIDA”

16 May 2014 - saheti school