Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox
Church
Father Michael Constantinides,
Economos
PARISH COUNCIL
Officers
George Vranas, President
Anthony Kavouris,
Vice President
Millie Molesky, Secretary
Kathy Toscas,
Corresponding Secretary
Nicholas C. Lamnatos, Treasurer
Dr. Chris H. Sarlas,
Assistant Treasurer
Members
Dino Anagnostopoulos
Georgia Christakes
Peter Coules, Jr.
Kristen Kass
Steven V. Loulousis
Joe Marchione
George Papadopoulos
James A. Patsavas
Dr. Peter A. Patsavas
Dorothy Pavlick
John Savas
Margo J. Toscas
Staff
Paula Pappas, Parish Secretary
Tom Kakos, Chanter
Elias Anast, Chanter
Rosie DeSanto,
Choir Director
Georgia Sarlas,
Philoptochos President
Margo Toscas,
Sunday School Director
Paula Giaouris George,
“Homer” PTO President
Dorothy Pavlick,
GOYA Coordinator
Paula George,
HOPE/JOY Advisor
Dino Anagnostopoulos,
Athletic Director
Dianne Kontos
S.O.N Bookstore Manager
Saint Nicholas Greek
Orthodox Church
10301 S. Kolmar Ave.
Oak Lawn, IL 60453
Phone: 708-636-5460
Fax: 708-636-3883
Church E-mail:
[email protected]
Father Michael’s E-mail
[email protected]
Website: www.stnicholasil.org
Office Hours:
10:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m.
Monday through Friday
The Orthodox Word
V O L U M E
3
I S S U E
2
F E B R U A R Y , 2 0 1 3
Pastoral Message
How many of us worry
about retirement? I bet everyone thinks about it from
time to time, and as you get
closer, you think about it
more and more. The time to
think about retirement is
when you are young. In
other words if you think
about it when you are ready
to retire, it’s too late to accumulate money. You should
start putting money away
when you’re young this way
it will grow to a nice sum
when you’re old. The funny
thing about money is that it
won’t grow if you don’t use
it. One way to make it grow
is to invest it, another is to
open an IRA. But if you hide
it under your mattress, not
only will it not grow, you
will never be able to save
enough. Yet, when you do
invest it there is always the
risk that you will lose the
principle as we can see in the
news lately. In the parable
of the Talents, Christ tells us
to use the talents that are
given to us. He tells us to
use it or lose it. My brothers
and sisters in the Lord, let us
take a few moments to discuss what Christ is trying to
tell us in the parable and see
what if any ramifications
there are to this.
First what is a parable? A
parable is a story. People
learn more and remember
from stories. These stories
come from everyday experiences and they always have
a moral. What happened in
our parable? A rich man
was leaving on a trip and he
gave his money to his servants. He gave five denarii
to one, two to another and
one to a third. He came back
from the trip and wanted
them back. The servant with
the five gave him ten. The
one with the two gave him
four. The one with one gave
him one. The rich man takes
the one from the one and
gives it to the five. The
meaning of the parable according to St Gregory the
Great is thus. The rich man
is Christ. The trip is His
ascent into heaven. The talents are spiritual gifts. The
five talents are the five
senses, that is knowledge of
the world. The two talents
are understanding and action. The one talent is intelligence. The return of the
master is the Second Coming. The five extra talents
are people who can’t see the
deep mystical side of things,
yet correctly teach others
about the world around them
for the glory of God. The
two extra talents are the people who can see deep into
things and teach others what
they see for the glory of
God. The no extra talents
are people who never use
their intelligence or understanding for anything more
than this life. What is the
moral? The moral is the one
who uses more receives
more
Are there ramifications?
Yes! If we use our talents
then we must be prepared to
endure persecutions and sufferings. We will suffer for
our beliefs. We are different
in that we lead different life
styles. The unbelievers in
their disbelief reject what
shows them wrong and what
threatens them, thus lashing
out at those who believe.
Unbelievers will prosper and
even deceive some of the
faithful. They will certainly
deceive themselves. Yet we
should not despair since this
is temporary! Why believe
then? Faith in Christ leads to
salvation and thus we will be
rewarded
So, we can see that God expects much from us. He
gives much and thus expects
much to be done with what
he give us. Those who use
the talents that God gives
them will be rewarded with
more. Those who do not use
them properly will lose the
ones that they have. But for
those who do use them there
will be ramifications in this
life. You will be persecuted.
You will be hated. You will
be scorned, but you will be
rewarded greatly. Let us
then go out into the world to
use our talents. Let us go
out and prepare for our retirement not to Florida but
the Kingdom of Heaven. Let
us go out and be the servant
with the five talents or the
servant with the two so that
we can also hear, “Well done
o good and faithful servant,
enter into the joy of your
Lord” Amen.
February, 2013
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
1
6:30 p.m. Grade
School/Middle School
Basketball Practice at
Saint Spyridon’s
2
The Presentation of
our Lord
8:30 a.m. Orthros
followed by the
Divine Liturgy
2:15 p.m.
St. Nicholas/
St. Spyridon teams
host the Saints
Constantine and
Helen teams
Fast Day
3
15th Sunday of
Matthew
8:00 a.m. Orthros
9:30 a.m. Divine
Liturgy
Sunday School classes
following Holy
Communion
5:00 p.m. Super Bowl
Party
10
16th Sunday of
Matthew
8:00 a.m. Orthros
9:30 a.m. Divine
Liturgy
Sunday School classes
following
Holy Communion
Sunday School Bake
Sale/Coffee hour
11:30 a.m. HOPE/
JOY Movie Event
2:15 p.m.
St. Nicholas/
St. Spyridon teams
host the Holy Trinity
teams
17
17th Sunday of
Matthew
8:00 a.m. Orthros
9:30 a.m. Divine
Liturgy
Sunday School classes
4
4:30 p.m. Greek
School Classes
6:30 p.m. Open Gym
6:30 p.m. Adult Greek
School
11
6:30 p.m. Parish
Council Meeting
8
9
Fast Day
6
Fast Day
4:30 p.m. Greek
School Classes
6:30 p.m. High School
Boys Basketball
Practice
7:00 p.m. Orthodox
Study Forum
6:30 p.m. Grade
School/Middle School
Basketball Practice at
Saint Spyridon’s
7:00 p.m. Great
Vespers at the Church
of Saint Haralambos
in Niles, IL
15
16
11:00 a.m.
Philoptochos Cooking
Lesson
2:00 p.m. GOYA
Downtown Trip
12
7
13
14
Fast Day
Fast Day
10:00 a.m. Philoptochos Baking
4:30 p.m. Greek
School Classes
6:30 p.m. High School
Boys Basketball
Practice
7:00 p.m.
Philoptochos Meeting
4:30 p.m. Greek
School Classes
6:30 p.m. Adult Greek
School
6:30 p.m. Greek
Dance Practice
18
4:30 p.m. Greek
School Classes
6:30 p.m. Adult Greek
School classes
6:30 p.m. HOPE/JOY
24
Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee
Triodion Begins
8:00 a.m. Orthros
9:30 a.m. Divine
Liturgy
Sunday School classes
following Holy
Communion
Sunday School
5
10:00 a.m. Philoptochos Baking
25
Fast Free
4:30 p.m. Greek
School Classes
6:30 p.m. Adult Greek
School
6:30 p.m. Greek
Dance Practice
19
8:00 a.m. Orthros
followed by the
Divine Liturgy at the
Church of Saint Spyridon in Palos Heights
Following the Divine
Liturgy there will be a
Senior luncheon
26
Fast Free
10:00 a.m. Philoptochos Baking
6:30 p.m. Grade
School/Middle School
Basketball Practice at
Saint Spyridon’s
20
21
22
Fast Day
Fast Day
4:30 p.m. Greek
School Classes
6:30 p.m. High School
Boys Basketball
Practice
6:30 p.m. Grade
School/Middle School
Basketball Practice at
Saint Spyridon’s
27
Fast Free
4:30 p.m. Greek
School Classes
6:30 p.m. High School
Boys Basketball
Practice
7:00 p.m. Orthodox
Study Forum
28
Fast Free
23
VOLUME
PAGE
3
Epistle
Readers for
February,
2013
February 3
15th Sunday
of Matthew
Georgia
Christakes
February 10
16th Sunday
of Matthew
Adam Smith
February 17
17th Sunday
of Matthew
Sue Smith
February 24
16th Sunday
of Luke
Maribeth
Otte
Stewardship Corner
Ed Laughlin: Eight Signs
of a Stewardship Parish
People often ask, “What is
a stewardship parish?” The
answers to that question
can be varied and subject to
endless debate. The following represents eight key
areas where parishes need
to ask themselves how they
are doing.
Prayer: The authentic
steward must be rooted in
the sanctifying presence of
Christ through prayer and
sacraments that give spiritual nourishment and a
bond of unity. The steward
needs to be sustained,
above all, with prayer and
constant contact with the
Christian community.
Hospitality: Parishes need
to warmly welcome all
members and all visitors.
Everyone has something to
contribute. Everyone is
needed. Communities
known for their hospitality
to all members and to all
visitors, for the vitality of
their faith, and for the
depth of their service to
people in need invariably
inspire others to participate
in ministry and to be generous in financial support.
Accountability: Consistent
accountability is fundamental to good stewardship. Parish stewardship
efforts require a visible
commitment to accountability for the full range of
parish activities – from the
way decisions are made
and carried out by parish
personnel to the way resources are collected,
managed, and used to
change lives.
Outreach: The parish as
a whole needs to set
aside a portion of its resources (both financial
and human) to serve persons in need in the parish, the community, the
diocese, and the Universal Church by creating
opportunities for human
interaction.
Lay Witnesses: A key
ingredient is the personal
witness of lay individuals
who have experienced a
change of heart as a result of their commitment
to stewardship. Personal
witness is essential to
building a solid foundation for parish stewardship.
Goal Setting/Planning:
Vibrant parishes have a
shared vision and goals
that support the vision.
Goals should be set for
all ministries. They
should be challenging yet
realistic and, when possible, measurable. It is important to note that goals
should be communicated
clearly to the people of
the parish. The parish
also needs to report on
the progress made toward
reaching the various
goals.
Re-commitment and Renewal: Stewardship is expressed not in a single
process, but in a constant
reminder and invitation to
commit one’s very self to
the Lord. Annual recommitments help to
transform individual lives
and the life of the parish.
Stewardship Committee:
Parishes need a systematic
way of infusing the theology and practice of stewardship into the life of the
parish – identifying opportunities for members of
the parish to share their
time, talent, treasure, and
prayer and to establish an
ongoing process to recruit,
recognize, form, retain,
and thank volunteers in all
parish ministries.
While this certainly is not
an exhaustive list, these
eight characteristics all are
vital for any parish looking to take a holistic approach to developing
stewardship as a way of
life. If you and your parish
are looking to take the
next step toward becoming a stewardship parish,
assessing where you stand
in each of these eight areas is a great place to start.
3
PAGE
4
Focus on Philoptochos
Save the Dates
Help Us Help Others
February 3,
2013
Wear Red to
Church for
Women’s Heart
Health
We are halfway through
winter. Hopefully everyone has overcome any
colds or flu that we may
have endured.
Stay
healthy everyone.
Coffee Hour in
honor of
Ida Sellas’
100th Birthday
As was mentioned at
our January meeting, I am
very happy to announce
that our Philoptochos
chapter has fulfilled all of
our
National
and
Metropolis Obligations for
2012.
In addition, we
were very benevolent to
many charities, causes and
individual appeals. Our
kind members and their
guests also donated gift
cards to the needy when
they attended our Christmas Party.
Saturday,
February 16
Cooking Class
and Luncheon
11:00 a.m.
Tuesday,
February 19
Senior Christian
Fellowship at
St. Spyridon
Church
(Make your
reservations
with Georgia
Sarlas)
Watch bulletin
for baking dates
and times.
2013 Dues
are now being
accepted.
Don’t forget to
buy your
Vasilopita
ticket.
THE
Thank you to our
Hope/Joy children for
donating Christmas gift to
a needy children. Thank
you to all our parishioners
for donating coats, hats,
scarves and gloves to
those in need. All these
items were delivered to
Together We Cope in
Tinley Park in time for
Christmas giving.
We
will continue collecting
coats through the month
of February.
ORTHODOX
WORD
Thank you to Elaine
Kamberos and Petroula
Chronos for baking our
very delicious Vasilopites.
As always, all money
collected that day is sent to
St. Basil’s Academy, our
largest
National
Obligation.
This year’s Metropolis
City-Wide Vasilopita was
held at St. Nectarios in
Palatine.
Those that
attended enjoyed a lovely
evening.
February is “Go Red
For Women” month. All
women are encouraged to
wear red to church on
February 3rd, “Go Red
Sunday”, in commemoration of Women’s Heart
Health.
One of our life-long
members, Ida Sellas,
marked her 100th birthday
on January 26th. Ida is
always asking how she can
help with our fundraisers
and is usually in church
every week.
It gives
Philoptochos members
great pleasure to celebrate
this milestone with her and
sponsor the February 3rd
coffee hour in her honor.
We wish her good health
and happiness for another
100 years.
On February 16th, we
will be hosting our annual
Cooking Lesson and
Luncheon.
Preparations
are under way for a true
Village Meal, under the
direction of chairman Ethel
Angelos. The tickets are
$40. This has become a
very popular fundraiser.
One lady is flying in from
Atlanta, Ga. So that she
doesn’t miss it. What a
compliment!
Please note -- We are
back in the kitchen on
Tuesdays.
Check the
weekly bulletin for times
and dates. Our very successful Dial-A-Baklava
has left us with empty
selves, so we need to bake
again. Hope to see you
there!
Also, if you haven’t
paid your 2013 dues and
your Vasilopita ticket,
please do so soon.
Happy Valentine’s Day
and good heart health to
all.
Georgia Sarlas, President
VOLUME
3
ISSUE
2
PAGE
5
SUNDAY SCHOOL NOTES
Margo J. Toscas, Director
Kim Isberg, Assistant Director
The New Year is
Off to a Great
Start!
SUNDAY,
FEBRUARY 3rd
ST. BASIL
ACADEMY
COLLECTIONS DUE
On Sunday, January
16th, we distributed
small plastic bags to students to fill with loose
change (and maybe
some dollars) for St.
Basil Academy. Please
make sure to turn in all
collections on Sunday,
February 3rd so we can
help children who have
difficult life situations
and must live in the St.
Basil
Academy
residential facility.
SUNDAY,
FEBRUARY 10th
SCS will be hosting
Coffee Hour. We will
also have a Valentine
Bake Sale and sell plates
of homemade goodies
for $3.00 each. We encourage participation
from teachers, parents
and students who can
bring homemade goodies to sell or bought
goodies for Coffee
Hour. But most of all,
we look forward to
family
fellowship
with lot’s of LOVE for
Valentine’s
Day!
SUNDAY,
FEBRUARY 3rd
AND 10th
ST. JOHN
CHRYSOSTOM
ORATORICAL
FESTIVAL INTRODUCTION
OF TOPICS
The Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese
of
America, Department.
of Religious Education
has released the topics
for this year’s St. John
Chrysostom Oratorical
Festival. The competition is open to grades
7 through high school,
and includes categories
in Oratory, Essay,
Poetry and Iconography. In addition, the
Metropolis of Chicago
has added a non-judged
opportunity
for
students from 4th to
6th grades to make
short presentations or
submit written, drawn
or created entries from
a list of suggested
topics.
The
Archdiocese
competition begins at
the parish level, which
takes place on Friday,
April 12th, following
the Salutations service.
The Ladies Philoptochos Society hosts the
parish competition and
presents generous
prizes for winners. The
winners of the parish
competition continue
to the Metropolis level
and winners at that
competition continue
to the Archdiocese
competition. It is very
exciting to have our
students apply their
skills to developing
and submitting entries
for
our
parish.
Registration forms for
entries are due to the
SCS office on Sunday,
March 31st. Please
contact
Georgia
S a r la s ,
t h e
coordinator, for more
information, at
708/ 448-7020 or
e-mail
philoptomama
@aol.com
Important Dates
Sunday
February 3, 2013
St. Basil Academy
Donations due
Sunday,
March 31, 2013
Entries for
Oratorical Festival
are due
Friday,
April 12, 2013
Parish Oratorical
Festival
(follows Salutations
Service)
PAGE
HOMER GREEK SCHOOL
6
No one can say,
“I am poor and
hence I have no
means of giving
alms.” For even if
you cannot give
as the rich gave
their gifts into the
temple treasury,
give two farthings
as the poor
widow did, and
from you God will
consider it a
greater gift than
the gifts of the
rich. And if you
do not have as
much as two
farthings? You can
take pity on the
sick and give alms
by ministering to
them. And if you
cannot do even
this? You can
comfort your
brother by your
words. “A good
word is better
than the best of
gifts.”
Abba Dorotheos
THE
Our children did a
wonderful job at our
Three Hierarchs Program
in church on January
We hope all
27th.
enjoyed and can see the
progress of our children.
Please check out the
bulletin boards outside of
the class rooms to see the
work of our Greek
School children.
Greek Dance practice
for the junior troupe
has started. It will run
two Monday evenings
a month from 6:30 7:30 p.m. There is still
time to join. If you are
interested please come
to one of our practices
down
by
the
Community Center.
The schedule and the
registration form are
enclosed.
Should you have any
questions or are interested in your children
joining our afternoon
program or our adult
evening program, please
contact the church office
at 708.636.5460.
HOPE/JOY News
Thank you to all who
attended the meeting in
January.
We talked
about New Years
Resolutions.
Take a
look in the hallway for
some of the resolutions
the kids came up with!
Don't forget to check out
our shadow box inside
the side entrance of the
church for pictures and
upcoming events.
We will be having a
movie day after the
Divine Liturgy on
February 10th. Watch
your email for details.
The basketball team is
also playing a home
game this day, so we can
all stay for the game after
the movie and cheer our
team on!! Kids will be
able to help at the
concessions stand too!!
Join us for our next
meeting on Monday
February 18, 2013 from
6:30- 8:00 pm for fun and
fellowship. Hope to see
you all there!
Please e-mail your ideas or
questions to:
[email protected]
or
paula.giaouris.george
@sbcglobal.net
GOYA News
The holidays went by so
quickly, it’s hard to
believe we are planning
things for late winter and
spring!
Due to the fact that most
Goyans were swamped
ORTHODOX
WORD
with finals in December, I hope everyone can make
we re-scheduled our it.
downtown outing for
February 16, which is a
Saturday. We will meet at
Church at about 2:00 in
the
afternoon.
VOLUME
3
ISSUE
2
PAGE
Community News
SUPERBOWL PARTY
Our second annual Super
Bowl Party will be held
right here in the Community Center. This year
promises to be a fun time
with big screen T.V.s
which will be raffled,
great football food and
amusing side-games. If
you can’t come, buy a
square at $50 to support
our Church and maybe
win some money. Please
see the enclosed flyer for
details.
SUNDAY SCHOOL
NEWS
On Sunday February 10,
2013 our Sunday School
will have its annual Bake
Sale, Coffee hour.
HOPE/JOY NEWS
On Sunday, February
10th our HOPE/JOY
members will be watching a movie. See the enclosed flyer for details.
STEWARDSHIP
Please remember to complete your stewardship
contributions for 2012.
You should know that
any stewardship money
that is received will be
applied to 2012 stewardship pledges if they have
not been completed.
Thank you to those who
have completed their 2012
contributions.
We remind you to fill out
your 2013 pledge cards.
Thank you for your continued support.
PARISH DIRECTORY
The Parish Directory will
be distributed to 2012
stewards in the foyer of
the Community Center on
each Sunday through February 17th. Please stop by
after the Divine Liturgy
and pick up your copy.
ORATORICAL
FESTIVAL
We ask parents to
encourage their children
to take part in the
Oratorical Festival. It is a
fine opportunity for young
people to do research, organize their thoughts and
speak before a friendly
crowd. Most important is
the benefit of learning
about our faith. Our parish Oratorical Festival
takes place on Friday,
April 12 after the Salutations Service. Please see
details in the Sunday
School article on Page 5.
GREEKS GOT
TALENT
The second annual talent
show for Greek Community youth, GREEKS
GOT TALENT, will be
held on Saturday, February 23, 2013 at St. John
the Baptist Church in Des
Plaines. Cash prizes will
be awarded to winners.
Applications for vocal,
instrumental, oratorical,
athletic, dance and other
categories are being accepted. There are two
ages groups: 8-11 and 12
-15. For more informat i on , pl e a s e vi s i t
www.saintdemetriosliber
tyville.com or e-mail:
[email protected].
Parish Registry
Funerals
40-Day Blessing
Jacob, son of Fay The servant of God Ann
Petrohelos and Gerado Nicholson Pappas fell
asleep in the Lord and
Soto.
was buried on December
27, 2012.
Baptism
The servant of God,
Michael was Baptized The servant of God
into the Orthodox Faith James L. Davlantis fell
on January 12, 2013 asleep in the Lord and
and the sponsor was was buried on January 8,
2013.
George Loukas.
The servant of God
Katheryn Panagakis fell
asleep in the Lord and was
buried on January 14, 2013.
Memorials
Mary Karoupas
40 Days
Michael Gogis
1 Year
7
Additional
Christmas
Donors
Thank you all!
Mrs. Constance
Chionis
Ms. Georgia
Christakes
Mrs. Popie
Christakes
Mrs. Petroula
Chronos
Mr. and Mrs.
Harry Coules
Ms. Sandra Darlas
Mr. and Mrs.
Charles Dinolfo
Mrs. Priscilla
Gogis
Mr. and Mrs. Ted
Iliopoulos
Mr. and Mrs. Tom
Kakos
Mr. and Mrs.
William Karopulos
Mr. and Mrs. Peter
Kioussis
Mr. and Mrs.
George Klioris
Mr. and Mrs.
Raymond Kubiak
Mr. and Mrs. Lou
Malevitis
Ms. Betty
McDonald
Mr. David Piper
Mr. and Mrs. Perry
Savas
Mr. and Mrs.
Nicholas Trevor
Mr. and Mrs.
Anthony Verdi
PAGE
8
“Papagalos”
“Papagalos”
Three years ago, this month, Papagalos was hatched. Happy Birthday,
Papagalos; may you live a long and happy life.
****
Happy Birthday to Nick Lamnatos. With love from your Fanuris cousins.
****
Papagalos chats
should be short
and signed. No
anonymous
chats will be
Your birthday is a special time to celebrate the gift of YOU to the world, and a reminder
of God’s gift to me. Mom, on this special day, wishing you a wonderful birthday blessed
with health, happiness, laughter, family and friends. May the faith, hope, love and beauty
you emanate come back to you tenfold! Happy Birthday and Xronia Polla – Na Ta Ekatostisis!
Love Always, Fay Kopanitsanos
****
Happy Birthday to grandsons, Perry and Peter. Love, Yiayia and Papou Savas
****
Happy Birthday to hubby, Pat Savas. Many more years....Love, Tina Savas
****
published.
Submit by first
week of the
month
There are three
ways to submit
your Papagalos
chats:
Email Kathy
Roupas at
chicagokathy@
msn.com
Thank you to the Epistle Readers for their service to St. Nicholas. If anyone else is interested in
reading, please contact me or Fr. Michael. Tina Savas, Coordinator
****
I love attending St. Nicholas Sunday School. I learn so much and I love my teacher,
Roseann Klioris; you are the best! Gus Kamberos, age 4
****
Coming in late February or early March - a new Lenten Cookbook. Sales will benefit
St. Nicholas Philoptochos. More details to come…
****
Happy Birthday wishes to Presbytera Maria Constantinides, Bessie Danos, Kathy Kopitas,
Joanne Pastwa, Woula Ralle, and Patricia Vlachos, all of whom celebrate in February.
St. Nicholas Philoptochos
****
(please put
Happy Namesday to Sylvia Buonaiuto on St. Simeon Day, St. Nicholas Philoptochos
****
“Papagalos” in
the subject line)
Happy Valentine's Day to our entire parish. Love, St. Nicholas Philoptochos
****
Give a
Congratulations and Kala Stefana to Vicki Bamidis on her engagement to her fiancé, Santo.
St. Nicholas Philoptochos
****
handwritten
copy to Kathy
at church
Feed your chat
to Papagalos in
his Birdhouse in
the Bookstore
THE
Happy Namesday to our kind and talented son, H. Christopher Sarlas, on February 10th.
We love you, Mom & Dad Sarlas
****
“Happy 19th Birthday" to our son and brother, Angelo Angelos. We are very proud of the young
man that you have become! Πολυχρονος νασαι και σου ευχοµαστε καλη προοδο και ολες τ
ις ευλογιες του Θεου!!! Παντα να σε καµαρωνουµε!
Με αγαπη, Mom, Dad, Spiro and Andrew
****
ORTHODOX
WORD
VOLUME
3
ISSUE
2
PAGE
Answers to Last Month’s “Test Your Faith…”
The Sacraments
Across
3. The sacred union of a man
and a woman.
5. The sacrament of rebirth.
7. Anointing with oil for receiving the Holy Spirit.
9. To apply oil to as a sacred
rite.
10. The sacrament of orders:
priest, deacon, bishop.
Down
1. An act of self-abasement,
mortification, or devotion
performed to show sorrow
or repentance for sin.
2. Holy Communion.
4. To turn from sin, feel
regret for one’s wrongdoings, and change one’s actions away from sinfulness.
6. We tell the priest our sins
at _____.
8. To anoint with oil for
healing; a service from
Holy Week.
Daily Cycle of Services
Divine Liturgy
Apodeipnon
Ninth Hour
Sixth Hour
Third Hour
First Hour
Midnight
Compline
Orthros
Vespers
Hours
STEWARDSHIP
DECEMBER 31, 2012
Number of Stewardship Pledges:
292
Total Number of Stewardship Pledges in 2011:
298
Total Amount Pledged:
$169,478.00
Total Dollar Amount Received:
$168,372.16
Average Pledge Amount:
$580.40
Number of “Leadership 100 Stewards”:
23
(Contribute $100 or more per month)
Number of “Supporting Stewards”:
88
(Contribute more than $600 annually)
Number of “Contributing Stewards”:
181
(Contribute less than $600 annually)
PLEASE COMPLETE YOUR PLEDGE CARD FOR 2012
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
9
“Open the
gates of repentance to
me, O Giver
of Life, for
my spirit
rises early
in the
morning to
your holy
temple,
bearing a
temple of
the body all
defiled. But
as you are
full of pity,
cleanse it by
your compassionate
mercy.”
Triodion
Ideomelon
PAGE
10
Parish Happenings
PAGE
11
Parish Happenings
PAGE
12
Parish Happenings
PAGE
13
Parish Happenings
PAGE
14
Parish Happenings
PAGE
15
Parish Happenings
VOLUME
3
ISSUE
2
PAGE
16
The Hieromartyr Blaise of Sebaste (February 11)
The Hieromartyr Blaise
(Blasius), Bishop of Sebaste,
was known for his righteous
and devout life. Unanimously
chosen by the people, he was
consecrated Bishop of Sebaste. This occurred during
the reign of the Roman emperors Diocletian (284-305)
and Licinius (307-324), fierce
persecutors of Christians. St
Blaise encouraged his flock,
visited the imprisoned, and
gave support to the martyrs.
“Of the ways
partaker, and of
the thrones
inheritor, of the
Apostles having
become, you put
in action, O Godinspired one,
what you taught
in theory; hence,
by teaching
aright the word
of truth, unto
blood you
faithfully fought,
O Hieromartyr
Blaise. Intercede
with Christ our
God, for the
salvation of our
souls.”
Apolytikion of
Saint Blaise
not weep, your pigl will be
returned to you..." To the astonishment of everyone, the
wolf came running back and
returned his prey unharmed.
Agrilaus, greeting the bishop
with words of deceit, called
him a companion of the gods.
The saint answered the greeting, but he called the gods
devils. Then they beat him
and led him off to prison.
The refuge of the saint was
discovered by servants of the
governor Agrilaus, who had
come to capture wild beasts to
loose on the Christian martyrs. The servants reported to
their master that Christians
were hiding on the mountain,
and he gave orders to arrest
them. But those sent out found
there only the Bishop of Sebaste. Glorifying God Who
had summoned him to this
exploit, St Blaise followed the
soldiers.
On the next day, they subjected the saint to tortures
again. When they led him
back to the prison, seven
women followed behind and
gathered up the drops of
blood. They arrested them
and tried to compel them to
worship the idols. The
women pretended to consent
to this and said that first they
needed to wash the idols in
the waters of a lake. They
took the idols and threw them
in a very deep part of the
lake, and after this the Christians were fiercely tortured.
The saints stoically endured
the torments, strengthened by
the grace of God, their bodies
were transformed and became white as snow. One of
the women had two young
sons, who implored their
mother to help them attain
the Kingdom of Heaven, and
she entrusted them to the care
of St Blaise. The seven holy
women were beheaded.
Along the way the saint
healed the sick and worked
other miracles. Thus, a destitute widow complained to him
of her misfortune. A wolf had
carried off a small pig, her
only possession. The bishop
smiled and said to her, "Do
St Blaise was again brought
before Agrilaus, and again he
unflinchingly confessed his
faith in Christ. The governor
ordered that the martyr be
thrown into a lake. The saint,
going down to the water,
signed himself with the Sign
Many hid themselves from the
persecutors by going off to
desolate and solitary places.
St Blaise also hid himself
away on Mount Argeos,
where he lived in a cave. Wild
beasts came up to him and
meekly waited until the saint
finished his prayer and
blessed them. The saint also
healed sick animals by laying
his hands upon them.
of the Cross, and he walked
on it as though on dry land.
Addressing the pagans standing about on shore, he challenged them to come to him
while calling on the help of
their gods. Sixty-eight men
of the governor's retinue entered the water, and immediately drowned. The saint,
however, heeding the angel
who had appeared to him,
returned to shore.
Agrilaus was in a rage over
losing his finest servants, and
he gave orders to behead St
Blaise, and the two boys entrusted to him, the sons of the
martyr. Before his death, the
martyr prayed for the whole
world, and especially for
those honoring his memory.
This occurred in about the
year 316.
The relics of the Hieromartyr
Blaise were brought to the
West during the time of the
Crusades, and portions of the
relics are preserved in many
of the lands of Europe [and
his memory traditionally
honored there on February
3].
We pray to St Blaise for the
health of domestic animals,
and for protection from wild
beasts.
VOLUME
3
ISSUE
2
PAGE
17
Saint Onesimos of the Seventy (February 15)
Saint Onesimus, Apostle of
the Seventy in his youth was
a servant of Philemon, a
Christian of distinguished
lineage, living in the city of
Colossae, Phrygia. Guilty of
an offense against his master
and fearing punishment, St
Onesimus fled to Rome, but
as a runaway slave he wound
up in prison. In prison he
encountered the Apostle
Paul, was enlightened by
him, and was baptized.
In prison St Onesimus
served the Apostle Paul like
a son. St Paul was personally
acquainted with Philemon,
and wrote him a letter filled
with love, asking him to forgive the runaway slave and
to accept him like a brother.
He sent St Onesimus with
this letter to his master, depriving himself of help, of
which he was very much in
execution, Bishop Onesimus came to meet with
After he received the letter, him with other Christians,
St Philemon not only for- as St Ignatius mentions in
gave Onesimus, but also his Epistle to the Ephesians.
sent him back to Rome to
the apostle. St Philemon During the reign of the emwas afterwards consecrated peror Trajan (89-117), St
bishop of the city of Gaza Onesimus was arrested and
(January 4, February 19, brought to trial before the
eparch Tertillus. He held
and November 22).
the saint in prison for eightAfter the death of the Apos- een days, and then sent him
tle Paul, St Onesimus served to prison in the city of Putethe apostles until their end, oli. After a certain while,
and he was made a bishop. the eparch sent for the prisAfter the death of the holy oner and, convincing himapostles he preached the self that St Onesimus mainGospel in many lands and tained his faith in Christ,
cities: in Spain, Carpetania, had him stoned, after which
Colossae, Patras. In his old they beheaded the saint
age, St Onesimus occupied with a sword. A certain ilthe bishop's throne at Ephe- lustrious woman took the
sus, after the Apostle Timo- body of the martyr and
thy. When they took St Ig- placed it in a silver coffin.
natius the God-Bearer This took place in the year
(December 20) to Rome for 109.
need.
“O Holy
Apostle
Onesimos,
intercede
with the
merciful God
that He grant
unto our
Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee (February 24)
souls
forgiveness of
The first Sunday of the Trio- God. We who may not ful- (Luke 18:14).
dion is devoted to the Publi- fill these requirements as
offences.”
can and the Pharisee. At well as the Pharisee did The lesson to be learned is
Vespers the night before, the
TRIODION (the liturgical
book used in the services of
Great Lent) begins.
should not feel entitled to
criticize him for being faithful. His sin was in looking
down on the Publican and
feeling justified because of
Two men went to the Tem- his external religious obserple to pray. One was a Phari- vances.
see who scrupulously observed the requirements of The second man was a Pubreligion: he prayed, fasted, lican, a tax-collector who
and contributed money to the was despised by the people.
Temple. These are very good He, however, displayed huthings, and should be imi- mility, and this humility justated by anyone who loves tified him before God
that we possess neither the
Pharisee's religious piety,
nor the Publican's repentance, through which we
can be saved. We are called
to see ourselves as we really
are in the light of Christ's
teaching, asking Him to be
merciful to us, deliver us
from sin, and to lead us on
the path of salvation.
Apolytikion
of Saint
Onesimos
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VOLUME
3
ISSUE
Join us every
Sunday for
Greek Day!
2
PAGE
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19
SAINT NICHOLAS
GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
10301 South Kolmar Avenue
Oak Lawn, IL 60453-4892
February, 2013
Test Your Faith...
The Old Testament
Across
1. The great warrior-king of the
Hebrew nation.
4. Saturday, the seventh day of
the week.
5. The one river of Palestine.
6. The second of the twelve minor prophets.
7. Capital and spiritual center of
historic Judaism.
Down
2. Old Testament messianic
prophet.
3. The major feast observed by the
Jews that commemorates the liberation of the Hebrew nation from
bondage in Egypt.
Old Testament Writings
Lamentations
Job
Ecclesiastes
Song of Songs
Chronicles
Proverbs
Daniel
Psalms
Esther
Ezra
Ruth