+
Sunday, June 4th 2006 +
Sunday
of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea
& The Sunday after the Ascension of our
Lord
Tone: 6 + Eothinon: 10
*******************************************************************************************************
+ In the
Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
“As this broken bread was once scattered upon
the mountains, and was then gathered together and became one, so may the Church
be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Thy Kingdom: for Thine is
the glory and the power through Jesus Christ unto the ages.”
(From
the Teachings of the Apostles)
+ The Epistle +
Verse: “Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the God of
our Fathers.
For Thou
art just in all Thou has done.”
The Reading is from the Acts of the
Holy Apostles.
(Chapter
20:16-18, 28-36)
In those days, Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not
have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if
possible, on the Day of Pentecost. From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called
for the elders of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them:
“You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always
lived among you, therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among
which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God
which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure
savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among
yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the
disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years
I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. “So now, brethren, I
commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up
and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have coveted
no one’s silver or gold or apparel. Yes, you yourselves know that these hands
have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. I have shown
you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And
remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give
than to receive.’” And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed
with them all.
+ The Holy Gospel
+
(Chapter 17:1-13)
At that time, Jesus lifted up His eyes to
Heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Thy Son that the Son may
glorify Thee, since Thou has given Him power over all flesh, to give eternal
life to all whom Thou has given Him. “And this is eternal life, that they know
Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent. “I glorified Thee
on earth, having accomplished the work which Thou gavest Me to do; and now,
Father, glorify Thou Me in Thy own presence with the glory which I had with
Thee before the world was made. “I have manifested Thy name to the men whom
Thou gavest Me out of the world. Thine they were, and Thou gave them to Me, and
they have kept Thy word. Now they know that everything that Thou has given Me
is from Thee; for I have given them the words which Thou gave Me, and they have
received them and know in truth that I came from Thee; and they have believed
that Thou didst sent Me. “I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world
but for those whom Thou has given Me, for they are Thine; all Mine are Thine,
and Thine are Mine, and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the
world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to Thee. Holy Father, keep
them in Thy name, which Thou has given Me, that they may be one, even as We
are. While I was with them, I kept them in Thy name, which Thou has given Me; I
have guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the
Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to Thee; and these things I
speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.”
Meditation: The 1st
Ecumenical Council
The heretic Arius was a Libyan by race and a
leading Priest of the Church of Alexandria. In 315, he began to blaspheme
against the Son and Word of God, saying that He is not True God, consubstantial
with the Father, but is rather a work and creation, alien to the essence and
glory of the Father, and that there was a time when He was not. This frightful
blasphemy shook the faithful of Alexandria. Alexander, his Archbishop, after
trying in vain to correct him through admonitions, cut him off from communion
and finally in a local council deposed him in the year 321. Yet neither did the
blasphemer wish to be corrected, nor did he cease sowing the deadly tares of
his heretical teachings; but writing to the bishops of other cities, Arius and
his followers requested that his doctrine be examined, and if it were unsound,
that the correct teaching be declared to him. By this means, his heresy became
universally known and won many supporters, so that the whole Church was soon in
an uproar. Therefore, moved by divine zeal, the first Christian Sovereign,
Saint Constantine the Great, the equal to the Apostles, summoned the renowned
First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea. It was there that the shepherds and
teachers of the Church of Christ gathered from all regions in the year 325. All
of them, with one mouth and one voice, declared that the Son and Word of God is
one in essence with the Father, true God of true God, and they composed the
holy Symbol (Creed) of Faith up to the seventh article (since the remainder was
completed by the Second Ecumenical Council). Thus they anathematized the
impious Arius of twisted belief and those of like mind with him, and cut them
off as rotten members from the whole body of the faithful. Therefore,
recognizing the Holy Fathers as heralds of the Faith after the Holy Apostles,
the Church of Christ has appointed this present Sunday for their annual
commemoration, in thanksgiving and unto the glory of God, unto their praise and
honour, and unto the strengthening of the True Orthodox Faith.
+ Synaxarion
& Upcoming Services+
“Let my Prayer be set
before Thee as Incense, and the lifting up of my Hands
as the Evening Sacrifice” (Psalm 141:2)
v
Today - Sunday, June 4th:
Sts. Mary & Martha, Sisters of St. Lazarus
Apolytikon (Tone 3): Since ye believed in Christ
with strong and ardent faith, and ever worshipped His divine and mighty deeds,
ye both adorned yourselves with all the splendour of sacred virtues. With your
holy brother now, ye are also vouchsafed to dwell with the ranks of Saints on
high, O ye sisters of Lazarus; and with him, O wise Mary and Martha, ye pray
for us all unto the Master.
Kontakion (Tone 3): In the town of Bethany, ye
dwelt of old; now in Heaven ye abide in Paradise, where our Lord's countenance
shineth. For ye gave your hearts and souls up with fervent longing unto Him
that is the Life and the Resurrection; as ye stand on high, O Mary and Martha,
pray Him to grant salvation to us.
Synaxarion: The Holy Myrrh-bearers Mary
and Martha, together with their brother Lazarus, were especially devoted to our
Saviour, as we see from the accounts given in the tenth chapter of Saint Luke,
and in the eleventh and twelfth chapters of Saint John. They reposed in Cyprus,
where their brother became the first Bishop of Kition after his resurrection
from the dead.
v
Friday, June 9th:
St. Columba of Iona, Enlightener of Scotland
Synaxarion:
St. Columba was
born in Donegal, Ireland on December 7th 521. His name means “Dove
of the Church”. He was a prince of the Royal House of Ireland, and a monk in
what, today, is called the Celtic Church. This Church was essentially a
collection of monasteries. St. Columba established monasteries in Derry in 546
and Durrow in 556. He was condemned by a synod, apparently for making a copy of
the Book of Psalms for his personal use, and in 563, at the age of 42, he left
Ireland and established a monastery on the tiny island of Iona – 3 miles long,
1 mile wide – on the west coast of Scotland. This famous monastery established
300 Churches in Scotland, England and Saxony. St. Columba was best known for
his love for all living creatures. He reposed on Iona in 597. His monastery on
Iona was raided many times by Vikings, and was eventually destroyed in an
invasion in 804, where 68 monks were martyred. The few remaining monks exhumed
his body and returned to Ireland. Many remarkable remnants of his monastic life
remain in Iona including the grave where he reposed before his exhumed body was
taken back to Ireland.
v
Saturday, June 10th:
Soul Saturday
Matins: 9:00 a.m.; Divine Liturgy:
10:00 a.m.
(Followed by Trisagion Service at
Beachwood Cemetery)
Ø
Every Saturday at 6:00
p.m.: Great Vespers/Confession (due to the limited time on Sunday morning,
confessions will be heard also during Great Vespers, as well as on Sunday
morning during the Matins Service)
* Announcements
& Activities *
“It is good to be Zealous in a Good Thing
Always…” (Galatians 4:18)
ü
Parish Council
Elections
The Parish Council of St. Elias Cathedral met
on Thursday, June 1st and elected the following: Chairwoman
– Sue Paruch
Vice-Chair – Michael Salhani
Treasurer – Amine Kheirallah
Secretary – Roger Aramouni
* We would like to congratulate them and wish
them all the best in their ministry!
ü
53rd Annual
Parish Life Conference
The 53rd Annual Parish Life Conference
will be held from June 29th
– July 2nd , hosted by St. George Antiochian Orthodox
Church, Richmond Hill (Toronto), and presided by His Grace Bishop ALEXANDER.
Please contact the Cathedral Office for booking and travel information
(Departure time for the bus will be Thursday morning (June 29th) at
7:00 a.m. and again departing for Ottawa at 3:00 p.m. on July 2nd).
Help yourself to informative pamphlets that are available today at the Candle
Stand in the Vestibule. Also, further information can be obtained at the
following website: (www.stgeorgeto.com).
ü
Camp Transfiguration (www.stgeorgemontreal.org)
This summer Camp Transfiguration 2006 will be
from (July 30th – August 5th),
all necessary forms and information can be obtained at the above mentioned
website.
ü
Induction of New
Officers to Cathedral Organizations
On Sunday, June 18th, immediately
after the Divine Liturgy, the new officers of the Parish Council and all the
Cathedral Organizations will be inducted. Also the Directors of the Choirs and
the Superintendent of the Church School will be inducted.
ü
Sunday Summer Hours
Please note that beginning today and
throughout the summer, the Sunday Divine Liturgy will begin at 10:00 a.m.
(Matins will begin at 8:45 a.m.) Please remember that although the schools will
be closing for the summer, our Cathedral will always be open. Please fight the
temptation of skipping Sundays if the sun is shining, and come to the Divine
Liturgy, where we are literally united with God.
+ St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral +
(2975 Riverside Drive – Ottawa)
Cathedral Office: 700 Ridgewood Ave
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1V 6N1
Telephone: (613) 738-2222, Fax: (613) 737-4392
Email: info@steliascathedral.com, Website:
www.steliascathedral.com
The Rt. Rev. Bishop ALEXANDER
Bishop of Ottawa, East
Canada and Upstate New York
The Very Rev. Father Ghattas Hajal – Dean
Rev. Father Mark Arsenios Wyatt – Assistant Priest
The Very Rev. Father Daniel Matheson - Emeritus