+ Sunday,
June 11th 2006 +
Sunday
of Holy Pentecost
+
*******************************************************************************************************
+ In the
Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
“O Heavenly King, O Comforter, the Spirit of
truth, who art in all places and fillest all things; Treasury of good things and Giver of life: Come and dwell in us and
cleanse us from every stain, and
save our souls, O Gracious Lord.”
+ The
Epistle +
Verse: “Their voice has gone forth
into all the Earth.
The
Heavens declare the Glory of God”.
The Reading is from
the Acts of the Holy Apostles.
(Chapter
2:1-11)
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they
were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from
heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they
were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one
sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began
to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were
dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under Heaven. And
when this sound occurred, the multitudes came together, and were confused,
because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all
amazed and marvelled, saying to one another, "Look, are not all these who
speak Galilean? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which
we were born?" Parthian and Metes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia,
Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the
parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and Proselytes,
Cretans and Arabs- we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works
of God."
+ The Holy Gospel
+
(Chapter 7:37-52, 8:12)
On the last day of the feast, the great day,
Jesus stood up and proclaimed, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and
drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his belly shall
flow rivers of living water’.” Now this He said about the Spirit, which those
who believed in Him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given,
because Jesus was not yet glorified. When they heard these words, many of the
people said, “This is really the prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.”
But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the scripture said
that the Christ is descended from David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village
where David was?” So there was a division among the people over Him. Some of
them wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him. The officers then went
back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring
Him?” The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” The Pharisees
answered them, “Are you led astray, you also? Have any of the authorities or of
the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, who do not know the Law, are
accursed.” Nicodemus, who had gone to Him before, and who was one of them, said
to them, “Does our Law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and
learning what he does?” They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and you
will see that no prophet is to rise from Galilee.” Again Jesus spoke to them,
saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in
darkness, but will have the Light of Life.”
Meditation: The Holy
Spirit & The Meaning of the Kneeling Prayers
In the Orthodox Church the Feast of Pentecost
is one of the seven great feasts of the Lord observed during the liturgical
year. It celebrates the Lord's bestowal of the Holy Spirit upon His Church.
Pentecost is also a feast of the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God
the Holy Spirit. One God in Three Persons, existing eternally and working
together for the salvation of the world. Finally Pentecost celebrates the gift
of the Holy Spirit to the world, the historical revelation of the Holy Spirit.
In honour of the Holy Spirit, the day after Pentecost bas been appointed Monday
of the Holy Spirit. The following hymns express the multiple themes of
Pentecost: “Blessed are You, Christ our God, who have shown the fishermen to be
all-wise, sending upon them the Holy Spirit and through them drawing into the
net of the Gospel all people. Loving Lord, glory to You!”; “Come people, let us
worship God in Three Persons, the Son who abides in the Father together with
the Holy Spirit... one Power, one Essence, one God, whom we worship saying:
Holy God who has created all things through the Son and in the Holy Spirit!
Holy Mighty, through whom we have known the Father and the Spirit has come to
the world! Holy Immortal, Comforter and Spirit, who proceeds from the Father
and rests in the Son. Holy Trinity, glory to You!”; “Let us celebrate
Pentecost, the coming of the Spirit, the dawn of the promised age, the fulfillment
of hope! Behold how great and sacred is the mystery! Therefore, we cry out to
You, Lord and Creator of all, glory to You!”
The Service of Kneeling, which is the Vespers
of the Monday of the Holy Spirit, is one of the most solemn acts of worship
during the whole liturgical year. During this service on the Day of Pentecost,
we glorify God by recounting His great acts of salvation in history. We
solemnly kneel before God recognizing our sinfulness and we earnestly implore
Him for forgiveness. We pray for God’s visitation, protection, and renewal
through fresh outpourings of the Spirit. We chant triumphantly: “What god is so
great as our God. Thou art the God Who alone does wonders.”
+ 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 11th:
Synaxis of the Holy Icon “It is Truly Meet”
Synaxarion: The Synaxis of the Icon of
the Most Holy Theotokos “It is Truly Meet” (Axion Estin) is celebrated today
for the following reason: In 980, during the reign of Emperor Basil II, when
Nicholas Chrysoberges was Ecumenical Patriarch, the Holy Archangel Gabriel
appeared in the form of a Monk to the disciple of a certain Elder living in a
hermitage belonging to the Monastery of the Pantocrator on the Holy Mountain.
During Matins, after the Monk had chanted the customary hymn, “More honourable
than the Cherubim…,” composed by Saint Cosmas the Hymnographer, the Angel
chanted the same hymn, but with the following prelude: “It is truly meet to
call thee blessed, the Theotokos, the ever-blessed and all-immaculate and
Mother of our God.” Marvelling at the hymn’s beauty, the Monk asked his visitor
–who appeared also to be a Monk – to record this new text in writing, which the
Angel did by miraculously inscribing the words on a piece of slate, using only
his finger, and straightway he vanished from sight. This slate was brought to
the Church of the Protaton, and from there to Constantinople, to the imperial
court and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as evidence of the miracle. Henceforth,
this version of the hymn to the Most Holy Theotokos began to be chanted in the
Divine Liturgy in all the Churches. The place where the miracle took place is
now called Adein, from the Greek word which means “to sing.” The Icon itself,
before which this hymn was first chanted, is kept in the Sanctuary of the
Church of the Protaton on the Holy Mountain of Athos in Greece.
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
Happy Anniversary!
“Blessed
are Thou, O Christ our God, Who hast revealed the fishermen as most wise,
having sent upon them the Holy Spirit, and through them thou hast fished the
universe, O Lover of mankind, glory to Thee.” (Troparion of Pentecost)
We would like to congratulate our Beloved
Pastor the Very Reverend Father Ghattas
Hajal on his 29th year in the Holy
Priesthood. We pray that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will grant him many
years of worthy service to His Holy Church. Axios! Axios! Axios!
ü
Induction of New
Officers to Cathedral Organizations
Next Sunday, June 18th, immediately
after the Divine Liturgy, the Parish Council Officers and members, the Officers
of the Antiochian Women; Fellowship of St. John the Divine; Teen SOYO; Order of
St. Ignatius of Antioch; Choir Directors; Captain of the Altar Boys; Church
School Superintendent & Youth Director will be inducted.
ü
Petition for Government
Funding for Orthodox Schools in Ontario
A petition has been made by the Greek Orthodox
Metropolis in Toronto to ask for Government Funding for ‘Orthodox Schools’ in
Ontario. This petition will be available today and next Sunday after the Divine
Liturgy in the Cathedral Hall. We encourage you to sign and speak up for the
freedom of proper education for our children.
ü
Congratulations!
We would like to congratulate the following 12
winners from our Church School who participated in the Creative Festivals:
·
Writing: Alexa Abou-Assaly -
HM
·
Poetry: Stephen Fayad – 1st,
Mark Tamer – HM, Jessica Tamer – HM, Milad Hamwi – HM
·
Art: Christopher Fayad – 1st,
Cameron Ayoub – 1st, Marcus Zeidan – HM, Selina Saikaley – HM,
Clarissa Larisey – 1st, Evan Saikaley – HM, John Swaita – HM
The Awards will be presented to the above
winners by His Grace Bishop Alexander on Sunday, July 2nd during the
Awards Brunch at the Parish Life Conference in Toronto. We encourage the
parents to take their children and attend this important Parish Life
Conference, where the children will personally receive their awards from His
Grace Bishop Alexander.
+ 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