+ Sunday, August 5th 2007 +

10th Sunday after Holy Pentecost

& The Forefeast of the Transfiguration

Tone: 1                                                            +                                Eothinion: 10

 

+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +

 

“Come, let us go up with Jesus. Let us climb the holy mountain to hear the voice of the Living God, the Father existing before eternity. He bears witness in the Holy Spirit through a radiant cloud to the Divine Sonship. Enlightening our hearts in the light, we shall see the Divine Light.”

 

Next Sunday’s Gospel Readings:

v  Epistle: 1 Corinthians 9:2-12

v  Holy Gospel: St. Matthew 18:23-35

 

+ The Epistle +

Verse: “Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us. 

Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous”.

The Reading is from the First Letter of St. Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians.

(Chapter 4:9-16)

Brethren, God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now. I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel. Therefore I urge you, imitate me.

 

 

+ The Holy Gospel +

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew

(Chapter 17:14-23)

 

At that time, when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, 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. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.”

 

Meditation: From the Writings of St. John Chrysostom

“For what purpose did Christ go up into the mountain? To teach us that solitude and retirement is good when we are to pray to God. With this view, you see, He is continually withdrawing into the wilderness, and there often spends the whole night in prayer, teaching us earnestly to seek such quietness in our prayers, as the time and place may confer.”

 

“Let there be no gap between us and Christ. For if there is any gap, immediately we perish. For the branch by its adherence draws in the fatness, and the building stands because it is cemented together. Let us not then merely keep hold of Christ, but let us be cemented to Him… Let us cleave to Him by our works. “For he who keeps my commandments, the same abides in me” {Jn. 14:21}… He is the Head, we are the body. He is the foundation, we the building. He is the Vine, we the branches. He is the Bridegroom, we the bride. He is the Shepherd, we the sheep. He is the Way, we they who walk in it. Again, we are the temple, He the Indweller. He is the Only Begotten, we the brothers and sisters. He is the Heir, we the heirs together with Him. He is the Life, we the living. He is the Resurrection, we those who rise again. He is the Light, we the enlightened.”

 

Meditation: “The Transfiguration of the Lord”

Our Lord had spoken to His disciples many times not only concerning His Passion, Cross, and Death, but also concerning the coming persecutions and afflictions that they themselves would endure. Since all these evils were near at hand, but the enjoyment of good things which they hoped to receive in their stead was yet to come, our Savior desired to give them full assurance, evidently and openly, concerning that glory which is prepared for those who endure to the end. Therefore, fulfilling that which He had promised shortly before, that "there be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in His Kingdom" (Matt. 16:28), He took His three foremost disciples and ascended Mount Tabor, where He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light. Suddenly, together with this dread and marvelous effulgence of light, there appeared those pinnacles of the Prophets, Moses and Elias, who spoke with the Lord Jesus concerning His saving Passion which was about to take place. Standing before Him as reverent servants, they showed that He is the Lord of both the living and the dead, for Moses came forth from Hades, having died many centuries before, and Elias, as it were from heaven, whither he had been taken up while yet alive. After a little while a radiant cloud overshadowed them and out of the cloud they heard that same voice which had been heard at the Jordan at the Baptism of Christ, testifying to the Divinity of Jesus and saying: "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased; hear ye Him" (Matt. 17: 5). Such are the marvels, truly worthy of God, celebrated in this present feast, which is an image and prefiguring of the future state of the righteous, whose splendor the Lord spoke of, saying: "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun" (Matt. 13:43). It is because of this that the Kontakion of this Feast is said daily (when there is not a great feast) in the Service of the Typica in perpetual commemoration of the glory that will be the lot of the Saints. According to tradition, the Lord's Transfiguration came to pass forty days before His Crucifixion; this is why the Transfiguration is celebrated forty days before the Exaltation of the Cross.

 

      

 

 

* Announcements *

 

v  Dormition Fast (August 1st – 14th) No Meat, Dairy or Fish Permitted

 

v  Monday, August 6th – Feast of the Transfiguration – Matins at 8:45 a.m. & Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m. with the Blessing of the Grapes. (Fish Permitted on this day)

v  Tuesday, August 7th – Paraklesis Service at 6:00 p.m.

v  Wednesday, August 8th – Paraklesis Service at 6:00 p.m.

v  Thursday, August 9th – Paraklesis Service at 6:00 p.m.

v  Friday, August 10th – Paraklesis Service at 6:00 p.m.

 

v  Every Saturday – Great Vespers at 6:00 p.m.

v  Every Sunday – Matins at 8:45 a.m. & Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.

 

ü  Church Beautification

“Blessed are those who love the beauty of Thy House, O Lord”

Our Iconographer may unfortunately be retiring in the near future and we are looking to finish (while we still can) the empty area over the Choir Loft with a beautiful new set of icons. Some icons left for selection are:

 

 

v  The Holy Hymnographers & Antiochian Saints (For Example: St. Andrew of Crete, St. Joseph of Damascus, St. Isaac the Syrian, Sts. Peter & Paul holding the Church of Antioch in their hands, Sts. Sergios & Bachos the Unmercenary Healers. OR any other Orthodox Saint you would like to honor and have depicted on the walls of our Cathedral.

 

 

If you are interested in donating any icons, please contact Fr. Ghattas in the office or speak to him after the Divine Liturgy.

 

ü  Celebration of the Feast of the Dormition (Wednesday, August 15)

All parishioners are invited to come and celebrate with us the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos by attending the Evening Divine Liturgy on August 15th at 6:00 p.m. followed by an outdoor family gathering and enjoying Harissee and Tamriyi. (Vespers will be served on Tuesday, August 14th at 6:00 p.m.)

 

On Wednesday August 15th at 9:45 a.m. there will be a Hierarchal Divine Liturgy with Metropolitan Sotirios at the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church (Matins at 9:00 a.m.) Fr. Ghattas and Fr. Mark will be serving as well and all are welcome to attend. Following the Divine Liturgy will be the opening ceremony for the Greek Festival.

 

ü  Fellowship of St. John the Divine

Weekly Meeting every Tuesday from 7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. SHARP! Please be on time. A Bible Study/Religious Discussion will take place in the Church School Building (1st Floor). Please give us your email address if you are not receiving our weekly online newsletter.

 

ü  An Important Message from the Church School to all Parents

To enable the children and teachers to attend the Divine Liturgy from the beginning, we will be having Church School Classes immediately following Communion. Parents should bring their children to Church for 10:00 a.m.  Children will still be seated in the Church School section on the South side of the Church. Father Ghattas and Father Mark will give Communion to all the Church School children FIRST, then we will go to our Classes for one hour of teaching. This should prove satisfactory to everyone.  Previously, parents were not bringing their children on time, therefore they were missing part of the lessons. This new way, everyone will be able to start at the same time and have one complete hour of teaching. Other Orthodox Churches in our Archdiocese are having Church School this way with great success. We will need your full cooperation to make this work. Bring your children preferably before the Divine Liturgy starts at 10:00 a.m. and immediately after we have received Communion we will go to our Classes.

 

REMEMBER : REGISTRATION WILL BE HELD ON SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9th FROM 10:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL AREA.

 

Yours in Christ,

Joann Nicholson, Superintendent of St. Elias Church School.

 

ü  New Arabic Books

There are 2 new sets of well-known Arabic Orthodox Books about the “Baptist & Seventh Day Adventist Denominations” available at our Bookstore downstairs. You may purchase your copies after the Divine Liturgy.

 

If you like to watch Arabic Religious Television, you may wish to subscribe to “Nour-Sat”.

 

 

 

+ 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, Eastern 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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Explanation of the Nicene Creed – Part 8

(Taken from: Orthodox Faith - Volume 1 - Doctrine)

 

…and in One Lord Jesus Christ…

 

The fundamental confession of Christians about their Master is this: Jesus Christ is Lord. It begins in the Gospel when Jesus Himself asks His disciples who they think that He is:

 

But who do you say that I am? Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God" (Matt 16:16).

 

Jesus is the Christ. This is the first act of faith which men must make about Him. At His birth, the child of Mary is given the name Jesus, which means literally Saviour (in Hebrew Joshua, the name also of Moses' successor who crossed the Jordan River and led the chosen people into the promised land). "You will call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins" (Matt 1:21; Luke 1:31). It is this Jesus who is the Christ, which means the Anointed, the Messiah of Israel. Jesus is the Messiah, the One promised to the world through Abraham and his children.

 

But who is the Messiah? This is the second question, one also asked by Christ in the Gospels-this time not to his disciples, but to those who were taunting Him and trying to catch Him in His words. "Who is the Messiah?" He asked them, not because they could answer or really wished to know, but in order to silence them and to begin the inauguration of "the hour" for which He had come: the hour of the world's salvation.

 

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question saying, "What do you think of the Christ (i.e., the Messiah)? Whose Son is He?

 

They said to Him, "The Son of David."

 

He said to them, "How is it then that David, inspired by the Spirit, calls Him Lord, saying The Lord said to my Lord, sit at My right hand till I put Thy enemies under Thy feet" (Ps 110). If David thus calls Him Lord, how is He His son?"

And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask Him any more questions (Matt 22:41-46).

 

After Jesus' Resurrection, inspired by the same Holy Spirit who inspired David, the Apostles and all members of the Church understood the meaning of His words. Jesus is the Christ. And the Christ is the Lord. This is the mystery of Jesus Christ the Messiah, namely that He is the One and Only Lord, identified with the God Yahweh of the Old Testament.

 

We saw already how Yahweh was always called Adonai, the Lord, by the people of Israel. In the Greek Bible the very word Yahweh was not even written. Instead, where the word Yahweh was written in Hebrew, and where the Jews said Adonai, the Lord, the Greek Bible simply wrote Kyrios -- the Lord. Thus, the Son of David, which was another way of saying the Messiah, is called Kyrios, the Lord.

 

For the Jews, and indeed for the first Christians, the term Lord was proper to God alone: "God is the Lord and has revealed Himself unto us" (Ps 11:8). This Lord and God is Yahweh; and it is Jesus the Messiah as well. For although Jesus claims that "the Father is greater than I" (Jn 14:28), he claims as well: "I and the Father are one" (Jn 10:30).

 

Believing in "One Lord Jesus Christ" is the prime confession of faith for which the first Christians were willing to die. For it is the confession which claims the identity of Jesus with the Most High God.