+ Sunday, January 13, 2008
Tone 8 + Eothinon 11
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+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +
“This is the season of Theophany. Christ has appeared to us in the Jordan River. Come, O faithful, and let us draw from Him Who is living water forgiveness of our sins. For Christ has come in our midst in the flesh, seeking the lost sheep and, as a merciful God, having found it, He brings it immediately to paradise. Christ has appeared in the Jordan and has illumined the world! O Lord, glory to You! .”
+ The Epistle +
Verse: Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us
Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous.
The Reading is from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians.
(Chapter 4:7-13)
Brethren, to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.” (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
+ The Holy Gospel +
(Chapter 4:12-17)
At that time, when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
* Announcements *
ü God-Parents Sunday
This year and for the first time in Ottawa we would like to designate the First Sunday after the Holy Epiphany as the God-Parents Sunday.
God-Parents play a very important role in the raising up of their God-Children to become good Christians.
This Sunday is to remind the God-Parents of their responsibility, and remind the God-Children to remember their God-Parents and pray for their good health and prosperity.
ü Adult Christian Education Sessions
Please join us every Thursday evening from 7:30 to 9:00 for Adult Bible Study in the Cathedral Basement. We will explain the Divine Liturgy in both languages, which will help us understand and be more involved in the Liturgy. Every one is welcome.
ü Antiochian Women
The Antiochian Women Meeting will be held on Monday January 21, 2008 at 7:30 pm at the Cathedral Basement
Topic of this meeting: Sacred Gift of Life “Protecting the Life of the Unborn”
What does the Orthodox Church Say???
This meeting is open to everyone. The younger generation is encouraged to attend.
Plan to attend and hear the many questions and prepare ourselves with the answers and our Church views to this very controversial topic.
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 Teen SOYO
Weekly Meeting every Friday from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 pm. Please give us your email address if you are not receiving our weekly online newsletter & calendar.
ü Thank You!
We would like to thank Mr. Hisham Kassis for donating the tablecloths for the Altar and cloths for the Crosses and Fans. May God bless you and your loved ones, and grant you many years of good health!
ü 2008 Church Calendar
We have received the 2008 Church Calendar with two beautiful Icons for your homes and offices, please take a copy from the Vestibule today, we are asking for a generous $5.00 donation. God bless you!
ü Church Annual Dues 2007
Dear Parishioners,
Please remember to pay your Annual Dues for the year 2007 ($350.00) as soon as possible. Your generous contributions are directed towards the reduction of the debt and the general operation of the Church. Dead line to pay your 2007 dues is January 15, 2008.
ü Altar Boys 13th Reunion –Sunday, February 3rd, 2008
The 13th Reunion of the Altar Boys of St. Elias Cathedral will be on Sunday, February 3rd 2008, followed by a lunch after the Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral Hall downstairs. Also we will welcome (at the same time) Deacon Dimitri and his wife Rita and his daughters Mona and Maria-Nicole. Please join us to welcome them.
ü Blessing Homes
Fr. Ghattas will start his annual Blessing of Homes after the Holy Feast of Epiphany. Our office will contact you and let you know when Fr. Ghattas will be in your area. If you work, and you have no answering machine, it would be impossible for us to contact you. You have to call us.
For those parishioners whose names and addresses are not on our parish list, you are kindly requested to call the office @ 738-2222 and register your name, address, phone number, and names of your family members living with you.
INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA BIBLE STUDIES
Quality Orthodox Christian Bible study resources are now only a mouse-click away. These free Bible study materials contain commentaries, patristic writings, articles about applying biblical truths to your life, reflections on Orthodox doctrine and worship, group study guides, quizzes and more. L our resources are perfect for tens preparing for the Bible Bowl- and adults as well!
LIFE TOGETHER
AN INTERACTIVE STUDY OF 1 CORINTHIANS
Prepare for the 2008 Bible Bowl with this free interactive multimedia study of 1Corinthians. You’ll find commentaries, articles about Orthodox Christianity and your life, and study guides and quizzes t use with your Teen SOYO group!
NEW BOOKLET
Download a copy of the new booklet, You Can read the Bible! This free, easy to read, eight-page booklet explains why you should read the Bible, an Orthodox Christian approach to understanding Holy Scripture, and several methods you can use to enhance your personal Bible study.
GET WISDOM
THE ORTHODOX BIBLE STUDY RADIO PROGRAM FOR TEENS
Listen to Orthodox Bible teaching wherever you go! The current series on 1Corinthians will help you prepare for the Bible Bowl using your MP3 player.
DOWNLOAD THE PODCAST AT: WWW.ORTHODOXYOUTH.ORG/RADIO
How can a Godparent live up to his or her responsibilities?
What are some of these responsibilities?
The Godparent is a very important person in the baptismal service and in the life of the baptized Christian. In the early Church the majority of persons entering the Church were adults. This meant that they were able to make their own profession of faith, to reject evil and sin, and personally commit themselves to Christ. In infant baptism, which otherwise has much to commend it, this is not possible. The parents make the decision to baptize their child, thus bringing the child into the life of redemption. It is the Godparent, however, who rejects the devil, accepts Christ, and who makes the profession of faith on behalf of the child. It is a mistake for Godparents to think of their role as a merely social one. It is primarily religious and spiritual. The task of the Godparent does not consist simply in buying a cross and some new clothing, and participating in the service of baptism saying the words mentioned above, receiving the child from the font, processing around the font, bringing the child to its first Holy Communion. All these things are merely the beginning of the responsibilities of the sponsor. For with these acts, the sponsor assumes a lifelong commitment to care for the spiritual aspects of the life of his or her Godchild. This means several things. First, to see it, together with the parents, that the child is taught the necessary things for the living of the Christian life. This includes attendance at Church, religious education classes, and, most importantly, frequent participation in the Sacraments of Holy Communion. Godparents should also have close personal ties with their Godchildren. They should visit with them regularly, in person, by letter, or on the phone. They should remember their Godchildren on their name days, birthdays and other holidays. All this should be accompanied by loving counsel and concern in reference to the various stages of their lives with a view to the Christian formation of the Godchild. In later years, during the teens, a Godparent who has done these things during childhood years may prove to be the only one who can influence a young person during those trying and difficult times. Finally, the Godparent should include his or her Godchild in daily prayers, to grow constantly in his/ her spiritual life.
Explanation of the Nicene Creed – Part 29
(Taken from: Orthodox Faith - Volume 1 - Doctrine)
… Holy Spirit … (1)
And in the Holy Spirit, Lord and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father, who together with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets ...
The
Holy Spirit bears the title of Lord with God the Father and Christ the Son. He
is the Spirit of God and Spirit of Christ. He is eternal, uncreated, and
divine; always existing with the Father and the Son; perpetually worshipped and
glorified with them in the oneness of the Holy Trinity.
Just
like the Son, there was no time when there was no Holy Spirit. The Spirit is
before creation. He comes forth from God, as does the Son, in a timeless,
eternal procession. "He proceeds from the
Father," in eternity in a divinely instantaneous and perpetual movement (Jn 15:26).
Orthodox doctrine confesses that God the Father is the eternal origin and source of the Spirit, just as He is the source of the Son. Yet, the Church affirms as well that the manner of the Father's possession and production of the Spirit and the Son differ according to the difference between the Son being "born," and the Spirit "proceeding." There have been many attempts -- by holy men inspired by God and with a genuine experience of His Trinitarian life to explain the distinction between the procession of the Spirit and the begetting or generation of the Son. For us it is enough to see that the difference between the two lies in the distinction between the divine persons and actions of the Son and the Spirit in relation to the Father, and so as well to each other and to the world. It is necessary to note further that all words and concepts about God and divinity, including those of "procession" and "generation" must give way before the mystical vision of the actual Divine Reality which they express. God may somehow be grasped by men as He has chosen to reveal Himself. However, the essence of His Triune existence remains -- and will always remain -- essentially inconceivable and inexpressible to created minds and lips. This does not mean that words about God are meaningless. It only means that they are inadequate to the Reality which they seek to express...
At this point also it is necessary to note that the Roman and Protestant churches differ in their credal statement about God by adding that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father "and the Son" (filioque) -- a doctrinal addition unacceptable to Orthodoxy since it is both unscriptural and inconsistent with the Orthodox vision of God.
With
the affirmation of the divinity of the Holy Spirit, and the necessity of
worshipping and glorifying him with the Father and the Son, the Orthodox Church
affirms that the Divine Reality, called also the Deity
or the Godhead in the Orthodox Tradition, is the Holy Trinity.
The
Holy Spirit is essentially one in his eternal existence with the Father and the
Son; and so, in every action of God toward the world, the Holy Spirit is
necessarily acting. Thus, in the Genesis account of creation it is written:
"The Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters" (Gen 1:2). It is this same Spirit who is the "breath of
life" for all living things and particularly for man, made in the image
and likeness of God (Gen 1:30; 2:7). Generally speaking the Spirit in Hebrew is called the "breath" or the
"wind" of Yahweh. It is he who makes everything alive, the
"giver of life" who upholds and sustains the universe in its
existence and life (e.g. Ps 104:29; Job 33:4).
The Holy Spirit is also he who inspires the saints to speak God's word and to do God's will. He anoints the prophets, priests, and kings of the Old Testament; and "in the fullness of time" it is this same Spirit who "descends and remains" on Jesus of Nazareth, making him the Messiah (anointed) of God and manifesting him as such to the world. Thus, in the New Testament at the first epiphany (which means literally showing forth or manifestation) of Christ as the Messiah -- his baptism by John in the Jordan -- the Holy Spirit is revealed as descending and resting upon him "as a dove from heaven" (Jn 1:32; Lk 3:22, see also Mt 3:16 and Mk 1:9). It is important to note, both here and in the account of the Spirit's coming on the Day of Pentecost, as well as in other places in the Scriptures, that the words "as" and "like" are used in order to avoid an incorrect "physical" interpretation of the events recorded where the Bible itself is literally speaking in quite a symbolical and metaphorical way.
Jesus begins his public work after his baptism, and immediately refers Isaiah's prophecy about the Messiah directly to himself: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me ..." (Is 61:1; Lk 4:18).
(To be continued…)
THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM
Birth to a New Life
When our Lord Jesus Christ was about thirty years old, He came to John the Baptist at the Jordan River one day and insisted on being baptized by him. Later on, when a man one night came to talk with Christ about the things of time and eternity, Jesus told him: “Unless a man be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.” That is, Christ decreed the necessity of baptism. And then, just before He ascended, Christ gave His final instructions to the apostles: “Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
It is obvious from this that baptism was of the utmost importance in the mind of Christ. The Christian Church has continued to give this sacrament a special role and significance in its work.
Today, when a new baby is born into a Christian family, one of the first tasks of a father and mother is to arrange for the child’s baptism. Why all this emphasis on baptism? What is it, anyway?
Baptism is many things. St. Basil the Great, for instance, says: “Baptism… is the death of sin, the regeneration of the soul, the shining garment, the seal that nothing can break, the pathway to heaven, the foundation of the Kingdom, the gift of adoption.”
In the Early Church, converts to Christianity were prepared by instruction before being baptized. They had to know the Christian faith and believe it. Then on great feast days of the Church, they would come in groups and publicly confess their faith in Christ and be baptized unto salvation.
In our day, infants are baptized. This has long been the tradition of the Church. If baptism is necessary for salvation, and if one cannot enter the Kingdom of God without it, then let the new-born come quickly into the family of God. The faith and promises for the new-born are provided by the sponsors or godparents. They promise, in behalf of the child, to believe in Christ and serve Him; they promise to renounce sin and Satan. They confess the faith of the Church as it is continued in the Nicene Creed.
Parents need to be reminded of the sacredness of this rite. They should not turn the occasion of baptism into a purely secular “party.” Of course there is a place for social gathering and enjoyment, but this must not take precedence over the religious function and meaning of the event.
Families should also remember the anniversaries of baptisms. If children can celebrate their birthdays with great joy and celebration, they can also observe with solemnity and happiness the days in which they became children of God and heirs of His kingdom. Let these dates be noted on the family calendar of important events.
Parents must note that baptism is the door and beginning of the Christian life. Their obligation to the spiritual development of their children does not end with baptism; it only begins with this sacrament. There must follow years of spiritual nourishment, the setting of a Christian example, and the participation of the child in the life of the Church.
Surely as Christian adults, we should reflect on our own baptism and its meaning for us. Although we cannot recall the details of this event, we know our parents and godparents brought us to the church, and there offered us to God in Christian Baptism. There our bodies were anointed with oil that they might be instruments of our salvation, there we were born again by water and the Holy Spirit into the family of God.
Beloved: there is a story that comes to us from the third century that shows the remarkable change that baptism works on the believer. It seems that in Phoenicia there lived a comic clown or comedian who used to appear on the stage. One day the company performed a parady of Christian baptism for the unbelievers who made up the audience. A large font was put on the stage, filled with water, and then the comic Gelassius was dipped and baptized. The people roared with laughter. But as the man rose from the water and was dressed in white, he was rent with sincere repentance. Gone were the smiles and gaity, for he had felt the power of God and the pangs of spiritual rebirth. “I am a Christian,” he is said to have cried. “In the font I saw a dazzling light. Therefore, I will die as a Christian.” In short order the theatre was in a tumult; the mob dragged him out, and still clothed in white, he was stoned to death for his belief.
The day of baptism is the most important day in the life of the believing Christian. It is time that people paid due attention to this day and this event which made them new creatures in Christ, children of God, and heirs of eternal life. Let us appropriate that which is ours. Let it not be a meaningless ritual which was performed in our infancy, but a life-giving birth which enriches our life day by day, even unto eternity.
On the first day of our Christian life, God said “This is My beloved child…”May He say it again on the last day of our Christian life, too, as we stand at the brink of eternity. Amen.
+ 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 Most Rev. Metropolitan PHILIP
Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of all North America
The Rt. Rev. Bishop ALEXANDER
Bishop of Ottawa, Eastern Canada and Upstate New York
The Very Rev. Father Ghattas Hajal – Dean
The Very Rev. Father Daniel Matheson – Emeritus
Rev. Dn. Dimitri Choueiri
The Vine and the Branches
Written by the Very Rev. Vladimir Berzonsky
"I am the true vine and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit....If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and withers, and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned" (John 15:1,2,5)
Well, really what else can you do with dead wood? It's a messy job to rake it all up on a pile and burn it. Jesus is talking not about wood, but human beings. It brings us to understand some problems we have about living in Christ during this lifetime and what happens in the next world. In this life we are baptized into Christ and blessed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit to grow, develop and increase in godliness. By ever growing in faith, prayer, growing up in communion with the people of God and giving an example of a person who loves the Lord and enjoys His presence in us, we know we are His and He is our loving Lord.
What happens when we are injured by others, mocked for our beliefs, or bad things happen to us even when we had prayed so hard that they wouldn't happen? "...every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit." So we should expect to be tested. We are being "pruned," challenged, tested, put upon like faithful Job in the Bible. Christ calls us to "abide in Me." It means that we must go through the difficult times and come out even stronger in our faith. The one who abides stays put. He or she doesn't whimper or consider it unfair to be tested. Yes, of course God is still filled with love; but He prepares us for heaven by placing obstacles on earth that will make us stronger.
The word hell in the Bible comes from kolazo. It has two meanings: It can mean either pruning or else punishment. Usually we mean the latter definition. However, it is not God who punishes people; it is they themselves who choose not to utilize the spiritual gifts that are given to them when they are made Christians. The obvious conclusion in this glorious self-definition of our Lord Himself as the "True vine" is rather ominous. It seems not to offer much hope for the dead wood, but what does one do with something that has no life and produces no fruit? Worse, there is a sort of contradiction in our understanding of the afterlife. As for the dead branches, "they gather them up and throw them into the fire, and they are burned."
The spiritual fathers have this explanation. The souls of those who once lived are never obliterated. Even beyond this world they continue to exist. Those who have borne spiritual fruit in this lifetime will be brought to the Light of the Holy Trinity, and they will develop an ever greater affinity to that Light. Like the three apostles on Mt. Tabor witnessing the Transformation of Jesus Christ, but who could not adjust their vision to the brightness of that light, they will do so in the life beyond. The ones who have turned from worship, choosing to follow other paths in this lifetime, rejecting the love of Christ and the life in the Holy Spirit, they also will be exposed to the Light of the Lord; however, it will be for them a fire and not an illumination. It's not God who is condemning them. He is filled with love for all creation, but He has no power or rather He chooses not to force anybody to respond to His love.