the orthodox doctrine of evil - the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of

Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation
Rev. Fr. Paul A. Kaplanis, Dean (frpaulk@atlgoc.org)
Rev. Fr. Christos P. Mars, Presbyter (frchristos@atlgoc.org)
Elias Lampropoulos, Pastoral Assistant (Elias@atlgoc.org)
Volume 41 Issue 4
2500 Clairmont Road N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30329
Phone (404) 633-5870 Fax (404) 633-6018
www.atlgoc.org office@atlgoc.org
August 2014
THE ORTHODOX DOCTRINE OF EVIL
Over the centuries, there have been many periods where
the existence of evil or the devil has been in question.
In some instances, the antithesis is also true, as we have
witnessed the imagination and the intrigue of evil in the
entertainment industry. In 1973 the movie, “The
Exorcist”, was released, a film based on an exorcism
performed on a young boy in Maryland by a Jesuit
Catholic priest in 1949. This film does not portray the
Orthodox experience in ministering to those who may
be possessed or heavily influenced by evil. In this
article, we will examine the Orthodox Christian understanding of evil based on scripture, the Holy Fathers of
the Church and the prayerful experience of the Church.
It is important for us to understand that God did not
create evil or the devil. He did create all the invisible
and visible beings. The invisible ones include the
nine ranks of the angels, which all have specific
responsibilities and traits. The chief among the angels
was Lucifer. He was blessed by God to be the leader of
the angelic powers. In very simple terms, he wanted
more, he wanted to be God and the consequences of his
tremendous ego and pride led him to oppose God. He,
therefore, became the first among the fallen angelic
powers and he drew with him other angels/demons who
became his followers. The scriptural account of
Lucifer’s fall is described in two key Old Testament
chapters—Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14. In the New Testament,
a few references to Satan’s fall can be found in the Gospel
of St. Luke 10:17-20 and in Revelation 12:7-12. St. Paul
also makes the existence of evil abundantly clear in
Ephesians, 6:10-18, saying, “Put on the whole armor of
God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of
the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and
blood, but against the principalities, against the powers,
against the world rulers of this present darkness, against
the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places”.
Even though many have tried to rationalize away the
devil and his demons, He does exist. In the secular
world, it is not uncommon for mental health specialists
to embrace the presence of evil in some of their
patients.
In the book entitled, “People of the Lie”, the author,
Dr. M. Scott Peck, a Harvard graduate and psychiatrist,
offers a great work on examining evil through the
auspices of psychiatry and religion. In his chapter on
possession and exorcism, he admits how skeptical he
was regarding the existence of a devil and demons.
Most purported cases he evaluated for possible
possession turned out to be standard psychiatric
disorders until his ultimate experience in specific cases
where he witnessed as he says, “the real thing”, a person
who was genuinely possessed by Satan. He also
witnessed a successful exorcism and he remarked, “I
now know Satan is real. I have met it.”
In order to understand the Orthodox view and practice
of exorcism, one must know the Orthodox presuppositions of evil and its doctrine of Satan. A good place to
begin is to define the terms Satan and Devil. The
Hebrew word, “Satan” means adversary. The Greek
words for devil, “Diavolos” or “Satanas”, means a
slanderer, a destroyer, something that purposely tries to
oppose or divide.
In the Orthodox Church, patristic evidence points to the
fact that the cause of evil in the world is the devil. Satan
is a fallen angel and is not evil by nature, but by will
and action. In Satan, there is no truth whatsoever; he is
absolute falsehood and deception. Satan is not just a
negation or deprivation of good, but a positive force
with free will that always chooses evil. St. Augustine
declared, “Satan is the opposite of God. He is hate.
While God is love.”
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Continues on page 2
The devil has the ability to recognize divine power, as is
evident in the account of the Lord being tempted by him
in the desert, where he recognizes Christ as the Son of
God. “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the
wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And he fasted
forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was
hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, "If you
are the Son of God, command these stones to become
loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written, 'Man
shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that
proceeds from the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took
him to the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the
temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God,
throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will give his
angels charge of you,' and 'On their hands they will bear
you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus
said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not tempt the
Lord your God.'" Again, the devil took him to a very
high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the
world and the glory of them; and he said to him, "All
these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship
me." Then Jesus said to
him, "Begone, Satan! for it
is written, 'You shall
worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you
serve.'" Then the devil left
him, and behold, angels
came and ministered to
him” (Matt. 4:1-11; Luke
4:1-3).
creation of God is not evil. Everything God created is
good. What is evil is the satanic power, destroyed by the
power of the cross and the resurrection of Christ.
THE ORTHODOX TRADITION OF
EXORCISING THE PRESENCE OF EVIL
After examining the doctrine of Satan in the Orthodox
Church, it is imperative to proceed to the method of
repelling and exorcising the evil powers. In the New
Testament, Christ sent out His apostles to heal and to
"cast out devils" (Matt. 10:8, Luke 10:17-20).
The power, which Christ exercised over demons He passed
on to the Church.
“And having called His twelve disciples together, He gave
them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to
heal all manner of diseases, and all manner of
infirmities.” (M ark 10:1)
Christ Himself often expels demons from the possessed
(Mark 1:23-27; Luke 4:33-35, 9:43; Matt. 10:1; Mark
16:17; Matt. 7:22). There are many examples and here
are few: The first example is the healing of the dumb
demoniac.
“And when they were gone out, behold they brought Him
a dumb demoniac. And when the demon had been cast
out, the dumb man spoke, and the multitudes marveled
saying: Never was anything like this seen in Israel. But
the Pharisees said: He casts out demons by the prince of
demons. . . [And Jesus said:] And if I by Beelzebub cast
out devils, by whom do your children cast them
Satan has under his leadership legions and invisible out?” (Matt. 9:32-34; 12:27)
powers, with their own "satanic teachings." The devil Another interesting example Is the healing of the epileptic
and evil spirits know that God exists and recognize true boy. The modern diagnosis would be that the symptoms the
and devoted Christians, but pious Christians discern the boy had point to an epileptic seizure. In any case, Jesus heals
plans of the devil. Evil only becomes effective when we the boy by rebuking the unclean spirit.
entertain it. The devil, however, constantly employs
every method of deception to enslave man to satanic
forces and causes rebellion against God. He is the cause
of corruption and disorder, a parasitic power in the
world that will ultimately be destroyed by the power of
God in the "last days." Because there is no compromise
between God and the devil, the struggle will continue
until the end.
The Orthodox doctrine of God is that He is eternal,
uncreated and that His nature or essence cannot be fully
known to us. We know and experience God through His
energies. We see the results of God working in our lives.
All other creatures, both visible and invisible, were
created by God as free. The power of the devil will
ultimately be destroyed by the resurrection of the dead
and the renewal of creation. Salvation from all evil will
be attained by obedience to God and His plan. This
world is a battleground between the acceptance of good
and evil. It must be pointed out that the world as the
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“Master, I have brought my son to you, having a dumb
spirit, and wherever it seizes him, it dashes him down,
and he foams and grinds his teeth, and he becomes
rigid... [And Jesus said:] Bring him unto me…Jesus
rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: You dumb and
deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him; and never
enter him again. And after crying out, and convulsing
him terribly, it came out. Jesus took him by the hand
and lifted him up and he arose” His disciples asked him
why they could not cast out the demon and Jesus told them,
“This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer
and fasting” Mark 9:17 ff.).
There are many other instances of possession recounted in
the New Testament to the effect that molestation by the
enemy is manifest in various disturbances of the human
body itself, the devil having gained control over sight,
hearing, speech, or the physical organism in general. In the
Gospel of Mark 5:1ff, we read, about the Gerasene
Demoniac, “They came to the other side of the sea, to the
country of the Gerasenes. And when he had come out of
the boat, there met him out of the tombs a man with an
unclean spirit, who lived among the tombs; and no one
could bind him any more, even with a chain; for he had
often been bound with fetters and chains, but the chains
he wrenched apart, and the fetters he broke in pieces;
and no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and
day among the tombs and on the mountains he was
always crying out, and bruising himself with stones. And
when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped
him; and crying out with a loud voice, he said, "What
have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High
God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me." …And
they came to Jesus, and saw the demoniac sitting there,
clothed and in his right mind, the man who had had the
legion; and they were afraid”.
and the name of Christ. Objects possessed by demons,
when exorcised in the name of the living God, are freed
from the possession of evil. The patristic evidence is
abundant in the early centuries of the Church in the
belief in possession and expulsion of the devil by the
power of the word of God.
The demonic possession of individuals and even of
objects, has been accepted by the Orthodox Church
today in the Sacrament of Baptism, in exorcising satanic
powers in the case of the evil eye (vaskania), and in
exorcising the devil in the case of a possessed person. In
the early Church exorcisms were performed by a person
especially trained and appointed to pray to drive out evil
from those about to be baptized. Since the fourth
century the place of the exorcist, as well as other
functions and ministries, have been taken over by the
priest. The exorcisms are prayers that invoke God to
expel evil spirits. The priest prays to expel all evil, the
spirit of error, of idolatry, of covetousness, of Iying and
every impure act that arises from the teachings of the
devil. The renunciation of the devil is a standard
element in every baptism that is performed in the
Orthodox Church. The service begins with three
Exorcism prayers that ask God to remove any possible
influence of the devil on the person being baptized, not
only for the present time, but also for the future.
The power, which Christ exercised over demons, He passed
on to the Church.
In the New Testament, when others, who did not believe
in Christ, and who thought they had special powers to
drive out evil, tried to exorcise demons in His Name,
not only did they fail, but the evil spirit overpowered
them and they became possessed. We read about this in
the Book of Acts, chapter 19:13ff. The evil spirit even
mocked the imposters and said, “Jesus I know, Paul I
know; but who are you?”
Therefore, up to the present time, in the name of Christ,
one is able to cast out demons and to destroy the evil
powers (Matt. 10:8). The Fathers of the Church
accepted this doctrine and expanded on it. St. Justin the
Martyr, Chr istian Apologist of the 2 nd Century,
(Apology 85, 1) says that in the name of Christ, the Son
of God who was crucified and rose again, every demon
that is exorcised is defeated and submits. The satanic
powers are destroyed through the power of the cross
“The Lord rebukes you, O devil, He that came into the
world and made His dwelling among men, that He
might cast down your tyranny, and deliver men; He
that upon the Tree triumphed over the opposing
powers, when the sun was darkened, and the earth was
shaken, and the tombs were opened, and the bodies of
the Saints arose; He that by death destroyed Death,
and overcame him that held the might of death, that is,
even you, O devil. I adjure you by the Living God, Who
has shown forth the Tree of Life, and posted the
Cherubim, and the flaming sword that turns about to
guard this: be rebuked, and depart, for I forbid you,
through Him that walks on the waves of the sea as
upon the dry land, Who forbade the storm of the
winds, Whose glance dries up the deep, and Whose
threats melts mountains; for it is He Himself that now
forbids you through us.
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Be afraid, and depart, and absent yourself from this
creature, and come not back, neither hide yourself in
him (her), nor encounter him (her), nor influence him
(her) either by night or by day, nor in the morning or
at noon; but go to your own Tartarus, until the
appointed day of Judgment. Fear God Who sits on the
throne of the Cherubim, and looks upon the depths,
before Whom tremble Angels, Archangels, Thrones,
Principalities, Authorities, Powers, the many-eyed
Cherubim, and the six-winged Seraphim; Whom
Heaven and earth fear, the sea, and all that live
therein.
imagination.
There is also a secret rite performed by superstitious
people to avert the evil eye, which verges on magic.
Though the Church encourages even the laity to pray
and exorcise evil, it rejects magical practices and rites.
This secret rite is described as follows: "The exorcist
(not a priest but an old woman) prepares a vial of olive
oil and a small glass of water. She dips a finger in the
oil, rubs it in a sign of the Cross on the victim's
forehead and lets one drop fall onto the water; she
repeats the process, making a cross on the forehead, on
the chin and both cheeks. If the devil is indeed present,
the four drops of oil in the water join to form the
ellipsoid shape of an eye. The ritual then calls for the
reading of prayers and repeating the four signs of the
Cross; the drops of oil will not join in the water, but
will disperse."
Come forth, and depart from the sealed and
newly-enlisted soldier of Christ our God; for I adjure
you by Him that rides upon the wings of the winds,
Who makes His Angels spirits and His Ministers a
flame of fire. Come forth, and from this creature
which He fashioned, depart with all your power and
Unfortunately, over the years, many Orthodox Faithful
might; for glorified is the Name of the Father, and of
has been carried away with this superstitious practice.
the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, both now and ever,
St. Basil makes this clear in this excerpt from his
and to the ages of ages. Amen.”
homily on envy.
In our case the Godparent(s), who speak on behalf of
Some people reckon that envious persons inflict harm
"
the child being baptized, renounce the devil and accept
merely through their eyes...with some destructive current,
Christ. The priests posing the first of several questions
as it were, flowing from their eyes, causing damage and
three times to the Godparent(s) saying, “Do you
decay. For my part, I reject this explanation as crude and
renounce Satan, and all his works, and all his
as old wives' tales; I maintain that whenever the demons,
worship, and all his angels, and all his pride?” The
who hate what is good, find intentions congenial to
Godparent(s) responds, “I do!” Following the
themselves, they twist these for their own ends, so far as to
renunciation of the devil, the Godparents then declare
make the eyes of envious people subservient to the will"
.
their allegiance to Christ, which includes reciting the
(St. Basil the Great, Homily XI, On Envy).
Creed of the Church.
Although, superstition is not acceptable, prayer for healing
VASKANIA
and relief of evil influence is always acceptable. The
Another form of evil influence and presence comes possession of individuals by the devil and demonic
originates in one of the seven deadly sins, envy. The powers and the cure in the name of Christ is evidenced
Church composed a special prayer for this phenomenon in the New Testament (Acts 3:2-8, 9:32-42; 20:7-12;
Matt. 10:8; Mark 16:17-18). The Church continues in
known as “Vaskania”, “the evil eye”.
its liturgical rites what Christ enacted in His ministry.
Vaskania is simply a phenomenon that was accepted by The Church recognizes the influence of evil and
primitive people as fact. They believed that certain renounces it in the name of Christ in prayers and
people have such powerful feelings of jealousy and fasting.
envy, that when they looked on some beautiful object or
individual it brought destruction. Vaskania is The prayers of exorcism in the early Church were
recognized by the Church as the jealousy and envy of offered by special ministry through the exorcist. This is
some people for things they do not possess, such as evidenced from the early prayers that have survived.
beauty, youth, courage or any other blessing. The From the fourth century onwards, the ministry of the
Church essentially rejected Vaskania as contradicting exorcist has been fulfilled by the priest.
the concept of divine providence. The prayers of the
ORTHODOX PRAYERS OF EXORCISM
Church to avert the evil eye are, however, a silent
recognition of this phenomenon as a morbid feeling of All the Orthodox prayer books include prayers of
envy. The Church forbids people to go to "readers" or exorcism used by priests to fight the power of evil. The
other individuals for use of magical rituals to overcome Orthodox Book of Prayers (Euchologion To Mega)
the evil eye. These readers take advantage of the includes three prayers of exorcism by Saint Basil and
weakness of superstitious people and destroy them four by Saint John Chrysostom. They are read, "for
spiritually and financially by playing upon their those who suffer from demonic possessions and
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every other malady." Thr ough these pr ayer s, the
devil is exorcised (renounced) "
i n the name of
God Almighty and the Lord Jesus Christ, and
commanded to come out of the victim, who is
liberated and redeemed by the eternal God from the
energies (powers) of the impure spirits. The great
ills that humanity suffers are attributed to the devil
and demonic power."
strength to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon
all power of the Enemy. For manifested, hymned, and
glorified with fear, by everything that has breath is
Your most holy Name of the Father (+), and of the Son
(+), and of the Holy (+) Spirit, now and ever
and into ages of ages. Amen.
From the Orthodox theological point of view, the
following can be considered exorcists:
Two examples of Exorcism Prayers of the two Holy
Fathers mentioned above are as follows:
1) Christ is the exor cist par excellence for it is He
who won the victory over the power of the devil.
EXORCISMS OR PRAYERS
OF DELIVERANCE
2) Priests in the per for mance of the holy sacr aments
and in preaching the word of God follow Christ's
St. John Chrysostom
example.
First Prayer of Exorcism
3) All Orthodox Christians ar e exor cists as they
struggle against personal sin and social evil. In fact,
O Eternal God, Who has redeemed the race of men from
"the whole Church, past, present and future, has the
the captivity of the devil, deliver Your servant
task of an exorcist to banish sin, evil, injustice,
(handmaid) N. from all the workings of unclean spirits.
Command the evil and impure spirits and demons to
spiritual death, the devil from the life of humanity."
depart from the soul and body of N. your servant
Archbishop Iakovos, who served as the leader of the
(handmaid) and not to remain nor hide in him (her). Let
Greek Orthodox Church in America for close to 30
them be banished from this the creation of Your hands
years, in a sermon at the Sage Chapel, Cornell
in Your own holy name and that of Your only begotten
University, spoke on exorcism in the following manner:
Son and of Your life-creating Spirit, so that, after being
cleansed from all demonic influence, he (she) may live "
Both healing and exorcising are ministered through
holy, godly, justly and righteously and may be counted prayers, which spring from faith in God and from love
worthy to receive the Holy Mysteries of Your for man.... All the prayers of healing and exorcism,
only-begotten Son and our God with Whom You are composed by the Fathers of the Church and in use
blessed and glorified together with the all holy and good since the third century, begin with the solemn
and life-creating Spirit now and ever and unto the ages declaration: In Thy Name, O Lord.'"(Exorcism and
of ages. Amen.
Exorcists in the Greek Orthodox Tradition, March 10,
1974.)
FOR THOSE IMPASSIONED OR IMPRISONED BY
DEMONS, AND EVERY MANNER OF DEMONIC The use of exorcism prayers for those who may be
ILNESS OR CONTROL
possessed or feeling an overwhelming presence of evil
in their lives, must be made with discretion, great
St. Basil the Great
pastoral care and love. We should not dismiss the
power and cunning influence of the devil and his
First Prayer of Exorcism
demons.
O God of gods and Lord of lords, Creator of the fiery
ranks, and Fashioner of the fleshless powers, the Artisan While we should acknowledge that evil exists, we also
of heavenly things and those under the heavens, Whom should use in a prayerful way, all the spiritual tools that
no man has seen, nor is able to see, Whom all creation our Church offers to keep the evil one from enslaving
fears: Into the dark depths of Hell You hurled the us. We have probably all witnessed peoples’ lives that
commander who had become proud, and who, because have been destroyed by the devil. The power of evil
of his disobedient service, was cast down from the height may appear to be great, but the power of God and His
to earth, as well as the angels that fell away with him, all Church is far greater. If we are ever find ourselves in a
state of unrest feeling that the devil has his hold on us,
having become evil demons.
we should contact the priest for prayers and spiritual
Grant that this exorcism being performed in Your
guidance.
awesome name, be terrible to the Master of evil and to
all his minions who had fallen with him from the height
of brightness. Drive him into banishment, commanding
him to depart hence, so that no harm might be worked
against Your sealed Image. And, as You have FATHER PAUL KAPLANIS
commanded, let those who are sealed receive the
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The Exaltation of the Holy Cross
The Elevation of the Venerable and Life-Creating Cross of the Lord: The pagan Roman emperors tried to
completely eradicate from human memory the holy places where our Lord Jesus Christ suffered and was resurrected for
humanity. The Emperor Hadrian (117-138) gave orders to cover over the ground of Golgotha and the Sepulcher of the
Lord, as well as build a temple of the pagan goddess Aphrodite (Venus) and a statue of Zeus
(Jupiter).
Pagans gathered at this place and offered sacrifice to idols there. Eventually after 300 years,
by Divine Providence, the great Christian sacred remains, the Sepulcher of the Lord and the
Life-giving Cross were again discovered and opened for veneration. This took place under the
Emperor Constantine the Great (306-337) after his victory in the year 312 over Maxentius,
ruler of the Western part of the Roman Empire, and over Licinius, ruler of the Eastern part. In
the year 323, Constantine became the sole ruler of the vast Roman Empire.
In 313, he issued the Edict of Milan, by which Christianity and all other religions were
legalized and the persecutions against Christians in the Western half of the empire were
stopped. The ruler Licinius, although he had signed the Edict of
Milan to oblige Constantine, fanatically continued the persecutions
against Christians. Only after his conclusive defeat did the 313 Edict
of toleration extend also to the Eastern part of the empire. The Holy, Equal to the Apostles,
Emperor Constantine, gained victory over his enemies in three wars with God’s assistance. The
night before the decisive battle in which Constantine defeated Maxentius he saw a cross in the
sky with these words: “in this sign conquer.” In Greek, this phrase is εν τούτο νίκα (en touto
nika); it is rendered in Latin as in hoc signo vinces. Constantine directed to
have a standard prepared in the form of this sign of the Cross. He then
commanded to advance against Maxentius and all other enemies. The standard
bore the Christian Cross with the Greek monogram of Christ, X(Chi) and
P (Pho), the first two letters of the name of Christ.
Having a strong desire to find the Cross on which our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified,
St. Constantine in 326 sent his mother, the pious Empress Helen (May 21 st), to
Jerusalem, providing her with a letter to St. Macarius, Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Although the Holy Empress Helen was already seventy nine years old, she set about
completing the task with enthusiasm. The empress gave orders to destroy the pagan
temple and the statues in Jerusalem. Searching for the Life-giving Cross, she asked
the Christians and Jews, but for a long time her search remained unsuccessful.
Finally, they directed her to a certain elderly Hebrew by the name of Jude who stated
that the Cross was buried where the temple of Aphrodite (Venus) stood. They
demolished the pagan temple and, cleared the ground on which it stood. After
clearing the ground they found a sweet-smelling herb in a place where it normally would
not grow. After praying, they began to excavate the ground. Soon the Tomb of the Lord
was uncovered. Not far from it were three crosses, a board with the inscription ordered by
Pilate, and nails which had pierced the Lord’s Body (March 6 th). The herb was later given
the name “basil” from the Greek word (Βασιλικός) meaning king.
Now there was no way to know which cross was the true Cross that our Savior
was crucified on as the inscription was not on any cross. Therefore in order to discern on
which of the three crosses the Savior was crucified, Patriarch Macarius saw a funeral
procession that was passing by and he had the corpse pass over each of the three crosses.
When the corpse passed over the true Cross, the man that was dead returned to life.
Having beheld the raising of the dead man, everyone was convinced that the Life-giving
Cross was found.
Christians came in a huge throng to venerate the Holy Cross. Because there where
many of them, not everyone could see. St. Helen asked St. Macarius to elevate the Cross,
so that even those far off might reverently contemplate it. When the Patriarch and other
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spiritual leaders raised up the Holy Cross, the people cried out, “Lord have mercy,” and reverently prostrated before the
Venerable Wood. This solemn event occurred in the year 326.
During the discovery of the Life-giving Cross another miracle took place: a grievously sick woman, beneath the
shadow of the Holy Cross, was healed instantly. The elder Jude and other Jews then believed in Christ and accepted Holy
Baptism. Jude received the name Cyriacus and afterwards was consecrated Bishop of Jerusalem.
During the reign of Julian the Apostate (361-363) he accepted a martyr’s death for Christ (October 28th). The Holy
Empress Helen journeyed to the holy places connected with the earthly life of the Savior, building more than 80 churches
including, Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ, on the Mount of Olives where the Lord ascended to Heaven, at Gethsemane
where the Savior prayed before His sufferings and where the Mother of God was buried after her death.
St. Helen took the Holy Cross and nails with her to Constantinople. The
Holy Emperor Constantine gave orders to build at Jerusalem a majestic and
spacious church in honor of the Resurrection of Christ, also including under
its roof the Life-Giving Tomb of the Lord and Golgotha. The temple was
constructed in about ten years. St. Helen did not survive until the dedication
of the temple, dieing in the year 327. The church was consecrated on
September 14, 335. The festal celebration of the Exaltation of the Venerable
and Life-Giving Cross was therefore established on this day.
Another event connected to the Cross of the Lord is remembered also on this
day: its return to Jerusalem from Persia after a fourteen year captivity.
During the reign of the Byzantine emperor Phocas (602-610), the Persian
emperor Khozroes II in a war against the Byzantines defeated the Byzantine army, plundered Jerusalem and captured both
the Life-giving Cross of the Lord and the Holy Patriarch Zachariah (609-633).
The Cross remained in Persia for fourteen years and only under the emperor Heraclius (610-641), who with the
help of God defeated Khozroes and made peace with his successor and son Syroes, was the Cross of the Lord returned to
the Christians.
With great solemnity the Life-Giving Cross was transferred to Jerusalem.
Emperor Heraclius in imperial crown and royal purple carried the Cross of Christ
into the temple of the Resurrection. Emperor Heraclius was accompanied by
Patriarch Zachariah. At the gates by which they ascended Golgotha, the Emperor
suddenly stopped and was not able to proceed farther. The Holy Patriarch
explained to the Emperor that an angel of the Lord was blocking his way. The
Emperor was told to remove his royal trappings and to walk barefoot, since He
Who bore the Cross for the salvation of the world from sin had made His way to
Golgotha in all humility. Then Heraclius donned plain garb, and without further
hindrance, carried the Cross of Christ into the church.
In a sermon on the Exaltation of the Cross, St Andrew of Crete (July 4) says: “The Cross is exalted, and everything
true gathers together, the Cross is exalted, and the city makes solemn, and the people celebrate the feast”.
Therefore let us come together on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which falls on Sunday,
September 14, 2014 and pray that we might be able to venerate this Life-Giving Wood that we are so blessed of
which to have a relic.
Rev. Fr. Christos P. Mars
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THE NATIVITY OF THE THEOTOKOS
“Your Nativity O Holy Mother of God announced joy to the entire world”
In the above verse cited from the main hymn of the day, known as Apo litik io n, it is very concisely
expressed the significance of the Nativity of Theotokos, as the first announcement of the joy to the world.
Saint Nicholas Cabasilas in his homily on that day says: “To d ay the entire Creatio n felt itself to be
better and brighter, since the most precious jewel of the universe was born; today is not just the nativity of the Theotokos, but rather the rebirth of the whole universe”. Indeed, in his inspired homily, he develops an analogy of a barren woman in relation to the barren creation, as all of Creation became barren after the Ancestral Sin.
Thus, if a barren woman could bear a blessed child, then the whole universe can bear the person through
whom the salvation of mankind will be prepared.
The most known hymn of the Theotokos in all Christendom says: “Hail Mary, full of grace the
Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women…” Whether we know this hymn as “Θεοτόκε
Παρθένε” or “Ave Maria”, most of the times we do not pay attention to the words, or, if we do, we find it
to be a stereotypical theological principal of our faith, told again and again. Thus, we never trouble ourselves to contemplate the meaning of the words “blessed are yo u am o ng w o m en”.
In the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, that is to say in the very beginning of the New Testament, we find the catalogue of the Ancestors of Jesus, starting from Abraham and ending with Joseph the
Carpenter, divided into three chronological periods, each one consisting of fourteen generations. In this
catalogue no women’s names are mentioned exceptfour: “Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba, (who is
mentioned just as Uriah’s wife). The stories of these four women in the Old Testament constitute extravagnat examples, both in a positive and negative way.
Rahab in Matthew’s lineage appears as the mother of Boaz, that is to say the grandmother of King
David. Nevertheless, the name Rahab appears also in the Book of Joshua, as the name of a prostitute, who
believed in God and for that she did not hesitate to betray her city Jericho and to assist the Israelite spies
who were there to collect information. Her name is mentioned both in the Letter to the Hebrews and to
the Universal Letter of James as the utter example of faith. A foreign prostitute bore fruits of faith, which
no woman bore among the “blessed” nation of Israel. In her example so to speak, we find the actual application of Jesus’ words: “the publicans and the harlo ts lead us into the Kingd o m o f Go d .” (Mt 21:31).
Likewise, Ruth the Moabite woman, after the death of her husband remained ridiculously loyal to
her mother-in-law. She refused to return back to her home and people, following her husband’s death,
preferring to remain with her mother-in-law and be one of the servants in a foreign land.
On the contrary, Bathsheba (the one that Matthew refers to as ”Uriah’s w ife”) did not bother herself with loyalty and surrendered to an adulterous relation with King David, without any hesitation whatsoever. Even worse was the case of Tamar, who, after her husband’s death, deceived all of her sixbrothers-in-law, along with her father-in-law, because she wanted to conceive and bear a child from the
house of Jacob.
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These stories of the four women were chosen in particular by St. Matthew to be included in the list
of the Ancestors of Jesus. What St. Matthew strives to teach us, out of this reference, is that God’s grace
was shown even into the most wretched hearts. God did not make a covenant with man because we as
humanity did something worthy, but “fo r this ho w He lo ved the w o rld that He gave His o nly bego tten
Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16). (NKJV)
That said, mankind, although it was enslaved to sin and corruption, bore a precious gift to God:
Our most Holy Lady, Virgin Mary, who is “full o f grace, blessed am o ng w o m en”. The account of her Nativity, as it is found in the apocryphal book of James, the so-called Pro to evangelio n, narrates that she was
a child of prayer and fasting, the answer to Joachim’s and Anna’s spiritual exercise.
The person of our Holy Theotokos was from the early beginning highly respected among the entire
Christianity. Martin Luther’s frustration in the 16th century for instance is very characteristic, when a certain papal delegate insulted the person of Mary for the purpose of selling Indulgences (thesis 75). His
great respect however, was dropped soon after by Reformation Churches which, presented her as nothing
more than Joseph’s housewife. On the other hand the Catholic Church in an attempt to confront this impious protestant teaching, reached the opposite edge and argued that the Virgin Mary, herself was immaculately conceived by a virgin mother. This Catholic Doctrine of the Im m aculate Co nceptio n was decreed by
Pope Pius the IX on December 8th, 1854.
Although our Orthodox Church, pays great respect to the person of the Theotokos, it does not accept this teaching because we firmly believe that purity could and should be maintained in marriage, not
only in chastity. Our Holy Mother even though not the child of a Virgin mother; was the child of a pure
mother, because, according to Orthodox Spirituality there is no distinction between virginity and marriage, only between purity and adultery.
In the Gospels we find very little information with respect to the person of our Greatest Lady. The
reverence though, which the Church has given to Her from the early centuries, indicating that she always
remains the highest example of holiness and humility. With her sincere submission to God’s will she was
shadowed by the grace of the Holy Spirit, who surpasses all human relations and all the laws of nature,
and became the mother of God. She was born from a barren mother and with her virginity healed the infertility of a wretched creation. With her virginity she brought heaven down to earth and gave birth to
Christ, who lifted up the sin of the world.
What more can we say to her, what hymn should we offer to her, other than “Hail Mary, full o f
grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, for you bore the
Savior of our souls”
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Η ΚΟΙΜΗΣΙΣ ΤΗΣ ΘΕΟΤΟΚΟΥ
Του Ιωάννου Φουντούλη, Καθηγητού Πανεπιστημίου
Η εορτή της Κοιμήσεως της Θεοτόκου, πού εορτάζει στις 15 Αυγούστου ο χριστιανικός κόσμος, είναι
η μεγαλυτέρα από τις εορτές που καθιέρωσε η Εκκλησία προς τιμήν της Μητρός του Κυρίου, τις
θεομητορικές εορτές. Ίσως είναι και η παλαιοτέρα από όλες. Τις πρώτες μαρτυρίες έχουμε για αυτήν
κατά τον Ε΄αιώνα, γύρω στην εποχή που συνεκλήθη η Γ΄Οικουμενική Σύνοδος της Εφέσου (451), που
καθώρισε το θεομητορικό δόγμα και έγινε αιτία να αναπτυχθή η τιμή στο πρόσωπο της Θεοτόκου. Για
πρώτη φορά φαίνεται ότι συνεστήθη στα Ιεροσόλυμα την 13 Αυγούστου και λίγο αργότερα μετετέθη
στις 15 του ιδίου μηνός. Είχε δε γενικώτερο θεομητορικό χαρακτήρα, χωρίς ειδική αναφορά στο
γεγονός της Κοιμήσεως. Ωνομάζετο «ημέρα της Θεοτόκου Μαρίας». Κέντρο του πανηγυρισμού
αναφέρεται στην αρχή ένα «Κάθισμα», ναός επ ονόματί της, που ευρίσκετο έξω από τα Ιεροσόλυμα
στο τρίτο μίλιο της οδού που οδηγούσε στην Βηθλεέμ. Η σύνδεση της εορτής αυτής προς την Κοίμηση
της Θεοτόκου έγινε στον περίφημο ναό της Παναγίας που βρισκόταν στην Γεθσημανή, το «ευκτήριο
του Μαυρικίου», όπου υπήρχε και ο τάφος της. Αυτός ο ναός πολύ σύντομα πήρε τον χαρακτήρα του
μεγαλύτερου θεομητορικού προσκυνήματος και η ακτινοβολία του έγινε αιτία η πανήγυρίς του κατά την
15η Αυγούστου γρήγορα να διαδοθή σα ολόκληρο τον χριστιανικό κόσμο σε ανατολή και δύση σαν
εορτή της Κοιμήσεως της Θεοτόκου. Αργότερα εξήρθη η εορτή με την προπαρασκευαστική νηστεία
και την παράτασι του εορτασμού μέχρι της 23ης ή και μέχρι του τέλους του Αυγούστου και έγινε όχι
μόνο η μεγαλυτέρα θεομητορική εορτή αλλά και μία από τις σπουδαιότερες εορτές του εκκλησιαστικού
έτους. Αυτό βέβαια ήταν φυσικό να γίνη, γιατί η Θεοτόκος είναι το προσφιλέστερο και ιερώτερο
πρόσωπο μετά τον Κύριο και για αυτό συνεκέντρωσε την τιμή και την ευλάβεια όλων των χριστιανικών
γενεών. Αναρίθμητοι ναοί και μονές έχουν κτισθεί προς τιμήν της Κοιμήσεώς της, θαυμάσιες
τοιχογραφίες παριστάνουν σε κάθε ναό πίσω από την κεντρική είσοδο σε εκπληκτικές συνθέσεις την
ιερά της κηδεία, ύμνοι εκλεκτοί έχουν διακοσμήσει την ακολουθία της και λόγοι λαμπροί και εγκώμια
εξεφωνήθησαν από τους Πατέρες και νεωτέρους εκκλησιαστικούς άνδρες κατά την ημέρα της μνήμης
της. Ολες οι ανθρώπινες γενεές συναγωνίσθησαν στην προσφορά ό,τι εκλεκτοτέρου είχαν να
παρουσιάσουν, για να μακαρίσουν έργω και λόγω την Παρθένο Μαρία.
ΤΟ ΕΟΡΤΟΛΟΓΙΚΟ ΠΕΡΙΕΧΟΜΕΝΟ ΤΗΣ ΕΟΡΤΗΣ
Για την κατανόηση του εορτολογικού περιεχομένου της εορτής της Κοιμήσεως, όπως και των άλλων
θεομητορικών εορτών, της Συλλήψεως, της Γεννήσεως και των Εισοδίων, πρέπει να κάμωμε μία μικρά
αναδρομή στις πηγές, από τις οποίες αντλήθηκαν τα θεομητορικά αυτά θέματα. Διαφορετικά είναι
αδύνατο να ερμηνεύση κανείς ό,τι συνδέεται με τον εορτασμό αυτόν, τα συναξάρια, την υμνογραφία και
την εικονογραφία τους. Οι αυθεντικές ιστορικές πηγές, τά Ευαγγέλια και τα άλλα βιβλία της Καινής
Διαθήκης, δεν μας διέσωσαν πληροφορίες για τον πρό του Ευαγγελισμού και για τον μετά την Ανάληψι
του Κυρίου βίο της Θεοτόκου. Πρόθεσις των ιερών συγγραφέων ήταν να αφηγηθούν τον βίο και το
σωτηριώδες έργο του Χριστού και ό,τι άμεσα συνεδέετο με Αυτόν και όχο να ικανοποιήσουν την
ευλαβή περιέργεια ή τα ιστορικά ενδιαφέροντα των αναγνωστών τους. Η παράδοσις όμως της
Εκκλησίας διέσωσε από στόματος εις στόμα διάφορες πληροφορίες πού αφορούσαν στον βίο της
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Θεοτόκου πρό της συλλήψεως του Κυρίου και μετά την Ανάστασί Του. Αργότερα διάφοροι ευλαβείς,
κατά το πλείστον, συγγραφείς περιέλαβαν τις πληροφορίες αυτές και τις ανέπτυξαν με την φαντασία τους
και για να έχουν περισσότερο κύρος έθεσαν στους τίτλους των έργων τους μεγάλα αποστολικά ονόματα.
Η Εκκλησία αερριψε και κατεδίκασε τα βιβλία αυτά και τα ωνόμασε «Απόκρυφα» και «Ψευδεπίγραφα».
Σε μεταγενεστέρα εποχή πολλές από τις διηγήσεις αυτές, τουλάχιστον στις βασικές τους γραμμές,
έδωσαν θέματα στην διαμόρφωσι εορτών, στην σύνταξι συναξαρίων, στην ποίηση ύμνων και στην
εικονογραφία. Εξ άλλου, καθώς προείπαμε, ο πυρήν των διηγήσεων αυτών είχε ως βάσι του παμπάλαιες
ιστορικές παραδόσεις γυ΄ρω από το πρόσωπο της Θεοτόκου.
ΑΦΗΓΗΣΙΣ ΤΟΥ ΓΕΓΟΝΟΤΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΚΟΙΜΗΣΕΩΣ
Ειδικά το γεγονός της Κοιμήσεως της Θεοτόκου αφηγείται, εκτός των άλλων, και μια απόκρυφος
διήγησις, που φέρεται υπό το όνομα του ηγαπημένου μαθητού του Κυρίου, του Ιωάννου. Μια περίληψη
του εκτενούς αυτού κειμένου θα παρουσιάσωμε εδώ. Σε κάθε του σημείο ο αναγνώστης του θυμάται
αντίστοιχες φράσεις από τους ύμνους και το συναξάριο της εορτής και λεπτομέρειες από την εικόνα της
Κοιμήσεως που εφιλοτέχνησαν βυζαντινοί ζωγράφοι.
Η Παναγία μετά την Ανάληψι του Χριστού καθημερινώς πηγαίνει στο ζωοδόχο μνήμα και
προσεύχεται. Μία Παρασκευή ο Αρχάγγελος Γαβριήλ παρουσιάζεται μπροστά της και την χαιρετά:
«Χαίρε, η γεννήσασα Χριστόν τον Θεόν ημών. Ο Κύριος άκουσε την προσευχή σου και θα αφήσης τον
κόσμο και θα πορευθής εις την ζωήν την αληθινήν και αδιάδοχον». Η Θεοτόκος επιστρέφει στον οίκο
της, θυμιά και προσεύχεται στον Χριστό να της στείλη τον Ιωάννη και τους λοιπούς Αποστόλους, για να
παρασταθούν στον θάνατό της. Η προσευχή της εισακούεται και πρώτος φθάνει, αρπαγείς από νεφέλη,
ο Ιωάννης και σε λίγο επί νεφελών και οι λοιποί Απόστολοι οι διεσπαρμένοι στα πέρατα του κόσμου.
Την Κυριακή έρχεται με την απαστράπτουσα δόξα Του και με χιλιάδες αγγέλους ο Κύριος να
παραλάβη την ψυχή της Μητρός Του. Εκείνη ευλογεί τους Αποστόλους και τον κόσμο, δέεται για την
σωτηρία όλων και αφού λαμβάνει την υπόσχεσι ότι πάσα ψυχή επικαλουμένη το όνομά της ου μη
καταισχυνθή, αλλα εύρη έλεος και παράκλησιν και αντίληψιν και παρρησίαν και εν τω νυν αιώνι και εν
τω μέλλοντια, παραδίδει την αγία της ψυχή στα χέρια του Υιού της. Οι Απόστολοι περιπτύσσονται το
σκήνος και ψάλλοντες μεταφέρουν την κλίνη με το σώμα για ταφή. Ένας εβραίος ονόματι Ιεφωνίας
ορμά και επιχειρεί «κατά της κλίνης», αλλα άγγελος Κυρίου με «ξίφος πυρός» αποκόπτει τα χέρια του
από των ώμων, που μένουν κρεμασμένα στην κλίνη. Αυτός μετανοεί και κολλώνται πάλι τα χέρια του,
ενώ οι Απόστολοι ανενόχλητοι συνεχίζουν την εκφορά. Το σκήνος θάπτεται σε καινό μνημείο στην
Γεθσημανή, την Τρίτη όμως ημέρα μετετέθη εν Παραδείσω.
Η ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑΣΤΙΚΗ ΠΟΙΗΣΙΣ
Η εκκλησιαστική ποίησις εξωραϊζει την απλή αυτή διήγηση. Στα τρία στιχηρά του Εσπερινού του
α΄ήχου, το πρώτο αυτόμελο και τα άλλα δύο προσόμοια, του πρώτου, με ένα θαυμάσιο τρόπο
εγκωμιάζεται η Θεοτόκος και η Κοίμησί της. Ως υπόβαθρο όμως αναγνωρίζεται εύκολα η διήγησι του
αποκρύφου: η Γεθσημανή, οι λόγοι του Γαβριήλ, η παρουσία των αγγελικών δυνάμεων, η μετάστασι
από τον τάφο στον ουρανό.
Το ίδιο θέμα έχουν και τα τρία στιχηρά των Αίνων του δ΄ ήχου. Στο πρώτο, όλος ο κόσμος, ουράνιος
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και επίγειος, χαίρεται προπέμποντας την μητέρα του Χριστού και ψάλλοντας σα αυτήν την «εξόδιον
ωδήν». Στα άλλα δύο περιγράφεται η έλευσις των Αποστόλων και η επικήδεια ψαλμωδία τους, καθώς
και η παρουσία των αγγελικών δυνάμεων και η υποδοχή της αμωμήτου ψυχής της από τον Χριστό.
Τέλος θα σταθούμε στο πιο ιδιόρρυθμο τροπαριο της εορτής αυτής, αλλά και όλων των τροπαρίων
μας. Πρόκειται για το δοξαστικό του Εσπερινού. Το περιεχόμενό του αντλεί από την σχετική
απόκρυφο διήγηση. Η ιδιορρυθμία του τροπαρίου αυτού είναι ότι δεν ψάλλεται, όπως όλοι οι άλλοι
έκκλησιαστικοί ύμνοι, σε ένα μόνο ήχο, αλλά και στους οκτώ.
Ήχος α΄
Θεαρχίω νεύματι πάντοθεν οι θεοφόροι απόστολοι υπό νεφών μεταρσίως αιρόμενοι,
Ήχος πλ. α΄
καταλαβόντες το πανάχραντον και ζωαρχικόν σου σκήνος εξόχως ησπάζοντο.
Ήχος β΄
Αι Δε υπέρτατοι των ουρανών δυνάμεις Συν τω οικείω δεσπότη παραγενόμεναι,
Ήχος πλ. β΄
Το θεοδόχον και ακραιφνέστατον σώμα Προπέμπουσι, τω δέει κρατούμεναι, Υπερκοσμίως δε
προώχοντο και αοράτως εβόων ταις ανωτέραις ταξιαρχίαις, ιδού η παντάνασσα θεόπαις παραγέγονεν.
Ήχος γ΄
Αρατε πύλας Και ταύτην υπερκοσμίως υποδέξασθε, Την του αεννάου φωτός μητέρα,
Ήχος βαρύς
Διά ταύτης γάρ η παγγενής των βροτών σωτηρία γέγονεν, η ατενίζειν ουκ ισχύομεν και ταύτη άξιον
γέρας απονέμειν αδύνατον,
Ήχος δ΄
ταύτης γαρ το υπερβάλλον υπερέχει πάσαν έννοιαν.
Ήχος πλ. δ΄
Διό, άχραντε θεοτόκε, αεί συν ζωηφόρω βασιλεί και τόκω ζώσα, πρέσβευε διηνεκώς περιφρουρήσαι και
σώσαι από πάσης προσβολής εναντίας την νεολαίαν σου, την γάρ σήν προστασίαν κεκτήμεθα,
Ήχος α΄
Εις τους αιώνας αγλαοφανώς μακαρίζοντες.
(Από το βιβλίο «Λογική Λατρεία», εκδ. Αποστολικής Διακονίας, Αθήνα 1984).
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PARISH REGISTRY
Ways to stay in touch with us
BIRTHS
Baby Girl Born to Lee & Smaro Economy
Baby Boy Born to Petro & Rosario Giannakopoulos
Baby Girl Born to Michael & Vasilia Kaplanis
(Granddaughter of Fr. Paul & Presb. Evi Kaplanis)
CHRISMATION
Anna Grace Scaljon
Godparents: Mimi Scaljon & Chris G. Carlos
WEDDINGS
Galen Pierce-Gardner & Melissa Kessler
Steven Dalla & Jessica Waterman
Alex Panos & Dawn Savage
Danny Ryan & Elizabeth Trettel
Ardit Curi & Erica Falcione
Ivan Mucio & Mary Harfoot
Mark Jensen & Katherine Soublis
Pete Alexander & Emily Moraitakis
Christopher Guven & Maria Tzortzis
Joel Rodriguez & Megan Farmer
Facebook
Parents: Thomas & Natalie DeVries
Baby: Sophia Rose
Godparent: Sophia Stogiannis Jones
Tout
Instagram
GOOFS Breakfast
Every other THURSDAY at 9:00 a.m. in the
Kafenion. Open to everyone!!! Come join us for a full
breakfast and great fellowship!
Full breakfast includes fruit, waffles,
bacon, sausage and much more!
Donation $5 per person.
Contact the Cathedral office at 404-633-5870 for
the date of the next gathering
KAFENION
Everyone is invited to come enjoy good
conversation, Tavli, Prefa, Xeri & Kolitsina, coffee
& refreshments and Greek television every
Tuesday morning from 9:00 a.m. in the Kafenion
located in the Community Center.
ANNUNCIATION CATHEDRAL
GREEK DANCE MINISTRY
Parents: Nick & Andrea Windler
Baby: Christina
Godparents: Jimmy & Michelle Frangis
Parents: Andreas & Aikaterini Antoniades
Baby: Panayiotis Andreas
Godparents: Markos Tsilianos
YouTube
“Like”, “Follow”, “Subscribe”, Watch and See
www.facebook.com/atlgoc
BAPTISMS
Parents: John and Athena Donkar
Baby: Sotirios John
Godparent: Nicholas & Lauren Donkar
Twitter
MANDATORY
Parent & Adult Dancers Meeting
The Dance Ministry and Clergy would like to
invite all of the parents of current and new
students, as well as all adult dancers, to come to
a meeting to review the new Dance Ministry
Guidelines and structure. Please be sure to have
at least one representative from each family in
attendance. We will also be passing out
registration forms and the new Dance Ministry
Handbook at that time.
CONGRATULATIONS
Beverly Johnson (Mother of Steve Johnson)
Lisa Moraitakis
Atlanta Laconian Society Report
Angelo Zatzos
We wish to congratulate Clea Vasilakis and
Victoria Vavalides for receiving two
Pan-Laconian Scholarships of $1,500 and $1,000
respectively at the annual Pan-Laconian
Convention in Chicago on June 29th.
Charlie Vlass
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A Back to School Drive
for Homeless Children of our House, Inc.
(A childcare facility for homeless families)
Please bring school supplies especially
for Pre-K-Kindergarten
Items needed:
 Prize Stickers
 3-ring Binders
 Kleenex
 Hand Sanitizer
 Sharpies
 Scissors
 Backpacks
 Watercolor Paints &
Smocks
 Borders for Teacher’s
Boards
 Jumbo Crayons
 Construction Paper
*Please bring your donations to the designated
shelves in Carlos Hall by August 17th.
THANK YOU!
The Annunciation Cathedral Outreach Committee
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Sunday School Registration for 2014-2015 is underway!
The registration form is available in the Church Office, Sunday School Office and on the
Cathedral website. Registration is $20 per family. Classes are offered for students ages 2 and up.
Must be 2 by September 1st.
For more information, please contact Susan Marinos at susmarinos@aol.com or 404-210-3756.
Mark Your Calendars for our Annual Meet & Greet on August 17th, immediately following the
Dedication Service in the Cathedral. Parents and students are invited to visit your children's
classrooms to meet your Sunday School teachers for the 2014-2015 school year. A list of other
Sunday School classes and events for August and September are listed below.
2014 Annunciation Cathedral Sunday School Family Calendar
August 17th
Agiasmo & Meet Your Teachers - classes meet for 20 minutes
after Dedication Service in the Cathedral
August 24th
Regular class schedule
August 31st
Labor Day Holiday - classes do not meet
September 7th
Parent Open House - *Parents visit each classroom; 6th-12th first
15 minutes, PreK-5th last 15 minutes of class
September 14th
Sunday of the Holy Cross - PreKC-5 participate in procession;
30 minute classes after procession
September 21st
Regular class schedule
September 28th
All Classes: Teaching Liturgy in the Cathedral - classes meet
for 30 minutes
Celebrating 100 years of Ministry to our Community!
Registration is now open for the 2014-15 Annunciation Greek School year.
Classes meet on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm. Students in grades Kindergarten
through 5th grades are welcome to register.
Please plan to join us for our Open House and Agiasmo to start our new year,
Monday, August 25th at 5:00 pm in the Cathedral.
The school calendar and registration form are on the church's website under the Education tab.
For more information, please contact Michelle Constantinides via email at
michelle.constantinides@gmail.com or by phone at 404-502-0725.
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Summer Day Camp
During the weeks of June 9th & June 16th, the gym and Hellenic Center were filled with campers,
counselors and teachers!
117 families from our Cathedral, Holy Transfiguration in Marietta, Sts. Raphael, Nicholas & Irene
in Cumming, St. Philothea in Athens, Annunciation Day School, and our neighborhood registered
their children for Summer Day Camp. We had 71 campers the first week and 104 campers the
second week.
With that many people, we stayed very busy. On a daily basis, campers attended Opening Prayer,
participated in Orthodox Life, learned fun songs and dances, went swimming, made beautiful
artwork in Arts & Crafts, and spent time with old friends while making new friends.
Campers ranged in age from 3 years old to 14 years old. In addition to our campers, we had our
older GOYAns and college age students work as Counselors and Counselors in Training
(CITs). Some of the ADS teachers taught the PreK & Kindercamp classes. Orthodox Life was
taught by Elias Lampropoulos, Nick Kostopoulos, Natalie Stadnick & Tommy McBride. Arts &
Crafts projects were organized by January Stephanopoulos. New this year...Dance was taught by
Eleni Demos. Campers ages 3-5 enjoyed kiddie pools behind the gym. Campers ages 6-14 went to
Emory Pool to swim each day.
Each week, all campers also went on a field trip.
Week 1: On Tuesday, June 10th, Adventure Camp (13-14 year olds) went rock climbing at Stone
Summit. On Thursday, June 12th, all campers went on a field trip. Campers ages 3 to 7 went to the
Center for Puppetry Arts to see "Dr. Seuss' 'The Cat in the Hat'". Campers ages 8 to 14 went to
White Water.
Week 2: On Tuesday, June 17th, Adventure Camp spent the day River Tubing. On Thursday,
June 19th, all campers went to SkyZone.
On Friday of each week, Indoor and outdoor Olympic games were held for the older campers while
younger campers had fun with water games, chalk and bubbles. Friday of the first week, a non
fasting day, we had a fun cookout of hamburgers and hot dogs at the pavilion. The second Friday,
we had ice cream sundaes.
A Community Family Night was held on Thursday, June 19th in the Hellenic Center. Everyone
enjoyed a delicious meal. Since Greece was playing in the World Cup this evening, we also had a
big screen so we could watch the game during dinner. After dinner, the campers and counselors
sang and danced, under the direction of Eleni Demos. The evening ended with a slide show, created
by Steve Alexander III. If you were not there, you missed a great program put on by our children!
We look forward to seeing everyone next year!
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Summer Day Camp
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Annunciation Day School
Annunciation Day School Prepares for Another Great Year!
We are busily preparing for another great school year!
In working together with our
Sunday school and Greek School staff, we have managed to make some great changes to the
classroom settings for next year!
It is our hope that in working together we will continue to
strengthening all of our educational youth ministries within our Cathedral. Thank you to Susan
Marinos and Michelle Constantinides for being so flexible and helpful as we are working to grow
our school. We simply could not do what we do on a daily basis without their input, expertise
and dedication to our youth.
When students return to school on August 11th they will notice a new science lab, a
dedicated Greek Language Classroom and an updated library with a mini technology center (in
progress) as well as an interactive Promethean Board and Projector. A great big thank you goes
out to Jimmy Kostopoulos for installing the board for us!
As always, academic emphasis on the core content areas of reading, language arts, science,
social studies and math coupled with our studies of Orthodox Religion and Greek Language
will remain priority.
Because of our low teacher/student ratio we can dedicate time to each
individual student.
We welcome three new staff members into our ADS family!

Kalliopi Tsikourika – Greek Language Class

If you have questions regarding the ADS Greek Language program please contact
Kalliopi at tsikourika@aol.com or 678-661-0531

Brian Gardiner - P.E. teacher.

Joann Zepeda - Parent Morning Out Assistant
If you are interested in joining our team we are looking for a part time music teacher
(6-8 hours a week) and an assistant Pre-Kindergarten (4 year old classroom) teacher!
contact Stephanie Reid at 404-565-2850, or stephaniereid@atlgoc.org
I pray you continue to enjoy these final weeks of summer.
Stephanie Reid
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Please
PHILOPTOCHOS
Summer News
The Cathedral Philoptochos is a philanthropic organization that serves the
underprivileged in our community. Philoptochos’ mission is to aid the poor,
hungry, disabled, sick and offer them assistance and desperately needed help
through donations and other forms of outreach.
All women are invited to join Philoptochos. Please choose to be a part of this
important philanthropic arm of our church this year. You may choose to be a
contributing member, attend a meeting or serve on one committee.
Please know that whatever you do is greatly appreciated.
Be a friend to the poor and give hope to those who need it most by joining your
Cathedral Philoptochos. You will never regret the decision to get involved!
If you have any questions about Philoptochos, you can email Voula Giannakopoulos,
Philoptochos President at voulajg@comcast.net.
A FEW PAST AND FUTURE PHILOPTOCHOS ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Philoptochos is sponsoring the second annual Phanouropita Lunch on September 7th.
Please plan to stay for lunch after Diving Liturgy. More details in the weeks to come.
The following volunteers worked with Philoptochos to sponsor a lunch for the
Golden Group last spring!
A big thank you to George Skoufis, John Giannakopoulos, Spyros Kontoes,
Pete Giannakopoulos who prepared a delicious meal of shrimp, rice, salad and bread
for the Golden Group. Golden Group appreciates your hard work!
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Golden Group News
Luncheons to Start in September
The Golden Group committee is working hard to make the upcoming year
fun and successful. By popular demand, the Golden Group will begin in
September … a month early!
Don’t forget to mark your calendar for September 11th.
Look out for more information between now and September.
Meet Our New Chairman
As you probably have heard, Mary Anne Chanos has stepped down as the
chairman of the Golden Group. Mary Anne has led us since 2009. Don’t
worry, Mary Anne will still be working with the Golden Group Committee.
Ethel Winegar, who has also been on the committee since 2009, is stepping
into to the chairmanship. She looks forward to working with the committee
and the Golden Group participants.
Don’t Miss the Golden Group’s New Bulletin Board
The next time you walk into Carlos Hall, take notice of our new Golden
Group bulletin board. The board will have photographs of our members, information on events and many other things.
Thanks to Mary Jones and her helpers!
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PARISHIONERS TRAVEL TO CRETE FOR FUNDRAISER
Several members of the Annunciation parish
participated in “Walk the Gorge,” a special fundraising
event organized by Atlanta’s Cretan community which
raised well over $25,000 for Cretan charities with a
walk of the Samaria Gorge on June 25th. Twenty
walkers from across the United States (Ohio, New
York, Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.)
joined several members of Samaria (Atlanta’s chapter
of the Pan-Cretan Association) and others from the
Atlanta area to walk the 18 km of the Gorge which is
touted as the longest and one of the most rugged in
Europe. Located within the Cretan prefecture of
Chania, the Gorge runs from the Omalos Plateau to the
village of Agia Roumeli on the Libyan Sea. Local
Walkers gather at Samaria Gorge entrance for group photo members of the Annunciation parish participating in
this event were Peter and Alexandra Manos and
their daughter Christiana, Michael Vlass, Tina Tzanakis, and Demetri Mazacoufa.
In addition to the American walkers, five local Cretans representing various charities on the island took
part in the Walk. Also, a special addition to the group were 30 Greek graduate students who are Angelopoulos
Fellows (Mrs. Gianna Angelopoulou was the president of the 2004 Athens Olympics and, along with President
Bill Clinton, is involved in a global initiative to recruit students for volunteer projects in their home countries,
and these Fellows selected the “Walk the Gorge” event for their 2014 project). In all, there were 55 persons
walking the Samaria Gorge that day as part of the “Walk the Gorge” project.
“Walk the Gorge” attracted worldwide attention through its website of the same name
(www.walkthegorge.com). Individuals went to this website to register as a walker and then solicited sponsors
who also went to that website to make online donations. Over $20,000 was raised online from sponsors across
the US as well as several foreign countries, and another $5,000 was raised through the traditional method of
direct check and cash donations. All donations were deposited into the account of the Samaria Foundation, a
Georgia non-profit organization designed to promote Greek culture in general and Cretan events in particular.
Even though the Walk itself is over, the Foundation reports that it continues to receive donations to the project,
so a final total is still being calculated. The Foundation
board of directors will be meeting later in the year to
review the needs of various charities on Crete to decide
how to distribute the funds raised by this project. These
charities range across the four prefectures of Crete
(Chania, Rethymnon, Heraklion, and Lasithi) and
include an orphanage, a children’s cancer support team,
a medical clinic for the indigent, a homeless shelter, and
a nursing home for the poor.
The “Walk the Gorge” participants wish to
extend a heartfelt “thank you” to members of the
Annunciation parish for their prayers which sustained
them during the trek through the gorge and their
donations which will help the people of Crete affected
by the current economic crisis.
Walkers (l-r) Peter Manos and Demetri Mazacoufa
close to the end of the Gorge
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Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation
2500 Clairmont Road, NE  Atlanta, Georgia 30329
Phone (404) 633-7358  Fax (404) 633-6018  office@atlgoc.org  www.atlgoc.org
All news can be e-mailed to office@atlgoc.org or put on a disk
and brought to the Cathedral office during office hours
(Mon-Fri 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.) by August 20th
EDITOR: Fr. Paul A. Kaplanis, Dean (frpaulk@atlgoc.org)
MANAGING EDITOR: Fr. Christos P. Mars (frchristos@atlgoc.org)
DESIGN: Andrea Koulouris (office@atlgoc.org)
All Cathedral mail goes to the Post Office on the same day.
If you do not receive your Annunciator in a timely manner,
please call your Post Office and notify them.
PARISH COUNCIL PRESIDENT: Nickitas Demos (ndemos@gsu.edu)
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