2015 Winter - Greek Orthodox Cathedral of New England

THE
D VE
The Newsletter of the
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral of New England
Winter 2015
Christmas Events in December
T
his coming December our Annunication Cathedral will once again
host a series of events to commeorate the Christmas season. Make
sure you mark your calendar and join us for these special holiday events
that make the end of the year so special. There is something for
everyone, young and old alike, to enjoy. The month kicks off with another
Friday Family Night event at our Cathedral Center Hall in Brookline.
On December 4 we will have Gingerbread House night when our families
gather to create gingerbread houses
to adorn their homes during the
Christmas season. All are invited (especially our yiayiades and papoudes)
to join with our children as they celebratetheseason.
Christmas Events
December 4: Gingerbread House
Making at Center Hall at 6:30 pm.
December 6: Saint Nicholas Buffet
Brunch at the Davis Hall at the
Cathedral after the Divine Liturgy.
December 13: Cathedral Choir “A
Christmas Sing”
December 20: Sunday and Greek
School Christmas Pageant
December 24: Vesperal Liturgy of
St. Basil the Great at 6:30 pm
December 25: Orthros at 8:45 am,
Divine Liturgy at 10:00 am.
Two days later, on December 6, our
LadiesPhiloptochoswillonceagainoffer the annual Saint Nicholas Christmas Buffet Brunch, immediately following the Divine Liturgy. The Brunch
willtakeplaceintheDavisHallandis
graciously hosted by the MourmouNs nual “Christmas Sing.” Make sure you
family.
are on hand to hear the world class
The following Sunday, our Annunica- voices of our choir sing the Christmas
Non Cathedral Choir, under the direc- carolsthatweallknowsowell.
Non of Dean Limberakis, will offer us On the Sunday before Christmas, our
thesongsoftheseasonwiththeiran- SundayandGreekSchoolswillpresent
theirChristmasPageantandtellusall
about the story of the NaNvity of our
LordandSaviorJesusChrist.
The culminaNon of the season takes
place, of course, on Christmas Eve and
Christmas Day. The Vesperal Liturgy of
St.BasiltheGreatwillbecelebratedon
Thursday,December24at6:30pm.On
ChristmasDay,withHIsEminenceMetropolitan Methodios of Boston presiding,Orthrosbeginsat8:45amfollowed
bytheDivineLiturgyat10:00am.
Annunciation
Greek Orthodox Cathedral
of New England
From the Dean’s Desk
The Book of Christmas
HisEminenceMetropolitanMethodios
oftheHolyMetropolisofBoston
TheRev.Fr.DemetriosE.Tonias,Ph.D.
CathedralDean
ContactFr.Demetriosat:
Cell:617.955.0126
Email:frtonias@gmail.com
2015ParishCouncil
ConstanNneKechris,President
SimoneDodge,Vice-President
ChrisKarimbakas,Treasurer
AlexanderCaros,AssistantTreasurer
MaryHanna,Secretary
LulaKiflit,AssistantSecretary
Dr.MaricaArvanites
GeorgeFountas
JamesKarimbakas
GeorgeNiakaros
AngelaTheodore
ParishMinistryTeam
BookStore:VasilikaTsucalas
Chanters:ThomasPhilippakis,MaryBeth
Danckaert
Choirmaster:DeanLimberakis
Communica<onsMinistry:PeterKlapes,
AlexMavradis
GreekSchoolDirector:MariaAlkisNsIliopoulou
HallRentals:JamesKaselis
OfficeStaff:KevinCochran,PaulineCoutlis,
AnastasiaMoragianni
PhiloptochosPresident:Dr.CalliopeGalaNs
Seminarians:LucasChristensen,Sco]
O’Rourke
SeniorGuild:FranGiannakopoulos,Popy
Koshivos
Sexton:AnastasPapaargjir
StewardshipCommiHee:Dr.Chris
Afendulis,Dr.MaricaArvanites,ConsNnNne
Calliontzis,PaulineCoutlis,SimoneDodge,
Dr.ChrisGussis,MaryHatzis,Anastasia
Moragianni
SundaySchoolDirector:Peter
Giannacopoulos
VeteransMinistry:Dr.ChrisGussis,Judge
ThomasKaplanes,AllisonKaplanes,Alex
Mavradis
YouthMinistries:DebbieChronopoulos,
PaulineCoutlis,AglaiaGeorgountzos,Faith
Gordon,MariaKalaitzidis,ElizabethTorres
VisitusontheInternet
www.bostoncathedral.org
www.facebook.com/bostoncathedral
2 • The Dove
O
ntheSundaybeforeChristmaswereadthegenealogyofourLord,
God and Savior Jesus Christ which details the lineage of our Lord
from the great patriarch Abraham to his descendent Joseph the Betrothed.TheGospelreadingistakenfromtheveryfirstversesofthefirst
chapteroftheBookofMa]hew.WhenweopentheNewTestamentand
turntothefirstpageofthetext,theseversesfromMa]hewopenour
eyes to the Good News when the Evangelist writes, “The book of the Genealogy of
Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of
Abraham.”
We ojen think of Christmas as the beginningofabook—thestartofastory.For
the Orthodox Church, however, the Old
Testament and the New Testament consNtuteonebook.FortheOrthodoxChrisNan,
theOldTestamentandtheNewTestament
tell one story. Indeed, the IncarnaNon according to the flesh of Jesus Christ—the
Word of God who was in the beginning
with God—is the fulcrum about which the
enNre history of humanity pivots. In the
beginningGodcreatedtheworldandfashionedmanoutoftheearth.Whenhumanity went astray, through His Divine
Economy, He planned the salvaNon of the
world. All that happens in the Old Testament, from the moment Adam and Eve
were expelled from paradise to the revolt
of the Maccabees, points forward to the
moment a small child was born in Bethlehem. Similarly, all that happened ajer the
momenttheangelscried,“GlorytoGodin
thehighest,andonearthpeace,goodwill
toward men” looks back to that same momentwhentheWordtookfleshanddwelt
amongstus.
Thesaintscommemoratedintheweeks
preceding Christmas present a similar image.Whenwelookatthefeastdaysforthe
month of December we see the names of
the great prophets of Israel who lived in
the centuries before the birth of Christ—
prophets such as Nahum, Habakkuk,
Zephaniah, Haggai and the prophetess
Hannah. The enNre propheNc witness is
one of hope—hope that God would not
forsakeHispeople—andtheBirthofChrist
wasthevisiblemanifestaNonofthathope.
The enNre Old Testament narraNve is a
story about people searching for God so
thattheymightberescuedfromadversity.
Noah sought salvaNon from the flood,
Moses looked for a way that his people
could escape bondage, and many others
lookedfordeliverancefromavarietyofoccupying forces—from the Assyrians to the
Romans. The pious and holy among them
knew that God would not forsake them.
The righteous among them never lost
hope. The ones who believed had their
promisefulfilledinacaveinthesmallestof
townsofJudah.
The Book of Christmas does not begin
with the first verses of the Gospel of
Ma]hewbutratherwiththefirstversesof
theGenesis.TheBookofChristmasbegins
with humanity going astray and ends with
Christsemngusbackontherightpath.The
Book of Christmas begins with Adam shatteringtheimageentrustedtohimandends
with Christ restoring that image. The Book
ofChristmasbeginswithafloodofsinand
ends with Christ piloNng the ark of salvaNon. The Book of Christmas begins with
mankind bringing about death and ends
withChristbestowinglife.
TheBookofChristmasisindeedalong
story.Thefirstverseofthefirstchapterof
Ma]hew tells us as much. Christmas is
notsimplyabouttheeventswri]eninthe
firstparagraphsoftheGospelnarraNve,it
is about the story of all of humanity. This
Christmas,whenwegatherwithourfamiliesinourhomesitwouldbehelpfulifwe
ponderedhowlongandgreatastoryitis.
The Book of Christmas is the story of
hope. It is the story of salvaNon. It is the
storyoflife.
December 25
The Nativity of our Lord
God and Savior Jesus Christ
O
urLordJesusChrist,theSavioroftheworld,wasbornoftheMost
HolyVirginMaryinthecityofBethlehemduringthereignofthe
emperorAugustus(Octavian).CaesarAugustusdecreedthatauniversal census be made throughout his Empire, which then also included
PalesNnianIsrael.TheJewswereaccustomedtobecountedinthecity
fromwheretheirfamilycame.TheMostHolyVirginandtheRighteous
Joseph, since they were descended from
thehouseandlineageofKingDavid,hadto
gotoBethlehemtobecountedandtaxed.
InBethlehemtheyfoundnoroomatany
of the city’s inns. Thus, the God-Man, the
Savioroftheworld,wasborninacavethat
was used as a stable. “I behold a strange
and most glorious mystery,” the Church
singswithawe,“Heaven,aCave;theVirgin
the Throne of the Cherubim; the Manger a
room,inwhichChrist,theGodWhomnothing can contain is laid.” (Irmos of the 9th
OdeoftheNaNvityCanon).
Having given birth to the divine Infant
without travail, the Most Holy Virgin
“wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and
laidHiminamanger”(Luke2:7).InthesNllness of midnight (Wisdom of Solomon
18:14-15), the proclamaNon of the birth of
theSavioroftheworldwasheardbythree
shepherdswatchingtheirflocksbynight.
AnangeloftheLord(StCypriansaysthis
was Gabriel) came before them and said:
“Fear not: for behold, I bring you good Ndings of great joy, which shall be to all
people.Foruntoyouisbornthisdayinthe
city of David a Savior, Who is Christ the
Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). The humble shepherdswerethefirsttoofferworshiptoHim
Whocondescendedtoassumetheformofa
humble servant for the salvaNon of
mankind. Besides the glad Ndings to the
Bethlehemshepherds,theNaNvityofChrist
was revealed to the Magi by a wondrous
star.StJohnChrysostomandStTheophylactus, commenNng on St Ma]hew’s Gospel,
saythatthiswasnoordinarystar.Rather,it
was “a divine and angelic power that appeared in the form of a star.” St Demetrius
ofRostovsaysitwasa“manifestaNonofdivine energy” (NarraNve of the AdoraNon of
theMagi).EnteringthehousewheretheInfant lay, the Magi “fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened
their treasures, they presented Him gijs:
gold, and frankincense, and myrrh” (Mt.
2:11).
The present Feast, commemoraNng the
NaNvityinthefleshofourLordJesusChrist,
was established by the Church. Its origin
goesbacktotheNmeoftheApostles.Inthe
Apostolic ConsNtuNons (SecNon 3, 13) it
says, “Brethren, observe the feastdays; and
firstofalltheBirthofChrist,whichyouare
to celebrate on the twenty-fijh day of the
ninth month.” In another place it also says,
“Celebrate the day of the NaNvity of Christ,
on which unseen grace is given man by the
birth of the Word of God from the Virgin
MaryforthesalvaNonoftheworld.”
In the second century St Clement of
Alexandriaalsoindicatesthatthedayofthe
NaNvity of Christ is December 25. In the
third century St Hippolytus of Rome menNonstheFeastoftheNaNvityofChrist,and
appoints the Gospel readings for this day
fromtheopeningchaptersofStMa]hew.
In 302, during the persecuNon of ChrisNans by Maximian, 20,000 ChrisNans of
Nicomedia (December 28) were burned in
church on the very Feast of the NaNvity of
Christ. In that same century, ajer the persecuNon when the Church had received
freedomofreligionandhadbecometheofficialreligionintheRomanEmpire,wefind
theFeastoftheNaNvityofChristobserved
throughout the enNre Church. There is evidenceofthisintheworksofStEphraimthe
Syrian, St Basil the Great, St Gregory the
Theologian, St Gregory of Nyssa, St Ambrose of Milan, St John Chrysostom and
other Fathers of the Church of the fourth
century.
St John Chrysostom, in a sermon which
hegaveintheyear385,pointsoutthatthe
FeastoftheNaNvityofChristisancient,and
indeedveryancient.Inthissamecentury,at
theCaveofBethlehem,madefamousbythe
Birth of Jesus Christ, the empress St Helen
built a church, which her mighty son ConstanNne adorned ajer her death. In the
CodexoftheemperorTheodosiusfrom438,
andoftheemperorJusNnianin535,theuniversal celebraNon of the day of the NaNvity
of Christ was decreed by law. Thus, Nicephorus
Callistus,awriterofthefourteenthcentury,says
in his History that in the sixth century, the emperor JusNnian established the celebraNon of
theNaNvityofChristthroughoutalltheworld.
During the first three centuries, in the
Churches of Jerusalem, AnNoch, Alexandria and
Cyprus, the NaNvity of Christ was combined togetherwiththeFeastofHisBapNsmonJanuary
6, and called “Theophany” (“ManifestaNon of
God”). This was because of a belief that Christ
was bapNzed on anniversary of His birth, which
maybeinferredfromStJohnChrysostom’ssermonontheNaNvityofChrist:“itisnottheday
on which Christ was born which is called Theophany,butratherthatdayonwhichHewasbapNzed.”
TheNaNvityofChristhaslongbeencounted
as one of the Twelve Great Feasts. It is one of
the greatest, most joyful and wondrous events
inthehistoryoftheworld.Theangelsaidtothe
shepherds, “Behold, I bring you good Ndings of
great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto
youisbornthisdayinthecityofDavidaSavior,
Who is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign
unto you: you shall find the babe wrapped in
swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Then suddenly there was with the angel a mulNtude of
the heavenly hosts, glorifying God and saying:
GlorytoGodintheHighest,andonearthpeace,
goodwilltowardmen.”Thosewhoheardthese
things were astonished at what the shepherds
told them concerning the Child. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for
all the things that they had heard and
seen”(Luke2:10-20).
ThustheNaNvityofChrist,amostprofound
and extraordinary event, was accompanied by
the wondrous Ndings proclaimed to the shepherdsandtotheMagi.Thisisacauseofuniversal rejoicing for all mankind, “for the Savior is
Born!”
Concurring with the witness of the Gospel,
theFathersoftheChurch,intheirGod-inspired
wriNngs, describe the Feast of the NaNvity of
Christ as most profound, and joyous, serving as
thebasisandfoundaNonforalltheotherFeasts.
Winter 2015 • 3
From Constantine Kechris, Parish Council President
Celebrating a Successful Festival
O
nbehalfoftheParishCouncilandallofourministries,IwouldliketowishyouablessedThanksgivingand
joyousChristmasseasonasweenterthemonthofDecember.LetmetakethisopportunitytothankourenNre
communityforthesuccessofourannualGreekFest.OnbehalfoftheParishCouncilandallofourministries,I
would like to wish you all a blessed Thanksgiving feast and joyous Christmas season as we enter December.
Withoutadoubt,our2015GreekFestwasa
success on every level. It was an unforgettable event—the delicious food, children’s
area, amc treasurers, taverna, vendors—
everythingwassimplyperfect!Wearealways
thankful for our dedicated Philoptochos. Our
ladies conNnually support all of our ministries and their programs throughout the
yearandevenmoresoduringtheNmeofour
FesNval.Allowmetoalsoexpressmysincere
appreciaNon and thanks to the very hard
working volunteers and the generous donors
who helped make this year such a success.
KaitouChronou!
Now that the FesNval is over let us concentrate our efforts on our upcoming programs. In order to be a vibrant community
we need our community to be united and
takepartinallaspectsofChurchlife.Iinvite
allofyoutomakeeveryefforttohelpbring
in new members and also bring back those
who,foronereasonoranother,havedrijed
awayfromourCathedral.
IencourageourenNrecommunitytohelp
supportourPhiloptochosattheirannualSt.
Nicholas Brunch. Our Friday Family Events
conNnue in December with an evening of
Gingerbread House making for young and
oldalike.ThisDecember31wewillringinthe
NewYearwithafamilyNewYear’scelebraNon
atourCathedralCenterHall.Thesearebuta
few events on the calendar in the upcoming
weeks. I know that you have noNced the removalofthetreesontheRugglesStreetside
of our Church and the new lawn growing.
Thisnewlandscapinggivesusanewandopen
looktoourCathedral.
Again, thank you for the opportunity and
the honor of allowing me to serve as your
Parish Council President. This is, indeed, an
exciNng Nme for our Cathedral community!
MayGodblessyouandyourfamilies.
From Dr. Calliope Galatis, Philoptochos President
St. Nicholas Brunch on December 6
O
OnDecember6wewillonceagainhostourAnnualSt.NicholasChristmasBuffe]BrunchattheCathedralonParkerStreetintheDavisHall.ThebrunchisgraciouslyhostedbytheMourmouNsfamilyand
representsamajorfundraiserforourLadiesPhiloptochos.Atthebrunchwewillhavearaffleandtherewill
alsobeaspecialguestfromtheNorthPoleforallofthechildrenina]endance!Wehopethatyouandyour
familieswillbeabletojoinusasweonceagaincelebratetheChristmasseasonwithanajernoonoffellowship.
Thesepastfewmonthshaveindeedbeen
evenrul. On October 31 our Metropolis of
BostonPhiloptochoshostedtheFijeenthNaNonal Philoptochos Children’s Medical Fund
LuncheonattheRenaissanceWaterfrontHotelinBoston.Onthefollowingday,ourCathedral was host to His Eminence Archbishop
Demetrios of America, His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios of Boston, and Bishop
SevasNanos of Zela. Philoptochos members
fromthroughoutthecountrya]endedtheHierarchical Liturgy followed by a luncheon in
which Archbishop Demetrios was presented
withacheckfor$400,000fortheSt.Nicholas
4 • The Dove
Shrine Church now under construcNon in
NewYorkCityattheWorldTradeCentersite.
On November 9, we held a General Assembly followed by a Tea Social at which
PresbyteraMaryannToniaswasourhonored
guest. Over seventy ladies a]ended this
beauNful event and enjoyed a wonderful
evening together. Also in November, our
ladieswenttotheBostonHomelessVeterans
Shelter for a day of service. During the
Christmas season we offer outreach to our
PhiloxeniaHouseandSt.BasilAcademy.Our
LadiesPhiloptochosSocietywishesyoualla
MerryChristmasandaHappyNewYear!
September 18, 19, 20, 2015
Greek Fest Photo Gallery
Winter 2015 • 5
Upcoming Events
ChristmasKontakion
Christmas comes in the dead of
winter, the season that isolates,
confines—the Nme for introspecNon. This feast of winter turns us
inwardandbackwardtoourbeginnings and past. CelebraNng the
birth of a child, Christmas makes
childrenofusall.MightnotChristmashaveaffectedRomanosinthis
way as he was wriNng his NaNvity
Kontakion? In no other kontakion
does Romanos so unreservedly revealhissoul.Thishymnshineswith
thepurelightofhisfaithinChrist,
God whose philanthropia made
Him a child. Far from home, the
young deacon-poet looked inward
andbackwardasheworkedonthe
kontakion. Like the Magi, he had
traveled from afar, coming from
theEast,andintheMagiherelived
his own pilgrimage, seeking and
finding God in the child who was
born in a Judaean cave. A BriNsh
poet, John Betjeman, pondering
the mystery of Christmas, asks a
haunNng quesNon: “And is it true?
And is it true; This most tremendous tale of all; Seen in a stainedglass window’s hue; A Baby in an
ox’s stall? The Maker of the stars
and sea; Become a Child on earth
for me?” The answer comes from
ConstanNnople saying, “Yes, it’s
true;yes,it’strue.”Onthisdaythe
VirginbeareththeTranscendentin
essence; to the Unapproachable,
the earth doth offer a small cave;
Angels join in the choir with shepherds in giving glory; with a star
theMagitravelupontheirjourney;
foroursakesisbornayoungchild,
He that existed before the ages as
God. St. Romanos the Melodos is
sNll singing. His first NaNvity KontakionsNlllightsthewaytoBethlehem. It is for us to make the journey.EvaTopping.
6 • The Dove
Friday
Dec.4
FAMILYNIGHT:GingerbreadHouseMaking(6:30pm)
Sunday
Dec.6
ChristmasPageantRehearsal
Sunday
Dec.6
PhiloptochosSt.NicholasBrunch
Sunday
Dec.13
ChristmasPageantRehearsal
Sunday
Dec.13
CathedralChoir:AChristmasSing
Sunday
Dec.20
ChristmasPageant(SundaySchool&GreekSchool)
Sunday
Dec.20
SundaySchoolChristmasParty
Thursday
Dec.24
VesperalLiturgyofSt.BasiltheGreat(6:30pm)
Friday
Dec.25
Orth./Lit.:Christmas(8:45/10:00amatCathedral)
Thursday
Dec.31
NewYear’sEvePartyatCathedralCenter
Friday
Jan.1
Orth./Lit.:St.BasiltheGreat(8:45/10:00amatCathedral)
Tuesday
Jan.5
VesperalLiturgyofSt.BasiltheGreat(9:00amatCathedral)
Wednesday Jan.6
Orth./Lit.:Theophany(8:45/10:00amatCathedral)
Sunday
Jan.10
PhiloptochosVasilopitaSunday(AjerLiturgy)
Sunday
Jan.10
StewardshipSunday/ParishCouncilAffirmaNonofOffice
Sunday
Jan.17
LuncheoninHonorofDeanLimberakis(AjerLiturgy)
Monday
Jan.18
YouthSkiTriptoPat’sPeakinNewHampshire
Saturday
Jan.30
Orth./Lit.:ThreeHierarchs(8:45/10:00amatChapel)
Saturday
Jan.30
YouthSkaNngatLarzAndersonPark(1:30pm)
Sunday
Jan.31
SundayandGreekSchoolThreeHierarchsPresentaNon
Monday
Feb.1
PhiloptochosMeeNng(7:00pm)
Tuesday
Feb.2
Orth./Lit.:PresentaNonofLord(8:45/10:00amatChapel)
Sunday
Feb.7
GodparentSunday
Sunday
Feb.7
Philoptochos/SundaySchoolVisittoHellenicNursingHome
Sunday
Mar.6
ApokreaNko(Mearare)Glendi(AjerLiturgy)
Monday
Mar.7
PhiloptochosMeeNng(7:00pm)
Sunday
Mar.13
ForgivenessVespersatCathedral(6:30pm)
Chris G. Alex, President, AHEPA Athens Chapter 24 Boston
AHEPA News
O
nFridayNovember5,2016SupremePresidentJohnW.GalanisvisitedBostonChapter24,hostsofthe
2015BiennialRegionalBanquet.Over250membersandfriendsoftheOrderofAHPEAjammedtheAnunciaNon Cathedral Center Hall in Brookline, MA to hear CEO of Plum Enterprises, Robert Badavas give his remarksonthewonderfulworkAHEPAdoes.SupremePresidentGalaniswasthrilledtohavesucharemarkable
person receive the Academy of AchievementinBusinessanddeliversuchgraciousremarksabouttheAHEPA.
Co-Chairmen ConstanNne Calliontzis,
PSGandAlexGeourntas,PSGbothwerecommended by the Supreme President on their
wonderful work. The Regional Banquet also
honored Metropolitan Methodios of Boston
withthe2015ArchbishopIakovosHumanitarianaward.HisEminencewentontosaythat
AHEPAisapowerfulallyintheba]letoprotect religious freedom here and overseas.
MayorofBoston,theHonorableMartyWalsh
andGovernoroftheCommonwealthofMassachuse]s the Honorable Charlie Baker, were
alsohonored.
Supreme President Galanis was thrilled
tobeabletosharehisvisionofAHEPAandas
acompletesurprise,wasaskedtoreceivedonaNons to the St. Nicholas Campaign to rebuild the Church/Shrine at Ground Zero.
AHEPA Chapter #110 donated $28,500.
Athens Chapter #24 donated $2,000 and a
$1,000 donaNon from AHEPAn John Poly-
douras rounded out the over $30,000 donated to the AHEPA project. AHEPA has surpassedthe$250,000markandweareconNnuingourworktoreachourgoal!
Sons Advisor Jimmy Kokotas had the
pleasure of speaking to the audience of the
wonderful work of the Sons of Pericles and
their recent donaNon of $10,000 to their St.
NicholasFundraisingefforts. SupremePresidentGalaniswasveryproudoftheyouthand
pointed to them as the future leaders of our
Order.
WarmWaterandHolyCommunion
Whenhehassummonedthefaithfultothesacredbanquet,thepriestgivesthesacramenttohimself,and
ajerwardstoallthoseofpriestlyrankandthealtar-servers.Butbeforethishedropsintothechalicealittle warm water, to symbolize the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Church. For the Holy Spirit came
downwhenthewholeplanofredempNonhadbeencompleted.AndnowthedescentoftheSpiritcomes
aboutwhenthesacrificehasbeenofferedandtheholyofferingshavereachedtheirperfecNon;itwillbe
completedinthosewhocommunicateworthily.
Sincethiswarmwaterisnotonlywater,butsharesthenatureoffire,itsignifiestheHolySpirit,whois
someNmesrepresentedbywater,andwhocamedownupontheApostlesintheformoffire.Thispointof
the liturgy represents that moment in Nme, for the Holy Spirit came down ajer all things pertaining to
Christhadbeenaccomplished.Inthesameway,whentheholyofferingshavea]ainedtheirulNmateperfecNon, this water is added. For the mysteries also represent the Church, the Body of Christ, which receivedtheHolySpiritajertheAscensionandnowajertheofferingsareacceptedatChrist’saltar.
NicholasCabasilas
Winter 2015 • 7
8 • The Dove
November 1, 2015
Archbishop Demetrios Visit Photo Gallery
January 6
The Theophany of our Lord
God and Savior Jesus Christ
T
uheophanyistheFeastwhichrevealstheMostHolyTrinitytothe
worldthroughtheBapNsmoftheLord(Mt.3:13-17;Mark1:9-11;
Luke3:21-22).GodtheFatherspokefromHeavenabouttheSon,the
SonwasbapNzedbytheStJohntheForerunner,andtheHolySpiritdescendedupontheSonintheformofadove.FromancientNmesthis
FeastwascalledtheDayofIlluminaNonandtheFeastofLights,since
God is Light and has appeared to illumine
“thosewhosatindarkness,”and“intheregionoftheshadowofdeath”(Mt.4:16),and
tosavethefallenraceofmankindbygrace.
In the ancient Church it was the customtobapNzecatechumensattheVespers
of Theophany, so that BapNsm also is revealed as the spiritual illuminaNon of
mankind. The origin of the Feast of TheophanygoesbacktoApostolicNmes,anditis
menNoned in The Apostolic ConsNtuNons
(Book V:13). From the second century we
havethetesNmonyofStClementofAlexandria concerning the celebraNon of the BapNsm of the Lord, and the night vigil before
thisFeast.
Thereisathirdcenturydialogueabout
the services for Theophany between the
holy martyr Hippolytus and St Gregory the
Wonderworker. In the following centuries,
from the fourth to ninth century, all the
great Fathers of the Church: Gregory the
Theologian, John Chrysostom, Ambrose of
Milan, John of Damascus, commented on
theFeastofTheophany.
The monks Joseph the Studite, TheophanesandByzanNoscomposedmuchliturgical music for this Feast, which is sung at
Orthodox services even today. St John of
Damascus said that the Lord was bapNzed,
notbecauseHeHimselfhadneedforcleansing,but“toburyhumansinbywater,”tofulfilltheLaw,torevealthemysteryoftheHoly
Trinity,andfinally,tosancNfy“thenatureof
water”andtoofferustheformandexample
ofBapNsm.
On the Feast of the BapNsm of Christ,
the Holy Church proclaims our faith in the
most sublime mystery, incomprehensible to
human intellect, of one God in three
Persons.Itteachesustoconfessandglorifythe
HolyTrinity,oneinEssenceandIndivisible.Itexposes and overthrows the errors of ancient
teachings which a]empted to explain the Creator of the world by reason, and in human
terms.
TheChurchshowsthenecessityofBapNsm
for believers in Christ, and it inspires us with a
senseofdeepgraNtudefortheilluminaNonand
purificaNon of our sinful nature. The Church
teaches that our salvaNon and cleansing from
sinispossibleonlybythepowerofthegraceof
the Holy Spirit, therefore it is necessary to preserve worthily these gijs of the grace of holy
BapNsm, keeping clean this priceless garb, for
“As many as have been bapNzed into Christ,
haveputonChrist”(Gal3:27).
OnthedayofTheophany,allfoodsarepermi]ed,eveniftheFeastfallsonaWednesdayor
Friday
Ski Trip
We will meet at the mountain at noon and then enjoy an afternoon of skiing at
Pats Peak on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (January 18, 2016). It’s Pay-One-Price
(POP) at Pat’s Peak. All skiers pay one price ($44) for rental gear, skiing
throughout the afternoon, and free tubing
after 5:00 pm. There are gentle bunny
slopes for beginners and trails for the more
advanced skiers. There are also plenty of
refreshments in the Lodge. After a fun day
of skiing we will go as a group for pizza!
Please contact the Cathedral office for
information.
Youth Skating
On Saturday, January 30, 2016 our
Cathedral Youth will go to Larz
Anderson Park for an afternoon of
ice skating. Join us after Greek
School for a fun filled afternoon of
friends and skating. For more
information, contact the Church
Office for details.
From Dr. Christopher Gussis, Veterans Ministry
Cathedral Honors Veterans
T
Presentlywehave840CathedralVeteranswhoservedintheU.S.ArmedfromWWItothepresentconflicts.
BecauseoftheirmatchlesscourageandsteadfastdeterminaNon,weenjoytheliberNesthatarefundamental
toourdemocraNcwayoflife.Itisimportanttorememberthatmanyoftheseveteransgavetheiryouthandpaid
aheavyprice,fighNngthroughouttheEuropeanandAsiaNcPacifictheaters,topreserveourfreedomandreligiousliberty.Indoingso,27werekilledinacNon,63werewoundedinba]le,3wereprisonersofwar,onewas
missinginacNonandcountlessothersexperiencedyearsofposttraumaNcstress.
All of these veterans served with disNncNon and in this special way, we must never
forgetwhattheydidforus. Thetruthofthe
ma]er is, we can never do enough to repay
themforwhattheydid.
ByconNnuingtosupporttheeffortsofour
Cathedral Veterans Program, you are making
astrongstatementtoourCathedralVeterans,
and their families, that we will never forget
whattheydidforusby“KeepingTheirMemoryAlive.”.
Winter 2015 • 9
September 25, October 18, November 13, 2015
Youth Events Photo Gallery
10 • The Dove
Winter 2015 • 11