March 22, 2015 - Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church

March 22, 2015 ~ Sunday of St. John Climacus
Tone of the week: Plagal of the Fourth Tone
Eighth Eothinon ~ Reading:
The memory of this Saint is celebrated on March 30, where his biography
may be found. He is celebrated today because his book, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, is a sure guide to the ascetic life, written by a great man of
prayer experienced in all forms of the monastic polity; it teaches the seeker
after salvation how to lay a sound foundation for his struggles, how to detect and war against each of the passions, how to avoid the snares laid by
the demons, and how to rise from the rudimental virtues to the heights of
Godlike love and humility. It is held in such high esteem that it is universally read in its entirety in monasteries during the Great Fast.
Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
From on high didst Thou descend, O Compassionate One; to burial of three
days hast Thou submitted that Thou mightest free us from our passions. O
our Life and Resurrection, Lord, glory be to Thee.
Apolytikion of Sun. of St. John Climacus in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
With the rivers of your tears, you have made the barren desert fertile. Through sighs of sorrow
from deep within you, your labors have borne fruit a hundred -fold. By your miracles you have
become a light, shining upon the world. O John, our Holy Father, pray to Christ our God, to save
our souls.
Seasonal Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
To you, Theotokos, invincible Defender, having been delivered from peril, I, your city, dedicate
the victory festival as a thank offering. In your irresistible might, keep me safe from all trials,
that I may call out to you: "Hail, unwedded bride!"
Epistle Reading: St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 6:13-20
BRETHREN, when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear,
he swore to himself, saying, "Surely I will bless you and multiply you." And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise. Men indeed swear by a greater than themselves, and in all their
disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs
of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he interposed with an oath, so that through
two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God should prove false, we who have fled for
refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and
steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus has
gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
Gospel Reading: Sunday of St. John Climacus The Gospel of Mark 9:17-31
At that time, a man came to Jesus kneeling and saying: "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a
dumb spirit; and wherever it seizes him it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and
becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able." And he answered
them, "O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring
him to me." And they brought the boy to him; and when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed
the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father,
"How long has he had this?" And he said, "From childhood. And it has often cast him into the fire and
into the water, to destroy him; but if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us." And Jesus said
to him, "If you can! All things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the father of the child
cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!" And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he 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,
and the boy was like a corpse; so that most of them said, "He is dead." But Jesus took him by the hand
and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately,
"Why could we not cast it out?" And he said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but
prayer and fasting." They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he would not have any
one know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of man will be delivered into
the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise."
Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church
123 Gilkeson Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15228
Fr. Michael Kallaur, Economos
Daniel Korba, Presbyter
Dn. Frank Dickos
March 22, 2015 ~ Sunday of St. John Climacus
Altar flowers are sponsored in memory of her loved ones
by Olga Pappas.
Altar candles are sponsored in loving memory of +Mary Karakis
by her husband Jim Karakis.
Memorials
Mary Kalmer 40 days (sister of Olga Pappas)
James Stamas 40 days (brother-in-law of Stephen & Rania Harris)
Amanda Stamas 40 days (sister-in-law of Stephen & Rania Harris)
Stella Orphanos 5 years
Mary Karakis 7 years
Irene Liadis
10 years
Harry Pappas 23 years
Nicholas Liadis 32 years
Greek School Program & Luncheon following Divine Liturgy
Food Fair cooking will follow the luncheon and program.
Monday
6:30pm Compline/Bible Study
Tuesday
7pm Feast of Annunciation Vespers in McKeesport or New Kensington
Wednesday
Annunciation
8:30 am Orthros/9:30m Divine Liturgy
4:30pm Greek School
7:30pm Parish Council
7:30 pm Choir Rehearsal
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
9am Presanctified Liturgy
6:30pm Salutations to the Theotokos
5pm Great Vespers /Confessions
TODAY tickets will be available at coffee hour for the IOCC Syrian Relief Dinner next Sunday, March 29th. Please look for Deno Pappas or
Carol Halkias at the IOCC table to purchase your tickets, which are $50
per person and/or to make a donation to help our suffering brothers and
sisters in Syria. God bless you for your generosity!
Senior Greek Dance will begin AFTER Easter. Details coming.
Attention parents of girls ages 8-12, if your daughter would like
to participate as a Mirafora on Good Friday, please call Laura Zervos (412) 287-5679 or email laura_jz@msn.com
Philoptochos FOCUS Lenten Food Drive: Please donate your nonperishable food items, plastic jars, peanut butter, canned goods, beans,
soups, cereals, etc NO glass, please, to the vestibule ONLY on Sundays, ending March 29. There is a great need. Please be generous!
STEWARDSHIP: Appeal to the Community
We thank you very much for your response to our appeal for advanced payment of
your pledges to overcome our current cash shortfall: within two and a half weeks,
we were able to collect about $24,000 in additional pledge income. Thank you
from our hearts!
These funds were a tremendous help in catching up on our open payables; we are
not caught up and therefore, we appeal to you to continue to consider the appeal
to advance your October or November pledge amount to the next Sundays before
Easter!
Thank you for your consideration, Holy Cross Parish Council
Please visit our website at: www.holycrosspgh.org
Palm Sunday, April 5, 2015
Fish Luncheon sponsored by Philoptochos
Please join us after liturgy for Baked Cod, Salad, Green Beans
and Pototoes, a cherry or apple cobbler and bread
Adults $10 ~ Children 5-12 are $5 ~ 4 &under free,
served peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, applesauce, chips and oreo cookies
Ticket will be sold next Sunday, March 29 at coffee hour and at the door
on Palm Sunday, April 5 To reserve by email,
contact Elaine Sofis at esofis@comcast.net or 412 344-7046 to reserve.
Rescheduled: Diane Landis Hoenig will now speak on Iconography on
Tuesday, April 14 at 6:45PM. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Saints Mary & Martha Women's Fellowship
The Orthodox Family:
A Dwelling of Christ and a Witness to the Gospel
Topic: Monasticism: Not of the World, but Still of the Family.
Fr. Demetrios Carellas, Speaker
Tuesday, March 31, 7pm - 9pm
at the home of Cynthia Raftis, Hostess,
800 Valley View Road, Mt. Lebanon 15243
2015 Philoptochos Membership:
It is time once again to join or renew your membership in Philoptochos. Please
fill out the form below and return to the church or Connie Carahalis, 224 Mt.
Lebanon Blvd., Pgh., PA 15234
Name _________________________________________________________________
Address _________________________________________________________________
Telephone _________________________________________________________________
Email _________________________________________________________________
*From you Philoptochos Stewardship donation, $15 is sent to National Philopto-
chos and $10 is sent to the Pittsburgh Metropolis Philoptochos. Anything over
$25 goes to Holy Cross Philoptochos
Tickets: $50 per person • children 18 and under: $20 •
children 6 &under free
Additional donations would be appreciated. Net Proceeds
Benefit Syrian Relief.
6869 / farahs32@gmail.com; Mari at 412-9157380; Rula at 412-417-0012; Zelfa at 412-4174706; or Joanne, IOCC Outreach, at 1-877-8034622; or MAIL: IOCC, 110 West Road, Suite
360, Baltimore, Maryland 21204 or ask if tickets
Easter
Bread
will be
available
after 4pm
on Monday.
are available in your home parish. Make checks payable to “IOCC” write “Syrian Relief Dinner” and number of tickets in memo. Pre-Purchased tickets will be
held at the door and will not be mailed. We will reserve
tables of 10 or 8 only. Ticket sales & reservations must
be made by March 27. For information or if you would
like to volunteer call Zelfa at 412-417-4706.
Stop by and see
Popi in the
Community Center!
Register online at iocc.org/
Pittsburgh or call Sophie at 412-341-
John Hoenig & Pam Lagios are recipients of and will be honored at the
Metropolis of Pittsburgh ST. PHOTIOS AWARDS BANQUET
Saturday, April 18, 2015 at the
Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown 600 Commonwealth Place, Pittsburgh 15222
4 pm Cocktails 5:45pm Dinner ~ $75.00 per person, $25 children
Deadline April 5
Please sign up for
coffee hour online at:
www.holycrosspgh.org
Ladies and Gentlemen!!!
Please join us for a fun, laughter-filled evening on Saturday, May 16 at 7:30PM at Holy Cross
Community Center with New York Greek-American Comedian Ellen Karis. The $60 ticket
includes open bar, appetizers and desserts from 7:30PM-8:30PM. Ellen’s performance will
begin at 8:30PM. This is live entertainment and Ellen’s first-ever Pittsburgh performance!
Please bring your spouse, a date, a friend or a group for a memorable evening. All proceeds
benefit the Philanthropic efforts of Holy Cross and All Saints Philoptochos Societies. Please
contact Denise Raftis at 412 956-4492 or dxraftis1@yahoo.com for reservations.
Welcome – And a few words about communion…
We warmly welcome all visitors and seekers in our midst today, trusting that your
experience here will be an uplifting and enriching one. The Greek Orthodox
Churches are the ancient and native Christian communities of the biblical world,
with centers in the Holy Lands, Syria, Egypt and Asia Minor, and by extension in
Greece, Cyprus and throughout the world. Like the ancient Christians, we engage
the whole person, heart, mind and all senses in Divine Worship. This experience
has been so powerful to seekers in the past that it was often said “We knew not
whether we were in heaven or on earth. We knew only that there God dwelt
among human beings.” (Russian Primary Chronicle) That communion experience
of heaven on earth and God in our midst forms the heart of all Orthodox worship. It culminates in the sharing of Holy Communion, which not only unites us
with the Divine, but also expresses the deep unity in faith and life between all Orthodox believers. Since Holy Communion expresses that deep unity in belief and
practice alike, it is reserved for observant Orthodox Christians. This does not
mean, however, that non-Orthodox are ‘excluded’ – rather, the Orthodox choose
not to make an external display of unity when actual unity does not exist. While
working to restore the full communion that did exist in antiquity, today we offer
the sign of the blessed bread at the service’s conclusion as a symbolic gift of hospitality and growing unity that is offered to all present. If you would like to learn
more about the Orthodox way of life, or have any questions about worship or Holy
Communion, please approach Fr. Michael or one of the clergy following services.
Thank you for joining us, and again, we welcome you all.
The Church ~ A Holy Place
When you enter the church building as the “House of Worship,” you
are entering into the Great Throne Room of the “King of Kings” as His
subjects and His soldiers. The “King of Kings,” Jesus Christ, is enthroned on the Holy Altar and all the angels, prophets, saints and the
Most Holy Mother of God are present. His soldiers should be attentive
and standing at attention. No one in the presence of the “king of
Kings” would sit with his legs crossed, or his hands in his pockets, or
chewing gum, or looking at his watch because to do any of these things
would be disrespectful. The only proper disposition a soldier can have
before his commander is that of reverence which is indicated by a
bowed head, a submissive heart and prayer.