Hymns of the Day

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Third Mode

Let the Heavens rejoice; let earthly things be glad; for the Lord hath wrought might with His arm, He hath trampled upon death by death. The first-born of the dead hath He become. From the belly of Hades hath He delivered us, and hath granted great mercy to the world.

Apolytikion for Apodosis of the Dormition in the First Mode

In giving birth, thou didst preserve thy virginity; in thy dormition, thou didst not forsake the world, O Theotokos. Thou wast translated unto life, since thou art the Mother of Life; and by thine intercessions dost thou redeem our souls from death.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Second Mode

Neither the grave nor death could contain the Theotokos, the unshakable hope, ever vigilant in intercession and protection. As Mother of life, He who dwelt in the ever-virginal womb transposed her to life.

Gospel and Epistle Readings

Matins Gospel Reading

First Orthros Gospel
The Reading is from Matthew 28:16-20

At that time, the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age. Amen."

Epistle Reading

The Reading is from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 15:1-11

BRETHREN, I would remind you in what terms I preached to you the gospel, which you received, in which you stand, by which you are saved, if you hold it fast - unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

Gospel Reading

12th Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from Matthew 19:16-26

At that time, a young man came up to Jesus, kneeling and saying, "Good Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?" And he said to him, "Why do you call me good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." He said to him, "Which?" And Jesus said, "You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All these I have observed; what do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.

And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Saints and Feasts

August 23

Apodosis of the Dormition of our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary

Concerning the Dormition of the Theotokos, this is what the Church has received from ancient times from the tradition of the Fathers. When the time drew nigh that our Savior was well-pleased to take His Mother to Himself, He declared unto her through an Angel that three days hence, He would translate her from this temporal life to eternity and bliss. On hearing this, she went up with haste to the Mount of Olives, where she prayed continuously. Giving thanks to God, she returned to her house and prepared whatever was necessary for her burial. While these things were taking place, clouds caught up the Apostles from the ends of the earth, where each one happened to be preaching, and brought them at once to the house of the Mother of God, who informed them of the cause of their sudden gathering. As a mother, she consoled them in their affliction as was meet, and then raised her hands to Heaven and prayed for the peace of the world. She blessed the Apostles, and, reclining upon her bed with seemliness, gave up her all-holy spirit into the hands of her Son and God.

With reverence and many lights, and chanting burial hymns, the Apostles took up that God-receiving body and brought it to the sepulchre, while the Angels from Heaven chanted with them, and sent forth her who is higher than the Cherubim. But one Jew, moved by malice, audaciously stretched forth his hand upon the bed and immediately received from divine judgment the wages of his audacity. Those daring hands were severed by an invisible blow. But when he repented and asked forgiveness, his hands were restored. When they had reached the place called Gethsemane, they buried there with honor the all-immaculate body of the Theotokos, which was the source of Life. But on the third day after the burial, when they were eating together, and raised up the artos (bread) in Jesus' Name, as was their custom, the Theotokos appeared in the air, saying "Rejoice" to them. From this they learned concerning the bodily translation of the Theotokos into the Heavens.

These things has the Church received from the traditions of the Fathers, who have composed many hymns out of reverence, to the glory of the Mother of our God (see Oct. 3 and 4).

August 23

Our Holy Father Ireneaus, Bishop of Lyons

The Holy Hieromartyr Irenaeus was born in Asia Minor about the year 120, and in his youth was a disciple of Saint Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna. Saint Irenaeus was sent to Lyons in Gaul, to be a fellow labourer of Pothinus, Bishop of Lyons (celebrated June 2), who had also been a disciple Saint Polycarp. After the martyrdom of Saint Pothinus, Saint Irenaeus succeeded him as Bishop of Lyons. Besides the assaults of paganism, Irenaeus found himself compelled to do battle with many Gnostic heresies, against which he wrote his greatest work, A Refutation and Overthrow of Knowledge Falsely So Called . He was also a peace-maker within the Church. When Victor, Bishop of Rome, was prepared to excommunicate the Christians of Asia Minor for following a different tradition celebrating Pascha, Irenaeus persuaded him to moderate his zeal, and mediated peace. He made Lyons an illustrious bastion of Orthodoxy and a school of piety, and sealed his confession with martyrdom about the year 202, during the reign of Septimius Severus. He is not to be confused with Saint Irenaeus, Bishop of Sirmium, also celebrated today, who was beheaded and cast into a river in 304 under Diocletian.

August 27

Holy Martyr Phanurius

Little is known of the holy Martyr Phanurius, except that which is depicted concerning his martyrdom on his holy icon, which was discovered in the year 1500 among the ruins of an ancient church on Rhodes, when the Moslems ruled there. Thus he is called "the Newly Revealed." The faithful pray to Saint Phanurius especially to help them recover things that have been lost, and because he has answered their prayers so often, the custom has arisen of baking a Phaneropita ("Phanurius-Cake") as a thanks-offering.

August 29

Beheading of the Holy and Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John

The divine Baptist, the Prophet born of a Prophet, the seal of all the Prophets and beginning of the Apostles, the mediator between the Old and New Covenants, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, the God-sent Messenger of the incarnate Messiah, the forerunner of Christ's coming into the world (Esaias 40: 3; Mal. 3: 1); who by many miracles was both conceived and born; who was filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother's womb; who came forth like another Elias the Zealot, whose life in the wilderness and divine zeal for God's Law he imitated: this divine Prophet, after he had preached the baptism of repentance according to God's command; had taught men of low rank and high how they must order their lives; had admonished those whom he baptized and had filled them with the fear of God, teaching them that no one is able to escape the wrath to come if he do not works worthy of repentance; had, through such preaching, prepared their hearts to receive the evangelical teachings of the Savior; and finally, after he had pointed out to the people the very Savior, and said, "Behold the Lamb of God, Which taketh away the sin of the world" (Luke 3:2-18; John 1: 29-36), after all this, John sealed with his own blood the truth of his words and was made a sacred victim for the divine Law at the hands of a transgressor.

This was Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Galilee, the son of Herod the Great. This man had a lawful wife, the daughter of Arethas (or Aretas), the King of Arabia (that is, Arabia Petraea, which had the famous Nabatean stone city of Petra as its capital. This is the Aretas mentioned by Saint Paul in II Cor. 11:32). Without any cause, and against every commandment of the Law, he put her away and took to himself Herodias, the wife of his deceased brother Philip, to whom Herodias had borne a daughter, Salome. He would not desist from this unlawful union even when John, the preacher of repentance, the bold and austere accuser of the lawless, censured him and told him, "It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife" (Mark 6: 18). Thus Herod, besides his other unholy acts, added yet this, that he apprehended John and shut him in prison; and perhaps he would have killed him straightway, had he not feared the people, who had extreme reverence for John. Certainly, in the beginning, he himself had great reverence for this just and holy man. But finally, being pierced with the sting of a mad lust for the woman Herodias, he laid his defiled hands on the teacher of purity on the very day he was celebrating his birthday. When Salome, Herodias' daughter, had danced in order to please him and those who were supping with him, he promised her -- with an oath more foolish than any foolishness -- that he would give her anything she asked, even unto the half of his kingdom. And she, consulting with her mother, straightway asked for the head of John the Baptist in a charger. Hence this transgressor of the Law, preferring his lawless oath above the precepts of the Law, fulfilled this godless promise and filled his loathsome banquet with the blood of the Prophet. So it was that that all-venerable head, revered by the Angels, was given as a prize for an abominable dance, and became the plaything of the dissolute daughter of a debauched mother. As for the body of the divine Baptist, it was taken up by his disciples and placed in a tomb (Mark 6: 21 - 29). Concerning the finding of his holy head, see February 24 and May 25.

Wisdom of the Fathers

The sign that thou lovest God, is this, that thou lovest thy fellow; and if thou hatest thy fellow, thy hatred is towards God. For it is blasphemy if thou prayest before God while thou art wroth. For thy heart also convicts thee, that in vain thou multipliest words: thy conscience rightly judges that in thy prayers thou profitest nought.

St. Ephraim the Syrian

ON ADMONITION AND REPENTANCE.

Wherefore then doth Christ thus reply to him, saying, "There is none good?" Because He came unto Him as a mere man, and one of the common sort, and a Jewish teacher; for this cause then as a man He discourses with him. And indeed in many instances He replies to the secret thoughts of them that come unto Him.

St. John Chrysostom

Homily 63 on Matthew 19, 4th Century

Rise from love of the world and love of pleasure. Put care aside, strip your mind, refuse your body. Prayer, after all, is a turning away from the world, visible and invisible. What have I in heaven? Nothing except simply to cling always to You in undistracted prayer. Wealth pleases some, glory others, possessions others, but what I want is to cling to God and to put the hopes of my dispassion in Him (cf. Ps. 72:25, 28).

St. John Climacus

Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 28: On Prayer; Paulist Press pg. 277, 6th century

Spiritual delight is not enjoyment found in things that exists outside the soul.

St. Isaac of Syria

Unknown , 7th century

'But I say to you,' the Lord says, 'love your enemies; do good to those who hate you, pray for those who persecute you.' Why did he command these things? So that he might free you from hatred, sadness, anger and grudges, and might grant you the greatest possession of all, perfect love, which is impossible to possess except by the one you loves all equally in imitation of God.

St. Maximos the Confessor

Unknown, 7th century

Schedule for the Week

Sunday, August 30th:

Artoclasia Service: In honor of the Evrytanian Saints.
Children’s Festival Dance Practice (ages 4-8 years old): Following Divine Liturgy in the Social Hall.
Youth Festival Dance Practice (ages 9 & older): Following Divine Liturgy in the Social Hall.
Philoptochos Koulourakia Baking: 1:00 PM (Volunteers needed!)

Tuesday, September 1st:

Divine Liturgy: 10:00 AM (Ossios Meletios and Beginning of Ecclesiastical New Year)

Wednesday, September 2nd:

Fast Day
Philoptochos Karithopita Baking: 10:00 AM (Volunteers needed!)

Friday, September 4th:

Fast Day

Thank You to the Following Stewards of St. John's Parish

Parish Council Member on Duty: Andrea Snow

Today's Prosforon Brought By: Tasia Kaltsounis

Today's Coffee Hour Hosted By: Ileana Rotaru

Community News & Events

St. John the Baptist 2015 Greek Festival ~ September 24^th-27^th: If you would like to help, please see Festival Chairs, George Spirakis or Anastasia Spirakis-Haar. Let’s all work together for a great festival for the glory of God. Many volunteers needed!

Festival Koulourakia Baking: Today, August 30^th at 1:00 PM. Anyone interested in helping to make Koulourakia for the Greek Festival is welcome to come. We will be baking in the Hall kitchen. All help is welcome.

Festival Karithopita Baking: Wednesday, September 2^ndat 10:00 AM. Many volunteers needed! Please come and help!

Festival Pastry Cutting & Cupping: Monday, September 21^st at 10:00 AM; Tuesday, September 22^nd at 9:00 AM and Wednesday, September 23^rd at 9:00 AM. Many volunteers needed! Please come and help!

Greek School ~ Begins Sunday, September 6^th Following Divine Liturgy:Please consider sending your children to Greek School this year. Dena Platingos will be teaching our children the Greek language, songs, games, dancing and much more! Register your children by filling out the registration form found in “The Voice” or at the Pangari. See or contact Dena at (585)-773-0788 if you have any questions. Again, please make the commitment and send your children to Greek School.

Sunday School ~ Begins Sunday, September 13^th at 10:00 AM:Our new Sunday School year is approaching and we will be starting Sunday, September 13^th. Please register your children by filling out the form found in “The Voice” or at the Pangari. Mail the registration form to the Church Office or bring it to class on the 13^th. If anyone is interested in teaching Sunday School, please call Michele Michalos at (843)-742-3713. We are looking forward to a spiritual and educational year for our children.

Choir: If anyone is interested in joining the Choir, please see or call Jimmy Arakas at (843)-450-3665.

Youth Festival Greek Dancing (9 & older): If you would like your child to participate or would like more information, please contact Katherine Wright at (843)-467-8930. Dance practices are on Sundays after Church unless noted otherwise.

Children’s Festival Greek Dancing (4-8 years old): Practices are held on Sundays following Divine Liturgy. Please contact Dena Platingos at (585)-773-0788 if you would like your child to participate or for more information.

St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church Stewardship:Our St. John's Parish Family depends on regular stewardship offerings in order to continue the work of our Lord through our services and activities year round. The 2015 Pledge forms are available at the Pangari or from the Church Office. See or call Stewardship Chairmen, Dr. Jimmy Kontos at (843)-213-1627 or Mike Merisotis (843)-357-9780, if you have any questions about stewardship. Fulfill your commitment of your 2015 pledge today. Thank You!

St. John's Religious Book Store and Holy Nook Gift Shop: Our parish bookstore and Holy Nook gift shop has a variety of books, icons, instructional guides, Orthodox literature, worship items, greeting cards, bracelets, pure traditional olive oil soaps from Greece (a variety of scents )"A Voyage in Greek Cooking," St. John's parish cook-book and much more. The store is located in the former kitchen in the Narthex. Please stop by following Divine Liturgy, or you may contact Loretta Siotka (843)-399-8955. If there is a book or item that we don't carry, let us know and we will try to get it for you.

Family Life Ministry:The Family Life Ministry is a ministry of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta. The goal of this Ministry is to help individuals and families in our communities lead a Christ-centered, Orthodox life. We serve our Orthodox faithful through dynamic retreats, workshops, online materials, articles and resources which integrate an Orthodox Ethos into practical strategies we can use to navigate the challenges in our lives. Check out our blog! www.familylifeministry.atlanta.goarch.org.

Building Fund: The Parish of St. John’s needs your help in the costs of maintenance and upgrades to both the Hall and the Church. If you have not filled out a Building Fund Pledge Card you are encouraged to do so at this time. Please see or call Jimmy Lambrinos (843) 626-1572, or Sam Stathos (843) 238-5618 or any member of the Hall Committee with any questions.

Building Fund numbers to date: Pledged: $62,850; Collected: $29,330; Target Amount: $100,000

2015 Parish Directory

The 2015 Parish Directory is currently accepting changes or new additions. If you would like to submit a correction or be added into the directory, please pick up an update form located in the Narthex or call the Church Office (843) 448-3773 to request one. If you want a current copy of the Parish Directory to be mailed to you, please call the Church Office and one will be sent to you. When sending back the update form, please put “Attn: Parish Directory” if sending by mail or in the subject line if sending by email to office@stjohn-mb.org.

FROM THE CHANCELLOR'S DESK

“How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD ordained his blessing, life forevermore.” (Psalm 133:1-3)

Bickering. Backbiting. Selfishness. Grudges. Fighting over things that don’t matter with family and friends — even in the church. Disagreements happen. Arguments are inevitable. But our calling from God is to oneness — to unity with brothers and sisters in the Lord. Perhaps that is why King David wrote Psalm 133 above for his many sons, to instruct them and encourage them to dwell together in harmony. His admonition goes beyond simply not quarreling . . . it challenges us to a much deeper depth of relationship — delighting in one another. The precious holy oil used in anointing that King David references, was strongly perfumed. The fragrance would have been pleasant and refreshing to everyone nearby. In the same way, the aroma of getting along with, and honoring, other Christian brothers and sisters, brings joyful blessing to those who see our love for one another.

It is interesting that when Jesus prayed for us in His great High Priestly prayer in John 17, He acknowledged that the world would hate those who trust and believe in Him. The clear message is that life would be hard — and requires us even to battle the “evil one”. But in verse 21, He asks His Father “that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in Me and I am in You, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.” (John 17:21) Jesus understood that unity among His children would be a reality that convinces the unbelieving world of who He truly is — the Son of God. Imagine the world if the following were reality: “To a true child of God, the invisible bond that unites all believers to Christ is tender, lasting, and precious. As we come to recognize and realize that we are all dwelling in one sphere of life in Him, we learn to look on every believer as our brother or sister, in a sense that is infinitely higher than all human relationships. This is the one and only way to bring the Disciples of Christ permanently together – to promote unity within His Holy Body.”

Differences in our backgrounds and personalities frequently cause us not to get along with everyone. That will happen. However, as the Apostle Paul addresses in Romans 12:18: “If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Simply stated, let us press through the hard times with one another in a spirit of peace. God always gives us windows to restore our broken and damaged relationships. Let us watch for them and, “. . . whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.” (Galatians 6:10) Through a spirit of harmony . . . unity . . . accord – we CAN turn our life around. Amen!

Faithfully yours,

+Fr. George Tsahakis

Chancellor

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