Weekly Events

CHRIST IS RISEN!!

MEMORIAL SERVICES

On Sunday, a memorial service will be offered for the repose of the soul of Persefoni “Bessie” Ververis (1 year), Gianni Evangelinellis (4 months) and other family members.

Also the 100 year memorial for the victims of the Pontian Greek Genocide.

The coffee hour is kindly hosted by the Ververis family.

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WEEKDAY SERVICES

Monday, May 20th—Great Vesper Service

at Sts. Constantine & Helen, in Cambridge at 7 p.m.

Tuesday, May 21st—Sts. Constantine & Helen - Div. Liturgy at 8:30 a.m.

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MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

Father Anthony will be available to perform the Trisagia Services at the Woodlawn Cemetery in Everett, on Monday, May 27th from 11:00 a.m.—12:30 p.m. Please inform the Church office.

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SUNDAY SCHOOL GRADUATION

Our Sunday School Graduation will take place on Sunday, June 2, 2019 immediately after the Divine Liturgy.

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APPRECIATION DINNER

Our Annual Appreciation Dinner will be held on Sunday, June 2nd, in the upper hall to thank all those who have helped during the Churches events by offering their Time, Talent and Treasure.

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GREEK SCHOOL GRADUATION 6/09/2019

The PTO Committee and student families will be hosting the coffee hour after the Divine Liturgy the day of the Greek School Graduation, on Sunday, June 09 2019. We need everyone to pitch in to help set up and bring a baked good or dish for the entire community to enjoy. The last day of classes will be on Saturday, June 15th.

Saints and Feasts

May 19

Sunday of the Paralytic

Close to the Sheep's Gate in Jerusalem, there was a pool, which was called the Sheep's Pool. It had round about it five porches, that is, five sets of pillars supporting a domed roof. Under this roof there lay very many sick people with various maladies, awaiting the moving of the water. The first to step in after the troubling of the water was healed immediately of whatever malady he had.

It was there that the paralytic of today's Gospel way lying, tormented by his infirmity of thirty-eight years. When Christ beheld him, He asked him, "Wilt thou be made whole?" And he answered with a quiet and meek voice, "Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool." The Lord said unto him, "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." And straightaway the man was made whole and took up his bed. Walking in the presence of all, he departed rejoicing to his own house. According to the expounders of the Gospels, the Lord Jesus healed this paralytic during the days of the Passover, when He had gone to Jerusalem for the Feast, and dwelt there teaching and working miracles. According to Saint John the Evangelist, this miracle took place on the Sabbath.

May 19

Patrick the Hieromartyr and Bishop of Prusa and His Fellow Martyrs Acacius, Menander, and Polyaenus

Saint Patrick was Bishop of Prusa, a city in Bithynia (the present-day Brusa or Bursa). Because of his Christian Faith, he was brought before Julius (or Julian) the Consul, who in his attempts to persuade Patrick to worship as he himself did, declared that thanks was owed to the gods for providing the hot springs welling up from the earth for the benefit of men. Saint Patrick answered that thanks for this was owed to our Lord Jesus Christ, and explained that when He, Who is God, created the earth, He made it with both fire and water, and the fire under the earth heats the water which wells up, producing hot springs; he then explained that there is another fire, which awaits the ungodly. Because of this, he was cast into the hot springs, but it was the soldiers who cast him in, and not he, who were harmed by the hot water. After this Saint Patrick was beheaded with the presbyters Acacius, Menander, and Polyaenus. Most likely, this was during the reign of Diocletian (284-305).

Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Third Mode. Psalm 46.6,1.
Sing praises to our God, sing praises.
Verse: Clap your hands, all you nations.

The reading is from Acts of the Apostles 9:32-42.

In those days, as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints that lived at Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years and was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed." And immediately he rose. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. Now there was at Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. In those days she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him entreating him, "Please come to us without delay." So Peter rose and went with them. And when he had come, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping, and showing tunics and other garments which Dorcas made while she was with them. But Peter put them all outside and knelt down and prayed; then turning to the body he said, "Tabitha, rise." And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. And he gave her his hand and lifted her up. Then calling the saints and widows he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

Προκείμενον. Third Mode. ΨΑΛΜΟΙ 46.6,1.
Ψάλατε τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν, ψάλατε.
Στίχ. Πάντα τὰ ἔθνη κροτήσατε χεῖρας.

τὸ Ἀνάγνωσμα Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων 9:32-42.

Ἐν ταῖς ἡμεραῖς ἐκείναις, ἐγένετο Πέτρον διερχόμενον διὰ πάντων κατελθεῖν καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἁγίους τοὺς κατοικοῦντας Λύδδαν. Εὗρεν δὲ ἐκεῖ ἄνθρωπόν τινα Αἰνέαν ὀνόματι, ἐξ ἐτῶν ὀκτὼ κατακείμενον ἐπὶ κραββάτῳ, ὃς ἦν παραλελυμένος. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Πέτρος, Αἰνέα, ἰᾶταί σε Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστός· ἀνάστηθι καὶ στρῶσον σεαυτῷ. Καὶ εὐθέως ἀνέστη. Καὶ εἶδον αὐτὸν πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες Λύδδαν καὶ τὸν Ἀσσάρωνα, οἵτινες ἐπέστρεψαν ἐπὶ τὸν κύριον. Ἐν Ἰόππῃ δέ τις ἦν μαθήτρια ὀνόματι Ταβηθά, ἣ διερμηνευομένη λέγεται Δορκάς· αὕτη ἦν πλήρης ἀγαθῶν ἔργων καὶ ἐλεημοσυνῶν ὧν ἐποίει. Ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ἀσθενήσασαν αὐτὴν ἀποθανεῖν· λούσαντες δὲ αὐτὴν ἔθηκαν ἐν ὑπερῴῳ. Ἐγγὺς δὲ οὔσης Λύδδης τῇ Ἰόππῃ, οἱ μαθηταὶ ἀκούσαντες ὅτι Πέτρος ἐστὶν ἐν αὐτῇ, ἀπέστειλαν πρὸς αὐτόν, παρακαλοῦντες μὴ ὀκνῆσαι διελθεῖν ἕως αὐτῶν. Ἀναστὰς δὲ Πέτρος συνῆλθεν αὐτοῖς· ὃν παραγενόμενον ἀνήγαγον εἰς τὸ ὑπερῷον, καὶ παρέστησαν αὐτῷ πᾶσαι αἱ χῆραι κλαίουσαι καὶ ἐπιδεικνύμεναι χιτῶνας καὶ ἱμάτια ὅσα ἐποίει μετʼ αὐτῶν οὖσα ἡ Δορκάς. Ἐκβαλὼν δὲ ἔξω πάντας ὁ Πέτρος θεὶς τὰ γόνατα προσηύξατο· καὶ ἐπιστρέψας πρὸς τὸ σῶμα, εἶπεν, Ταβηθά, ἀνάστηθι. Ἡ δὲ ἤνοιξεν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῆς· καὶ ἰδοῦσα τὸν Πέτρον, ἀνεκάθισεν. Δοὺς δὲ αὐτῇ χεῖρα, ἀνέστησεν αὐτήν· φωνήσας δὲ τοὺς ἁγίους καὶ τὰς χήρας, παρέστησεν αὐτὴν ζῶσαν. Γνωστὸν δὲ ἐγένετο καθʼ ὅλης τῆς Ἰόππης, καὶ πολλοὶ ἐπίστευσαν ἐπὶ τὸν Κύριον.

Gospel Reading

Sunday of the Paralytic
The Reading is from John 5:1-15

At that time, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Hebrew called Bethesda which has five porticoes. In these lay a multitude of invalids, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and troubled the water; whoever stepped in first after the troubling of the water was healed of whatever disease he had. One man was there, who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew that he had been lying there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be healed?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is troubled, and while I am going another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your pallet, and walk." And at once the man was healed, and he took up his pallet and walked.

Now that day was the sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who was cured, "It is the sabbath, it is not lawful for you to carry your pallet." But he answered them, "The man who healed me said to me, 'Take up your pallet, and walk.' "They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Take up your pallet, and walk'?" Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse befall you." The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.

Sunday of the Paralytic
Κατὰ Ἰωάννην 5:1-15

Τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ, ἀνέβη ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα. Ἔστι δὲ ἐν τοῖς ῾Ιεροσολύμοις ἐπὶ τῇ προβατικῇ κολυμβήθρα, ἡ ἐπιλεγομένη Ἑβραϊστὶ Βηθεσδά, πέντε στοὰς ἔχουσα. ἐν ταύταις κατέκειτο πλῆθος πολὺ τῶν ἀσθενούντων, τυφλῶν, χωλῶν, ξηρῶν, ἐκδεχομένων τὴν τοῦ ὕδατος κίνησιν. ἄγγελος γὰρ κατὰ καιρὸν κατέβαινεν ἐν τῇ κολυμβήθρᾳ, καὶ ἐταράσσετο τὸ ὕδωρ· ὁ οὖν πρῶτος ἐμβὰς μετὰ τὴν ταραχὴν τοῦ ὕδατος ὑγιὴς ἐγίνετο ᾧ δήποτε κατείχετο νοσήματι. ἦν δέ τις ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖ τριάκοντα καὶ ὀκτὼ ἔτη ἔχων ἐν τῇ ἀσθενείᾳ αὐτοῦ. τοῦτον ἰδὼν ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς κατακείμενον, καὶ γνοὺς ὅτι πολὺν ἤδη χρόνον ἔχει, λέγει αὐτῷ· θέλεις ὑγιὴς γενέσθαι; ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῷ ὁ ἀσθενῶν· Κύριε, ἄνθρωπον οὐκ ἔχω, ἵνα ὅταν ταραχθῇ τὸ ὕδωρ, βάλῃ με εἰς τὴν κολυμβήθραν· ἐν ᾧ δὲ ἔρχομαι ἐγώ, ἄλλος πρὸ ἐμοῦ καταβαίνει. λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς· ἔγειρε, ἆρον τὸν κράβαττόν σου καὶ περιπάτει. καὶ εὐθέως ἐγένετο ὑγιὴς ὁ ἄνθρωπος, καὶ ἦρε τὸν κράβαττον αὐτοῦ καὶ περιεπάτει. ἦν δὲ σάββατον ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ. ἔλεγον οὖν οἱ ᾿Ιουδαῖοι τῷ τεθεραπευμένῳ· σάββατόν ἐστιν· οὐκ ἔξεστί σοι ἆραι τὸν κράβαττον. ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς· ὁ ποιήσας με ὑγιῆ, ἐκεῖνός μοι εἶπεν· ἆρον τὸν κράβαττόν σου καὶ περιπάτει. ἠρώτησαν οὖν αὐτόν· τίς ἐστιν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ εἰπών σοι, ἆρον τὸν κράβαττόν σου καὶ περιπάτει; ὁ δὲ ἰαθεὶς οὐκ ᾔδει τίς ἐστιν· ὁ γὰρ ᾿Ιησοῦς ἐξένευσεν ὄχλου ὄντος ἐν τῷ τόπῳ. μετὰ ταῦτα εὑρίσκει αὐτὸν ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ἴδε ὑγιὴς γέγονας· μηκέτι ἁμάρτανε, ἵνα μὴ χεῖρόν σοί τι γένηται. ἀπῆλθεν ὁ ἄνθρωπος καὶ ἀνήγγειλε τοῖς ᾿Ιουδαίοις ὅτι ᾿Ιησοῦς ἐστιν ὁ ποιήσας αὐτὸν ὑγιῆ.

Sunday's Sermon

LAST WEEK'S SERMON

MYRRH-BEARING WOMEN

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ

Last Sunday, we commemorated the Myrrh Bearing Women. For a good reason they are called apostles to the apostles. They are the ones who brought the good news of the resurrections to the disciples who were hiding for fear of the Jews.

The Mother of God brings the greatest service to the church. She became the person chosen by God for the incarnation of the Logos of God, the only Begotten Son who came for the salvation of the world. Women followed him everywhere and served him. Mary and Martha were his good friends. We learn from the Gospels that he visited them very often. The women were the ones who were standing at the cross when everybody had left him.

But we also have the negative things that we can see happening among his disciples, whether male or female. For example, in today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles we learn that as the Christian community was growing there was a conflict between those who were Hellenistic and those who were Hebrew over the distribution of food.

Let us remember that among the Disciples of Christ there were also those who were not Israelites. Take for example, the Phoenician woman, who came desiring healing for her daughter. Jesus said about this woman that even in Israel no one had as much faith as her. Also at Pentecost we see many nations present who become Christian when Peter gave his famous speech.

As we can see from the Book of Acts and other events in the history of Christianity, the internal life of the Christians was not always peaceful.

Even today there are many problems in the church, which is the result of the shortcomings that we have in our lives and in our characters. The important thing however is that we need to always strive towards becoming better persons and cultivating an atmosphere of Love around us.

In order to do this, we can focus on two things in particular. The first is the example of the Myrrh bearing women who followed Christ everywhere. The second is an expression that comes to us from the 4th century: “Acquire the spirit of God and many around you will be saved.”

ΚΗΡΥΓΜΑ ΤΗΣ ΠΕΡΑΣΜΕΝΗΣ ΕΒΔΟΜΑΔΑΣ

ΟΙ ΜΥΡΟΦΟΡΕΣ ΓΥΝΑΙΚΕΣ

Αγαπητοί αδελφοί και αδελφές εν Χριστώ

Την περασμένη Κυριακή, γιορτάσαμε τις Μυροφόρες Γυναίκες. Για έναν καλό λόγο αυτές ονομάζονται απόστολοι των αποστόλων. Είναι αυτοί που έφεραν τα καλά νέα των αναστάσεων στους μαθητές που κρύβονταν για φόβο από τους Εβραίους. Κατά τη διάρκεια των αιώνων οι γυναίκες προσπάθησαν να αναγνωριστούν για την υπηρεσία τους στην εκκλησία. Η Μητέρα του Θεού προσφέρει τη μέγιστη υπηρεσία στην εκκλησία. Έγινε το πρόσωπο που επέλεξε ο θεός για την ενσάρκωση του Λόγου του Θεού, του μοναδικού Γεννημένου Υιού που ήρθε για τη σωτηρία του κόσμου.

Οι γυναίκες τον ακολουθούσαν παντού και τον υπηρετούσαν. Η Μαρία και η Μάρθα, ήταν οι καλές του φίλες. Μαθαίνουμε από τα Ευαγγέλια ότι τις επισκεπτόταν πολύ συχνά. Οι γυναίκες ήταν εκείνες που στέκονταν στο σταυρό όταν όλοι τον είχαν αφήσει.

Αλλά έχουμε και τα αρνητικά πράγματα που μπορούμε να δούμε να συμβαίνουν μεταξύ των μαθητών του, ανδρών ή γυναικών. Για παράδειγμα, στο σημερινό ανάγνωσμα από τις πράξεις των αποστόλων, μαθαίνουμε ότι καθώς μεγαλώνει η χριστιανική κοινότητα υπήρξε μια σύγκρουση μεταξύ των ελληνόφωνων πιστών και των πιστών που μιλούσαν εβραικά σχετικά με τη διανομή τροφίμων.

Ας θυμηθούμε ότι μεταξύ των μαθητών του Χριστού υπήρχαν και εκείνοι που δεν ήταν Ισραηλίτες. Ένα παράδειγμα είναι η γυναίκα από τη Φοινίκη της Συρίας που ήρθε ζητώντας θεραπεία για την κόρη της. Ο Ιησούς είπε γι 'αυτή τη γυναίκα ότι κανείς δεν είχε τόσο μεγάλη πίστη όσο αυτή, ακόμη και στο Ισραήλ. Κατά την Πεντηκοστή βλέπουμε πολλά έθνη παρόντα που γίνονται Χριστιανικά όταν ο Πέτρος είχε τη διάσημη ομιλία του.

Ωστόσο, όπως μπορούμε να δούμε από τις πράξεις και άλλα γεγονότα της ιστορίας του Χριστιανισμού, η εσωτερική ζωή των χριστιανών δεν ήταν πάντα ειρηνική. Ακόμα και σήμερα υπάρχουν πολλά προβλήματα στην εκκλησία που είναι το αποτέλεσμα των ελλείψεων που έχουμε στη ζωή μας και στους χαρακτήρες μας. Το σημαντικό όμως είναι ότι πρέπει να προσπαθούμε πάντα να γίνουμε καλύτεροι και να καλλιεργούμε μια ατμόσφαιρα αγάπης γύρω μας.

Για να το κάνουμε αυτό μπορούμε να χρησιμοποιήσουμε δύο πράγματα. Το πρώτο είναι το παράδειγμα των μυροφόρων γυναικών που ακολουθούσαν τον Χριστό παντού. Το δεύτερο είναι η έκφραση που μας έρχεται από τον τέταρτο αιώνα. “Αποκτήστε το πνεύμα του Θεού και πολλοί θα σωθούν γύρω σας”.

Wisdom of the Fathers

In that case [Matt 9:2] there was remission of sins, (for He said, "Thy sins be forgiven thee,") but in this, warning and threats to strengthen the man for the future; "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto you."

St. John Chrysostom

Homily 37 on John 1, 4th Century

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