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All Things are Possible to the One Who Believes in Jesus Christ
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Tenth Orthros Gospel
The Reading is from John 21:1-14
At that time, being raised from the dead, Jesus revealed himself to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat; but that night they caught nothing. Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any fish?" They answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, for the quantity of fish. The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his clothes, for he was stripped for work, and sprang into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.
When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish lying on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them; and although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Prokeimenon. Fourth Tone. Psalm 103.24,1.
O Lord, how manifold are your works. You have made all things in wisdom.
Verse: Bless the Lord, O my soul.
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians 2:16-20.
Brethren, knowing that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified. But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we ourselves were found to be sinners, is Christ then an agent of sin? Certainly not! But if I build up again those things which I tore down, then I prove myself a transgressor. For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
6th Sunday of Luke
The Reading is from Luke 8:26-39
At that time, as Jesus arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, there met him a man from the city who had demons; for a long time he had worn no clothes and he lived not in a house but among the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him, and said with a loud voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beseech you, do not torment me." For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him; he was kept under guard, and bound with chains and fetters, but he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the desert.) Jesus then asked him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion"; for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them leave. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. When the herdsmen saw what happened, they fled, and told it in the city and in the country. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told them how he who had been possessed with demons was healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gadarenes asked him to depart from them; for they were seized with great fear; so he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but he sent him away, saying, "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
This Saint was born at Tabatha, near Gaza in Palestine, of pagan parents. Sent as a young man to Alexandria to be educated, he learned the Christian Faith and was baptized. While in Egypt he heard the fame of Saint Anthony the Great, and upon meeting that truly great man, the Father of monks, Saint Hilarion determined to devote himself also to the ascetical life. He returned to Gaza, when, he gave himself over to extreme fasting and unceasing prayer. Because of the miracles which he soon began to work, he found himself compelled by his growing renown to leave Gaza, to escape from the throngs of people coming to ask his prayers. In his journeys he visited Egypt, and came again with longing to the place where Saint Anthony had lived; but he was not able to remain in any one place for long, since despite all his attempts to conceal himself, the light of the grace that was in him could not be hid. After passing through Egypt and Libya, and sailing to Sicily, he came at last to Cyprus, where he ended the course of his life at the age of eighty, in the year 372.
The Seven Youths hid themselves in a certain cave near Ephesus in the year 250, to escape the persecution of Decius. By divine grace, a sleep came upon them and they slept for 184 years, until the reign of Saint Theodosius the Younger, when the doctrine of the resurrection was being assailed by heretics. They then awoke, that is, were resurrected, confirming in the sight of all the bodily resurrection; and again after a short time, by divine command, they reposed in the Lord in the year 434.
Saint Abercius, Bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia in the times of Marcus Aurelius, was adorned with the grace of wonderworking and with apostolic zeal. During a festival in honour of Apollo, the chief deity of Hierapolis, the holy bishop was instructed in a revelation to destroy the idols. He went to the temple by night and overturned the statues of Apollo and the others. When this was discovered, the Saint boldly cried out that the gods, becoming drunk from the wine of the libations offered them, had struck one against another in their confusion. A multitude of furious pagans came to avenge the insult to their gods, but when the Saint cast the demons out of three afflicted young men, fear fell upon the idolaters and they with the whole city became Christian. After many labours, and afflictions, Saint Abercius reposed in peace about the year 167 (or, according to some, 186).
According to some, this Saint was a son of Joseph the Betrothed, born of the wife that the latter had before he was betrothed to the Ever-virgin. Hence he was the brother of the Lord, Who was also thought to be the son of Joseph (Matt. 13: 55). But some say that he was a nephew of Joseph, and the son of his brother Cleopas, who was also called Alphaeus and Mary his wife, who was the first cousin of the Theotokos. But even according to this genealogy, he was still called, according to the idiom of the Scriptures, the Lord's brother because of their kinship.
This Iakovos is called the Less (Mark 15:40) by the Evangelists to distinguish him from Iakovos, the son of Zebedee, who was called the Great. He became the first Bishop of Jerusalem, elevated to this episcopal rank by the Apostles, according to Eusebius (Eccl. Hist., Book II: 23), and was called Obliah, that is, the Just, because of his great holiness and righteousness. Having ascended the crest of the Temple on the day of the Passover at the prompting of all, he bore testimony from there concerning his belief in Jesus, and he proclaimed with a great voice that Jesus sits at the right hand of the great power of God and shall come again upon the clouds of heaven. On hearing this testimony, many of those present cried, "Hosanna to the Son of David." But the Scribes and Pharisees cried, "So, even the just one hath been led astray," and at the command of Ananias the high priest, the Apostle was cast down headlong from thence, then was stoned, and while he prayed for his slayers, his head was crushed by the wooden club wielded by a certain scribe. The first of the Catholic (General) Epistles written to the Jews in the Diaspora who believed in Christ was written by this Iakovos.
These Martyrs contested for piety's sake in the year 524 in Najran, a city of Arabia Felix (present-day Yemen). When Dhu Nuwas, ruler of the Himyarite tribe in south Arabia, and a Judaizer, took power, he sought to blot out Christianity, especially at Najran, a Christian city. Against the counsels of Arethas, chief man of Najran, the city surrendered to Dhu Nuwas, who immediately broke the word he had given and sought to compel the city to renounce Christ. Led by Saint Arethas, hundreds of martyrs, including women, children, and babes, valiantly withstood his threats, and were beheaded and burned. After the men had been slain, all the free-born Christian women of Najran were brought before the tyrant and commanded to abjure Christ or die; yet they rebuked the persecutor with such boldness that he said even the men had not insulted him so contemptuously. So great was their faith that not one woman was found to deny Christ in all Najran, although some of them suffered torments more bitter than most of the men. In alliance with Byzantium, the Ethiopian King Elesbaan liberated Najran from Dhu Nuwas soon after and raised up churches in honour of the Martyrs. Najran became a place of pilgrimage until the rise of Islam a century later. At the end of his life King Elesbaan, who was also called Caleb, retired into solitude as a hermit; he sent his crown to Jerusalem as an offering to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. He also is commemorated on this day as a saint. Saint Arethas' name in Arabic, Harith, means "plowman, tiller," much the same as "George" does in Greek.
These Martyrs were disciples of Saint Paul the Confessor (see Nov. 6). Martyrius was a subdeacon, Marcian a chanter and reader. They were beheaded by the Arians in the year 346. Miracles were wrought at their tomb, and demons were cast out; Saint John Chrysostom began the building of the church in their honour in Constantinople, and it was completed by patriarch Sisinius.
Saint Demetrius was a Thessalonian, a most pious son of pious and noble parents, and a teacher of the Faith of Christ. When Maximian first came to Thessalonica in 290, he raised the Saint to the rank of Duke of Thessaly. But when it was discovered that the Saint was a Christian, he was arrested and kept bound in a bath-house. While the games were under way in the city, Maximian was a spectator there. A certain friend of his, a barbarian who was a notable wrestler, Lyaeus by name, waxing haughty because of the height and strength of his body, boasted in the stadium and challenged the citizens to a contest with him. All that fought with him were defeated. Seeing this, a certain youth named Nestor, aquaintance of Demetrius', came to the Saint in the bath-house and asked his blessing to fight Lyaeus single-handed. Receiving this blessing and sealing himself with the sign of the precious Cross, he presented himself in the stadium, and said, "O God of Demetrius, help me!" and straightway he engaged Lyaeus in combat and smote him with a mortal blow to the heart, leaving the former boaster lifeless upon the earth. Maximian was sorely grieved over this, and when he learned who was the cause of this defeat, he commanded straightway and Demetrius was pierced with lances while he was yet in the bath-house, As for Nestor, Maximian commanded that he be slain with his own sword.
The great earthquake commemorated here took place in 740, during the reign of Leo the Isaurian, the first of the Iconoclast emperors.
As mentioned in the account concerning Saint Demetrius (October 26), this Saint contested during the reign of Maximian, in the year 290.
Message from Metropolitan Alexios
My Beloved Ones,
In this Sunday’s Gospel, we read of a man who is along amongst his friends and neighbors. He begins abandoned as an outcast, imprisoned by the Evil One, but ends as a grateful servant of God, alone singing his praises, while his friends and neighbors have all fled away. It seems that the Evangelist asks, who will we choose to be?
Jesus is passing through the region of Gadarenes, when He encounters a man possessed by demons. St. Luke tells us that this man approached Jesus from among the tombs, and we know from Christ’s encounters with other demoniacs, that such unfortunate persons were often expelled from their communities into cemeteries, or even chained. This was done for the safety of the community, but looking deeper, we can see also a lack of compassion on the part of his family and neighbors. This demoniac may be under the sway of the Evil One’s influence, but who among men is not tempted, or spiritually untouched by weaknesses?
Unlike the self-preservation shown by the townspeople, Christ shows no fear of the demoniac, though the legion of demons clearly fear the God-Man. Christ approaches the man, and sensing that Christ will free the man’s soul of this great burden, the demons ask to instead be expelled into a herd of swine. The rest of the Gospel is well known: how the swine perished, drowning on the bank of a nearby lake; and how the townspeople, alerted by the frightened herdsmen, rushed out to see the former demoniac, now sitting near Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.
The unexpected ending however, is that instead of reacting with wonder or amazement at our Lord’s generosity and fearlessness, the townspeople were terrified, and begged Christ to depart. Surely this miracle was a frightening thing to witness and overhear, but we should ask: are we like the townspeople, who cast off their troubled fellow man, and then fearfully beg the Word of God to depart; or will we instead recognize the miraculous opportunity we have to be made spiritually whole ourselves?
Only through fasting, prayer, and sincere repentance will we be less like the crowd of townspeople, and more like the grateful man, who later followed Christ’s instructions: returning to his home, thanking and praising God. Though in his mission to proclaim Christ, he may have been as alone as he was when he was outcast, he had the satisfaction of knowing that he was now surrounded by the angels and saints. May we too choose to be as brave and fearless, not turning away from God, but instead, praising Him for all the blessings He has brought us in our lives.
+ALEXIOS
Metropolitan of Atlanta
From the Chancellor's Desk
Today, I am blessed to be in New York and participate in the Fall Archdiocese Council Meeting and its subcommittee meetings. Representatives from every Metropolis and the Archdiocese conveyed warm greetings to our faithful in the Atlanta Metropolis. They shared their enthusiasm and support for our labors supporting our Lord's Holy Vineyard. I give thanksgiving to God for these blessings. In turn, I share my appreciation for the support and encouragement of you, our Metropolis co-workers.
Against this immense joy, I convey sad news of the sudden loss from this life yesterday of an exemplary Priest of 50 years, Fr. Petros Kopsahilis. He and Presbytera Christine married the same year as his Priestly Ordination. Together, they served faithfully throughout our Holy Archdiocese for 50 blessed years.
In the Atlanta Metropolis, we are especially grateful and proud that Fr. Petros and Presbytera Christine offered us their best ministry, as Chancellor and Executive Assistant, respectively. As husband and wife, they labored together to serve our clergy and laity, often with limited resources. They welcomed us at the Metropolis Office, and served in an exemplary manner under the auspices of His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios and the Hierarchs of blessed memory before Him. We are indebted to them for their sacrifices and many acts of love and support in serving our Hierarchs, Clergy, and all our parishes and their faithful.
Many clergy and laymen have been touched by Fr. Petros and Presbytera Christine. We now mourn his departure from this life and offer prayers asking for God's strength and mercy for Presbytera Christine and her family.
I often share that Fr. Petros loved and mentored me as my own father did, through his willingness to lift up and encourage me and my family. He was easily approachable. Whether we spoke by phone or in person, he listened attentively and reassured me just as a loving father would do with his son. I am forever grateful for his trust and respect for me and my family. We seek to repay his precious gifts daily by sharing the lessons he taught us with those we encounter and serve.
Fr. Petros' gift of responding to the needs of others with a firm and clear message strengthened and inspired me since the late 80's when I first met him. Lessons he taught have enhanced my service to our Lord and His flock. As I undertake difficult tasks, I recall with confidence his reminder that God is always with us and desires and supports our labors in His behalf. Fr. Petros was a Priest to our Priests, and when he retired in 2003, he continued his service in the manner of our retired clergy's motto: "We are Priests forever!"
I treasure memories of Fr. Petros' thoughtful and direct demeanor as he reassured and guided me. As my Chancellor, his faith and guidance were spiritual balm as I encountered him both prior and during my studies at Holy Cross Seminary. His faithful support continued as I served my first parish and during the transition period when he prepared me to succeed him as Chancellor and serve under His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios. He confided important lessons he had learned as a Priest and husband to help me serve you, our clergy and laity.
I end these words of praise for my beloved brother in Christ with the following epithet that I feel reveals Fr. Petros' lifelong service to our Savior, Christ Jesus: "committed, loyal, encouraging, challenging, forgiving, sacrificing, and merciful." I deeply mourn that he is no longer in our midst, and offer my deepest condolences to Presbytera Christine, Fr. James and Presbytera Vasiliki Rousakis, and their family. At the same time, I rejoice and praise God that Fr. Petros is now a fervent intercessor in our behalf at the throne of God. May his memory be eternal.
[Funeral arrangements: A Trisagion will be held on Wednesday, October 24, 2018, at 7:00 p.m. in the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Tarpons Springs and on Thursday, October 25th, Divine Liturgy at 9:00 a.m. and Funeral at 11:00 a.m. in the Cathedral, celebrated by His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta and local clergy. Interment will be at Curlew Hills Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Holy Trinity Building Fund of Clearwater, Hellenic College/Holy Cross or The Suncoast Hospice. Funeral can be viewed on the St. Nicholas website at www.stnicholastarpon.org.]
+Fr. George Tsahakis
Chancellor
Youth, Education & Hellenic Culture
Happy New Ecclesiastical Year! The 44th Biennial Clergy Laity Congress unanimously passed the NEW Policies for the Safety of Youth and Children! There is a great article on page 12 of the July/August Orthodox Observer explaining the Next Steps in Youth Safety. Please take time to read the article and the new policies since they affect everyone involved in all youth programs.
In Christ,
Monica
The Strategic Plan
FAITH FORUM
Want to learn the latest best practices on how to grow your parish?
How about learning to create a plan for the future of your parish?
How do I fund the essential ministries of my parish and become less dependent on fund raisers?
Have I covered all the significant risks to my parish and what risks go beyond insurance coverage?
Are my religious education programs covering all that they should and are they effective? Is leadership training important to my role in the parish?
If you and your fellow parishioners have ever discussed these topics and you want to learn more, then …
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR MARCH 9, 2019 FROM NOON TO 5PM AT ST. NEKTARIOS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH IN CHARLOTTE, NC
MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW
Take a look at the online portal.
Vist www.atlstrategicplan.org/portal to view a list of the several goals completed in 2017.
Family Life Ministry
The Metropolis of Atlanta’s Family Life Ministry (www.familylifeministry.atlanta.goarch.org) strengthens individuals, families and church families through adaptable programs, blogs and educational materials as a means of fostering connection within our homes and our parishes.
Join Paula and Edna as they discuss the latest book from with FLM, “Woven: An Interactive Book for the Modern Teenage Girl on Orthodox Christianity” with Bobby Maddex from Ancient Faith Ministries.
For more information, or to order "Woven" please visit, woveninhislove.org
We also share with you helpful links from the OCN and the Family Life Ministry of the Metropolis of Atlanta.
Journey of Marriage (Pre-Marital Seminar)
All couples marrying in the Metropolis must attend a Metropolis-sponsored Journey of Marriage seminar prior to their wedding. The couple will present their certificate of completion to their parish priest after the seminar.
To see the full list of seminars in Florida and in our entire Metropolis as more seminars are scheduled please visit: http://www.familylifeministry.atlanta.goarch.org/upcoming-events-2/
Registration is online. Materials costs are included in the registration.
Shop with Amazon, donate to the DRC
Amazon Smile is a program that allows for 0.5% of your eligible Amazon purchase to be donated to the Diakonia Retreat Center (No Added Cost To You). To find our Amazon Smile page, visit https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-2187047.
Keynote Address of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios
At the 44th Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress
“All Things Are Possible to the One Who Believes in Christ”
(cf. Mark 9:23)
Δόξα τῇ ἁγίᾳ καὶ ὁμοουσίῳ καὶ ζωοποιῷ καὶ ἀδιαιρέτῳ Τριάδι, πάντοτε, νῦν καὶ ἀεί, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων.
Glory to the holy and consubstantial, and life giving, and undivided Trinity, always, now and forever and to the ages of ages.
1. With this expression of doxology and thanksgiving to God, we are together again in our 44th Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress. We focus on the theme of this congress, which is, “All Things Are Possible to the One Who Believes in Christ”, as we prepare to deal with the challenges that we face as the Greek Orthodox Church in America, the Eparchy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the West. Our theme is based on the words of the Lord, If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes (Mark 9:23), Who also added: Truly I say to you if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed you will say to this mountain “move from here to there”, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible to you (Matthew 17:20-21). We have been together in Clergy-Laity Congresses since the year 2000 in Philadelphia and then in succession in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Washington, Atlanta, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Nashville, and now in Boston, the place of education and democracy.
We express also our wholehearted thanksgiving to His All Holiness our Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for his warm love and abundant blessings, for his very inspirational message that we just heard and for sending to us the distinguished Hierarchs: Metropolitan Apostolos, Geron of Derkoi, and Metropolitan Maximos of Selyvria to represent him at this Congress. Profound thanks belong also to His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios of Boston, the gracious host of this 44th Congress and the people of this Metropolis who offer such an outstanding hospitality.
2. In the period between our last Clergy-Laity Congress in Nashville 2016 up to today, we have had a number of events worth mentioning, but allow me for brevity of time to limit myself first to remember our brothers and sisters that have passed away during this period.
We had the passing of three prominent hierarchs of our Archdiocese, namely, Metropolitan Iakovos of Chicago, and Metropolitan Philotheos of Meloa. A few days ago, Bishop Iacovos of Catania also passed away. In addition, we had the passing of 29 priests and 24 presvyteres of our Archdiocese. We also had quite a number of members from Archdiocesan organizations that joined the Church Triumphant and are no longer with us. So, we count 4 members from the National Board of the Ladies Philoptochos Society, 53 members of Leadership 100, and 61 Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Order of St. Andrew. May their memory be eternal, and may they rest in peace and joy in heaven, in the company of the saints and the righteous.
At the same time, we were blessed with the election of the new Metropolitan of Chicago in the person of Archimandrite Nathanael Symeonides, and with many ordinations to the diaconate and to the priesthood. Thus, we had 30 ordinations to the diaconate, and 35 ordinations to the priesthood. During the same period, 16 of our priests retired, 12 clergymen were incardinated to our Archdiocese from various jurisdictions and 8 clergymen were released.
3. As we all know, the major issue that occurred during this period were the difficulties and problems at the Archdiocese and at the building of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at the World Trade Center.
We have been harmoniously working together in our Greek Orthodox Archdiocese for almost 20 years. During these years, we have encountered—in executing our sacred work—joy, love, harmony, achievement, and unity, but also sadness, hardship, distancing, and apathy. As members of the Orthodox Church, which is the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27), we have worked with most sincere dedication in the course of promoting in America the Orthodox Christian Faith, and the universal values of the Hellenic Tradition, as well as having the unique honor of being the living and dynamic presence of our Ecumenical Patriarchate in the Western Hemisphere. During this same period, we gratefully ascertained the fact that, by the grace of God, significant and verifiable progress has been realized in many areas of our Archdiocese.
There have appeared, however, since the 2016 Clergy-Laity Congress in Nashville, unexpected serious economic difficulties and problems and organizational inefficiencies for which we genuinely and deeply regret.
For me, personally as Archbishop, after a long 19-year experience of serving here, and for the entire faithful of the Archdiocese, this dire situation caused truly unbearable pain. This pain resulted from the fact that in spite of the sincere and unselfish offering of work done by many people, we suddenly found threatening before us an extremely difficult and really unacceptable situation. I am truly and deeply sorry for the disappointment, sorrow, frustration and pain that this unfortunate situation brought upon each and every member of our precious and beloved Archdiocese. And I am still refusing to accept and justify the stopping of the building of St. Nicholas. To stop the building of a church, truly monumental and highly symbolic universally for Orthodoxy as is St. Nicholas at Ground Zero is really unthinkable. Tragically, this unthinkable happened.
4. Confronted by this situation of our Archdiocese, we immediately started taking appropriate measures for corrections. Most important among them was a thorough and in depth auditing by external special firms of the finances and management policies and procedures of the Archdiocese and separately of the finances related to the St. Nicholas building activities. As a result of these measures we have already seen—and are continuing to see—positive outcomes, thus gaining better perspectives for future developments. A very important part of correcting these previous inadequacies and deficiencies is the much better arrangement and systemic enhancement of the administrative and financial management of the Archdiocese. We are going to dedicate special time to discuss all relative issues in the forum that will follow this afternoon.
But before that, I would like to publicly express our gratitude to the members of the Executive Committee of our Archdiocesan Council, both our Metropolitans, and our lay people, and particularly, the officers of the Archdiocesan Council. They did an amazing work, offering a huge number of daily and nightly hours in order to make sure that proper procedures and measures are established. I feel it my duty at this point to mention the three officers of the Council, i.e. the Vice-Chair Archon George Tsandikos, the Treasurer Archon Michael Psaros, and the Secretary Dr. Cathy Walsh. In addition to them, sincere thanks are due to the financial committee of the Archdiocesan Council, presided over by His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios of Boston, and chaired by Archon Lou Kircos with the constant assistance of the highly specialized in managerial and auditing affairs Mrs. Elaine Allen, to the Chancellor of our Archdiocese Bishop Andonios of Phasiane, and to the CFO of our Archdiocese Fr. Soterios Baroody. Profound gratitude belongs also to you, clergy and laity brothers and sisters, representing all of our parishes. In spite of the vicious propaganda by enemies of the Church to stop you from offering your regular stewardship allocation to the Archdiocese, you not only continue your important regular allocation but a significant number of you covered partially or entirely in advance the stewardship for the entire year 2018. Such an astonishing dedication reveals the high human and faith quality of our own people like you, which radically differs from the distancing, apathy and even enmity expressed by some individuals. We also thank the numerous people who offered their unselfish and continuous services related to the building of St. Nicholas at the World Trade Center.
Having in mind the picture of what happened and the correcting measures related to it, let us now proceed with the challenges that are confronting us, as we continue our sacred mission of Orthodox presence and witness in the United States.
5. Challenges are not unknown to our Orthodox Christian Church. Please remember what happened to the Early Church at its very beginning. The first Christians in the Apostolic times were a minority of a minority in their era and world; only the 12 Apostles with a small number of people. They did not have any types of schools or seminaries as it so happened with its contemporary Judaism. They did not have strong financial resources. They faced, almost immediately, persecution. For the first three centuries, the early Christians were confronted not only by the reality of persecution, but also with the challenge of overcoming their need for survival and making Christianity a universal religion destined to embrace the whole of humanity.
As we know, what followed after the first three centuries, and the possibility given to Christians to freely practice their faith, was an exponential expansion of the Christian Church all over the world. But here again, in spite of astonishing progress, the Church faced serious challenges; heresies and schisms. The Ecumenical Councils and the local synods, as well as the unique wealth of the writings of the great Church Fathers and theologians are eloquent witnesses of the magnitude and the seriousness of the challenges. Needless to say that persecutions of the Christians continued to occur frequently throughout history reaching the truly unbelievable number of 30 million martyrs only during the 20th century.
Since we are an integral part of the Orthodox Church, we are now facing our own portions of challenges.
6. Challenge 1: The non-stopping change in everything. It is well known that changes happened throughout history. In today’s era, however, changes do not occur every century or every year, or even every month. They occur every hour. Communications, a basic function of human life, have become a matter of electronic media, texting has replaced fully articulated dialogue, knowledge and information has become an issue of googling, twitter and Facebook. The degree of irresponsible, distorted and falsified usage of language and communication has reached such a point of radical change and disconnection from the truth that sociologists and historians say that we have entered in a new era, the post-truth era. Basic institutions like family have been radically altered. A recent statistic, for instance, states that today we have in the United States 21 million children of only one parent. Even shopping is going through a complete transformation dominated by Amazon and online activities. Lifestyles are more and more determined by the lifestyles of various celebrities, regardless of norms of elementary ethics. This whole situation creates a sense of instability and of inability to plan and program things since often times before putting a plan into action the conditions related to it have already changed.
7. Challenge 2: Economic pressure and poverty. Economic pressure and poverty are universal phenomena with serious consequences not unknown to us. For instance, the need for adequate income causes people to work in two professions, in essence pushing family life to a marginal status. We have the sad experience of many family problems being caused by financial pressures. On the other hand, we face phenomena like human trafficking or slavery involving 35 million women and children who are objects of financial labor and pleasure exploitations due to extraordinary conditions of poverty. Certainly, poverty, along with its accompanying consequences, one of them being violence, cannot be ignored by us. And of course, the economic factor has been central as a challenge to our Archdiocese, as we are confronted by the complicated economic difficulties that we experienced in the last year.
8. Challenge 3: Disconnecting from the Church. It has been noticed that in America, but much more so in Europe, the major Christian denominations are losing people. Roman Catholic and Protestant communities, with a few exceptions, see their membership diminishing. People are not becoming atheist or agnostic, but rather they simply do not want to be connected any longer to any organized religious body. We also, as Orthodox Church, are affected by this phenomenon to a certain degree. There are parishes in our Orthodox Church in which this disconnecting attitude occurs. In our case, this happens particularly with a number of mixed marriages and among the young adults. People disconnecting from the Church is an alarming challenge not to be overlooked. Added to some changing demographic conditions, this disconnecting attitude might lead small parishes to extinction.
9. Challenge 4: Attacks against the Christian Faith. The attacks, frequently violent, against the Christian Faith and the proliferation of many religions like Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and other religio-cultural variations are a major challenge. Atheism today is not what it used to be 30 or 40 years ago. On the other hand, religions other than Christian are becoming more militant and aggressive, not passive and neutral as in the past. Young people of our Faith frequently tell us that in their colleges and universities there are classes and courses in which the presentation and promotion of anti-Christian ideas is a common practice, parallel to the proliferation of ideologies hostile to Christianity and to religions replacing Christianity. Not to speak about what is happening in the press, with social media, television, and with movies and shows in terms of presenting inaccurate views and distorted information about articles of faith, and which even deal with Christianity in sarcastic, humiliating, and ridiculing ways and language.
10. In order to successfully confront the aforementioned challenges, we have to undertake a number of important tasks. First, we have to become fully aware of where we are and what we are. What our parishes are today are not the same as when they were initially founded by first generation immigrants who came mostly from villages and towns, having a homogenous population with an Orthodox and Hellenic identity. The churches that our pioneer ancestors created here were originally something similar to what they had left in their place of origin, namely, Orthodox ecclesiastical institutions serving their practical needs, i.e. liturgies, baptisms, weddings, funerals, memorials, etc. In addition, their parishes were places of tremendous social and psychological support and strength in an effort for survival in a new land of which most of them did not even know the language.
Now we are in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and even 6th generation. The current conditions need parishes which are not self-limited closed entities serving elementary religious needs and merely supporting survival. Thanks to the grace of God and to the hard work of our pioneer ancestors, we are now beyond the language of survival. The conditions now require a form of a parish whose members, a) have a strong consciousness of an Orthodox identity and ethos, which make them different from our fellow Americans with whom, however, they fully share the big benefits and advantages of being citizens of this blessed country, and b) have an awareness that they have been called to an apostolic mission of sharing the truth, the light, the joy, and the peace of the Gospel with the non-Orthodox people, with whom they live in the same location or elsewhere. Such a strong consciousness of Orthodox Christian identity and full awareness of apostolic mission require proper cultivation, education, and methodical training.
11. Facing these grave situations and responsibilities, we urgently need the development of programs:
a) First, there is a need to develop programs for an adequate and attractive adult education related to the Orthodox Christian Faith. How many of our parishes have established such programs? The great Apostle Paul writing to the Philippians at the end of his life, declared that now his urgent purpose was to learn Christ, and the power of His resurrection, and to share in His Passion (cf. Phil. 3:10), clearly indicating that there is no ending in learning the inexhaustible wealth of faith in Christ. Learning Orthodoxy is a matter of a continuous never ending education. This is what the great Fathers of the Church did for the faithful of their time on a continuous, non-interrupted daily basis.
b) Next to developing programs for an Orthodox adult education, there is a greater need to seriously review what we do in introducing our children and young people to Orthodoxy as a Faith, as a lifestyle and as a superb cultural gift.
Children’s introduction to Orthodox Christianity is a big priority for us. Properly developed and applied relevant programs, not only cover a vital need, they are also a strong antidote to some of the challenges which we mentioned before. Needless to say, that what frequently happens in our parishes, namely, to offer the session of the introduction to Faith at a time parallel to the Divine Liturgy, needs thorough revision. Such a practice deprives the children from attending the Divine Liturgy and creates a childless liturgical congregation which is not good.
It is obvious that in our Church in America the activities and programs related to Orthodox religious education need review, strengthening and enhancing. When, following objective statistics, 45% of the members of our Greek Orthodox population have at least one University or College degree, which means that they are advanced in education and knowledge, we cannot have limited knowledge of our Faith, or even sometimes exhibit an Orthodox illiteracy. When the parents are deficient in terms of Orthodox knowledge, what then will happen to their children? The necessity of dealing systematically and intensely with issues of proper Orthodox training and education for adults and for children constitute an urgent priority. In this case today, we are in an advantageous position because plenty of Orthodox Educational material and relevant resources are available. The question is if and how we use them.
12. An equally urgent priority is the issue of dealing with the challenge of people disconnecting themselves from the Church and gradually distancing or even cutting themselves off. The number of these people in our case might be relatively small compared to major Christian denominations here and in Europe. The phenomenon, however, cannot be ignored, and the fundamental questions cannot be avoided, namely, what is the cause of distancing and disconnection? A central answer may be the dissatisfaction with the function and activities of a parish, or that the parish has nothing else to offer in terms of participatory engagement except the Sunday liturgy. Thus, here the question arises: What can be done in order to improve the life and activities of a parish?
There are parishes in which we notice an ongoing task to have as many parishioners as possible involved in various activities or special projects. In my numerous visits throughout the country, I have encountered parishes which have developed various activities for the parishioners, especially for young adults. There must be a way for the proliferation of all relevant information. In this case, philanthropic tasks on a wide spectrum, special cultural events and athletic opportunities for the young, in addition to the annual festival, could also become instrumental in keeping the people connected to the Church. The care for involving members of mixed marriages is another opportunity with great potential, especially since disconnection occurs frequently with mixed marriage families.
13. There is an open field inviting all of us to work together in order to confront all challenges and to respond to the call of the Lord Who says to us: As the Father has sent me, even so I send you (John 20:21). This sacred task is certainly exciting but not easy. Even our present financial and administrative difficulties play a very challenging role. An equally very challenging role in our sacred task is the necessity to continue immediately the building of St. Nicholas. But we are not an organization, a club, a corporation, or even a fraternity. We are the people of God, we are His Church, we are the believers in Christ. Our theme for this 44th Clergy-Laity Congress is, “All things are possible to the one who believes in Christ” (Mark 9:23). All things are possible to us who believe in Christ including any challenge, including any social, cultural, psychological or financial problems or even provocations coming from the contemporary world. This remains true for us presuming that we are following the line of action of our God and Lord Jesus Christ, Who started and continued to the end His saving ministry by proclaiming the Gospel, by teaching and by healing (Matt. 4:23). Proclaiming the Gospel, teaching the truth revealed by Christ and healing the suffering is our mission and our strategic plan for the present, the future and forever.
Thus, facing reality, we certainly are in a position to say along with St. Paul, I know how to be abased and I know how to abound, in any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. I can do all things in Christ and with Christ Who strengthens me (Philip. 4:12-13). Truly, “All things are possible to the one who believes in Christ”.
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