Faith, Courage, and Love

On the Third Sunday of Pascha, the Church commemorates the love, courage and faith of the Myrrhbearing Women, who before sunrise on the Day of Pascha, went to the tomb of Christ to anoint His Body. They didn’t take any men with them neither for protection, nor did they even consider how they were going to manage to remove the large stone from the tomb. They only took their faith, their courage and their love. When they arrived at the tomb, they found the stone had already been rolled away, and they found Jesus waiting for them nearby. It turned out they only needed Christ, and they were rewarded by being the first humans to see the Risen Lord.

Today the Church also commemorates the faith, courage and love of motherhood. Like the Myrrhbearing Women, mothers know what needs to be done, and they get it done for the good of the family. Mothers show great courage from the moment of childbirth, willing to face any struggle for the benefit of their children and family. Mothers show great love when they face the daily, sometimes hourly, struggles to remove the rocks and other obstacles that block their families ability to experience the love of Christ. And just like the Myrrhbearing Women, many of our mothers were here in Church this morning, before sunrise, so they could see Christ and bring the good news of His love to their loved ones.

It is no surprise that women were the first to see the resurrected Christ. These were the same women who had been with Jesus and His Disciples all along His journey. Some had spent three years caring, as dedicated women, for the entire company. We sometimes tend to think that Jesus walked around, going from city to city, with just the Twelve. According to the Holy Tradition of the Church, there were always more than than just the Twelve, including many women.

While the Disciples were still hiding in the room “for fear of the Jews”, the women ran to the tomb to do their duty according to their faith. But there is always more than meets the eye, when it comes to the way God works. It was only fitting that women were the first to witness the Risen Lord, since it was a woman who first disobeyed the Lord. In allowing the men to hide in fear, and the women to shine in courage, God show us that women are no less important than men. In fact, God established that women would be the first evangelists in the Church.

Dear St. Nicholas Cathedral Family,

 Christ is Risen!

 We have finished journeying through the Ecumenical Councils of our Church but before we close out this series I want to take the time to bring to light of the most recent Council which was in June of 2016. Before the council happened, in January of 2016, at the invitation of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Primates of the Orthodox Autocephalous Churches and representatives of the local churches (Church of Greece, Church of Antioch, and Church of Poland) was held at the Orthodox Center of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chambésy, Switzerland to finalize the texts for the Holy and Great Council and set the location of Council to Crete, Greece since there were heightened tensions between Russia and Turkey.

I remember when the council was happening many people wondered how this council would affect the grass roots level of the Orthodox Church? How would this affect the average parishioner?  The Topics discussed were Autonomy, Diaspora, Ecumenical Relations, Fasting, Marriage, and Mission. Some of the topics helped open discussion on logistical aspects of the Church and its functioning for example the topics of Autonomy and Diaspora that were discussed. It was especially important to us as parishioners of our Church to discuss and follow the topics of Ecumenical Relations, Fasting, Marriage and mission.

When it came to Ecumenical Relations, meaning how we interact with other Christian Denominations, we have to understand that the Orthodox Church firmly believe that it has a central place in the matter of promoting unity among Christians in the modern world. As a Church we have worked to help restore unity within the Christian Church. While participating in ecumenical relations, it is important to note that the Church never sacrifices Her principles, dogma and tradition.

When the topic of fasting was discussed, they agreed that “cases of physical infirmity or extreme necessity as well as of difficult circumstances, it has preordained an appropriate application of the principle of ecclesiastical dispensation, in accordance with the responsible judgment and pastoral care of the body of bishops in the local Churches. It is left to the discretion of the local Orthodox Churches to determine how to exercise philanthropic dispensation and clemency, relieving in these special cases any “burden” of the holy fasts… not at all diminishing the sacred institution of fasting.” 

In regards to our mission of The Church, “drawing from the foretaste of the Heavenly Kingdom and the principles embodied in the entire experience of the patristic, liturgical, and ascetical tradition shares the concern and the anxiety of contemporary humanity with regard to fundamental existential questions that affect the world today, in its desire to contribute to these issues so that the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7), reconciliation, and love may prevail in the world.”

This council was important to begin unifying our efforts in our mission as a Church and also to be on the same page on these topics that were discussed. While not all the Churches were present, those who were in attendance were grateful for the Great and Holy Council.

With Love in the Lord,

Rev. Fr. Sampson N. Kasapakis

Memorials

8:15 AM Divine Liturgy (Greek) 

Meropi Herodotus - 1 Year

John Karavas - 1 Year

Doris Alta Bookas - 1 Year

Sakelario Koulianos - 2 Years

11:00 AM Divine Liturgy (English)

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