AUGUST 2010

PRIEST'S MESSAGE

Dear Faithful,

One of the great mysteries of the Orthodox faith is the Holy Trinity. It is called a mystery because it goes beyond human comprehension to say we believe in one God, yet there are three persons in the Godhead. Although it is a mystery much is revealed to us in the Bible, and teachings of the Church. Some of the Saints of the church have given some analogies trying to explain the oneness of God.

Saint Basil of the 4th century explains it this way. He used a brick to define it as one, yet it is made up of three elements. He said that the brick is made of clay, water and heat. Although there are three elements together they are one inseparable unit, and that is the brick.

Saint Patrick described the Trinity by using the Shamrock, the three leaf clover saying that the leaf is one yet it has three cloves, each distinguishable from the other yet one in union.

One of my favorite analogies of the Holy Trinity is by a Saint who describes the Sun as one. The sun gives light, heat and energy, yet it is one sun, with three elements inseparable yet distinct.

The Holy Trinity is One God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit in perfect harmony with each other. There is no supremacy in the Trinity, for all three are equal in essence. Yet they are distinct one from the other. The Old Testament makes many references of the Trinity and in the New Testament Jesus speaks of His Father and the Holy Spirit, and of Himself as one, yet each having a roll in our human history. The Father is the Almighty Creator of all things. The Son is the Savior of the human race, and the Holy Spirit is the Guardian of the Holy Church that was founded by the blood of Christ.

The Trinity is one, inseparable because the Three Persons of the Godhead are in complete cooperation with each other. For instance at Creation the Son and the Holy Spirit was there also in complete harmony. When Jesus the Son became a man in order to save the human race from bondage the Father and the Holy Spirit were there, for Jesus said: "If you see me you see the Father", and now in the age of the Church the Father and the Son are in the Holy Spirit guiding and directing the Church. The Holy Trinity that is revealed to us by the Gospels and by Christ Himself is known to us yet remains a mystery in essence.

We the Orthodox faithful proclaim the One God in Three persons Father, Son and Holy Spirit the Holy Trinity.

Faithfully yours in Christ,

Father Chris

June/July 2010

PRIEST'S MESSAGE

Dear Faithful,

What is Church?
There is much confusion with this question especially for we Orthodox Christians who are so propagandized with television Evangelists saturating the networks, with those who have little knowledge, nevertheless expounding false beliefs that don't belong to the Church, and other denominations who believe that the Bible itself is the Church. So what really is Church and what does it mean?

First, we must understand that the Church was founded by our Lord Himself and that He put down His life for it.

Secondly, we must believe that He established it by selecting His followers to propagate the faith throughout the ages, and we still must believe that He continues to guide His people, imperfect as we are. The fact is that the Church has never faulted from these precepts from the time of Christ and His Apostles to the present day.

Today's problem with many is that they abandoned these facts and claim that the Church is man made with its own laws that were not meant to be what Jesus really intended. This a false notion.

The Church is a community of people who are baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit with the firm belief that Jesus is the Son of God. It is God's established institution on earth directing His people towards heaven. That is the very purpose of the Church. God is perfect, but His people are not. We are sinners and God knows that well, but the naive expect perfection from people who claim to be Christians and therefore think that God's intent of church was despoiled. The key to understanding the Church is to believe that it is perfect.

How do we know of its perfection? In the Gospel it states that when the whole Church comes together to discuss matters of faith and truth that the Holy Spirit will be there also guiding imperfect man. However, it must be the whole church and not 2 part or section of it that gathers. This has prevailed for the first one thousand years while we were one and our beliefs are justified and proven true by the test of time and fire.
We are to be of one mind, one heart, and one understanding of God to know the truth of God. Once we became divided many false teachings have appeared on the scene to such a mass of confusion that here says are all over, and many preach not what the church knows to be true, but what they may think individually to be true and many are led astray. Once a falsehood of God begins it perpetuates itself to a greater blunder.

Our Church and our faith in God is solid because we have not gone astray as tempting it may be by keeping up with modern thought and popular notion, We remain firm that the truth of yesterday is the truth of today and that God is never changing.

God has established His Church and it is through and by the Church that we find truth.

Yours in our Lord,

Father Chris

MAY 2010

PRIEST'S MESSAGE

Dear Faithful:  ARE YOU SAVED?

What if I were to say to you No, you are not saved? What would your reaction be? If you are to take

these words seriously you might faint from fear, my God is this to mean that I will live in hell for all

eternity?
In these latter days all of us hear this phrase, "Are you saved?" it is a good question and indeed we

must wonder and contemplate its meaning. The problem with it, I believe is the unequivocal answer

Yes. It is a problem because for many the answer yes comes as a self-judgment. It often means that

I am saved because I am good, and since I say that I love God and I am a good person therefore I

am saved. We hear many television and radio preachers proclaiming that not only are they saved,

but also that they have saved thousands. Some speak so casually about speaking to someone only

once and because they say they believe in God that he the preacher saved him. This self statement

of being saved could present a great danger to ones soul. Has anyone ever asked you the question?

Often when you are asked if you are saved it implies that the asker is already saved and you have a

problem if you don't give him the right answer. To say that I am saved rings of a touch of arrogance

and pomp. It is as the self-proclaimed "good man" who stood in the back of the temple bragging to

God of his goodness.
As Orthodox Christians what should our response be to "Are you saved?" I believe it should be first

an acknowledgement of who we are before God, "l am a sinner and my hope of salvation is in my

Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.". There is this wonderful story of St. Anthony who spent his whole life

in the desert immersed in prayer and fasting fighting temptations and the devil himself. On his death

bed the devil appears to him and says. "Ah brother Anthony bravo to you for you did beat me." This

was said so that Anthony would be pumped up with pride as if his strength in life was his own and not

given by God. But Anthony in his wisdom of faith responds to the devil "No you are not beat yet, but  by my last breath."

ARE YOU SAVED?

Yours in our Lord Jesus,
Father Chris

Christ Is Risen Today! Xristos Anesti!

PRIESTS MESSAGE:

Kristos Anesti - Christ is Risen. We are again approaching the most marvelous of all events the world has ever known. The Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. No other significant drama of all time is as vital to us human beings as God Himself becoming a man, placing Himself upon the Cross and on the third day rising from the tomb and ascending into heaven. Jesus restores us from the fall and expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise. He builds a bridge from earth to heaven and He Himself is that bridge. Rejoice as you have never rejoiced before for Christ is Risen.

St. Paul when writing to the Christians in Ephesus says to them that they must "put off your old nature which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." These few words, "to be renewed in the spirit of our minds" is the key to the comprehension of the Resurrection. It is the way towards understanding the true meaning when we say that we are to Rejoice, for Christ is Risen.

We may ask ourselves as an Orthodox Christian how am I to find this Grace of understanding? Paul again gives the answer in Ephesians when he says you must no longer live as the heathens do, in the futility of their minds: they are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart...

Therefore, put away falsehood, let everyone speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear.
Remember dear fellow Christians, we were brought with a price, and it was paid for by Christ Himself. As Your Priest I pray that this Pascha be for you the most illuminating and blessed, and that you come to receive the light of Christ in your hearts.

Yours in the Resurrected Lord,

Father Chris

MARCH 2010

Dear Faithful,

One of the modern day Fathers of our Holy Church described the Lenten period as a "Bright Sorrow". This is a most appropriate sense we have when we observe these days preceding Pascha. If we were to be fasting and praying in contemplation of the approaching Resurrection of our Lord, we soon will realize the sorrow of our own sins and transgressions against Him. We see this because we are able to slow down the noise and business of our lives, and finally listen to God's answer to our prayers. How often do we ask "...does God really hear us? ...does he respond to our pleas?...does he care?
The Holy Church gives us answers to these questions and more, it even prescribes a formula to follow as a guide towards communication with our Lord. How can we hear God if we are always fussing with everyday concerns of the world? How can we expect God to intervene in our lives when we insist on our own way? When we stay away from church worship, do not read the Bible, or try to understand the fullness of our faith. Why then do we blame God for not answering our prayers? When in fact He does answer, but we do not slow down to listen.
I believe a good example of this is when we lose someone very dear to us. All of a sudden nothing else in the world matter, and we are forced to slow down and we are forced to glimpse into our own mortality. Then we see for a moment our dependency on God, and we feel Him close at hand.
Lent is somewhat the same. By denying for a time the material world, we are able to grasp the spiritual reality of life. Lent the bright sorrow of standing before the Lord in hope of joyful life with Him. A blessed Lent and Pascha to all.

Yours in our Lord Jesus Christ
Father Chris

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As a convenience, I have posted the schedules for the coffee/Agape hour at the bottom of this page. Please scroll down to view the information. Remember that you can also click on any of the above links for additional information or photos!

YOU'RE INVITED!

To:                   A Grand Banquet
GIVEN BY:    Jesus Christ
WHERE:        Holy Cross Orthodox Church
WHEN:          Every Sunday morning at 9:30 am
DRESS:         Neat and clean
PS :                 Bring a friend

Wow! You're invited to a Grand Banquet! The banquet of all banquets. The Mystical and Divine Liturgy! So, are you going? I know I am.

Very often, we decline invitations given by friends or sometimes even by relatives, because we feel that we may not know anyone there or we just don't feel like going. That is understandable, but this invitation is one which we cannot afford to decline. Why? Well, Christ is expecting you to join Him at His Mystical Supper and invites you to eat and drink with Him.

There are many prayers and concepts in the Divine Liturgy which lead up to this important event which we often remain indifferent to, not understanding their meaning and significance. Because of our lack of knowledge this becomes the obstacle to our full appreciation and understanding of the Divine Liturgy and may be what leads us to decline Christ's invitation.

You may say, how can I attend the Divine Liturgy when I don't understand what is going on? This is a legitimate response but one which will help you to grow spiritually and understand the liturgy better. So, the "CHALLENGE" is how to help. You take this first step in accepting the above invitation and I will promise, through our LOGOS Bulletin, a monthly explanation whose purpose will be to explain and help you understand the meaning and significance behind the mystery of the Divine Liturgy. This coupled with a sincere prayer on your part asking God for patience and enlightenment in understanding the Divine Liturgy, will be adequate and most worthy response to our Lord's invitation.

ENJOY THE BANQUET!!!

The photos, on this page and the following, are a true testament to Faith. For without the love of the Orthodox Faith, and the sacrifices made, none of this would have been accomplished. Our gold dome and inspiring mosaic and icons were donated by some of the faithful of the Holy Cross Parish.

The wooden doors were handcrafted by a prisoner, acquainted and inspired with the church through the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church prison ministry.

We are hoping to have the building project complete by next year, the 25th anniversary of the Church.

COFFEE HOUR 2010

JANUARY                                              JULY
3rd     Toula Diakopoulos                        4™     Niki Michaelides
10th     SamarTawil                                11th      Eleni Arena
17th     Despina Kessler                        18th      Alexandria Schmoeger
24th     Julie Meade                                25th      Veronica Yancewicz
31*      Trini Giagiakos 
 
FEBRUARY                                          AUGUST
7th       Maria Karasaridis                                   1st      Vaso Giannakouros
14th     Despina Mandas                                    8th       Catherine Konstantinidis
21st      loanna Veloudos                                  15th     Valerie LaLima
28th     Evangelia Whelan                                 22nd    Ann Sandor
 29th     Barbara Talleos

MARCH                                                 SEPTEMBER
7th       Sophia Romano                                       5th      Lillian Francis
14th     Lori Panagiotopoulos                            12th    Peggy Feliz
21st      Stephania Porfyris                                19th     Maria Zervakis
28th     Florianna Panteloukas                           26th     Laura Kalogiannis
• 
APRIL                                                 OCTOBER
4th       PASCHA                                               3rd     Sophia Vikos
11th    AnnaSakalis                                        10th     Francis Gallos
18th     Constantina Frangiamone                17th    Kathryn Strysko/ Nancy Gordon
25th     Nellie Negru                                       24th     Kiki Polizos
 31st      Nancy Garbis

MAY 
2nd    Demetra Pavlides                               NOVEMBER
9th      Margareta Dedes                                7th     Vaso Salamouras
16th    Rose Manouvelos                             14th    Helena Martakis
23'"    Eleni Sanflippo                                   21st   Aspasia Hagelthorn
30'"    Eugenia Mitchell                                28th    Sophia Rodrigues

JUNE                                                 DECEMBER
6™    FESTIVAL                                              5th      Laura Veros
13th    Denise Psathas                                 12th    Carlie Feeney
20th    Paraskevi Farganis                           26th    Sunday School
28th    Christina Anagnostou                       26th    Christina Skouloudis

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