May 28, 2017 - ies upon the earth, and through them led us all to the true Faith. O Most compas- sionate, glory to You.
WHAT’S THE
WORD?
CREED
The Creed is a concise, undoubted and formal statement of the Christian doctrine bearing the authority of the Church. It is recited as a personal confession of faith by individuals and entire congregations in cases where a statement of belief is required. The Creed came to mean a confession of faith according to the Orthodox teaching and doctrine, the purpose of which is to state articles of faith in a positive manner or to protect against false teachings and heresies. It is believed that the articles of the Creed are authoritative and unshaken, having been issued or having been accepted by the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. For the Orthodox Church the Nicene Creed, which was stated and accepted by the 1st and 2nd Ecumenical Councils, is the only Creed of faith that is used in the Church and it is the only one that is accepted and respected by all Christian Churches.
TO THE
OF POWER r aye
Pr
ORTHODOXFai
PRAYER OF METROPOLITAN PHILARET Lord, give me the strength to greet the coming day in peace. Help me in all things to rely on Your holy will. Reveal Your will to me every hour of the day. Bless my dealings with all people. Teach me to treat all people who come to me throughout the day with peace of soul and with firm conviction that Your will governs all. In all my deeds and words guide my thoughts and feelings. In unexpected events, let me not forget that all are sent by you. Teach me to act firmly and wisely, without embittering and embarrassing others. Give me the physical strength to bear the labors of this day. Direct my will, teach me to pray, pray in me. Amen.
A sincere & heartfelt thank you you to the following clergy and
SUNDAY, MAY 28, 2017 · FATHERS OF THE FIRST COUNCIL
N E E T R O F
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 39
MESSAGE
In this Gospel passage, Christ continually refers to His believers as the ones the Father “gave” Him: “I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are mine.” What does this mean? Are we God’s possessions? Before Jesus came into the world, every human being was a slave. All of us were slaves to sin and death, being controlled by these two fearful and destructive things. But Jesus changed all of that. By His own death on the cross and resurrection from the tomb, He bought us - so to speak - from death. He paid for us with His own precious blood to serve Him instead of death. Does that mean we are God’s slaves? No, for even though we do belong to God through our faith, God Himself has promoted us from slaves to be His very own children. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son…to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive adoption as sons.” So, let’s always try to imitate our God and Father and enjoy the freedom that comes from being His children! Reverend Father Dimitrios Burikas F R . D IMITRIOS
SERVES THE COMMUNITY OF
“T HE P ANAGIA ”, A SSUMPTION ,
IN
C HICAGO , I LLINOIS
are we living in Christ? When we live according to His Gospel and His Church. FROM When For He Himself, and not only His Gospel, is in the Church with all of His perfections
THE
FATHERS
Hierarchs who contributed to the publication of “The Orthodox Faith for Teens”. His Eminence Metropolitan Iakovos of Chicago, His Grace Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos, Fr. George Lamberis, Fr. Thomas Alatzakis, Fr. Christos Mihalopoulos, Fr. Kosmas Kallas, Fr. Tilemahos Alikakos, Fr, Dimitrios Burikas, Fr. Athanasios Papagiannis, Dn. Chris Avramopoulos, Fr. George Pappas, Fr. Dimitrios Tobias, Fr. Christodoulos Margellos, Fr. Nicholas Georgiou, Fr. Panteloeimon Dalianis, Fr. Michael Vanderhoef, Fr. Richard Demetrios Andrews, Fr. Basil Hickman, Fr. David Bissias, Fr. Andrew Karamitos, Fr. Demetrios Kounavis, Fr. Peter Andronache, Fr. Micheal Constantinides, Fr. Tim Sas, Fr. Theologos Pandelis, Fr. George Dokos, Fr. Achilles Karathanos, Fr. Peter Spiro, Fr. Apostolos Georgiafentis, Fr. Sotirios Malamis, Fr. Jim Greaneas, Fr. Panagiotis Boznos, Fr. Athanasios Minetos, Dn. Ted Saclarides, and Fr. Micheal Condos. This will be the last issue of “The Orthodox Faith for Teens” for this Sunday School year. We will begin publishing again in September.
hS
THE
Actions Speak Louder Than Words The Bible passage above (Hebrew 13:7) teaches us that the secret to leading others flows out of the recognition by others of the rightness of the life of the leader. The leader’s life becomes the ‘proof of the pudding,’ as they say. Leaders are to imitate Christ that they may be models for others. Going out on Limb: Extend yourself to people no one spends time with, the people no one really likes. Eat with them in the cafeteria; walk home from school with them; invite them to an activity that your Youth Group may be sponsoring.
PLUG IN
THE
I - SERVE CHALLENGE
and virtues. The Church is the eternally living Body of the God-man Christ. In her we find the medium of the holy mysteries. In her we find the means of holy good deeds. Our Lord Jesus Christ abides inseparable from the Church in this world. He abides with each member of the Church throughout all ages. He has His entire self for us in the Church, and continually gives Himself to us entirely, so that we might be enabled to live in this world as He lived.
St. Justin Popovich, Explanation of I John, 4:9, 17
THIS IS A PUBLICATION OF THE G REEK O RTHODOX
M ETROPOLIS OF C HICAGO D EPARTMENT
OF
R ELIGIOUS E DUCATION
THE
TRUTH
John
17:1-13
At that time, Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work which you gave me to do; and now, Father, you glorify me in your own presence with the glory which I had with you before the world was made. "I have manifested your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world; yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you; for I have given them the words which you gave me, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you did send me. I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are mine; all mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me; I have guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves."
Hebrew 13:7 REMEMBER THOSE
WHO RULE OVER YOU
WHO HAVE SPOKEN THE
WORD OF GOD
LIVES OF Saints
TO YOU,WHOSE
FAITH FOLLOW CONSIDER THE OUTCOME
OF THEIR CONDUCT.
e Sing PRAISES e TO THE Lord HYMN FOR THE SUNDAY OF THE CHURCH FATHERS
You are greatly glorified, O Christ our God, who established our Fathers as luminaries upon the earth, and through them led us all to the true Faith. O Most compassionate, glory to You. Orthodox Christianity is not “works” based. It always takes the grace and will of God to bring about our DID salvation. We do good works KNOW? because it is the outpouring of the joy that we experience through living Christ-centered lives and because it is an expression of righteous living and of love for God and neighbor. There are no “points” earned by doing good works.
YOU
St. Theodosia
VIRGIN MARTYR OF CONSTANTINOPLE COMMEMORATED ON
MAU 29TH
St. Theodosia of Constantinople lived during the eighth century and was born in answer to the fervent prayers of her parents. After their deaths, she was raised at the women’s monastery of the Holy Martyr Anastasia in Constantinople. After distributing what remained of her parental inheritance to the poor, she became a nun. She also used part of the money to commission gold and silver icons of the Savior, the Theotokos, and St. Anastasia.
When Leo the Isaurian ascended the throne, he issued an edict that holy icons be destroyed everywhere. Above the Bronze Gates at Constantinople was a bronze icon of the Savior, which had been there for more than 400 years. In 730, the iconoclast Patriarch Anastasius ordered that the icon be destroyed. The Virgin Martyr Theodosia and other women rushed to protect the icon and toppled the ladder with the soldier who was carrying out the command. The women then stoned Patriarch Anastasius. Emperor Leo ordered the women to be beheaded. St. Theodosia, an ardent defender of icons, was thrown in prison. She was given one hundred lashes a day for over one week. On the eighth day, she was led through the city, being beaten along the way. Ultimately, one of the soldiers stabbed her in the throat with a ram’s horn, and she received the crown of martyrdom. The body of the holy virgin martyr was reverently buried by Christians in the St. Euphemia Monastery in Constantinople, near a place called Dexiokratis. The tomb of St. Theodosia was glorified by numerous healings of the sick. Information and icon from the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese Website
