Message from Father George

FAITH: MAN’S SYNERGY IN SALVATION

by Hieromonk Gregory from his book: The Orthodox Faith, Worship and Life © 2016 Koutloumousiou Monastery, Mount Athos.

Christ revealed to us the truth about God. John the Evangelist, ‘the one who saw ineffable

revelations, the interpreter of God’s mysteries on high, says: No one has ever seen God. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. (John 1:18) Faith is man’s answer to the revelation concerning God. It is the precondition for attaining eternal life, since this is also the purpose of Christ’s Incarnation: that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) Faith in Christ is “the door and way that leads to life.”

Faith is the unshakeable belief in the existence of things for which we hope. It is the certainty about things that we cannot see with our physical eyes: Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) ‘Faith is when we believe in those things that we do not see, keeping our mind fixed on the trustworthiness’ of God. The truths that Christ revealed to us require faith…for their magnitude far exceeds the paucity of our understanding.’

The Apostle Paul writes that since having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2) Saint John Chrysostom interprets the Apostles words thus: ‘He everywhere refers to both components: His part and our part. That which Christ brings, however, is multifarious and diverse, for he died for us, and reconciled us, and brought us to God, and gave us grace ineffable. But we brought faith only as our contribution. Faith is the synergy of man in the mystery of his Salvation.’ All that God revealed to us cannot be explained by the human mind because ‘our reasoning cannot encompass the magnitude of his dispensations. This must be the work of faith.’ Saint John Chrysostom says: ‘I did not learn to inquire into the essence of God; I learned to believe and not to scrutinize.’ When Christ sent His disciples to preach, He told them: The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16: 16) Faith is the beginning of Salvation and life in Christ. As adults we are led to Holy Baptism through faith and are born in Christ. It is of course self-evident that in the case of those baptized when infants faith follows on from Holy Baptism. To approach the mystery of faith, our guide will be the Creed, or the Symbol of Faith. The Creed sets forth the doctrines of the Church and was compiled by the God-bearing fathers of the first two Ecumenical Councils. Through divine enlightenment the holy Fathers were able to formulate, ‘in few words but sublimely wise’, the true faith of the Church to guide us in our lives and accompany us on the road to Salvation.

Orthodox Christians believe and confess what the Son and the Word of God revealed to us, as interpreted by the holy Apostles and the God-bearing Fathers. ‘As the Apostles have taught, as the Teachers have set forth in dogmas...thus do we believe, thus do we speak.’

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral New Orleans, Louisiana

JULY 12, 2020 — FOURTH SUNDAY OF MATTHEW

Services are closed to the public until further notice but can be viewed online: http://www.facebook.com/HolyTrinityCathedralNOLA/

Sunday, July 12 ~ 8:45 am Orthros, 10:00 am ~ Divine Liturgy Wednesday, July 15 ~ 6:00 pm Bible Study on Zoom Thursday, July 16 ~ 10:00 am Paraklesis Saturday, July 18 ~ 10:00 am VLAD BAPTISM 6:00 pm ~ Great Vespers Sunday, July 19 ~ 8:45 am Orthros 10:00 am ~ Divine Liturgy—FATHERS OF THE FOURTH ECUMENICAL COUNCIL STEPHEN PEPPS 25-YEAR MEMORIAL 50TH ANNIVERSAY BLESSING FOR CORNELIA AND JOHN KONIDITSIOTIS Monday, July 20 ~ 9:00 am Orthros 10:00 am ~ Divine Liturgy—ELIAS THE PROPHET Tuesday, July 21 ~ 6:00 pm Parish Council Meeting on Zoom Wednesday, July 22 ~ 9:00 am Orthros 10:00 am ~ Divine Liturgy—SAINT MARKELLA OF CHIOS DEMETRIOS NICHOLAS SPETSIOTIS 1-YEAR MEMORIAL 6:00 pm ~ Bible Study on Zoom with Presvytera Harriet Saturday, July 25 ~ 10:00 am Philoptochos Board Meeting on Zoom Monday, July 27 ~ 10:00 am Monthly Book Club Meeting on Zoom Wednesday, July 29 ~ Bible Study on Zoom with Presvytera Harriet

SERVICES FROM JULY 23 UNTIL JULY 31 ARE CANCELLED

Please note that Father George will be on vacation from July 23 until July 31. All worship services are cancelled during his absence, including Divine Liturgy on Sunday, July 26. Parishioners are encouraged to view Liturgy from the Atlanta Cathedral at www.atlgoc.org/live-stream.

REMINDER FROM FATHER GEORGE During this time when the Cathedral is closed to the public and services are available through online streaming, parishioners are encouraged to please contact Father George through the Cathedral office at 504-282-0259 or via email at frgwilson@gmail.com should they have any concerns or questions about the Church or the sacraments.

http://www.facebook.com/HolyTrinityCathedralNOLA/mailto:frgwilson@gmail.com

PHILOPTOCHOS COOKBOOK Please send your recipes to Maria Anastasiou at ka5uit@yahoo.com.

Holy Trinity Cathedral Greek Orthodox Community of New Orleans

1200 ROBERT E. LEE BOULEVARD NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA 70122

Very Reverend Father George Wilson, Dean priest@holytrinitycathedral.org

PHONE: (504) 282-0259 FAX: (504) 283-5586

JULY 4 – JULY 10 LIGHT A CANDLE $208 ~ VIRTUAL TRAY $50

mailto:ka5uit@yahoo.com

12η ΙΟΥΛΙΟΣ 2020

ΚΥΡΙΑΚΗ Ε’ ΜΑΤΘΑΙΟΥ

ΤΩΝ ΑΓΙΩΝ ΜΑΡΤΥΡΩΝ ΠΡΟΚΛΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΙΛΑΡΙΟΥ

Ἑωθινόν Ε’

12TH JULY 2020

FIFTH SUNDAY OF MATTHEW THE HOLY MARTYRS PROCLUS AND HILARY Eothion 5

Ἀπολυτίκιον τῆς Ἀνάστασης Ἦχος δ’

Τὸ φαιδρὸν τῆς Ἀναστάσεως κήρυγμα, ἐκ τοῦ Ἀγγέλου μαθοῦσαι αἱ τοῦ Κυρίου Μαθήτριαι, καὶ τὴν προγονικὴν ἀπόφασιν ἀπορρίψασαι, τοῖς Ἀποστόλοις καυχώμεναι ἔλεγον· Ἐσκύλευται ὁ θάνατος, ἠγέρθη Χριστὸς ὁ Θεός, δωρούμενος τῷ κόσμῳ τὸ μέγα ἔλεος.

Ἀπολυτίκιον τῆς Ἁγίας Τριάδας Ἦχος πλ δ’

Εὐλογητὸς εἶ, Χριστὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, ὁ πανσόφους τοὺς ἁλιεῖς ἀναδείξας, καταπέμψας αὐτοῖς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, καὶ δι' αὐτῶν τὴν οἰκουμένην σαγηνεύσας, φιλάνθρωπε, δόξα σοί.

Κοντάκιον

Ἦχος β’ Προστασία τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἀκαταίσχυντε, μεσιτεία πρὸς τὸν Ποιητὴν ἀμετάθετε, Μὴ παρίδης ἁμαρτωλῶν δεήσεων φωνάς, ἀλλὰ πρόφθασον, ὦς ἀγαθή, εἰς τὴν βοήθειαν ἡμῶν, τῶν πιστῶς κραυγαζόντων σοί. Τάχυνον εἰς πρεσβείαν, καὶ σπεῦσον εἰς ἱκεσίαν, ἡ προστατεύουσα ἀεί, Θεοτόκε, τῶν τιμώντων σε.

Resurrection Apolytikion

Tone 4 When the women Disciples of the Lord had learned from the Angel the joyful message of the Resurrection and had rejected the ancestral decision, they cried aloud to the Apostles triumphantly: Death has been despoiled, Christ God has risen, granting His great mercy to the world.

Apolytikion of the Holy Trinity Plagal Tone 4

Blessed are You, O Christ our God, who made fishermen all-wise, sending upon them the Holy Spirit and, through them, netting the world. O Loving One, glory to You.

Kontakion

Tone 2 O Protection of Christians that never falls, intercession with the Creator that never fails, we sinners beg you, do not ignore the voices of our prayers. O good Lady, we implore you, quickly come unto our aid, when we cry out to you with faith. Hurry to intercession, and hasten to supplication, O Theotokos who protect now and ever those who honor you.

http://www.ec-patr.org/gr/typikon/2012/m2012-07.htm

ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΟΣ Ρωµαίους ι΄ 1-10

Ὡς ἐμεγαλύνθη τὰ ἔργα σου Κύριε, πάντα ἐν σοφίᾳ ἐποίησας.

Εὐλόγει ἡ ψυχή μου τὸν Κύριον. Κύριε ὁ Θεός µου, ἐµεγαλύνθης σφόδρα.

Ἀδελφοί͵ ἡ µὲν εὐδοκία τῆς ἐµῆς καρδίας καὶ ἡ δέησις πρὸς τὸν Θὸν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν εἰς σωτηρίαν. Μαρτυρῶ γὰρ αὐτοῖς ὅτι ζῆλον Θεοῦ ἔχουσιν͵ ἀλλ' οὐ κατ' ἐπίγνωσιν· ἀγνοοῦντες γὰρ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ δικαιοσύνην͵ καὶ τὴν ἰδίαν ζητοῦντες στῆσαι͵ τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐχ ὑπετάγησαν· τέλος γὰρ νόµου Χριστὸς εἰς δικαιοσύνην παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι. Μωϋσῆς γὰρ γράφει τὴν δικαιοσύνην τὴν ἐκ τοῦ νόµου ὅτι ὁ ποιήσας ἄνθρωπος ζήσεται ἐν αὐτῇ. Ἡ δὲ ἐκ πίστεως δικαιοσύνη οὕτως λέγει· Μὴ εἴπῃς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου· Τίς ἀναβήσεται εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν; τοῦτ' ἔστι Χριστὸν καταγαγεῖν· ἤ͵ Τίς καταβήσεται εἰς τὴν ἄβυσσον; τοῦτ' ἔστι Χριστὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναγαγεῖν. Ἀλλὰ τί λέγει; Ἐγγύς σου τὸ ῥῆµά ἐστιν͵ ἐν τῷ στόµατί σου καὶ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου· τοῦτ' ἔστι τὸ ῥῆµα τῆς πίστεως ὃ κηρύσσοµεν. Ὅτι ἐὰν ὁµολογήσῃς ἐν τῷ στόµατί σου Κύριον Ἰησοῦν͵ καὶ πιστεύσῃς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς αὐτὸν ἤγειρεν ἐκ νεκρῶν͵ σωθήσῃ· καρδίᾳ γὰρ πιστεύεται εἰς δικαιοσύνην͵ στόµατι δὲ ὁµολογεῖται εἰς σωτηρίαν.

ΤΟ ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΟΝ Ματθαῖον η’ 28-34, θ΄1

Τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ, ἐλθόντος τῷ Ἰησοῦ εἰς τὸ πέραν εἰς τὴν χώραν τῶν Γεργεσηνῶν ὑπήντησαν αὐτῷ δύο δαιμονιζόμενοι ἐκ τῶν μνημείων ἐξερχόμενοι, χαλεποὶ λίαν, ὥστε μὴ ἰσχύειν τινὰ παρελθεῖν διὰ τῆς ὁδοῦ ἐκείνης. καὶ ἰδοὺ ἔκραξαν λέγοντες· τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί, ᾿Ιησοῦ υἱὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ; ἦλθες ὧδε πρὸ καιροῦ βασανίσαι ἡμᾶς; ἦν δὲ μακρὰν ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν ἀγέλη χοίρων πολλῶν βοσκομένη. οἱ δὲ δαίμονες παρεκάλουν αὐτὸν λέγοντες· εἰ ἐκβάλλεις ἡμᾶς, ἐπίτρεψον ἡμῖν ἀπελθεῖν εἰς τὴν ἀγέλην τῶν χοίρων. καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· ὑπάγετε. οἱ δὲ ἐξελθόντες ἀπῆλθον εἰς τὴν ἀγέλην τῶν χοίρων· καὶ ἰδοὺ ὥρμησε πᾶσα ἡ ἀγέλη τῶν χοίρων κατὰ τοῦ κρημνοῦ εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ ἀπέθανον ἐν τοῖς ὕδασιν. οἱ δὲ βόσκοντες ἔφυγον, καὶ ἀπελθόντες εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἀπήγγειλαν πάντα καὶ τὰ τῶν δαιμονιζομένων. καὶ ἰδοὺ πᾶσα ἡ πόλις ἐξῆλθεν εἰς συνάντησιν τῷ ᾿Ιησοῦ, καὶ ἰδόντες αὐτὸν παρεκάλεσαν ὅπως μεταβῇ ἀπὸ τῶν ὁρίων αὐτῶν. Καὶ ἐμβὰς εἰς πλοῖον διεπέρασε καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν πόλιν.

THE EPISTLE Romans 10:1-10

O Lord, your works shall be magnified greatly; You have made all things in wisdom.

Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, You are magnified exceedingly.

Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but it is not enlightened. For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified. Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on the law shall live by it. But the righteousness based on faith says, Do not say in your heart, "Who will ascend into heaven?" (that is, to bring Christ down) or "Who will descend into the abyss?" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach); because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved.

THE GOSPEL Matthew 8:28-34; 9:1

At that time, when Jesus came to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, two demoniacs met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one would pass that way. And behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?" Now a herd of many swine was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him, "If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of swine." And he said to them, "Go." So they came out and went into the swine; and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and perished in the waters. The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, and what had happened to the demoniacs. And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood. And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city.

The Children’s Word is a weekly bulletin for Orthodox Christian young people. Copyright 2020 Alexandra Houck.

Email is orthodoxchildrensword (at) gmail.com. Find it each week at myocn.net.

We grow close to God!

“Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them, for to such is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Mark 10:14

Sunday, July 12, 2020 Volume 8, Issue 28

Growing in the faithGrowing in the faithGrowing in the faithGrowing in the faith Are you still growing? Sometimes, we might think we are pretty much all grown up.

But then, when we look back on it, we know we

weren’t!

We grow in how tall we are, and how much we

weigh, and how much we know, and how much

we can do. But we also grow in our faith too! We

grow in what we know about God and His

Church, too.

In the epistle today, Saint Paul writes to the new

Christians. He writes, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for

Israel is that they may be saved. I bear them witness that they have a zeal

for God, but it is not enlightened.” Saint Paul says that they want to know

more about God, but they don’t know everything yet.

As children, we are like this too! We want to be close to God, but we don’t know

everything yet either. We can try to know more about God by reading the Bible,

reading about the saints, learning from our teachers and learning from our par-

ents. When we learn more about God, we grow closer to Him too, and our Lord

is always ready to draw us closer to Him.

Did you know something? We can always be learning more about God, because

we can never know everything! Even when we are old, we can still try to learn

more. And the good thing is that God always wants us to learn more about Him!

A Ministry of the

Orthodox Christian Network

What’s in an icon?

WORD SEARCH

WORD SEARCH

WORD SEARCH

WORD SEARCH

Can you find

these words in the

jumble?

CHILD

CROSS

ENLIGHTEN

FAITH

GROWING

I LOVE CHRIST

JULITTA

KYRIKOS

LEARNING

MARTYRS

M Z F G H D K H D R I P M J E

S C A T R Y L O P P T L T U V

T U I L R O X I H C S I H L F

E A R I S R W T H D I Y S I W

F O K S K E P I N C R X I T D

V O C D U X E E N M H G E T H

S D H J E K T A U G C K T A S

E D G R F H R P W E E K C R S

E M S O G U E H D F V R S H O

V P V I P E G E U V O O O Y R

Y C L Y H P E U W V L O J B C

R N D Q L I Z Z A X I N Q N H

E D Y D Y Y G H P U Q X P J I

S R Y T R A M H B D X T U B Z

L E A R N I N G A O I N H G C

Here is another icon of Saints

Julitta and Kyrikos. Do you see

how the mother is helping her son

in his Christian faith? Kyrikos is

making the sign of the Cross.

Do you know who taught you to

make the sign of the Cross?

A HAPPY ENDING

SAINTS JULITTA AND KYRIKOS

We celebrate Saints Julitta and Kyrikos on Wed. July 15th (OC: July 28).

Have you ever heard a very sad

story? You’ve probably read a book or watched a movie that started very sad and

maybe ended, “happily ever after.” This week

we hear a story of two saints that really does

end “happily ever after”!

Saint Julitta lived many years ago during the

time when many Christians were hurt and

persecuted and even killed just for being Christians. Julitta lived dur-

ing the time of the emperor Diocletian, the same emperor who killed

Saint George. Julitta’s husband died young, and so Saint Julitta had

to raise her little son, Kyrikos, all by herself. She knew it was her job

to make sure he grew up to be a strong and faithful Christian.

The governor heard that Julitta was a faithful Christian and he wanted

to make an example of her. He took her little three-year-old son,

Kyrikos, and he tried to make her give up on Christ. Kyrikos was a little

boy, but he already knew he loved Christ very much. He told the governor,

“I am a Christian! Give me back to my mother.” This made the governor

very mad. Kyrikos said again, “I love Christ!” Soon, the little boy and his

mother were hurt by the rulers, and they were then killed.

As Christians, we know that that isn’t the end of the story! God rewards

those who love Him and want to be with Him. We know that these special

saints—the faithful mother and faithful son—are with our Lord “happily

ever after.”

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox CathedralNew Orleans, Louisiana1200 ROBERT E. LEE BOULEVARD ( NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA 70122No experience is needed … just a desire to help others because together we are empowered to make a difference for those in need. Please contact Diane Chronis at dianechronis@bellsouth.net or 985-674-2687 to sign-up for this project.SundayBull_07_12_2020.pdf12η ιούλιος 2020ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΟΣΤΟ ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΟΝTHE EPISTLETHE GOSPELMatthew 8:28-34; 9:1