The GREGORIAN
Transcription
The GREGORIAN
The GREGORIAN Q2 2014 OUR HOMAGE TO HIS HOLINESS BASELIOS MARTHOMA DIDYMOS I SEVENTH CATHOLICOSE OF THE EAST IN MALANKARA. A condolence meeting to express our grief and sorrow at the passing away of our Holy Father Mar Baselios Marthoma Didymos I was held in the parish after the Holy Qurbana on 1 st June.2014. Fr. Philipose Philip chaired the meeting. Mr. Ronnie Daniel delivered a thoughtful speech about the Valiya Bava Thirumeni. Trustee Mr. Matt Mathews read a condolence resolution and Secretary Mr. Skaria Koshy seconded and it was approved by all present and the same was forwarded to the Holy Apostolic Synod. Page 1 - Published on Behalf of the Managing committee of the St Gregorios Indian Orthodox Church, Mississauga From the Desk of the Vicar “ GIVE WHAT YOU HAVE”. Proverb.11.25 “Those who help others are helped” One night during the year 1960, an Afro American woman stood beside a Highway in Alabama in a fearsome rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. She flagged a car. When she did, she found a white young man stopping his car, which was quite a surprise for her in those racially charged atmosphere in Alabama. He drove her to safety and helped her to get a taxi and finally she reached her home. She thanked him profusely and took his address. A week later, to the man’s great surprise, a color console T.V. was delivered at his address with a note that read” Thank you for helping me on the High way the other night. The rain had drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Because you came along, I made it to my dying husband’s bedside before he passed away. God bless you for unselfishingly serving others. Mrs. Nat King Cole” Every day opportunities to serve others are coming towards you. Learn to see and seize them. God says” The one who bless others is abundantly blessed. Those who help others are helped”. You should not help others expecting to get something in return. The Bible says” The Lord will bless—and prosper everything you do--- if you obey Him”. Deu . 28. 8-9. So if you want to experience God’s blessings in a major way today, go out to give what you have. Vicar. V. Rev. Ramban Lazarus Corepiscopa. Page 2 - Published on Behalf of the Managing committee of the St Gregorios Indian Orthodox Church, Mississauga Activities of the parish for the 2nd Quarter of 2014 SPIRITUAL ACTIVITIES HOLY WEEK SERVICES. This year the Holy Week Services in the Parish were conducted by Fr. Jacob Philip from Kerala. The Holy Week Services started with the retreat on Saturday 12 th April. Fr Jacob Philip conducted the retreat. Achen explained the details of the manner in which “ the Lent “ is to be observed by the members of the church. The other important services of the Holy Week namely the Palm Sunday , the feast of Passover or Pessaha, Good Friday, Gospel Saturday , culminating with Easter Services were attended by large number of people in the parish. Many members who attended the services confessed that they felt a spiritual awakening and blessed feeling while attending the services. After having conducted the Holy Week Services, Fr Jacob Philip left for New York on April 21 st. ASCENSION DAY Ascension day perunal service was held in the parish on Thursday May 29 th. Holy Qurbana was celebrated by Fr. Philipose Philip on 29th May to commemorate the Ascension Day. PENTECOST DAY Pentecost Day was observed in the Parish on Sunday June 8th. Holy Qurbana was celebrated by Fr. Philipose Philip on Sunday June 8th. APOSTLES”S LENT The Apostles’ Lent began on Monday 16th June and was over by 30th June. On Sunday 29th June H.G. Mar Meletius celebrated Holy Qurbana in the Parish. MONTHLY PRAYER MEETING The prayer meeting for the month of June was held on Saturday 21st June at the residence of Mr. Koshy K Mathew,2257 Malden Court, Mississauga. SUNDAY SCHOOL ACTIVITIES. Thu Sunday School classes were being held regularly in the Parish. Apart from their studies as per Sunday school curriculum, they have actively participated in all parish spiritual events. Highlights from April, May and June On April 19th, after our Easter Holy Qurbana Service, the Sunday School choir performed 2 Page 3 - Published on Behalf of the Managing committee of the St Gregorios Indian Orthodox Church, Mississauga beautiful songs, “Because He Lives” and “On That First Easter”. What a great way for them to celebrate that Christ is Risen! For Mother’s Day on May 11th, Sherin Kalathil and Justin Samuel gave short speeches to show how much we appreciate our mothers. Our choir also performed a song dedicated to all mothers. On June 15th, Aliena Aju recited a short poem and speech in honour of Father’s Day, followed by our choir serenading all fathers. We will enjoy our summer break in July and August. Classes will resume on September 7 th when we begin our new Sunday School year for 2014-15. MGOCSM ACTIVITIES The youth came out to 2 events this year; the first was the MGOCSM Lenten Retreat that took place at the St. Thomas Church on Saturday March 15th, of which 8 youth attended. Our second event was held on Saturday May 31st at Center-Island in Downtown Toronto, of which 10 of our youth came together for a 'Youth Day'. MMVS ACTIVITIES MMVS, as a spiritual organization of the parish, does engage in spiritual pursuits of its own and provide social and cultural services to the members of the parish. Its spiritual pursuits include organizing devotional meetings once in every month where we study, meditate and discuss on different topics selected from the Bible. The topics selected for study invariably are the life and work of important lady characters in the Bible worthy to emulate. The MMVS members actively participate in the church choir and provide their talents to make our service very attractive. We pool our financial resources and give it for charity. We make arrangements for food to all members of the parish on all important perunal days of the parish. VISITS OF BISHOPS/PRIESTS H.G. Youhanon Mar Meletius visited the parish and celebrated the Holy Qurbana on Sun 29 th June Fr. Philipose Philip- Celebrated Holy Qurbana on May 29th, June,1st , June 8th and June 22nd. Fr. Daniel Pullelil. Celebrated Holy Qurbana on June 15th. ADMINISTRATIVE NEWS. Joint meetings of the managing committee, finance committee, and fund raising committees were held on 30th March and 6th April. The recommendations of the finance committees are implemented by the managing committee. Page 4 - Published on Behalf of the Managing committee of the St Gregorios Indian Orthodox Church, Mississauga Vicar V. Rev. Rambachen went to Kerala, for his annual Ayurveda treatment and recuperation, during the last week of May and will be returned during the first week of August 2014. In his absence, Worship Services in the parish were conducted by Fr. Philipose Philip and Fr. Daniel Pullelil in the month of June. OTHER NEWS. Weddings 1) Ms. Susan George, erstwhile member of our parish and Mr. Baby.T. Mathew, member of St. Thomas Indian Orthodox Church, Warren, Michigan were united in holy matrimony on Saturday April 26th.2014.in Mississauga, Toronto. 2) The wedding of Dr. Eva Elizabeth Sunny, daughter of Mr& Mrs. Sunny Mathews , members of our parish with Dr. Dreg Davidson, son of Mr & Mrs. Steve Davidson , Knoxville, Tennesse was solemnized on Saturday 10th May 2014 at Troy, Michigan. U S. 3) The marriage between Mr. Pratap John Mathews, son of Mr. Mathews John and Mrs. Susan Mathews members of our parish, and Ms. Julia Kottayil, daughter of Mr. Francis and Thressia Kottayil members of St. Luke Catholic Parish , Calgary was solemnized in Brampton, Toronto on Monday 30th June. May our Lord shower His abundant blessings, everlasting happiness and marital bliss to the newly married couples. We Wish Them a Long and Happy Married Life. Page 5 - Published on Behalf of the Managing committee of the St Gregorios Indian Orthodox Church, Mississauga Upcoming Events of the Next Quarter. Parish Picnic. The Parish picnic will be held ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 2ND.2014 at 800 LAKEFRONT PROMENADE, EAST OF CAWTHRA. MISSISSAUAGA, SHELTER.B. Keep the day free for a happy meeting and merry making event for all members of the parish. Detail announcement will be made in the parish in due course. Transfiguration Perunal. Transfiguration perunal will be observed in the parish on Wednesday 6th August .2014 and there will be Holy Qurbana in the evening at 7.00PM. Soonoyo Perunal Soonoyo Perunal ( Dormition of St. Mary) is on Friday 15th August 2014 and there will be Holy Qurbana on the same day at 7.00PM. Page 6 - Published on Behalf of the Managing committee of the St Gregorios Indian Orthodox Church, Mississauga Plotting Nicea III Could Be Pope Francis's Masterstroke Meeting the head of the Eastern Orthodox church, the pope set a date for a third historic meeting of Christian factions—a savvy move to control how his successors lead. After all the speculation surrounding Pope Francis’s ability to engineer peace on his big Middle East trip, the biggest news from the visit came from his visit with Patriarch Bartholomew I, the primary leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Not to gloat, but we totally called it. Following the meeting, Bartholomew gave an interview in which he said that he and Francis are planning a gathering in 2025 in Nicea. The purpose of this meeting? “To celebrate together, after 17centuries, the first truly ecumenical synod.” That’s right: another historic meeting in Nicea, the place known as the birthplace of Christianity as we know it today. As every media outlet on the planet reminded us, the original Council of Nicea was held in 325 C.E. in modern-day Iznik, Turkey. It was attended by hundreds of Bishops and produced the Nicene Creed, the formulation of the faith that continues to be used to this day and is often regarded as the definition of Christianity. (Ever attended church and confidently proclaimed, “God from God, light from light, true God from true God…” only to drop your head and mumble through the rest? That was the Nicene Creed you were butchering.) So the date and location are symbolically important. Despite the slight difference in the terminology (the 2025 meeting is a synod, not a council) this is a conscious effort to evoke the idea of a unified church. They want us to think of the Council of Nicea. This is about harkening back to a simpler time, when children knew their place, handwriting mattered, and there was only one united, universal, and apostolic church. Lovely, except that the church was never wholly unified and the Council of Nicea wasn’t a Sunday school picnic. When the first council was called, there was no formal doctrine of the Trinity. Christians might have broadly agreed that Jesus was God, but they disagreed about how and in what sense. The key issue was the relationship of the Son to the Father and whether or not Jesus the Son was made of the same stuff as God the Father. The Nicea III plan is more evidence that Pope Francis is interested more in controlling the direction of church leadership than in micromanaging the lives of the laity. When the council convened, the church was an organizational mess. Attendance was a bit spotty, especially from the Western part of the empire. Even Sylvester, the bishop of Rome, sent two delegates instead of going himself. Those who did attend disagreed with one another. People often talk about there being an Arian party, led by Arius, which thought that the Son was a creature subordinate to the Father, and a Nicene party, which thought that the Son was of the exact same substance as God and existed even before the creation of time. In fact Christianity was eveore divided than that. As Lewis Ayres Page 7 - Published on Behalf of the Managing committee of the St Gregorios Indian Orthodox Church, Mississauga shows in his book Nicaea and its Legacy, there were numerous points of disagreement and dissent. It was less of a duel and more of a WWE-styled battle royale. Much of the theological dispute might seem like hair-splitting, but the stakes were high. According to legend, Nicholas, Bishop of Myra—Santa Claus to you and me—punched out Arius rather than listen to his arguments. This might be why he tends to come and go in the dead of night, rather than stick around for those inevitable family arguments during Christmas lunch. The council concluded with the emperor Constantine insisting that the bishops come to an agreement over the wording of the creed. He wanted peace and harmony, and in this respect he was just another Roman ruler interested in imperial unity. The eventual outcome of the council was that Arius lost by a vote of 318-3. He was denounced as a heretic and the Son was declared to be of the same exact substance (homoousios) as the Father. A clear result, a poetic creed, and most people were happy. That was that. Except that it wasn’t. There was another council 60 years later to fine-tune the wording of the Creed, and Arius and his supporters continued to believe and preach exactly what they thought before. In sum, the Council of Nicea was less about celebrating unity than enforcing theological uniformity. In some ways it’s reassuring: when we disagree about church doctrine we can take comfort in the knowledge that if we’re not resorting to physical violence (looking at you, Santa) we’re coming out ahead. Whatever inaccurate mythology is being promoted in the publicizing of “Nicea III,” it’s clear that this is a stroke of political genius on the part of the leaders of two of the largest denominations in Christendom. Bartholomew said that he and Francis wanted to leave the synod as a “legacy to ourselves and our successors.” Neither are young men, and there’s a strong possibility that they may both be dead by then. This is a bold move. Despite the power and the pageantry, popes struggle with leaving a lasting impact on their churches because, theoretically, their successors can mix things up. By announcing this meeting with such feel-good publicity, they are placing their successors in quite a bind. Even the grouchiest pope will feel compelled to show up. It’s more evidence that Francis is interested more in controlling the direction of church leadership than in micromanaging the lives of the laity. A lot of the buzz surrounding this meeting suggests that Francis is doing more than reforming the Catholic Church; he’s changing the face of Christianity. But one question still needs to be asked: if this synod is, as Bartholomew suggests, a truly ecumenical council, will they be inviting any Protestants? Page 8 - Published on Behalf of the Managing committee of the St Gregorios Indian Orthodox Church, Mississauga ST GREGORIOS INDIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH Place & Time of Worship: First United Church, 151 Lakeshore Road West, Mississauga, ON, L5H 1G3 Time: 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m on Sundays (Holy Qurbana is held in English every alternate Sunday) Vicar: Very Rev Ramban Lazarus O.I.C. Corepiscopa Phone: +1 (905) 393-0639 Email: [email protected] Secretary: Skaria Koshy Phone: +1 (905) 792-9746 Email: [email protected] Treasurer: Matt Mathews Phone: +1 (905) 681-6924 Email: [email protected] Parish Web site: www.stgoc.org Page 9 - Published on Behalf of the Managing committee of the St Gregorios Indian Orthodox Church, Mississauga