Archive for the ‘Orthodoxy’ CategoryThe Facing East Boys Are BackMonday, April 12th, 2010There is a new Facing East podcast up, and we are recording another one tomorrow. Check it out here or download it for free on iTunes. It is a typical episode for us - driving around and talking about random stuff. Golumpki!Saturday, April 10th, 2010I just got back from a fabulous event at the College Of The Holy Cross. Our OCF (Orthodox Christian Fellowship) group there put on a Food Festival featuring Greek, Syrian and Russian food, dancing, and displays about our faith – icons, chant, scripture, etc. There were over eighty people in attendance, including some from other schools (the Assumption OCF came as well). The students did a great job making and getting the food (Catherine’s mother’s golumpkis were out of this world – I love Russian food), decorating the room, putting together the program book, and getting the word out. A nice touch was having it in Loyola Hall, with a great view of the city. Prez Cindy and I represented the Cathedral and are very proud of our kids. The night ended with dancing but before that there was a bittersweet moment. The OCF members presented Christina and Catherine, outgoing co-chairs of the group who are graduating this year, with flowers. More than a few tears were shed at this. “Cat” and “Tina” founded the group in 2007 and made it what it is today. We will all miss them when they graduate next month. They are of course no strangers to our Cathedral – here is a picture, with flowers:
Paschal Reflection From Metropolitan MethodiosMonday, April 5th, 2010Tonight we make our way to the life giving Tomb as did Mary Magdalene, Mary the Mother of James and Salome the “first day of the week after the Sabbath”. We approach not to anoint the Body of Jesus, for we know that it is nowhere to be found. We journey to the Tomb to contemplate the awesome mystery of the Resurrection. As we draw near, we are reminded of what the Risen Lord said to the Myrrh bearing women, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee and there they will see me.” (Mt. 28:10). The Risen Lord tells each of us tonight not to be afraid to be evangelists of His Resurrection. Perhaps as never before, the world needs to hear the message of forgiveness, of hope and joy, and new life! The joyous message of the Resurrection is that the history of humanity has forever been changed. The long reign of sin (and death which is its consequence) was shattered by the triumph of the Cross which revealed the truth about good and evil. Evil never has the last word, because love is stronger than death. Out of the darkness of Golgotha—-out of the Tomb—-the luminous message of hope is proclaimed. Our message to the world must be that voiced by St. Paul, “If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5.17) Jesus directed the Myrrh bearing women to tell His disciples to meet him in Galilee. He tells today’s disciples to meet Him there as well. Our Galilee is located in Boston and in cities throughout the United States and the entire world. We will see the Lord amongst those whom we have ignored—those whom we have abandoned to wallow in poverty and misery, in malnutrition and famine. We will see the Risen Lord among the sick and the suffering, the neglected and rejected, the marginalized and those victimized by crime and violence. We are called to bring the Easter Message to those who have been seduced by the powerful attraction of hedonism and consumerism, and especially to those who are determined to use every means to exclude God from the public sphere and from social conscience. Let us leave the Tomb bearing the Light of Christ to evangelize the world. And our Evangelion, our “good news”, is that Christ opened the gates of Hades and, entering the realm of death, hopelessness and eternal suffering, He conquered death through the power of love. In Hades, the Risen Lord resurrected Adam and Eve and all men and women incarcerated in gloom, despair, and hopelessness. The Risen Savior took them by the hand and freed them from eternal captivity, filling their beings with light. He put the lost sheep upon his shoulders and carried them home. His Holy Cross was the key that opened the door to Paradise. This is the message we must bring to a world which is unable to move beyond what is scientifically verifiable and, as a consequence, finds itself constantly mired in emptiness and misery. Let us proclaim that love has been proven stronger than hatred. That justice, truth, mercy, forgiveness and love prevail in the Faith of the Resurrected Lord. It was at the empty Tomb where God’s power was revealed in weakness, and human sufferings were transfigured by divine Glory. Let us bury all our anxieties and fears, and let us go forth proclaiming the triumph and promise of a new life. Armed with the Light of Christ, let us join the Prophet Isaiah and proclaim boldly “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:55) KouvouklionFriday, April 2nd, 2010We are about a half hour from the afternoon service here on Good Friday but I thought I would put up a picture of the Kouvouklion. The ladies did a great job this morning on it. My camera phone does not do it justice but here it is. Also, you can read Fr. Calivas’s article on Good Friday here.
Holy ThursdayThursday, April 1st, 2010Six-thirty AM liturgy went well this morning – we had the usual big crowd of people coming before work (C-Fahl counted 114 people in my communion line) and we were all done by 8am. Prez and Vaia died eggs at home. I did some visists and heard some confessions, and now onto the evening service. Here is another great article from Fr. Calivas’s Holy Week series on Holy Thursday. Palm Sunday ReportMonday, March 29th, 2010We had a good Palm Sunday at the Cathedral. As usual for a big holiday, we had a huge turnout. Between giving communion and handing out palm crosses I did feel like my hand was going to fall off! The Philoptochos had a bake sale – all those tsourekia and koulourakia that I blogged about last week – and to give you an idea of how quickly things sold, I saw no trace of them by the time I finally left church (admittedly, it took a while to get out). We went afterwards to the Coral to celebrate Vaia’s name day, and as always on Palm Sunday after church the place was filled with parishioners. I took a monster nap after going home and was fresh and ready for the Bridegroom service at night. We had around 100 people at church in the evening – not bad for a traditionally low-attendance service. One new wrinkle that we have added this year is having myrrh-bearers for all three Bridegroom services and not just for Sunday night. You can read Fr. Calivas’s write-up on the these services here. Saturday Of Lazarus And Palm CrossesSaturday, March 27th, 2010The Saturday of Lazarus (great article from Fr. Calivas here) went well at the Cathedral. We had liturgy at 9 followed by several things going on at once – food pantry, choir practice, a Hebrew lesson (I am tutoring one of our college students) and the traditional Sunday School palm cross making. Even Vaia got into the act – she made about ten, with much help from Mr. Constantinou. It was great preparation for her name day. I am looking forward to a joyous Palm Sunday at the Cathedral and then the launching of Holy Week in the evening…
Holy Week ScheduleThursday, March 25th, 2010The Holy Week schedule is up on the Cathedral website in both languages. This was also sent out to everyone on the mailing list this week and was email-blasted today, I believe. Actually, it is more than just the Holy Week schedule because it includes Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday, which fall in the time period between Lent and HW, and the Life-Giving Fountain and Thomas Sunday liturgies, which are during the Easter season. Speaking of Holy Week, our special seminars both went very well – we had a good attendance at both sessions (each seminar was the same but presented twice to give more people a chance to attend). Now, on to the services! Tsoureki HorizonTuesday, March 16th, 2010The Orthodox liturgy, when done well, brings to mind heaven on earth. Part of this is the smell of incense, of course. Well, one could be forgiven for thinking he had entered heaven on earth if he came into the Cotsidas Auditorium today. It was tsoureki baking time, and a force of Philoptochos women, along with some men, spent yesterday and today making 218 tsourekia. The smell was indeed heavenly, even for a gluten-free person like me. Philoptochos president Eleni G. said they will be convening to make more – such is the demand. Here is a photo which is pretty similar to the ones I have put up in years past:
All Aboard!Thursday, March 11th, 2010One of the first grade Sunday School classes recently did a “Name Day Train” project. Each car of the train has a little sign listing major name days for that month. The poster in the back includes quotes from the students about what they think of God. Check it out as you enter the Cathedral from the side door (and yes, that is Vaia in one of the pictures checking out the train
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