THE LIGHT MARH 2020 2020.pdfΗ ευχή του Αγίου Εφραίμ του Σύρου Η φι...
12
Put Christ first because He puts us first, and let nothing deter us from loving Him. St. Cyprian of Carthage Saints and Feasts of the Month March 8 Sunday of Orthodoxy March 15 St. Gregory Palamas March 22 Sunday of the Holy Cross March 25 Annunci- aon March 29 Sunday of John Climacus THE LIGHT MARCH 2020 VOLUME 27 ISSUE 7 From the desk of Fr. John Marriage Marriage was not invented or instuted by Christ. The Lord, however, gave a very spe- cific meaning and significance to human marriage. Following the Old Testament Law, but going beyond its formal precepts in His messianic perfecon, Jesus taught the uniqueness of human marriage as the most perfect natural expression of God’s love for men, and of his own love for the Church. According to Christ, in order for the love of a man and woman to be that which God has: perfectly created it to be, it must be unique, indestrucble, unending and divine. The Lord himself has not only given this teaching, but he also gives the power to fulfill it in the sacrament of Chrisan marriage in the Church. In the sacrament of marriage, a man and a woman are given the possibility to become one spirit and one flesh in a way which no human love can provide by itself. In Chrisan marriage the Holy Spirit is given so that what is begun on earth does not “part in death” but is fulfilled and connues most perfectly in the Kingdom of God. For centuries there was no parcular rite for marriage in the Church. The two Chris- ans expressed their mutual love in the Church and received the blessing of God upon their union which was sealed in the holy eucharist of Christ. Through the Church’s for- mal recognion of the couple’s unity, and its incorporaon into the Body of Christ, the marriage became Chrisan; that is, it became the created image of the divine love of God which is eternal, unique, indivisible and unending. When a rite was developed in the Church for the sacrament of marriage, it was paerned aſter the sacrament of bapsm-chrismaon. The couple is addressed in a way similar to that of the individual in bapsm. They confess their faith and their love of God. They are led into the Church in procession. They are prayed over and blessed. They listen to God’s Word. They are crowned with the crowns of God’s glory to be his children and witnesses (martyrs) in this world, and heirs of the everlasng life of his Kingdom. They fulfill their marriage, as all sacraments are fulfilled, by their recepon together of holy communion in the Church. There is no “legalism” in the Orthodox sacrament of marriage. It is not a juridical con- tract. It contains no vows or oaths. It is, in essence, the “bapzing and confirming” of human love in God by Christ in the Holy Spirit. It is the deificaon of human love in the divine perfecon and unity of the eternal Kingdom of God as revealed and given to man in the Church. According to the Orthodox teaching, only one marriage can contain the perfect mean- ing and significance which Christ has given to this reality. Thus, the Orthodox Chrisan tradion encourages widows and widowers to remain faithful to their spouses who are dead to this world but alive in Christ. The Orthodox tradion also, by the same princi- ple, considers temporary “living together,” casual sexual relaons, sexual relaons with many different people, sexual relaons between members of the same sex, and the breakdown of marriages in separaon and divorce, all as contrary to the human perfec- on revealed by God in Christ. Through penance, however, and with the sincere con- fession of sins and the genuine promise of a good life together, the Orthodox Church does have a service of second marriage for those who have not been able to fulfill the ideal condions of marriage as taught by Christ. It is the pracce of the Church as well not to exclude members of second marriages from the sacrament Connued on page 8
Transcript of THE LIGHT MARH 2020 2020.pdfΗ ευχή του Αγίου Εφραίμ του Σύρου Η φι...
Put Christ first because He puts us first and let nothing deter us from loving Him St Cyprian of Carthage
Saints and Feasts of the Month
March 8 Sunday of Orthodoxy
March 15 St Gregory Palamas
March 22 Sunday of the Holy Cross
March 25 Annunci-ation
March 29 Sunday of John Climacus
THE LIGHT MARCH 2020 VOLUME 27 ISSUE 7
From the desk of Fr John
Marriage Marriage was not invented or instituted by Christ The Lord however gave a very spe-cific meaning and significance to human marriage Following the Old Testament Law but going beyond its formal precepts in His messianic perfection Jesus taught the uniqueness of human marriage as the most perfect natural expression of Godrsquos love for men and of his own love for the Church According to Christ in order for the love of a man and woman to be that which God has perfectly created it to be it must be unique indestructible unending and divine The Lord himself has not only given this teaching but he also gives the power to fulfill it in the sacrament of Christian marriage in the Church In the sacrament of marriage a man and a woman are given the possibility to become one spirit and one flesh in a way which no human love can provide by itself In Christian marriage the Holy Spirit is given so that what is begun on earth does not ldquopart in deathrdquo but is fulfilled and continues most perfectly in the Kingdom of God For centuries there was no particular rite for marriage in the Church The two Chris-tians expressed their mutual love in the Church and received the blessing of God upon their union which was sealed in the holy eucharist of Christ Through the Churchrsquos for-mal recognition of the couplersquos unity and its incorporation into the Body of Christ the marriage became Christian that is it became the created image of the divine love of God which is eternal unique indivisible and unending When a rite was developed in the Church for the sacrament of marriage it was patterned after the sacrament of baptism-chrismation The couple is addressed in a way similar to that of the individual in baptism They confess their faith and their love of God They are led into the Church in procession They are prayed over and blessed They listen to Godrsquos Word They are crowned with the crowns of Godrsquos glory to be his children and witnesses (martyrs) in this world and heirs of the everlasting life of his Kingdom They fulfill their marriage as all sacraments are fulfilled by their reception together of holy communion in the Church There is no ldquolegalismrdquo in the Orthodox sacrament of marriage It is not a juridical con-tract It contains no vows or oaths It is in essence the ldquobaptizing and confirmingrdquo of human love in God by Christ in the Holy Spirit It is the deification of human love in the divine perfection and unity of the eternal Kingdom of God as revealed and given to man in the Church According to the Orthodox teaching only one marriage can contain the perfect mean-ing and significance which Christ has given to this reality Thus the Orthodox Christian tradition encourages widows and widowers to remain faithful to their spouses who are dead to this world but alive in Christ The Orthodox tradition also by the same princi-ple considers temporary ldquoliving togetherrdquo casual sexual relations sexual relations with many different people sexual relations between members of the same sex and the breakdown of marriages in separation and divorce all as contrary to the human perfec-tion revealed by God in Christ Through penance however and with the sincere con-fession of sins and the genuine promise of a good life together the Orthodox Church does have a service of second marriage for those who have not been able to fulfill the ideal conditions of marriage as taught by Christ It is the practice of the Church as well not to exclude members of second marriages from the sacrament Continued on page 8
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
8 9am Orthros Divine Liturgy Sunday of Orthodoxy 5pm Pan-Orth Vespers RICHMOND
9 10 11 9am Presanctified Divine Liturgy
12 13 7pm Salutations 2nd Stanza
14
15 9am Orthros Divine Liturgy St Gregory Palamas Philoptochos Luncheon
16 17 18 9am Presanctified Divine Liturgy
19 20 7pm Salutations 3rd Stanza
21
22 9am Orthros Divine Liturgy Sunday of the Holy Cross
23 24
25 9am Divine Liturgy The Annunciation
26 27 7pm Salutations 4th Stanza
28 430pm Mill Park Terrace Luncheon
29 9am Orthros Divine Liturgy St John Climacus
30
31
1 9am Presanctified Divine Liturgy
2 3 7pm Akathist
4
5 9am Orthros Divine Liturgy St Mary of Egypt Philoptochos General Meeting
6 7 8 9am Presanctified Divine Liturgy
9 10 Oratorical Festival
11 9am Learning Liturgy Pancake Breakfast Folding Palms CleaningDecorating Church
March 2020 April 2020
Page 2 T h e L i g h t
Upcoming Events
April 12mdashPalm Sunday amp Fish Luncheon April 12mdash18 HOLY WEEK Stay tuned for service and activity times April 19mdashEASTER MAY 15-17mdashSPRING GREEK FESTIVAL May 24mdashSunday School Graduation
For our Greek Readers
Page 3 T h e L i g h t
Η ευχή του Αγίου Εφραίμ του Σύρου
Η φιλαρχία Πνεύμα φιλαρχίας Φαίνεται παράξενο πως η αργία και η λιποψυχία είναι ακριβώς εκείνα που γεμίζουν τη ζωή μας με τον πόθο της φιλαρχίας Μολύνοντας όλη μας την τοποθέτηση απέναντι στη ζωή κάνοντας την άδεια και χωρίς νόημα μας σπρώχνουν νrsquo αναζητήσουμε αντιστάθμισμα σε μια ριζικά λανθασμένη στάση απέναντι στα άλλα πρόσω-πα Αν η ζωή μου δεν είναι προσανατολισμένη προς τον Θεό αν δεν σκοπεύει σε αιώνιες αξίες αναπόφευκτα θα γίνει εγωιστική και εγωκεντρική πράγμα που σημαίνει ότι όλοι οι άλλοι γίνονται τα μέσα για τη δική μου αυτοϊκανοποίη-ση Αν ο Θεός δεν είναι ο laquoΚύριος και Δεσπότης της ζωής μουraquo τότε το εγώ μου γίνεται ο κύριος και δεσπότης μου γίνεται το απόλυτο κέντρο του κόσμου μου και αρχίζω αν εκτιμώ καθετί με βάση τις δικές μου ανάγκες τις δικές μου ιδέες τις δικές μου επιθυμίες και τις δικές μου κρίσεις Έτσι η επιθυμία της φιλαρχίας γίνεται η βασική μου αμαρτία στις σχέσεις με τις άλλες υπάρξεις γίνεται μια αναζήτη-ση υποταγής τους σε μένα Δεν είναι πάντοτε απαραίτητο να εκφράζεται η φιλαρχία μου σαν έντονη ανάγκη να δια-τάζω και να κηδεμονεύω τους laquoάλλουςraquo Μπορεί επίσης να εκφράζεται και σαν αδιαφορία περιφρόνηση έλλειψη ενδιαφέροντος φροντίδας και σεβασμού Και είναι ακριβώς η laquoαργίαraquo μαζί με τη laquoλιποψυχίαraquo που απευθύνονται αυτή τη φορά προς τους άλλους έτσι συμπληρώνεται η πνευματική αυτοκτονία με την πνευματική δολοφονία Η αργολογία Τέλος είναι η αργολογία Απrsquo όλα γενικά τα δημιουργήματα μόνον ο άνθρωπος προικίστηκε με το χάρισμα του λόγου Όλοι οι Πατέρες βλέπουν σrsquo αυτό το χάρισμα την ακριβή laquoσφραγίδαraquo της θείας εικόνας στον άνθρωπο γιατί ο ίδιος ο Θεός αποκαλύφθηκε σαν Λόγος (Ιωαν 11) Αλλά όντας ο λόγος το ύψιστο δώρο έτσι είναι και ο ισχυρότερος κίνδυνος Όπως είναι η κυρίαρχη έκφραση του αν-θρώπου το μέσο για την προσωπική του πλήρωση για τον ίδιο λόγο είναι και το μέσο για την πτώση του για την αυτοκαταστροφή του για την προδοσία και την αμαρτία Ο λόγος σώζει και ο λόγος σκοτώνει ο λόγος εμπνέει και ο λόγος δηλητηριάζει Ο λόγος είναι το μέσο της Αλήθειας αλλά είναι και μέσο για το δαιμονικό ψέμα Έχοντας μια βασικά θετική δύναμη ο λόγος έχει ταυτόχρονα και μια τρομακτικά αρνητική Ο λόγος δηλαδή δημιουρ-γεί θετικά ή αρνητικά Όταν αποσπάται από τη θεία καταγωγή και το θείο σκοπό του γίνεται αργολογία laquoΕνισχύειraquo την αργία τη λιποψυχία και τη φιλαρχία και μετατρέπει τη ζωή σε κόλαση Γίνεται η κυρίαρχη δύναμη της αμαρτίας Αυτά τα τέσσερα σημεία είναι οι αρνητικοί laquoστόχοιraquo της μετάνοιας Είναι τα εμπόδια που πρέπει να μετακινηθούν Αλλά μόνον ο Θεός μπορεί να τα μετακινήσει Ακριβώς γιrsquo αυτό και το πρώτο μέρος της προσευχής αυτής είναι μια κραυγή από τα βάθη της καρδιάς του αβοήθητου ανθρώπου Στη συνέχεια η προσευχή κινείται στους θετικούς σκοπούς της μετάνοιας Η Σωφροσύνη Σωφροσύνη Αν δεν περιορίσουμε ndashπράγμα που συχνά και πολύ λαθεμένα γίνεται- την έννοια της λέξης laquoσωφροσύνηraquo μόνο στη σαρκική σημασία της θα μπορούσε να γίνει κατανοητή σαν το θετικό αντίστοιχο της λέξης laquoαργίαraquo laquoΑργίαraquo πρώτα απrsquo όλα είναι η αδράνεια τα σπάσιμο της διορατικότητας και της ενεργητικότητάς μας η ανικανότητα να βλέπουμε καθολικά σφαιρικά Επομένως αυτή η ολότητα είναι το εντελώς αντίθετο από την αδρά-νεια Αν συνηθίζουμε με τη λέξη σωφροσύνη να εννοούμε την αρετή την αντίθετη από τη σαρκική διαφθορά είναι γιατί ο διχασμένος χαρακτήρας μας πουθενά αλλού δεν φαίνεται καλύτερα παρά στη σαρκική επιθυμία που είναι η αλλο-τρίωση του σώματος από τη ζωή και τον έλεγχο του πνεύματος Ο Χριστός επαναφέρει την laquoολότηταraquo (τη σωφροσύ-νη) μέσα μας και το κάνει αυτό αποκαθιστώντας την αληθινή κλίμακα των αξιών με το να μας οδηγεί πίσω στο Θεό Η Ταπεινοφροσύνη Ο πρώτος και υπέροχος καρπός της σωφροσύνης είναι η ταπεινοφροσύνη Πάνω απrsquo όλα είναι η νίκη της αλήθειας μέσα μας η απομάκρυνση του ψεύδους μέσα στο οποίο ζούμε Μόνο η ταπεινοφροσύνη είναι άξια της αλήθειας μόνο μrsquo αυτή δηλαδή μπορεί κανείς να δει και δεχτεί τα πράγματα όπως είναι και έτσι να δει το Θεό το μεγαλείο Του την καλωσύνη Του και την αγάπη Του στο καθετί Να γιατί όπως ξέρουμε ο Θεός laquoυπερηφάνοις αντιτάσσεται ταπει-νοίς δε δίδωσι χάρινraquo Συνέχεια από τη σελίδα 3 Η Υπομονή Μετά τη σωφροσύνη και την ταπεινοφροσύνη κατά φυσικό τρόπο ακολουθεί η υπομονή Ο laquoφυσικόςraquo ή laquoπεπτωκώςraquo άνθρωπος είναι ανυπόμονος γιατί είναι τυφλός για τον εαυτό του και βιαστικός στο να κρίνει και να καταδικάσει τους άλλους Με διασπαρμένη ατελή και διαστρεβλωμένη γνώση των πραγμάτων
Συνέχεια στη σελίδα 7
Συνέχεια από την έκδοση του περασμένου μήνα
Parish Council
Page 4 T h e L i g h t
Gamal has asked me to help him out with this monthrsquos column for the Parish Council as they have been busy preparing the church for Easter and the Spring Greek Festival (more on that on page 8) With all the hustle and bustle we need all of you to support your church community Please refer to the calendar for opportunities to participate not only in church services but in functions to grow our community Speaking of functions we will be hosting our 10th Annual Paschalino Glendi as you can see from the ad below The schedule for Holy Week is posted on page 11 and will be on our website as well Easter is a time of renewal and spiritual growth that cannot be achieved if you are not in church to receive Christrsquos blessing
As Gamal generally concludes with sayings prayers or blessings of the Church Fathers I have tried to find something that fits his style with a focus on the Lenten season I hope you enjoy my choices as much as you enjoy his ~ Eleni
1 Another old man came to see one of the Fathers who cooked a few lentils and said to him ldquoLet us say a few pray-ersrdquo and the first completed the whole Psalter and the brother recited the two great prophets by heart When morning came the visitor went away and they forgot the food Fasting here witnesses that the true nourishment of Christians is prayer and meditation on the word of God not the eating of food
2 A brother said to an old man ldquoThere are two brothers One of them stays in his cell quietly fasting for six days at a
time and imposing on himself a good deal of discipline and the other serves the sick Which one of them is more acceptable to Godrdquo The old man replied ldquoEven if the brother who fasts six days were to hang himself up by the nose he could not equal the one who serves the sickrdquo Here we learn that love is above fasting that we must not presume to put our fasting above ldquothe more excellent wayrdquo the ldquonew commandmentrdquo to love one another
Philoptochos
Page 5 T h e L i g h t
The Ladies Philoptochos sends you greetings as we begin Lent In February we had a membership tea with fantastic speakers from the Hope House Empower House Spotsylvania Social Services and the Healthy Generations Area Agency It was wonderful to hear about the community services available and how the funds we donate assist such im-portant missions We also learned about the resources available to maintain independence in retirement and services provided to elderly in need Please turn in your 2020 membership forms to any Philoptochos member if you have
not done so already Itrsquos never too late to join
Our chapter sponsored a regional Philoptochos workshop on Satur-day February 29th Philoptochos chapters from Maryland and throughout Virginia were present along with Eleni Constantinides President of the Me-tropolis of NJ Philoptochos and the Metropolis of NJ Board Items dis-cussed at the meeting included the roles and responsibilities of members of our executive boards elections membership social media social services and a wonderful speaker on human trafficking enlightened
us on the scope of this issue I hope everyone had a lovely time meeting our Philoptochos sisters from other chapters as well as the Metropolis of NJ Board A special thanks goes to all the ladies in our chapter for hosting such a spectacular event A delicious breakfast and luncheon was served by our chapter Thank you to all the ladies that assisted in the preparation set-up and clean up for the event It was a tremendous honor to be selected to host the event and I heard many wonderful com-ments of appreciation by those in attendance
Thank you to those members who provided dinner to residents at Mill Park Terrace on February 22nd Our monthly meals are appreciated by deserving folks at Mill Park The next visit to Mill Park will be on Saturday March 28th Please see myself or Maria Y if you are interested in assisting
Our Agora Craft and Food Festival was on Saturday March 7th from 10-3pm All proceeds are to support our philan-thropic efforts Savory Greek dishes and delectable pastries were available for those who chose to come out An as-sortment of craft vendors were also present We enjoyed seeing all of you there supporting the Ladies Philoptochos Thank you for inviting family and friends to come and visit We look forward to sharing pictures with you next month
The Ladies will be hosting a luncheon after church service on March 15th We will also be serving the residents at Mill Park Terrace on March 28th Otherwise baking days will be forthcoming in preparation for Pascha and the upcoming Greek Festival in May I will keep you informed of dates as I receive them Our next general meeting will be on April 5th
During this time of Lent let us reflect on our faith with prayer fasting confession and forgiveness Be more mindful of the way we speak behave think and treat others Offend less forgive more Speak less listen more Humble our-selves and let the love and light of Christ shine though us I wish all my family at the NTGOC a blessed Lenten journey with grace as we prepare for Holy Pascha
In Christ Verilee Vasilakos
True fasting lies in rejecting evil holding onersquos tongue suppressing onersquos hatred and banishing onersquos lust evil words lying and betrayal of vows ~St Basil the Great
Page 6 T h e L i g h t
Dance
Dance practices will be April 3 19 26 and May 1 9 amp 10 after liturgy
Youth News
St John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival The oratorical festival is once more upon us Michael Euripides is once again chairing this program for the children The local ora-torical festival will be hosted on April 10 and will be followed by a Lenten potluck dinner If you are willing to either judge or coach the speeches please see Mike This is a wonderful tradition in our church and a great opportunity for our youth to deepen their understanding of their faith
Bookstore
The Bookstore is preparing for Easter In addition to our normal inventory we are accepting special orders for items through March Please note the Bookstore will NOT be carrying red egg dye
If you are interested in having your baptismal or wedding candles dec-orated please contact us for more information
Thank you ~ Monica Hicks
Happy Name Day Χρονια Πολλα
Happy Name Day to all of those celebrating their feast this month To name a fewhellip Evdokia Maria Theodora Leandros Gregory Christodoulos Chrysanthos Lydia EvangellosEvangellia AlexiosAlexia
Sunday School
Sunday School graduation will be May 23 No classes will be held on April 19 (Easter) and May 17 (Spring Festival)
April 11 is the Saturday of Lazarus and all Sunday School Students are invited to participate in our annual Learning Liturgy where Fr John will explain the parts of the Liturgy as it is being conduct-ed After the service there will be the traditional Lenten breakfast folding of the Palm Crosses for Palm Sunday and the cleaning and decorating of the church
Camp Good Shepherd Our faithful readers will likely remember a piece shared in our September issue about Camp Good Shepherd from one of our parish youth For those already considering how their children will be oc-cupied this summer please consider Camp Good Shepherd in your plans Camp Good Shepherd Virginia will be hosting campers from July 5-11 this summer stay tuned for more details
of holy communion if they desire sincerely to be in eucharistic fellowship with God and if they fulfill all other conditions for participation in the life of the Church Because of the realization of the need for Christ in every aspect of human life and because as well it is the firm Christian conviction that nothing should or even can be done perfectly without Christ or without his presence and power in the Church by the Holy Spirit two Christians cannot begin to live together and to share each otherrsquos life in total unitymdashspiritually physically intellectually socially eco-nomicallymdashwithout first placing that unity into the eternity of the Kingdom of God through the sacrament of marriage in the Church According to the Orthodox teaching as expressed in the sacramental rite of mar-riage the creation of children and the care and love for them within the context of the family is the normal fulfillment of the love of a man and woman in Christ In this way marriage is the human expression of the creative and caring love of God the perfect Love of the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity which overflows in the creation and care for the world This conviction that human love imitative of divine love should overflow itself in the creation and care for others does not mean that the procreation of children is in itself the sole purpose of marriage and the unique and exclusive justification and legitimization of its existence Neither does it mean that a childless couple cannot live a truly Christian life together Life is a journey ndash a difficult and complex journey And marriage is one way of trav-
eling ndash indeed of enjoying and not simply enduring ndash this journey through sharing
Yet the goal of the journey lies ahead the significance of the sacrament lies in the
Kingdom It is this Kingdom for which we truly hope and which is our true home
Miscellany Continued from page 1
Miscellany
Page 7 T h e L i g h t
που έχει μετράει τα πάντα με βάση τις δικές του προτιμήσεις και τις δικές του ιδέες Αδιαφορεί για τον καθένα γύ-ρω του εκτός από τον εαυτό του θέλει η ζωή του να είναι πετυχημένη τώρα αυτή τη στιγμή Η υπομονή βέβαια είναι μια αληθινά θεϊκή αρετή Ο Θεός είναι υπομονετικός όχι γιατί είναι laquoσυγκαταβατικόςraquo αλλά γιατί βλέπει το βάθος όλων των πραγμάτων γιατί η εσωτερική πραγματικότητά τους την οποία εμείς με την τυφλότητά μας δεν μπορούμε να δούμε είναι ανοιχτή σrsquo Αυτόν Όσο πιο κοντά ερχόμαστε στο Θεό τόσο περισσότε-ρο υπομονετικοί γινόμαστε και τόσο πιο πολύ αντανακλούμε αυτή την απέραστη εκτίμηση για όλα τα όντα πράγμα που είναι η κύρια ιδιότητα του Θεού Η Αγάπη Τέλος το αποκορύφωμα και ο καρπός όλων των αρετών κάθε καλλιέργειας και κάθε προσπάθειας είναι η αγάπη Αυτή η αγάπη που όπως έχουμε πει μπορεί να δοθεί μόνο από το Θεό είναι το δώρο που αποτελεί σκοπό που α-ποτελεί σκοπό για κάθε πνευματική προετοιμασία και άσκηση Η υπερηφάνεια Όλα αυτά συγκεφαλαιώνονται στην τελική αίτηση της προσευχής του Αγίου Εφραίμ με την οποία ζητάμε laquohellipδώρησαί μοι τοῦ ὁράν τά ἐμά πταίσματα καί μή κατακρίνειν τόν ἀδελφόν μουhellipraquo Εδώ τελικά δεν υπάρχει παρά μόνο ένας κίνδυνος η υπερηφάνεια Η υπερηφάνεια είναι η πηγή του κακού και όλο το κακό είναι η υπερηφάνεια Παρrsquo όλα αυτά δεν είναι αρκετό για μένα να βλέπω τα laquoἐμά πταίσματαraquo γιατί ακόμα και αυτή η φαινομενική αρετή μπορεί να μετατραπεί σε υπερηφάνεια Τα πατερικά κείμενα είναι γεμάτα από προειδοποιήσεις για την ύπουλη μορφή ψευτοευσέβειας η οποία στην πραγ-ματικότητα με το κάλυμμα της ταπεινοφροσύνης και της αυτομεμψίας μπορεί να οδηγήσει σε μια πραγματικά δαι-μονική υπερηφάνεια Αλλά όταν βλέπουμε τα δικά μας σφάλματα και δεν κατακρίνουμε τους αδελφούς μας όταν με άλλα λόγια η σωφροσύνη η ταπεινοφροσύνη η υπομονή και η αγάπη γίνονται ένα σε μας τότε και μόνο τότε ο αιώνιος εχθρός ndashη υπερηφάνεια- θrsquo αφανιστεί μέσα μας π Αλέξανδρος Σμέμαν από το βιβλίο laquoΜεγάλη Σαρακοστήraquo εκδόσεις laquoΑκρίταςraquo Υποσημειώσεις 1) Κάθε φορά που λέμε ένα στίχο της ευχής του Οσίου Εφραίμ κάνουμε μία μεγάλη μετάνοια Σύνολο τρεις Όταν τελειώσουμε αυτές κάνουμε δώδεκα μικρές μετάνοιες λέγοντας σε καθεμία από αυτές laquoΟ Θεός ἱλάσθητί μοι τῶ ἁμαρτωλῷ καί ἐλέησόν μεraquo Στο τέλος επαναλαμβάνουμε άλλη μία φορά τον τελευταίο στίχο της ευχής (Ναι Κύριε Βασιλεύ) και πραγματοποιούμε άλλη μία μεγάλη μετάνοια (Ωρολόγιον το Μέγα εκδ Αποστολική Διακονία 2003)
2) Ο συγγραφέας μεταφράζει από το ελληνικό κείμενο τη λέξη laquoπεριέργειαraquo με την αγγλική λέξη faint-heartedness που σημαί-νει λιποψυχία δειλία
Note form the Stewardship Chair Dr Yvonne Athanasaw
Update on Database We are on our way to gathering information about each of our parishioners to better know our family Dr Athanasaw is in the process of taking photos of our parishioners after Liturgy for the database She will also be meeting with each family to ensure we collect all the pertinent information such as birthdays wedding anniver-saries ministries talents etc
Gift of Time We are gearing up for the festival We will need all hand- on deck as much as possible Please reach out to our Parish Council president Gamal who can direct you to those festival committee chairs who are looking for volunteers
Gift of Treasurer To keep the parishioners informed of the financial stewardship status we will update the graph below to show the progress toward the $110000 budgeted stewardship estimate that the parishioners approved on Jan-uary 26 To put this into perspective to meet this goal the average total monthly stewardship contributions should be approximately $9176
To ensure that parishioners have a variety of options to contribute towards the stewardship goal there are two addi-tional options besides via personal check Now parishioners can set up an account and donate via credit card or through electronic bank check To set up an account and pay through these options go to abundantcontgocaccountregister These options are especially beneficial during times of travel vacations and Sunday work schedules
March Greek Festival Check List
As you can see the Festival committee is already working hard to bring our annual Spring Festival to frui-
tion We are in the Paschal season and much of our focus is on how we will survive another 30 or so days without meat and picking which services we can fit into our busy schedules Many of you may be doing the same when you are considering the festivalmdashtrying to see if you can possibly come out to help on Friday Saturday or Sun-day perhaps not even considering the prep days leading up to that weekend Hopefully you are strengthening your soul through fasting and attending as many of these beautiful services as you can so you can truly reflect on this questionmdashWhat if Christ only made as much time for you as you make for Him and His church
NTGOC Book Club
We hope you enjoyed or at least looked into last monthrsquos recommended reading This month brings some fresh recommendations focused on preparing you for your Lenten journey
Mount Athos The Highest Place on Earth Metropolitan Nikolaos of Mesogia
Great Week and Pascha in the Greek Orthodox Church Alkiviadis C Calivas
On the Path of Salvation with Christ from the Nativity to the Resurrection Archbishop and Metropolitan Nicolae Our first two texts (pictured) are available on Amazon the third text seems to be available only in Fr Johnrsquos library Please reach out to him if you are interested in reviewing Archbishop and Metropolitan Nicolaersquos text
Did you enjoy any of the previous recommendations Do you have a book or two you would like to recommend Are you searching for a good book on a particular topic or saint Let us know newsletterntgocorg
Page 8 T h e L i g h t
Miscellany
Greek Festival
March Tasks
Task Status
Greek Band lodgingdeposit Under contract
Contact Stage company In Progress
Contact Health Department Assigned
Contact Spotsy Police for overnight security In Progress
Contact waste company for Dumpsters Assigned
Order Banners In Progress
Contact Bounce house Assigned
Contact Face Painter Assigned
Contact Fire Inspector Assigned
Apply for ABC license Assigned
Apply for County Safety licenses Assigned
Evaluate current Flyer and Menu In Progress
Inventory paper goods In Progress
Evaluate last yearrsquos growth and determine ingredients to buy In Progress
Evaluate which menu items to increase price In Progress
Design amp order tote bags sports bottles amp stadium cups Completed
Contact Tent amp Chair Company Under contract
Recruit Volunteers In Progress
Η ζωή στο σπίτι κατά τη διάρκεια της Μεγάλης Τεσσαρακοστής
Στις Σαρακοστές καλό είναι να γνωρίζεις μόνο εκκλησία και σπίτι τίποτrsquo άλλο Φτάνεις λοιπόν στο σπίτι Τί θα κάνεις εκεί Θα αγωνιστείς μrsquo όλη σου τη δύναμη να διατηρήσεις την προσήλωση του νου και της καρδιάς στον Κύριο Αμέ-σως μετά την εκκλησία τρέξε στο δωμάτιό σου και κάνε αρκετές μετάνοιες ζητώντας ευλαβικά από τον Θεό να σε βοηθήσει ώστε να αξιοποιήσεις το χρόνο της παραμονής σου στο σπίτι με τρόπο ωφέλιμο για την ψυχή σου
Ύστερα κάθησε και ξεκουράσου για λίγο Αλλά και τότε μην αφήνεις τους λογισμούς σου να ξεστρατίζουν Διώχνοντας κάθε σκέψη επαναλάμβανε νοερά την ευχή ldquoΚύριε Ιησού Χριστέ ελέησόν με Κύριε Ιησού Χριστέ ελέησόν μεrdquo Αφού ξεκουραστείς πρέπει νrsquo ασχοληθείς με κάτι είτε προσευχή είτε εργόχειρο Τι εργόχειρο θα κάνεις δεν έχει ση-μασία∙ ξέρεις ήδη τι σου αρέσει Είναι βλέπεις αδύνατο να ασχολείσαι όλη την ώρα με πνευματικά πράγματα∙ χρειά-ζεται να έχει και κάποιο ευχάριστο εργόχειρο
Μrsquo αυτό θα καταπιάνεσαι όταν η ψυχή σου είναι κουρασμένη όταν δεν έχεις τη δύναμη να διαβάσεις ή να προσευ-χηθείς Αν βέβαια οι πνευματικές σου ενασχολήσεις πηγαίνουν καλά το εργόχειρο δεν είναι απαραίτητο Εκπληρώ-νει μόνο την ανάγκη αξιοποιήσεως του χρόνου που αλλιώς θα σπαταλιόταν σε απραξία Και η απραξία είναι πάντα ολέθρια πολύ περισσότερο όμως στον καιρό της νηστείας
Πώς πρέπει να προσεύχεται κανείς στο σπίτι Σωστά σκέφθηκες ότι τη Σαρακοστή οφείλουμε να προσθέτουμε κάτι στον συνηθισμένο κανόνα προσευχής Νομίζω ωστόσο πως αντί να διαβάζεις περισσότερες προσευχές από το Προ-σευχητάρι είναι καλύτερο νrsquo αυξήσεις τη διάρκεια της άμεσης επικοινωνίας σου με τον Κύριο Κάθε μέρα πριν αρχί-σεις και αφού τελειώσεις τη την ορθρινή και βραδυνή ακολουθία να απευθύνεσαι με δικά σου λόγια στον Κύριο την Υπεραγία Θεοτόκο και τον φύλακα άγγελό σου ευχαριστώντας τους για την προστασία τους και παρακαλώντας τους για την ικανοποίηση των πνευματικών σου αναγκών Ζήτα τους να σε βοηθήσουν ώστε πρώτα απrsquo όλα να γνωρίσεις τον εαυτό σου να αποκτήσεις αυτογνωσία και όταν την αποκτήσεις να σου χαρίσουν ζήλο και δύναμη ώστε να θε-ραπεύσεις τις πληγές της ψυχής σου Ζήτα τους ακόμα να γεμίσουν την καρδιά σου με το αίσθημα της ταπεινώσεως και της συντριβής Η ταπείνωση είναι η πιο ευάρεστη στον Θεό θυσία Έτσι να προσεύχεσαι Μην επιβάλεις όμως στον εαυτό σου έναν προσευχητικό κανόνα μακρύ και βαρύ έναν κανόνα που θα υπερβαίνει τα μέτρα των ψυχοσω-ματικών σου δυνάμεων και θα σε καταβάλλει Καλύτερα είναι να προσεύχεσαι συχνότερα στη διάρκεια της ημέρας και όταν ασχολείσαι μrsquo οποιαδήποτε άλλη εργασία να έχεις το νου σου στο Θεό
Μετά την προσευχή διάβαζε για λίγο με αυτοσυγκέντρωση Η μελέτη δεν αποσκοπεί στο φόρτωμα του μυαλού σου με διάφορες πληροφορίες και γνώσεις αλλά στην ψυχική σου ωφέλεια και εποικοδομή Γιrsquo αυτό δεν χρειάζεται να διαβάζεις πολλά Διάβαζε όμως με προσοχή μεγάλη και με καρδιακή συμμετοχή
Page 9 T h e L i g h t
Hopefully you all enjoy the content that we present monthly if not newsletterntgocorg While the different com-mitteesorganizations are responsible for their own contributions the rest of the content is pulled together by yours truly I do love to get lost in meme land to find relevant humorous takes on the Orthodox faith (like Grumpy Catrsquos perspective on Lent) but I also spend a great deal of time trying to find information to share that is engaging informative and relevant to our faith and the time of year Obviously Great Lent and the Paschal season are upon us and so my searches have been inspired by how I can help in-spire you all as you preparation for Easter I came across an article on fasting that references the works of a Coptic Pope While the Coptic Church is not affiliated with the Orthodox Church the text provided an interesting aspect to fasting that most of us I believe do not truly consider In essence we focus on Lent as a time of restricting the content of our diet but perhaps not so much on the quantity of our diet I hope you will all take the time to read the article if not the linked text from Pope Shenouda III httpsjohnbelovedhabibwordpresscom20150304fasting-defined-according-to-pope-shenouda-iii ~Eleni
Great Lent
Page 10 T h e L i g h t
Great Lent
ldquoΤι να διαβάζωrdquo θα με ρωτήσεις Μόνο πνευματικά βιβλία φυσικά Η προσεκτική ανάγνωση τέτοιων βιβλίων εμπνέ-ει την ψυχή περισσότερο απrsquo οτιδήποτε άλλο Αν πάντως στη διάρκεια της μελέτης γεννιέται ο πόθος της προσευ-χής νrsquo αφήνεις το βιβλίο και να προσεύχεσαι
Θα διαβάζεις λοιπόν θα προσεύχεσαι θα κάνεις μετάνοιες Και μrsquo όλα αυτά ωστόσο δεν θα μπορέσεις να κρατή-σεις το νου και την καρδιά σου σε κατάσταση συνεχούς και έντονου αγώνα Είναι αναπόφευκτο να κουράζεσαι Τότε όπως σου είπα θα ασχολείσαι με κάποια πρακτική εργασία
Σκέφτεσαι καθώς μου γράφεις να μειώσεις την ποσότητα του καθημερινού σου φαγητού Σωστή κι ωφέλιμη η σκέ-ψη σου∙ σωστή γιατί το σώμα που με τις παρεκτροπές του σε αναγκάζει να μετανοείς οφείλει να καταβάλει στη διάρκεια της Σαρακοστής τους μόχθους που του αναλογούν∙ και ωφέλιμη γιατί με τη νηστεία το σώμα δουλαγωγεί-ται ο νους καθαρίζεται η καρδιά μαλακώνει τα πάθη νεκρώνονται Μόνο μην το παρακάνεις Ήδη τρως τόσο λίγο Πρέπει να έχεις δυνάμεις για να στέκεσαι στην εκκλησία και για νrsquo αγωνίζεσαι στο σπίτι Κοίτα να τρως τόσο όσο χρειάζεται για να μην εξασθενήσεις
Καλό θα ήταν επίσης να μείωνες λίγο το χρόνο του ύπνου και της αναπαύσεώς σου Είναι μία θυσία για σένα αλλά κάθε λογής θυσία ταιριάζει σrsquo αυτή την περίοδο
Και με τις συζητήσεις τι θα γίνει Τη Σαρακοστή τουλάχιστον οι συζητήσεις με τους άλλους ας περιοριστούν σε πνευ-ματικά θέματα Ακόμα καλύτερες είναι οι κοινές πνευματικές αναγνώσεις που δίνουν αφορμές για την ανταλλαγή εποικοδομητικών σκέψεων και για την εξαγωγή ωφέλιμων συμπερασμάτων Κατάλληλοι γιrsquo αυτό τον σκοπό είναι οι Βίοι των Αγίων
ΟΣΙΟΥ ΘΕΟΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΤΟΥ ΕΓΚΛΕΙΣΤΟΥ
Life at Home during Lent
This article presented in Greek above presents some ideas on how one should conduct themselves throughout the Len-ten season beyond their time in church The site presents their own translation Irsquove tackled the most awkward bits but
it is still an interesting translation
In Lent it is good to know only the church and home nothing else You arrive therefore at home What are you going to do there You will fight with all your strength to maintain the commitment of mind and heart to the Lord Immediately after the church run to your room and make many prostrations devoutly asking God to help you to use your time of your stay in the house in a manner beneficial to your soul
Then sit down and rest for a while But then do not let your thoughts stray Sweeping away every thought mentally repeating the prayer Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me Jesus Christ show me mercy After some rest you must bother with something either prayer or handiwork What kind of handiwork is of no matter already you know what you like It is you see impossible to bother all the time with spiritual things it is necessary have a pleasant hobby
With this you will be caught when your soul is tired when you do not have the power to read or pray If of course your spiritual pastimes are going well the handiwork is not necessary It only fulfills the need for recovery time that would otherwise be wasted in idleness And doing nothing is always devastating but much more in the time of fasting
How should one pray at home Rightly you thought in Lent we need to add something to the usual rule of prayer I think however that instead of reading more prayers from the prayer book it is better to increase the duration of your direct communication with the Lord Every day before you start and after finishing the morning and evening prayers send in your own words to the Lord the Virgin Mary and your guardian angel thanking them for their protection and pleading with them to satisfy your spiritual needs Ask them to help you that first of all to know yourself to acquire self-knowledge and when you have acquired these to offer your zeal and strength to heal the wounds of your soul Ask them yet to fill your heart with a sense of humility and the contrition Humility is the most pleasing sacrifice to God So pray in this way Do not impose however give yourself a long and heavy rule of praying a rule that would ex-
Great Lent
Page 11 T h e L i g h t
ceed the measures of your psychosomatic forces and will overwhelm you Better is to pray often during the day and when you are dealing with any other job to have your mind on God
After the prayer read briefly with concentration The study is not intended load of your mind with a variety of infor-mation and knowledge but to benefit your soul and its structure So we do not need to read a lot But read with great attention and your heartrsquos involvement
What to read you will ask me Only spiritual books of course Careful reading of such books inspires the soul more than anything else If however during this studying is born a yearning for prayer leave the book aside and pray
You will read you will pray you would do prostrations And with all this however you will not be able to keep the mind and heart in a state of continuous and fierce struggle Inevitably you will be tired Then as I said you should be-come busy with some practical work
You think as you write to me you must reduce the amount of your daily food Your thought is correct and healthy ∙ correct because the body with its excesses forces you to repent it is healthy for the body to understand throughout Lent the analogous labors ∙ beneficial because with fasting the body is subdued the mind is purified the heart softens passions die Just do not overdo it Already you eat so little You have to have strength to stand in church and to strive at home Look to eat as much as necessary to avoid impairments
It would also be slightly reduces the time of sleep and your resting It is a sacrifice for you but every kind of sacrifice fit in this period
And with debates what will be done In Lent at least discussions with others let confined to spiritual matters Even better are the common spiritual readings which give rise to an exchange of constructive thoughts and to extract useful conclusions Suitable for this purpose are the Lives of the Saints
SAINT THEOFANOUS the enclosure
httpspoimingrzoi-sto-spiti-kata-ti-diarkia-tis-megalis-tessarakostis
Schedule of Services for Holy Week 2020
(April 12-19)
April 12 ndash Palm Sunday Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am Orthros
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 600 pm
April 13 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 14 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 15 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
mdash Holy Unction Service ndash 600 pm
April 16 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Service of the Lordrsquos Passion ndash 600 pm
April 17 ndash The Great Hours ndash 900 am
ndash Apokathelosis ndash 300 pm
ndash Epitaphios Service ndash 700 pm
April 18 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Resurrection Service - 1130 pm
April 19 ndash Agape Vespers ndash 1200 pm
Easter Traditions of our Church In addition to the appropriately scheduled services listed to the left our church has a few traditions that we would like to encourage all of you to participate in Saturday of Lazarus (April 11) - Learning Liturgy Lenten breakfast Palm Crosses Preparing the Church for Palm Sunday and Holy Week Palm SundaymdashFish Luncheon after services Holy Friday MorningmdashDecorating the Kouvouklion for services Holy Friday Evening (after the Great Hours at 9am) Holy Friday EveningmdashMyrhhbearing Women (girls of our parish ages 8-18 who will participate in the service Holy Friday evening Stay tuned to Aprilrsquos edition for more details if your daughter would like to participate Holy Saturday MorningmdashCleaning and decorating the church for the Resurrection service (after the Vespers and Divine Liturgy of St Basil at 9am) This is also when you can drop off your red eggs to be blessed for Easter Easter SundaymdashPaschalino Glendi a potluck luncheon to celebrate Easter (after the Agape Vespers) See the flyer on page 4 for details
The Nativity of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church
12326 Spotswood Furnace Road Fredericksburg VA 22407
540-548-2665 Office Emailmdashofficentgocorg
Newsletter Emailmdashnewsletterntgocorg wwwnativityvagoarchorg
Parish Information
Page 12 T h e L i g h t
PARISH COUNCIL Gamal Salem President Nick Roman Secretary Maria Christoforatos Treasurer Maxine Calamos Assistant Treasurer George Tsoukleris Dennis Makrinos Yvonne Athanasaw Chris Zourzoukis STEWARDSHIP Yvonne Athanasaw FUND RAISING
BOOK STORE Monica Hicks PHILOPTOCHOS Verilee Vasilakos President Linda Govenides Vice-President Christine Turdean Treasurer Secretary CHOIR 2020 FESTIVAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL Dr Judy Marrs Director DANCE Dr Judy Marrs Director GOYA Dan Athanasaw Jr HOPEJOY
Office Hours
Fr John is available as follows or by appointment
MondaymdashClosed
Tuesdaymdash 9am-1pm
Wedensdaymdash 9am-1pm
Thursdaymdash9am-1pm
Fridaymdash9am-1pm
Cell phone numbermdash
540-645-1427
Emailmdashfrjohnntgocorg
PASTORAL GUIDELINES
Please contact Fr John if you wish to schedule a sacrament or know of a parishioner who is sick or in the hospital
WEDDINGS Marriages are not performed on fast days during fasting seasons or on the feasts of the church specifi-cally September 14 (Exaltation of the Holy Cross) December 13-25 (Nativity) January 5 amp 6 (Theophany) Great Lent and Holy Week Pascha (Easter) Pentecost August 1-15 (Dormition Fast and Feast) and August 29 (Beheading of St John the Baptist) Exceptions can only be made with the permission of the respective hierarch
BAPTISMS A person who wishes to sponsor a candidate for Baptism or Chrismation must be an Orthodox Christian in good standing and a supporting member of an Orthodox parish A person may not serve as a godparent if the Church has not blessed his or her marriage or if civilly divorced he or she has not been granted an ecclesiastical divorce or for any other reason he or she is not in communion with the Orthodox Church Baptisms may not be performed from Christmas Day through the Feast of Theophany (December 25-January 6) during Holy Week or any of the great feast days of the Lord
FUNERALS Funeral services are permitted on any day of the year except for Sundays and Holy Friday unless permis-sion is granted by the Archbishop or Metropolitan
MEMORIALS Memorial services may not be chanted from the Saturday of Lazarus through the Sunday of Thomas or any Feast days of the Lord or the Theotokos
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
8 9am Orthros Divine Liturgy Sunday of Orthodoxy 5pm Pan-Orth Vespers RICHMOND
9 10 11 9am Presanctified Divine Liturgy
12 13 7pm Salutations 2nd Stanza
14
15 9am Orthros Divine Liturgy St Gregory Palamas Philoptochos Luncheon
16 17 18 9am Presanctified Divine Liturgy
19 20 7pm Salutations 3rd Stanza
21
22 9am Orthros Divine Liturgy Sunday of the Holy Cross
23 24
25 9am Divine Liturgy The Annunciation
26 27 7pm Salutations 4th Stanza
28 430pm Mill Park Terrace Luncheon
29 9am Orthros Divine Liturgy St John Climacus
30
31
1 9am Presanctified Divine Liturgy
2 3 7pm Akathist
4
5 9am Orthros Divine Liturgy St Mary of Egypt Philoptochos General Meeting
6 7 8 9am Presanctified Divine Liturgy
9 10 Oratorical Festival
11 9am Learning Liturgy Pancake Breakfast Folding Palms CleaningDecorating Church
March 2020 April 2020
Page 2 T h e L i g h t
Upcoming Events
April 12mdashPalm Sunday amp Fish Luncheon April 12mdash18 HOLY WEEK Stay tuned for service and activity times April 19mdashEASTER MAY 15-17mdashSPRING GREEK FESTIVAL May 24mdashSunday School Graduation
For our Greek Readers
Page 3 T h e L i g h t
Η ευχή του Αγίου Εφραίμ του Σύρου
Η φιλαρχία Πνεύμα φιλαρχίας Φαίνεται παράξενο πως η αργία και η λιποψυχία είναι ακριβώς εκείνα που γεμίζουν τη ζωή μας με τον πόθο της φιλαρχίας Μολύνοντας όλη μας την τοποθέτηση απέναντι στη ζωή κάνοντας την άδεια και χωρίς νόημα μας σπρώχνουν νrsquo αναζητήσουμε αντιστάθμισμα σε μια ριζικά λανθασμένη στάση απέναντι στα άλλα πρόσω-πα Αν η ζωή μου δεν είναι προσανατολισμένη προς τον Θεό αν δεν σκοπεύει σε αιώνιες αξίες αναπόφευκτα θα γίνει εγωιστική και εγωκεντρική πράγμα που σημαίνει ότι όλοι οι άλλοι γίνονται τα μέσα για τη δική μου αυτοϊκανοποίη-ση Αν ο Θεός δεν είναι ο laquoΚύριος και Δεσπότης της ζωής μουraquo τότε το εγώ μου γίνεται ο κύριος και δεσπότης μου γίνεται το απόλυτο κέντρο του κόσμου μου και αρχίζω αν εκτιμώ καθετί με βάση τις δικές μου ανάγκες τις δικές μου ιδέες τις δικές μου επιθυμίες και τις δικές μου κρίσεις Έτσι η επιθυμία της φιλαρχίας γίνεται η βασική μου αμαρτία στις σχέσεις με τις άλλες υπάρξεις γίνεται μια αναζήτη-ση υποταγής τους σε μένα Δεν είναι πάντοτε απαραίτητο να εκφράζεται η φιλαρχία μου σαν έντονη ανάγκη να δια-τάζω και να κηδεμονεύω τους laquoάλλουςraquo Μπορεί επίσης να εκφράζεται και σαν αδιαφορία περιφρόνηση έλλειψη ενδιαφέροντος φροντίδας και σεβασμού Και είναι ακριβώς η laquoαργίαraquo μαζί με τη laquoλιποψυχίαraquo που απευθύνονται αυτή τη φορά προς τους άλλους έτσι συμπληρώνεται η πνευματική αυτοκτονία με την πνευματική δολοφονία Η αργολογία Τέλος είναι η αργολογία Απrsquo όλα γενικά τα δημιουργήματα μόνον ο άνθρωπος προικίστηκε με το χάρισμα του λόγου Όλοι οι Πατέρες βλέπουν σrsquo αυτό το χάρισμα την ακριβή laquoσφραγίδαraquo της θείας εικόνας στον άνθρωπο γιατί ο ίδιος ο Θεός αποκαλύφθηκε σαν Λόγος (Ιωαν 11) Αλλά όντας ο λόγος το ύψιστο δώρο έτσι είναι και ο ισχυρότερος κίνδυνος Όπως είναι η κυρίαρχη έκφραση του αν-θρώπου το μέσο για την προσωπική του πλήρωση για τον ίδιο λόγο είναι και το μέσο για την πτώση του για την αυτοκαταστροφή του για την προδοσία και την αμαρτία Ο λόγος σώζει και ο λόγος σκοτώνει ο λόγος εμπνέει και ο λόγος δηλητηριάζει Ο λόγος είναι το μέσο της Αλήθειας αλλά είναι και μέσο για το δαιμονικό ψέμα Έχοντας μια βασικά θετική δύναμη ο λόγος έχει ταυτόχρονα και μια τρομακτικά αρνητική Ο λόγος δηλαδή δημιουρ-γεί θετικά ή αρνητικά Όταν αποσπάται από τη θεία καταγωγή και το θείο σκοπό του γίνεται αργολογία laquoΕνισχύειraquo την αργία τη λιποψυχία και τη φιλαρχία και μετατρέπει τη ζωή σε κόλαση Γίνεται η κυρίαρχη δύναμη της αμαρτίας Αυτά τα τέσσερα σημεία είναι οι αρνητικοί laquoστόχοιraquo της μετάνοιας Είναι τα εμπόδια που πρέπει να μετακινηθούν Αλλά μόνον ο Θεός μπορεί να τα μετακινήσει Ακριβώς γιrsquo αυτό και το πρώτο μέρος της προσευχής αυτής είναι μια κραυγή από τα βάθη της καρδιάς του αβοήθητου ανθρώπου Στη συνέχεια η προσευχή κινείται στους θετικούς σκοπούς της μετάνοιας Η Σωφροσύνη Σωφροσύνη Αν δεν περιορίσουμε ndashπράγμα που συχνά και πολύ λαθεμένα γίνεται- την έννοια της λέξης laquoσωφροσύνηraquo μόνο στη σαρκική σημασία της θα μπορούσε να γίνει κατανοητή σαν το θετικό αντίστοιχο της λέξης laquoαργίαraquo laquoΑργίαraquo πρώτα απrsquo όλα είναι η αδράνεια τα σπάσιμο της διορατικότητας και της ενεργητικότητάς μας η ανικανότητα να βλέπουμε καθολικά σφαιρικά Επομένως αυτή η ολότητα είναι το εντελώς αντίθετο από την αδρά-νεια Αν συνηθίζουμε με τη λέξη σωφροσύνη να εννοούμε την αρετή την αντίθετη από τη σαρκική διαφθορά είναι γιατί ο διχασμένος χαρακτήρας μας πουθενά αλλού δεν φαίνεται καλύτερα παρά στη σαρκική επιθυμία που είναι η αλλο-τρίωση του σώματος από τη ζωή και τον έλεγχο του πνεύματος Ο Χριστός επαναφέρει την laquoολότηταraquo (τη σωφροσύ-νη) μέσα μας και το κάνει αυτό αποκαθιστώντας την αληθινή κλίμακα των αξιών με το να μας οδηγεί πίσω στο Θεό Η Ταπεινοφροσύνη Ο πρώτος και υπέροχος καρπός της σωφροσύνης είναι η ταπεινοφροσύνη Πάνω απrsquo όλα είναι η νίκη της αλήθειας μέσα μας η απομάκρυνση του ψεύδους μέσα στο οποίο ζούμε Μόνο η ταπεινοφροσύνη είναι άξια της αλήθειας μόνο μrsquo αυτή δηλαδή μπορεί κανείς να δει και δεχτεί τα πράγματα όπως είναι και έτσι να δει το Θεό το μεγαλείο Του την καλωσύνη Του και την αγάπη Του στο καθετί Να γιατί όπως ξέρουμε ο Θεός laquoυπερηφάνοις αντιτάσσεται ταπει-νοίς δε δίδωσι χάρινraquo Συνέχεια από τη σελίδα 3 Η Υπομονή Μετά τη σωφροσύνη και την ταπεινοφροσύνη κατά φυσικό τρόπο ακολουθεί η υπομονή Ο laquoφυσικόςraquo ή laquoπεπτωκώςraquo άνθρωπος είναι ανυπόμονος γιατί είναι τυφλός για τον εαυτό του και βιαστικός στο να κρίνει και να καταδικάσει τους άλλους Με διασπαρμένη ατελή και διαστρεβλωμένη γνώση των πραγμάτων
Συνέχεια στη σελίδα 7
Συνέχεια από την έκδοση του περασμένου μήνα
Parish Council
Page 4 T h e L i g h t
Gamal has asked me to help him out with this monthrsquos column for the Parish Council as they have been busy preparing the church for Easter and the Spring Greek Festival (more on that on page 8) With all the hustle and bustle we need all of you to support your church community Please refer to the calendar for opportunities to participate not only in church services but in functions to grow our community Speaking of functions we will be hosting our 10th Annual Paschalino Glendi as you can see from the ad below The schedule for Holy Week is posted on page 11 and will be on our website as well Easter is a time of renewal and spiritual growth that cannot be achieved if you are not in church to receive Christrsquos blessing
As Gamal generally concludes with sayings prayers or blessings of the Church Fathers I have tried to find something that fits his style with a focus on the Lenten season I hope you enjoy my choices as much as you enjoy his ~ Eleni
1 Another old man came to see one of the Fathers who cooked a few lentils and said to him ldquoLet us say a few pray-ersrdquo and the first completed the whole Psalter and the brother recited the two great prophets by heart When morning came the visitor went away and they forgot the food Fasting here witnesses that the true nourishment of Christians is prayer and meditation on the word of God not the eating of food
2 A brother said to an old man ldquoThere are two brothers One of them stays in his cell quietly fasting for six days at a
time and imposing on himself a good deal of discipline and the other serves the sick Which one of them is more acceptable to Godrdquo The old man replied ldquoEven if the brother who fasts six days were to hang himself up by the nose he could not equal the one who serves the sickrdquo Here we learn that love is above fasting that we must not presume to put our fasting above ldquothe more excellent wayrdquo the ldquonew commandmentrdquo to love one another
Philoptochos
Page 5 T h e L i g h t
The Ladies Philoptochos sends you greetings as we begin Lent In February we had a membership tea with fantastic speakers from the Hope House Empower House Spotsylvania Social Services and the Healthy Generations Area Agency It was wonderful to hear about the community services available and how the funds we donate assist such im-portant missions We also learned about the resources available to maintain independence in retirement and services provided to elderly in need Please turn in your 2020 membership forms to any Philoptochos member if you have
not done so already Itrsquos never too late to join
Our chapter sponsored a regional Philoptochos workshop on Satur-day February 29th Philoptochos chapters from Maryland and throughout Virginia were present along with Eleni Constantinides President of the Me-tropolis of NJ Philoptochos and the Metropolis of NJ Board Items dis-cussed at the meeting included the roles and responsibilities of members of our executive boards elections membership social media social services and a wonderful speaker on human trafficking enlightened
us on the scope of this issue I hope everyone had a lovely time meeting our Philoptochos sisters from other chapters as well as the Metropolis of NJ Board A special thanks goes to all the ladies in our chapter for hosting such a spectacular event A delicious breakfast and luncheon was served by our chapter Thank you to all the ladies that assisted in the preparation set-up and clean up for the event It was a tremendous honor to be selected to host the event and I heard many wonderful com-ments of appreciation by those in attendance
Thank you to those members who provided dinner to residents at Mill Park Terrace on February 22nd Our monthly meals are appreciated by deserving folks at Mill Park The next visit to Mill Park will be on Saturday March 28th Please see myself or Maria Y if you are interested in assisting
Our Agora Craft and Food Festival was on Saturday March 7th from 10-3pm All proceeds are to support our philan-thropic efforts Savory Greek dishes and delectable pastries were available for those who chose to come out An as-sortment of craft vendors were also present We enjoyed seeing all of you there supporting the Ladies Philoptochos Thank you for inviting family and friends to come and visit We look forward to sharing pictures with you next month
The Ladies will be hosting a luncheon after church service on March 15th We will also be serving the residents at Mill Park Terrace on March 28th Otherwise baking days will be forthcoming in preparation for Pascha and the upcoming Greek Festival in May I will keep you informed of dates as I receive them Our next general meeting will be on April 5th
During this time of Lent let us reflect on our faith with prayer fasting confession and forgiveness Be more mindful of the way we speak behave think and treat others Offend less forgive more Speak less listen more Humble our-selves and let the love and light of Christ shine though us I wish all my family at the NTGOC a blessed Lenten journey with grace as we prepare for Holy Pascha
In Christ Verilee Vasilakos
True fasting lies in rejecting evil holding onersquos tongue suppressing onersquos hatred and banishing onersquos lust evil words lying and betrayal of vows ~St Basil the Great
Page 6 T h e L i g h t
Dance
Dance practices will be April 3 19 26 and May 1 9 amp 10 after liturgy
Youth News
St John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival The oratorical festival is once more upon us Michael Euripides is once again chairing this program for the children The local ora-torical festival will be hosted on April 10 and will be followed by a Lenten potluck dinner If you are willing to either judge or coach the speeches please see Mike This is a wonderful tradition in our church and a great opportunity for our youth to deepen their understanding of their faith
Bookstore
The Bookstore is preparing for Easter In addition to our normal inventory we are accepting special orders for items through March Please note the Bookstore will NOT be carrying red egg dye
If you are interested in having your baptismal or wedding candles dec-orated please contact us for more information
Thank you ~ Monica Hicks
Happy Name Day Χρονια Πολλα
Happy Name Day to all of those celebrating their feast this month To name a fewhellip Evdokia Maria Theodora Leandros Gregory Christodoulos Chrysanthos Lydia EvangellosEvangellia AlexiosAlexia
Sunday School
Sunday School graduation will be May 23 No classes will be held on April 19 (Easter) and May 17 (Spring Festival)
April 11 is the Saturday of Lazarus and all Sunday School Students are invited to participate in our annual Learning Liturgy where Fr John will explain the parts of the Liturgy as it is being conduct-ed After the service there will be the traditional Lenten breakfast folding of the Palm Crosses for Palm Sunday and the cleaning and decorating of the church
Camp Good Shepherd Our faithful readers will likely remember a piece shared in our September issue about Camp Good Shepherd from one of our parish youth For those already considering how their children will be oc-cupied this summer please consider Camp Good Shepherd in your plans Camp Good Shepherd Virginia will be hosting campers from July 5-11 this summer stay tuned for more details
of holy communion if they desire sincerely to be in eucharistic fellowship with God and if they fulfill all other conditions for participation in the life of the Church Because of the realization of the need for Christ in every aspect of human life and because as well it is the firm Christian conviction that nothing should or even can be done perfectly without Christ or without his presence and power in the Church by the Holy Spirit two Christians cannot begin to live together and to share each otherrsquos life in total unitymdashspiritually physically intellectually socially eco-nomicallymdashwithout first placing that unity into the eternity of the Kingdom of God through the sacrament of marriage in the Church According to the Orthodox teaching as expressed in the sacramental rite of mar-riage the creation of children and the care and love for them within the context of the family is the normal fulfillment of the love of a man and woman in Christ In this way marriage is the human expression of the creative and caring love of God the perfect Love of the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity which overflows in the creation and care for the world This conviction that human love imitative of divine love should overflow itself in the creation and care for others does not mean that the procreation of children is in itself the sole purpose of marriage and the unique and exclusive justification and legitimization of its existence Neither does it mean that a childless couple cannot live a truly Christian life together Life is a journey ndash a difficult and complex journey And marriage is one way of trav-
eling ndash indeed of enjoying and not simply enduring ndash this journey through sharing
Yet the goal of the journey lies ahead the significance of the sacrament lies in the
Kingdom It is this Kingdom for which we truly hope and which is our true home
Miscellany Continued from page 1
Miscellany
Page 7 T h e L i g h t
που έχει μετράει τα πάντα με βάση τις δικές του προτιμήσεις και τις δικές του ιδέες Αδιαφορεί για τον καθένα γύ-ρω του εκτός από τον εαυτό του θέλει η ζωή του να είναι πετυχημένη τώρα αυτή τη στιγμή Η υπομονή βέβαια είναι μια αληθινά θεϊκή αρετή Ο Θεός είναι υπομονετικός όχι γιατί είναι laquoσυγκαταβατικόςraquo αλλά γιατί βλέπει το βάθος όλων των πραγμάτων γιατί η εσωτερική πραγματικότητά τους την οποία εμείς με την τυφλότητά μας δεν μπορούμε να δούμε είναι ανοιχτή σrsquo Αυτόν Όσο πιο κοντά ερχόμαστε στο Θεό τόσο περισσότε-ρο υπομονετικοί γινόμαστε και τόσο πιο πολύ αντανακλούμε αυτή την απέραστη εκτίμηση για όλα τα όντα πράγμα που είναι η κύρια ιδιότητα του Θεού Η Αγάπη Τέλος το αποκορύφωμα και ο καρπός όλων των αρετών κάθε καλλιέργειας και κάθε προσπάθειας είναι η αγάπη Αυτή η αγάπη που όπως έχουμε πει μπορεί να δοθεί μόνο από το Θεό είναι το δώρο που αποτελεί σκοπό που α-ποτελεί σκοπό για κάθε πνευματική προετοιμασία και άσκηση Η υπερηφάνεια Όλα αυτά συγκεφαλαιώνονται στην τελική αίτηση της προσευχής του Αγίου Εφραίμ με την οποία ζητάμε laquohellipδώρησαί μοι τοῦ ὁράν τά ἐμά πταίσματα καί μή κατακρίνειν τόν ἀδελφόν μουhellipraquo Εδώ τελικά δεν υπάρχει παρά μόνο ένας κίνδυνος η υπερηφάνεια Η υπερηφάνεια είναι η πηγή του κακού και όλο το κακό είναι η υπερηφάνεια Παρrsquo όλα αυτά δεν είναι αρκετό για μένα να βλέπω τα laquoἐμά πταίσματαraquo γιατί ακόμα και αυτή η φαινομενική αρετή μπορεί να μετατραπεί σε υπερηφάνεια Τα πατερικά κείμενα είναι γεμάτα από προειδοποιήσεις για την ύπουλη μορφή ψευτοευσέβειας η οποία στην πραγ-ματικότητα με το κάλυμμα της ταπεινοφροσύνης και της αυτομεμψίας μπορεί να οδηγήσει σε μια πραγματικά δαι-μονική υπερηφάνεια Αλλά όταν βλέπουμε τα δικά μας σφάλματα και δεν κατακρίνουμε τους αδελφούς μας όταν με άλλα λόγια η σωφροσύνη η ταπεινοφροσύνη η υπομονή και η αγάπη γίνονται ένα σε μας τότε και μόνο τότε ο αιώνιος εχθρός ndashη υπερηφάνεια- θrsquo αφανιστεί μέσα μας π Αλέξανδρος Σμέμαν από το βιβλίο laquoΜεγάλη Σαρακοστήraquo εκδόσεις laquoΑκρίταςraquo Υποσημειώσεις 1) Κάθε φορά που λέμε ένα στίχο της ευχής του Οσίου Εφραίμ κάνουμε μία μεγάλη μετάνοια Σύνολο τρεις Όταν τελειώσουμε αυτές κάνουμε δώδεκα μικρές μετάνοιες λέγοντας σε καθεμία από αυτές laquoΟ Θεός ἱλάσθητί μοι τῶ ἁμαρτωλῷ καί ἐλέησόν μεraquo Στο τέλος επαναλαμβάνουμε άλλη μία φορά τον τελευταίο στίχο της ευχής (Ναι Κύριε Βασιλεύ) και πραγματοποιούμε άλλη μία μεγάλη μετάνοια (Ωρολόγιον το Μέγα εκδ Αποστολική Διακονία 2003)
2) Ο συγγραφέας μεταφράζει από το ελληνικό κείμενο τη λέξη laquoπεριέργειαraquo με την αγγλική λέξη faint-heartedness που σημαί-νει λιποψυχία δειλία
Note form the Stewardship Chair Dr Yvonne Athanasaw
Update on Database We are on our way to gathering information about each of our parishioners to better know our family Dr Athanasaw is in the process of taking photos of our parishioners after Liturgy for the database She will also be meeting with each family to ensure we collect all the pertinent information such as birthdays wedding anniver-saries ministries talents etc
Gift of Time We are gearing up for the festival We will need all hand- on deck as much as possible Please reach out to our Parish Council president Gamal who can direct you to those festival committee chairs who are looking for volunteers
Gift of Treasurer To keep the parishioners informed of the financial stewardship status we will update the graph below to show the progress toward the $110000 budgeted stewardship estimate that the parishioners approved on Jan-uary 26 To put this into perspective to meet this goal the average total monthly stewardship contributions should be approximately $9176
To ensure that parishioners have a variety of options to contribute towards the stewardship goal there are two addi-tional options besides via personal check Now parishioners can set up an account and donate via credit card or through electronic bank check To set up an account and pay through these options go to abundantcontgocaccountregister These options are especially beneficial during times of travel vacations and Sunday work schedules
March Greek Festival Check List
As you can see the Festival committee is already working hard to bring our annual Spring Festival to frui-
tion We are in the Paschal season and much of our focus is on how we will survive another 30 or so days without meat and picking which services we can fit into our busy schedules Many of you may be doing the same when you are considering the festivalmdashtrying to see if you can possibly come out to help on Friday Saturday or Sun-day perhaps not even considering the prep days leading up to that weekend Hopefully you are strengthening your soul through fasting and attending as many of these beautiful services as you can so you can truly reflect on this questionmdashWhat if Christ only made as much time for you as you make for Him and His church
NTGOC Book Club
We hope you enjoyed or at least looked into last monthrsquos recommended reading This month brings some fresh recommendations focused on preparing you for your Lenten journey
Mount Athos The Highest Place on Earth Metropolitan Nikolaos of Mesogia
Great Week and Pascha in the Greek Orthodox Church Alkiviadis C Calivas
On the Path of Salvation with Christ from the Nativity to the Resurrection Archbishop and Metropolitan Nicolae Our first two texts (pictured) are available on Amazon the third text seems to be available only in Fr Johnrsquos library Please reach out to him if you are interested in reviewing Archbishop and Metropolitan Nicolaersquos text
Did you enjoy any of the previous recommendations Do you have a book or two you would like to recommend Are you searching for a good book on a particular topic or saint Let us know newsletterntgocorg
Page 8 T h e L i g h t
Miscellany
Greek Festival
March Tasks
Task Status
Greek Band lodgingdeposit Under contract
Contact Stage company In Progress
Contact Health Department Assigned
Contact Spotsy Police for overnight security In Progress
Contact waste company for Dumpsters Assigned
Order Banners In Progress
Contact Bounce house Assigned
Contact Face Painter Assigned
Contact Fire Inspector Assigned
Apply for ABC license Assigned
Apply for County Safety licenses Assigned
Evaluate current Flyer and Menu In Progress
Inventory paper goods In Progress
Evaluate last yearrsquos growth and determine ingredients to buy In Progress
Evaluate which menu items to increase price In Progress
Design amp order tote bags sports bottles amp stadium cups Completed
Contact Tent amp Chair Company Under contract
Recruit Volunteers In Progress
Η ζωή στο σπίτι κατά τη διάρκεια της Μεγάλης Τεσσαρακοστής
Στις Σαρακοστές καλό είναι να γνωρίζεις μόνο εκκλησία και σπίτι τίποτrsquo άλλο Φτάνεις λοιπόν στο σπίτι Τί θα κάνεις εκεί Θα αγωνιστείς μrsquo όλη σου τη δύναμη να διατηρήσεις την προσήλωση του νου και της καρδιάς στον Κύριο Αμέ-σως μετά την εκκλησία τρέξε στο δωμάτιό σου και κάνε αρκετές μετάνοιες ζητώντας ευλαβικά από τον Θεό να σε βοηθήσει ώστε να αξιοποιήσεις το χρόνο της παραμονής σου στο σπίτι με τρόπο ωφέλιμο για την ψυχή σου
Ύστερα κάθησε και ξεκουράσου για λίγο Αλλά και τότε μην αφήνεις τους λογισμούς σου να ξεστρατίζουν Διώχνοντας κάθε σκέψη επαναλάμβανε νοερά την ευχή ldquoΚύριε Ιησού Χριστέ ελέησόν με Κύριε Ιησού Χριστέ ελέησόν μεrdquo Αφού ξεκουραστείς πρέπει νrsquo ασχοληθείς με κάτι είτε προσευχή είτε εργόχειρο Τι εργόχειρο θα κάνεις δεν έχει ση-μασία∙ ξέρεις ήδη τι σου αρέσει Είναι βλέπεις αδύνατο να ασχολείσαι όλη την ώρα με πνευματικά πράγματα∙ χρειά-ζεται να έχει και κάποιο ευχάριστο εργόχειρο
Μrsquo αυτό θα καταπιάνεσαι όταν η ψυχή σου είναι κουρασμένη όταν δεν έχεις τη δύναμη να διαβάσεις ή να προσευ-χηθείς Αν βέβαια οι πνευματικές σου ενασχολήσεις πηγαίνουν καλά το εργόχειρο δεν είναι απαραίτητο Εκπληρώ-νει μόνο την ανάγκη αξιοποιήσεως του χρόνου που αλλιώς θα σπαταλιόταν σε απραξία Και η απραξία είναι πάντα ολέθρια πολύ περισσότερο όμως στον καιρό της νηστείας
Πώς πρέπει να προσεύχεται κανείς στο σπίτι Σωστά σκέφθηκες ότι τη Σαρακοστή οφείλουμε να προσθέτουμε κάτι στον συνηθισμένο κανόνα προσευχής Νομίζω ωστόσο πως αντί να διαβάζεις περισσότερες προσευχές από το Προ-σευχητάρι είναι καλύτερο νrsquo αυξήσεις τη διάρκεια της άμεσης επικοινωνίας σου με τον Κύριο Κάθε μέρα πριν αρχί-σεις και αφού τελειώσεις τη την ορθρινή και βραδυνή ακολουθία να απευθύνεσαι με δικά σου λόγια στον Κύριο την Υπεραγία Θεοτόκο και τον φύλακα άγγελό σου ευχαριστώντας τους για την προστασία τους και παρακαλώντας τους για την ικανοποίηση των πνευματικών σου αναγκών Ζήτα τους να σε βοηθήσουν ώστε πρώτα απrsquo όλα να γνωρίσεις τον εαυτό σου να αποκτήσεις αυτογνωσία και όταν την αποκτήσεις να σου χαρίσουν ζήλο και δύναμη ώστε να θε-ραπεύσεις τις πληγές της ψυχής σου Ζήτα τους ακόμα να γεμίσουν την καρδιά σου με το αίσθημα της ταπεινώσεως και της συντριβής Η ταπείνωση είναι η πιο ευάρεστη στον Θεό θυσία Έτσι να προσεύχεσαι Μην επιβάλεις όμως στον εαυτό σου έναν προσευχητικό κανόνα μακρύ και βαρύ έναν κανόνα που θα υπερβαίνει τα μέτρα των ψυχοσω-ματικών σου δυνάμεων και θα σε καταβάλλει Καλύτερα είναι να προσεύχεσαι συχνότερα στη διάρκεια της ημέρας και όταν ασχολείσαι μrsquo οποιαδήποτε άλλη εργασία να έχεις το νου σου στο Θεό
Μετά την προσευχή διάβαζε για λίγο με αυτοσυγκέντρωση Η μελέτη δεν αποσκοπεί στο φόρτωμα του μυαλού σου με διάφορες πληροφορίες και γνώσεις αλλά στην ψυχική σου ωφέλεια και εποικοδομή Γιrsquo αυτό δεν χρειάζεται να διαβάζεις πολλά Διάβαζε όμως με προσοχή μεγάλη και με καρδιακή συμμετοχή
Page 9 T h e L i g h t
Hopefully you all enjoy the content that we present monthly if not newsletterntgocorg While the different com-mitteesorganizations are responsible for their own contributions the rest of the content is pulled together by yours truly I do love to get lost in meme land to find relevant humorous takes on the Orthodox faith (like Grumpy Catrsquos perspective on Lent) but I also spend a great deal of time trying to find information to share that is engaging informative and relevant to our faith and the time of year Obviously Great Lent and the Paschal season are upon us and so my searches have been inspired by how I can help in-spire you all as you preparation for Easter I came across an article on fasting that references the works of a Coptic Pope While the Coptic Church is not affiliated with the Orthodox Church the text provided an interesting aspect to fasting that most of us I believe do not truly consider In essence we focus on Lent as a time of restricting the content of our diet but perhaps not so much on the quantity of our diet I hope you will all take the time to read the article if not the linked text from Pope Shenouda III httpsjohnbelovedhabibwordpresscom20150304fasting-defined-according-to-pope-shenouda-iii ~Eleni
Great Lent
Page 10 T h e L i g h t
Great Lent
ldquoΤι να διαβάζωrdquo θα με ρωτήσεις Μόνο πνευματικά βιβλία φυσικά Η προσεκτική ανάγνωση τέτοιων βιβλίων εμπνέ-ει την ψυχή περισσότερο απrsquo οτιδήποτε άλλο Αν πάντως στη διάρκεια της μελέτης γεννιέται ο πόθος της προσευ-χής νrsquo αφήνεις το βιβλίο και να προσεύχεσαι
Θα διαβάζεις λοιπόν θα προσεύχεσαι θα κάνεις μετάνοιες Και μrsquo όλα αυτά ωστόσο δεν θα μπορέσεις να κρατή-σεις το νου και την καρδιά σου σε κατάσταση συνεχούς και έντονου αγώνα Είναι αναπόφευκτο να κουράζεσαι Τότε όπως σου είπα θα ασχολείσαι με κάποια πρακτική εργασία
Σκέφτεσαι καθώς μου γράφεις να μειώσεις την ποσότητα του καθημερινού σου φαγητού Σωστή κι ωφέλιμη η σκέ-ψη σου∙ σωστή γιατί το σώμα που με τις παρεκτροπές του σε αναγκάζει να μετανοείς οφείλει να καταβάλει στη διάρκεια της Σαρακοστής τους μόχθους που του αναλογούν∙ και ωφέλιμη γιατί με τη νηστεία το σώμα δουλαγωγεί-ται ο νους καθαρίζεται η καρδιά μαλακώνει τα πάθη νεκρώνονται Μόνο μην το παρακάνεις Ήδη τρως τόσο λίγο Πρέπει να έχεις δυνάμεις για να στέκεσαι στην εκκλησία και για νrsquo αγωνίζεσαι στο σπίτι Κοίτα να τρως τόσο όσο χρειάζεται για να μην εξασθενήσεις
Καλό θα ήταν επίσης να μείωνες λίγο το χρόνο του ύπνου και της αναπαύσεώς σου Είναι μία θυσία για σένα αλλά κάθε λογής θυσία ταιριάζει σrsquo αυτή την περίοδο
Και με τις συζητήσεις τι θα γίνει Τη Σαρακοστή τουλάχιστον οι συζητήσεις με τους άλλους ας περιοριστούν σε πνευ-ματικά θέματα Ακόμα καλύτερες είναι οι κοινές πνευματικές αναγνώσεις που δίνουν αφορμές για την ανταλλαγή εποικοδομητικών σκέψεων και για την εξαγωγή ωφέλιμων συμπερασμάτων Κατάλληλοι γιrsquo αυτό τον σκοπό είναι οι Βίοι των Αγίων
ΟΣΙΟΥ ΘΕΟΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΤΟΥ ΕΓΚΛΕΙΣΤΟΥ
Life at Home during Lent
This article presented in Greek above presents some ideas on how one should conduct themselves throughout the Len-ten season beyond their time in church The site presents their own translation Irsquove tackled the most awkward bits but
it is still an interesting translation
In Lent it is good to know only the church and home nothing else You arrive therefore at home What are you going to do there You will fight with all your strength to maintain the commitment of mind and heart to the Lord Immediately after the church run to your room and make many prostrations devoutly asking God to help you to use your time of your stay in the house in a manner beneficial to your soul
Then sit down and rest for a while But then do not let your thoughts stray Sweeping away every thought mentally repeating the prayer Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me Jesus Christ show me mercy After some rest you must bother with something either prayer or handiwork What kind of handiwork is of no matter already you know what you like It is you see impossible to bother all the time with spiritual things it is necessary have a pleasant hobby
With this you will be caught when your soul is tired when you do not have the power to read or pray If of course your spiritual pastimes are going well the handiwork is not necessary It only fulfills the need for recovery time that would otherwise be wasted in idleness And doing nothing is always devastating but much more in the time of fasting
How should one pray at home Rightly you thought in Lent we need to add something to the usual rule of prayer I think however that instead of reading more prayers from the prayer book it is better to increase the duration of your direct communication with the Lord Every day before you start and after finishing the morning and evening prayers send in your own words to the Lord the Virgin Mary and your guardian angel thanking them for their protection and pleading with them to satisfy your spiritual needs Ask them to help you that first of all to know yourself to acquire self-knowledge and when you have acquired these to offer your zeal and strength to heal the wounds of your soul Ask them yet to fill your heart with a sense of humility and the contrition Humility is the most pleasing sacrifice to God So pray in this way Do not impose however give yourself a long and heavy rule of praying a rule that would ex-
Great Lent
Page 11 T h e L i g h t
ceed the measures of your psychosomatic forces and will overwhelm you Better is to pray often during the day and when you are dealing with any other job to have your mind on God
After the prayer read briefly with concentration The study is not intended load of your mind with a variety of infor-mation and knowledge but to benefit your soul and its structure So we do not need to read a lot But read with great attention and your heartrsquos involvement
What to read you will ask me Only spiritual books of course Careful reading of such books inspires the soul more than anything else If however during this studying is born a yearning for prayer leave the book aside and pray
You will read you will pray you would do prostrations And with all this however you will not be able to keep the mind and heart in a state of continuous and fierce struggle Inevitably you will be tired Then as I said you should be-come busy with some practical work
You think as you write to me you must reduce the amount of your daily food Your thought is correct and healthy ∙ correct because the body with its excesses forces you to repent it is healthy for the body to understand throughout Lent the analogous labors ∙ beneficial because with fasting the body is subdued the mind is purified the heart softens passions die Just do not overdo it Already you eat so little You have to have strength to stand in church and to strive at home Look to eat as much as necessary to avoid impairments
It would also be slightly reduces the time of sleep and your resting It is a sacrifice for you but every kind of sacrifice fit in this period
And with debates what will be done In Lent at least discussions with others let confined to spiritual matters Even better are the common spiritual readings which give rise to an exchange of constructive thoughts and to extract useful conclusions Suitable for this purpose are the Lives of the Saints
SAINT THEOFANOUS the enclosure
httpspoimingrzoi-sto-spiti-kata-ti-diarkia-tis-megalis-tessarakostis
Schedule of Services for Holy Week 2020
(April 12-19)
April 12 ndash Palm Sunday Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am Orthros
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 600 pm
April 13 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 14 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 15 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
mdash Holy Unction Service ndash 600 pm
April 16 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Service of the Lordrsquos Passion ndash 600 pm
April 17 ndash The Great Hours ndash 900 am
ndash Apokathelosis ndash 300 pm
ndash Epitaphios Service ndash 700 pm
April 18 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Resurrection Service - 1130 pm
April 19 ndash Agape Vespers ndash 1200 pm
Easter Traditions of our Church In addition to the appropriately scheduled services listed to the left our church has a few traditions that we would like to encourage all of you to participate in Saturday of Lazarus (April 11) - Learning Liturgy Lenten breakfast Palm Crosses Preparing the Church for Palm Sunday and Holy Week Palm SundaymdashFish Luncheon after services Holy Friday MorningmdashDecorating the Kouvouklion for services Holy Friday Evening (after the Great Hours at 9am) Holy Friday EveningmdashMyrhhbearing Women (girls of our parish ages 8-18 who will participate in the service Holy Friday evening Stay tuned to Aprilrsquos edition for more details if your daughter would like to participate Holy Saturday MorningmdashCleaning and decorating the church for the Resurrection service (after the Vespers and Divine Liturgy of St Basil at 9am) This is also when you can drop off your red eggs to be blessed for Easter Easter SundaymdashPaschalino Glendi a potluck luncheon to celebrate Easter (after the Agape Vespers) See the flyer on page 4 for details
The Nativity of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church
12326 Spotswood Furnace Road Fredericksburg VA 22407
540-548-2665 Office Emailmdashofficentgocorg
Newsletter Emailmdashnewsletterntgocorg wwwnativityvagoarchorg
Parish Information
Page 12 T h e L i g h t
PARISH COUNCIL Gamal Salem President Nick Roman Secretary Maria Christoforatos Treasurer Maxine Calamos Assistant Treasurer George Tsoukleris Dennis Makrinos Yvonne Athanasaw Chris Zourzoukis STEWARDSHIP Yvonne Athanasaw FUND RAISING
BOOK STORE Monica Hicks PHILOPTOCHOS Verilee Vasilakos President Linda Govenides Vice-President Christine Turdean Treasurer Secretary CHOIR 2020 FESTIVAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL Dr Judy Marrs Director DANCE Dr Judy Marrs Director GOYA Dan Athanasaw Jr HOPEJOY
Office Hours
Fr John is available as follows or by appointment
MondaymdashClosed
Tuesdaymdash 9am-1pm
Wedensdaymdash 9am-1pm
Thursdaymdash9am-1pm
Fridaymdash9am-1pm
Cell phone numbermdash
540-645-1427
Emailmdashfrjohnntgocorg
PASTORAL GUIDELINES
Please contact Fr John if you wish to schedule a sacrament or know of a parishioner who is sick or in the hospital
WEDDINGS Marriages are not performed on fast days during fasting seasons or on the feasts of the church specifi-cally September 14 (Exaltation of the Holy Cross) December 13-25 (Nativity) January 5 amp 6 (Theophany) Great Lent and Holy Week Pascha (Easter) Pentecost August 1-15 (Dormition Fast and Feast) and August 29 (Beheading of St John the Baptist) Exceptions can only be made with the permission of the respective hierarch
BAPTISMS A person who wishes to sponsor a candidate for Baptism or Chrismation must be an Orthodox Christian in good standing and a supporting member of an Orthodox parish A person may not serve as a godparent if the Church has not blessed his or her marriage or if civilly divorced he or she has not been granted an ecclesiastical divorce or for any other reason he or she is not in communion with the Orthodox Church Baptisms may not be performed from Christmas Day through the Feast of Theophany (December 25-January 6) during Holy Week or any of the great feast days of the Lord
FUNERALS Funeral services are permitted on any day of the year except for Sundays and Holy Friday unless permis-sion is granted by the Archbishop or Metropolitan
MEMORIALS Memorial services may not be chanted from the Saturday of Lazarus through the Sunday of Thomas or any Feast days of the Lord or the Theotokos
For our Greek Readers
Page 3 T h e L i g h t
Η ευχή του Αγίου Εφραίμ του Σύρου
Η φιλαρχία Πνεύμα φιλαρχίας Φαίνεται παράξενο πως η αργία και η λιποψυχία είναι ακριβώς εκείνα που γεμίζουν τη ζωή μας με τον πόθο της φιλαρχίας Μολύνοντας όλη μας την τοποθέτηση απέναντι στη ζωή κάνοντας την άδεια και χωρίς νόημα μας σπρώχνουν νrsquo αναζητήσουμε αντιστάθμισμα σε μια ριζικά λανθασμένη στάση απέναντι στα άλλα πρόσω-πα Αν η ζωή μου δεν είναι προσανατολισμένη προς τον Θεό αν δεν σκοπεύει σε αιώνιες αξίες αναπόφευκτα θα γίνει εγωιστική και εγωκεντρική πράγμα που σημαίνει ότι όλοι οι άλλοι γίνονται τα μέσα για τη δική μου αυτοϊκανοποίη-ση Αν ο Θεός δεν είναι ο laquoΚύριος και Δεσπότης της ζωής μουraquo τότε το εγώ μου γίνεται ο κύριος και δεσπότης μου γίνεται το απόλυτο κέντρο του κόσμου μου και αρχίζω αν εκτιμώ καθετί με βάση τις δικές μου ανάγκες τις δικές μου ιδέες τις δικές μου επιθυμίες και τις δικές μου κρίσεις Έτσι η επιθυμία της φιλαρχίας γίνεται η βασική μου αμαρτία στις σχέσεις με τις άλλες υπάρξεις γίνεται μια αναζήτη-ση υποταγής τους σε μένα Δεν είναι πάντοτε απαραίτητο να εκφράζεται η φιλαρχία μου σαν έντονη ανάγκη να δια-τάζω και να κηδεμονεύω τους laquoάλλουςraquo Μπορεί επίσης να εκφράζεται και σαν αδιαφορία περιφρόνηση έλλειψη ενδιαφέροντος φροντίδας και σεβασμού Και είναι ακριβώς η laquoαργίαraquo μαζί με τη laquoλιποψυχίαraquo που απευθύνονται αυτή τη φορά προς τους άλλους έτσι συμπληρώνεται η πνευματική αυτοκτονία με την πνευματική δολοφονία Η αργολογία Τέλος είναι η αργολογία Απrsquo όλα γενικά τα δημιουργήματα μόνον ο άνθρωπος προικίστηκε με το χάρισμα του λόγου Όλοι οι Πατέρες βλέπουν σrsquo αυτό το χάρισμα την ακριβή laquoσφραγίδαraquo της θείας εικόνας στον άνθρωπο γιατί ο ίδιος ο Θεός αποκαλύφθηκε σαν Λόγος (Ιωαν 11) Αλλά όντας ο λόγος το ύψιστο δώρο έτσι είναι και ο ισχυρότερος κίνδυνος Όπως είναι η κυρίαρχη έκφραση του αν-θρώπου το μέσο για την προσωπική του πλήρωση για τον ίδιο λόγο είναι και το μέσο για την πτώση του για την αυτοκαταστροφή του για την προδοσία και την αμαρτία Ο λόγος σώζει και ο λόγος σκοτώνει ο λόγος εμπνέει και ο λόγος δηλητηριάζει Ο λόγος είναι το μέσο της Αλήθειας αλλά είναι και μέσο για το δαιμονικό ψέμα Έχοντας μια βασικά θετική δύναμη ο λόγος έχει ταυτόχρονα και μια τρομακτικά αρνητική Ο λόγος δηλαδή δημιουρ-γεί θετικά ή αρνητικά Όταν αποσπάται από τη θεία καταγωγή και το θείο σκοπό του γίνεται αργολογία laquoΕνισχύειraquo την αργία τη λιποψυχία και τη φιλαρχία και μετατρέπει τη ζωή σε κόλαση Γίνεται η κυρίαρχη δύναμη της αμαρτίας Αυτά τα τέσσερα σημεία είναι οι αρνητικοί laquoστόχοιraquo της μετάνοιας Είναι τα εμπόδια που πρέπει να μετακινηθούν Αλλά μόνον ο Θεός μπορεί να τα μετακινήσει Ακριβώς γιrsquo αυτό και το πρώτο μέρος της προσευχής αυτής είναι μια κραυγή από τα βάθη της καρδιάς του αβοήθητου ανθρώπου Στη συνέχεια η προσευχή κινείται στους θετικούς σκοπούς της μετάνοιας Η Σωφροσύνη Σωφροσύνη Αν δεν περιορίσουμε ndashπράγμα που συχνά και πολύ λαθεμένα γίνεται- την έννοια της λέξης laquoσωφροσύνηraquo μόνο στη σαρκική σημασία της θα μπορούσε να γίνει κατανοητή σαν το θετικό αντίστοιχο της λέξης laquoαργίαraquo laquoΑργίαraquo πρώτα απrsquo όλα είναι η αδράνεια τα σπάσιμο της διορατικότητας και της ενεργητικότητάς μας η ανικανότητα να βλέπουμε καθολικά σφαιρικά Επομένως αυτή η ολότητα είναι το εντελώς αντίθετο από την αδρά-νεια Αν συνηθίζουμε με τη λέξη σωφροσύνη να εννοούμε την αρετή την αντίθετη από τη σαρκική διαφθορά είναι γιατί ο διχασμένος χαρακτήρας μας πουθενά αλλού δεν φαίνεται καλύτερα παρά στη σαρκική επιθυμία που είναι η αλλο-τρίωση του σώματος από τη ζωή και τον έλεγχο του πνεύματος Ο Χριστός επαναφέρει την laquoολότηταraquo (τη σωφροσύ-νη) μέσα μας και το κάνει αυτό αποκαθιστώντας την αληθινή κλίμακα των αξιών με το να μας οδηγεί πίσω στο Θεό Η Ταπεινοφροσύνη Ο πρώτος και υπέροχος καρπός της σωφροσύνης είναι η ταπεινοφροσύνη Πάνω απrsquo όλα είναι η νίκη της αλήθειας μέσα μας η απομάκρυνση του ψεύδους μέσα στο οποίο ζούμε Μόνο η ταπεινοφροσύνη είναι άξια της αλήθειας μόνο μrsquo αυτή δηλαδή μπορεί κανείς να δει και δεχτεί τα πράγματα όπως είναι και έτσι να δει το Θεό το μεγαλείο Του την καλωσύνη Του και την αγάπη Του στο καθετί Να γιατί όπως ξέρουμε ο Θεός laquoυπερηφάνοις αντιτάσσεται ταπει-νοίς δε δίδωσι χάρινraquo Συνέχεια από τη σελίδα 3 Η Υπομονή Μετά τη σωφροσύνη και την ταπεινοφροσύνη κατά φυσικό τρόπο ακολουθεί η υπομονή Ο laquoφυσικόςraquo ή laquoπεπτωκώςraquo άνθρωπος είναι ανυπόμονος γιατί είναι τυφλός για τον εαυτό του και βιαστικός στο να κρίνει και να καταδικάσει τους άλλους Με διασπαρμένη ατελή και διαστρεβλωμένη γνώση των πραγμάτων
Συνέχεια στη σελίδα 7
Συνέχεια από την έκδοση του περασμένου μήνα
Parish Council
Page 4 T h e L i g h t
Gamal has asked me to help him out with this monthrsquos column for the Parish Council as they have been busy preparing the church for Easter and the Spring Greek Festival (more on that on page 8) With all the hustle and bustle we need all of you to support your church community Please refer to the calendar for opportunities to participate not only in church services but in functions to grow our community Speaking of functions we will be hosting our 10th Annual Paschalino Glendi as you can see from the ad below The schedule for Holy Week is posted on page 11 and will be on our website as well Easter is a time of renewal and spiritual growth that cannot be achieved if you are not in church to receive Christrsquos blessing
As Gamal generally concludes with sayings prayers or blessings of the Church Fathers I have tried to find something that fits his style with a focus on the Lenten season I hope you enjoy my choices as much as you enjoy his ~ Eleni
1 Another old man came to see one of the Fathers who cooked a few lentils and said to him ldquoLet us say a few pray-ersrdquo and the first completed the whole Psalter and the brother recited the two great prophets by heart When morning came the visitor went away and they forgot the food Fasting here witnesses that the true nourishment of Christians is prayer and meditation on the word of God not the eating of food
2 A brother said to an old man ldquoThere are two brothers One of them stays in his cell quietly fasting for six days at a
time and imposing on himself a good deal of discipline and the other serves the sick Which one of them is more acceptable to Godrdquo The old man replied ldquoEven if the brother who fasts six days were to hang himself up by the nose he could not equal the one who serves the sickrdquo Here we learn that love is above fasting that we must not presume to put our fasting above ldquothe more excellent wayrdquo the ldquonew commandmentrdquo to love one another
Philoptochos
Page 5 T h e L i g h t
The Ladies Philoptochos sends you greetings as we begin Lent In February we had a membership tea with fantastic speakers from the Hope House Empower House Spotsylvania Social Services and the Healthy Generations Area Agency It was wonderful to hear about the community services available and how the funds we donate assist such im-portant missions We also learned about the resources available to maintain independence in retirement and services provided to elderly in need Please turn in your 2020 membership forms to any Philoptochos member if you have
not done so already Itrsquos never too late to join
Our chapter sponsored a regional Philoptochos workshop on Satur-day February 29th Philoptochos chapters from Maryland and throughout Virginia were present along with Eleni Constantinides President of the Me-tropolis of NJ Philoptochos and the Metropolis of NJ Board Items dis-cussed at the meeting included the roles and responsibilities of members of our executive boards elections membership social media social services and a wonderful speaker on human trafficking enlightened
us on the scope of this issue I hope everyone had a lovely time meeting our Philoptochos sisters from other chapters as well as the Metropolis of NJ Board A special thanks goes to all the ladies in our chapter for hosting such a spectacular event A delicious breakfast and luncheon was served by our chapter Thank you to all the ladies that assisted in the preparation set-up and clean up for the event It was a tremendous honor to be selected to host the event and I heard many wonderful com-ments of appreciation by those in attendance
Thank you to those members who provided dinner to residents at Mill Park Terrace on February 22nd Our monthly meals are appreciated by deserving folks at Mill Park The next visit to Mill Park will be on Saturday March 28th Please see myself or Maria Y if you are interested in assisting
Our Agora Craft and Food Festival was on Saturday March 7th from 10-3pm All proceeds are to support our philan-thropic efforts Savory Greek dishes and delectable pastries were available for those who chose to come out An as-sortment of craft vendors were also present We enjoyed seeing all of you there supporting the Ladies Philoptochos Thank you for inviting family and friends to come and visit We look forward to sharing pictures with you next month
The Ladies will be hosting a luncheon after church service on March 15th We will also be serving the residents at Mill Park Terrace on March 28th Otherwise baking days will be forthcoming in preparation for Pascha and the upcoming Greek Festival in May I will keep you informed of dates as I receive them Our next general meeting will be on April 5th
During this time of Lent let us reflect on our faith with prayer fasting confession and forgiveness Be more mindful of the way we speak behave think and treat others Offend less forgive more Speak less listen more Humble our-selves and let the love and light of Christ shine though us I wish all my family at the NTGOC a blessed Lenten journey with grace as we prepare for Holy Pascha
In Christ Verilee Vasilakos
True fasting lies in rejecting evil holding onersquos tongue suppressing onersquos hatred and banishing onersquos lust evil words lying and betrayal of vows ~St Basil the Great
Page 6 T h e L i g h t
Dance
Dance practices will be April 3 19 26 and May 1 9 amp 10 after liturgy
Youth News
St John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival The oratorical festival is once more upon us Michael Euripides is once again chairing this program for the children The local ora-torical festival will be hosted on April 10 and will be followed by a Lenten potluck dinner If you are willing to either judge or coach the speeches please see Mike This is a wonderful tradition in our church and a great opportunity for our youth to deepen their understanding of their faith
Bookstore
The Bookstore is preparing for Easter In addition to our normal inventory we are accepting special orders for items through March Please note the Bookstore will NOT be carrying red egg dye
If you are interested in having your baptismal or wedding candles dec-orated please contact us for more information
Thank you ~ Monica Hicks
Happy Name Day Χρονια Πολλα
Happy Name Day to all of those celebrating their feast this month To name a fewhellip Evdokia Maria Theodora Leandros Gregory Christodoulos Chrysanthos Lydia EvangellosEvangellia AlexiosAlexia
Sunday School
Sunday School graduation will be May 23 No classes will be held on April 19 (Easter) and May 17 (Spring Festival)
April 11 is the Saturday of Lazarus and all Sunday School Students are invited to participate in our annual Learning Liturgy where Fr John will explain the parts of the Liturgy as it is being conduct-ed After the service there will be the traditional Lenten breakfast folding of the Palm Crosses for Palm Sunday and the cleaning and decorating of the church
Camp Good Shepherd Our faithful readers will likely remember a piece shared in our September issue about Camp Good Shepherd from one of our parish youth For those already considering how their children will be oc-cupied this summer please consider Camp Good Shepherd in your plans Camp Good Shepherd Virginia will be hosting campers from July 5-11 this summer stay tuned for more details
of holy communion if they desire sincerely to be in eucharistic fellowship with God and if they fulfill all other conditions for participation in the life of the Church Because of the realization of the need for Christ in every aspect of human life and because as well it is the firm Christian conviction that nothing should or even can be done perfectly without Christ or without his presence and power in the Church by the Holy Spirit two Christians cannot begin to live together and to share each otherrsquos life in total unitymdashspiritually physically intellectually socially eco-nomicallymdashwithout first placing that unity into the eternity of the Kingdom of God through the sacrament of marriage in the Church According to the Orthodox teaching as expressed in the sacramental rite of mar-riage the creation of children and the care and love for them within the context of the family is the normal fulfillment of the love of a man and woman in Christ In this way marriage is the human expression of the creative and caring love of God the perfect Love of the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity which overflows in the creation and care for the world This conviction that human love imitative of divine love should overflow itself in the creation and care for others does not mean that the procreation of children is in itself the sole purpose of marriage and the unique and exclusive justification and legitimization of its existence Neither does it mean that a childless couple cannot live a truly Christian life together Life is a journey ndash a difficult and complex journey And marriage is one way of trav-
eling ndash indeed of enjoying and not simply enduring ndash this journey through sharing
Yet the goal of the journey lies ahead the significance of the sacrament lies in the
Kingdom It is this Kingdom for which we truly hope and which is our true home
Miscellany Continued from page 1
Miscellany
Page 7 T h e L i g h t
που έχει μετράει τα πάντα με βάση τις δικές του προτιμήσεις και τις δικές του ιδέες Αδιαφορεί για τον καθένα γύ-ρω του εκτός από τον εαυτό του θέλει η ζωή του να είναι πετυχημένη τώρα αυτή τη στιγμή Η υπομονή βέβαια είναι μια αληθινά θεϊκή αρετή Ο Θεός είναι υπομονετικός όχι γιατί είναι laquoσυγκαταβατικόςraquo αλλά γιατί βλέπει το βάθος όλων των πραγμάτων γιατί η εσωτερική πραγματικότητά τους την οποία εμείς με την τυφλότητά μας δεν μπορούμε να δούμε είναι ανοιχτή σrsquo Αυτόν Όσο πιο κοντά ερχόμαστε στο Θεό τόσο περισσότε-ρο υπομονετικοί γινόμαστε και τόσο πιο πολύ αντανακλούμε αυτή την απέραστη εκτίμηση για όλα τα όντα πράγμα που είναι η κύρια ιδιότητα του Θεού Η Αγάπη Τέλος το αποκορύφωμα και ο καρπός όλων των αρετών κάθε καλλιέργειας και κάθε προσπάθειας είναι η αγάπη Αυτή η αγάπη που όπως έχουμε πει μπορεί να δοθεί μόνο από το Θεό είναι το δώρο που αποτελεί σκοπό που α-ποτελεί σκοπό για κάθε πνευματική προετοιμασία και άσκηση Η υπερηφάνεια Όλα αυτά συγκεφαλαιώνονται στην τελική αίτηση της προσευχής του Αγίου Εφραίμ με την οποία ζητάμε laquohellipδώρησαί μοι τοῦ ὁράν τά ἐμά πταίσματα καί μή κατακρίνειν τόν ἀδελφόν μουhellipraquo Εδώ τελικά δεν υπάρχει παρά μόνο ένας κίνδυνος η υπερηφάνεια Η υπερηφάνεια είναι η πηγή του κακού και όλο το κακό είναι η υπερηφάνεια Παρrsquo όλα αυτά δεν είναι αρκετό για μένα να βλέπω τα laquoἐμά πταίσματαraquo γιατί ακόμα και αυτή η φαινομενική αρετή μπορεί να μετατραπεί σε υπερηφάνεια Τα πατερικά κείμενα είναι γεμάτα από προειδοποιήσεις για την ύπουλη μορφή ψευτοευσέβειας η οποία στην πραγ-ματικότητα με το κάλυμμα της ταπεινοφροσύνης και της αυτομεμψίας μπορεί να οδηγήσει σε μια πραγματικά δαι-μονική υπερηφάνεια Αλλά όταν βλέπουμε τα δικά μας σφάλματα και δεν κατακρίνουμε τους αδελφούς μας όταν με άλλα λόγια η σωφροσύνη η ταπεινοφροσύνη η υπομονή και η αγάπη γίνονται ένα σε μας τότε και μόνο τότε ο αιώνιος εχθρός ndashη υπερηφάνεια- θrsquo αφανιστεί μέσα μας π Αλέξανδρος Σμέμαν από το βιβλίο laquoΜεγάλη Σαρακοστήraquo εκδόσεις laquoΑκρίταςraquo Υποσημειώσεις 1) Κάθε φορά που λέμε ένα στίχο της ευχής του Οσίου Εφραίμ κάνουμε μία μεγάλη μετάνοια Σύνολο τρεις Όταν τελειώσουμε αυτές κάνουμε δώδεκα μικρές μετάνοιες λέγοντας σε καθεμία από αυτές laquoΟ Θεός ἱλάσθητί μοι τῶ ἁμαρτωλῷ καί ἐλέησόν μεraquo Στο τέλος επαναλαμβάνουμε άλλη μία φορά τον τελευταίο στίχο της ευχής (Ναι Κύριε Βασιλεύ) και πραγματοποιούμε άλλη μία μεγάλη μετάνοια (Ωρολόγιον το Μέγα εκδ Αποστολική Διακονία 2003)
2) Ο συγγραφέας μεταφράζει από το ελληνικό κείμενο τη λέξη laquoπεριέργειαraquo με την αγγλική λέξη faint-heartedness που σημαί-νει λιποψυχία δειλία
Note form the Stewardship Chair Dr Yvonne Athanasaw
Update on Database We are on our way to gathering information about each of our parishioners to better know our family Dr Athanasaw is in the process of taking photos of our parishioners after Liturgy for the database She will also be meeting with each family to ensure we collect all the pertinent information such as birthdays wedding anniver-saries ministries talents etc
Gift of Time We are gearing up for the festival We will need all hand- on deck as much as possible Please reach out to our Parish Council president Gamal who can direct you to those festival committee chairs who are looking for volunteers
Gift of Treasurer To keep the parishioners informed of the financial stewardship status we will update the graph below to show the progress toward the $110000 budgeted stewardship estimate that the parishioners approved on Jan-uary 26 To put this into perspective to meet this goal the average total monthly stewardship contributions should be approximately $9176
To ensure that parishioners have a variety of options to contribute towards the stewardship goal there are two addi-tional options besides via personal check Now parishioners can set up an account and donate via credit card or through electronic bank check To set up an account and pay through these options go to abundantcontgocaccountregister These options are especially beneficial during times of travel vacations and Sunday work schedules
March Greek Festival Check List
As you can see the Festival committee is already working hard to bring our annual Spring Festival to frui-
tion We are in the Paschal season and much of our focus is on how we will survive another 30 or so days without meat and picking which services we can fit into our busy schedules Many of you may be doing the same when you are considering the festivalmdashtrying to see if you can possibly come out to help on Friday Saturday or Sun-day perhaps not even considering the prep days leading up to that weekend Hopefully you are strengthening your soul through fasting and attending as many of these beautiful services as you can so you can truly reflect on this questionmdashWhat if Christ only made as much time for you as you make for Him and His church
NTGOC Book Club
We hope you enjoyed or at least looked into last monthrsquos recommended reading This month brings some fresh recommendations focused on preparing you for your Lenten journey
Mount Athos The Highest Place on Earth Metropolitan Nikolaos of Mesogia
Great Week and Pascha in the Greek Orthodox Church Alkiviadis C Calivas
On the Path of Salvation with Christ from the Nativity to the Resurrection Archbishop and Metropolitan Nicolae Our first two texts (pictured) are available on Amazon the third text seems to be available only in Fr Johnrsquos library Please reach out to him if you are interested in reviewing Archbishop and Metropolitan Nicolaersquos text
Did you enjoy any of the previous recommendations Do you have a book or two you would like to recommend Are you searching for a good book on a particular topic or saint Let us know newsletterntgocorg
Page 8 T h e L i g h t
Miscellany
Greek Festival
March Tasks
Task Status
Greek Band lodgingdeposit Under contract
Contact Stage company In Progress
Contact Health Department Assigned
Contact Spotsy Police for overnight security In Progress
Contact waste company for Dumpsters Assigned
Order Banners In Progress
Contact Bounce house Assigned
Contact Face Painter Assigned
Contact Fire Inspector Assigned
Apply for ABC license Assigned
Apply for County Safety licenses Assigned
Evaluate current Flyer and Menu In Progress
Inventory paper goods In Progress
Evaluate last yearrsquos growth and determine ingredients to buy In Progress
Evaluate which menu items to increase price In Progress
Design amp order tote bags sports bottles amp stadium cups Completed
Contact Tent amp Chair Company Under contract
Recruit Volunteers In Progress
Η ζωή στο σπίτι κατά τη διάρκεια της Μεγάλης Τεσσαρακοστής
Στις Σαρακοστές καλό είναι να γνωρίζεις μόνο εκκλησία και σπίτι τίποτrsquo άλλο Φτάνεις λοιπόν στο σπίτι Τί θα κάνεις εκεί Θα αγωνιστείς μrsquo όλη σου τη δύναμη να διατηρήσεις την προσήλωση του νου και της καρδιάς στον Κύριο Αμέ-σως μετά την εκκλησία τρέξε στο δωμάτιό σου και κάνε αρκετές μετάνοιες ζητώντας ευλαβικά από τον Θεό να σε βοηθήσει ώστε να αξιοποιήσεις το χρόνο της παραμονής σου στο σπίτι με τρόπο ωφέλιμο για την ψυχή σου
Ύστερα κάθησε και ξεκουράσου για λίγο Αλλά και τότε μην αφήνεις τους λογισμούς σου να ξεστρατίζουν Διώχνοντας κάθε σκέψη επαναλάμβανε νοερά την ευχή ldquoΚύριε Ιησού Χριστέ ελέησόν με Κύριε Ιησού Χριστέ ελέησόν μεrdquo Αφού ξεκουραστείς πρέπει νrsquo ασχοληθείς με κάτι είτε προσευχή είτε εργόχειρο Τι εργόχειρο θα κάνεις δεν έχει ση-μασία∙ ξέρεις ήδη τι σου αρέσει Είναι βλέπεις αδύνατο να ασχολείσαι όλη την ώρα με πνευματικά πράγματα∙ χρειά-ζεται να έχει και κάποιο ευχάριστο εργόχειρο
Μrsquo αυτό θα καταπιάνεσαι όταν η ψυχή σου είναι κουρασμένη όταν δεν έχεις τη δύναμη να διαβάσεις ή να προσευ-χηθείς Αν βέβαια οι πνευματικές σου ενασχολήσεις πηγαίνουν καλά το εργόχειρο δεν είναι απαραίτητο Εκπληρώ-νει μόνο την ανάγκη αξιοποιήσεως του χρόνου που αλλιώς θα σπαταλιόταν σε απραξία Και η απραξία είναι πάντα ολέθρια πολύ περισσότερο όμως στον καιρό της νηστείας
Πώς πρέπει να προσεύχεται κανείς στο σπίτι Σωστά σκέφθηκες ότι τη Σαρακοστή οφείλουμε να προσθέτουμε κάτι στον συνηθισμένο κανόνα προσευχής Νομίζω ωστόσο πως αντί να διαβάζεις περισσότερες προσευχές από το Προ-σευχητάρι είναι καλύτερο νrsquo αυξήσεις τη διάρκεια της άμεσης επικοινωνίας σου με τον Κύριο Κάθε μέρα πριν αρχί-σεις και αφού τελειώσεις τη την ορθρινή και βραδυνή ακολουθία να απευθύνεσαι με δικά σου λόγια στον Κύριο την Υπεραγία Θεοτόκο και τον φύλακα άγγελό σου ευχαριστώντας τους για την προστασία τους και παρακαλώντας τους για την ικανοποίηση των πνευματικών σου αναγκών Ζήτα τους να σε βοηθήσουν ώστε πρώτα απrsquo όλα να γνωρίσεις τον εαυτό σου να αποκτήσεις αυτογνωσία και όταν την αποκτήσεις να σου χαρίσουν ζήλο και δύναμη ώστε να θε-ραπεύσεις τις πληγές της ψυχής σου Ζήτα τους ακόμα να γεμίσουν την καρδιά σου με το αίσθημα της ταπεινώσεως και της συντριβής Η ταπείνωση είναι η πιο ευάρεστη στον Θεό θυσία Έτσι να προσεύχεσαι Μην επιβάλεις όμως στον εαυτό σου έναν προσευχητικό κανόνα μακρύ και βαρύ έναν κανόνα που θα υπερβαίνει τα μέτρα των ψυχοσω-ματικών σου δυνάμεων και θα σε καταβάλλει Καλύτερα είναι να προσεύχεσαι συχνότερα στη διάρκεια της ημέρας και όταν ασχολείσαι μrsquo οποιαδήποτε άλλη εργασία να έχεις το νου σου στο Θεό
Μετά την προσευχή διάβαζε για λίγο με αυτοσυγκέντρωση Η μελέτη δεν αποσκοπεί στο φόρτωμα του μυαλού σου με διάφορες πληροφορίες και γνώσεις αλλά στην ψυχική σου ωφέλεια και εποικοδομή Γιrsquo αυτό δεν χρειάζεται να διαβάζεις πολλά Διάβαζε όμως με προσοχή μεγάλη και με καρδιακή συμμετοχή
Page 9 T h e L i g h t
Hopefully you all enjoy the content that we present monthly if not newsletterntgocorg While the different com-mitteesorganizations are responsible for their own contributions the rest of the content is pulled together by yours truly I do love to get lost in meme land to find relevant humorous takes on the Orthodox faith (like Grumpy Catrsquos perspective on Lent) but I also spend a great deal of time trying to find information to share that is engaging informative and relevant to our faith and the time of year Obviously Great Lent and the Paschal season are upon us and so my searches have been inspired by how I can help in-spire you all as you preparation for Easter I came across an article on fasting that references the works of a Coptic Pope While the Coptic Church is not affiliated with the Orthodox Church the text provided an interesting aspect to fasting that most of us I believe do not truly consider In essence we focus on Lent as a time of restricting the content of our diet but perhaps not so much on the quantity of our diet I hope you will all take the time to read the article if not the linked text from Pope Shenouda III httpsjohnbelovedhabibwordpresscom20150304fasting-defined-according-to-pope-shenouda-iii ~Eleni
Great Lent
Page 10 T h e L i g h t
Great Lent
ldquoΤι να διαβάζωrdquo θα με ρωτήσεις Μόνο πνευματικά βιβλία φυσικά Η προσεκτική ανάγνωση τέτοιων βιβλίων εμπνέ-ει την ψυχή περισσότερο απrsquo οτιδήποτε άλλο Αν πάντως στη διάρκεια της μελέτης γεννιέται ο πόθος της προσευ-χής νrsquo αφήνεις το βιβλίο και να προσεύχεσαι
Θα διαβάζεις λοιπόν θα προσεύχεσαι θα κάνεις μετάνοιες Και μrsquo όλα αυτά ωστόσο δεν θα μπορέσεις να κρατή-σεις το νου και την καρδιά σου σε κατάσταση συνεχούς και έντονου αγώνα Είναι αναπόφευκτο να κουράζεσαι Τότε όπως σου είπα θα ασχολείσαι με κάποια πρακτική εργασία
Σκέφτεσαι καθώς μου γράφεις να μειώσεις την ποσότητα του καθημερινού σου φαγητού Σωστή κι ωφέλιμη η σκέ-ψη σου∙ σωστή γιατί το σώμα που με τις παρεκτροπές του σε αναγκάζει να μετανοείς οφείλει να καταβάλει στη διάρκεια της Σαρακοστής τους μόχθους που του αναλογούν∙ και ωφέλιμη γιατί με τη νηστεία το σώμα δουλαγωγεί-ται ο νους καθαρίζεται η καρδιά μαλακώνει τα πάθη νεκρώνονται Μόνο μην το παρακάνεις Ήδη τρως τόσο λίγο Πρέπει να έχεις δυνάμεις για να στέκεσαι στην εκκλησία και για νrsquo αγωνίζεσαι στο σπίτι Κοίτα να τρως τόσο όσο χρειάζεται για να μην εξασθενήσεις
Καλό θα ήταν επίσης να μείωνες λίγο το χρόνο του ύπνου και της αναπαύσεώς σου Είναι μία θυσία για σένα αλλά κάθε λογής θυσία ταιριάζει σrsquo αυτή την περίοδο
Και με τις συζητήσεις τι θα γίνει Τη Σαρακοστή τουλάχιστον οι συζητήσεις με τους άλλους ας περιοριστούν σε πνευ-ματικά θέματα Ακόμα καλύτερες είναι οι κοινές πνευματικές αναγνώσεις που δίνουν αφορμές για την ανταλλαγή εποικοδομητικών σκέψεων και για την εξαγωγή ωφέλιμων συμπερασμάτων Κατάλληλοι γιrsquo αυτό τον σκοπό είναι οι Βίοι των Αγίων
ΟΣΙΟΥ ΘΕΟΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΤΟΥ ΕΓΚΛΕΙΣΤΟΥ
Life at Home during Lent
This article presented in Greek above presents some ideas on how one should conduct themselves throughout the Len-ten season beyond their time in church The site presents their own translation Irsquove tackled the most awkward bits but
it is still an interesting translation
In Lent it is good to know only the church and home nothing else You arrive therefore at home What are you going to do there You will fight with all your strength to maintain the commitment of mind and heart to the Lord Immediately after the church run to your room and make many prostrations devoutly asking God to help you to use your time of your stay in the house in a manner beneficial to your soul
Then sit down and rest for a while But then do not let your thoughts stray Sweeping away every thought mentally repeating the prayer Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me Jesus Christ show me mercy After some rest you must bother with something either prayer or handiwork What kind of handiwork is of no matter already you know what you like It is you see impossible to bother all the time with spiritual things it is necessary have a pleasant hobby
With this you will be caught when your soul is tired when you do not have the power to read or pray If of course your spiritual pastimes are going well the handiwork is not necessary It only fulfills the need for recovery time that would otherwise be wasted in idleness And doing nothing is always devastating but much more in the time of fasting
How should one pray at home Rightly you thought in Lent we need to add something to the usual rule of prayer I think however that instead of reading more prayers from the prayer book it is better to increase the duration of your direct communication with the Lord Every day before you start and after finishing the morning and evening prayers send in your own words to the Lord the Virgin Mary and your guardian angel thanking them for their protection and pleading with them to satisfy your spiritual needs Ask them to help you that first of all to know yourself to acquire self-knowledge and when you have acquired these to offer your zeal and strength to heal the wounds of your soul Ask them yet to fill your heart with a sense of humility and the contrition Humility is the most pleasing sacrifice to God So pray in this way Do not impose however give yourself a long and heavy rule of praying a rule that would ex-
Great Lent
Page 11 T h e L i g h t
ceed the measures of your psychosomatic forces and will overwhelm you Better is to pray often during the day and when you are dealing with any other job to have your mind on God
After the prayer read briefly with concentration The study is not intended load of your mind with a variety of infor-mation and knowledge but to benefit your soul and its structure So we do not need to read a lot But read with great attention and your heartrsquos involvement
What to read you will ask me Only spiritual books of course Careful reading of such books inspires the soul more than anything else If however during this studying is born a yearning for prayer leave the book aside and pray
You will read you will pray you would do prostrations And with all this however you will not be able to keep the mind and heart in a state of continuous and fierce struggle Inevitably you will be tired Then as I said you should be-come busy with some practical work
You think as you write to me you must reduce the amount of your daily food Your thought is correct and healthy ∙ correct because the body with its excesses forces you to repent it is healthy for the body to understand throughout Lent the analogous labors ∙ beneficial because with fasting the body is subdued the mind is purified the heart softens passions die Just do not overdo it Already you eat so little You have to have strength to stand in church and to strive at home Look to eat as much as necessary to avoid impairments
It would also be slightly reduces the time of sleep and your resting It is a sacrifice for you but every kind of sacrifice fit in this period
And with debates what will be done In Lent at least discussions with others let confined to spiritual matters Even better are the common spiritual readings which give rise to an exchange of constructive thoughts and to extract useful conclusions Suitable for this purpose are the Lives of the Saints
SAINT THEOFANOUS the enclosure
httpspoimingrzoi-sto-spiti-kata-ti-diarkia-tis-megalis-tessarakostis
Schedule of Services for Holy Week 2020
(April 12-19)
April 12 ndash Palm Sunday Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am Orthros
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 600 pm
April 13 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 14 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 15 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
mdash Holy Unction Service ndash 600 pm
April 16 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Service of the Lordrsquos Passion ndash 600 pm
April 17 ndash The Great Hours ndash 900 am
ndash Apokathelosis ndash 300 pm
ndash Epitaphios Service ndash 700 pm
April 18 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Resurrection Service - 1130 pm
April 19 ndash Agape Vespers ndash 1200 pm
Easter Traditions of our Church In addition to the appropriately scheduled services listed to the left our church has a few traditions that we would like to encourage all of you to participate in Saturday of Lazarus (April 11) - Learning Liturgy Lenten breakfast Palm Crosses Preparing the Church for Palm Sunday and Holy Week Palm SundaymdashFish Luncheon after services Holy Friday MorningmdashDecorating the Kouvouklion for services Holy Friday Evening (after the Great Hours at 9am) Holy Friday EveningmdashMyrhhbearing Women (girls of our parish ages 8-18 who will participate in the service Holy Friday evening Stay tuned to Aprilrsquos edition for more details if your daughter would like to participate Holy Saturday MorningmdashCleaning and decorating the church for the Resurrection service (after the Vespers and Divine Liturgy of St Basil at 9am) This is also when you can drop off your red eggs to be blessed for Easter Easter SundaymdashPaschalino Glendi a potluck luncheon to celebrate Easter (after the Agape Vespers) See the flyer on page 4 for details
The Nativity of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church
12326 Spotswood Furnace Road Fredericksburg VA 22407
540-548-2665 Office Emailmdashofficentgocorg
Newsletter Emailmdashnewsletterntgocorg wwwnativityvagoarchorg
Parish Information
Page 12 T h e L i g h t
PARISH COUNCIL Gamal Salem President Nick Roman Secretary Maria Christoforatos Treasurer Maxine Calamos Assistant Treasurer George Tsoukleris Dennis Makrinos Yvonne Athanasaw Chris Zourzoukis STEWARDSHIP Yvonne Athanasaw FUND RAISING
BOOK STORE Monica Hicks PHILOPTOCHOS Verilee Vasilakos President Linda Govenides Vice-President Christine Turdean Treasurer Secretary CHOIR 2020 FESTIVAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL Dr Judy Marrs Director DANCE Dr Judy Marrs Director GOYA Dan Athanasaw Jr HOPEJOY
Office Hours
Fr John is available as follows or by appointment
MondaymdashClosed
Tuesdaymdash 9am-1pm
Wedensdaymdash 9am-1pm
Thursdaymdash9am-1pm
Fridaymdash9am-1pm
Cell phone numbermdash
540-645-1427
Emailmdashfrjohnntgocorg
PASTORAL GUIDELINES
Please contact Fr John if you wish to schedule a sacrament or know of a parishioner who is sick or in the hospital
WEDDINGS Marriages are not performed on fast days during fasting seasons or on the feasts of the church specifi-cally September 14 (Exaltation of the Holy Cross) December 13-25 (Nativity) January 5 amp 6 (Theophany) Great Lent and Holy Week Pascha (Easter) Pentecost August 1-15 (Dormition Fast and Feast) and August 29 (Beheading of St John the Baptist) Exceptions can only be made with the permission of the respective hierarch
BAPTISMS A person who wishes to sponsor a candidate for Baptism or Chrismation must be an Orthodox Christian in good standing and a supporting member of an Orthodox parish A person may not serve as a godparent if the Church has not blessed his or her marriage or if civilly divorced he or she has not been granted an ecclesiastical divorce or for any other reason he or she is not in communion with the Orthodox Church Baptisms may not be performed from Christmas Day through the Feast of Theophany (December 25-January 6) during Holy Week or any of the great feast days of the Lord
FUNERALS Funeral services are permitted on any day of the year except for Sundays and Holy Friday unless permis-sion is granted by the Archbishop or Metropolitan
MEMORIALS Memorial services may not be chanted from the Saturday of Lazarus through the Sunday of Thomas or any Feast days of the Lord or the Theotokos
Parish Council
Page 4 T h e L i g h t
Gamal has asked me to help him out with this monthrsquos column for the Parish Council as they have been busy preparing the church for Easter and the Spring Greek Festival (more on that on page 8) With all the hustle and bustle we need all of you to support your church community Please refer to the calendar for opportunities to participate not only in church services but in functions to grow our community Speaking of functions we will be hosting our 10th Annual Paschalino Glendi as you can see from the ad below The schedule for Holy Week is posted on page 11 and will be on our website as well Easter is a time of renewal and spiritual growth that cannot be achieved if you are not in church to receive Christrsquos blessing
As Gamal generally concludes with sayings prayers or blessings of the Church Fathers I have tried to find something that fits his style with a focus on the Lenten season I hope you enjoy my choices as much as you enjoy his ~ Eleni
1 Another old man came to see one of the Fathers who cooked a few lentils and said to him ldquoLet us say a few pray-ersrdquo and the first completed the whole Psalter and the brother recited the two great prophets by heart When morning came the visitor went away and they forgot the food Fasting here witnesses that the true nourishment of Christians is prayer and meditation on the word of God not the eating of food
2 A brother said to an old man ldquoThere are two brothers One of them stays in his cell quietly fasting for six days at a
time and imposing on himself a good deal of discipline and the other serves the sick Which one of them is more acceptable to Godrdquo The old man replied ldquoEven if the brother who fasts six days were to hang himself up by the nose he could not equal the one who serves the sickrdquo Here we learn that love is above fasting that we must not presume to put our fasting above ldquothe more excellent wayrdquo the ldquonew commandmentrdquo to love one another
Philoptochos
Page 5 T h e L i g h t
The Ladies Philoptochos sends you greetings as we begin Lent In February we had a membership tea with fantastic speakers from the Hope House Empower House Spotsylvania Social Services and the Healthy Generations Area Agency It was wonderful to hear about the community services available and how the funds we donate assist such im-portant missions We also learned about the resources available to maintain independence in retirement and services provided to elderly in need Please turn in your 2020 membership forms to any Philoptochos member if you have
not done so already Itrsquos never too late to join
Our chapter sponsored a regional Philoptochos workshop on Satur-day February 29th Philoptochos chapters from Maryland and throughout Virginia were present along with Eleni Constantinides President of the Me-tropolis of NJ Philoptochos and the Metropolis of NJ Board Items dis-cussed at the meeting included the roles and responsibilities of members of our executive boards elections membership social media social services and a wonderful speaker on human trafficking enlightened
us on the scope of this issue I hope everyone had a lovely time meeting our Philoptochos sisters from other chapters as well as the Metropolis of NJ Board A special thanks goes to all the ladies in our chapter for hosting such a spectacular event A delicious breakfast and luncheon was served by our chapter Thank you to all the ladies that assisted in the preparation set-up and clean up for the event It was a tremendous honor to be selected to host the event and I heard many wonderful com-ments of appreciation by those in attendance
Thank you to those members who provided dinner to residents at Mill Park Terrace on February 22nd Our monthly meals are appreciated by deserving folks at Mill Park The next visit to Mill Park will be on Saturday March 28th Please see myself or Maria Y if you are interested in assisting
Our Agora Craft and Food Festival was on Saturday March 7th from 10-3pm All proceeds are to support our philan-thropic efforts Savory Greek dishes and delectable pastries were available for those who chose to come out An as-sortment of craft vendors were also present We enjoyed seeing all of you there supporting the Ladies Philoptochos Thank you for inviting family and friends to come and visit We look forward to sharing pictures with you next month
The Ladies will be hosting a luncheon after church service on March 15th We will also be serving the residents at Mill Park Terrace on March 28th Otherwise baking days will be forthcoming in preparation for Pascha and the upcoming Greek Festival in May I will keep you informed of dates as I receive them Our next general meeting will be on April 5th
During this time of Lent let us reflect on our faith with prayer fasting confession and forgiveness Be more mindful of the way we speak behave think and treat others Offend less forgive more Speak less listen more Humble our-selves and let the love and light of Christ shine though us I wish all my family at the NTGOC a blessed Lenten journey with grace as we prepare for Holy Pascha
In Christ Verilee Vasilakos
True fasting lies in rejecting evil holding onersquos tongue suppressing onersquos hatred and banishing onersquos lust evil words lying and betrayal of vows ~St Basil the Great
Page 6 T h e L i g h t
Dance
Dance practices will be April 3 19 26 and May 1 9 amp 10 after liturgy
Youth News
St John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival The oratorical festival is once more upon us Michael Euripides is once again chairing this program for the children The local ora-torical festival will be hosted on April 10 and will be followed by a Lenten potluck dinner If you are willing to either judge or coach the speeches please see Mike This is a wonderful tradition in our church and a great opportunity for our youth to deepen their understanding of their faith
Bookstore
The Bookstore is preparing for Easter In addition to our normal inventory we are accepting special orders for items through March Please note the Bookstore will NOT be carrying red egg dye
If you are interested in having your baptismal or wedding candles dec-orated please contact us for more information
Thank you ~ Monica Hicks
Happy Name Day Χρονια Πολλα
Happy Name Day to all of those celebrating their feast this month To name a fewhellip Evdokia Maria Theodora Leandros Gregory Christodoulos Chrysanthos Lydia EvangellosEvangellia AlexiosAlexia
Sunday School
Sunday School graduation will be May 23 No classes will be held on April 19 (Easter) and May 17 (Spring Festival)
April 11 is the Saturday of Lazarus and all Sunday School Students are invited to participate in our annual Learning Liturgy where Fr John will explain the parts of the Liturgy as it is being conduct-ed After the service there will be the traditional Lenten breakfast folding of the Palm Crosses for Palm Sunday and the cleaning and decorating of the church
Camp Good Shepherd Our faithful readers will likely remember a piece shared in our September issue about Camp Good Shepherd from one of our parish youth For those already considering how their children will be oc-cupied this summer please consider Camp Good Shepherd in your plans Camp Good Shepherd Virginia will be hosting campers from July 5-11 this summer stay tuned for more details
of holy communion if they desire sincerely to be in eucharistic fellowship with God and if they fulfill all other conditions for participation in the life of the Church Because of the realization of the need for Christ in every aspect of human life and because as well it is the firm Christian conviction that nothing should or even can be done perfectly without Christ or without his presence and power in the Church by the Holy Spirit two Christians cannot begin to live together and to share each otherrsquos life in total unitymdashspiritually physically intellectually socially eco-nomicallymdashwithout first placing that unity into the eternity of the Kingdom of God through the sacrament of marriage in the Church According to the Orthodox teaching as expressed in the sacramental rite of mar-riage the creation of children and the care and love for them within the context of the family is the normal fulfillment of the love of a man and woman in Christ In this way marriage is the human expression of the creative and caring love of God the perfect Love of the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity which overflows in the creation and care for the world This conviction that human love imitative of divine love should overflow itself in the creation and care for others does not mean that the procreation of children is in itself the sole purpose of marriage and the unique and exclusive justification and legitimization of its existence Neither does it mean that a childless couple cannot live a truly Christian life together Life is a journey ndash a difficult and complex journey And marriage is one way of trav-
eling ndash indeed of enjoying and not simply enduring ndash this journey through sharing
Yet the goal of the journey lies ahead the significance of the sacrament lies in the
Kingdom It is this Kingdom for which we truly hope and which is our true home
Miscellany Continued from page 1
Miscellany
Page 7 T h e L i g h t
που έχει μετράει τα πάντα με βάση τις δικές του προτιμήσεις και τις δικές του ιδέες Αδιαφορεί για τον καθένα γύ-ρω του εκτός από τον εαυτό του θέλει η ζωή του να είναι πετυχημένη τώρα αυτή τη στιγμή Η υπομονή βέβαια είναι μια αληθινά θεϊκή αρετή Ο Θεός είναι υπομονετικός όχι γιατί είναι laquoσυγκαταβατικόςraquo αλλά γιατί βλέπει το βάθος όλων των πραγμάτων γιατί η εσωτερική πραγματικότητά τους την οποία εμείς με την τυφλότητά μας δεν μπορούμε να δούμε είναι ανοιχτή σrsquo Αυτόν Όσο πιο κοντά ερχόμαστε στο Θεό τόσο περισσότε-ρο υπομονετικοί γινόμαστε και τόσο πιο πολύ αντανακλούμε αυτή την απέραστη εκτίμηση για όλα τα όντα πράγμα που είναι η κύρια ιδιότητα του Θεού Η Αγάπη Τέλος το αποκορύφωμα και ο καρπός όλων των αρετών κάθε καλλιέργειας και κάθε προσπάθειας είναι η αγάπη Αυτή η αγάπη που όπως έχουμε πει μπορεί να δοθεί μόνο από το Θεό είναι το δώρο που αποτελεί σκοπό που α-ποτελεί σκοπό για κάθε πνευματική προετοιμασία και άσκηση Η υπερηφάνεια Όλα αυτά συγκεφαλαιώνονται στην τελική αίτηση της προσευχής του Αγίου Εφραίμ με την οποία ζητάμε laquohellipδώρησαί μοι τοῦ ὁράν τά ἐμά πταίσματα καί μή κατακρίνειν τόν ἀδελφόν μουhellipraquo Εδώ τελικά δεν υπάρχει παρά μόνο ένας κίνδυνος η υπερηφάνεια Η υπερηφάνεια είναι η πηγή του κακού και όλο το κακό είναι η υπερηφάνεια Παρrsquo όλα αυτά δεν είναι αρκετό για μένα να βλέπω τα laquoἐμά πταίσματαraquo γιατί ακόμα και αυτή η φαινομενική αρετή μπορεί να μετατραπεί σε υπερηφάνεια Τα πατερικά κείμενα είναι γεμάτα από προειδοποιήσεις για την ύπουλη μορφή ψευτοευσέβειας η οποία στην πραγ-ματικότητα με το κάλυμμα της ταπεινοφροσύνης και της αυτομεμψίας μπορεί να οδηγήσει σε μια πραγματικά δαι-μονική υπερηφάνεια Αλλά όταν βλέπουμε τα δικά μας σφάλματα και δεν κατακρίνουμε τους αδελφούς μας όταν με άλλα λόγια η σωφροσύνη η ταπεινοφροσύνη η υπομονή και η αγάπη γίνονται ένα σε μας τότε και μόνο τότε ο αιώνιος εχθρός ndashη υπερηφάνεια- θrsquo αφανιστεί μέσα μας π Αλέξανδρος Σμέμαν από το βιβλίο laquoΜεγάλη Σαρακοστήraquo εκδόσεις laquoΑκρίταςraquo Υποσημειώσεις 1) Κάθε φορά που λέμε ένα στίχο της ευχής του Οσίου Εφραίμ κάνουμε μία μεγάλη μετάνοια Σύνολο τρεις Όταν τελειώσουμε αυτές κάνουμε δώδεκα μικρές μετάνοιες λέγοντας σε καθεμία από αυτές laquoΟ Θεός ἱλάσθητί μοι τῶ ἁμαρτωλῷ καί ἐλέησόν μεraquo Στο τέλος επαναλαμβάνουμε άλλη μία φορά τον τελευταίο στίχο της ευχής (Ναι Κύριε Βασιλεύ) και πραγματοποιούμε άλλη μία μεγάλη μετάνοια (Ωρολόγιον το Μέγα εκδ Αποστολική Διακονία 2003)
2) Ο συγγραφέας μεταφράζει από το ελληνικό κείμενο τη λέξη laquoπεριέργειαraquo με την αγγλική λέξη faint-heartedness που σημαί-νει λιποψυχία δειλία
Note form the Stewardship Chair Dr Yvonne Athanasaw
Update on Database We are on our way to gathering information about each of our parishioners to better know our family Dr Athanasaw is in the process of taking photos of our parishioners after Liturgy for the database She will also be meeting with each family to ensure we collect all the pertinent information such as birthdays wedding anniver-saries ministries talents etc
Gift of Time We are gearing up for the festival We will need all hand- on deck as much as possible Please reach out to our Parish Council president Gamal who can direct you to those festival committee chairs who are looking for volunteers
Gift of Treasurer To keep the parishioners informed of the financial stewardship status we will update the graph below to show the progress toward the $110000 budgeted stewardship estimate that the parishioners approved on Jan-uary 26 To put this into perspective to meet this goal the average total monthly stewardship contributions should be approximately $9176
To ensure that parishioners have a variety of options to contribute towards the stewardship goal there are two addi-tional options besides via personal check Now parishioners can set up an account and donate via credit card or through electronic bank check To set up an account and pay through these options go to abundantcontgocaccountregister These options are especially beneficial during times of travel vacations and Sunday work schedules
March Greek Festival Check List
As you can see the Festival committee is already working hard to bring our annual Spring Festival to frui-
tion We are in the Paschal season and much of our focus is on how we will survive another 30 or so days without meat and picking which services we can fit into our busy schedules Many of you may be doing the same when you are considering the festivalmdashtrying to see if you can possibly come out to help on Friday Saturday or Sun-day perhaps not even considering the prep days leading up to that weekend Hopefully you are strengthening your soul through fasting and attending as many of these beautiful services as you can so you can truly reflect on this questionmdashWhat if Christ only made as much time for you as you make for Him and His church
NTGOC Book Club
We hope you enjoyed or at least looked into last monthrsquos recommended reading This month brings some fresh recommendations focused on preparing you for your Lenten journey
Mount Athos The Highest Place on Earth Metropolitan Nikolaos of Mesogia
Great Week and Pascha in the Greek Orthodox Church Alkiviadis C Calivas
On the Path of Salvation with Christ from the Nativity to the Resurrection Archbishop and Metropolitan Nicolae Our first two texts (pictured) are available on Amazon the third text seems to be available only in Fr Johnrsquos library Please reach out to him if you are interested in reviewing Archbishop and Metropolitan Nicolaersquos text
Did you enjoy any of the previous recommendations Do you have a book or two you would like to recommend Are you searching for a good book on a particular topic or saint Let us know newsletterntgocorg
Page 8 T h e L i g h t
Miscellany
Greek Festival
March Tasks
Task Status
Greek Band lodgingdeposit Under contract
Contact Stage company In Progress
Contact Health Department Assigned
Contact Spotsy Police for overnight security In Progress
Contact waste company for Dumpsters Assigned
Order Banners In Progress
Contact Bounce house Assigned
Contact Face Painter Assigned
Contact Fire Inspector Assigned
Apply for ABC license Assigned
Apply for County Safety licenses Assigned
Evaluate current Flyer and Menu In Progress
Inventory paper goods In Progress
Evaluate last yearrsquos growth and determine ingredients to buy In Progress
Evaluate which menu items to increase price In Progress
Design amp order tote bags sports bottles amp stadium cups Completed
Contact Tent amp Chair Company Under contract
Recruit Volunteers In Progress
Η ζωή στο σπίτι κατά τη διάρκεια της Μεγάλης Τεσσαρακοστής
Στις Σαρακοστές καλό είναι να γνωρίζεις μόνο εκκλησία και σπίτι τίποτrsquo άλλο Φτάνεις λοιπόν στο σπίτι Τί θα κάνεις εκεί Θα αγωνιστείς μrsquo όλη σου τη δύναμη να διατηρήσεις την προσήλωση του νου και της καρδιάς στον Κύριο Αμέ-σως μετά την εκκλησία τρέξε στο δωμάτιό σου και κάνε αρκετές μετάνοιες ζητώντας ευλαβικά από τον Θεό να σε βοηθήσει ώστε να αξιοποιήσεις το χρόνο της παραμονής σου στο σπίτι με τρόπο ωφέλιμο για την ψυχή σου
Ύστερα κάθησε και ξεκουράσου για λίγο Αλλά και τότε μην αφήνεις τους λογισμούς σου να ξεστρατίζουν Διώχνοντας κάθε σκέψη επαναλάμβανε νοερά την ευχή ldquoΚύριε Ιησού Χριστέ ελέησόν με Κύριε Ιησού Χριστέ ελέησόν μεrdquo Αφού ξεκουραστείς πρέπει νrsquo ασχοληθείς με κάτι είτε προσευχή είτε εργόχειρο Τι εργόχειρο θα κάνεις δεν έχει ση-μασία∙ ξέρεις ήδη τι σου αρέσει Είναι βλέπεις αδύνατο να ασχολείσαι όλη την ώρα με πνευματικά πράγματα∙ χρειά-ζεται να έχει και κάποιο ευχάριστο εργόχειρο
Μrsquo αυτό θα καταπιάνεσαι όταν η ψυχή σου είναι κουρασμένη όταν δεν έχεις τη δύναμη να διαβάσεις ή να προσευ-χηθείς Αν βέβαια οι πνευματικές σου ενασχολήσεις πηγαίνουν καλά το εργόχειρο δεν είναι απαραίτητο Εκπληρώ-νει μόνο την ανάγκη αξιοποιήσεως του χρόνου που αλλιώς θα σπαταλιόταν σε απραξία Και η απραξία είναι πάντα ολέθρια πολύ περισσότερο όμως στον καιρό της νηστείας
Πώς πρέπει να προσεύχεται κανείς στο σπίτι Σωστά σκέφθηκες ότι τη Σαρακοστή οφείλουμε να προσθέτουμε κάτι στον συνηθισμένο κανόνα προσευχής Νομίζω ωστόσο πως αντί να διαβάζεις περισσότερες προσευχές από το Προ-σευχητάρι είναι καλύτερο νrsquo αυξήσεις τη διάρκεια της άμεσης επικοινωνίας σου με τον Κύριο Κάθε μέρα πριν αρχί-σεις και αφού τελειώσεις τη την ορθρινή και βραδυνή ακολουθία να απευθύνεσαι με δικά σου λόγια στον Κύριο την Υπεραγία Θεοτόκο και τον φύλακα άγγελό σου ευχαριστώντας τους για την προστασία τους και παρακαλώντας τους για την ικανοποίηση των πνευματικών σου αναγκών Ζήτα τους να σε βοηθήσουν ώστε πρώτα απrsquo όλα να γνωρίσεις τον εαυτό σου να αποκτήσεις αυτογνωσία και όταν την αποκτήσεις να σου χαρίσουν ζήλο και δύναμη ώστε να θε-ραπεύσεις τις πληγές της ψυχής σου Ζήτα τους ακόμα να γεμίσουν την καρδιά σου με το αίσθημα της ταπεινώσεως και της συντριβής Η ταπείνωση είναι η πιο ευάρεστη στον Θεό θυσία Έτσι να προσεύχεσαι Μην επιβάλεις όμως στον εαυτό σου έναν προσευχητικό κανόνα μακρύ και βαρύ έναν κανόνα που θα υπερβαίνει τα μέτρα των ψυχοσω-ματικών σου δυνάμεων και θα σε καταβάλλει Καλύτερα είναι να προσεύχεσαι συχνότερα στη διάρκεια της ημέρας και όταν ασχολείσαι μrsquo οποιαδήποτε άλλη εργασία να έχεις το νου σου στο Θεό
Μετά την προσευχή διάβαζε για λίγο με αυτοσυγκέντρωση Η μελέτη δεν αποσκοπεί στο φόρτωμα του μυαλού σου με διάφορες πληροφορίες και γνώσεις αλλά στην ψυχική σου ωφέλεια και εποικοδομή Γιrsquo αυτό δεν χρειάζεται να διαβάζεις πολλά Διάβαζε όμως με προσοχή μεγάλη και με καρδιακή συμμετοχή
Page 9 T h e L i g h t
Hopefully you all enjoy the content that we present monthly if not newsletterntgocorg While the different com-mitteesorganizations are responsible for their own contributions the rest of the content is pulled together by yours truly I do love to get lost in meme land to find relevant humorous takes on the Orthodox faith (like Grumpy Catrsquos perspective on Lent) but I also spend a great deal of time trying to find information to share that is engaging informative and relevant to our faith and the time of year Obviously Great Lent and the Paschal season are upon us and so my searches have been inspired by how I can help in-spire you all as you preparation for Easter I came across an article on fasting that references the works of a Coptic Pope While the Coptic Church is not affiliated with the Orthodox Church the text provided an interesting aspect to fasting that most of us I believe do not truly consider In essence we focus on Lent as a time of restricting the content of our diet but perhaps not so much on the quantity of our diet I hope you will all take the time to read the article if not the linked text from Pope Shenouda III httpsjohnbelovedhabibwordpresscom20150304fasting-defined-according-to-pope-shenouda-iii ~Eleni
Great Lent
Page 10 T h e L i g h t
Great Lent
ldquoΤι να διαβάζωrdquo θα με ρωτήσεις Μόνο πνευματικά βιβλία φυσικά Η προσεκτική ανάγνωση τέτοιων βιβλίων εμπνέ-ει την ψυχή περισσότερο απrsquo οτιδήποτε άλλο Αν πάντως στη διάρκεια της μελέτης γεννιέται ο πόθος της προσευ-χής νrsquo αφήνεις το βιβλίο και να προσεύχεσαι
Θα διαβάζεις λοιπόν θα προσεύχεσαι θα κάνεις μετάνοιες Και μrsquo όλα αυτά ωστόσο δεν θα μπορέσεις να κρατή-σεις το νου και την καρδιά σου σε κατάσταση συνεχούς και έντονου αγώνα Είναι αναπόφευκτο να κουράζεσαι Τότε όπως σου είπα θα ασχολείσαι με κάποια πρακτική εργασία
Σκέφτεσαι καθώς μου γράφεις να μειώσεις την ποσότητα του καθημερινού σου φαγητού Σωστή κι ωφέλιμη η σκέ-ψη σου∙ σωστή γιατί το σώμα που με τις παρεκτροπές του σε αναγκάζει να μετανοείς οφείλει να καταβάλει στη διάρκεια της Σαρακοστής τους μόχθους που του αναλογούν∙ και ωφέλιμη γιατί με τη νηστεία το σώμα δουλαγωγεί-ται ο νους καθαρίζεται η καρδιά μαλακώνει τα πάθη νεκρώνονται Μόνο μην το παρακάνεις Ήδη τρως τόσο λίγο Πρέπει να έχεις δυνάμεις για να στέκεσαι στην εκκλησία και για νrsquo αγωνίζεσαι στο σπίτι Κοίτα να τρως τόσο όσο χρειάζεται για να μην εξασθενήσεις
Καλό θα ήταν επίσης να μείωνες λίγο το χρόνο του ύπνου και της αναπαύσεώς σου Είναι μία θυσία για σένα αλλά κάθε λογής θυσία ταιριάζει σrsquo αυτή την περίοδο
Και με τις συζητήσεις τι θα γίνει Τη Σαρακοστή τουλάχιστον οι συζητήσεις με τους άλλους ας περιοριστούν σε πνευ-ματικά θέματα Ακόμα καλύτερες είναι οι κοινές πνευματικές αναγνώσεις που δίνουν αφορμές για την ανταλλαγή εποικοδομητικών σκέψεων και για την εξαγωγή ωφέλιμων συμπερασμάτων Κατάλληλοι γιrsquo αυτό τον σκοπό είναι οι Βίοι των Αγίων
ΟΣΙΟΥ ΘΕΟΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΤΟΥ ΕΓΚΛΕΙΣΤΟΥ
Life at Home during Lent
This article presented in Greek above presents some ideas on how one should conduct themselves throughout the Len-ten season beyond their time in church The site presents their own translation Irsquove tackled the most awkward bits but
it is still an interesting translation
In Lent it is good to know only the church and home nothing else You arrive therefore at home What are you going to do there You will fight with all your strength to maintain the commitment of mind and heart to the Lord Immediately after the church run to your room and make many prostrations devoutly asking God to help you to use your time of your stay in the house in a manner beneficial to your soul
Then sit down and rest for a while But then do not let your thoughts stray Sweeping away every thought mentally repeating the prayer Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me Jesus Christ show me mercy After some rest you must bother with something either prayer or handiwork What kind of handiwork is of no matter already you know what you like It is you see impossible to bother all the time with spiritual things it is necessary have a pleasant hobby
With this you will be caught when your soul is tired when you do not have the power to read or pray If of course your spiritual pastimes are going well the handiwork is not necessary It only fulfills the need for recovery time that would otherwise be wasted in idleness And doing nothing is always devastating but much more in the time of fasting
How should one pray at home Rightly you thought in Lent we need to add something to the usual rule of prayer I think however that instead of reading more prayers from the prayer book it is better to increase the duration of your direct communication with the Lord Every day before you start and after finishing the morning and evening prayers send in your own words to the Lord the Virgin Mary and your guardian angel thanking them for their protection and pleading with them to satisfy your spiritual needs Ask them to help you that first of all to know yourself to acquire self-knowledge and when you have acquired these to offer your zeal and strength to heal the wounds of your soul Ask them yet to fill your heart with a sense of humility and the contrition Humility is the most pleasing sacrifice to God So pray in this way Do not impose however give yourself a long and heavy rule of praying a rule that would ex-
Great Lent
Page 11 T h e L i g h t
ceed the measures of your psychosomatic forces and will overwhelm you Better is to pray often during the day and when you are dealing with any other job to have your mind on God
After the prayer read briefly with concentration The study is not intended load of your mind with a variety of infor-mation and knowledge but to benefit your soul and its structure So we do not need to read a lot But read with great attention and your heartrsquos involvement
What to read you will ask me Only spiritual books of course Careful reading of such books inspires the soul more than anything else If however during this studying is born a yearning for prayer leave the book aside and pray
You will read you will pray you would do prostrations And with all this however you will not be able to keep the mind and heart in a state of continuous and fierce struggle Inevitably you will be tired Then as I said you should be-come busy with some practical work
You think as you write to me you must reduce the amount of your daily food Your thought is correct and healthy ∙ correct because the body with its excesses forces you to repent it is healthy for the body to understand throughout Lent the analogous labors ∙ beneficial because with fasting the body is subdued the mind is purified the heart softens passions die Just do not overdo it Already you eat so little You have to have strength to stand in church and to strive at home Look to eat as much as necessary to avoid impairments
It would also be slightly reduces the time of sleep and your resting It is a sacrifice for you but every kind of sacrifice fit in this period
And with debates what will be done In Lent at least discussions with others let confined to spiritual matters Even better are the common spiritual readings which give rise to an exchange of constructive thoughts and to extract useful conclusions Suitable for this purpose are the Lives of the Saints
SAINT THEOFANOUS the enclosure
httpspoimingrzoi-sto-spiti-kata-ti-diarkia-tis-megalis-tessarakostis
Schedule of Services for Holy Week 2020
(April 12-19)
April 12 ndash Palm Sunday Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am Orthros
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 600 pm
April 13 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 14 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 15 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
mdash Holy Unction Service ndash 600 pm
April 16 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Service of the Lordrsquos Passion ndash 600 pm
April 17 ndash The Great Hours ndash 900 am
ndash Apokathelosis ndash 300 pm
ndash Epitaphios Service ndash 700 pm
April 18 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Resurrection Service - 1130 pm
April 19 ndash Agape Vespers ndash 1200 pm
Easter Traditions of our Church In addition to the appropriately scheduled services listed to the left our church has a few traditions that we would like to encourage all of you to participate in Saturday of Lazarus (April 11) - Learning Liturgy Lenten breakfast Palm Crosses Preparing the Church for Palm Sunday and Holy Week Palm SundaymdashFish Luncheon after services Holy Friday MorningmdashDecorating the Kouvouklion for services Holy Friday Evening (after the Great Hours at 9am) Holy Friday EveningmdashMyrhhbearing Women (girls of our parish ages 8-18 who will participate in the service Holy Friday evening Stay tuned to Aprilrsquos edition for more details if your daughter would like to participate Holy Saturday MorningmdashCleaning and decorating the church for the Resurrection service (after the Vespers and Divine Liturgy of St Basil at 9am) This is also when you can drop off your red eggs to be blessed for Easter Easter SundaymdashPaschalino Glendi a potluck luncheon to celebrate Easter (after the Agape Vespers) See the flyer on page 4 for details
The Nativity of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church
12326 Spotswood Furnace Road Fredericksburg VA 22407
540-548-2665 Office Emailmdashofficentgocorg
Newsletter Emailmdashnewsletterntgocorg wwwnativityvagoarchorg
Parish Information
Page 12 T h e L i g h t
PARISH COUNCIL Gamal Salem President Nick Roman Secretary Maria Christoforatos Treasurer Maxine Calamos Assistant Treasurer George Tsoukleris Dennis Makrinos Yvonne Athanasaw Chris Zourzoukis STEWARDSHIP Yvonne Athanasaw FUND RAISING
BOOK STORE Monica Hicks PHILOPTOCHOS Verilee Vasilakos President Linda Govenides Vice-President Christine Turdean Treasurer Secretary CHOIR 2020 FESTIVAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL Dr Judy Marrs Director DANCE Dr Judy Marrs Director GOYA Dan Athanasaw Jr HOPEJOY
Office Hours
Fr John is available as follows or by appointment
MondaymdashClosed
Tuesdaymdash 9am-1pm
Wedensdaymdash 9am-1pm
Thursdaymdash9am-1pm
Fridaymdash9am-1pm
Cell phone numbermdash
540-645-1427
Emailmdashfrjohnntgocorg
PASTORAL GUIDELINES
Please contact Fr John if you wish to schedule a sacrament or know of a parishioner who is sick or in the hospital
WEDDINGS Marriages are not performed on fast days during fasting seasons or on the feasts of the church specifi-cally September 14 (Exaltation of the Holy Cross) December 13-25 (Nativity) January 5 amp 6 (Theophany) Great Lent and Holy Week Pascha (Easter) Pentecost August 1-15 (Dormition Fast and Feast) and August 29 (Beheading of St John the Baptist) Exceptions can only be made with the permission of the respective hierarch
BAPTISMS A person who wishes to sponsor a candidate for Baptism or Chrismation must be an Orthodox Christian in good standing and a supporting member of an Orthodox parish A person may not serve as a godparent if the Church has not blessed his or her marriage or if civilly divorced he or she has not been granted an ecclesiastical divorce or for any other reason he or she is not in communion with the Orthodox Church Baptisms may not be performed from Christmas Day through the Feast of Theophany (December 25-January 6) during Holy Week or any of the great feast days of the Lord
FUNERALS Funeral services are permitted on any day of the year except for Sundays and Holy Friday unless permis-sion is granted by the Archbishop or Metropolitan
MEMORIALS Memorial services may not be chanted from the Saturday of Lazarus through the Sunday of Thomas or any Feast days of the Lord or the Theotokos
Philoptochos
Page 5 T h e L i g h t
The Ladies Philoptochos sends you greetings as we begin Lent In February we had a membership tea with fantastic speakers from the Hope House Empower House Spotsylvania Social Services and the Healthy Generations Area Agency It was wonderful to hear about the community services available and how the funds we donate assist such im-portant missions We also learned about the resources available to maintain independence in retirement and services provided to elderly in need Please turn in your 2020 membership forms to any Philoptochos member if you have
not done so already Itrsquos never too late to join
Our chapter sponsored a regional Philoptochos workshop on Satur-day February 29th Philoptochos chapters from Maryland and throughout Virginia were present along with Eleni Constantinides President of the Me-tropolis of NJ Philoptochos and the Metropolis of NJ Board Items dis-cussed at the meeting included the roles and responsibilities of members of our executive boards elections membership social media social services and a wonderful speaker on human trafficking enlightened
us on the scope of this issue I hope everyone had a lovely time meeting our Philoptochos sisters from other chapters as well as the Metropolis of NJ Board A special thanks goes to all the ladies in our chapter for hosting such a spectacular event A delicious breakfast and luncheon was served by our chapter Thank you to all the ladies that assisted in the preparation set-up and clean up for the event It was a tremendous honor to be selected to host the event and I heard many wonderful com-ments of appreciation by those in attendance
Thank you to those members who provided dinner to residents at Mill Park Terrace on February 22nd Our monthly meals are appreciated by deserving folks at Mill Park The next visit to Mill Park will be on Saturday March 28th Please see myself or Maria Y if you are interested in assisting
Our Agora Craft and Food Festival was on Saturday March 7th from 10-3pm All proceeds are to support our philan-thropic efforts Savory Greek dishes and delectable pastries were available for those who chose to come out An as-sortment of craft vendors were also present We enjoyed seeing all of you there supporting the Ladies Philoptochos Thank you for inviting family and friends to come and visit We look forward to sharing pictures with you next month
The Ladies will be hosting a luncheon after church service on March 15th We will also be serving the residents at Mill Park Terrace on March 28th Otherwise baking days will be forthcoming in preparation for Pascha and the upcoming Greek Festival in May I will keep you informed of dates as I receive them Our next general meeting will be on April 5th
During this time of Lent let us reflect on our faith with prayer fasting confession and forgiveness Be more mindful of the way we speak behave think and treat others Offend less forgive more Speak less listen more Humble our-selves and let the love and light of Christ shine though us I wish all my family at the NTGOC a blessed Lenten journey with grace as we prepare for Holy Pascha
In Christ Verilee Vasilakos
True fasting lies in rejecting evil holding onersquos tongue suppressing onersquos hatred and banishing onersquos lust evil words lying and betrayal of vows ~St Basil the Great
Page 6 T h e L i g h t
Dance
Dance practices will be April 3 19 26 and May 1 9 amp 10 after liturgy
Youth News
St John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival The oratorical festival is once more upon us Michael Euripides is once again chairing this program for the children The local ora-torical festival will be hosted on April 10 and will be followed by a Lenten potluck dinner If you are willing to either judge or coach the speeches please see Mike This is a wonderful tradition in our church and a great opportunity for our youth to deepen their understanding of their faith
Bookstore
The Bookstore is preparing for Easter In addition to our normal inventory we are accepting special orders for items through March Please note the Bookstore will NOT be carrying red egg dye
If you are interested in having your baptismal or wedding candles dec-orated please contact us for more information
Thank you ~ Monica Hicks
Happy Name Day Χρονια Πολλα
Happy Name Day to all of those celebrating their feast this month To name a fewhellip Evdokia Maria Theodora Leandros Gregory Christodoulos Chrysanthos Lydia EvangellosEvangellia AlexiosAlexia
Sunday School
Sunday School graduation will be May 23 No classes will be held on April 19 (Easter) and May 17 (Spring Festival)
April 11 is the Saturday of Lazarus and all Sunday School Students are invited to participate in our annual Learning Liturgy where Fr John will explain the parts of the Liturgy as it is being conduct-ed After the service there will be the traditional Lenten breakfast folding of the Palm Crosses for Palm Sunday and the cleaning and decorating of the church
Camp Good Shepherd Our faithful readers will likely remember a piece shared in our September issue about Camp Good Shepherd from one of our parish youth For those already considering how their children will be oc-cupied this summer please consider Camp Good Shepherd in your plans Camp Good Shepherd Virginia will be hosting campers from July 5-11 this summer stay tuned for more details
of holy communion if they desire sincerely to be in eucharistic fellowship with God and if they fulfill all other conditions for participation in the life of the Church Because of the realization of the need for Christ in every aspect of human life and because as well it is the firm Christian conviction that nothing should or even can be done perfectly without Christ or without his presence and power in the Church by the Holy Spirit two Christians cannot begin to live together and to share each otherrsquos life in total unitymdashspiritually physically intellectually socially eco-nomicallymdashwithout first placing that unity into the eternity of the Kingdom of God through the sacrament of marriage in the Church According to the Orthodox teaching as expressed in the sacramental rite of mar-riage the creation of children and the care and love for them within the context of the family is the normal fulfillment of the love of a man and woman in Christ In this way marriage is the human expression of the creative and caring love of God the perfect Love of the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity which overflows in the creation and care for the world This conviction that human love imitative of divine love should overflow itself in the creation and care for others does not mean that the procreation of children is in itself the sole purpose of marriage and the unique and exclusive justification and legitimization of its existence Neither does it mean that a childless couple cannot live a truly Christian life together Life is a journey ndash a difficult and complex journey And marriage is one way of trav-
eling ndash indeed of enjoying and not simply enduring ndash this journey through sharing
Yet the goal of the journey lies ahead the significance of the sacrament lies in the
Kingdom It is this Kingdom for which we truly hope and which is our true home
Miscellany Continued from page 1
Miscellany
Page 7 T h e L i g h t
που έχει μετράει τα πάντα με βάση τις δικές του προτιμήσεις και τις δικές του ιδέες Αδιαφορεί για τον καθένα γύ-ρω του εκτός από τον εαυτό του θέλει η ζωή του να είναι πετυχημένη τώρα αυτή τη στιγμή Η υπομονή βέβαια είναι μια αληθινά θεϊκή αρετή Ο Θεός είναι υπομονετικός όχι γιατί είναι laquoσυγκαταβατικόςraquo αλλά γιατί βλέπει το βάθος όλων των πραγμάτων γιατί η εσωτερική πραγματικότητά τους την οποία εμείς με την τυφλότητά μας δεν μπορούμε να δούμε είναι ανοιχτή σrsquo Αυτόν Όσο πιο κοντά ερχόμαστε στο Θεό τόσο περισσότε-ρο υπομονετικοί γινόμαστε και τόσο πιο πολύ αντανακλούμε αυτή την απέραστη εκτίμηση για όλα τα όντα πράγμα που είναι η κύρια ιδιότητα του Θεού Η Αγάπη Τέλος το αποκορύφωμα και ο καρπός όλων των αρετών κάθε καλλιέργειας και κάθε προσπάθειας είναι η αγάπη Αυτή η αγάπη που όπως έχουμε πει μπορεί να δοθεί μόνο από το Θεό είναι το δώρο που αποτελεί σκοπό που α-ποτελεί σκοπό για κάθε πνευματική προετοιμασία και άσκηση Η υπερηφάνεια Όλα αυτά συγκεφαλαιώνονται στην τελική αίτηση της προσευχής του Αγίου Εφραίμ με την οποία ζητάμε laquohellipδώρησαί μοι τοῦ ὁράν τά ἐμά πταίσματα καί μή κατακρίνειν τόν ἀδελφόν μουhellipraquo Εδώ τελικά δεν υπάρχει παρά μόνο ένας κίνδυνος η υπερηφάνεια Η υπερηφάνεια είναι η πηγή του κακού και όλο το κακό είναι η υπερηφάνεια Παρrsquo όλα αυτά δεν είναι αρκετό για μένα να βλέπω τα laquoἐμά πταίσματαraquo γιατί ακόμα και αυτή η φαινομενική αρετή μπορεί να μετατραπεί σε υπερηφάνεια Τα πατερικά κείμενα είναι γεμάτα από προειδοποιήσεις για την ύπουλη μορφή ψευτοευσέβειας η οποία στην πραγ-ματικότητα με το κάλυμμα της ταπεινοφροσύνης και της αυτομεμψίας μπορεί να οδηγήσει σε μια πραγματικά δαι-μονική υπερηφάνεια Αλλά όταν βλέπουμε τα δικά μας σφάλματα και δεν κατακρίνουμε τους αδελφούς μας όταν με άλλα λόγια η σωφροσύνη η ταπεινοφροσύνη η υπομονή και η αγάπη γίνονται ένα σε μας τότε και μόνο τότε ο αιώνιος εχθρός ndashη υπερηφάνεια- θrsquo αφανιστεί μέσα μας π Αλέξανδρος Σμέμαν από το βιβλίο laquoΜεγάλη Σαρακοστήraquo εκδόσεις laquoΑκρίταςraquo Υποσημειώσεις 1) Κάθε φορά που λέμε ένα στίχο της ευχής του Οσίου Εφραίμ κάνουμε μία μεγάλη μετάνοια Σύνολο τρεις Όταν τελειώσουμε αυτές κάνουμε δώδεκα μικρές μετάνοιες λέγοντας σε καθεμία από αυτές laquoΟ Θεός ἱλάσθητί μοι τῶ ἁμαρτωλῷ καί ἐλέησόν μεraquo Στο τέλος επαναλαμβάνουμε άλλη μία φορά τον τελευταίο στίχο της ευχής (Ναι Κύριε Βασιλεύ) και πραγματοποιούμε άλλη μία μεγάλη μετάνοια (Ωρολόγιον το Μέγα εκδ Αποστολική Διακονία 2003)
2) Ο συγγραφέας μεταφράζει από το ελληνικό κείμενο τη λέξη laquoπεριέργειαraquo με την αγγλική λέξη faint-heartedness που σημαί-νει λιποψυχία δειλία
Note form the Stewardship Chair Dr Yvonne Athanasaw
Update on Database We are on our way to gathering information about each of our parishioners to better know our family Dr Athanasaw is in the process of taking photos of our parishioners after Liturgy for the database She will also be meeting with each family to ensure we collect all the pertinent information such as birthdays wedding anniver-saries ministries talents etc
Gift of Time We are gearing up for the festival We will need all hand- on deck as much as possible Please reach out to our Parish Council president Gamal who can direct you to those festival committee chairs who are looking for volunteers
Gift of Treasurer To keep the parishioners informed of the financial stewardship status we will update the graph below to show the progress toward the $110000 budgeted stewardship estimate that the parishioners approved on Jan-uary 26 To put this into perspective to meet this goal the average total monthly stewardship contributions should be approximately $9176
To ensure that parishioners have a variety of options to contribute towards the stewardship goal there are two addi-tional options besides via personal check Now parishioners can set up an account and donate via credit card or through electronic bank check To set up an account and pay through these options go to abundantcontgocaccountregister These options are especially beneficial during times of travel vacations and Sunday work schedules
March Greek Festival Check List
As you can see the Festival committee is already working hard to bring our annual Spring Festival to frui-
tion We are in the Paschal season and much of our focus is on how we will survive another 30 or so days without meat and picking which services we can fit into our busy schedules Many of you may be doing the same when you are considering the festivalmdashtrying to see if you can possibly come out to help on Friday Saturday or Sun-day perhaps not even considering the prep days leading up to that weekend Hopefully you are strengthening your soul through fasting and attending as many of these beautiful services as you can so you can truly reflect on this questionmdashWhat if Christ only made as much time for you as you make for Him and His church
NTGOC Book Club
We hope you enjoyed or at least looked into last monthrsquos recommended reading This month brings some fresh recommendations focused on preparing you for your Lenten journey
Mount Athos The Highest Place on Earth Metropolitan Nikolaos of Mesogia
Great Week and Pascha in the Greek Orthodox Church Alkiviadis C Calivas
On the Path of Salvation with Christ from the Nativity to the Resurrection Archbishop and Metropolitan Nicolae Our first two texts (pictured) are available on Amazon the third text seems to be available only in Fr Johnrsquos library Please reach out to him if you are interested in reviewing Archbishop and Metropolitan Nicolaersquos text
Did you enjoy any of the previous recommendations Do you have a book or two you would like to recommend Are you searching for a good book on a particular topic or saint Let us know newsletterntgocorg
Page 8 T h e L i g h t
Miscellany
Greek Festival
March Tasks
Task Status
Greek Band lodgingdeposit Under contract
Contact Stage company In Progress
Contact Health Department Assigned
Contact Spotsy Police for overnight security In Progress
Contact waste company for Dumpsters Assigned
Order Banners In Progress
Contact Bounce house Assigned
Contact Face Painter Assigned
Contact Fire Inspector Assigned
Apply for ABC license Assigned
Apply for County Safety licenses Assigned
Evaluate current Flyer and Menu In Progress
Inventory paper goods In Progress
Evaluate last yearrsquos growth and determine ingredients to buy In Progress
Evaluate which menu items to increase price In Progress
Design amp order tote bags sports bottles amp stadium cups Completed
Contact Tent amp Chair Company Under contract
Recruit Volunteers In Progress
Η ζωή στο σπίτι κατά τη διάρκεια της Μεγάλης Τεσσαρακοστής
Στις Σαρακοστές καλό είναι να γνωρίζεις μόνο εκκλησία και σπίτι τίποτrsquo άλλο Φτάνεις λοιπόν στο σπίτι Τί θα κάνεις εκεί Θα αγωνιστείς μrsquo όλη σου τη δύναμη να διατηρήσεις την προσήλωση του νου και της καρδιάς στον Κύριο Αμέ-σως μετά την εκκλησία τρέξε στο δωμάτιό σου και κάνε αρκετές μετάνοιες ζητώντας ευλαβικά από τον Θεό να σε βοηθήσει ώστε να αξιοποιήσεις το χρόνο της παραμονής σου στο σπίτι με τρόπο ωφέλιμο για την ψυχή σου
Ύστερα κάθησε και ξεκουράσου για λίγο Αλλά και τότε μην αφήνεις τους λογισμούς σου να ξεστρατίζουν Διώχνοντας κάθε σκέψη επαναλάμβανε νοερά την ευχή ldquoΚύριε Ιησού Χριστέ ελέησόν με Κύριε Ιησού Χριστέ ελέησόν μεrdquo Αφού ξεκουραστείς πρέπει νrsquo ασχοληθείς με κάτι είτε προσευχή είτε εργόχειρο Τι εργόχειρο θα κάνεις δεν έχει ση-μασία∙ ξέρεις ήδη τι σου αρέσει Είναι βλέπεις αδύνατο να ασχολείσαι όλη την ώρα με πνευματικά πράγματα∙ χρειά-ζεται να έχει και κάποιο ευχάριστο εργόχειρο
Μrsquo αυτό θα καταπιάνεσαι όταν η ψυχή σου είναι κουρασμένη όταν δεν έχεις τη δύναμη να διαβάσεις ή να προσευ-χηθείς Αν βέβαια οι πνευματικές σου ενασχολήσεις πηγαίνουν καλά το εργόχειρο δεν είναι απαραίτητο Εκπληρώ-νει μόνο την ανάγκη αξιοποιήσεως του χρόνου που αλλιώς θα σπαταλιόταν σε απραξία Και η απραξία είναι πάντα ολέθρια πολύ περισσότερο όμως στον καιρό της νηστείας
Πώς πρέπει να προσεύχεται κανείς στο σπίτι Σωστά σκέφθηκες ότι τη Σαρακοστή οφείλουμε να προσθέτουμε κάτι στον συνηθισμένο κανόνα προσευχής Νομίζω ωστόσο πως αντί να διαβάζεις περισσότερες προσευχές από το Προ-σευχητάρι είναι καλύτερο νrsquo αυξήσεις τη διάρκεια της άμεσης επικοινωνίας σου με τον Κύριο Κάθε μέρα πριν αρχί-σεις και αφού τελειώσεις τη την ορθρινή και βραδυνή ακολουθία να απευθύνεσαι με δικά σου λόγια στον Κύριο την Υπεραγία Θεοτόκο και τον φύλακα άγγελό σου ευχαριστώντας τους για την προστασία τους και παρακαλώντας τους για την ικανοποίηση των πνευματικών σου αναγκών Ζήτα τους να σε βοηθήσουν ώστε πρώτα απrsquo όλα να γνωρίσεις τον εαυτό σου να αποκτήσεις αυτογνωσία και όταν την αποκτήσεις να σου χαρίσουν ζήλο και δύναμη ώστε να θε-ραπεύσεις τις πληγές της ψυχής σου Ζήτα τους ακόμα να γεμίσουν την καρδιά σου με το αίσθημα της ταπεινώσεως και της συντριβής Η ταπείνωση είναι η πιο ευάρεστη στον Θεό θυσία Έτσι να προσεύχεσαι Μην επιβάλεις όμως στον εαυτό σου έναν προσευχητικό κανόνα μακρύ και βαρύ έναν κανόνα που θα υπερβαίνει τα μέτρα των ψυχοσω-ματικών σου δυνάμεων και θα σε καταβάλλει Καλύτερα είναι να προσεύχεσαι συχνότερα στη διάρκεια της ημέρας και όταν ασχολείσαι μrsquo οποιαδήποτε άλλη εργασία να έχεις το νου σου στο Θεό
Μετά την προσευχή διάβαζε για λίγο με αυτοσυγκέντρωση Η μελέτη δεν αποσκοπεί στο φόρτωμα του μυαλού σου με διάφορες πληροφορίες και γνώσεις αλλά στην ψυχική σου ωφέλεια και εποικοδομή Γιrsquo αυτό δεν χρειάζεται να διαβάζεις πολλά Διάβαζε όμως με προσοχή μεγάλη και με καρδιακή συμμετοχή
Page 9 T h e L i g h t
Hopefully you all enjoy the content that we present monthly if not newsletterntgocorg While the different com-mitteesorganizations are responsible for their own contributions the rest of the content is pulled together by yours truly I do love to get lost in meme land to find relevant humorous takes on the Orthodox faith (like Grumpy Catrsquos perspective on Lent) but I also spend a great deal of time trying to find information to share that is engaging informative and relevant to our faith and the time of year Obviously Great Lent and the Paschal season are upon us and so my searches have been inspired by how I can help in-spire you all as you preparation for Easter I came across an article on fasting that references the works of a Coptic Pope While the Coptic Church is not affiliated with the Orthodox Church the text provided an interesting aspect to fasting that most of us I believe do not truly consider In essence we focus on Lent as a time of restricting the content of our diet but perhaps not so much on the quantity of our diet I hope you will all take the time to read the article if not the linked text from Pope Shenouda III httpsjohnbelovedhabibwordpresscom20150304fasting-defined-according-to-pope-shenouda-iii ~Eleni
Great Lent
Page 10 T h e L i g h t
Great Lent
ldquoΤι να διαβάζωrdquo θα με ρωτήσεις Μόνο πνευματικά βιβλία φυσικά Η προσεκτική ανάγνωση τέτοιων βιβλίων εμπνέ-ει την ψυχή περισσότερο απrsquo οτιδήποτε άλλο Αν πάντως στη διάρκεια της μελέτης γεννιέται ο πόθος της προσευ-χής νrsquo αφήνεις το βιβλίο και να προσεύχεσαι
Θα διαβάζεις λοιπόν θα προσεύχεσαι θα κάνεις μετάνοιες Και μrsquo όλα αυτά ωστόσο δεν θα μπορέσεις να κρατή-σεις το νου και την καρδιά σου σε κατάσταση συνεχούς και έντονου αγώνα Είναι αναπόφευκτο να κουράζεσαι Τότε όπως σου είπα θα ασχολείσαι με κάποια πρακτική εργασία
Σκέφτεσαι καθώς μου γράφεις να μειώσεις την ποσότητα του καθημερινού σου φαγητού Σωστή κι ωφέλιμη η σκέ-ψη σου∙ σωστή γιατί το σώμα που με τις παρεκτροπές του σε αναγκάζει να μετανοείς οφείλει να καταβάλει στη διάρκεια της Σαρακοστής τους μόχθους που του αναλογούν∙ και ωφέλιμη γιατί με τη νηστεία το σώμα δουλαγωγεί-ται ο νους καθαρίζεται η καρδιά μαλακώνει τα πάθη νεκρώνονται Μόνο μην το παρακάνεις Ήδη τρως τόσο λίγο Πρέπει να έχεις δυνάμεις για να στέκεσαι στην εκκλησία και για νrsquo αγωνίζεσαι στο σπίτι Κοίτα να τρως τόσο όσο χρειάζεται για να μην εξασθενήσεις
Καλό θα ήταν επίσης να μείωνες λίγο το χρόνο του ύπνου και της αναπαύσεώς σου Είναι μία θυσία για σένα αλλά κάθε λογής θυσία ταιριάζει σrsquo αυτή την περίοδο
Και με τις συζητήσεις τι θα γίνει Τη Σαρακοστή τουλάχιστον οι συζητήσεις με τους άλλους ας περιοριστούν σε πνευ-ματικά θέματα Ακόμα καλύτερες είναι οι κοινές πνευματικές αναγνώσεις που δίνουν αφορμές για την ανταλλαγή εποικοδομητικών σκέψεων και για την εξαγωγή ωφέλιμων συμπερασμάτων Κατάλληλοι γιrsquo αυτό τον σκοπό είναι οι Βίοι των Αγίων
ΟΣΙΟΥ ΘΕΟΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΤΟΥ ΕΓΚΛΕΙΣΤΟΥ
Life at Home during Lent
This article presented in Greek above presents some ideas on how one should conduct themselves throughout the Len-ten season beyond their time in church The site presents their own translation Irsquove tackled the most awkward bits but
it is still an interesting translation
In Lent it is good to know only the church and home nothing else You arrive therefore at home What are you going to do there You will fight with all your strength to maintain the commitment of mind and heart to the Lord Immediately after the church run to your room and make many prostrations devoutly asking God to help you to use your time of your stay in the house in a manner beneficial to your soul
Then sit down and rest for a while But then do not let your thoughts stray Sweeping away every thought mentally repeating the prayer Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me Jesus Christ show me mercy After some rest you must bother with something either prayer or handiwork What kind of handiwork is of no matter already you know what you like It is you see impossible to bother all the time with spiritual things it is necessary have a pleasant hobby
With this you will be caught when your soul is tired when you do not have the power to read or pray If of course your spiritual pastimes are going well the handiwork is not necessary It only fulfills the need for recovery time that would otherwise be wasted in idleness And doing nothing is always devastating but much more in the time of fasting
How should one pray at home Rightly you thought in Lent we need to add something to the usual rule of prayer I think however that instead of reading more prayers from the prayer book it is better to increase the duration of your direct communication with the Lord Every day before you start and after finishing the morning and evening prayers send in your own words to the Lord the Virgin Mary and your guardian angel thanking them for their protection and pleading with them to satisfy your spiritual needs Ask them to help you that first of all to know yourself to acquire self-knowledge and when you have acquired these to offer your zeal and strength to heal the wounds of your soul Ask them yet to fill your heart with a sense of humility and the contrition Humility is the most pleasing sacrifice to God So pray in this way Do not impose however give yourself a long and heavy rule of praying a rule that would ex-
Great Lent
Page 11 T h e L i g h t
ceed the measures of your psychosomatic forces and will overwhelm you Better is to pray often during the day and when you are dealing with any other job to have your mind on God
After the prayer read briefly with concentration The study is not intended load of your mind with a variety of infor-mation and knowledge but to benefit your soul and its structure So we do not need to read a lot But read with great attention and your heartrsquos involvement
What to read you will ask me Only spiritual books of course Careful reading of such books inspires the soul more than anything else If however during this studying is born a yearning for prayer leave the book aside and pray
You will read you will pray you would do prostrations And with all this however you will not be able to keep the mind and heart in a state of continuous and fierce struggle Inevitably you will be tired Then as I said you should be-come busy with some practical work
You think as you write to me you must reduce the amount of your daily food Your thought is correct and healthy ∙ correct because the body with its excesses forces you to repent it is healthy for the body to understand throughout Lent the analogous labors ∙ beneficial because with fasting the body is subdued the mind is purified the heart softens passions die Just do not overdo it Already you eat so little You have to have strength to stand in church and to strive at home Look to eat as much as necessary to avoid impairments
It would also be slightly reduces the time of sleep and your resting It is a sacrifice for you but every kind of sacrifice fit in this period
And with debates what will be done In Lent at least discussions with others let confined to spiritual matters Even better are the common spiritual readings which give rise to an exchange of constructive thoughts and to extract useful conclusions Suitable for this purpose are the Lives of the Saints
SAINT THEOFANOUS the enclosure
httpspoimingrzoi-sto-spiti-kata-ti-diarkia-tis-megalis-tessarakostis
Schedule of Services for Holy Week 2020
(April 12-19)
April 12 ndash Palm Sunday Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am Orthros
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 600 pm
April 13 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 14 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 15 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
mdash Holy Unction Service ndash 600 pm
April 16 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Service of the Lordrsquos Passion ndash 600 pm
April 17 ndash The Great Hours ndash 900 am
ndash Apokathelosis ndash 300 pm
ndash Epitaphios Service ndash 700 pm
April 18 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Resurrection Service - 1130 pm
April 19 ndash Agape Vespers ndash 1200 pm
Easter Traditions of our Church In addition to the appropriately scheduled services listed to the left our church has a few traditions that we would like to encourage all of you to participate in Saturday of Lazarus (April 11) - Learning Liturgy Lenten breakfast Palm Crosses Preparing the Church for Palm Sunday and Holy Week Palm SundaymdashFish Luncheon after services Holy Friday MorningmdashDecorating the Kouvouklion for services Holy Friday Evening (after the Great Hours at 9am) Holy Friday EveningmdashMyrhhbearing Women (girls of our parish ages 8-18 who will participate in the service Holy Friday evening Stay tuned to Aprilrsquos edition for more details if your daughter would like to participate Holy Saturday MorningmdashCleaning and decorating the church for the Resurrection service (after the Vespers and Divine Liturgy of St Basil at 9am) This is also when you can drop off your red eggs to be blessed for Easter Easter SundaymdashPaschalino Glendi a potluck luncheon to celebrate Easter (after the Agape Vespers) See the flyer on page 4 for details
The Nativity of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church
12326 Spotswood Furnace Road Fredericksburg VA 22407
540-548-2665 Office Emailmdashofficentgocorg
Newsletter Emailmdashnewsletterntgocorg wwwnativityvagoarchorg
Parish Information
Page 12 T h e L i g h t
PARISH COUNCIL Gamal Salem President Nick Roman Secretary Maria Christoforatos Treasurer Maxine Calamos Assistant Treasurer George Tsoukleris Dennis Makrinos Yvonne Athanasaw Chris Zourzoukis STEWARDSHIP Yvonne Athanasaw FUND RAISING
BOOK STORE Monica Hicks PHILOPTOCHOS Verilee Vasilakos President Linda Govenides Vice-President Christine Turdean Treasurer Secretary CHOIR 2020 FESTIVAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL Dr Judy Marrs Director DANCE Dr Judy Marrs Director GOYA Dan Athanasaw Jr HOPEJOY
Office Hours
Fr John is available as follows or by appointment
MondaymdashClosed
Tuesdaymdash 9am-1pm
Wedensdaymdash 9am-1pm
Thursdaymdash9am-1pm
Fridaymdash9am-1pm
Cell phone numbermdash
540-645-1427
Emailmdashfrjohnntgocorg
PASTORAL GUIDELINES
Please contact Fr John if you wish to schedule a sacrament or know of a parishioner who is sick or in the hospital
WEDDINGS Marriages are not performed on fast days during fasting seasons or on the feasts of the church specifi-cally September 14 (Exaltation of the Holy Cross) December 13-25 (Nativity) January 5 amp 6 (Theophany) Great Lent and Holy Week Pascha (Easter) Pentecost August 1-15 (Dormition Fast and Feast) and August 29 (Beheading of St John the Baptist) Exceptions can only be made with the permission of the respective hierarch
BAPTISMS A person who wishes to sponsor a candidate for Baptism or Chrismation must be an Orthodox Christian in good standing and a supporting member of an Orthodox parish A person may not serve as a godparent if the Church has not blessed his or her marriage or if civilly divorced he or she has not been granted an ecclesiastical divorce or for any other reason he or she is not in communion with the Orthodox Church Baptisms may not be performed from Christmas Day through the Feast of Theophany (December 25-January 6) during Holy Week or any of the great feast days of the Lord
FUNERALS Funeral services are permitted on any day of the year except for Sundays and Holy Friday unless permis-sion is granted by the Archbishop or Metropolitan
MEMORIALS Memorial services may not be chanted from the Saturday of Lazarus through the Sunday of Thomas or any Feast days of the Lord or the Theotokos
Page 6 T h e L i g h t
Dance
Dance practices will be April 3 19 26 and May 1 9 amp 10 after liturgy
Youth News
St John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival The oratorical festival is once more upon us Michael Euripides is once again chairing this program for the children The local ora-torical festival will be hosted on April 10 and will be followed by a Lenten potluck dinner If you are willing to either judge or coach the speeches please see Mike This is a wonderful tradition in our church and a great opportunity for our youth to deepen their understanding of their faith
Bookstore
The Bookstore is preparing for Easter In addition to our normal inventory we are accepting special orders for items through March Please note the Bookstore will NOT be carrying red egg dye
If you are interested in having your baptismal or wedding candles dec-orated please contact us for more information
Thank you ~ Monica Hicks
Happy Name Day Χρονια Πολλα
Happy Name Day to all of those celebrating their feast this month To name a fewhellip Evdokia Maria Theodora Leandros Gregory Christodoulos Chrysanthos Lydia EvangellosEvangellia AlexiosAlexia
Sunday School
Sunday School graduation will be May 23 No classes will be held on April 19 (Easter) and May 17 (Spring Festival)
April 11 is the Saturday of Lazarus and all Sunday School Students are invited to participate in our annual Learning Liturgy where Fr John will explain the parts of the Liturgy as it is being conduct-ed After the service there will be the traditional Lenten breakfast folding of the Palm Crosses for Palm Sunday and the cleaning and decorating of the church
Camp Good Shepherd Our faithful readers will likely remember a piece shared in our September issue about Camp Good Shepherd from one of our parish youth For those already considering how their children will be oc-cupied this summer please consider Camp Good Shepherd in your plans Camp Good Shepherd Virginia will be hosting campers from July 5-11 this summer stay tuned for more details
of holy communion if they desire sincerely to be in eucharistic fellowship with God and if they fulfill all other conditions for participation in the life of the Church Because of the realization of the need for Christ in every aspect of human life and because as well it is the firm Christian conviction that nothing should or even can be done perfectly without Christ or without his presence and power in the Church by the Holy Spirit two Christians cannot begin to live together and to share each otherrsquos life in total unitymdashspiritually physically intellectually socially eco-nomicallymdashwithout first placing that unity into the eternity of the Kingdom of God through the sacrament of marriage in the Church According to the Orthodox teaching as expressed in the sacramental rite of mar-riage the creation of children and the care and love for them within the context of the family is the normal fulfillment of the love of a man and woman in Christ In this way marriage is the human expression of the creative and caring love of God the perfect Love of the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity which overflows in the creation and care for the world This conviction that human love imitative of divine love should overflow itself in the creation and care for others does not mean that the procreation of children is in itself the sole purpose of marriage and the unique and exclusive justification and legitimization of its existence Neither does it mean that a childless couple cannot live a truly Christian life together Life is a journey ndash a difficult and complex journey And marriage is one way of trav-
eling ndash indeed of enjoying and not simply enduring ndash this journey through sharing
Yet the goal of the journey lies ahead the significance of the sacrament lies in the
Kingdom It is this Kingdom for which we truly hope and which is our true home
Miscellany Continued from page 1
Miscellany
Page 7 T h e L i g h t
που έχει μετράει τα πάντα με βάση τις δικές του προτιμήσεις και τις δικές του ιδέες Αδιαφορεί για τον καθένα γύ-ρω του εκτός από τον εαυτό του θέλει η ζωή του να είναι πετυχημένη τώρα αυτή τη στιγμή Η υπομονή βέβαια είναι μια αληθινά θεϊκή αρετή Ο Θεός είναι υπομονετικός όχι γιατί είναι laquoσυγκαταβατικόςraquo αλλά γιατί βλέπει το βάθος όλων των πραγμάτων γιατί η εσωτερική πραγματικότητά τους την οποία εμείς με την τυφλότητά μας δεν μπορούμε να δούμε είναι ανοιχτή σrsquo Αυτόν Όσο πιο κοντά ερχόμαστε στο Θεό τόσο περισσότε-ρο υπομονετικοί γινόμαστε και τόσο πιο πολύ αντανακλούμε αυτή την απέραστη εκτίμηση για όλα τα όντα πράγμα που είναι η κύρια ιδιότητα του Θεού Η Αγάπη Τέλος το αποκορύφωμα και ο καρπός όλων των αρετών κάθε καλλιέργειας και κάθε προσπάθειας είναι η αγάπη Αυτή η αγάπη που όπως έχουμε πει μπορεί να δοθεί μόνο από το Θεό είναι το δώρο που αποτελεί σκοπό που α-ποτελεί σκοπό για κάθε πνευματική προετοιμασία και άσκηση Η υπερηφάνεια Όλα αυτά συγκεφαλαιώνονται στην τελική αίτηση της προσευχής του Αγίου Εφραίμ με την οποία ζητάμε laquohellipδώρησαί μοι τοῦ ὁράν τά ἐμά πταίσματα καί μή κατακρίνειν τόν ἀδελφόν μουhellipraquo Εδώ τελικά δεν υπάρχει παρά μόνο ένας κίνδυνος η υπερηφάνεια Η υπερηφάνεια είναι η πηγή του κακού και όλο το κακό είναι η υπερηφάνεια Παρrsquo όλα αυτά δεν είναι αρκετό για μένα να βλέπω τα laquoἐμά πταίσματαraquo γιατί ακόμα και αυτή η φαινομενική αρετή μπορεί να μετατραπεί σε υπερηφάνεια Τα πατερικά κείμενα είναι γεμάτα από προειδοποιήσεις για την ύπουλη μορφή ψευτοευσέβειας η οποία στην πραγ-ματικότητα με το κάλυμμα της ταπεινοφροσύνης και της αυτομεμψίας μπορεί να οδηγήσει σε μια πραγματικά δαι-μονική υπερηφάνεια Αλλά όταν βλέπουμε τα δικά μας σφάλματα και δεν κατακρίνουμε τους αδελφούς μας όταν με άλλα λόγια η σωφροσύνη η ταπεινοφροσύνη η υπομονή και η αγάπη γίνονται ένα σε μας τότε και μόνο τότε ο αιώνιος εχθρός ndashη υπερηφάνεια- θrsquo αφανιστεί μέσα μας π Αλέξανδρος Σμέμαν από το βιβλίο laquoΜεγάλη Σαρακοστήraquo εκδόσεις laquoΑκρίταςraquo Υποσημειώσεις 1) Κάθε φορά που λέμε ένα στίχο της ευχής του Οσίου Εφραίμ κάνουμε μία μεγάλη μετάνοια Σύνολο τρεις Όταν τελειώσουμε αυτές κάνουμε δώδεκα μικρές μετάνοιες λέγοντας σε καθεμία από αυτές laquoΟ Θεός ἱλάσθητί μοι τῶ ἁμαρτωλῷ καί ἐλέησόν μεraquo Στο τέλος επαναλαμβάνουμε άλλη μία φορά τον τελευταίο στίχο της ευχής (Ναι Κύριε Βασιλεύ) και πραγματοποιούμε άλλη μία μεγάλη μετάνοια (Ωρολόγιον το Μέγα εκδ Αποστολική Διακονία 2003)
2) Ο συγγραφέας μεταφράζει από το ελληνικό κείμενο τη λέξη laquoπεριέργειαraquo με την αγγλική λέξη faint-heartedness που σημαί-νει λιποψυχία δειλία
Note form the Stewardship Chair Dr Yvonne Athanasaw
Update on Database We are on our way to gathering information about each of our parishioners to better know our family Dr Athanasaw is in the process of taking photos of our parishioners after Liturgy for the database She will also be meeting with each family to ensure we collect all the pertinent information such as birthdays wedding anniver-saries ministries talents etc
Gift of Time We are gearing up for the festival We will need all hand- on deck as much as possible Please reach out to our Parish Council president Gamal who can direct you to those festival committee chairs who are looking for volunteers
Gift of Treasurer To keep the parishioners informed of the financial stewardship status we will update the graph below to show the progress toward the $110000 budgeted stewardship estimate that the parishioners approved on Jan-uary 26 To put this into perspective to meet this goal the average total monthly stewardship contributions should be approximately $9176
To ensure that parishioners have a variety of options to contribute towards the stewardship goal there are two addi-tional options besides via personal check Now parishioners can set up an account and donate via credit card or through electronic bank check To set up an account and pay through these options go to abundantcontgocaccountregister These options are especially beneficial during times of travel vacations and Sunday work schedules
March Greek Festival Check List
As you can see the Festival committee is already working hard to bring our annual Spring Festival to frui-
tion We are in the Paschal season and much of our focus is on how we will survive another 30 or so days without meat and picking which services we can fit into our busy schedules Many of you may be doing the same when you are considering the festivalmdashtrying to see if you can possibly come out to help on Friday Saturday or Sun-day perhaps not even considering the prep days leading up to that weekend Hopefully you are strengthening your soul through fasting and attending as many of these beautiful services as you can so you can truly reflect on this questionmdashWhat if Christ only made as much time for you as you make for Him and His church
NTGOC Book Club
We hope you enjoyed or at least looked into last monthrsquos recommended reading This month brings some fresh recommendations focused on preparing you for your Lenten journey
Mount Athos The Highest Place on Earth Metropolitan Nikolaos of Mesogia
Great Week and Pascha in the Greek Orthodox Church Alkiviadis C Calivas
On the Path of Salvation with Christ from the Nativity to the Resurrection Archbishop and Metropolitan Nicolae Our first two texts (pictured) are available on Amazon the third text seems to be available only in Fr Johnrsquos library Please reach out to him if you are interested in reviewing Archbishop and Metropolitan Nicolaersquos text
Did you enjoy any of the previous recommendations Do you have a book or two you would like to recommend Are you searching for a good book on a particular topic or saint Let us know newsletterntgocorg
Page 8 T h e L i g h t
Miscellany
Greek Festival
March Tasks
Task Status
Greek Band lodgingdeposit Under contract
Contact Stage company In Progress
Contact Health Department Assigned
Contact Spotsy Police for overnight security In Progress
Contact waste company for Dumpsters Assigned
Order Banners In Progress
Contact Bounce house Assigned
Contact Face Painter Assigned
Contact Fire Inspector Assigned
Apply for ABC license Assigned
Apply for County Safety licenses Assigned
Evaluate current Flyer and Menu In Progress
Inventory paper goods In Progress
Evaluate last yearrsquos growth and determine ingredients to buy In Progress
Evaluate which menu items to increase price In Progress
Design amp order tote bags sports bottles amp stadium cups Completed
Contact Tent amp Chair Company Under contract
Recruit Volunteers In Progress
Η ζωή στο σπίτι κατά τη διάρκεια της Μεγάλης Τεσσαρακοστής
Στις Σαρακοστές καλό είναι να γνωρίζεις μόνο εκκλησία και σπίτι τίποτrsquo άλλο Φτάνεις λοιπόν στο σπίτι Τί θα κάνεις εκεί Θα αγωνιστείς μrsquo όλη σου τη δύναμη να διατηρήσεις την προσήλωση του νου και της καρδιάς στον Κύριο Αμέ-σως μετά την εκκλησία τρέξε στο δωμάτιό σου και κάνε αρκετές μετάνοιες ζητώντας ευλαβικά από τον Θεό να σε βοηθήσει ώστε να αξιοποιήσεις το χρόνο της παραμονής σου στο σπίτι με τρόπο ωφέλιμο για την ψυχή σου
Ύστερα κάθησε και ξεκουράσου για λίγο Αλλά και τότε μην αφήνεις τους λογισμούς σου να ξεστρατίζουν Διώχνοντας κάθε σκέψη επαναλάμβανε νοερά την ευχή ldquoΚύριε Ιησού Χριστέ ελέησόν με Κύριε Ιησού Χριστέ ελέησόν μεrdquo Αφού ξεκουραστείς πρέπει νrsquo ασχοληθείς με κάτι είτε προσευχή είτε εργόχειρο Τι εργόχειρο θα κάνεις δεν έχει ση-μασία∙ ξέρεις ήδη τι σου αρέσει Είναι βλέπεις αδύνατο να ασχολείσαι όλη την ώρα με πνευματικά πράγματα∙ χρειά-ζεται να έχει και κάποιο ευχάριστο εργόχειρο
Μrsquo αυτό θα καταπιάνεσαι όταν η ψυχή σου είναι κουρασμένη όταν δεν έχεις τη δύναμη να διαβάσεις ή να προσευ-χηθείς Αν βέβαια οι πνευματικές σου ενασχολήσεις πηγαίνουν καλά το εργόχειρο δεν είναι απαραίτητο Εκπληρώ-νει μόνο την ανάγκη αξιοποιήσεως του χρόνου που αλλιώς θα σπαταλιόταν σε απραξία Και η απραξία είναι πάντα ολέθρια πολύ περισσότερο όμως στον καιρό της νηστείας
Πώς πρέπει να προσεύχεται κανείς στο σπίτι Σωστά σκέφθηκες ότι τη Σαρακοστή οφείλουμε να προσθέτουμε κάτι στον συνηθισμένο κανόνα προσευχής Νομίζω ωστόσο πως αντί να διαβάζεις περισσότερες προσευχές από το Προ-σευχητάρι είναι καλύτερο νrsquo αυξήσεις τη διάρκεια της άμεσης επικοινωνίας σου με τον Κύριο Κάθε μέρα πριν αρχί-σεις και αφού τελειώσεις τη την ορθρινή και βραδυνή ακολουθία να απευθύνεσαι με δικά σου λόγια στον Κύριο την Υπεραγία Θεοτόκο και τον φύλακα άγγελό σου ευχαριστώντας τους για την προστασία τους και παρακαλώντας τους για την ικανοποίηση των πνευματικών σου αναγκών Ζήτα τους να σε βοηθήσουν ώστε πρώτα απrsquo όλα να γνωρίσεις τον εαυτό σου να αποκτήσεις αυτογνωσία και όταν την αποκτήσεις να σου χαρίσουν ζήλο και δύναμη ώστε να θε-ραπεύσεις τις πληγές της ψυχής σου Ζήτα τους ακόμα να γεμίσουν την καρδιά σου με το αίσθημα της ταπεινώσεως και της συντριβής Η ταπείνωση είναι η πιο ευάρεστη στον Θεό θυσία Έτσι να προσεύχεσαι Μην επιβάλεις όμως στον εαυτό σου έναν προσευχητικό κανόνα μακρύ και βαρύ έναν κανόνα που θα υπερβαίνει τα μέτρα των ψυχοσω-ματικών σου δυνάμεων και θα σε καταβάλλει Καλύτερα είναι να προσεύχεσαι συχνότερα στη διάρκεια της ημέρας και όταν ασχολείσαι μrsquo οποιαδήποτε άλλη εργασία να έχεις το νου σου στο Θεό
Μετά την προσευχή διάβαζε για λίγο με αυτοσυγκέντρωση Η μελέτη δεν αποσκοπεί στο φόρτωμα του μυαλού σου με διάφορες πληροφορίες και γνώσεις αλλά στην ψυχική σου ωφέλεια και εποικοδομή Γιrsquo αυτό δεν χρειάζεται να διαβάζεις πολλά Διάβαζε όμως με προσοχή μεγάλη και με καρδιακή συμμετοχή
Page 9 T h e L i g h t
Hopefully you all enjoy the content that we present monthly if not newsletterntgocorg While the different com-mitteesorganizations are responsible for their own contributions the rest of the content is pulled together by yours truly I do love to get lost in meme land to find relevant humorous takes on the Orthodox faith (like Grumpy Catrsquos perspective on Lent) but I also spend a great deal of time trying to find information to share that is engaging informative and relevant to our faith and the time of year Obviously Great Lent and the Paschal season are upon us and so my searches have been inspired by how I can help in-spire you all as you preparation for Easter I came across an article on fasting that references the works of a Coptic Pope While the Coptic Church is not affiliated with the Orthodox Church the text provided an interesting aspect to fasting that most of us I believe do not truly consider In essence we focus on Lent as a time of restricting the content of our diet but perhaps not so much on the quantity of our diet I hope you will all take the time to read the article if not the linked text from Pope Shenouda III httpsjohnbelovedhabibwordpresscom20150304fasting-defined-according-to-pope-shenouda-iii ~Eleni
Great Lent
Page 10 T h e L i g h t
Great Lent
ldquoΤι να διαβάζωrdquo θα με ρωτήσεις Μόνο πνευματικά βιβλία φυσικά Η προσεκτική ανάγνωση τέτοιων βιβλίων εμπνέ-ει την ψυχή περισσότερο απrsquo οτιδήποτε άλλο Αν πάντως στη διάρκεια της μελέτης γεννιέται ο πόθος της προσευ-χής νrsquo αφήνεις το βιβλίο και να προσεύχεσαι
Θα διαβάζεις λοιπόν θα προσεύχεσαι θα κάνεις μετάνοιες Και μrsquo όλα αυτά ωστόσο δεν θα μπορέσεις να κρατή-σεις το νου και την καρδιά σου σε κατάσταση συνεχούς και έντονου αγώνα Είναι αναπόφευκτο να κουράζεσαι Τότε όπως σου είπα θα ασχολείσαι με κάποια πρακτική εργασία
Σκέφτεσαι καθώς μου γράφεις να μειώσεις την ποσότητα του καθημερινού σου φαγητού Σωστή κι ωφέλιμη η σκέ-ψη σου∙ σωστή γιατί το σώμα που με τις παρεκτροπές του σε αναγκάζει να μετανοείς οφείλει να καταβάλει στη διάρκεια της Σαρακοστής τους μόχθους που του αναλογούν∙ και ωφέλιμη γιατί με τη νηστεία το σώμα δουλαγωγεί-ται ο νους καθαρίζεται η καρδιά μαλακώνει τα πάθη νεκρώνονται Μόνο μην το παρακάνεις Ήδη τρως τόσο λίγο Πρέπει να έχεις δυνάμεις για να στέκεσαι στην εκκλησία και για νrsquo αγωνίζεσαι στο σπίτι Κοίτα να τρως τόσο όσο χρειάζεται για να μην εξασθενήσεις
Καλό θα ήταν επίσης να μείωνες λίγο το χρόνο του ύπνου και της αναπαύσεώς σου Είναι μία θυσία για σένα αλλά κάθε λογής θυσία ταιριάζει σrsquo αυτή την περίοδο
Και με τις συζητήσεις τι θα γίνει Τη Σαρακοστή τουλάχιστον οι συζητήσεις με τους άλλους ας περιοριστούν σε πνευ-ματικά θέματα Ακόμα καλύτερες είναι οι κοινές πνευματικές αναγνώσεις που δίνουν αφορμές για την ανταλλαγή εποικοδομητικών σκέψεων και για την εξαγωγή ωφέλιμων συμπερασμάτων Κατάλληλοι γιrsquo αυτό τον σκοπό είναι οι Βίοι των Αγίων
ΟΣΙΟΥ ΘΕΟΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΤΟΥ ΕΓΚΛΕΙΣΤΟΥ
Life at Home during Lent
This article presented in Greek above presents some ideas on how one should conduct themselves throughout the Len-ten season beyond their time in church The site presents their own translation Irsquove tackled the most awkward bits but
it is still an interesting translation
In Lent it is good to know only the church and home nothing else You arrive therefore at home What are you going to do there You will fight with all your strength to maintain the commitment of mind and heart to the Lord Immediately after the church run to your room and make many prostrations devoutly asking God to help you to use your time of your stay in the house in a manner beneficial to your soul
Then sit down and rest for a while But then do not let your thoughts stray Sweeping away every thought mentally repeating the prayer Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me Jesus Christ show me mercy After some rest you must bother with something either prayer or handiwork What kind of handiwork is of no matter already you know what you like It is you see impossible to bother all the time with spiritual things it is necessary have a pleasant hobby
With this you will be caught when your soul is tired when you do not have the power to read or pray If of course your spiritual pastimes are going well the handiwork is not necessary It only fulfills the need for recovery time that would otherwise be wasted in idleness And doing nothing is always devastating but much more in the time of fasting
How should one pray at home Rightly you thought in Lent we need to add something to the usual rule of prayer I think however that instead of reading more prayers from the prayer book it is better to increase the duration of your direct communication with the Lord Every day before you start and after finishing the morning and evening prayers send in your own words to the Lord the Virgin Mary and your guardian angel thanking them for their protection and pleading with them to satisfy your spiritual needs Ask them to help you that first of all to know yourself to acquire self-knowledge and when you have acquired these to offer your zeal and strength to heal the wounds of your soul Ask them yet to fill your heart with a sense of humility and the contrition Humility is the most pleasing sacrifice to God So pray in this way Do not impose however give yourself a long and heavy rule of praying a rule that would ex-
Great Lent
Page 11 T h e L i g h t
ceed the measures of your psychosomatic forces and will overwhelm you Better is to pray often during the day and when you are dealing with any other job to have your mind on God
After the prayer read briefly with concentration The study is not intended load of your mind with a variety of infor-mation and knowledge but to benefit your soul and its structure So we do not need to read a lot But read with great attention and your heartrsquos involvement
What to read you will ask me Only spiritual books of course Careful reading of such books inspires the soul more than anything else If however during this studying is born a yearning for prayer leave the book aside and pray
You will read you will pray you would do prostrations And with all this however you will not be able to keep the mind and heart in a state of continuous and fierce struggle Inevitably you will be tired Then as I said you should be-come busy with some practical work
You think as you write to me you must reduce the amount of your daily food Your thought is correct and healthy ∙ correct because the body with its excesses forces you to repent it is healthy for the body to understand throughout Lent the analogous labors ∙ beneficial because with fasting the body is subdued the mind is purified the heart softens passions die Just do not overdo it Already you eat so little You have to have strength to stand in church and to strive at home Look to eat as much as necessary to avoid impairments
It would also be slightly reduces the time of sleep and your resting It is a sacrifice for you but every kind of sacrifice fit in this period
And with debates what will be done In Lent at least discussions with others let confined to spiritual matters Even better are the common spiritual readings which give rise to an exchange of constructive thoughts and to extract useful conclusions Suitable for this purpose are the Lives of the Saints
SAINT THEOFANOUS the enclosure
httpspoimingrzoi-sto-spiti-kata-ti-diarkia-tis-megalis-tessarakostis
Schedule of Services for Holy Week 2020
(April 12-19)
April 12 ndash Palm Sunday Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am Orthros
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 600 pm
April 13 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 14 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 15 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
mdash Holy Unction Service ndash 600 pm
April 16 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Service of the Lordrsquos Passion ndash 600 pm
April 17 ndash The Great Hours ndash 900 am
ndash Apokathelosis ndash 300 pm
ndash Epitaphios Service ndash 700 pm
April 18 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Resurrection Service - 1130 pm
April 19 ndash Agape Vespers ndash 1200 pm
Easter Traditions of our Church In addition to the appropriately scheduled services listed to the left our church has a few traditions that we would like to encourage all of you to participate in Saturday of Lazarus (April 11) - Learning Liturgy Lenten breakfast Palm Crosses Preparing the Church for Palm Sunday and Holy Week Palm SundaymdashFish Luncheon after services Holy Friday MorningmdashDecorating the Kouvouklion for services Holy Friday Evening (after the Great Hours at 9am) Holy Friday EveningmdashMyrhhbearing Women (girls of our parish ages 8-18 who will participate in the service Holy Friday evening Stay tuned to Aprilrsquos edition for more details if your daughter would like to participate Holy Saturday MorningmdashCleaning and decorating the church for the Resurrection service (after the Vespers and Divine Liturgy of St Basil at 9am) This is also when you can drop off your red eggs to be blessed for Easter Easter SundaymdashPaschalino Glendi a potluck luncheon to celebrate Easter (after the Agape Vespers) See the flyer on page 4 for details
The Nativity of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church
12326 Spotswood Furnace Road Fredericksburg VA 22407
540-548-2665 Office Emailmdashofficentgocorg
Newsletter Emailmdashnewsletterntgocorg wwwnativityvagoarchorg
Parish Information
Page 12 T h e L i g h t
PARISH COUNCIL Gamal Salem President Nick Roman Secretary Maria Christoforatos Treasurer Maxine Calamos Assistant Treasurer George Tsoukleris Dennis Makrinos Yvonne Athanasaw Chris Zourzoukis STEWARDSHIP Yvonne Athanasaw FUND RAISING
BOOK STORE Monica Hicks PHILOPTOCHOS Verilee Vasilakos President Linda Govenides Vice-President Christine Turdean Treasurer Secretary CHOIR 2020 FESTIVAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL Dr Judy Marrs Director DANCE Dr Judy Marrs Director GOYA Dan Athanasaw Jr HOPEJOY
Office Hours
Fr John is available as follows or by appointment
MondaymdashClosed
Tuesdaymdash 9am-1pm
Wedensdaymdash 9am-1pm
Thursdaymdash9am-1pm
Fridaymdash9am-1pm
Cell phone numbermdash
540-645-1427
Emailmdashfrjohnntgocorg
PASTORAL GUIDELINES
Please contact Fr John if you wish to schedule a sacrament or know of a parishioner who is sick or in the hospital
WEDDINGS Marriages are not performed on fast days during fasting seasons or on the feasts of the church specifi-cally September 14 (Exaltation of the Holy Cross) December 13-25 (Nativity) January 5 amp 6 (Theophany) Great Lent and Holy Week Pascha (Easter) Pentecost August 1-15 (Dormition Fast and Feast) and August 29 (Beheading of St John the Baptist) Exceptions can only be made with the permission of the respective hierarch
BAPTISMS A person who wishes to sponsor a candidate for Baptism or Chrismation must be an Orthodox Christian in good standing and a supporting member of an Orthodox parish A person may not serve as a godparent if the Church has not blessed his or her marriage or if civilly divorced he or she has not been granted an ecclesiastical divorce or for any other reason he or she is not in communion with the Orthodox Church Baptisms may not be performed from Christmas Day through the Feast of Theophany (December 25-January 6) during Holy Week or any of the great feast days of the Lord
FUNERALS Funeral services are permitted on any day of the year except for Sundays and Holy Friday unless permis-sion is granted by the Archbishop or Metropolitan
MEMORIALS Memorial services may not be chanted from the Saturday of Lazarus through the Sunday of Thomas or any Feast days of the Lord or the Theotokos
Miscellany
Page 7 T h e L i g h t
που έχει μετράει τα πάντα με βάση τις δικές του προτιμήσεις και τις δικές του ιδέες Αδιαφορεί για τον καθένα γύ-ρω του εκτός από τον εαυτό του θέλει η ζωή του να είναι πετυχημένη τώρα αυτή τη στιγμή Η υπομονή βέβαια είναι μια αληθινά θεϊκή αρετή Ο Θεός είναι υπομονετικός όχι γιατί είναι laquoσυγκαταβατικόςraquo αλλά γιατί βλέπει το βάθος όλων των πραγμάτων γιατί η εσωτερική πραγματικότητά τους την οποία εμείς με την τυφλότητά μας δεν μπορούμε να δούμε είναι ανοιχτή σrsquo Αυτόν Όσο πιο κοντά ερχόμαστε στο Θεό τόσο περισσότε-ρο υπομονετικοί γινόμαστε και τόσο πιο πολύ αντανακλούμε αυτή την απέραστη εκτίμηση για όλα τα όντα πράγμα που είναι η κύρια ιδιότητα του Θεού Η Αγάπη Τέλος το αποκορύφωμα και ο καρπός όλων των αρετών κάθε καλλιέργειας και κάθε προσπάθειας είναι η αγάπη Αυτή η αγάπη που όπως έχουμε πει μπορεί να δοθεί μόνο από το Θεό είναι το δώρο που αποτελεί σκοπό που α-ποτελεί σκοπό για κάθε πνευματική προετοιμασία και άσκηση Η υπερηφάνεια Όλα αυτά συγκεφαλαιώνονται στην τελική αίτηση της προσευχής του Αγίου Εφραίμ με την οποία ζητάμε laquohellipδώρησαί μοι τοῦ ὁράν τά ἐμά πταίσματα καί μή κατακρίνειν τόν ἀδελφόν μουhellipraquo Εδώ τελικά δεν υπάρχει παρά μόνο ένας κίνδυνος η υπερηφάνεια Η υπερηφάνεια είναι η πηγή του κακού και όλο το κακό είναι η υπερηφάνεια Παρrsquo όλα αυτά δεν είναι αρκετό για μένα να βλέπω τα laquoἐμά πταίσματαraquo γιατί ακόμα και αυτή η φαινομενική αρετή μπορεί να μετατραπεί σε υπερηφάνεια Τα πατερικά κείμενα είναι γεμάτα από προειδοποιήσεις για την ύπουλη μορφή ψευτοευσέβειας η οποία στην πραγ-ματικότητα με το κάλυμμα της ταπεινοφροσύνης και της αυτομεμψίας μπορεί να οδηγήσει σε μια πραγματικά δαι-μονική υπερηφάνεια Αλλά όταν βλέπουμε τα δικά μας σφάλματα και δεν κατακρίνουμε τους αδελφούς μας όταν με άλλα λόγια η σωφροσύνη η ταπεινοφροσύνη η υπομονή και η αγάπη γίνονται ένα σε μας τότε και μόνο τότε ο αιώνιος εχθρός ndashη υπερηφάνεια- θrsquo αφανιστεί μέσα μας π Αλέξανδρος Σμέμαν από το βιβλίο laquoΜεγάλη Σαρακοστήraquo εκδόσεις laquoΑκρίταςraquo Υποσημειώσεις 1) Κάθε φορά που λέμε ένα στίχο της ευχής του Οσίου Εφραίμ κάνουμε μία μεγάλη μετάνοια Σύνολο τρεις Όταν τελειώσουμε αυτές κάνουμε δώδεκα μικρές μετάνοιες λέγοντας σε καθεμία από αυτές laquoΟ Θεός ἱλάσθητί μοι τῶ ἁμαρτωλῷ καί ἐλέησόν μεraquo Στο τέλος επαναλαμβάνουμε άλλη μία φορά τον τελευταίο στίχο της ευχής (Ναι Κύριε Βασιλεύ) και πραγματοποιούμε άλλη μία μεγάλη μετάνοια (Ωρολόγιον το Μέγα εκδ Αποστολική Διακονία 2003)
2) Ο συγγραφέας μεταφράζει από το ελληνικό κείμενο τη λέξη laquoπεριέργειαraquo με την αγγλική λέξη faint-heartedness που σημαί-νει λιποψυχία δειλία
Note form the Stewardship Chair Dr Yvonne Athanasaw
Update on Database We are on our way to gathering information about each of our parishioners to better know our family Dr Athanasaw is in the process of taking photos of our parishioners after Liturgy for the database She will also be meeting with each family to ensure we collect all the pertinent information such as birthdays wedding anniver-saries ministries talents etc
Gift of Time We are gearing up for the festival We will need all hand- on deck as much as possible Please reach out to our Parish Council president Gamal who can direct you to those festival committee chairs who are looking for volunteers
Gift of Treasurer To keep the parishioners informed of the financial stewardship status we will update the graph below to show the progress toward the $110000 budgeted stewardship estimate that the parishioners approved on Jan-uary 26 To put this into perspective to meet this goal the average total monthly stewardship contributions should be approximately $9176
To ensure that parishioners have a variety of options to contribute towards the stewardship goal there are two addi-tional options besides via personal check Now parishioners can set up an account and donate via credit card or through electronic bank check To set up an account and pay through these options go to abundantcontgocaccountregister These options are especially beneficial during times of travel vacations and Sunday work schedules
March Greek Festival Check List
As you can see the Festival committee is already working hard to bring our annual Spring Festival to frui-
tion We are in the Paschal season and much of our focus is on how we will survive another 30 or so days without meat and picking which services we can fit into our busy schedules Many of you may be doing the same when you are considering the festivalmdashtrying to see if you can possibly come out to help on Friday Saturday or Sun-day perhaps not even considering the prep days leading up to that weekend Hopefully you are strengthening your soul through fasting and attending as many of these beautiful services as you can so you can truly reflect on this questionmdashWhat if Christ only made as much time for you as you make for Him and His church
NTGOC Book Club
We hope you enjoyed or at least looked into last monthrsquos recommended reading This month brings some fresh recommendations focused on preparing you for your Lenten journey
Mount Athos The Highest Place on Earth Metropolitan Nikolaos of Mesogia
Great Week and Pascha in the Greek Orthodox Church Alkiviadis C Calivas
On the Path of Salvation with Christ from the Nativity to the Resurrection Archbishop and Metropolitan Nicolae Our first two texts (pictured) are available on Amazon the third text seems to be available only in Fr Johnrsquos library Please reach out to him if you are interested in reviewing Archbishop and Metropolitan Nicolaersquos text
Did you enjoy any of the previous recommendations Do you have a book or two you would like to recommend Are you searching for a good book on a particular topic or saint Let us know newsletterntgocorg
Page 8 T h e L i g h t
Miscellany
Greek Festival
March Tasks
Task Status
Greek Band lodgingdeposit Under contract
Contact Stage company In Progress
Contact Health Department Assigned
Contact Spotsy Police for overnight security In Progress
Contact waste company for Dumpsters Assigned
Order Banners In Progress
Contact Bounce house Assigned
Contact Face Painter Assigned
Contact Fire Inspector Assigned
Apply for ABC license Assigned
Apply for County Safety licenses Assigned
Evaluate current Flyer and Menu In Progress
Inventory paper goods In Progress
Evaluate last yearrsquos growth and determine ingredients to buy In Progress
Evaluate which menu items to increase price In Progress
Design amp order tote bags sports bottles amp stadium cups Completed
Contact Tent amp Chair Company Under contract
Recruit Volunteers In Progress
Η ζωή στο σπίτι κατά τη διάρκεια της Μεγάλης Τεσσαρακοστής
Στις Σαρακοστές καλό είναι να γνωρίζεις μόνο εκκλησία και σπίτι τίποτrsquo άλλο Φτάνεις λοιπόν στο σπίτι Τί θα κάνεις εκεί Θα αγωνιστείς μrsquo όλη σου τη δύναμη να διατηρήσεις την προσήλωση του νου και της καρδιάς στον Κύριο Αμέ-σως μετά την εκκλησία τρέξε στο δωμάτιό σου και κάνε αρκετές μετάνοιες ζητώντας ευλαβικά από τον Θεό να σε βοηθήσει ώστε να αξιοποιήσεις το χρόνο της παραμονής σου στο σπίτι με τρόπο ωφέλιμο για την ψυχή σου
Ύστερα κάθησε και ξεκουράσου για λίγο Αλλά και τότε μην αφήνεις τους λογισμούς σου να ξεστρατίζουν Διώχνοντας κάθε σκέψη επαναλάμβανε νοερά την ευχή ldquoΚύριε Ιησού Χριστέ ελέησόν με Κύριε Ιησού Χριστέ ελέησόν μεrdquo Αφού ξεκουραστείς πρέπει νrsquo ασχοληθείς με κάτι είτε προσευχή είτε εργόχειρο Τι εργόχειρο θα κάνεις δεν έχει ση-μασία∙ ξέρεις ήδη τι σου αρέσει Είναι βλέπεις αδύνατο να ασχολείσαι όλη την ώρα με πνευματικά πράγματα∙ χρειά-ζεται να έχει και κάποιο ευχάριστο εργόχειρο
Μrsquo αυτό θα καταπιάνεσαι όταν η ψυχή σου είναι κουρασμένη όταν δεν έχεις τη δύναμη να διαβάσεις ή να προσευ-χηθείς Αν βέβαια οι πνευματικές σου ενασχολήσεις πηγαίνουν καλά το εργόχειρο δεν είναι απαραίτητο Εκπληρώ-νει μόνο την ανάγκη αξιοποιήσεως του χρόνου που αλλιώς θα σπαταλιόταν σε απραξία Και η απραξία είναι πάντα ολέθρια πολύ περισσότερο όμως στον καιρό της νηστείας
Πώς πρέπει να προσεύχεται κανείς στο σπίτι Σωστά σκέφθηκες ότι τη Σαρακοστή οφείλουμε να προσθέτουμε κάτι στον συνηθισμένο κανόνα προσευχής Νομίζω ωστόσο πως αντί να διαβάζεις περισσότερες προσευχές από το Προ-σευχητάρι είναι καλύτερο νrsquo αυξήσεις τη διάρκεια της άμεσης επικοινωνίας σου με τον Κύριο Κάθε μέρα πριν αρχί-σεις και αφού τελειώσεις τη την ορθρινή και βραδυνή ακολουθία να απευθύνεσαι με δικά σου λόγια στον Κύριο την Υπεραγία Θεοτόκο και τον φύλακα άγγελό σου ευχαριστώντας τους για την προστασία τους και παρακαλώντας τους για την ικανοποίηση των πνευματικών σου αναγκών Ζήτα τους να σε βοηθήσουν ώστε πρώτα απrsquo όλα να γνωρίσεις τον εαυτό σου να αποκτήσεις αυτογνωσία και όταν την αποκτήσεις να σου χαρίσουν ζήλο και δύναμη ώστε να θε-ραπεύσεις τις πληγές της ψυχής σου Ζήτα τους ακόμα να γεμίσουν την καρδιά σου με το αίσθημα της ταπεινώσεως και της συντριβής Η ταπείνωση είναι η πιο ευάρεστη στον Θεό θυσία Έτσι να προσεύχεσαι Μην επιβάλεις όμως στον εαυτό σου έναν προσευχητικό κανόνα μακρύ και βαρύ έναν κανόνα που θα υπερβαίνει τα μέτρα των ψυχοσω-ματικών σου δυνάμεων και θα σε καταβάλλει Καλύτερα είναι να προσεύχεσαι συχνότερα στη διάρκεια της ημέρας και όταν ασχολείσαι μrsquo οποιαδήποτε άλλη εργασία να έχεις το νου σου στο Θεό
Μετά την προσευχή διάβαζε για λίγο με αυτοσυγκέντρωση Η μελέτη δεν αποσκοπεί στο φόρτωμα του μυαλού σου με διάφορες πληροφορίες και γνώσεις αλλά στην ψυχική σου ωφέλεια και εποικοδομή Γιrsquo αυτό δεν χρειάζεται να διαβάζεις πολλά Διάβαζε όμως με προσοχή μεγάλη και με καρδιακή συμμετοχή
Page 9 T h e L i g h t
Hopefully you all enjoy the content that we present monthly if not newsletterntgocorg While the different com-mitteesorganizations are responsible for their own contributions the rest of the content is pulled together by yours truly I do love to get lost in meme land to find relevant humorous takes on the Orthodox faith (like Grumpy Catrsquos perspective on Lent) but I also spend a great deal of time trying to find information to share that is engaging informative and relevant to our faith and the time of year Obviously Great Lent and the Paschal season are upon us and so my searches have been inspired by how I can help in-spire you all as you preparation for Easter I came across an article on fasting that references the works of a Coptic Pope While the Coptic Church is not affiliated with the Orthodox Church the text provided an interesting aspect to fasting that most of us I believe do not truly consider In essence we focus on Lent as a time of restricting the content of our diet but perhaps not so much on the quantity of our diet I hope you will all take the time to read the article if not the linked text from Pope Shenouda III httpsjohnbelovedhabibwordpresscom20150304fasting-defined-according-to-pope-shenouda-iii ~Eleni
Great Lent
Page 10 T h e L i g h t
Great Lent
ldquoΤι να διαβάζωrdquo θα με ρωτήσεις Μόνο πνευματικά βιβλία φυσικά Η προσεκτική ανάγνωση τέτοιων βιβλίων εμπνέ-ει την ψυχή περισσότερο απrsquo οτιδήποτε άλλο Αν πάντως στη διάρκεια της μελέτης γεννιέται ο πόθος της προσευ-χής νrsquo αφήνεις το βιβλίο και να προσεύχεσαι
Θα διαβάζεις λοιπόν θα προσεύχεσαι θα κάνεις μετάνοιες Και μrsquo όλα αυτά ωστόσο δεν θα μπορέσεις να κρατή-σεις το νου και την καρδιά σου σε κατάσταση συνεχούς και έντονου αγώνα Είναι αναπόφευκτο να κουράζεσαι Τότε όπως σου είπα θα ασχολείσαι με κάποια πρακτική εργασία
Σκέφτεσαι καθώς μου γράφεις να μειώσεις την ποσότητα του καθημερινού σου φαγητού Σωστή κι ωφέλιμη η σκέ-ψη σου∙ σωστή γιατί το σώμα που με τις παρεκτροπές του σε αναγκάζει να μετανοείς οφείλει να καταβάλει στη διάρκεια της Σαρακοστής τους μόχθους που του αναλογούν∙ και ωφέλιμη γιατί με τη νηστεία το σώμα δουλαγωγεί-ται ο νους καθαρίζεται η καρδιά μαλακώνει τα πάθη νεκρώνονται Μόνο μην το παρακάνεις Ήδη τρως τόσο λίγο Πρέπει να έχεις δυνάμεις για να στέκεσαι στην εκκλησία και για νrsquo αγωνίζεσαι στο σπίτι Κοίτα να τρως τόσο όσο χρειάζεται για να μην εξασθενήσεις
Καλό θα ήταν επίσης να μείωνες λίγο το χρόνο του ύπνου και της αναπαύσεώς σου Είναι μία θυσία για σένα αλλά κάθε λογής θυσία ταιριάζει σrsquo αυτή την περίοδο
Και με τις συζητήσεις τι θα γίνει Τη Σαρακοστή τουλάχιστον οι συζητήσεις με τους άλλους ας περιοριστούν σε πνευ-ματικά θέματα Ακόμα καλύτερες είναι οι κοινές πνευματικές αναγνώσεις που δίνουν αφορμές για την ανταλλαγή εποικοδομητικών σκέψεων και για την εξαγωγή ωφέλιμων συμπερασμάτων Κατάλληλοι γιrsquo αυτό τον σκοπό είναι οι Βίοι των Αγίων
ΟΣΙΟΥ ΘΕΟΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΤΟΥ ΕΓΚΛΕΙΣΤΟΥ
Life at Home during Lent
This article presented in Greek above presents some ideas on how one should conduct themselves throughout the Len-ten season beyond their time in church The site presents their own translation Irsquove tackled the most awkward bits but
it is still an interesting translation
In Lent it is good to know only the church and home nothing else You arrive therefore at home What are you going to do there You will fight with all your strength to maintain the commitment of mind and heart to the Lord Immediately after the church run to your room and make many prostrations devoutly asking God to help you to use your time of your stay in the house in a manner beneficial to your soul
Then sit down and rest for a while But then do not let your thoughts stray Sweeping away every thought mentally repeating the prayer Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me Jesus Christ show me mercy After some rest you must bother with something either prayer or handiwork What kind of handiwork is of no matter already you know what you like It is you see impossible to bother all the time with spiritual things it is necessary have a pleasant hobby
With this you will be caught when your soul is tired when you do not have the power to read or pray If of course your spiritual pastimes are going well the handiwork is not necessary It only fulfills the need for recovery time that would otherwise be wasted in idleness And doing nothing is always devastating but much more in the time of fasting
How should one pray at home Rightly you thought in Lent we need to add something to the usual rule of prayer I think however that instead of reading more prayers from the prayer book it is better to increase the duration of your direct communication with the Lord Every day before you start and after finishing the morning and evening prayers send in your own words to the Lord the Virgin Mary and your guardian angel thanking them for their protection and pleading with them to satisfy your spiritual needs Ask them to help you that first of all to know yourself to acquire self-knowledge and when you have acquired these to offer your zeal and strength to heal the wounds of your soul Ask them yet to fill your heart with a sense of humility and the contrition Humility is the most pleasing sacrifice to God So pray in this way Do not impose however give yourself a long and heavy rule of praying a rule that would ex-
Great Lent
Page 11 T h e L i g h t
ceed the measures of your psychosomatic forces and will overwhelm you Better is to pray often during the day and when you are dealing with any other job to have your mind on God
After the prayer read briefly with concentration The study is not intended load of your mind with a variety of infor-mation and knowledge but to benefit your soul and its structure So we do not need to read a lot But read with great attention and your heartrsquos involvement
What to read you will ask me Only spiritual books of course Careful reading of such books inspires the soul more than anything else If however during this studying is born a yearning for prayer leave the book aside and pray
You will read you will pray you would do prostrations And with all this however you will not be able to keep the mind and heart in a state of continuous and fierce struggle Inevitably you will be tired Then as I said you should be-come busy with some practical work
You think as you write to me you must reduce the amount of your daily food Your thought is correct and healthy ∙ correct because the body with its excesses forces you to repent it is healthy for the body to understand throughout Lent the analogous labors ∙ beneficial because with fasting the body is subdued the mind is purified the heart softens passions die Just do not overdo it Already you eat so little You have to have strength to stand in church and to strive at home Look to eat as much as necessary to avoid impairments
It would also be slightly reduces the time of sleep and your resting It is a sacrifice for you but every kind of sacrifice fit in this period
And with debates what will be done In Lent at least discussions with others let confined to spiritual matters Even better are the common spiritual readings which give rise to an exchange of constructive thoughts and to extract useful conclusions Suitable for this purpose are the Lives of the Saints
SAINT THEOFANOUS the enclosure
httpspoimingrzoi-sto-spiti-kata-ti-diarkia-tis-megalis-tessarakostis
Schedule of Services for Holy Week 2020
(April 12-19)
April 12 ndash Palm Sunday Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am Orthros
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 600 pm
April 13 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 14 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 15 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
mdash Holy Unction Service ndash 600 pm
April 16 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Service of the Lordrsquos Passion ndash 600 pm
April 17 ndash The Great Hours ndash 900 am
ndash Apokathelosis ndash 300 pm
ndash Epitaphios Service ndash 700 pm
April 18 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Resurrection Service - 1130 pm
April 19 ndash Agape Vespers ndash 1200 pm
Easter Traditions of our Church In addition to the appropriately scheduled services listed to the left our church has a few traditions that we would like to encourage all of you to participate in Saturday of Lazarus (April 11) - Learning Liturgy Lenten breakfast Palm Crosses Preparing the Church for Palm Sunday and Holy Week Palm SundaymdashFish Luncheon after services Holy Friday MorningmdashDecorating the Kouvouklion for services Holy Friday Evening (after the Great Hours at 9am) Holy Friday EveningmdashMyrhhbearing Women (girls of our parish ages 8-18 who will participate in the service Holy Friday evening Stay tuned to Aprilrsquos edition for more details if your daughter would like to participate Holy Saturday MorningmdashCleaning and decorating the church for the Resurrection service (after the Vespers and Divine Liturgy of St Basil at 9am) This is also when you can drop off your red eggs to be blessed for Easter Easter SundaymdashPaschalino Glendi a potluck luncheon to celebrate Easter (after the Agape Vespers) See the flyer on page 4 for details
The Nativity of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church
12326 Spotswood Furnace Road Fredericksburg VA 22407
540-548-2665 Office Emailmdashofficentgocorg
Newsletter Emailmdashnewsletterntgocorg wwwnativityvagoarchorg
Parish Information
Page 12 T h e L i g h t
PARISH COUNCIL Gamal Salem President Nick Roman Secretary Maria Christoforatos Treasurer Maxine Calamos Assistant Treasurer George Tsoukleris Dennis Makrinos Yvonne Athanasaw Chris Zourzoukis STEWARDSHIP Yvonne Athanasaw FUND RAISING
BOOK STORE Monica Hicks PHILOPTOCHOS Verilee Vasilakos President Linda Govenides Vice-President Christine Turdean Treasurer Secretary CHOIR 2020 FESTIVAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL Dr Judy Marrs Director DANCE Dr Judy Marrs Director GOYA Dan Athanasaw Jr HOPEJOY
Office Hours
Fr John is available as follows or by appointment
MondaymdashClosed
Tuesdaymdash 9am-1pm
Wedensdaymdash 9am-1pm
Thursdaymdash9am-1pm
Fridaymdash9am-1pm
Cell phone numbermdash
540-645-1427
Emailmdashfrjohnntgocorg
PASTORAL GUIDELINES
Please contact Fr John if you wish to schedule a sacrament or know of a parishioner who is sick or in the hospital
WEDDINGS Marriages are not performed on fast days during fasting seasons or on the feasts of the church specifi-cally September 14 (Exaltation of the Holy Cross) December 13-25 (Nativity) January 5 amp 6 (Theophany) Great Lent and Holy Week Pascha (Easter) Pentecost August 1-15 (Dormition Fast and Feast) and August 29 (Beheading of St John the Baptist) Exceptions can only be made with the permission of the respective hierarch
BAPTISMS A person who wishes to sponsor a candidate for Baptism or Chrismation must be an Orthodox Christian in good standing and a supporting member of an Orthodox parish A person may not serve as a godparent if the Church has not blessed his or her marriage or if civilly divorced he or she has not been granted an ecclesiastical divorce or for any other reason he or she is not in communion with the Orthodox Church Baptisms may not be performed from Christmas Day through the Feast of Theophany (December 25-January 6) during Holy Week or any of the great feast days of the Lord
FUNERALS Funeral services are permitted on any day of the year except for Sundays and Holy Friday unless permis-sion is granted by the Archbishop or Metropolitan
MEMORIALS Memorial services may not be chanted from the Saturday of Lazarus through the Sunday of Thomas or any Feast days of the Lord or the Theotokos
March Greek Festival Check List
As you can see the Festival committee is already working hard to bring our annual Spring Festival to frui-
tion We are in the Paschal season and much of our focus is on how we will survive another 30 or so days without meat and picking which services we can fit into our busy schedules Many of you may be doing the same when you are considering the festivalmdashtrying to see if you can possibly come out to help on Friday Saturday or Sun-day perhaps not even considering the prep days leading up to that weekend Hopefully you are strengthening your soul through fasting and attending as many of these beautiful services as you can so you can truly reflect on this questionmdashWhat if Christ only made as much time for you as you make for Him and His church
NTGOC Book Club
We hope you enjoyed or at least looked into last monthrsquos recommended reading This month brings some fresh recommendations focused on preparing you for your Lenten journey
Mount Athos The Highest Place on Earth Metropolitan Nikolaos of Mesogia
Great Week and Pascha in the Greek Orthodox Church Alkiviadis C Calivas
On the Path of Salvation with Christ from the Nativity to the Resurrection Archbishop and Metropolitan Nicolae Our first two texts (pictured) are available on Amazon the third text seems to be available only in Fr Johnrsquos library Please reach out to him if you are interested in reviewing Archbishop and Metropolitan Nicolaersquos text
Did you enjoy any of the previous recommendations Do you have a book or two you would like to recommend Are you searching for a good book on a particular topic or saint Let us know newsletterntgocorg
Page 8 T h e L i g h t
Miscellany
Greek Festival
March Tasks
Task Status
Greek Band lodgingdeposit Under contract
Contact Stage company In Progress
Contact Health Department Assigned
Contact Spotsy Police for overnight security In Progress
Contact waste company for Dumpsters Assigned
Order Banners In Progress
Contact Bounce house Assigned
Contact Face Painter Assigned
Contact Fire Inspector Assigned
Apply for ABC license Assigned
Apply for County Safety licenses Assigned
Evaluate current Flyer and Menu In Progress
Inventory paper goods In Progress
Evaluate last yearrsquos growth and determine ingredients to buy In Progress
Evaluate which menu items to increase price In Progress
Design amp order tote bags sports bottles amp stadium cups Completed
Contact Tent amp Chair Company Under contract
Recruit Volunteers In Progress
Η ζωή στο σπίτι κατά τη διάρκεια της Μεγάλης Τεσσαρακοστής
Στις Σαρακοστές καλό είναι να γνωρίζεις μόνο εκκλησία και σπίτι τίποτrsquo άλλο Φτάνεις λοιπόν στο σπίτι Τί θα κάνεις εκεί Θα αγωνιστείς μrsquo όλη σου τη δύναμη να διατηρήσεις την προσήλωση του νου και της καρδιάς στον Κύριο Αμέ-σως μετά την εκκλησία τρέξε στο δωμάτιό σου και κάνε αρκετές μετάνοιες ζητώντας ευλαβικά από τον Θεό να σε βοηθήσει ώστε να αξιοποιήσεις το χρόνο της παραμονής σου στο σπίτι με τρόπο ωφέλιμο για την ψυχή σου
Ύστερα κάθησε και ξεκουράσου για λίγο Αλλά και τότε μην αφήνεις τους λογισμούς σου να ξεστρατίζουν Διώχνοντας κάθε σκέψη επαναλάμβανε νοερά την ευχή ldquoΚύριε Ιησού Χριστέ ελέησόν με Κύριε Ιησού Χριστέ ελέησόν μεrdquo Αφού ξεκουραστείς πρέπει νrsquo ασχοληθείς με κάτι είτε προσευχή είτε εργόχειρο Τι εργόχειρο θα κάνεις δεν έχει ση-μασία∙ ξέρεις ήδη τι σου αρέσει Είναι βλέπεις αδύνατο να ασχολείσαι όλη την ώρα με πνευματικά πράγματα∙ χρειά-ζεται να έχει και κάποιο ευχάριστο εργόχειρο
Μrsquo αυτό θα καταπιάνεσαι όταν η ψυχή σου είναι κουρασμένη όταν δεν έχεις τη δύναμη να διαβάσεις ή να προσευ-χηθείς Αν βέβαια οι πνευματικές σου ενασχολήσεις πηγαίνουν καλά το εργόχειρο δεν είναι απαραίτητο Εκπληρώ-νει μόνο την ανάγκη αξιοποιήσεως του χρόνου που αλλιώς θα σπαταλιόταν σε απραξία Και η απραξία είναι πάντα ολέθρια πολύ περισσότερο όμως στον καιρό της νηστείας
Πώς πρέπει να προσεύχεται κανείς στο σπίτι Σωστά σκέφθηκες ότι τη Σαρακοστή οφείλουμε να προσθέτουμε κάτι στον συνηθισμένο κανόνα προσευχής Νομίζω ωστόσο πως αντί να διαβάζεις περισσότερες προσευχές από το Προ-σευχητάρι είναι καλύτερο νrsquo αυξήσεις τη διάρκεια της άμεσης επικοινωνίας σου με τον Κύριο Κάθε μέρα πριν αρχί-σεις και αφού τελειώσεις τη την ορθρινή και βραδυνή ακολουθία να απευθύνεσαι με δικά σου λόγια στον Κύριο την Υπεραγία Θεοτόκο και τον φύλακα άγγελό σου ευχαριστώντας τους για την προστασία τους και παρακαλώντας τους για την ικανοποίηση των πνευματικών σου αναγκών Ζήτα τους να σε βοηθήσουν ώστε πρώτα απrsquo όλα να γνωρίσεις τον εαυτό σου να αποκτήσεις αυτογνωσία και όταν την αποκτήσεις να σου χαρίσουν ζήλο και δύναμη ώστε να θε-ραπεύσεις τις πληγές της ψυχής σου Ζήτα τους ακόμα να γεμίσουν την καρδιά σου με το αίσθημα της ταπεινώσεως και της συντριβής Η ταπείνωση είναι η πιο ευάρεστη στον Θεό θυσία Έτσι να προσεύχεσαι Μην επιβάλεις όμως στον εαυτό σου έναν προσευχητικό κανόνα μακρύ και βαρύ έναν κανόνα που θα υπερβαίνει τα μέτρα των ψυχοσω-ματικών σου δυνάμεων και θα σε καταβάλλει Καλύτερα είναι να προσεύχεσαι συχνότερα στη διάρκεια της ημέρας και όταν ασχολείσαι μrsquo οποιαδήποτε άλλη εργασία να έχεις το νου σου στο Θεό
Μετά την προσευχή διάβαζε για λίγο με αυτοσυγκέντρωση Η μελέτη δεν αποσκοπεί στο φόρτωμα του μυαλού σου με διάφορες πληροφορίες και γνώσεις αλλά στην ψυχική σου ωφέλεια και εποικοδομή Γιrsquo αυτό δεν χρειάζεται να διαβάζεις πολλά Διάβαζε όμως με προσοχή μεγάλη και με καρδιακή συμμετοχή
Page 9 T h e L i g h t
Hopefully you all enjoy the content that we present monthly if not newsletterntgocorg While the different com-mitteesorganizations are responsible for their own contributions the rest of the content is pulled together by yours truly I do love to get lost in meme land to find relevant humorous takes on the Orthodox faith (like Grumpy Catrsquos perspective on Lent) but I also spend a great deal of time trying to find information to share that is engaging informative and relevant to our faith and the time of year Obviously Great Lent and the Paschal season are upon us and so my searches have been inspired by how I can help in-spire you all as you preparation for Easter I came across an article on fasting that references the works of a Coptic Pope While the Coptic Church is not affiliated with the Orthodox Church the text provided an interesting aspect to fasting that most of us I believe do not truly consider In essence we focus on Lent as a time of restricting the content of our diet but perhaps not so much on the quantity of our diet I hope you will all take the time to read the article if not the linked text from Pope Shenouda III httpsjohnbelovedhabibwordpresscom20150304fasting-defined-according-to-pope-shenouda-iii ~Eleni
Great Lent
Page 10 T h e L i g h t
Great Lent
ldquoΤι να διαβάζωrdquo θα με ρωτήσεις Μόνο πνευματικά βιβλία φυσικά Η προσεκτική ανάγνωση τέτοιων βιβλίων εμπνέ-ει την ψυχή περισσότερο απrsquo οτιδήποτε άλλο Αν πάντως στη διάρκεια της μελέτης γεννιέται ο πόθος της προσευ-χής νrsquo αφήνεις το βιβλίο και να προσεύχεσαι
Θα διαβάζεις λοιπόν θα προσεύχεσαι θα κάνεις μετάνοιες Και μrsquo όλα αυτά ωστόσο δεν θα μπορέσεις να κρατή-σεις το νου και την καρδιά σου σε κατάσταση συνεχούς και έντονου αγώνα Είναι αναπόφευκτο να κουράζεσαι Τότε όπως σου είπα θα ασχολείσαι με κάποια πρακτική εργασία
Σκέφτεσαι καθώς μου γράφεις να μειώσεις την ποσότητα του καθημερινού σου φαγητού Σωστή κι ωφέλιμη η σκέ-ψη σου∙ σωστή γιατί το σώμα που με τις παρεκτροπές του σε αναγκάζει να μετανοείς οφείλει να καταβάλει στη διάρκεια της Σαρακοστής τους μόχθους που του αναλογούν∙ και ωφέλιμη γιατί με τη νηστεία το σώμα δουλαγωγεί-ται ο νους καθαρίζεται η καρδιά μαλακώνει τα πάθη νεκρώνονται Μόνο μην το παρακάνεις Ήδη τρως τόσο λίγο Πρέπει να έχεις δυνάμεις για να στέκεσαι στην εκκλησία και για νrsquo αγωνίζεσαι στο σπίτι Κοίτα να τρως τόσο όσο χρειάζεται για να μην εξασθενήσεις
Καλό θα ήταν επίσης να μείωνες λίγο το χρόνο του ύπνου και της αναπαύσεώς σου Είναι μία θυσία για σένα αλλά κάθε λογής θυσία ταιριάζει σrsquo αυτή την περίοδο
Και με τις συζητήσεις τι θα γίνει Τη Σαρακοστή τουλάχιστον οι συζητήσεις με τους άλλους ας περιοριστούν σε πνευ-ματικά θέματα Ακόμα καλύτερες είναι οι κοινές πνευματικές αναγνώσεις που δίνουν αφορμές για την ανταλλαγή εποικοδομητικών σκέψεων και για την εξαγωγή ωφέλιμων συμπερασμάτων Κατάλληλοι γιrsquo αυτό τον σκοπό είναι οι Βίοι των Αγίων
ΟΣΙΟΥ ΘΕΟΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΤΟΥ ΕΓΚΛΕΙΣΤΟΥ
Life at Home during Lent
This article presented in Greek above presents some ideas on how one should conduct themselves throughout the Len-ten season beyond their time in church The site presents their own translation Irsquove tackled the most awkward bits but
it is still an interesting translation
In Lent it is good to know only the church and home nothing else You arrive therefore at home What are you going to do there You will fight with all your strength to maintain the commitment of mind and heart to the Lord Immediately after the church run to your room and make many prostrations devoutly asking God to help you to use your time of your stay in the house in a manner beneficial to your soul
Then sit down and rest for a while But then do not let your thoughts stray Sweeping away every thought mentally repeating the prayer Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me Jesus Christ show me mercy After some rest you must bother with something either prayer or handiwork What kind of handiwork is of no matter already you know what you like It is you see impossible to bother all the time with spiritual things it is necessary have a pleasant hobby
With this you will be caught when your soul is tired when you do not have the power to read or pray If of course your spiritual pastimes are going well the handiwork is not necessary It only fulfills the need for recovery time that would otherwise be wasted in idleness And doing nothing is always devastating but much more in the time of fasting
How should one pray at home Rightly you thought in Lent we need to add something to the usual rule of prayer I think however that instead of reading more prayers from the prayer book it is better to increase the duration of your direct communication with the Lord Every day before you start and after finishing the morning and evening prayers send in your own words to the Lord the Virgin Mary and your guardian angel thanking them for their protection and pleading with them to satisfy your spiritual needs Ask them to help you that first of all to know yourself to acquire self-knowledge and when you have acquired these to offer your zeal and strength to heal the wounds of your soul Ask them yet to fill your heart with a sense of humility and the contrition Humility is the most pleasing sacrifice to God So pray in this way Do not impose however give yourself a long and heavy rule of praying a rule that would ex-
Great Lent
Page 11 T h e L i g h t
ceed the measures of your psychosomatic forces and will overwhelm you Better is to pray often during the day and when you are dealing with any other job to have your mind on God
After the prayer read briefly with concentration The study is not intended load of your mind with a variety of infor-mation and knowledge but to benefit your soul and its structure So we do not need to read a lot But read with great attention and your heartrsquos involvement
What to read you will ask me Only spiritual books of course Careful reading of such books inspires the soul more than anything else If however during this studying is born a yearning for prayer leave the book aside and pray
You will read you will pray you would do prostrations And with all this however you will not be able to keep the mind and heart in a state of continuous and fierce struggle Inevitably you will be tired Then as I said you should be-come busy with some practical work
You think as you write to me you must reduce the amount of your daily food Your thought is correct and healthy ∙ correct because the body with its excesses forces you to repent it is healthy for the body to understand throughout Lent the analogous labors ∙ beneficial because with fasting the body is subdued the mind is purified the heart softens passions die Just do not overdo it Already you eat so little You have to have strength to stand in church and to strive at home Look to eat as much as necessary to avoid impairments
It would also be slightly reduces the time of sleep and your resting It is a sacrifice for you but every kind of sacrifice fit in this period
And with debates what will be done In Lent at least discussions with others let confined to spiritual matters Even better are the common spiritual readings which give rise to an exchange of constructive thoughts and to extract useful conclusions Suitable for this purpose are the Lives of the Saints
SAINT THEOFANOUS the enclosure
httpspoimingrzoi-sto-spiti-kata-ti-diarkia-tis-megalis-tessarakostis
Schedule of Services for Holy Week 2020
(April 12-19)
April 12 ndash Palm Sunday Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am Orthros
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 600 pm
April 13 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 14 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 15 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
mdash Holy Unction Service ndash 600 pm
April 16 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Service of the Lordrsquos Passion ndash 600 pm
April 17 ndash The Great Hours ndash 900 am
ndash Apokathelosis ndash 300 pm
ndash Epitaphios Service ndash 700 pm
April 18 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Resurrection Service - 1130 pm
April 19 ndash Agape Vespers ndash 1200 pm
Easter Traditions of our Church In addition to the appropriately scheduled services listed to the left our church has a few traditions that we would like to encourage all of you to participate in Saturday of Lazarus (April 11) - Learning Liturgy Lenten breakfast Palm Crosses Preparing the Church for Palm Sunday and Holy Week Palm SundaymdashFish Luncheon after services Holy Friday MorningmdashDecorating the Kouvouklion for services Holy Friday Evening (after the Great Hours at 9am) Holy Friday EveningmdashMyrhhbearing Women (girls of our parish ages 8-18 who will participate in the service Holy Friday evening Stay tuned to Aprilrsquos edition for more details if your daughter would like to participate Holy Saturday MorningmdashCleaning and decorating the church for the Resurrection service (after the Vespers and Divine Liturgy of St Basil at 9am) This is also when you can drop off your red eggs to be blessed for Easter Easter SundaymdashPaschalino Glendi a potluck luncheon to celebrate Easter (after the Agape Vespers) See the flyer on page 4 for details
The Nativity of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church
12326 Spotswood Furnace Road Fredericksburg VA 22407
540-548-2665 Office Emailmdashofficentgocorg
Newsletter Emailmdashnewsletterntgocorg wwwnativityvagoarchorg
Parish Information
Page 12 T h e L i g h t
PARISH COUNCIL Gamal Salem President Nick Roman Secretary Maria Christoforatos Treasurer Maxine Calamos Assistant Treasurer George Tsoukleris Dennis Makrinos Yvonne Athanasaw Chris Zourzoukis STEWARDSHIP Yvonne Athanasaw FUND RAISING
BOOK STORE Monica Hicks PHILOPTOCHOS Verilee Vasilakos President Linda Govenides Vice-President Christine Turdean Treasurer Secretary CHOIR 2020 FESTIVAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL Dr Judy Marrs Director DANCE Dr Judy Marrs Director GOYA Dan Athanasaw Jr HOPEJOY
Office Hours
Fr John is available as follows or by appointment
MondaymdashClosed
Tuesdaymdash 9am-1pm
Wedensdaymdash 9am-1pm
Thursdaymdash9am-1pm
Fridaymdash9am-1pm
Cell phone numbermdash
540-645-1427
Emailmdashfrjohnntgocorg
PASTORAL GUIDELINES
Please contact Fr John if you wish to schedule a sacrament or know of a parishioner who is sick or in the hospital
WEDDINGS Marriages are not performed on fast days during fasting seasons or on the feasts of the church specifi-cally September 14 (Exaltation of the Holy Cross) December 13-25 (Nativity) January 5 amp 6 (Theophany) Great Lent and Holy Week Pascha (Easter) Pentecost August 1-15 (Dormition Fast and Feast) and August 29 (Beheading of St John the Baptist) Exceptions can only be made with the permission of the respective hierarch
BAPTISMS A person who wishes to sponsor a candidate for Baptism or Chrismation must be an Orthodox Christian in good standing and a supporting member of an Orthodox parish A person may not serve as a godparent if the Church has not blessed his or her marriage or if civilly divorced he or she has not been granted an ecclesiastical divorce or for any other reason he or she is not in communion with the Orthodox Church Baptisms may not be performed from Christmas Day through the Feast of Theophany (December 25-January 6) during Holy Week or any of the great feast days of the Lord
FUNERALS Funeral services are permitted on any day of the year except for Sundays and Holy Friday unless permis-sion is granted by the Archbishop or Metropolitan
MEMORIALS Memorial services may not be chanted from the Saturday of Lazarus through the Sunday of Thomas or any Feast days of the Lord or the Theotokos
Η ζωή στο σπίτι κατά τη διάρκεια της Μεγάλης Τεσσαρακοστής
Στις Σαρακοστές καλό είναι να γνωρίζεις μόνο εκκλησία και σπίτι τίποτrsquo άλλο Φτάνεις λοιπόν στο σπίτι Τί θα κάνεις εκεί Θα αγωνιστείς μrsquo όλη σου τη δύναμη να διατηρήσεις την προσήλωση του νου και της καρδιάς στον Κύριο Αμέ-σως μετά την εκκλησία τρέξε στο δωμάτιό σου και κάνε αρκετές μετάνοιες ζητώντας ευλαβικά από τον Θεό να σε βοηθήσει ώστε να αξιοποιήσεις το χρόνο της παραμονής σου στο σπίτι με τρόπο ωφέλιμο για την ψυχή σου
Ύστερα κάθησε και ξεκουράσου για λίγο Αλλά και τότε μην αφήνεις τους λογισμούς σου να ξεστρατίζουν Διώχνοντας κάθε σκέψη επαναλάμβανε νοερά την ευχή ldquoΚύριε Ιησού Χριστέ ελέησόν με Κύριε Ιησού Χριστέ ελέησόν μεrdquo Αφού ξεκουραστείς πρέπει νrsquo ασχοληθείς με κάτι είτε προσευχή είτε εργόχειρο Τι εργόχειρο θα κάνεις δεν έχει ση-μασία∙ ξέρεις ήδη τι σου αρέσει Είναι βλέπεις αδύνατο να ασχολείσαι όλη την ώρα με πνευματικά πράγματα∙ χρειά-ζεται να έχει και κάποιο ευχάριστο εργόχειρο
Μrsquo αυτό θα καταπιάνεσαι όταν η ψυχή σου είναι κουρασμένη όταν δεν έχεις τη δύναμη να διαβάσεις ή να προσευ-χηθείς Αν βέβαια οι πνευματικές σου ενασχολήσεις πηγαίνουν καλά το εργόχειρο δεν είναι απαραίτητο Εκπληρώ-νει μόνο την ανάγκη αξιοποιήσεως του χρόνου που αλλιώς θα σπαταλιόταν σε απραξία Και η απραξία είναι πάντα ολέθρια πολύ περισσότερο όμως στον καιρό της νηστείας
Πώς πρέπει να προσεύχεται κανείς στο σπίτι Σωστά σκέφθηκες ότι τη Σαρακοστή οφείλουμε να προσθέτουμε κάτι στον συνηθισμένο κανόνα προσευχής Νομίζω ωστόσο πως αντί να διαβάζεις περισσότερες προσευχές από το Προ-σευχητάρι είναι καλύτερο νrsquo αυξήσεις τη διάρκεια της άμεσης επικοινωνίας σου με τον Κύριο Κάθε μέρα πριν αρχί-σεις και αφού τελειώσεις τη την ορθρινή και βραδυνή ακολουθία να απευθύνεσαι με δικά σου λόγια στον Κύριο την Υπεραγία Θεοτόκο και τον φύλακα άγγελό σου ευχαριστώντας τους για την προστασία τους και παρακαλώντας τους για την ικανοποίηση των πνευματικών σου αναγκών Ζήτα τους να σε βοηθήσουν ώστε πρώτα απrsquo όλα να γνωρίσεις τον εαυτό σου να αποκτήσεις αυτογνωσία και όταν την αποκτήσεις να σου χαρίσουν ζήλο και δύναμη ώστε να θε-ραπεύσεις τις πληγές της ψυχής σου Ζήτα τους ακόμα να γεμίσουν την καρδιά σου με το αίσθημα της ταπεινώσεως και της συντριβής Η ταπείνωση είναι η πιο ευάρεστη στον Θεό θυσία Έτσι να προσεύχεσαι Μην επιβάλεις όμως στον εαυτό σου έναν προσευχητικό κανόνα μακρύ και βαρύ έναν κανόνα που θα υπερβαίνει τα μέτρα των ψυχοσω-ματικών σου δυνάμεων και θα σε καταβάλλει Καλύτερα είναι να προσεύχεσαι συχνότερα στη διάρκεια της ημέρας και όταν ασχολείσαι μrsquo οποιαδήποτε άλλη εργασία να έχεις το νου σου στο Θεό
Μετά την προσευχή διάβαζε για λίγο με αυτοσυγκέντρωση Η μελέτη δεν αποσκοπεί στο φόρτωμα του μυαλού σου με διάφορες πληροφορίες και γνώσεις αλλά στην ψυχική σου ωφέλεια και εποικοδομή Γιrsquo αυτό δεν χρειάζεται να διαβάζεις πολλά Διάβαζε όμως με προσοχή μεγάλη και με καρδιακή συμμετοχή
Page 9 T h e L i g h t
Hopefully you all enjoy the content that we present monthly if not newsletterntgocorg While the different com-mitteesorganizations are responsible for their own contributions the rest of the content is pulled together by yours truly I do love to get lost in meme land to find relevant humorous takes on the Orthodox faith (like Grumpy Catrsquos perspective on Lent) but I also spend a great deal of time trying to find information to share that is engaging informative and relevant to our faith and the time of year Obviously Great Lent and the Paschal season are upon us and so my searches have been inspired by how I can help in-spire you all as you preparation for Easter I came across an article on fasting that references the works of a Coptic Pope While the Coptic Church is not affiliated with the Orthodox Church the text provided an interesting aspect to fasting that most of us I believe do not truly consider In essence we focus on Lent as a time of restricting the content of our diet but perhaps not so much on the quantity of our diet I hope you will all take the time to read the article if not the linked text from Pope Shenouda III httpsjohnbelovedhabibwordpresscom20150304fasting-defined-according-to-pope-shenouda-iii ~Eleni
Great Lent
Page 10 T h e L i g h t
Great Lent
ldquoΤι να διαβάζωrdquo θα με ρωτήσεις Μόνο πνευματικά βιβλία φυσικά Η προσεκτική ανάγνωση τέτοιων βιβλίων εμπνέ-ει την ψυχή περισσότερο απrsquo οτιδήποτε άλλο Αν πάντως στη διάρκεια της μελέτης γεννιέται ο πόθος της προσευ-χής νrsquo αφήνεις το βιβλίο και να προσεύχεσαι
Θα διαβάζεις λοιπόν θα προσεύχεσαι θα κάνεις μετάνοιες Και μrsquo όλα αυτά ωστόσο δεν θα μπορέσεις να κρατή-σεις το νου και την καρδιά σου σε κατάσταση συνεχούς και έντονου αγώνα Είναι αναπόφευκτο να κουράζεσαι Τότε όπως σου είπα θα ασχολείσαι με κάποια πρακτική εργασία
Σκέφτεσαι καθώς μου γράφεις να μειώσεις την ποσότητα του καθημερινού σου φαγητού Σωστή κι ωφέλιμη η σκέ-ψη σου∙ σωστή γιατί το σώμα που με τις παρεκτροπές του σε αναγκάζει να μετανοείς οφείλει να καταβάλει στη διάρκεια της Σαρακοστής τους μόχθους που του αναλογούν∙ και ωφέλιμη γιατί με τη νηστεία το σώμα δουλαγωγεί-ται ο νους καθαρίζεται η καρδιά μαλακώνει τα πάθη νεκρώνονται Μόνο μην το παρακάνεις Ήδη τρως τόσο λίγο Πρέπει να έχεις δυνάμεις για να στέκεσαι στην εκκλησία και για νrsquo αγωνίζεσαι στο σπίτι Κοίτα να τρως τόσο όσο χρειάζεται για να μην εξασθενήσεις
Καλό θα ήταν επίσης να μείωνες λίγο το χρόνο του ύπνου και της αναπαύσεώς σου Είναι μία θυσία για σένα αλλά κάθε λογής θυσία ταιριάζει σrsquo αυτή την περίοδο
Και με τις συζητήσεις τι θα γίνει Τη Σαρακοστή τουλάχιστον οι συζητήσεις με τους άλλους ας περιοριστούν σε πνευ-ματικά θέματα Ακόμα καλύτερες είναι οι κοινές πνευματικές αναγνώσεις που δίνουν αφορμές για την ανταλλαγή εποικοδομητικών σκέψεων και για την εξαγωγή ωφέλιμων συμπερασμάτων Κατάλληλοι γιrsquo αυτό τον σκοπό είναι οι Βίοι των Αγίων
ΟΣΙΟΥ ΘΕΟΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΤΟΥ ΕΓΚΛΕΙΣΤΟΥ
Life at Home during Lent
This article presented in Greek above presents some ideas on how one should conduct themselves throughout the Len-ten season beyond their time in church The site presents their own translation Irsquove tackled the most awkward bits but
it is still an interesting translation
In Lent it is good to know only the church and home nothing else You arrive therefore at home What are you going to do there You will fight with all your strength to maintain the commitment of mind and heart to the Lord Immediately after the church run to your room and make many prostrations devoutly asking God to help you to use your time of your stay in the house in a manner beneficial to your soul
Then sit down and rest for a while But then do not let your thoughts stray Sweeping away every thought mentally repeating the prayer Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me Jesus Christ show me mercy After some rest you must bother with something either prayer or handiwork What kind of handiwork is of no matter already you know what you like It is you see impossible to bother all the time with spiritual things it is necessary have a pleasant hobby
With this you will be caught when your soul is tired when you do not have the power to read or pray If of course your spiritual pastimes are going well the handiwork is not necessary It only fulfills the need for recovery time that would otherwise be wasted in idleness And doing nothing is always devastating but much more in the time of fasting
How should one pray at home Rightly you thought in Lent we need to add something to the usual rule of prayer I think however that instead of reading more prayers from the prayer book it is better to increase the duration of your direct communication with the Lord Every day before you start and after finishing the morning and evening prayers send in your own words to the Lord the Virgin Mary and your guardian angel thanking them for their protection and pleading with them to satisfy your spiritual needs Ask them to help you that first of all to know yourself to acquire self-knowledge and when you have acquired these to offer your zeal and strength to heal the wounds of your soul Ask them yet to fill your heart with a sense of humility and the contrition Humility is the most pleasing sacrifice to God So pray in this way Do not impose however give yourself a long and heavy rule of praying a rule that would ex-
Great Lent
Page 11 T h e L i g h t
ceed the measures of your psychosomatic forces and will overwhelm you Better is to pray often during the day and when you are dealing with any other job to have your mind on God
After the prayer read briefly with concentration The study is not intended load of your mind with a variety of infor-mation and knowledge but to benefit your soul and its structure So we do not need to read a lot But read with great attention and your heartrsquos involvement
What to read you will ask me Only spiritual books of course Careful reading of such books inspires the soul more than anything else If however during this studying is born a yearning for prayer leave the book aside and pray
You will read you will pray you would do prostrations And with all this however you will not be able to keep the mind and heart in a state of continuous and fierce struggle Inevitably you will be tired Then as I said you should be-come busy with some practical work
You think as you write to me you must reduce the amount of your daily food Your thought is correct and healthy ∙ correct because the body with its excesses forces you to repent it is healthy for the body to understand throughout Lent the analogous labors ∙ beneficial because with fasting the body is subdued the mind is purified the heart softens passions die Just do not overdo it Already you eat so little You have to have strength to stand in church and to strive at home Look to eat as much as necessary to avoid impairments
It would also be slightly reduces the time of sleep and your resting It is a sacrifice for you but every kind of sacrifice fit in this period
And with debates what will be done In Lent at least discussions with others let confined to spiritual matters Even better are the common spiritual readings which give rise to an exchange of constructive thoughts and to extract useful conclusions Suitable for this purpose are the Lives of the Saints
SAINT THEOFANOUS the enclosure
httpspoimingrzoi-sto-spiti-kata-ti-diarkia-tis-megalis-tessarakostis
Schedule of Services for Holy Week 2020
(April 12-19)
April 12 ndash Palm Sunday Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am Orthros
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 600 pm
April 13 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 14 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 15 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
mdash Holy Unction Service ndash 600 pm
April 16 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Service of the Lordrsquos Passion ndash 600 pm
April 17 ndash The Great Hours ndash 900 am
ndash Apokathelosis ndash 300 pm
ndash Epitaphios Service ndash 700 pm
April 18 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Resurrection Service - 1130 pm
April 19 ndash Agape Vespers ndash 1200 pm
Easter Traditions of our Church In addition to the appropriately scheduled services listed to the left our church has a few traditions that we would like to encourage all of you to participate in Saturday of Lazarus (April 11) - Learning Liturgy Lenten breakfast Palm Crosses Preparing the Church for Palm Sunday and Holy Week Palm SundaymdashFish Luncheon after services Holy Friday MorningmdashDecorating the Kouvouklion for services Holy Friday Evening (after the Great Hours at 9am) Holy Friday EveningmdashMyrhhbearing Women (girls of our parish ages 8-18 who will participate in the service Holy Friday evening Stay tuned to Aprilrsquos edition for more details if your daughter would like to participate Holy Saturday MorningmdashCleaning and decorating the church for the Resurrection service (after the Vespers and Divine Liturgy of St Basil at 9am) This is also when you can drop off your red eggs to be blessed for Easter Easter SundaymdashPaschalino Glendi a potluck luncheon to celebrate Easter (after the Agape Vespers) See the flyer on page 4 for details
The Nativity of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church
12326 Spotswood Furnace Road Fredericksburg VA 22407
540-548-2665 Office Emailmdashofficentgocorg
Newsletter Emailmdashnewsletterntgocorg wwwnativityvagoarchorg
Parish Information
Page 12 T h e L i g h t
PARISH COUNCIL Gamal Salem President Nick Roman Secretary Maria Christoforatos Treasurer Maxine Calamos Assistant Treasurer George Tsoukleris Dennis Makrinos Yvonne Athanasaw Chris Zourzoukis STEWARDSHIP Yvonne Athanasaw FUND RAISING
BOOK STORE Monica Hicks PHILOPTOCHOS Verilee Vasilakos President Linda Govenides Vice-President Christine Turdean Treasurer Secretary CHOIR 2020 FESTIVAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL Dr Judy Marrs Director DANCE Dr Judy Marrs Director GOYA Dan Athanasaw Jr HOPEJOY
Office Hours
Fr John is available as follows or by appointment
MondaymdashClosed
Tuesdaymdash 9am-1pm
Wedensdaymdash 9am-1pm
Thursdaymdash9am-1pm
Fridaymdash9am-1pm
Cell phone numbermdash
540-645-1427
Emailmdashfrjohnntgocorg
PASTORAL GUIDELINES
Please contact Fr John if you wish to schedule a sacrament or know of a parishioner who is sick or in the hospital
WEDDINGS Marriages are not performed on fast days during fasting seasons or on the feasts of the church specifi-cally September 14 (Exaltation of the Holy Cross) December 13-25 (Nativity) January 5 amp 6 (Theophany) Great Lent and Holy Week Pascha (Easter) Pentecost August 1-15 (Dormition Fast and Feast) and August 29 (Beheading of St John the Baptist) Exceptions can only be made with the permission of the respective hierarch
BAPTISMS A person who wishes to sponsor a candidate for Baptism or Chrismation must be an Orthodox Christian in good standing and a supporting member of an Orthodox parish A person may not serve as a godparent if the Church has not blessed his or her marriage or if civilly divorced he or she has not been granted an ecclesiastical divorce or for any other reason he or she is not in communion with the Orthodox Church Baptisms may not be performed from Christmas Day through the Feast of Theophany (December 25-January 6) during Holy Week or any of the great feast days of the Lord
FUNERALS Funeral services are permitted on any day of the year except for Sundays and Holy Friday unless permis-sion is granted by the Archbishop or Metropolitan
MEMORIALS Memorial services may not be chanted from the Saturday of Lazarus through the Sunday of Thomas or any Feast days of the Lord or the Theotokos
Page 10 T h e L i g h t
Great Lent
ldquoΤι να διαβάζωrdquo θα με ρωτήσεις Μόνο πνευματικά βιβλία φυσικά Η προσεκτική ανάγνωση τέτοιων βιβλίων εμπνέ-ει την ψυχή περισσότερο απrsquo οτιδήποτε άλλο Αν πάντως στη διάρκεια της μελέτης γεννιέται ο πόθος της προσευ-χής νrsquo αφήνεις το βιβλίο και να προσεύχεσαι
Θα διαβάζεις λοιπόν θα προσεύχεσαι θα κάνεις μετάνοιες Και μrsquo όλα αυτά ωστόσο δεν θα μπορέσεις να κρατή-σεις το νου και την καρδιά σου σε κατάσταση συνεχούς και έντονου αγώνα Είναι αναπόφευκτο να κουράζεσαι Τότε όπως σου είπα θα ασχολείσαι με κάποια πρακτική εργασία
Σκέφτεσαι καθώς μου γράφεις να μειώσεις την ποσότητα του καθημερινού σου φαγητού Σωστή κι ωφέλιμη η σκέ-ψη σου∙ σωστή γιατί το σώμα που με τις παρεκτροπές του σε αναγκάζει να μετανοείς οφείλει να καταβάλει στη διάρκεια της Σαρακοστής τους μόχθους που του αναλογούν∙ και ωφέλιμη γιατί με τη νηστεία το σώμα δουλαγωγεί-ται ο νους καθαρίζεται η καρδιά μαλακώνει τα πάθη νεκρώνονται Μόνο μην το παρακάνεις Ήδη τρως τόσο λίγο Πρέπει να έχεις δυνάμεις για να στέκεσαι στην εκκλησία και για νrsquo αγωνίζεσαι στο σπίτι Κοίτα να τρως τόσο όσο χρειάζεται για να μην εξασθενήσεις
Καλό θα ήταν επίσης να μείωνες λίγο το χρόνο του ύπνου και της αναπαύσεώς σου Είναι μία θυσία για σένα αλλά κάθε λογής θυσία ταιριάζει σrsquo αυτή την περίοδο
Και με τις συζητήσεις τι θα γίνει Τη Σαρακοστή τουλάχιστον οι συζητήσεις με τους άλλους ας περιοριστούν σε πνευ-ματικά θέματα Ακόμα καλύτερες είναι οι κοινές πνευματικές αναγνώσεις που δίνουν αφορμές για την ανταλλαγή εποικοδομητικών σκέψεων και για την εξαγωγή ωφέλιμων συμπερασμάτων Κατάλληλοι γιrsquo αυτό τον σκοπό είναι οι Βίοι των Αγίων
ΟΣΙΟΥ ΘΕΟΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΤΟΥ ΕΓΚΛΕΙΣΤΟΥ
Life at Home during Lent
This article presented in Greek above presents some ideas on how one should conduct themselves throughout the Len-ten season beyond their time in church The site presents their own translation Irsquove tackled the most awkward bits but
it is still an interesting translation
In Lent it is good to know only the church and home nothing else You arrive therefore at home What are you going to do there You will fight with all your strength to maintain the commitment of mind and heart to the Lord Immediately after the church run to your room and make many prostrations devoutly asking God to help you to use your time of your stay in the house in a manner beneficial to your soul
Then sit down and rest for a while But then do not let your thoughts stray Sweeping away every thought mentally repeating the prayer Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me Jesus Christ show me mercy After some rest you must bother with something either prayer or handiwork What kind of handiwork is of no matter already you know what you like It is you see impossible to bother all the time with spiritual things it is necessary have a pleasant hobby
With this you will be caught when your soul is tired when you do not have the power to read or pray If of course your spiritual pastimes are going well the handiwork is not necessary It only fulfills the need for recovery time that would otherwise be wasted in idleness And doing nothing is always devastating but much more in the time of fasting
How should one pray at home Rightly you thought in Lent we need to add something to the usual rule of prayer I think however that instead of reading more prayers from the prayer book it is better to increase the duration of your direct communication with the Lord Every day before you start and after finishing the morning and evening prayers send in your own words to the Lord the Virgin Mary and your guardian angel thanking them for their protection and pleading with them to satisfy your spiritual needs Ask them to help you that first of all to know yourself to acquire self-knowledge and when you have acquired these to offer your zeal and strength to heal the wounds of your soul Ask them yet to fill your heart with a sense of humility and the contrition Humility is the most pleasing sacrifice to God So pray in this way Do not impose however give yourself a long and heavy rule of praying a rule that would ex-
Great Lent
Page 11 T h e L i g h t
ceed the measures of your psychosomatic forces and will overwhelm you Better is to pray often during the day and when you are dealing with any other job to have your mind on God
After the prayer read briefly with concentration The study is not intended load of your mind with a variety of infor-mation and knowledge but to benefit your soul and its structure So we do not need to read a lot But read with great attention and your heartrsquos involvement
What to read you will ask me Only spiritual books of course Careful reading of such books inspires the soul more than anything else If however during this studying is born a yearning for prayer leave the book aside and pray
You will read you will pray you would do prostrations And with all this however you will not be able to keep the mind and heart in a state of continuous and fierce struggle Inevitably you will be tired Then as I said you should be-come busy with some practical work
You think as you write to me you must reduce the amount of your daily food Your thought is correct and healthy ∙ correct because the body with its excesses forces you to repent it is healthy for the body to understand throughout Lent the analogous labors ∙ beneficial because with fasting the body is subdued the mind is purified the heart softens passions die Just do not overdo it Already you eat so little You have to have strength to stand in church and to strive at home Look to eat as much as necessary to avoid impairments
It would also be slightly reduces the time of sleep and your resting It is a sacrifice for you but every kind of sacrifice fit in this period
And with debates what will be done In Lent at least discussions with others let confined to spiritual matters Even better are the common spiritual readings which give rise to an exchange of constructive thoughts and to extract useful conclusions Suitable for this purpose are the Lives of the Saints
SAINT THEOFANOUS the enclosure
httpspoimingrzoi-sto-spiti-kata-ti-diarkia-tis-megalis-tessarakostis
Schedule of Services for Holy Week 2020
(April 12-19)
April 12 ndash Palm Sunday Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am Orthros
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 600 pm
April 13 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 14 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 15 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
mdash Holy Unction Service ndash 600 pm
April 16 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Service of the Lordrsquos Passion ndash 600 pm
April 17 ndash The Great Hours ndash 900 am
ndash Apokathelosis ndash 300 pm
ndash Epitaphios Service ndash 700 pm
April 18 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Resurrection Service - 1130 pm
April 19 ndash Agape Vespers ndash 1200 pm
Easter Traditions of our Church In addition to the appropriately scheduled services listed to the left our church has a few traditions that we would like to encourage all of you to participate in Saturday of Lazarus (April 11) - Learning Liturgy Lenten breakfast Palm Crosses Preparing the Church for Palm Sunday and Holy Week Palm SundaymdashFish Luncheon after services Holy Friday MorningmdashDecorating the Kouvouklion for services Holy Friday Evening (after the Great Hours at 9am) Holy Friday EveningmdashMyrhhbearing Women (girls of our parish ages 8-18 who will participate in the service Holy Friday evening Stay tuned to Aprilrsquos edition for more details if your daughter would like to participate Holy Saturday MorningmdashCleaning and decorating the church for the Resurrection service (after the Vespers and Divine Liturgy of St Basil at 9am) This is also when you can drop off your red eggs to be blessed for Easter Easter SundaymdashPaschalino Glendi a potluck luncheon to celebrate Easter (after the Agape Vespers) See the flyer on page 4 for details
The Nativity of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church
12326 Spotswood Furnace Road Fredericksburg VA 22407
540-548-2665 Office Emailmdashofficentgocorg
Newsletter Emailmdashnewsletterntgocorg wwwnativityvagoarchorg
Parish Information
Page 12 T h e L i g h t
PARISH COUNCIL Gamal Salem President Nick Roman Secretary Maria Christoforatos Treasurer Maxine Calamos Assistant Treasurer George Tsoukleris Dennis Makrinos Yvonne Athanasaw Chris Zourzoukis STEWARDSHIP Yvonne Athanasaw FUND RAISING
BOOK STORE Monica Hicks PHILOPTOCHOS Verilee Vasilakos President Linda Govenides Vice-President Christine Turdean Treasurer Secretary CHOIR 2020 FESTIVAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL Dr Judy Marrs Director DANCE Dr Judy Marrs Director GOYA Dan Athanasaw Jr HOPEJOY
Office Hours
Fr John is available as follows or by appointment
MondaymdashClosed
Tuesdaymdash 9am-1pm
Wedensdaymdash 9am-1pm
Thursdaymdash9am-1pm
Fridaymdash9am-1pm
Cell phone numbermdash
540-645-1427
Emailmdashfrjohnntgocorg
PASTORAL GUIDELINES
Please contact Fr John if you wish to schedule a sacrament or know of a parishioner who is sick or in the hospital
WEDDINGS Marriages are not performed on fast days during fasting seasons or on the feasts of the church specifi-cally September 14 (Exaltation of the Holy Cross) December 13-25 (Nativity) January 5 amp 6 (Theophany) Great Lent and Holy Week Pascha (Easter) Pentecost August 1-15 (Dormition Fast and Feast) and August 29 (Beheading of St John the Baptist) Exceptions can only be made with the permission of the respective hierarch
BAPTISMS A person who wishes to sponsor a candidate for Baptism or Chrismation must be an Orthodox Christian in good standing and a supporting member of an Orthodox parish A person may not serve as a godparent if the Church has not blessed his or her marriage or if civilly divorced he or she has not been granted an ecclesiastical divorce or for any other reason he or she is not in communion with the Orthodox Church Baptisms may not be performed from Christmas Day through the Feast of Theophany (December 25-January 6) during Holy Week or any of the great feast days of the Lord
FUNERALS Funeral services are permitted on any day of the year except for Sundays and Holy Friday unless permis-sion is granted by the Archbishop or Metropolitan
MEMORIALS Memorial services may not be chanted from the Saturday of Lazarus through the Sunday of Thomas or any Feast days of the Lord or the Theotokos
Great Lent
Page 11 T h e L i g h t
ceed the measures of your psychosomatic forces and will overwhelm you Better is to pray often during the day and when you are dealing with any other job to have your mind on God
After the prayer read briefly with concentration The study is not intended load of your mind with a variety of infor-mation and knowledge but to benefit your soul and its structure So we do not need to read a lot But read with great attention and your heartrsquos involvement
What to read you will ask me Only spiritual books of course Careful reading of such books inspires the soul more than anything else If however during this studying is born a yearning for prayer leave the book aside and pray
You will read you will pray you would do prostrations And with all this however you will not be able to keep the mind and heart in a state of continuous and fierce struggle Inevitably you will be tired Then as I said you should be-come busy with some practical work
You think as you write to me you must reduce the amount of your daily food Your thought is correct and healthy ∙ correct because the body with its excesses forces you to repent it is healthy for the body to understand throughout Lent the analogous labors ∙ beneficial because with fasting the body is subdued the mind is purified the heart softens passions die Just do not overdo it Already you eat so little You have to have strength to stand in church and to strive at home Look to eat as much as necessary to avoid impairments
It would also be slightly reduces the time of sleep and your resting It is a sacrifice for you but every kind of sacrifice fit in this period
And with debates what will be done In Lent at least discussions with others let confined to spiritual matters Even better are the common spiritual readings which give rise to an exchange of constructive thoughts and to extract useful conclusions Suitable for this purpose are the Lives of the Saints
SAINT THEOFANOUS the enclosure
httpspoimingrzoi-sto-spiti-kata-ti-diarkia-tis-megalis-tessarakostis
Schedule of Services for Holy Week 2020
(April 12-19)
April 12 ndash Palm Sunday Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am Orthros
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 600 pm
April 13 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 14 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
ndash Bridegroom Service ndash 700 pm
April 15 ndash Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy ndash 900 am
mdash Holy Unction Service ndash 600 pm
April 16 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Service of the Lordrsquos Passion ndash 600 pm
April 17 ndash The Great Hours ndash 900 am
ndash Apokathelosis ndash 300 pm
ndash Epitaphios Service ndash 700 pm
April 18 ndash Vespers amp Divine Liturgy of St Basil ndash 900 am
ndash Resurrection Service - 1130 pm
April 19 ndash Agape Vespers ndash 1200 pm
Easter Traditions of our Church In addition to the appropriately scheduled services listed to the left our church has a few traditions that we would like to encourage all of you to participate in Saturday of Lazarus (April 11) - Learning Liturgy Lenten breakfast Palm Crosses Preparing the Church for Palm Sunday and Holy Week Palm SundaymdashFish Luncheon after services Holy Friday MorningmdashDecorating the Kouvouklion for services Holy Friday Evening (after the Great Hours at 9am) Holy Friday EveningmdashMyrhhbearing Women (girls of our parish ages 8-18 who will participate in the service Holy Friday evening Stay tuned to Aprilrsquos edition for more details if your daughter would like to participate Holy Saturday MorningmdashCleaning and decorating the church for the Resurrection service (after the Vespers and Divine Liturgy of St Basil at 9am) This is also when you can drop off your red eggs to be blessed for Easter Easter SundaymdashPaschalino Glendi a potluck luncheon to celebrate Easter (after the Agape Vespers) See the flyer on page 4 for details
The Nativity of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church
12326 Spotswood Furnace Road Fredericksburg VA 22407
540-548-2665 Office Emailmdashofficentgocorg
Newsletter Emailmdashnewsletterntgocorg wwwnativityvagoarchorg
Parish Information
Page 12 T h e L i g h t
PARISH COUNCIL Gamal Salem President Nick Roman Secretary Maria Christoforatos Treasurer Maxine Calamos Assistant Treasurer George Tsoukleris Dennis Makrinos Yvonne Athanasaw Chris Zourzoukis STEWARDSHIP Yvonne Athanasaw FUND RAISING
BOOK STORE Monica Hicks PHILOPTOCHOS Verilee Vasilakos President Linda Govenides Vice-President Christine Turdean Treasurer Secretary CHOIR 2020 FESTIVAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL Dr Judy Marrs Director DANCE Dr Judy Marrs Director GOYA Dan Athanasaw Jr HOPEJOY
Office Hours
Fr John is available as follows or by appointment
MondaymdashClosed
Tuesdaymdash 9am-1pm
Wedensdaymdash 9am-1pm
Thursdaymdash9am-1pm
Fridaymdash9am-1pm
Cell phone numbermdash
540-645-1427
Emailmdashfrjohnntgocorg
PASTORAL GUIDELINES
Please contact Fr John if you wish to schedule a sacrament or know of a parishioner who is sick or in the hospital
WEDDINGS Marriages are not performed on fast days during fasting seasons or on the feasts of the church specifi-cally September 14 (Exaltation of the Holy Cross) December 13-25 (Nativity) January 5 amp 6 (Theophany) Great Lent and Holy Week Pascha (Easter) Pentecost August 1-15 (Dormition Fast and Feast) and August 29 (Beheading of St John the Baptist) Exceptions can only be made with the permission of the respective hierarch
BAPTISMS A person who wishes to sponsor a candidate for Baptism or Chrismation must be an Orthodox Christian in good standing and a supporting member of an Orthodox parish A person may not serve as a godparent if the Church has not blessed his or her marriage or if civilly divorced he or she has not been granted an ecclesiastical divorce or for any other reason he or she is not in communion with the Orthodox Church Baptisms may not be performed from Christmas Day through the Feast of Theophany (December 25-January 6) during Holy Week or any of the great feast days of the Lord
FUNERALS Funeral services are permitted on any day of the year except for Sundays and Holy Friday unless permis-sion is granted by the Archbishop or Metropolitan
MEMORIALS Memorial services may not be chanted from the Saturday of Lazarus through the Sunday of Thomas or any Feast days of the Lord or the Theotokos
The Nativity of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church
12326 Spotswood Furnace Road Fredericksburg VA 22407
540-548-2665 Office Emailmdashofficentgocorg
Newsletter Emailmdashnewsletterntgocorg wwwnativityvagoarchorg
Parish Information
Page 12 T h e L i g h t
PARISH COUNCIL Gamal Salem President Nick Roman Secretary Maria Christoforatos Treasurer Maxine Calamos Assistant Treasurer George Tsoukleris Dennis Makrinos Yvonne Athanasaw Chris Zourzoukis STEWARDSHIP Yvonne Athanasaw FUND RAISING
BOOK STORE Monica Hicks PHILOPTOCHOS Verilee Vasilakos President Linda Govenides Vice-President Christine Turdean Treasurer Secretary CHOIR 2020 FESTIVAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL Dr Judy Marrs Director DANCE Dr Judy Marrs Director GOYA Dan Athanasaw Jr HOPEJOY
Office Hours
Fr John is available as follows or by appointment
MondaymdashClosed
Tuesdaymdash 9am-1pm
Wedensdaymdash 9am-1pm
Thursdaymdash9am-1pm
Fridaymdash9am-1pm
Cell phone numbermdash
540-645-1427
Emailmdashfrjohnntgocorg
PASTORAL GUIDELINES
Please contact Fr John if you wish to schedule a sacrament or know of a parishioner who is sick or in the hospital
WEDDINGS Marriages are not performed on fast days during fasting seasons or on the feasts of the church specifi-cally September 14 (Exaltation of the Holy Cross) December 13-25 (Nativity) January 5 amp 6 (Theophany) Great Lent and Holy Week Pascha (Easter) Pentecost August 1-15 (Dormition Fast and Feast) and August 29 (Beheading of St John the Baptist) Exceptions can only be made with the permission of the respective hierarch
BAPTISMS A person who wishes to sponsor a candidate for Baptism or Chrismation must be an Orthodox Christian in good standing and a supporting member of an Orthodox parish A person may not serve as a godparent if the Church has not blessed his or her marriage or if civilly divorced he or she has not been granted an ecclesiastical divorce or for any other reason he or she is not in communion with the Orthodox Church Baptisms may not be performed from Christmas Day through the Feast of Theophany (December 25-January 6) during Holy Week or any of the great feast days of the Lord
FUNERALS Funeral services are permitted on any day of the year except for Sundays and Holy Friday unless permis-sion is granted by the Archbishop or Metropolitan
MEMORIALS Memorial services may not be chanted from the Saturday of Lazarus through the Sunday of Thomas or any Feast days of the Lord or the Theotokos
