orthodox churchorthodox church the trophybearer · agiasmos service 18 19 7:00 p.m. parish council...
TRANSCRIPT
INS IDE TH IS
I S SUE :
September
Calendar
2
President’s
Corner
3
Community
News
5
Stewardship
Update
8
Greek Fest
News
9
Lives of the
Saints
12-
14
S A I N T G E O R G E G R E E K S A I N T G E O R G E G R E E K S A I N T G E O R G E G R E E K S A I N T G E O R G E G R E E K
O R T H O D O X C H U R C HO R T H O D O X C H U R C HO R T H O D O X C H U R C HO R T H O D O X C H U R C H
The Trophybearer S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7 V O L U M E 7 I S S U E 8
C HU RCH S T A F F
• Parish Priest: Fr. Michael
Constantinides
• Chanter: Deacon Paul
Speed
• Caretaker: Jason Leon
• GOYA Advisors: Dr.
Vicky Pyevich/Anne
Kirpatrick
• HOPE/JOY Advisors:
Pres. Maria Constanti-
nides/Candice Elias
• After Church Club:
Loukia Constantinides
• Outreach and Evangelism
Chair: Angela Spurgetis
• Parish Council President:
Mary Rankin
• Philoptochos President:
Susan Coin
• Prayer Ministry: Gus
Pappas
• Sunday School Director:
Deacon Paul Speed
• Senior Ministry: Kay Coin
PASTORAL MESSAGEPASTORAL MESSAGEPASTORAL MESSAGEPASTORAL MESSAGE
“Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” This mes-
sage was given by Christ to the people and to the disciples. The Disciples lead people, yet the disciples are
part of the people of God. There are no special rules for leaders versus those who are led. What should
they deny? Not the good things, but sin, the predisposition towards evil and the evil passions and desires that
sometimes govern us. In other words, they need to put to death the old man. The old man is separated
from God and from his fellow man and thus paradoxically lives in death. The old man died in baptism, yet we
resurrect him when we sin. We must get rid of him.
This must be a voluntary action. God does not force us but calls us to good things and not evil, to rewards
and not punishment. Man is free to choose yet there are ramifications to his choices. Brethren, the Christian
life is not a bowl of cherries. St. John Chrysostom tells us: “for although it be in my power, as Son of God, to
hinder you from having any trial at all of those hardships, yet such is not my will for your sake, that you may
yourself contribute something and be more approved.’ God does not smooth everything over for us He
does not remove trials and tribulations, but rather He explains costs of discipleship which are self-denial, car-
rying one’s cross (that is suffering) and obedience to Christ.
“If it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? St. Paul here
talks about repentance. Repentance is a change of mind. We need this change because we fall short. Man is
called to grow in the image and likeness of God, that is, to imitate God’s life. In fact C. S. Lewis tells us in his
book the Screwtape Letters, “He (God) really wants to fill the universe with a lot of…little replicas of Him-
self—creatures whose life, on a miniature scale will be like…His…(He)…really wants a world of beings
united to Him but still distinct.” Unfortunately we decided to do things our way yet we need to do things
God’s way. We should not wait to repent since we do not know the time of our death and because after
death will be too late. In this life Christ grants mercy and grace to those who repent, in next life simply judg-
ment. Christ offers forgiveness freely because He is the Son of God and thus has the authority to forgive
sins, but also because He is the Son of Man and was tempted like us.
There are tools that we can use to achieve our goals. First is prayer. Prayer is communication with God
and links us to Church and fellow man through God. It is an important element to Christians because it
makes us realize that there are others besides us. Second is fasting. Fasting restores the relationship be-
tween body and soul. It restores our relationship with God, our fellow man, and nature. Fasting makes us
realize we are not the most important things in the universe. Finally there is Holy Communion. Holy Com-
munion brings us into union with God and the saints and makes us part of Christ. In fact it is the defining
characteristic of Christians.
So we can see then that Christ calls us to follow Him. To truly follow Him we must deny ourselves. More
accurately, we must deny the part of ourselves that was added on, that is sin. Having severed our evil dispo-
sitions we may approach the great mercy seat of Christ and be cleansed of our stains. This becomes easier
knowing that Christ is indeed one of us and underwent temptation. He lived the life that He calls us to live
and for that reason He can be merciful, because He knows how tough that life is. We approach the seat of
mercy by using the tools that He provided us. These tools are prayer, fasting and Holy Communion. Let us
then not overlook this great mercy that is given us to approach the mercy seat of Christ. For we know not
the day or the hour of our death. Let us then take up our cross and follow Him. Let us not rebuild what we
tore down. Let us rather persevere in the struggle so that we may join Saint Paul in saying, “It is not I who
lives, but Christ who lives in me”. Amen
September 2017
SundaySundaySundaySunday MondayMondayMondayMonday TuesdayTuesdayTuesdayTuesday WednesdayWednesdayWednesdayWednesday ThursdayThursdayThursdayThursday FridayFridayFridayFriday SaturdaySaturdaySaturdaySaturday
1 Fast Day
Beginning of the
Ecclesiastical
Year
2 + Sacrament
3 13th Sunday of
Matthew 8:00a.m. Orthros
9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy
Sunday School/
HOPE JOY/GOYA registration
4 Labor Day
Office Closed
Rock Island Parade
5 9:00 a.m. Packaging
of Pastries
6
Fast Day
7
10:30 a.m. Senior
Outing
8
Nativity of the
Theotokos
Fish, Wine and oil
allowed
9:00 a.m. Orthros
followed by the
Divine Liturgy at
Assumption Church
Fast Day
Greek Fest
3:00p.m.—
11:00 p.m.
9
Greek Fest
11:00a.m.—
11:00 p.m.
10
Sunday before the
Elevation of the
Cross 8:00a.m. Orthros
9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy
Sunday School/
HOPE JOY/GOYA
registration
11
12
13
Fast Day
14
The Universal
Exaltation of the
Holy Cross
Strict Fast Day
8:30 a.m. Orthros
followed by the
Divine Liturgy
15
16
17 Sunday after the Elevation of the
Cross
8:30a.m. Orthros
10:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy
Sunday School Class
begin with an
Agiasmos Service
18
19
7:00 p.m.
Parish Council
Meeting
20 Fast Day
10:00 a.m. Ortho-
dox Study Forum
21
6:00 p.m. Orthodox
Study Forum
7:15 p.m. Chanting
Class
23 Fast Day
24
24 1st Sunday of
Luke
8:30a.m. Orthros
10:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy Sunday School Class
following Holy Communion
25
26 Falling Asleep of Saint John the Theologian
9:00 a.m. Orthros followed by the
Divine Liturgy at the Church of the As-
sumption
27
Fast Day
10:00 a.m. Ortho-
dox Study Forum
28
6:00 p.m. Orthodox
Study Forum
29 Fast Day
30
Festival set up and preparation all Week!
P A G E 3 V O L U M E 7 I S S U E 8
P A G E 4 T H E T R O P H Y B E A R E R
Epistle Readers Sunday,
September 3, 2017
13th Sunday of
Matthew
Alexa Florence
Sunday,
September 10, 2017
Sunday before the
Cross
Loukia Constantinides
Sunday,
September 17, 2017
Sunday after the Cross
Ethan Kirpatrick
Sunday,
September 24, 2017
1st Sunday of Luke
Scot Johnson
Sunday, September 17,
2017 hosted by:
Families of Gary Coin and
Steve Morgan
Sunday, September 24,
2017 hosted by:
Angela Spurgetis
Sunday, September 3,
2017 hosted by:
Family of Mary Spurgetis
Sunday, September 10,
2017 hosted by:
Open
Sunday,
September 17, 2017
John Mekus,
Dennis Spurgetis,
Diana Spurgetis,
Mary Rankin
Sunday,
September 24, 2017
Joe Burmeister,
Mary Kay Eckert,
Ted Pitsoulakis,
Ken Stiegel
Sunday,
September 3, 2017
Joe Burmeister,
Mary Kay Eckert,
Ted Pitsoulakis,
Ken Stiegel
Sunday,
September 10, 2017
Nick Coin,
Brad Crosson,
Mariellen Crosson,
Mike Patramanis
Parish Council Sunday Duty
Coffee Hour Hosts for September 2017
September 27-Kathy
Farrell and Adrian John-
son
October 28-Mary and
Bill Rankin
November 8-Dena
Manta and Alexa Flor-
ence
Evening Meal Volunteers
December 4-Father Mi-
chael, Presbytera Maria
and family
Anyone interested in
participating in this
worthwhile ministry
should contact Dena
Manta at 332-1684.
Gena Coin and Eric Voss
were united in the Sacra-
ment of Holy Marriage on
August 19, 2017 and the
s p o n s o r w a s A n n e
Kirkpatrick.
Funeral
The servant of God, Mary
Spurgetis, fell asleep in the
Lord and was buried on July
25, 2017
The servant of God, Steve
Morgan, fell asleep in the
Lord and was buried on
August 1, 2017
The servant of God, Gary
Coin, fell asleep in the Lord
and was buried on August 3,
2017
Baptisms
The servant of God Sophia,
daughter of David and
Melissa Tumbarello was Bap-
tized into the Orthodox
Faith on August 19, 2017 and
the sponsor was Patricia An-
drews.
Weddings
Sara Knaack and Jaymes
Eckert were united in the
Sacrament of Holy Marriage
on July 8, 2017 and the spon-
sor was Marguerite Nelson.
Jessica Stratton and Daniel
Sheridan were united in the
Sacrament of Holy Marriage
on July 30, 2017 and the
sponsor was John Stratton.
Parish Registry
September 3, 2017
Mary Spurgetis: 40 Days
Cleo Mallires: 1 Year
September 17, 2017
Steve Morgan: 40 Days
Gary Coin: 40 Days
Memorials September
P A G E 5 V O L U M E 7 I S S U E 8
Community News SUNDAY SCHOOL
NEWS
Our Sunday School classes
will begin on Sunday Sep-
tember 17th with an Agias-
mos following the Divine
Liturgy. Sunday school be-
gins following communion
and last for about 45 min-
utes. It is important to
bring your children so they
can learn about our faith.
VASILIKO (BASIL)
WANTED
We are in need of Vasiliko
plants for the celebration of
the Litany of the Holy
Cross, which will take place
on Thursday, September
14th, the Feast of the Eleva-
tion of the Holy Cross. If
you can be of assistance,
please bring them to the
church on Sunday Septem-
ber 10, 2017.
ALTAR BOY NEWS
Calling all young men of the
Parish from the ages of 6
and up. You are all invited
and encouraged to serve as
Altar Boys in the Holy Altar.
It is both an honor and a
blessing to serve the Lord in
such a special way.
ORTHODOX STUDY
FORUM
Come and join us as we
look into the inner meaning
of the Scriptural texts and
see how they apply with the
teachings of the Fathers, the
Tradition of the Church and
with our lives today. Join us
also as we examine the tra-
ditions of the Church and
compare them with what
our parents taught us. We
meet every Wednesday
Morning at 10:00 a.m. begin-
ning on Wednesday Septem-
ber 20, 2017 and Thursday
evenings beginning on Sep-
tember 21, 2017 at 6:00
p.m. so bring your Bibles,
your questions and your
friends as we begin our Or-
thodox Study Forum.
FESTIVAL DATES TO
REMEMBER
•Volunteers, St George
Church needs You! Please
contact Mary Rankin to vol-
unteer for Our Big Fat
Greek Festival. She can be
reached at 563-263-2341 or
can also register on-line at
goo.gl/GBpmEo and click
register!
•Pastries will be packaging
baklava will be on Tuesday,
September 5th at 9:00 a.m.
Contact Jenny Bakeris at
•Labor Day Parade is a
wonderful opportunity for
St George’s Big Fat Greek
Festival to be recognized
within the city of Rock Is-
land. We will have a vintage
Pontiac and a SUV again this
year.
•We need as many volun-
teers (adults and kids) as
possible to hand out Free
Admission tickets and candy.
This parade is a blast. Its
great fun being in a parade!
Wear your festival tee-shirt
and comfortable walking
shoes.
•Time and staging location
to be announced. Contact
Joe Burmeister at burmeis-
m or Gus Pappas at 563-370
- 6 2 5 2 o r
•The week of Greek Fes-
tival, we need two teams:
1. Venue set up team
Tuesday thru Thursday at
8:30am. Contact Brad Cros-
son 563-349-9910 or brad-
m 2. Kitchen & Gyros
prep on Thursday at
8:30am. Contact Gus Pappas
5 6 3 - 3 7 0 - 6 2 5 2 o r
•Irene Mekus to present on
Saturday, September 9th, at
2:30 p.m. a short presenta-
tion, her Honors Capstone
Project, Augustana College,
"Greek Identity Past and
Present in the Quad Cities"
in one of the Sunday School
rooms. A book will be do-
nated to St. George. All are
welcome to attend
Our Saint
George Parish
Community
Helen Corelis
Stella Cudworth
Elaine Froumis
Pat Grevas
Judy Pappas
Jim Patton
Xenia Patton
Effie Skafidas
Janice Smirles
Gordon Smith
Helen Smith
Jim Tsagaris
PRAYERS FOR
OUR SHUT-INS
Sunday School News Sunday School starts for the
new church year on Septem-
ber 17. September 10 we
will have registration; please
register anyone young per-
son through the senior of
high school that may come.
This gives us an idea of what
to plan for in the way of cur-
riculum, plus contact infor-
mation for coming events
and special things. We will
open with a repeat of last
year's popular 'Sundae Sun-
day'; students and teachers
will have a free ice cream
sundae if they are in class
that date, served by the dea-
con.
It is important that children
attend as much as humanly
possible to have a continuity
of lessons. Our teachers put
in hard work getting ready
and preparing lessons to help
our children grow in our
Orthodox faith.
In addition to putting a call
out to all of our children,
grandchildren, and great-
grandchildren, nieces, neph-
ews and so on, we also wel-
come adults who would like
to teach, to assist the teach-
ers, or to substitute teach.
Please contact Father and I if
you would be interested.
We hope everyone had a
wonderful summer. As we
are getting ready for back to
school, we are also getting
ready to get our Hope/Joy
group going again!
We will have a registration
table after the Divine Liturgy
for the next few weeks.
Please stop by and fill out a
profile form. We want all
the kids in our church to
HOPE/JOY NEWS
become active in this group.
This is a great opportunity
to make friends within our
church, learn about our faith
and have fellowship with
their peers. We plan on
having many fun activities
throughout the year.
Remember, all kids between
the ages of 3-12 are encour-
aged to join in the fun.
Please feel free to contact
Presbytera Maria at pres-
[email protected] or Can-
d a c e E l i a s a t e l i -
[email protected] with
any questions.
P A G E 6 T H E T R O P H Y B E A R E R
September 8th
and 9th-Festival
Help
October 1st -
Hot dogs, chips
and s'mores af-
ter church
November 26th
- Pioneer Village
Christmas Walk
December 10th
- Christmas
store & hat/
glove collection
HOPE/JOY EVENTS
Hi! I’m Loukia Constanti-
nides, and I want to wel-
come you to the After
Church Club.
In this club, I watch the
children of our church so
that their parents can re-
lax, go to church meet-
ings, and talk to their
friends. If you walk
straight down the hallway
After Church Club
and look directly to your
right, there will be a door
with a sign that says,
“After Church Club.”
Children of all ages can
come to the club after
Sunday school.
In the club we have differ-
ent activities for all ages.
Older children can color
and do crafts, while
younger children can run
around and draw on the
chalkboard. Each Sunday
we will talk about a differ-
ent subject in our religion.
Each child leaves with a
prize, such as a pencil or
small toy. I hope your
children will come and
join us!
P A G E 7 V O L U M E 7 I S S U E 8
most eager to give us a
tour. We will meet at
church at 10:00 a.m. and
arrive at the market at
10:30 a.m. Those wishing
to meet us at the market
may do so at that time.
After the tour we will en-
joy a “dutch-treat” lunch at
the store’s deli and/or
their soup/salad bar.
Please RSVP to Kay Coin
at 309-786-0240 if you plan
to attend!
The September outing for
our Senior Citizen Group
will be on Thursday, Sep-
tember 28th. We will be
going to the Fresh Thyme
Farmers Market at 2130
East Kimberly Road, Dav-
enport where the store is
Senior Ministry
Stavro Logo Bookstore
Sunday,
September
3, 2017
Collette
Spurgetis
Sunday,
September
10, 2017
Open
Sunday,
September
17, 2017
Nancy N.
Coin
Sunday,
September
24, 2017
Presbytera
Maria
Prosphora Baking
Schedule September
P A G E 8 T H E T R O P H Y B E A R E R
P A G E 9 V O L U M E 7 I S S U E 8
P A G E 1 0 T H E T R O P H Y B E A R E R
P A G E 1 1 V O L U M E 7 I S S U E 8
P A G E 1 2 T H E T R O P H Y B E A R E R
Parish Happenings
P A G E 1 3 V O L U M E 7 I S S U E 8
The Conception of Saint John the Baptist (September 23) The Conception of the
Venerable Prophet, Fore-
runner and Baptist of the
Lord, John: The holy
Prophet Malachi prophesied
that before the Messiah’s
birth His Forerunner would
appear, and would indicate
His coming. The Jews
therefore in awaiting the
Messiah also awaited the
appearance of His Forerun-
ner.
In a city of the hills of Judea
in the land of Palestine lived
the righteous priest St
Zachariah and his wife St
Elizabeth, zealously observ-
ing the commandments of
the Lord. The couple, how-
ever, had a misfortune: they
remained childless in their
old age, and they prayed
unceasingly to God to grant
them a child.
Once, when St Zachariah
took his turn as priest at
the Temple of Jerusalem, he
went into the Sanctuary to
offer incense. Going behind
the veil of the Sanctuary, he
beheld an angel of God
standing at the right side of
the altar of incense.
St Zachariah was astonished
and halted in fear, but the
angel said to him, “Fear not,
Zachariah, for your prayer
is heard; and your wife
Elizabeth will bear you a
son, and you shall call his
name John.” But Zachariah
did not believe the words
of the heavenly messenger,
and then the angel said to
him, “I am Gabriel, who
stand in the presence of
God; and I was sent to
speak to you, and to bring
you the good news. Behold,
you will be silent and unable
to speak until the day that
these things come to pass,
because you did not believe
my words....”
Meanwhile, the people
were waiting for Zachariah
and they were astonished
that he had not come out
from the Sanctuary after so
long a time. And when he
did come out, he was sup-
posed to pronounce a
blessing upon the people,
but could not do so be-
cause he had been struck
speechless. When Zacha-
riah explained by gestures
that he was unable to
speak, the people then un-
derstood that he had ex-
perienced a vision. The
prophecy of the Archangel
was fulfilled, and Righteous
Elizabeth was delivered
from her barrenness, and
gave birth to John, the
Forerunner and Baptist of
the Lord.
Venerable Chariton the Confessor the Abbot of Palestine (September 28) Saint Chariton the Confes-
sor suffered at Iconium dur-
ing one of the persecutions
against Christians under the
emperor Aurelian. The grace
-bearing example of the holy
P r o t om a r t y r T h e k l a
(September 24) encouraged
him in his confessor’s deed.
She being a native of his city,
whose memory he in par-
ticular deeply venerated.
St Chariton bravely de-
nounced the pagan gods and
staunchly confessed faith in
the One True God, Christ
the Savior. The holy Confes-
sor underwent fierce tor-
tures but, through the Provi-
dence of God, he remained
alive. When the persecution
abated, the saint was set free
from prison and he dedi-
cated all his life to the ser-
vice of the Lord.
Journeying to Jerusalem on
pilgrimage to the holy places,
he fell into the hands of rob-
bers. They tied him up and
threw him in a cave, intend-
ing to kill him later, and they
hastened away on business.
The saint prayed fervently in
expectation of death. He
gave thanks to God and en-
treated him to do with him
according to His will.
Venerable Chariton
the Confessor the
Abbot of Palestine
The Conception
of Saint John the
Baptist
P A G E 1 4 T H E T R O P H Y B E A R E R
At this time a snake crawled
into the cave and began to drink
wine from a vessel setting there,
poisoning it with its deadly
venom. Returning to the cave,
the robbers drank the poisoned
wine and they all perished. St
Chariton gave thanks to God
and began his ascetic struggles at
the place of his miraculous res-
cue. He distributed the plun-
dered gold of the robbers to the
poor, and in the robbers cave he
built a church, around which in
time there formed a monastery,
the renowned Pharan Lavra in
Palestine.
St Chariton compiled a strict
rule for his monastery. Yearning
for solitude, the monk went far-
ther into the desert, but there
also he did not reject those who
sought his spiritual guidance, and
he founded two more monaster-
ies: the Jericho and the Souka,
named the “Old Lavra.” At the
end of his life, St Chariton strug-
gled in a cave on a hill near the
Souka monastery, but he did not
cease to provide guidance for all
three of the monasteries he
founded.
Venerable Chariton the Confessor the Abbot of Palestine (Continued)
According to Tradition, St Cha-
riton compiled the office of tak-
ing monastic vows. St Chariton
the Confessor died in extreme
old age and was buried, in ac-
cord with his last wishes, in the
Pharan monastery in the church,
built on the site of the robbers’
cave.
The Hieromartyr Gregory,
Enlightener of Greater Armenia,
was born in the year 257. He
was descended from the line of
the Parthian Arsakid emperors.
The father of Saint Gregory,
Anak, in striving after the Arme-
nian throne, had murdered his
kinsman, the emperor Kursar, in
consequence of which all the
line of Anak was marked for
destruction.
A certain kinsman saved Greg-
ory: he carried off the infant
from Armenia to Caesarea in
Cappadocia and raised him in
the Christian Faith. At maturity,
Gregory married, had two sons,
but soon was left a widower.
Gregory raised his sons in piety.
One of them -- Orthanes, after-
wards became a priest, and the
other -- Arostanes, accepted
monasticism and went off into
the wilderness.
In order to atone for the sin of
his father, who had murdered
the father of Tiridates, Gregory
entered into the service of the
latter and was a faithful servant
to him. Tiridates loved Gregory
like a friend, but he was intoler-
ant of the Christian confession
of faith. After ascending the Ar-
menian throne, he began to de-
mand that Saint Gregory re-
nounce the Christian Faith.
Hieromartyr Gregory the Bishop of Greater Armenia, Equal of the Apostles and Enlightener of Armenia (September 30)
The steadfastness of the saint
embittered Tiridates, and he
gave his faithful servant over to
cruel tortures: they suspended
the sufferer head downwards
with a stone about his neck, for
several days they choked him
with a stinking smoke, they beat
and ridiculed him, and forced
him to walk in iron sandals inset
with nails.
At the time of these sufferings
Saint Gregory sang Psalms. In
prison the Lord healed all his
wounds. When Gregory again
stood before the emperor
cheerful and unharmed, he was
astonished and gave orders to
repeat the torments. Saint Greg-
ory endured them, not waver-
ing, with all his former determi-
nation and bearing. They then
poured hot tin over him and
threw him into a pit filled with
vipers. The Lord, however,
Hieromartyr Gregory the
Bishop of Greater Arme-
nia
P A G E 1 5 V O L U M E 7 I S S U E 8
The Church’s Services
Across
4. A special service held in the Ortho-
dox Church for the repose of the souls
of the dead.
6. The Morning Service, which is com-
bined with the Liturgy.
9. The closing prayers and benediction,
including the Apolytikia in Church Ser-
vice.
10. This hymn is sung after the Gospel
reading and during the Great Entrance.
Down
1. The prayer taught by Christ in the Ser-
mon on the Mount, which begins with the
phrase “Our Father…”
2. This is another name for the service
that precedes the Divine Liturgy.
3. A service held in the evening , which is
mainly a Thanksgiving prayer for the closing
g day and a welcome of the new one to
come
5. The main form of worship for the cele-
bration of the Holy Eucharist.
7. “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immor-
tal, have mercy upon us.”
8. This service is celebrated in the evening.
New Testament Books
Thessalonians John
Corinthians Mark
Philippians Luke
Colossians Jude
Revelation Acts
Galatians James
Ephesians Titus
Philemon Peter
Timothy
Hebrews
Matthew
Romans
Answers To Last Month’s Test Your Faith...
the pit, and buried the relics of the
holy virgins with honor. Then he
began to preach to the people, urg-
ing them to turn away from the
darkness of idolatry and toward
Christ. The people came to believe
in Christ, and wished to build a
large church. When it was com-
pleted, Saint Gregory had the relics
of the holy nuns brought into it.
Then he brought King Tiridates
there before the bodies of the
saints whom he had slain. He re-
pented, and immediately his face
was made whole once more.
Soon all of Armenia was converted
to Christ. The temples of the idols
were destroyed, and churches for
the worship of the true God were
built. Saint Gregory ordained
priests, established schools,
founded monasteries, and provided
for the good order of the Church.
Saint Gregory went into the wilder-
ness, where he departed to the
Lord. His son Aristanes was made a
bishop in Cappadocia, and was one
of the 318 holy Fathers at the
Council of Nicea.
saved His chosen one: the snakes
did him no harm.
Some pious women fed him with
bread, secretly lowering it into the
pit. A holy angel, appeared to the
martyr, strengthening and encour-
aging him. Saint Gregory remained
in the pit for fourteen years. Dur-
ing this time the emperor Tiridates
executed the holy virgin Saint
Rhipsime, the aged abbess Gaiana
and another 35 virgins from one of
the monasteries of Asia Minor. As
punishment for this horrible deed,
the king’s face became disfigured.
Saint Gregory was released from
Thoughts to Ponder
Test Your Faith... The Church’s Services
Across
1. The twenty stanzas
into which the Orthodox
Psalter is divided.
6. The Service of the
preparation of the ele-
ments of bread and wine
before the Divine Liturgy
i s k n o w n a s
___________.
10. A hymn of praise con-
sisting of 24 stanzas sung
at the Salutations ser-
vices.
Down
2. This is a short verse
from the scriptures, espe-
cially the psalms, sung or
recited in the Divine Lit-
urgy and other services.
3. A hymn of praise in
honor of the Mother of
God. In Greek it is called
the Megalynarion.
4. A hymn which refers to
or praises the Theotokos is
known as a ________.
5. A prayer sung by the
chanter or choir in honor
of the celebrant bishop or
presbyter.
7. Another name for the
A k a t hy s t H ymn i s
______________.
8. A liturgical verse or
scriptural passage sung or
read before the reading of
the Epistle
9. These special hymns are
sung during the Service of
Matins.
Liturgical Items
Blessing Cross Candles
Deacons Doors Crozier
Antimension Censer
Iconostasis Orlets
Tabernacle Diskos
Royal Doors Spear
Exapteriga Icons
Prosphora Spoon
Prothesis Altar
Trikirion Aer
Antidoron Chalice
Asterisk
Cathedra
Dikiron