Saints Constant ine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church 60 Traverse Road Newport News VA 23606

Volume Issue

Apri l 2019

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

T C + R

Hi-Lites St. John Climacus—April 7 St. Mary of Egypt—April 14 Palm Sunday—April 21 Pascha—April 28 HWPS Greek Pastry Sale—April 18 Greek Festival Volunteer Form Inside

One of the hymns that we chanted at the Forgiveness Vespers ushering in Great and Holy lent reminds us to abstain not only from certain foods, but to also abstain from giving in to any of the passions. The next part of this particular hymn reminds us of our goal of celebrating Holy Pascha with spiritual joy.

The Liturgical life of the Church during Great and Holy Lent gives us the opportunity to not only come together for services, but also to experience cheerfulness and joy as part of our self-examination during this period of time. Most people schedule a physical ex-amination once a year as a checkup. As hu-man beings we want to know where we stand. Is it any different as Orthodox Chris-tians? Do we know how we stand not only during Great and Holy Lent but throughout

the calendar year? Joy as we know, will prolong our life; a day

of joy, experiencing the beauties of nature, taking in the beauty of God’s creation and seeing no limitation in the delights of what we have access to.

What a wonderful view I have of our dark Church as the slow flow of candles are being lit on the Feast of Pascha! The joy overflows our Church as the faithful are assisting me in chanting, “Christ is Risen”. The joy on that day should not have any limitation, for every-thing we are praising God in worship is the opportunity for joy.

Let us all walk the walk of Great and Holy Lent and Holy Week and rejoice in the glori-ous outcome of our Lord’s Victory over Death!

 

† F  F  G   C   H   P     S   J   April Sundays,

Acolytes, Readers 2-3, 9

Registry / Announcements 4

Church, Club & Community News 4-5

Holy Week 6-7

PC Minutes 10-11

Calendar 11

Sunday of Orthodoxy 8

Greek School Independence Day 9

G o o d R e s u r e c t i o n Κ α λ ή Α ν ά σ τ α σ η  

May 30—Jun 2 | Please volunteer

APRIL 7 EPISTLE READING Hebrews 6:13-20 GOSPEL READING Mark 9:17-31 SAINTS AND FEASTS COMMEMORATED Righteous Father Savvas the

New of Kalymnos Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow

and Enlightener of North America Calliopus and Akylina the Mar-

tyrs George, Bishop of Lesvos Gerasimos the God-Bearer of

Byzantium WISDOM OF THE

FATHERS ... he that is not covetous, will

be also more disposed for alms-giving. He that fasts is light, and winged, and prays with wakeful-ness, and quenches his wicked lusts, and propitiates God, and humbles his soul when lifted up. Therefore even the apostles were almost always fasting. St. John Chrysostom, Homily 57, 4th Century

HYMNS OF THE DAY Resurrectional Apolytikion in

the Fourth Mode Having learned the joyful proc-

lamation of the Resurrection from the Angel, and having cast off the ancestral condemnation, the women disciples of the Lord spake to the Apostles exultantly: Death is despoiled and Christ God is risen, granting great mer-cy to the world.

Apolytikion for Sun. of St. John Climacus in the Plagal Fourth Mode

With the streams of thy tears, thou didst cultivate the barren-ness of the desert; and by thy sighings from the depths,thou didst bear fruit a hundredfold in labours; and thou becamest a luminary, shining with miracles upon the world, O John our right-eous Father. Intercede with Christ God that our souls be saved.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Plagal Fourth Mode

(Continued on page 3)

Philoptochos Stavroula Gailey, President

Religious Education Viola Allen, Frances Tsimplekis, Co-Directors

Greek School Paula Tofalli, Katerina Sanbar

Youth Ministry Mariam Canavos, Youth Director Stephanie Peri and Kent Paumier, Advisors Acolytes Barry Hendricks, Director

JOY/HOPE Mariam Canavos, Director

Bookstore Elizabeth Puckett

Weekly Bulletin Rebecca Pietronuto

Cross+Roads Nick Vlattas

Greek Orthodox Youth Association (GOYA) Christina Myers, President Kent Paumier, Advisor Young Adult League (YAL) Anastasia Theodorogiannis, President Golden Hearts Zoe Marcopoulos, President

Order of AHEPA Nick Matthews, President

Daughters of Penelope Helen Dennie, President

Hellenic Woman’s Penelope Society Sharon Otero (April)

Hellenic Youth Dancers Bobby Garofalis, Director

P  M    O  

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A   S    APRIL 14 Team A Yianni Tsimplekis Dean Peri Michael Daoud Gabriel Daoud Christopher Micha Sameer Amireh APRIL 21 Team B James St. Martin Cris Campbell Soterios Tofalli Kyprianos Tofalli Konstantin Garofalis Aidan Capobianco APRIL 7 Team C Georgios Haramis Christos Konstantinou Christopher Myers Nolan Krisik Will Estes Alexandros Baxevanis

ACOLYTES

Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church 60 Traverse Road Newport News VA 23606

Glory Be To God

www.schgochurch.va.goarch.org Phone (757) 596-6151 Fax (757) 596-2967 Email Addresses: priest@ office@ parishcouncil@ youthdirector@ webmaster@ admin@ schgochurch.va.goarch.org

Office Hours Monday Through Friday 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

Priest Father George Chioros Work 596-6152 Home 597-7786 Mobile 288-4487 Email frgchioros@aol.com

Parish Council Frank Peri, President John Dermanis, Vice Pres. Bob Demson, Treasurer Zena Mageras, Asst. Treas. Kent Paumier, Secretary Greg Bicouvaris Elias Doulgerakis Bobby Garofalis Mike Kokorelis II Gary Nicholls Anastasia Theodorogiannis Chanters Tim Sofis Harry Fotiou John Williams Brian Fink George Petrakos Church Secretary Rebecca Pietronuto

Archdiocese on the web www.goarch.org

Please contact Barry Hen-dricks if you are interested in reading the Epistle during the Sunday Divine Liturgy. bhendricks@cox.net APRIL 07: Howard Mandeville 14: GOYA 20: Barry Hendricks 21: Sylvia Marcin 29: Agape Vespers

EPISTLE READERS

Apolytikion for Saints Con-stantine & Helen, Equal-to-the Apostles in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone

Having seen the image of Thy Cross in Heaven, and like Paul, having received the call not from men, Thine apostle among kings entrusted the commonwealth to Thy hand, O Lord. Keep us al-ways in peace, by the interces-sions of the Theotokos, O only Friend of man.

Τοῦ Σταυροῦ σου τὸν τύπον ἐν οὐρανῷ θεασάμενος, καὶ ὡς ὁ Παῦλος τὴν κλήσιν οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων δεξάμενος, ὁ ἐν βασιλεύσιν, Ἀπόστολός σου Κύριε, Βασιλεύουσαν πόλιν τὴ χειρί σου παρέθετο ἣν περίσωζε διὰ παντὸς ἐν εἰρήνῃ, πρεσβείαις τῆς Θεοτόκου, μόνε Φιλάνθρωπε.

To you, Theotokos, invincible Defender, having been delivered from peril, I, your city, dedicate the victory festival as a thank offering. In your irresistible might, keep me safe from all trials, that I may call out to you: "Hail, unwed-ded bride!"

APRIL 14 EPISTLE READING Hebrews 9:11-14 GOSPEL READING Mark 10:32-45 SAINTS AND FEASTS COMMEMORATED Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt Aristarchus, Pudens, Trophi-

mus the Apostles of the 70 Thomais the Martyr of Alexan-

dria Ardalion the Actor and Martyr Demetrios the New-Martyr of

Arcadia WISDOM OF THE FATHERS For with this object He reveals

their deficiencies, that after these things thou mightest know what manner of men they became by grace. ... No one shall sit on His right hand nor on His left. St. John Chrysostom, Homily 65, 4th Century

HYMNS OF THE DAY Resurrectional Apolytikion in

the Plagal First Mode Let us worship the Word, O ye

faithful, praising Him that with the Father and the Spirit is co-beginningless God, Who was born of a pure Virgin that we all be saved; for He was pleased to mount the Cross in the flesh that He assumed, accepting thus to endure death. And by His glori-ous rising, He also willed to resur-rect the dead.

Apolytikion for Sun. of St. Mary of Egypt in the Plagal Fourth Mode

In thee the image was pre-served with exactness, O Mother; for taking up thy cross, thou didst follow Christ, and by thy deeds thou didst teach us to overlook the flesh, for it passeth away, but to attend to the soul since it is immortal. Wherefore, O righteous Mary, thy spirit rejoiceth with the Angels.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Second Mode

O Protection of Christians that cannot be put to shame, media-tion unto the creator most con-stant: O despise not the voices of those who have sinned; but be quick, O good one, to come unto our aid, who in faith cry unto thee: Hasten to intercession and speed thou to make

APRIL 21 Philippians 4:4-9 GOSPEL READING John 12:1-18 SAINTS AND FEASTS COMMEMORATED Palm Sunday

The Holy Hieromartyr Januari-us and Those With Him

Our Holy Father Maximian, Patriarch of Constantinople

Theodore the Holy Martyr & his mother Philippa of Perge

Alexandra the Martyr WISDOM OF THE FATHERS But observe the wisdom of the

Evangelist, how he is not ashamed to parade their former ignorance. That it was written they knew, that it was written of Him they knew not. For it would have offended them if He being a King were about to suffer such things, and be so betrayed. St. John Chrysostom, Homily 66, 4th Century

HYMNS OF THE DAY Kontakion of Palm Sunday Plagal of the Second Tone In Heaven, He is seated upon

a Throne and on earth He rides upon a foal. O Christ our God, accept the praise of the Angels and the hymn of the Children who cry out to You, "Blessed are You who comes to recall Adam."

APRIL 28 EPISTLE READING Acts of the Apostles 1:1-8 In the first book, O Theophilos,

I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. To them he presented himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days, and speaking of the kingdom of God. And while stay-ing with them he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, "you heard from me, for John baptized with water, but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit."So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom of lsrael?" He said to them, "it is not for you to know times or seasons which the Fa-ther has fixed by his own authori-ty. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth."

GOSPEL READING John 1:1-17 In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the dark-ness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light. The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. He came to his own home, and his own peo-ple received him not. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the

will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. (John bore witness to him, and cried, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, for he was be-fore me.'") And from his fullness have we all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

SAINTS AND FEASTS COMMEMORATED Great and Holy Pascha The Holy Nine Martyrs of Cyzi-

cus Memnon the Wonderworker John the Martyr of Romania Holy Martyr Cercyra WISDOM OF THE FATHERS Now this is a proof that Christ

is God the Word, and the Power of God. For whereas human things cease, and the Word of Christ abides, it is clear to all eyes that what ceases is tempo-rary, but that He Who abides is God, and the true Son of God, His only-begotten Word. St. Athana-sius of Alexandria, On the Incar-nation 55, 4th Century

HYMNS OF THE DAY Apolytikion of Great and Holy

Pascha in the Plagal of the First Tone

Christ is risen from the dead, by death, trampling down upon death, and to those in the tombs He has granted life.

Reading is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved by: Greek Ortho-dox Archdiocese of America

Kontakion of Great and Holy Pascha in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone

Though You went down into the tomb, You destroyed Hades' power, and You rose the victor, Christ God, saying to the myrrh-bearing women, "Hail!" and grant-ing peace to Your disciples, You who raise up the fallen.

(Continued from page 2)

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ATTENDANCE

March 3 122

March 10 135

March 17 171

March 24 159

Mar 2019 Ave 147

Mar 2018 Ave 180

YTD 2019 Ave 146

YTD 2018 Ave 164

C  R   /   A  BIRTH: Our sincere congratulations and best wishes to

Aris & Anna Yortzidis on the birth of their daugh-ter, March 12. Proud maternal grandmother Kathy Dermanis.

NA SAS ZISI!!!!!!! CHRISMATION: Barbara Della Valle was chrismated into the

Orthodox Faith March 18 with Sylvia Marcin serv-ing as her sponsor. We welcome Barbara into our Faith and wish her our best. May the blessings of our Church be with her, always.

ILL AND NEEDING OUR PRAYERS: We wish a speedy and complete recovery to our

friends and fellow parishioners who have been ill and/or recently hospitalized: Connie Anastasiou, Helen Kanelos, Anna Mageras, Vicky Mignogna Smith, Helen Siokis and Soterios Tofalli, Andrea Fink, George Zambas, and Alex Pasquier

PERASTIKA SAS!!!!!!!! DEATHS: Our sincere condolences to the family of Angie

Karatsikis, who died February 25, and whose fu-neral was held in our Church, February 28.

Our sympathies to Alexa Garrison and her family on the death of her sister Maria Keritsis. Maria’s funeral was Saturday, March 23rd at Sts. Constan-tine and Helen Cathedral in Richmond VA.

Our sympathies to Tony and Marika Anthony on the death of Tony’s brother Leo.

MAY THEIR MEMORY BE ETERNAL!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU: Connie Anastasiou wishes to thank all for their

thoughtfulness and prayers while she was in the hospital and recovering at home.

The family of Angie Karatsikis would like to ex-press their gratitude to everyone who supported them through this difficult journey. Your thoughts, prayers, phone calls, and visits to the convalescent center meant a lot to her. Thank you.

SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM ORATORICAL FESTIVAL The 2019 Saint John Chrysostom Oratorical

Festival for our parish will be on April 7th following the Divine Liturgy. All young people interested in participating in this great opportunity should con-tact Mariam Canavos at mcanavos33@gmail.com or Nick Vrettos at nvrettos@cox.net for more de-tails.

Also, if you are interested in participating as a judge for this event, please contact Mariam or

Nick. For festival topics and details please go to link below:

https://www.goarch.org/-/st-john-chrysostom-oratorical-festival-metropolis-of-new-jersey

We will also be hosting the District Festival at our parish on Saturday, April 13th!

THE ANASTASIOS L. DANIEL SCHOLARSHIP The Parish Council will again administer the

annual scholarship established by the Estate of beloved parishioner Anastasios 'Danny' L. Dan-iel. We welcome graduating High School seniors of the Orthodox Faith to apply by picking up an appli-cation in the Church office. Completed applica-tions must be returned to the Church postmarked by April 30, 2019.

GREEK FESTIVAL INTERVIEW: An audio interview with Father George by parish

council member Greg Bicouvaris is on www.newportnewsgreekfestival.org and on You Tube. They did the interview recently on WPMH radio.

CHURCH DOORS RESTORATION: In response to numerous inquiries on the ap-

pearance of the Church Front Doors the Parish Council has obtained (3) bids for the restoration of the Church Front Doors. The estimated restoration cost for the (3) sets of doors is approximately $27,920.00.

The work is scheduled to be complete before the Festival at the end of May. The Parish Council has begun obtaining funding and donations for the restoration. If you are interested in contributing, please see any parish council member.

SUNDAY SCHOOL DONATIONS REQUESTED: The Sunday School is requesting donations from

Parishioners to help purchase new tables, chairs, carpet, and other items to improve Sunday School classrooms. Any size donation to help fund this effort is appreciated.

MAINTENANCE ITEMS: At the Parish Assembly meeting held on Febru-

ary 24 it was reported that the Parish Council has prioritized a list of maintenance items to improve our facilities and grounds. Please see President Frank Peri or another Parish Council member if you could help with your time, talents, or financial con-tributions to help accomplish these much needed items to improve our church. 

If you would like to purchase Koliva for memorials, you may contact: Mary Graham and Christine Fulmore 595-7871 Helen Nichollls 817-8215 Anastasia Savrides 595-1581 Athena Savvas 589-1484

Koliva

CHURCH EMAIL LIST Subscribe to the church email list for monthly links to the Cross+Roads and important church announcements at:

www.schgochurch.va.goarch.org

DEADLINE Please email information no later than the 20th day of the

month to Nick Vlattas nvlattas@gmail.com

Cross+Roads

We thank all those parish-ioners who served as hosts for the month of March. The hosts for the month of April are:

April 7: M/M Mark Thomp-son, M/M Chris Tofalli, M/M S. Tofall, Ms. Angela Kritikos

April 14: Ms. Athena Sav-vas, M/M Mike Tsimplekis, Ms. Vicky Fotiou, Mr. James Woodbury

April 21: PALM SUNDAY LUNCHEON

April 28: GREAT AND HOLY PASCHA

REFRESHMENTS

Ethan Kutner defeated fellow HRA teammate Cole Frankenhoff 8-4 to win the 19th annual Dr. Mary V. Bicouvaris Memorial Tennis Tourna-ment held recently at Hampton Roads Acade-my. The match is played in honor of former educator & parishioner Mary Bicouvaris who taught at Jeff Davis Middle School, Bethel High School, HRA and CNU.

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C ,  C    C  N  PHILOPTOCHOS Ladies of Philoptochos, please

remember that the making and baking of Tsourekia is scheduled for April 8, 9 and 10. Do mark these dates on your calendar and be available to help on those dates. Our Vasilopites and Tsou-rekia are our main fund-raising projects. So, please, make every effort to be available on those dates and offer your help.

On April 21, we will have our Palm Sunday Luncheon. Again, we ask our members to make every effort to be available to help with setting up, cooking and serving the meal.

We, again, ask our patrons to help us with their presence at this function. We assure all of you that our capable chefs will once again prepare a wonderful meal. Please, join us and enjoy a great lunch and participate in good and Christian fellowship. And, of course, many thanks for your patronage and continued support.

On April 26, Good Friday, Philoptochos will pass its custom-ary tray. Please, be willing to pass the tray, if asked to do so.

Our Acts of Kindness (AOK) project is on-going and thriving. We thank all the new people who have joined our team and look forward to having more people joining us. Please, consider con-tributing to this project in any way you can - joining the team that visits the patients every Monday, making sandwiches for the team members to take to the patients, or contributing monetarily Do call Ellie Costulis, H833-8181, C303-3080 and offer your help in whatever way you can. Once again, we thank you for your con-sideration.

Our obligations to the National for the month of April are: A con-tribution to the Sisterhood of Saint Basil Academy which pro-vides for the physical needs of the children at Saint Basil Acade-my as well as graduation costs awards and gifts, and a contribu-tion to the International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) which provides food, shelter and eco-nomic self-sufficiency to those in need.

Our April meeting will be Mon-day, April 1, starting with refresh-ments at 6:30 p.m. Hosting this meeting are Dianne Sun and Joanne Thomas.

HELLENIC WOMAN’S PENELOPE SOCIETY The Hellenic Woman’s Penelo-

pe Society (HWPS) will meet on Thursday, April 4th, 2019 at 6:00 PM at the Sacalis Hall. Aliki Asi-mi will serve as hostess and Sha-ron Otero will preside.

Our Spring Bake Sale Order Pickup is scheduled for Thursday, April 18th from 10:00 AM – 12:00 noon. Pastry preparation will take place on Monday, April 15th (baklava, koulourakia, fin-ikia), and Tuesday, April 16 (kourabiethes and finikia dip-ping.) Preparation time begins at 10 AM each day. The proceeds from the bake sale will go toward the Father Peter and Gregory Makris Merit Scholarship.

Our 19th Annual Dinner Thea-ter was held on Saturday, March 2nd. Our patrons expressed their delight at the “sumptuous food and enjoyable entertainment.” In partnership with The Chesapeake Retirement Community, we were able to bring to our patrons the premier Glen Boswick Sounds of Swing Band, featuring big band sounds of the 40’s through to-day. Our appreciation to Ms. Su-san LaFrance, Director of Resi-dents Service at The Chesa-peake, for her invaluable assis-tance through the years.

Our appreciation is also ex-tended to the following members and friends who always answer the call to action and bring to fruition our well-established din-ner theater. Following are the Dinner/Dance Steering Commit-tees:

General Chairman: Marika Anthony; General co-chairman: Margaret Thompson; Food Prepa-ration: Ifigenia Ikonomou, chair-man, and Tessie Dakis, co-chairman; Decorations: Frances Polizos; Table Setting: Tessie Dakis, chairman; Dessert Prepa-ration: Ifigenia Ikonomou; Coor-dinating the IB Student Servers: Zena Mageras, chairman and Stephanie Kailos, co-chairman; Hostess: Margaret Thompson; Publicity and Reservations: Mari-ka Anthony; Souvenir Program: Margaret Thompson; Wine and Greek Hors d’Oeuvres: Athena Savvas.

The chairs of the above com-mittees would like to thank the following ladies and gentlemen for their help with the FOOD PREPARATION, DECORATIONS AND TABLE SETTING:

Tessie Dakis, John Dermanis, Stephanie Kailos, Zena Mageras, Marguerite Marrone, Sharon Otero, Cleo Pileggi, Frances Polizos, Tasia Savrides , Athena Savvas, Margaret Thompson, Paula Toffali, Stavroula Valentin, and Helen Vaughn.

Sincere appreciation is ex-tended to the following members

for graciously donating the GREEK HORS D’OEUVRES:

Marika Anthony, Tessie Dakis, Stephanie Kailos, Anna Mageras, Zena Mageras, Sharon Otero, Cleo Pileggi, Margaret Thompson, Stavroula Valentin, Helen Vaughn, Maria Vidakis, Kathy Vretos and Katherine Yeapanis.

GALAKTOBOUREKO AND KOU-LOURAKIA: Marika Anthony

Last, but not least, we grate-fully acknowledge Mr. John Der-manis for assisting the ladies in the kitchen, Mr. Mark Thompson for serving the wine; Mr. Chris Stephanitsis of Norfolk for donat-ing the coffee; Mr. Kevin Valliant, International Baccalaureate Co-ordinator, York County Public Schools; the International Bacca-laureate students of York High School for volunteering to serve the meal; and Jeff’s Flowers of Course for the beautiful center-piece arrangements.

We extend our love and best wishes for a speedy recovery to our members Connie Anastasiou, Anna Mageras and Helen Siokis, and long-time friend Tony Antho-ny. All of them were recently hospitalized and are currently recuperating.

HWPS WILL AWARD ITS 49TH ANNUAL FATHER PETER AND GREGORY MAKRIS MERIT SCHOLARSHIP TO A GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR WHO MEETS THE CRITERIA. THOSE QUALIFYING MAY APPLY BY CON-TACTING MARIA VIDAKIS AT 757-867-7848.

HAPPY LENTEN AND KALO PASCHA TO ALL!

AHEPA FAMILY SCHOLARSHIPS The AHEPA Family Scholar-

ships and the District 3 Scholar-ships applications are available in the AHEPA Family Center. Re-minder for the AHEPA Family Scholarships the parent must me current with their 2019 Dues. AHEPA District 3 Scholarships must be Postmarked by April 15,2019. Local AHEPA Family Scholarships must be Post-marked by April 30, 2019. For any question please call George Anas at (757) 439-3207 or Hope Zambas at (757) 826-7212.

Photo from HWPS 19th Annual Dinner Theatre

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SATURDAY OF LAZARUS An interlude between Great

Lent and Holy Week, the Church names this day the “Saturday of Lazarus” in re-membrance of the resurrec-tion of Lazarus told in the Gospel of John (11:1-45) and its promise of universal resur-rection for all men. The Church connects this celebra-tion, by anticipation, with the Entrance of Christ into Jerusa-lem.

PALM SUNDAY Palm Sunday celebrates

the glorious and brilliant feast of the Entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem (John 12:1-18). Zechariah had prophesied the entrance of the Messiah into Jerusalem, saying: “Rejoice greatly ... O daughter of Jeru-salem; behold, the King comes unto Thee; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass”, Zech. 9:9. The contem-porary Jews associated this prophecy with the expected Messiah. This action of Christ testifies to His nature as Mes-siah, but with the definite declaration that His Kingdom was not of this world. The

main road leading to Jerusa-lem was covered with palm trees. The multitudes, with palm branches in their hands, spread their cloaks on the road as a show of respect, crying out “Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord.” A custom of distrib-uting branches of palms to the people in the Church pre-vails to this day.

During the remainder of Holy Week, the Church ad-vances its liturgical life by about twelve hours, celebrat-ing morning services the night before, and evening services in the morning.

On Palm Sunday evening, the Church celebrates the Orthros (Matins) of Holy Mon-day, in the first of four “Bridegroom Services.” Christ is called the “Bridegroom” because in His Passion, He gives His life for His Bride, the people of God, the Church, just as a husband will sacri-fice everything for his wife and family.

From Holy Monday to Holy Wednesday, some parishes will celebrate the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts in the

morning. This very ancient Divine Liturgy is a Vespers Service, with the Holy Com-munion given from the sancti-fied gifts from the Liturgy on the previous Sunday. This Liturgy is very solemn, and reflects the grandeur and simplicity of the early Church.

In the Orthros of Holy Mon-day, the Church remembers the blessed and noble Joseph and the fig tree which was cursed and withered by the Lord.

In the Orthros of Holy Tues-day, celebrated Holy Monday evening, the Church remem-bers the parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), who were waiting for the arri-val of the Bridegroom at a wedding feast.

In the Orthros of Holy Wednesday, the Church re-members the anointing of Christ with myrrh by the wom-an in the house of Simon, the leper, in Bethany. This woman demonstrated her repentance and her warm faith toward our Lord. On this evening we hear the beautiful “Hymn of Kassiane, which is a hymno-logical reflection on the re-pentance of this woman.

HOLY WEDNESDAY The Sacrament of Holy

Unction takes place on Holy Wednesday. The Sacrament is for the healing of body and soul. In Orthodox thought, healing is connected to re-pentance, confession, and the remission of sins by the Lord. Holy Unction is the for cleansing sins and renewing the body and the spirit of the faithful. Holy Unction is one of the seven Sacraments of the Church, and it has its origin in the practice of the early Church as recorded in the Epistle of James (5:14-15). At the end of the service, the priest anoints the people with

Holy Oil. In the Orthros of Holy

Thursday, the Church remem-bers the washing of the disci-ples’ feet, the institution of the Holy Eucharist, the Prayer of Christ at the Last Supper as recorded in the Gospel of John, and the betrayal.” Some parishes will not celebrate this service, and replace it with the Sacrament of Holy Unction.

HOLY THURSDAY In the morning, the Vesper-

al Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is celebrated. At this Divine Liturgy, the Church commemorates the institution of the Holy Eucharist by the Lord at His Last Supper with His disciples. Here, Christ presented bread and wine as His body and blood, which form the core of the new cov-enant between God and His people, the Church.

In the evening, in the Or-thros of Holy Friday, the Church recalls the Passion of the Lord, from His betrayal by Judas Iscariot, His agony and arrest at Gethsemane. His trial by Jewish religious lead-ers and Ro¬man authorities, His beatings and mocking, and crucifixion and death on the Cross. This service is long, with twelve readings from the Gospels re¬counting the events, but its content is dra-matic and moving.

After the reading of the fifth Gospel comes the pro-cession with the icon of the Crucified Christ around the church.

HOLY OR “GOOD” FRIDAY In the morning, the four

“Royal Hours” are read. These services consist of hymns, psalms, and read-ings from the Old and New Testaments, all related prophetically and ethically to the Person of Christ.

H  W  

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Saturday of Lazarus Palm Sunday Holy Wednesday Holy Thursday

Holy Friday The Lamentations Holy Saturday Agape Vespers

Usually in mid-afternoon, Great Vespers is chanted. During this service, we hear the story of the Crucifixion, but with attention paid to the death of Christ, the work of Joseph of Arimathea to se-cure the body of Christ from Pilate, His re¬moval from the cross, and His burial.

At one point in the reading, the Body of Christ is removed the cross, wrapped in a white cloth and is brought into the sanctuary. Following the read-ing, the priest carries the icon of the Epitaphi¬os through the church and places it in the Sephul¬chre (the kou-vouklion), which has been decorated with flowers.

GOOD FRIDAY EVENING THE LAMENTATIONS On Holy Friday evening, we

sing the Orthros of Holy Satur-day, consisting of psalms, hymns and readings, dealing with the death of Christ. Dur-

ing the Orthros, the congrega-tion will join in chanting the Lamentations, hymns of praise to the Lord and relat-ing His ultimate triumph over death. During this service the Epitaphios icon is carried in pro¬cession around the church. In some parishes the entire flower-bedecked Sepul-cher, symbolizing the Tomb, is carried in the procession.

GREAT HOLY SATURDAY MORNING On Holy Saturday morning,

the Vesperal Divine Liturgy is celebrated. In this Liturgy, the Resurrection of Christ is cele-brated and the triumph over death is proclaimed in the hymns and the readings from the Old and New Testament. There is a strong theme of baptism in this liturgy, be-cause in the ancient Church, the catechumens would be baptized in this evening vigil of Pascha.

At midnight Saturday, the life-giving Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is celebrated. Be-fore mid-night, the Odes of Lamenta-tion of the previ¬ous day are repeated. The Orthros of the Resurrection begins in com-plete darkness. The priest takes light from the vigil light and gives it to the faithful, who are holding candles. The priest sings, “Come, receive light from the unwaning light, and glorify Christ, who arose from the dead.” Just a short while later, the priest reads the resurrection story from the Gospel of Mark (16:1-8) and leads the congregation in singing the Resurrection Hymn, Christ is risen from the dead, trampling death by death, and to those in the tombs bestowing life.” Follow-ing, the Orthros service con-tinues and leads into the cel-ebration of the Divine Liturgy.

THE AGAPE VESPERS At some point on Sunday

afternoon the faithful gather once more for Great Vespers, With lighted can-dles they sing, “Christ is risen. ” The people greet one another with the salutation, “Christ is Risen”, which is answered, “Truly He is Risen”. In the Great Vespers, the Gospel according to John (20:19-25) is read in various languages, proclaiming the Good News of Resurrection all over the uni-verse without discrimination. The fruit of faith in the Resur-rection of the Lord is love in His Name; therefore, this day is called “Sunday of Agape.”

For the next forty days, the Orthodox Church commemo-rates the Resurrection of Christ.

Published by Faith and Live of Greek Orthodox Arch-diocese of America—www.faith.goarch.org

Page 8 The Cross+Roads

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The Cross+Roads Page 9

GREEK PASTRY BAKE SALE

Thursday, April 18th, 2019 10:00 AM - 12:00 Noon

HELLENIC COMMUNITY CENTER

60 Traverse Road, Newport News, VA 23606

All orders must be placed by April 10st Please call: (757) 596-6909

BAKLAVA $2.50/piece or $27/dozen FINIKIA $1/piece or $12/dozen KOURABIEDES $1/piece or $12/dozen KOULOURAKIA $.75/piece or $9/dozen VARIETY PACK $10.00

Sponsored by: Hellenic Woman’s Penelope Society

Benefit of the Father Peter and Gregory Makris Scholarship

G  S   I  D  P  

P  C  M —F  18,  2019 

The Cross+Roads Page 10

I: Call to Order & Opening Prayer:

Present: Father George Chioros, Frank Peri, John Der-manis, Zena Mageras, Kent Paumier, Robert Demson, Greg Bicouvaris, Elias Doulgerakis, Bobby Garofalis, Michael Koko-relis, Gary Nicholls

Absent: Anastasia Theodorogi-annis

Guests: Nick Vrettos, Vi Allen and Howard Mandeville

The meeting convened at 18:33 with an opening prayer by Father George. The following items were discussed:

II: Minutes: Mageras made motion to ap-

prove the meeting minutes of the 28 Jan 19 meeting; seconded by Bicouvaris, passed unanimously.

III: Correspondence: Thank You Letter from Virginia

Peninsula Foodbank, DTD 4 Feb 19, D.P. Tighe, Director of Devel-opment, for our food donation of 119 pounds of food.

Thank You Letter from the Ronald McDonald House New York, Greek Division, DTD 4 Feb 19, R.C. Browne President & CEO and S. Katechis Administrator Greek Division, for our $100.00 donation on 27 Dec 18.

IV: Treasurer’s Report: By Robert Demson attached with minutes

V: Visitor’s Comments: Nick Vrettos addressed the

Parish Council on the lack of at-tendance and the decline partici-pation of children and adults

Of the 500,000 Greek Ortho-dox adherents, only 22% attend weekly services. Funerals are outpacing baptisms and wed-dings and 80% of Greek Orthodox weddings are mixed with non-Orthodox.

We have declining participa-tion of children and adults. This has been FINALLY acknowledged and featured in the first of a three-part article in the Orthodox Ob-server. Acknowledged in the arti-cle and confirmed by Fr. Barna-bas Powell who estimates that 90% of the youth do not return to the faith.

Declines in participation even-tually will affect our festival upon which 50% of our budget is de-

pendent. A brief look at our finan-cial statements indicates that an annual deficit of 20M is sustaina-ble for about 17 years if things stay the same. That is unlikely with current trends. Even if we enjoyed a windfall that would sustain us in perpetuity, the wor-ship of the Lord and the sharing of Christ's message to a small population is inconsistent with the mission of the Saints and the faithful.

Nick recommended reviewing and updating out Strategic Plan which summarizes our view of the future and binds into a cohe-sive unit the ever changing Parish Council membership due to roll over every two years. Our particu-lar Strategic Plan which served us in the past is loosely and vaguely written and wrapped around our customary way of doing business. The Strategic Plan covers the entire makeup of our church, i.e. pastoral, mission, ministries, programs (both youth and adult). Few of the items in our Strategic Plan have goals or target dates and thus provide no bench mark or accountability. It no longer reflects many of the rich and helpful ideas in retention, recov-ery and growth that I have found through my research on these topics.

Nick asked the Council to con-sider appointing a representative to establish and Chair a Strategic Plan rewrite committee to include select members from the commu-nity. They can better tell us what they need and want to see for our church's future, and the commit-tee would provide an ideal venue to discuss improvements to our methods. I would be pleased to volunteer for this committee and would be delighted to work with John Dermanis who has demon-strated to me a love for his faith and for our church. Demson com-mented that Diane Sun is plan-ning to recruit potential parishion-ers during the festival tours.

Via Allen presented the pro-posed desk and chair replace-ment for Sunday School and Greek School classrooms. Esti-mated cost is approximately $3,700.00. To date $3,000.00 has been raised by donations.

Prior to making any purchases get a copy of our tax-exempt form. Also discussed removing/replacing the carpeting and fresh-ening up the classrooms.

VI: Committee Reports: Youth Ministry – Mariam Ca-

navos via Email DTD 17 Feb 19. Last Sunday a CNU student,

Julia Allen attended church with me. She is interested in being a counselor at Camp Good Shep-herd and being more active in our community.

OCF/Young Adult Retreat Feb-ruary 8th-9th

With Fr. Barnabas Powell went very well. I heard a lot of positive feedback from the Young Adults that attended.

JOY/HOPE Movie Night Febru-ary 23rd

GOYA Retreat March 15-17 Annual GOYA Spaghetti lunch

March 24th Oratorical Festival April 13th -

Nick Vrettos has agreed to help prep the kids on the topic and their presentations.

Dr. Bobby has agreed to do-nate along with Russian School to help the teens get a new Basket-ball goal. We are in the process of getting that and setting a date for an in-house one-day basketball retreat.

Teaching liturgy Lazarus Satur-day April 20th

VBS June 25th-29th Camp Good Shepherd July 7th-

13th Personnel – Dr. Stavroula

Gailey Rebecca Pietronuto has ac-

cepted the office managers posi-tion effective 11 Feb 19. Her scheduled work days tentatively are Monday, Tuesday & Thursday.

House Committee – Barbara France

Bible & Retired Shipyard breakfast continuing as usual. Attendance at both breakfasts has been getting back to normal, as the weather has been better.

Two outside rentals since last meeting, Chili Cook off by Mon-tessori school and Quinceniera fashion show. Both events went very well. Both organizers are seriously considering doing an-nual rentals in our hall. The or-ganizer of the fashion show re-

ferred one of her clients to our hall for a party rental on July 28th.

First rental of 2019 – Parish-ioner Wedding, July 13th

Upcoming Events: February 24 – HWPS Dinner March 1 – Boys & Girls Club,

Steak & Burger Night March 10 – Irish Dancers –

event cancelled March 16 – Ducks Unlimited Cappuccino machine replace-

ment door hinges are $65.00 each. The wall has been repaired and needs to be painted.

Festival Committee – Frank Peri

Festival Date: 30 May – 2 June 2019. Preparations have begun.

Maintenance Committee – Howard Mandeville and Elias Doulgerakis

Obtaining estimates for refin-ishing the church front doors. The leaks in the canopy and cracks in the superstructure arches. K Plus Caulking to look at. Peri – our focus in on the front of the church.

Mud Hole in front of dump-sters behind the hall. Luck Stone has junk stone mix for $270.00 for a one-ton load. Will need a tractor/bobcat to spread it. Paumier to check with Randy Pingley on availably of tractor.

Parking Lot – RCI tentative date to repair, seal and line paint-ing of parking lot is last week of July thru last week of August

Doulgerakis went over the repairs performed on the church buildings over the years. Peri – Elias to focus on the repair to the refrigeration platform over the hall back door and the Hall cano-py.

Stewardship Ministry – FR. George:

As of 01/31/2019 Stewardship (Fund 1) $18,861.00 Stewardship Other (Fund 2) $2,360.05 Stewardship Other (1 & 2) $21,221.05 Total (Fund 3) $24,973.51 Total (Funds l, 2 & 3) 46,194.56 Families Pledged—104

(Continued on page 11)

Page 11 The Cross+Roads

1 Monday 6:00 pm Compline 6:30 pm Philoptochos

3 Wednesday 6:00 pm Presanctified Liturgy 6:00 pm Basketball/GOYA Hangout 7:00 pm Adult Education Lenten Series 7:15 pm Choir

5 Friday Fourth Salutations 5:30 pm Soup Supper in Sacalis Hall 7:00 pm Fourth Salutations 7 Sunday Sunday of Saint John Climacus 8:45 am Orthros 10:00 am Divine Liturgy 40 Day Memorial for Ageliki Kar-atsikis 59 Year Memorial for Constan-tine Karatsikis

10 Wednesday 6:00 pm Presanctified Liturgy 6:00 pm Basketball/GOYA Hangout 7:00 pm Adult Education Lenten Series 7:15 pm Choir

12 Friday Akathist Hymn 5:30 pm Soup Supper in Sacalis Hall 7:00 pm Akathist Hymn

14 Sunday Sunday of Saint Mary of Egypt Godparent Sunday 8:45 am Orthros 10:00 am Divine Liturgy 3 Year Memorial for Angelo Mageras 25 Year Trisagion for Konstanti-nos Garofalis

15 Monday 6:00 pm Compline 7:00 pm Parish Council

17 Wednesday 6:00 pm Presanctified Liturgy 6:00 pm Basketball/GOYA Hangout 7:00 pm Adult Education Lenten Series 7:15 pm Choir

20 Saturday Lazarus Saturday Teaching Liturgy 8:30 am Orthros 9:30 am Divine Liturgy Breakfast & Folding of Palms

21 Sunday Palm Sunday 8:45 am Orthros 10:00 am Divine Liturgy Philoptochos Palm Sunday Luncheon 7:00 pm First Nymfios Service 22 Holy Monday 10:00 am Presanctified Liturgy 7:00 pm Second Nymfios Service

23 Holy Tuesday 10:00 am Presanctified Liturgy 7:00 pm Third Nymfios Service 24 Holy Wednesday 10:00 am Presanctified Liturgy 7:00 pm Holy Unction

25 Holy Thursday 7:00 am Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil 7:00 pm Holy Passions, Twelve Gospels, Procession of Holy Cross

26 Holy Friday 9:00 am The Royal Hours 3:00 pm Vespers of the Unnailing from the Holy Cross & Burial of our Lord 7:00 pm The Lamentation and Solemn Procession of the Epita-fio

27 Holy Saturday 8:00 am Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil 11:00 pm The Resurrection and Holy Pascha (Easter)

28 Great and Holy Pascha 11:00 am Vespers of Love (Agape)

29 Monday Feastday of St. George 9:00 am Orthros 10:00 am Divine Liturgy

Stewardship Commitment $117,529.00 Average Family Pledged $1,130.09 VII: Priest’s Report – Fa-

ther George MORE – Metropolis Opioid

Response Effort an awareness program and informational video about opioid abuse at the 2018 Metropolis Clergy Laity confer-ence

25 Feb – Parish Assembly after church. We need 50 parish-ioners for a quorum.

Check out the new and im-proved website. Thanks to the diocese, Brian Killough and Frank Peri for their help in imple-menting the new website.

11 Mar – Lent begins, Father went over the schedule

2, 9 & 16 Mar – Saturday od Souls

2 Mar – HWPS Big Band Dance

6 Mar – Radio interview with Greg Bicouvaris

9 Mar – AHEPA Casino Night 10 Mar – Philoptochos Mem-

bership Coffee Hour 17 Mar – Sunday of Ortho-

doxy. 6:30 pm Pan Orthodox Vespers at St. Basil Hampton

30 Mar – St. Basil Hampton Retreat 10AM-4PM. Father is participating in the retreat.

13 Apr – Oratorical Festival VIII: Unfinished Business: Surviving and Armed Encoun-

ter Training – Peri Repair of fence at property

border – Parts on order from New Leaf. Estimated completion date 3-4 weeks.

VIII: New Business: General Assembly meeting

preparation. Peri, Demson, Fa-ther & Mariam will be reporting.

Maintenance Priorities – Peri to work prior to General Assem-bly

IX: Adjournment: Fr. George offered the closing

prayer at 20:00. Next PC meeting will be 18 Mar 19 at 1900.

X: Certification: Respectfully Submitted Kent M. Paumier Secretary

(Continued from page 10)

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

April 2019

Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID Permit No. 50 Newport News

Virginia

C  W    G    G  Sunday Services 8:45 a.m. Matins 10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy 11:30 a.m. Religious Education (Sep-May) 12:00 a.m. Christian Fellowship (Hellenic Center)

Mission Statement The mission of Saints Constantine & Helen

Greek Orthodox Church in Newport News, Virginia is to keep, practice, and proclaim the Orthodox Christian Faith. The work and ministry of our Parish will include proclaiming the Gospel, sanctifying the faithful through God's grace in worship, the Divine Liturgy and the Sacraments, and enhancing their spiritual life. We will fulfill the great commission of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by inviting others into the Church through Baptism and/or Chrisma-tion, educating them in the Orthodox Faith through the establishment of programs, schools and phil-anthropic activities, and implementing Christian ministries.

Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church 60 Traverse Road Newport News VA 23606

Return Address Requested

www.schgochurch.va.goarch.org

Phone (757) 596-6151 Fax (757) 596-2967

G o o d R e s u r e c t i o n Κ α λ ή Α ν ά σ τ α σ η