Good Afternoon, to You, the Parish
The Greek Orthodox Church of St. Demetrios!
The 7th Sunday of Pascha
Fathers of the 1st Ecumenical Council
Sunday of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod
by Sergei V. Bulgakov
The heresy of Arius was one of the most destructive heresies. It concerned the teaching about the divinity of the Son of God, i.e. that main doctrine of Christianity, on which all our faith and the whole Church of Christ is founded, which makes it the unique basis for all hope of our salvation. If the Arian heresy, rejecting the divinity of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, then exasperated the whole Church and carried away with itself a great many pastors and shepherds; if this heresy had overcome the true teaching of the Church and was made dominant; then for a long time Christianity itself would no longer exist and the whole world would be plunged into its former darkness of unbelief and superstitions. The Holy Fathers at the First Ecumenical Council laid down the Orthodox teaching, having established it universally. And the Holy Church, after a comfortable time, glorifies these same Holy Fathers of Nicaea on the Sunday after the Ascension because the most glorious Ascension of the Lord serves as clear proof of the inseparable connection of the two natures in Jesus Christ, the divine and the human.
Commemorating the efforts of the Holy Fathers of the Nicaea Council, the Holy Church glorifies them because they, "gathered all pastoral art and righteous ascetic passion, avenging the difficult rotten and pernicious wolves, with the sling of the spirit casting them out from church performance", "preaching peace, with the peace most of the world was united", and "all the gathered spiritual art and through the Divine Spirit immediately seeing the heavenly and honorable symbol of faith divinely written sketched out", i.e. as St. Demetrius of Rostov says, "a true canon of the Christian faith". According to the manual of this hierarch, firmly containing the canon of (Mt. 10:12). With a loud voice we should most sweetly glorify the name of Christ, before whom every heavenly, earthly, infernal worldly knee bends, but the Lord will glorify us with heavenly glory for He says: "I will glorify those who glorify me". Continuously we should hymn Him as the true God, and He will bless us in this contemporary life with the fulfillment of His grace, and for the praise of our mouths He will satisfy our flesh and souls with the glory of eternal life in His kingdom of heaven where He in unapproachable glory reigns with the Unoriginate Father, the Coeternal and Life-Creating Spirit to ages of ages without end.
The Message of the Gospel for the 7th Sunday of Pascha
by St. Nikolai Velimirovich
"
Holy Father, keep them in Thy Name which Thou hast given Me,
that they may be one, even as We are" (Jn. 17:11)
Christ's prayer is not only for the apostles - although it is firstly for them - but is also for all those who have and will come to faith in Christ through their word. This prayer, then, was also for the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod, that we commemorate today. "Keep them!" - the Lord prayed to His Father. And the Father kept them from the errors of Arius, and inspired, illumined and strengthened them by the Holy Spirit to defend and confirm the Orthodox faith. This prayer is for all of us who are baptized in the apostolic Church and who have from the apostles and their successors, come to know the saving name of Christ the Savior.
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The Significance of the Saturday of Souls Before Pentecost
Saturday, June 6th
On the Saturday before the Feast of Pentecost, we remember all pious and Orthodox Christians who have fallen asleep in the Lord, and also recall the dread Day of Judgment. May Christ our God be merciful to them, and to us.
All of the above information of obtained from Mystagogy, the weblog of John Sanidopoulos
If you would like to submit names of loved ones fallen asleep you have 3 opportunities to get them to the Church Office by next Saturday:
1. Send through regular mail.
3. Click on the enclosed
form , type in your names and click on submit.
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Click on the following feasts to learn more about them:
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Epistle Reading (5/31/2020): Acts of the Apostles 20:16-18, 28-36
Gospel Reading (5/31/2020): The Gospel According to
John 17:1-13
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St. Demetrios Parish
Information & Updates
This Week at St. Demetrios...
Sunday, May 31st
7th Sunday of Pascha-Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council
Orthros, 8 a.m. & Divine Liturgy, 9:30a.m.
Saturday, June 6th
Saturday of Souls Before the Feast of Pentecost (Sunday, June 7th)
Orthros, 8a.m. & Divine Liturgy, 9a.m.
The services will be LIVE-STREAMED on our:
1. Our Church
Website (Live-Stream Feed)
We encourage everyone to stay home, healthy & safe!
If you are in need of anything from our parish during this time, please do not hesitate to contact the Church Office at 630.834.7010.
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Do Not Forget to Send In The Names of Your 2020 Graduates!
Even though we cannot be together to celebrate your graduations, united in the love of Christ
we wish to honor you.
As in the tradition of The Greek Orthodox Church of
St. Demetrios we are going to publish our program book that will include our graduates from PCA Kindergarten & 5th Grade;
PGS & PSGS Kindergarten;
PGS & PSGS 6th Grade.
***If you have graduates from
8th Grade; High School; College, University & Beyond, please submit their official names, school and grade of the graduates to the
Church Office (630.834.7010)
by Wednesday, June 10th.
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Please don't forget to visit our Church's Website where you can find all our updated information - from service schedules, live-stream links, Metropolis news, social media links and more...
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Parish Registry as of May 31st:
Baptisms 10 Chrismations 1
Weddings 1 Funerals 18
Shut-Ins 16 Hospital & Home Visitations 392
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2020 Stewardship
The Greek Orthodox Church of St. Demetrios
Stewardship as of
Friday, May 29
th -
372
Stewards
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Welcome to the NEW Orthodox Observer.
Based completely online, the new Orthodox Observer intentionally provides significant multimedia content about the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America in order to inform and inspire our faithful.
In 1934, Archbishop Athenagoras established the Orthodox Observer as the main news source for information pertaining to the Archdiocese. Its first iteration was a magazine, sent to the homes of the members of the still-new Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Over the years, the publication evolved several times in order to meet the needs of the faithful and the growing Archdiocese and to stay current within our ever-changing world. In 1971, the Orthodox Observer became the newspaper that became synonymous with the Archdiocese itself.
In early 2020, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros envisioned the next iteration of the Orthodox Observer: a content network that would both allow the faithful to easily engage with the Archdiocese and to efficiently receive important news and exciting updates from the Archdiocese and her Ministries. This modern multimedia approach would utilize technology and the internet to reach our faithful more consistently and on a broader scale than ever before.
Now, almost 100 years after the first magazine was mailed to homes of the faithful across America, the Orthodox Observer once again has transformed to meet the standards of how the world consumes news. Based online at
www.goarch.org/news
, the Orthodox Observer will feature regular postings across its website and social media accounts combined with a weekly email bulletin.
The new Orthodox Observer places the Church in the context of the current world we live in through a diverse and informative experience - offering participants a meaningful connection with the Archdiocese and its many ministries and affiliates.
Welcome to the next chapter.
Connect with the Orthodox Observer:
Instagram: @Orthodoxobserver
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Y
ou
may NOW register ONLINE!
It is very simple!
Just fill out the online application &
make your deposit via paypal!
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Food For Thought: The Secret of Living
Make each day a magnificent adventure.
Accept the challenges that come your way.
Seize each opportunity that you find,
without concern for what others might say.
Experience each day with open arms,
savoring both victory and strife,
welcoming the good and bad together,
for only then will you know the joy of life.
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Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago
Communications & Events
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Hello, Fanari Campers...
We are excited to announce our "Together in Spirit" virtual
summer program for campers!
When
: Begins June 7.
What: Virtual events include: song night, bonfires, virtual games, & more
Event Details
June 7, 2020 - August 7, 2020
Fanari Camp Facebook, Instagram, and Zoom accounts
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Effective Christian Ministry
Steve Christoforou
Christ is Ascended!
We've all been concerned about health these past few months.
We've all learned about how to properly wash our hands and wear facemasks in public.
But health is about a lot more than just not getting sick.
Health is about a lot more than just our bodies. And, for many, those other aspects of our lives have been neglected...
A lot of people (especially young people) have been struggling to follow a prayer rule. A lot of people (especially young people) have been struggling with difficult emotions:loneliness, anger, sadness.... And it's our job to help them be healthy Christians.
We need to help them stay healthy during this difficult time. Physically, of course. But also mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as well.
We've created three resources to help you and the young people in your life:
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How to be a Healthy Human: another episode sharing 4 simple keys to help you fully understand what it means to be a healthy person
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Healthy Human Journal: a free PDF where you can take what you've learned and develop an easy-to-follow plan to take your next step towards being a healthy human
You know how we take sick days when we're not feeling well? What if we all took a health day? A day to share how we're doing with friends and family. A day to work together on how we can take our next faithful (and healthy) step. The "Healthy Human" Journal gives you step-by-step questions and prompts to do exactly that.
God bless and keep you healthy: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Peace, Steve
(Director, Youth & Young Adult Ministries, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America)
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A Partnership With Those Who Have Lost Their
Jobs
Due to Covid-19
The Metropolis of Chicago is partnering with
Medix
, a national workforce solutions firm, to help displaced workers belonging to the Metropolis find work during the pandemic.
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COVID-19 Resources
(Liturgical Live-Streaming Links, Public Health Notifications & more)
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Though the current times have separated us from family, friends & neighbors, we remain united to each other as members of the Body of Christ.
As Orthodox Christians, there are few greater truths present in our faith.
In this spirit, the Metropolis of Chicago will share with the faithful sermonettes, prayers, reflection or stories from the clergy members and others of the Metropolis on a daily basis.
Please visit this webpage every day and share the pastoral messages with your family, friends and neighbors. The Metropolis asks the faithful for their continued prayers for our first responders, doctors, nurses and for the people under their care.
Your Church Office of
The Greek Orthodox Church of St. Demetrios Elmhurst, IL.
630.834.7010
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