THE SPYRIDON VOICE NOVEMBER 2013

Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church PO Box 427 Newport, RI 02840 tel: (401) 846-0555, fax: (401) 841-0960 www.stspyridonchurch.org

PAGE 2 THE SAINT SPYRIDON VOICE S AINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH www.stspyridonchurch.org Reverend Dr. George E. Economou [email protected]

Office Hours Priest: Tuesday & Thursday, 10 a.m. —1 p.m. ; For emergencies, call (401) 474-7700 (cell) Church secretary, Ellen Anagnostos: Tuesday & Thursday, 9 a.m.—1 p.m.

Parish Council President: Zoe Adamedes Eleni Anagnostopoulos Chanters: George Spiratos Loula Eliopoulos Basile Panoutsopoulos Thanasi Stefanopoulos Choir Director: Paul Cotsoridis Basile Panoutsopoulos Organist: Jane Iandolo VOICE: Aliki Cooper ([email protected]) Religious Education: Marianne Menas Stewardship: Dr. James Rozes Affiliated Organizations Philoptochos President: Zinovia Canale AHEPA President: Michael Sisak Acolytes: Theodore Panoutsopoulos Daughters of Penelope President: GOYA President: Missy Mellekas Penelope Hiotas JOY Advisor: Sandy Giannopoulos Island of Skiathos Organization: Soup Kitchen: Sofi Cofield, Rose Apostal, Christina Logothets Penny Hiotas and Jane Iandolo Greek School:

SERVICE TIMES Sunday Winter Hours Orthros 9 a.m. Divine Liturgy 10 a.m.

Weekday Festal Celebrations: Vespers—7 p.m.* Orthros—9 a.m. Divine Liturgy—10 a.m. * Note: Holy Confession is available by appointment.

The Saint Spyridon Voice is a monthly publication of St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church, 390 Thames St., Newport, RI 02840

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FROM THE PASTOR’ S DESK

Let us Give Thanks Unto the Lord

Lord, I lift up my soul above the din and clamor of vanity on this Thanksgiving day; open my eyes, clarify my mind and motivate my spirit that I may recall my many blessings over the journey that I have traveled. Then, Surely, with a smile on my face, gratitude in my heart, sincerity in my thoughts and restful peace in my soul, I will thank Thee: FOR daily sustenance; the ability to walk into my home as a provider and to merit that rewarding look of a nourished child’s face. FOR shelter that transforms the fearful thud of falling rain into a lullaby. FOR raiment that changes the frosty bite of winter into the caressing touch of comfort. FOR health that transforms painful agonies into hopeful pursuits. FOR faith and guidance which, like a candle, has led me out of the dark labyrinths of my transgressions into illuminated highways of Christian purposes. FOR peace of mind by day and restful sleep by night through the deliverance from my many sins. FOR banishing fear from my heart and preventing from happening the things that I came to dread. FOR lifting me with Thy Hand from the edge of the abyss of despair, and shining in my way the light of hope. FOR the church of my fathers; those who founded her, maintained her, enlarged her, beautified her, and enriched her, with their labors. FOR the country of my ancestry and the heritage she has bequeathed to me, which has worth and dignity. FOR this, my country, that fearlessly champions every God given right and every moral and humane cause; where the will of the people reigns supreme; where, even if the President dies, the Presidency never does. Where tragedy is succeeded by greatness, despair by decision, complacency by rededication. Where every man can make his contribution in freedom. FOR friends near and far who individually and collectively, personally, and nationally help me smile in my adversity, temper my disaster with their sympathy, warm my heart with their embrace. Grant that memories of sorrows consoled, catastrophes averted, joys experienced, and tears shed become no mere incidents on an aimless course, but permanent landmarks of Thy Exceeding Grace, on our way, in Jesus Christ our Lord. FOR all these, Lord, I thank thee!

PAGE 4 THE SAINT SPYRIDON VOICE I N OUR PARISH Wedding Gregory F. Brown and Sara L. Halsall were married on October 13, 2013. Gregory's brother Kevin was the Koumbaro. Congratulations to the Brown and Halsall families.

Anniversary Congratulations to Tina and Frank Fowler who celebrated their 50th anniversary on October 6, 2013. We wish them many, many more years!

Death On October 16, Michael Sisak., father of parishioner Michael Sisak, fell asleep in the Lord in Pennsylvania. In addition to his son Michael, Mr. Sisak survived by his daughter Nancy and granddaughter Natalie. Our sincere condolences to Michael and his family. May his memory be eternal.

S OUP KITCHEN NEWS Dear Friends, Please call or email Sofi Cofield to sign up to help at this month's soup kitchen—this month it is on Monday, November 11th— (401 847 8593 / [email protected] ) Thank you for your help in our Ministry, St. Spyridon Soup Kitchen Team Rose Apostal, Sofi Cofield , Penny Hiotas, and Jane Iandolo

100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF OUR PARISH In September 2015, our Parish will be celebrating its 100th anniversary. Although it may be a bit early, we'd like to get started with the planning as soon as possible. If you are interested in helping with the planning of the various celebratory activities to honor this anniversary, please contact the church office or send an email to [email protected]. An organizational meeting will most likely be scheduled for after the New Year.

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CHURCH CHRISTMAS CARD We will again be printing a Community Christmas Card as a small fundraiser for our parish. The cost to have your name printed in the card will be $15 per line. Please use the form below and send it to the Church office as soon as possible. The deadline is December 1st. We would appreciate any extra donations toward the poinsettias that we use to decorate the church for the Christmas season. Thank you for your generosity.

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COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS CARD DONATION NAME (please print) ______Amount $______Telephone number ______

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COFFEE THANK YOU A big thank you to all who have donated coffee for our coffee hours. It is much appreciated and we now have enough coffee to, hopefully, last through the first of the year!

DOXA CONFERENCE - NOVEMBER 16, 2013 DOXA, the Religious Education Association of the Metropolis of Boston, hosts a confer- ence each fall and spring. The topic of this fall's seminar is "Energizing the Teacher". The conference is for catechetical teachers and all interested adults.

Please see the flyers on the information table in the Church hall.

HOLIDAY BAZAAR St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox church in Pawtucket will hold their Holiday Bazaar on November 8, 9 and 10, 2013 featuring Middle Eastern food and pastries. The church is located at 249 High Street Pawtucket. Phone 401.726.1202 for more information.

PAGE 6 THE SAINT SPYRIDON VOICE WHAT IS THE CHURCH? (A brief summary by Fr. Philip Symaris, Professor of Liturgics at Holy Cross School of , based on material from the book written by theologian Alexander Katsiaras, "What is the Church?")

We have celebrated together in the great feasts of Christmas, Theophany, and Pascha. In June, we completed the cycle of major feasts of the year in our celebrations of Ascension and Pentecost. In these feasts, we experienced liturgically the whole story of salvation as God has designed it for us. So we started with the birth of Christ (Christmas) and ended up with Pentecost which is the birth of the Church! Now that we have celebrated the reality of the Church it is a good time to ask: What exactly is the Church? The appearance of the Church as we know it of course, as we mentioned, occurred at the first Pentecost as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. But the truth of the matter is that, according to the theology of our Church, the Church existed before this time also. It turns out that according to the Fathers of the Church, the Church existed even before the Incarnation, that is to say, even before the birth of Christ at Christmas. What kind of Church do they mean here? Let us first look at the word Church "Ekklisia" etymologically. This is a compound word consisting of the preposition "ek" and the verb "kalo" (ek & kalo) which means, I invite, I call together, I gather together. Indeed, in the ancient Greek world the word "Ekklisia" referred to the gathering of all the people. In the New Testament the word Church is referred to in Acts 19:32, 39 and in St. Paul's First letter to the Corinthians 11:18. Here the word Church refers to the faithful, to the community of believers who responded to the calling of Christ, who see this calling of Christ as their whole reason for being as the whole reason for everything that has ever been created and existed. "The word Church was used to express this new glorious reality" (Florovsky, The Body of Christ). The truth is that, although we have these references to the Church in the New Testament and in many other places in the writings of the Fathers of the Church, we never have a full definition of what the Church actually is in the classical sense of a definition. Neither in Scripture nor in the Ecumenical councils do we find a specific definition besides the reference in the Symbol of Faith: “I believe in One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.” This is not due to any sort of literary weakness or inability of the Fathers of the Church, rather this is due to the sense that the Church is not an object, a thing or an idea or ideology that one can easily define. A great theologian, Florovsky, said that the issue of a definition was never broached because “we have no need to define that which is totally clear by nature. The Church is rather a reality that we experience rather than a ‘thing’ which we can analyze or study … this way of looking at faith has unfortunately faded away in later

NOVEMBER 2013 PAGE 7 times. Only then in these later times do we see the need arising for specific clear definitions.” These begin to appear after the Western movements of Scholasticism, Rationalism and the Counter-Reformation. All of what we have said above brings us to the following conclusion: the Church is a mystery. We can only approach mysteries with our faith and our life. Thus, the Church is something that is experienced and lived out, it can never be fully explained or defined. As we call down to the Holy Spirit at Pentecost each year, let us live this mystery of the Church all throughout the year and let us cherish it in our everyday life.

CHILDREN’ S CORNER The Entry of the Virgin Mary into the Temple by Emilee Sullivan

Remembered and celebrated on November 21st. Joachim and Anna, praying for an end to their childlessness, promised that if a child were born they would dedicate it to the service of God. When the Virgin Mary reached the age of 3, the holy parents decided to fulfill their promise.

They gathered together their relatives and acquaintances and dressed the Virgin Mary in Her finest clothes. Singing sacred songs and with lighted candles in their hands, virgins escorted Her to the Temple. In the Temple, 15 high steps led to the sanctuary, which only the priests and the High Priest could enter. Mary, so it seemed, couldn’t make it up this stairway. But just as they placed Her on the first step, strengthened by the power of God, She wuickly went up the remaining steps and ascended to the highest one.

The High Priest saw the divine grace which Mary had. The High Priest led the Virgin Mary into the Holy of Holies. After entrusting their child to God, Joachim and Anna returned home, and the Virgin Mary remained in the quarters for virgins near the Temple. We do not have many details of Her life in the Temple.

I think that it is amazing that this little girl at such a young age dedicated Her life to the service of God.

PAGE 8 THE SAINT SPYRIDON VOICE STEWARDSHIP Most of us have been presented with the Christian concept of giving known as Stewardship. We probably know the following facts about it:

• That God wants us to give proportionately of our income to the Church. • God wants us to give cheerfully. • God does not want us to draw attention to ourselves through our giving. • God wants us to lay aside daily a sum of money to give to the Church. • Stewardship is a giving of our time, talents and finances to God.

These truths about Stewardship, even though they come right from scripture, are often offensive or seem to bother us.

The gospel reading about the “poor” widow and her giving is one of the very clear and yet very difficult sections of scripture to accept. Jesus is watching as people are making their contributions; many rich people put in large sums. Then a poor widow comes along and puts in a small amount. Jesus then calls the disciples and says to them, “Today, I say to you, the poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had…”(Mark 12: 43-44)

The lesson is clear, let us remind ourselves that Jesus could say that the poor widow put in more than the others because he knew that her gift, however small, was given from the heart.

The outward response of her offering was a reflection of the inner disposition of her heart, and in fact her entire being, to God. If then, we have a problem with our giving is not a money problem but a heart problem. If our hearts are not right then our giving, our Stewardship, is not right.

The final measure of our lives is determined by where our hearts are, Jesus said, “…for where your treasure is there will your heart be also”. Our heart can be captured by many things, many attitudes, many thought and many feelings, but unless our heart has been captured by the Lord we have failed in life. St. Chrysostom taught, “Let the Lord capture your heart and your heart the Lord”. For over two thousand years after this event, the gospel story of the “poor woman” has been told and continues to be told to inspire us all, rich and poor, to give from our hearts.

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The bottom line then is that we turn ourselves, our very hearts over to the God, and allow Him to guide us. This is the whole thrust and purpose of our Faith. Without this “turning over” of our hearts to God, all the liturgies, sacraments and sermons are nothing more than mere formalities.

When it is time for us to give, to make our Stewardship commitment for the coming year, we must not forget Jesus’ words in describing the giving of the “poor widow”. We should give it our all as she did to the glory of our Lord.

PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS The St. Spyridon Philoptochos held its first General Meeting on October 23rd with a Wine and Cheese social. During this time the ladies organized their year in order to meet the very many worthwhile charitable endeavors of the Philoptochos. We would like to bring to your attention a turkey and fall basket raffle which we will run in November. We will begin selling tickets on November 3rd and announce the winners on November 24th.We ask for your generous support to fulfill these most important obligations.

Other events we sponsor include the reception following the St. Spyridon Vespers on December 11, a Sunday School ornament making workshop, a reception for our annual Vasilopita, and the sponsoring of one Soup Kitchen. Toward the end of our ecclesiastical new year our major fundraiser- The Big Fat Greek Yard Sale is held. To this end we ask that you begin to save and accumulate items for donation. More specific information will follow.

We would also like to remind the community to please let any of the Board members know of any community member who may be ill so that we may send a breath of sunshine.

We thank all of the wonderful women who attended our social and look forward to working together throughout the year.

PAGE 10 THE SAINT SPYRIDON VOICE Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

I’d like to reflect on a few things which we have tried to do this past year as a parish. As we’ve reported in the various monthly bulletins, there are a lot of repairs necessary to maintain this structure, our home. And as long as we decide to stay here, we must keep things in working order. Additional unforeseen roofing repairs were undertaken this summer and we now believe the leaks are finally stopped. Now that these leaks have been repaired, the work of having the plaster and sheetrock in the church repaired can begin.

The floors of the hall and entrance area were refinished this past winter and the chairs and tables were affixed with stubs to keep them from scratching the floor. We had the kitchen professionally cleaned which made quite a difference (as long as we can keep it clean). At the recent general assembly meeting, the Parish Council sought permission to have the parking lot repaved. We are happy that this expense was approved as this maintenance is long past due and we run the risk of people tripping and hurting themselves all the time. And, as the New Year comes upon us, additional repairs are dutifully waiting their turn to be addressed. These things include such items as painting the outside church windows, repairing the cinderblock damage in the basement, as well as other things.

We started the year with a new Stewardship Chairman, Dr. James Rozes, and we are hoping that as he grows into his new position, he is supported by volunteers to help and with God’s grace, stewardship income will grow to a healthy level; so that any festivals or fundraisers held in the future are done so to fund capital projects only, and NOT to pay our day to day expenses. As of now however, with only 2 months to go, we have only reached 55% of our goal. But there is still time; think about the needs of the church and if you have pledged but feel that you can give more, then do so! Hopefully, we will come a bit closer than before. We need to be in a position where the members of our community (who are capable of course) see that pledging $750 or $1000 to the life of our Church is a necessity just as much as paying our mortgage rent. Many of us pay more than this amount on our cable bills, and to not rank our church first in our heart is wrong.

Our choir has grown to include new members and we thank Nick Gvosdev for his help in leading the choir. As you know, Paul Cotsoridis has taken a leave of absence for health reasons and thus can not lead us in praise every Sunday. But he does what he can and for that we are grateful and hopefully, we will see his return to full health with God’s grace.

NOVEMBER 2013 PAGE 11 Until such time, I would ask that we each remember Uncle Paul in our daily prayers.

It is heartwarming to see our Sunday School grow and grow. I would like to see the children of the Sunday school learn more about the major feasts of the church. But, just as in the secular schools, children cannot learn everything about their faith in a weekly class. They do not learn only from Sunday school, they learn by example and their first church is their home, with an ikonostastion, where children watch their parents pray and thus learn from their example. They learn to fast as they watch their parents fast. And they ask questions!

Our Greek School continues to do good work in instilling in our youngsters an appreciation of and culture. And we look forward to their program next week celebrating Oxi day.

In 2015 we will be celebrating our 100th anniversary of the church’s founding. We will soon be soliciting help and volunteers so that our 100th anniversary will be particularly auspicious.

As I end, I’d like to say a bit about what and why we are here. What is our mission? What is the mission of our Church? Simply put, the mission of our Holy Orthodox church is to lead us all to salvation. That is why this church is still here after nearly 100 years, and why it will continue to live on.

Yes, the names and faces of our church have changed and continue to change. Our church is blessed by new names and faces—new to Orthodoxy through chrismation and baptism, or just new to the area.

As human beings, we have been made in the likeness and image of God. I hope that we can each try to see the face of Christ in each and everyone, those that love us and those who hate us, too. This is the message of the gospels.

Respectfully, Zoe Adamedes Parish Council President

PAGE 12 THE SAINT SPYRIDON VOICE NOVEMBER 2013 Sunday Winter Hours SUN MON TUE WED THU

Fathers Emergency Tel # 401-474-7700

3. 5th Luke 4.Ioannikos the Great 5. Galaktion and 6. Paul the Confessor 7. 33 Martyrs at Episteme of Episteme Melitini. Lazaros Orthros.9:00 a.m. . Office Hours Wonder Div. Lit.10:00 a.m. 7pm, Parish Council worker Sun.SchFellowship Mtg Office Hours

10. 8th Luke. 11.Menas of Egypt 12. John the Merciful of 13.John Chrysostom 14.Philip Apostle Olympas of the 70. Victor & Stephanie Alexandria.Nilus the Damaskinos of Athos Orthros. 9:00 a.m. Orthros: 9:00 a.m. Veterans Day ascetic of Sinai Div.Lit. 10:00 a.m. Div. Lit.10:00 a.m. Office Hours. Sun.SchFellowship Soup kitchen Office Hours.

17. 9th Luke. 18.Plato & Romanus 19. Obadiah Prophet 20. Forefeast of 21.ENTRANCE OF GregoryWonderwrk Barlaam of Caesarea Entrance of Theotokos THEOTOKOS TO Orthros.9:00 a.m. Office Hours Gregory of Decapolis THE TEMPLE Div.Lit.10:00 a.m Orthros. 9:00 a.m. Sun.Sch/Fellowship Div. Lit. 10:00 a.m.

24. 13th Luke. 25.Katherine Gr. Mrtt 26. Alypios of Andria 27. James of Persia 28. Thanksgiving Clement,Pope Mercurios Gr. Mart. Nopolis. Nikon Meta- Day Orthros: 9:00 a.m. No Liturgy Noete. Stylianos of Office closed Div. Lit.10:00 a.m. Paphlagonia Fellowship Office Hours NOVEMBER 2013 PAGE 13

Upcoming Events Sunday Winter Hours: Orthros: 9 a.m. Divine Liturgy: 10 a.m. November 11th—Soup Kitchen

November 12th—Daughters of THU FRI SAT. Penelope dinner meeting with Ahepans, Main Stay 1Cosmas &Damianos 2. Akyndinos & Comp. Theodota, David of Dominica, Domna November 17th—Artoklasia for Evia and Kyriaki Skiathos Society

Regular Events Religious Education—Sundays, 7. 33 Martyrs at 8.Synaxis of 9. St, Nektarios the immediately after Holy Communion Melitini. Lazaros Archangels Michael Wonderworker. (to start September 9th) and Gabriel Children’s Greek School— Office Hours Monday-Thursday, 4-6 p.m. (to start September 9th) 14.Philip Apostle 15.Gurias & Confesrs 16. Mathew Apostle and Orthros. 9:00 a.m. Evangelist. Adult Greek School— Div.Lit. 10:00 a.m. Begins Mondays, 4-6 p.m. Αρχεται η Νηστεία Office Hours. των Χριστουγέννων

ENTRANCE OF 22.Philimon of 70. 23. Amphilochios VISIT YOUR THEOTOKOS TO Cecilia & Comanions of Iconium and Gregory S T S PYRIDON’ S THE TEMPLE Bishop of Agrigentum BOOKSTORE Orthros. 9:00 a.m. Div. Lit. 10:00 a.m. TO FIND THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT! 28. Thanksgiving 29.Paramonus & 350 30. Andrew the First Day Office Hours called of the Apostles Office closed 7:00 p.m. Gr.Vespers Orthros &Div. Lit. at the Of St. Andrew at Metropolis chapel Metropolis,Brookline Brookline. MA PAGE 14 THE SAINT SPYRIDON VOICE HELLENIC FEST 2013 FINANCIAL SUMMARY

Gross Income 51,164.31 Gross Expenses (24,595.31) Net Income 26,569.00

Souvlakia/Gyros 11,539.00 Food 9,349.00 Pastry 3,607.20 Loukoumades 1,482.40 Taverna/Soda/H2O 8,607.00 Cultural Tshirts 614.00 Raffle 14,150.00 Vendors 1,000.00 Small Raffle 230.00 Post fest sales/misc 585.71 TOTAL INCOME 51,164.31

HELLENIC FEST 2013 EXPENSES NOTES ABOUT EXPENSES Licenses (260.00) Food (8,245.56) (1) Raffle winner donated $1500 back to community! Band (2,200.00) (2) Includes tents, tables refrigerator rental Raffle Prizes (1) (3,500.00)

Bank Priming (1,000.00) Advertising (934.80) Logistics (2) (4,633.19) OTHER NOTEWORTHY ITEMS Police/Fire Detail (1,650.00) Security (185.00) • Taverna Beer/Wine once again graciously donated by Peter and Harry Kyriakides Liquor Liability (726.00) • THANK YOU to all the volunteers who contributed Insurance to the success of this festival! Propane (205.00) • Thank you to the Festival Committee for keeping an Workers (100.00) eye on expenses Cultural Bill (547.76) Soda (288.00) Thank you to everyone who I know I forgot to mention! Raffle Ticket Printing (120.00) Mea culpa! TOTAL EXPENSES (24,595.31) NOVEMBER 2013 PAGE 15

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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS Dear Community, Sunday School will be hosting a family through Child and Family Services again this year. Please drop off non perishable food items and/or gift cards to Shaws and/or Stop and Shop to the Sunday School rooms by the 17th of November. Cash cannot be given to Child and Family Services. Last year we were able to make up 2 baskets for 2 families to enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Marianne

G REEK SCHOOL NEWS The 2013-2014 Greek School year has been in full swing for over a month now with about 35 students participating. The students, parents, Fr. George and the Parish Council welcome back our dedicated teachers, Eleni Anagnostopoulos and Loula Eliopoulos. We would also like to welcome long-time parishioner John Mandros who fills in ably as a substitute teacher as needed. John is a certified teacher who was educated in the prominent Greek Schools of New York City and we are thrilled that he is able to share his time and talents with our youth. We wish all the students and their families a successful school year, and we look forward to coming together throughout the year to witness their progress through their presentations to the community. This year we have added a Saturday Exam Preparation class for our older High School age students, who have graduated from the Greek School program, for the purpose of preparing them to take the Exam in Modern Greek offered annually in May in Boston. This will be the first year any of our Greek School students (or any person from our community for that matter) will be taking the exam. Our sister community of Pawtucket had three students pass the exam last year in addition to a number of students from the Cranston community. We look forward to joining them this year with our own students taking the exam.The Saturday Exam Prep class is also open to adults who would like to improve their Greek Language skills and also take the exam. We thank Eleni Anagnostopoulos and Basile Panoutsopoulos for facilitating this Saturday class. May our students have a fulfilling year and learn to the best of their abilities!

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The St. Spyridon Greek School presented a program in honor of Oxi Day on October 27, 2013.

NEWPORT HELLENIC DANCERS The Newport Hellenic Dancers are once again holding their annual holiday pastry sale fundraiser. This is the tenth Annual Fundraiser for the Troupe. As in previous years, homemade pastries will be made available in decorated boxes for sale. The funds we raise are mainly spent to buy new costumes for our expanding group, as well as pay for other needs to support the dancers. The costumes are used by all the children of our community for major celebrations such as Greek Independence Day on the 25th of March, as well as by the Hellenic Dancers for their performances throughout the year, especially at our Annual Festival. We also make these costumes available to students for cultural projects and presentations, when representing the Hellenic heritage in their schools. All costumes are the property of the St. Spyridon Church. The pastries make wonderful holiday gifts. We do take the time to package and decorate, so they are suitable for gift giving. Feel free to call Sandy or Vaggeli (401) 667-2984, email ([email protected]), or sign up at the church. Thank You for Your Support! Please see flyer on the page 15.

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E VENTS OF NOVEMBER Holy Unmercenaries Cosmas & Damian—November 1 There have been three pairs of unmercenaries who have become in Orthodoxy. All three have been physicians, and they have healed without charge and for the glory of god, and for this reason have been called unmercenaries. Coincidentally, they have all been named Cosmas & Damianos. The two who are commemorated today were the first of those three pairs. The second pair is celebrated on July 1, and the third pair on October 17. These two celebrated today were brothers from Asia Minor and were raised as Christians by their mother. The money for their own needs was from their parents' estate. Cosmas once became extremely upset when his brother received three eggs from a patient, even though she has sworn an oath that he would have them. The brother believed that "of the most high comes most healing." God gave them the gift of working by their prayers as well. They both died peacefully. Even then, calling on the saints for intercession has worked miracles. A python had wrapped itself around a worker while he slept, covering his mouth and his stomach. When in desperation he called upon the saints, he was spared.

The Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple—November 21 Since Joachim and Anna, parents of the Theotokos, had been childless for a long time, Anna prayed that she would dedicate her future child to the Temple of God. When the Theotokos was three years old, she was taken in a to the temple. Her parents, relatives, and maidens, all bearing candles, lead the way to the first step of the temple, she ran up the remaining fourteen steps. John the Baptist's father, Zacharias, took her by the hand into the temple, and by divine inspiration also past the second curtain in the Holy of Holies, where only the high priest enters but once a year. Joachim and Anna visited her often until their death. The Theotokos wished to remain a virgin in the temple her entire life. However, the Jewish law would not permit this, nor had this ever been heard of. For this reason, Zacharias chose an elderly relative to whom she was betrothed but not married, to protect her virginity. Her parents were buried at the base of

NOVEMBER 2013 PAGE 19 the Garden of Gethsemane about fifty steps down a cement staircase, and the empty tomb of the Theotokos is again fifty steps below this.

Andrew the First-Called Apostle—November 30 Andrew was at first a disciple of Saint John the Baptist along with Saint John the Theologian. When the Forerunner pointed out Jesus, they both became His disciples. After Pentecost, Andrew taught in Byzantium, Thrace, Russia, Epiros, and Peloponnesos. In Amisos, he converted the Jews in the temple, baptized them, healed their sick, built a church and left a priest for them. In Sinope, he prayed for the imprisoned Apostle Matthias, and his chains fell from him and the cell door opened. The people beat Andrew, breaking his teeth, cutting his fingers, and left him for dead in a dung heap. Jesus appeared to him and healed him, telling him to be of good cheer. When the people saw him the next day, they were amazed and believed. In Patras, Andrew healed the wife of the proconsul Aegeates of an incurable disease. The Proconsul Aegeates' family believed in the miracles and preaching of St. Andrew, and the enraged Proconsul tortured and crucified St. Andrew. St. Andrew did not find himself worthy enough to die in the same manner as Christ, and requested that he be crucified upon an "X-shaped" cross. The new converts wanted to remove him from his cross, but the saint would not allow them. Instead, he comforted them from the cross and as he prayed an extraordinary light encompassed him for about a half hour. When it left, he gave up his soul. It was the year 62 AD.

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THE FATHERS SPEAK ON PHILANTHROPY St. Justin in his First Apology for the Christian faith gives us a second century description of the Sunday Eucharis as a communal action that manifest three equally important and inseparable elements: the proclamation of the Word of God, the celebration of the Eucharist, and the sacrament of the poor brethren.

“And on the day named after the sun, all, whether they live in the city or the countryside, are gathered together in unity. Then the records of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read for as long as there is time. When the reader has concluded, the preside in a discourse admonishes and invites us into the pattern of these good things. Then we all stand together and offer prayer. And, as we said before, when we have concluded our prayer, bread is set out to eat, together with wine and water. The preside likewise, offers up prayer and thanksgiving, as much as he can, and the people sing out their assent saying the amen. There is a distribution of the things over which thanks have been said and each person participates, and these things are sent by the deacons to those who are not present. Those who are prosperous and who desire to do so give what they wish, according to each one’s choice, and the collection is deposited with the preside. He aids orphans and widows, those who are in want through disease or through another cause, those who are in prison, and foreigners who are sojourning here. In short the preside is a guardian of all those who are in need.” NOVEMBER 2013 PAGE 21

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CHRISTMAS CONCERT - DECEMBER 1, 2013 The Christmas Concert is presented in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Sts. Sahag and Mesrob Armenian Church. The concert is December 1, 2013 at 7pm at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Cranston.

The concert features The EREVAN Chorale and Orchestra of the Holy Armenian Church in Cambridge, MA and featured soloists: Narine Ojakhyan a Soprano from New York, Geovanni Formisano a Tenor from MA, and Noune Karapetian a Soprano from MA.

The public is warmly invited to attend this complimentary concert.

AHEPA & DAUGHTERS OF PENELOPE HELLENIC HISTORY QUIZ SHOW The local chapters of the AHEPA and the Daughters of Penelope produced a Hellenic history question competition on September 29, during the coffee hour after Divine Liturgy. This was the second year for this event designed to help focus the attention of the teenagers in our community who are scheduled to compete in the annual AHEPA District 7 Hellenic History Trophy in Connecticut in November. Twenty questions written by Alexander Antonopoulos concerning ancient and modern Greece were projected onto the wall. Several of our young people formed up into teams and went back and forth trying to get the correct multiple choice answer. Alexander also moderated the proceedings. Christos Johnson, Theodore Kyriakakis, Panagiotis Panoutsopoulos, Theodore Panoutsopoulos, and Christos Soares participated. Everyone else in the Fellowship Hall seemed to also participate by looking on and quietly whispering their answers to those close by. All of the youth participants earned nice participation gifts. The AHEPA and the Daughters of Penelope hosted the Coffee Hour, and a successful AHEPA fundraiser was also held at the event. Once again, the AHEPA is grateful to all for their support.

NOVEMBER 2013 PAGE 23

NEWPORT SKIATHOS CLUB In an effort to develop Newport's sister-city relationship with Skiathos, Mayor Harry Winthrop, with the assistance of Mr. Tommy Lewis, was instrumental in the creation of the newly formed Newport-Skiathos Club. The club works in collaboration with the City of Newport's Hospitality Commission.

Parishioners are invited to become members of the Newport-Skiathos Club. Please contact Chrissy Logothets at [email protected] for further information.

PANHELLENIC SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION The PanHellenic Scholarship Foundation has $250,000 is scholarships available for the 3013- 2014 season. The application deadline is January 31, 2014. For more information, please see the flyer on the information table in the church hall or contact them at [email protected].

DAUGHTERS OF PENELOPE NEWS The November meeting will be held Tuesday, November 12th with our brother Ahepans. It will be a dinner/meeting at the Main Stay with lodge members from both will be our guests. You will be receiving a flyer shortly with all information. Please make every effort to attend. We will also be discussing our annual Christmas Dinner and the visitation of shut ins.

Penelope Hiotas President

Wishing you a blessed Thanksgiving

NOVEMBER 2013 PAGE 24 Order of AHEPA In loving memory of Mel’s Cafenio Maud Howe Elliott Chapter 245 25 Broadway Gredo Vincent Volpicelli Daughters of Penelope Newport Ares Chapter 49 849-6420

Aquidneck Pizza With compliments of… Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner In loving memory of Dr. Joanne 27 Aquidneck Avenue and Middletown Stelios and Frangoula Mr. C. Gus Hologgitas Take out orders: 849-3356 Christopher Daily 7am-12am, Fri & Sat 7am-2am

Astro NIKOLAS PIZZA Construction Inc. CODDINGTON 38 Memorial Blvd West PO Box 522 BREWING COMPANY Newport Portsmouth, RI 210 Coddington Highway (401) 683-9120 Middletown 849-6611 Established 1954 847-6690

Compliments of the A-1 Pizza Rhea’s Bed & Breakfast ATLANTIC 306 Broadway Accommodations with BEACH CLUB Newport jacuzzi’s available! 53 Purgatory Road Free Delivery 120 West Main Road Middletown Middletown 847-2750 849-2213 841-5560

Compliments of Flo’s Drive-In The Mainstay Inn Portsmouth Island of Skiathos Flo’s Clam Shack 151 Admiral Kalbfus Road Organization Middletown Newport Established 1967 Voted Best in Rhode Island! 849-9880

Steve H. Jennings Advanced Planning Associates In loving memory of All American Advanced Tax & College Planning Foods, Inc. Retirement & Asset Protection Anthony & Dorothea 401.247.9882 Rozes [email protected] www.advancedri.com