The All Saints Herald

MARCH/APRIL 2009 The All Saints Herald All Saints Greek Orthodox Church www.all-saints.ca Rev. Fr. Dimitrios Tzaneteas Fred Graham, President In this Issue 2 Events and announcements 3 Philoptochos prepares for Easter 4 Upcoming feast days and services 6 Father Dimitrios shares things you may not know about Lent and Easter 7 Sunday school students share ideas for spiritual spring training What are we doing? Leadership initiatives from the Board 8 Holy Week services 10 Community networking The Lenten Prayer of St. Ephraim O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of laziness, despair, lust of power, and idle talk. But give instead the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to your servant. O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins and not to judge my brother or sister. For You are blessed unto the ages of ages. Amen. Wishing you spiritual growth during this Great Lent and always. Kali anastasi.

Events and Announcements FROM THE SUNDAY SCHOOL MARCH 8 We Miss You! Katherine Bouris Pan-Orthodox Vespers The Sunday school teachers have noticed a drop in attendance since the Christmas holidays. To all the parents of our Sunday school students: we miss your children when they aren t here! And to all the parents of children who are not enrolled: don t be shy! All children ages 3 and up are welcome to sit at the front of the church on Sundays and then attend class. On the first Sunday of Lent, when we celebrate the restoration of the holy icons, Orthodox Christians of all backgrounds will gather for vespers at Christ the Saviour Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Toronto. The cathedral is located at 823 Manning Avenue (near Bathurst and Dupont). Vespers will begin at 7 p.m.; modest lenten meal to follow in the parish hall. We are planning a lenten retreat for all children and youth ages 5 and up on Western Good Friday, April 10. Details will be announced shortly. MARCH 29 Greek Independence Day Celebrations Join us for the annual Doxology in church and parade on the Danforth. Coming in May... A Night of Greek Song / Elliniki Vradhia Friday May 1, 8 11 pm hosted by All Saints Choir A casual and intimate evening singalong of some of the great and classic songs of our Greek heritage. There will be songsheets, and musicians to lead the singing, along with mezedhakia and even a tavli (backgammon) board or two! Pencil in the date, more details to follow! All Saints Garage Sale Saturday May 9 More news on page 7 The Cubs attended Operation Snowman at Woodland Trails Scout Camp on February 1.! They participated in all the events and won 3 awards.!they showed excellent team work and a positive attitude throughout the day.! 2

FROM THE PHILOPTOCHOS Preparing for Easter Helen Karrys MONDAY MARCH 2 PALM SUNDAY APRIL 12 Koulouma Fish lunch We will be serving a Lenten dinner following the vespers service. Please call the office to reserve your table. Entrance is $20. We will be serving a fish lunch following the service. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children ages 12 and under. Tickets will be on sale soon. It is very important to purchase your tickets early so we can gauge how much fish to order. Baked goods and lenten foods will also be sold on that Sunday. Baking We will be baking two to three days a week from March 10th through April, and we welcome volunteers. Baking days are Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays please call the office to make sure we are working on the day(s) you can come. Thank you to all the ladies who have donated money and ingredients towards our baking. Tsourekia Order your tsourekia as soon as possible! Tsourekia can be picked up on Palm Sunday, or you can arrange to pick them up sooner. HOLY THURSDAY APRIL 16 Red eggs We need red eggs for Anastasi and Easter Sunday! Please bring eggs to church on Thursday so that we can wrap them after the service on Thursday night. Young ladies are invited to decorate the epitaphio that night. The Philoptochos wishes you and your family a blessed Lenten season and Kali Anastasi! SATURDAY OF LAZARUS APRIL 11 Palm crosses Stay after the service to make crosses for Palm Sunday! 3 Congratulations! Congratulations to the newly elected board members, including new members Chris Papadolias and Chris Bouris. And congratulations to Fred Graham on his second term as president. A new member After a number of years on the Philoptochos Board, Thalia Dagonas has stepped down. In her place, we welcome Kathy Vasiliadis. VIP lunches Tuesday March 10 hosted by Anna-Marie Ellinas Tuesday April 7 hosted by Marica Aivalis Brunch every month At a dinner meeting of the Philoptochos and church boards in January, it was decided that we should all enjoy brunch together after the Divine Liturgy on the last Sunday of every month (except July and August). Brunch will be served in the centre for a nominal fee.

March 2009 Feast Days & Services Sun 01 Cheesefare Sunday Matins, Divine Liturgy 9 11:45 am Mon 02 Clean Monday Forgiveness Vespers to be followed by KOULOUMA dinner 7 8 pm Wed 04 Evening: Presanctified Liturgy 7 8:30 pm Fri 06 1st Salutations 7 8:30 pm Sat 07 Saturday of the Souls Matins, Divine Liturgy, Blessing of Kolyva 9 11:30 am Sun 08 1st Sunday of Lent, Sunday of Orthodoxy Matins, Divine Liturgy of Basil the Great 8:45 am 12 pm Wed 11 Evening: Presanctified Liturgy 7 8:30 pm Fri 13 2nd Salutations 7 8:30 pm Sun 15 2nd Sunday of Lent, St. Gregory Palamas Matins, Divine Liturgy of Basil the Great 8:45 am 12 pm Wed 18 Evening: Presanctified Liturgy 7 8:30 pm Fri 20 3rd Salutations 7 8:30 pm Sun 22 3rd Sunday of Lent, Veneration of the Holy Cross Matins, Divine Liturgy of Basil the Great 8:45 am 12 pm Wed 25 The Annunciation of the Virgin Mary 8:45 am 12 pm Fri 27 4th Salutations 7 8:30 pm Sun 29 4th Sunday of Lent, John of Climacus Matins, Divine Liturgy of Basil the Great 8:45 am 12 pm April 2009 Wed 01 Evening: Presanctified Liturgy 7 8:30 pm Fri 03 The Akathist Hymn 7 9 pm Sun 05 5th Sunday of Lent, Mary of Egypt Matins, Divine Liturgy of Basil the Great Fri 10 Presanctified Liturgy to be followed by the Youth Retreat Sat 11 Lazarus Saturday Matins, Divine Liturgy HOLY WEEK (see pages 8 9) 8:45 am 12 pm 9:30 10:30 am 9 11 am Thu 23 St. George the Great Martyr Matins, Divine Liturgy Fri 24 The Living Spring Matins, Divine Liturgy Sun 26 Thomas the Doubter Matins, Divine Liturgy 9 11 am 9 11 am 8:45 11:45 am 4

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Some Things You May Not Know Father Dimitrios The Lenten worship is... a school of repentance. It teaches us what is repentance and how to acquire the spirit of repentance. It prepares us for and leads us to the spiritual regeneration without which absolution remains meaningless. It is, in short, both teaching about repentance and the way of repentance. And since there can be no real Christian life without repentance, without this constant re-evaluation of life, the Lenten worship is an essential part of the liturgical tradition of the Church. Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann Holy and Great Lent We begin with forgiveness Lent begins on Clean Monday, with the Vespers of Forgiveness. This Vespers service is a little different from most, with certain additional prayers being said at the end. They include the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian (see page 1). After these prayers, a very beautiful liturgical custom takes place. Everyone from the highest ranking cleric to the last person in church greets everyone else, and all ask forgiveness from each other. This greeting is a wonderful way to begin Great Lent, in the spirit of forgiveness and Christian love. Clean Monday is the first full day of fasting. It is a custom of certain monasteries and people to fast from everything (except water) for the first three days of Great Lent, in order to commune during the first Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. It is important to note that fasting for each person is determined by their spiritual father. Fasting and our participation in the services are ways for us to get closer to God. What is Pascha? About the name and date of this feast Pascha is the most important feast in the Eastern Orthodox calendar, and is better known to other Christians as Easter or the Feast of the Resurrection of Christ. In Greek and Eastern Orthodox tradition, Pascha supersedes Christmas and other holidays because it is an affirmation of the sacrifice that Christ made, and of Christ's holiness. The word for Pascha is derived from the Hebrew pesach, for Passover, because the two holidays are closely linked. The Last Supper of Christ and his disciples, for example, is believed to be a Passover seder. Although Pascha and Easter celebrate the same event, they are celebrated on different days. This is because the Eastern Orthodox holy calendar is calculated using the Julian calendar while the rest of the world has adopted the Gregorian calendar. To add to the confusion, Gregorian dates are used when referring to Eastern Orthodox holidays, which can make a discussion of pachalion, or how Pascha is calculated, very difficult to follow. According to the council of Nicea, held in 326 AD, Pascha falls on the first full moon after the vernal equinox. In 326, the vernal equinox was on March 20 in the Julian calendar, and this is the date used to calculate Pascha. However, March 20 in the Julian calendar is currently April 3 in the Gregorian calendar (a year in the Julian calendar is a very tiny bit longer, so the date is drifting over time). As a result, Pascha and Easter fall on different days, although sometimes they may coincide. Adapted from: www.gocanada.org/greatlent www.wisegeek.com/what-is-pascha.htm 6

Spiritual Spring Training In the Bible, Orthodox Christians are often likened to athletes running a race, and Great Lent can be considered spring training for the soul. Instead of weights, laps, wind sprints, scrimmages, and exhibition games, we have prayer, fasting, worship, confession, spiritual reading, and charity to help us exercise and develop our spiritual muscles. The teenagers in Sunday school brainstormed things they could do during Lent. Their list includes: read a paragraph from the Bible every night tell the truth (stop lying) go to confesion give up fast foods/pop/ TV/video games stop lying around all day talk on the phone less come to church every wk pray every night without forgetting raise money for a charity be especially friendly be kind to parents visit papou be nice to my sister clean my room once/wk get to church on time be kind to parents listen in math class FROM THE BOARD What Are We Doing? Here are some of the things board members (and other parishioners) are working on: Cost Reduction (forensic review of all expenses) Fred F, Chris L, Fred G Membership Renewal and Growth Father Dimitrios call campaign to introduce himself to past members and encourage parishioners to renew membership Weekly Sunday Membership Booth Chris B, Chris P, Fotini, Jeannette Adhoc Rentals (until catering contract is finalized) Event Bookings Fred Graham, Peter Constantopoulos set hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 10 am 2 pm Rental Team Craig G, Chris B, Chris L, Fred F, Jeannette, Bill, Steve M, Peter C Catering Search Commmitee Captain Bill Arvanitis Team Members - Fred G, Jim Kokouros, Nick Poulos, Nico Paul, Peter Neilas, Fred F, Steve Bitidis, Jim Belicos Repairs and Renovations Captain Fred Graham Team Members Steve M, Peter C, Joe Arvanitis Community Rejuvenation Event Planning! Captains Craig Graham and Father Dimitrios! Volunteer Coordinator Christina Ganas What will YOU be doing? 7

Holy Week April 2009 Palm Sun 12 Morning Matins, Divine Liturgy, Blessing of Palms 8:30 am 12 pm Evening The Service of the Bridegroom 7 8:30 pm Holy Mon 13 Evening The Service of the Bridegroom 7 8:30 pm Holy Tues 14 Evening The Service of the Bridegroom 7 8:30 pm Holy Wed 15 Afternoon The Holy Unction 2:30 4:30 pm Holy Thurs Evening The Service of the Bridegroom 7 8:30 pm 16 Morning Holy Communion for those working & young children 7:00 8:30 am Vespers, Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great 8:30 10:30am Evening THE HOLY PASSIONS, Reading of the 12 Gospels 7 10 pm To follow: All Night Vigil, Decoration of the Canopy, and Reading of the Royal Hours Holy Fri 17 Afternoon The Descent from the Cross 2 4 pm Evening The Lamentations, the Procession of the Crucifix 7 9:45 pm Holy Sat 18 Morning Holy Communion for those working & young children 7 9 am The Descent into Hades, Vespers and Divine Liturgy of St. Basil The Great 9 10:30 am Evening The Canon 11pm 12 am The Service of the Ressurection and the Divine Liturgy 12 1:30 am Pascha 19 Sunday of the Resurrection of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS TRULY RISEN! Agape Service 11 am 12 pm 8

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ALL SAINTS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH Community Networking CONTACT US! mail 3125 Bayview Ave. Toronto, Ontario M2K 1G2 phone (416) 221-4611 fax (416) 221-6526 e-mail info@all-saints.ca in person The church office is open Mon to Thurs 10 5 Fri 10 3 Christina Ganas secretary Theodore Kontoravdis pastoral assistant HOW TO REACH FR. DIMITRIOS office hours Tue to Thurs 11 2 or any other time by appointment emergency phone no. (416) 370-3673 visiting day Fr. Dimitrios is available every Tuesday to visit hospitals, seniors homes, and parishioners homes. Please contact the office to arrange a visit from Father. Answering the Call Constantin Presvelos A big thank you to Mrs. Jeannette Chronopoulos for answering our call and placing an ad in the Herald. I understand that shortly after the first ad appeared, she gained a new customer from our community. That s community networking at its best. I would also like to thank Father Dimitrios for his strong support of our efforts. He does not forget to mention the Herald at the end of the Sunday service whenever possible. Thank you Father. We need eight more paid advertisements to make the Herald self funding. The proceeds from ten ads will cover the cost of printing and mailing the newsletter bimonthly. Please call the church secretary, Christina, or call me at 416-716-5188, and we will make sure your ad goes in the next issue.!"#$ %&'(" ') $#*+,! 10