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- GREEK ORTHODOX COMMUNITY & PARISH

OF PROPHET ELIAS NORWOOD & EASTERN

SUBURBS INC.

87 BEULAH RD. NORWOOD SA 5067 P.O. BOX 277, KENT TOWN SA 5071

ALL CORRES PO NDENCE TO THE HON. SE CRETAR Y

O

24

: 8362 4139 . 8431 7789 . 0412 710 037

27-01-13

30. 1436

WEEKLY MAGAZINE

THE WORD OF GODPHONES: 8362 4139 H. 8431 7789 M. 0412 710 037

DATE 27-01-13

YEAR 30TH NUMBER 1436

WEB PAGE:WWW.PROPHETELIAS.ORG.AU

ONLINE MAGAZINE & RADIO PROGRAM:WWW.PROPHETELIAS.BLOGSPOT.COM

EMAIL:PROPHETELIAS@ESC.NET.AU

http://www.prophetelias.org.au/http://www.prophetelias.org.au/http://www.prophetelias.org.au/http://www.prophetelias.blogspot.com/http://www.prophetelias.blogspot.com/http://www.prophetelias.blogspot.com/mailto:prophetelias@esc.net.aumailto:prophetelias@esc.net.aumailto:prophetelias@esc.net.auhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_Greek_Orthodox_Church.svgmailto:prophetelias@esc.net.auhttp://www.prophetelias.blogspot.com/http://www.prophetelias.org.au/

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15th

SUNDAY OF LUKE (Luke 19, 1-10) 27th

January 2013

Right from the very beginning of todays gospel reading we can see that the meeting

between the Lord and Zacchaeus was not by chance. In the same way each time the

Lord interacted with somebody, if you see these interactions through an Orthodox

Christian spirit, all have a salvific purpose. If you ask someone who does not believe or is

a pagan, then they would say that this was simply a chance encounter, that the Lord

walked under the sycamore tree and by chance, lifted His head to see Zacchaeus.

However, dear brethren, we who believe that God's will governs everything for the

salvation of mankind believe that this meeting was part of Gods plan.

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The Lord was travelling to Jerusalem and had already passed through Jericho, when he

came to Zacchaeus and his salvation. It is useful to also mention that in the town of

Jericho Jesus had already given the blind man sight. This miracle seems to affected the

head tax-collector Zacchaeus, and so he wanted greatly to see Christ. This wish, slowly

grew into a great desire and when he discovered that Jesus would be passing by there

he climbed the tree thinking that the abundant foliage of the sycamore would hide him.

The Lord knows the thoughts of us all no matter where we are, was it possible forZacchaeus to elude Him? Would the man who was the reason for Him to coming to this

place escape His gaze? Would the repentant sinner who wanted to confess and restore

his conscience escape from the gaze of the All Seeing Lord?

Would the Lord Who left His divine throne with the sole purpose of meeting the

repentant man and leading him to paradise, forsake Zacchaeus and leave him in black

disappointment? Definitely not! Certainly his reputation as head tax-collector would

have been damaged in the eyes of the world. He became a laughingstock to those who

watched this short man trying to climb high into the branches of the trees. But he did

not even care. At that time, his only goal was to see the Great Master and miraculous

Lord, he was not interested in what the rest of the world would have to say about him.

"And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him and said to him,

Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house. "

Zacchaeus asked only see Christ, and the Lord not only granted this but also said to him

that He would not continue on His way to Jerusalem but instead go and stay at his

home. Imagine the honour and the pleasure and excitement of Zacchaeus. Once he

heard these words Zacchaeus climbed down quickly and took Him to his house. You see

how God works and how He acts to save people how had been deceived? It was enoughthat Zacchaeus took one small step towards Christ, and Christ then took ten steps

towards Zacchaeus. The Lord continues to do the same for each and every believer

today. It is enough to declare our good intentions and repentance then His grace will

come and lead us to practical repentance, just as was the case with Zacchaeus.

It is with sadness that we observe the dark moments in today's Gospel reading. These

are the Pharisees and others turned a blind eye man and did not see the miracles. They

were unrepentant and did not believe in repentance, they did not want to believe that

there is forgiveness in this life. They could not get their heads around the fact that the

rich head tax-collector preferred to lose his lucrative job and follow this poor man. They

could not imagine that one in such a high position could repent and change his mind and

life. They could not believe the things that they had witnessed with their own eyes and

ears. Therefore, we see them throwing mud in the face of reality and trying to provoke

the hatred of the people against Christ. "But when they saw it, they all complained,

saying He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner." In such a slanderous

manner they wanted to excite crowds so everyone doubted the authenticity of Christ. If

the Scribes and Pharisees did not have this malicious intent then they would have

waited to see what would take place inside the house of Zacchaeus before making their

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conclusions. But what if they had learned of Zacchaeuss sincere repentance, and of him

restoring and returning the goods to the poor, would they have announced this news to

the crowds? Absolutely not. Why not? Because this would mean that they admitted the

supremacy of Christ, and all of the crowds would repentant of their sins and follow

Christ.

That which testifies to the sincere repentance of Zacchaeus, is that fact that he did not

deny the issue of his guilt, he did not attempt to justify his love of money, he did notdelay in coming to a decision, he was in no way an indecisive man, he had already made

his decision. He took in his hands half of his possessions and stood before Christ saying:

"Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from

anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold."

Do you see dear brethren how first he confessed and then he judged himself? There was

no court convened nor a judge appointed to impose punishment on Zacchaeus. The

sincerity of repentance, sat on the throne of repentant heart of Zacchaeus and passed

judgement in this way, using the criteria that is found in the book of Exodus: (22),

Therefore Christ, the Lord of Mosaic law, immediately passes fair judgment: " Today

salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. " Which

means: Today that Zacchaeus has returned to God and did right and gave charity just

like the righteous and hospitable Abraham, he has become a son of Abraham and

worthy citizen of eternal salvation. The Lord finishes by saying: "for the Son of Man has

come to seek and to save that which was lost." in the tenth verse.

With these words He closed their growling mouths of and relieved their indignation, to

overthrow sinful men. The Lord knew Zacchaeus as a transgressor but also as

repentant. Everyone who was following the events from the start could also see this.This return of Zacchaeus is a testament to the success of the work of Christ. We also see

magnanimity Christ: Today salvation has come to this house." Zacchaeus confessed

everything before Christ and received absolution. Brethren let us follow his holy

example to find our own salvation.

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Last Saturday 19th January, the charming son of Mr Matthew and Mrs Sylvia

Villiou was baptized in our Church. The godmother Dimitra Villiou gave him

the name Nikolaos. Congratulations to the parents and godmother for giving

this spiritual opportunity to their child to be cleaned from the original sin, put

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on Christ and be enlightened by the Holy Spirit. May the desire for the

blessing of little Nicholas continue and grow, so that the child may grow and

increase in the knowledge of God, he and those who want to do their

spiritual duty as Orthodox Christian parents and godparents.

The 11th Clergy-Laity Congress of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia under

the leadership of His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos of Australia held in

Sydney from 20th23rd January 2013 was a resounding success. It is not

easy to describe all the wonderful things that happened during those four

days. The Congress was honoured by the presence of MetropolitanNicholas of Detroit representing the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew;

Metropolitan Evgenios of Rethymnon and Avlopotamos; the Honourable

Director of the Theological College of Athens Mr Nicholas Xexakis, Their

Graces Assistant Bishops to His Eminence: Serafeim of Apollonios,

Nikandros of Dorylaion, and Iakovos of Miletoupolis (Iezekiel of Derbe was

absent for health reasons); the Bishops of the Serbian and Romanian

Churches; The Greek Diplomatic officials; the official Leaders of the State

and Opposition; and many other officials who filled the newly-built wing of

the Bilingual College of St Spyridon, Sydney. Room in the Newsletter allows

us just to mention the fourth day. The invited guests were amazed at the

huge work of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia - in the spiritual domain in

the Parish-Communities, Churches, Monasteries for men and women,

Religious and Sunday Schools, as well as in the educational domain of

schools and afternoon schools. What especially dumbfounded those who

didnt already know, was the care available for the elderly, abandoned, and

people with special needs. A work which particularly amazes this State also

was the love and embrace that the Holy Archdiocese of Australia extends to

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the lightening of human pain and misery throughout the country. Further,

the spirit of unity in Christ of the entire Orthodox community of Australia

was obvious in the discussions among the delegates. His Holiness referred

to unity and love in Christ in his greeting and praise to His Eminence via the

big screen during the official Dinner. With the same means of

communication using the latest technology, His Eminence our Archbishop

answered in the presence of us all. The program, the quality, the

technology and the spirit of Christ were perfect factors resulting in the

complete success of the 11th Congress of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia.

Day of the Three Hierarchs and Martyr St

Chrysi; Day of the Unmercenaries Cyrus and John; Day of St

Tryphon; and The Meeting of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Church will

officiate Matins and Divine Liturgy from approximately.

On Saturday 9th

February from 6-7 at the evening, the first Divine Liturgy inEnglish language for this year will be officiated in our Church. So please come

and participate. At the end of the service Father Stavros is requested by our

youth to deliver a small message.

, the Blessing for the commencement of Greek School,

Sunday School and Bible Classes will take place during the Church service.

there will be a luncheon after the Blessing of our

Schools. We are all invited with our families for a tasty lunch in the Hall after

Divine Liturgy. There are no tickets; there will simply be a basket of love

circulated and you may offer whatever you can in aid of our Greek School.

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We are happy to announce the opening of our Greek School for the school year

2013. Classes begin Tuesday 5th February.

The School times for this year are as follows: 4-7pm with dancing,

4-6:30pm with dancing, 9am-12pm with dancing and

nights 4-6pm High School.

The classes of the Prophet Elias Greek School in Norwood are housed in our

own rooms behind the Church and offer comfort, security, freedom and quality.

The books which are used are the best for our students and they are free of

charge. Dancing lessons and Byzantine Music Lessons are also free of charge.

There is an enrolment fee of $50. We ask that students bring their books from

last year so that they may continue to use them. Those parents who have not as

yet enrolled their children are urged to fill in and hand in an enrolment form,

available from the Pangari at the front of the Church, ASAP.

The children of our school not only have the opportunity to learn dancing along

with their Greek lessons but also to learn how to chant. Lessons of Byzantine

Music will be offered to our children by the Chanter of our Church, Mr. Andrew

Psaromatis, free of charge. Please dont miss this golden opportunity.

As is well known, our CommunityParish has a dancing-group and offers Greek

Dancing Lessons to those interested. The lessons are for free. Classes are

conducted by Alexia and Christopher Crocker on Tuesday nights 7-8pm for ages 13-

35years and Saturday mornings from 11:30am 12:30pm.

The purpose of these lessons is not only to learn Greek dancing, but also to participate

as a youthful team in the various functions of our parish, such as our upcoming Festival,

and also the Glendi, the Glenelg Festival and others. Currently, amongst the Greek

organizations of Adelaide, there are more than 150 youngsters participating in the

various functions. Greek dance and song keep our children closer to Greek customs.

Soon, we shall be hosting our own festival, where many Greek groups will be dancing

why should our group be lagging in number of participants? Do come along - everyone is

welcome!

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Sunday School

Parents are encouraged to please enrol their children in the Parish Sunday

School. Classes are held in the rooms of our Community Centre every Sunday

morning from 9.30am 10.30am. Sunday School starts Sunday 10th

February.

The Greek Festival of Norwood

The purpose of the Greek Festival of Norwood is to advance our Greek

customs, language, culture and Orthodox Christianity; the maintainance

of traditional Greek dancing, food, music and wholesome entertainment.

The Greek Festival of Norwood publicizes Greek customs so that our

children and grandchildren will continue unabashedly to eat, sing and

dance the Greek way and also live Christian Orthodox lives. The GreekFestival of Norwood will be held on Saturday of Apokreas 9th March

2013, 5.00 pm 12 midnight. An Adelaide band of Greek compatriot

musicians have prepared a superb festival program of live entertainment,

including , for us all. Entrance is free.

At the Greek Festival of Norwood, you will find:

Abundant menu of roasts, mezedes and all sorts of delicious things Greek salads, cheeses, spanakopites Greek dancing by various groups - as well as our own Prophet Elias

dancing-group, the dancing groups of Saint Dimitrios, Saint Andrew,

The Bulgarian Dancing Group and others will perform;

Games for children of all ages Greek fun in a happy, multicultural and family atmosphere Visits, explanations and tours of the Orthodox Church The only Greek-Australian Museum in AdelaideCome and enjoy a happy evening in the shade of the trees, with a littlekokkineli and retsina and hot, delicious mezedes. For a little while,

immerse yourself in the festival of the motherland you have left; and

- let us take a

stroll and remember the old times!

NORWOOD GREEK FESTIVAL