SS. kosmas & damianos Orthodox Church (goa)

703 W. Center Street, Rochester, MN (507) 282-1529 http://www.rochesterorthodoxchurch.org

office@rochesterorthodoxchurch.org Rev. Fr. Mark Muoz, Proistamenos

/APOLYTIKIA FOR TODAY

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Though the tomb was sealed by the Judeans and soldiers guarded Your pure body, You arose, O

Savior, on the third day giving life to the world. Therefore, O Giver of life, the heavenly powers

praise You: Glory to Your resurrection O Christ, Glory to your Kingdom, Glory to Your

dispensation, O Lover of mankind.

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Guide of Orthodoxy, teacher of piety and modesty, the luminary of the universe, God-inspired

ornament of hierarchs, O, wise Methodios, you illumined all by your teachings, harp of the

Holy Spirit, intercede with Christ God, that our souls be saved.

/KONTAKION FOR TODAY

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O Protection of Christians that cannot be put to shame, mediation unto the Creator most

constant: despise not the suppliant voices of those who have sinned; but be quick, O good one,

to come unto our aid who in faith cry unto you: Hasten to intercede, and speed to make

supplication, you who ever protect, O Theotokos, them that honor you.

2nd

Sunday of matthew The Holy Prophet Elisseus (Elisha), Methodius the Confessor, Patriarch of Constantinople

June 14th, 2015

The Fast of the Holy Apostles through June 29th

Todays scripture readings

Epistle reading

St. Paul's Letter to the Romans 2:10-16

Prokeimenon. Mode 1.

Psalm 32.22,1

Let your mercy, O Lord, be upon us.

Verse: Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous.

Brethren, glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the

Greek. For God shows no partiality. All who have sinned without the law will also perish

without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not

the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be

justified. When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a

law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that what the law requires

is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting

thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges

the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

Gospel pericope

Matthew 4:18-23

At that time, as Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is

called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were

fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw

two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with

Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left

their boat and their father, and followed him. And he went about all Galilee, teaching

in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every

disease and every infirmity among the people.

Announcements

Liturgical/Program Schedule:

TODAY: Groundbreaking Ceremony and Luncheon after Divine Liturgy

Wed. June 17th: Parish Council Meeting, 6:30pm

Thurs. June 18th: Thursdays on First, volunteers needed, 9:30am-8:30pm

Todays Memorial Service: Mr. & Mrs. Andrew and Anna Chafoulias

St. Philothei Project Date Change: please be advised that the next cooking date for the shelter

has been moved from June 18th to June 25th. We will meet at 5:50pm in the lobby of Zumbro

Lutheran Church.

HOW TO RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNIONOrthodox Christians in good standing are encouraged to receive Holy Communion frequently, provided they have prepared themselves spiritually, mentally and physically. They must be on time for the Divine Liturgy, and be in a Christ-like, humble state of mind. They should be in a confession relationship with their priest or spiritual father, have observed the fasts of the Church, and they should have self-examined their conscience. On the day of receiving Holy Communion, it is not proper to eat or drink anything before coming to church. When you approach to receive Holy Communion, state your Christian (baptismal) name clearly, and hold the red communion cloth to your chin. After receiving, wipe your lips on the cloth, step back carefully, hand the cloth to the next person and make the sign of the Cross as you step away. Please do not be in a rush while communing! Please take special care not to bump the Holy Chalice.

ETIQUETTE REMINDER:

For this holy house and for those who enter it with faith, reverence, and the fear of God, let us pray to

the Lord.

The summer months will soon be upon us and that means enjoying warm weather and fun in the sun. While shorts (for males & females), capris, flip-flops, tank tops, spaghetti straps, short skirts well above the knees, etc. are practical and may be acceptable at the pool or the lake front they are not appropriate attire at church, and must not be worn during the Divine Services

of the Church. At every Eucharistic celebration we are spiritually and physically brought in the awesome presence of Jesus

Christ Himself, and when we commune He comes to dwell within us in a miraculous way. Therefore the sanctity, solemnity, and

dignity of the Divine Liturgy must be preserved for the wellbeing of all. ******Parents, your assistance and guidance are most

especially helpful and appreciated.******

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Andrew & Anna Chafoulias Fellowship Hall and Education Center

Groundbreaking Ceremony & Luncheon Sunday, June 14th

Following the Divine Liturgy

Please join us as we embark on another historical project in the life of our beloved parish! We will officially begin our new construction project with a blessing of the grounds, groundbreaking, sealing of time capsule, champagne toast, and luncheon catered by Johnny Mango. Many blessings to our entire parish family as we begin this new chapter together, and Thank You to event Chair, Connie Maragos!

Todays liturgical commemorations

1. THE HOLY PROPHET ELISHA

Elisha lived nine hundred years before Christ. When the Lord willed to take the aged Prophet Elijah to Himself, He

revealed to him that He had designated Elisha, the son of Shaphat of the tribe of Reuben from the town of Abel-

Meholah, as his successor in the prophetic service. Elijah informed Elisha of God's will and draped him with his

mantle and implored from God the two-fold grace of prophecy for him. Elisha immediately departed his home and

family and followed Elijah. When the Lord took Elijah in a fiery chariot, Elisha remained to continue the prophetic

service with yet a greater power than Elijah.

By his purity and zeal, Elisha was equal to the greatest prophets and, by the miraculous power that was given to him

by God, Elisha exceeded them all. He parted the waters of the Jordan as Moses once parted the Red Sea; the bitter

waters in Jericho he made drinkable; he brought forth water into the excavated trenches during the war with the

Moabites; he multiplied the oil in the pots of the poor widow; he resurrected the dead son of the Shunammite

woman; he fed a hundred people with twenty small loaves of bread; he healed Commander Naaman of leprosy; he

invoked leprosy upon his servant Gehazi because of his greed; he blinded the entire Syrian army and also forced

another army to flee; he foretold many events to the people as well as to individuals. Elisha died at a very old age.

2. SAINT METHODIUS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE

Methodius was born in the town of Syracuse in Sicily. After the completion of his secular studies, he was tonsured a

monk and began to live a life of asceticism in a monastery. Patriarch Nicephorus took him into his service. During

the reign of the iconoclastic emperors, he became widely known as a superb defender of the veneration of icons. For

this, the wicked Emperor Theophilus exiled him to an island with two common criminals where he languished in a

damp prison for seven years without light and without sufficient food as though in a grave. During the time of the

pious Empress Theodora and her son Michael, Methodius was freed and was chosen as patriarch (according to an

earlier prophecy of St. Joannicius the Great). The first week of the Great Fast [Lenten Season] Methodius solemnly

carried the icons into the church and wrote a Canon in honor of icons. Unable to outwit him, the vile heretics hired a

woman who declared that the patriarch had an impure relationship with her. The whole of Constantinople was

horrified at this slander. Nevertheless, not knowing how he could otherwise prove his innocence, the patriarch

overcame his embarrassment, removed his clothes and stood naked before the court which he himself had requested,

and showed his withered body, debilitated from fasting. The court was clearly convinced that the patriarch had been

slandered. Hearing of this, the people rejoiced and the heretics were shamed. Then, the woman admitted that she

was persuaded and paid to bring this slander against the saint of God. Thus, those who thought to bring shame upon

Methodius unintentionally increased his fame. This great confessor of the Faith died peacefully in the year 846 A.D.

and took up habitation in the Kingdom of God.

3. SAINT JOHN, METROPOLITAN OF EUCHAITA

John was surnamed Mavron "The Black." He was a very educated man and, at the same time, a spiritual man. At the

time of Emperor Alexius Comnenis, John in his old age, became the metropolitan of Euchaita. He is especially

famous in that St. Basil, St. Gregory the Theologian and St. John Chyrsostom (January 30) appeared and explained

to him how all three of them are equally glorified in heaven. After this vision the dispute among the people

concerning who of the three saints was greater and who was lesser was quieted down.

Pearls from the desert Saint Ephraim the Syrian, the renowned teacher of asceticism, once decided

to leave, for a time, his beloved silence in the desert and go down to the city.

"Lord," he prayed before setting out, "Put before me a person to instruct me,

when I pass through the city gate." But at the moment that he reached the

populous city of Edessa, the first person that he encountered on his way was

a woman of the street, who stood and stared at him shamelessly. The Saint

complained to the Lord that He had deigned to let him find the opposite of

what he had asked for. Afterwards, he turned to the woman and, to evoke

some shame in her, told her brusquely: "I am amazed that you do not turn red

with embarrassment for daring to stare at me so persistently." She promptly

told him: "I am doing that which suits me. Being created from your rib, I

should look at you. As for you, however, who were created from dust, you

would do well to have your gaze constantly fixed on it." Receiving such an

exact response, the Saint thanked God with gratitude. A more beneficial

lesson than this he surely could not have wanted.

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Monogamous Communion

A Defense of Closed Communion

by Fr. Michael Shanbour

Imagine theres no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

~ John Lennon

John Lennons lyrics strike a chord in us. We all remember a time when we yearned for a unity with

others where the slightest separation is melted away in the face of pure love and abiding peace. Indeed

the longing for true communion is the fundamental God-implanted hunger in every human soul.

However over the centuries many have misused or misapplied this natural yearning for communion by

artificially discounting the true borders of personhood. Examples include political ideologies such as

Communism and like-minded social experiments such as hippie commune-ism. Platonism and other

philosophical forms of dualism sought the release of the invisible and indefinable spirit from the

confines of evil material existence. Examples of religious and deistic forms of a boundary-less union are

the pantheism of Hinduism and the Christian heresy of Docetism, which claimed that Jesus only appeared

to be circumscribed by a physical body.

All of these have one thing in common they seek to create a perceived communion by breaking down

extant distinctions and definitions. As the former Beatle seems to advocate, division and disunity are

actually caused by boundaries and beliefs. Yet a communion without borders is short-lived and futile

because it is not consonant with reality itself. For instance, a country is not threatened by the existence of

its borders; its borders are what make possible a real identity and a unifying culture. Imagine a country

without borders and I will show you an imaginary country. Certainly, there are always dangers of

unhealthy ethnocentrism, blind patriotism, or insular closed-mindedness. But a country without borders,

without a distinctive history, without unifying cultural principles and symbols, without flag or anthem, is

no country at all. If, because there are no borders, everyone is automatically a member, then no one is

truly a member, for membership in such a non-entity is entirely meaningless.

A house without foundation and walls is not a house but merely a continuum of space indistinguishable

from other space. The same applies to personal relationships. I am capable of having union with my wife

because I know where she begins and where she ends, both in body and soul. I am also capable of

infidelity because the borders of the marital relationship are clear. A trespassing of these organic and

necessary borders will at the very least greatly harm this communion. All of this also applies to the

incarnate Christ and His Church, i.e. His incarnate Body. For the real, incarnate Christ comes to us, not as

a warm and fuzzy idea bereft of borders, but circumscribed by a very real historical human Body,

locatable, tangible, and verifiable in time and space, crucified under Pontius Pilate. This same

incarnate Christ founded a Church which is identified exactly with His circumscribed Body: the flesh He

received exclusively from the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, the flesh with which He walked the streets

of the Middle East, the flesh buried and risen, the same flesh with which He ascended to God the Father

and which He still bears and will bear eternally.

It is this Christ whose prayer to His Father expresses the divine desire that they may be one not

partially, nor merely in the basics, nor as an abstraction, nor in imagination but just as We are one

(Jn. 17:22). It is within this context (and Orthodox Christians believe only within this context) that we can

begin a discussion regarding so-called closed communion. The case for closed communion is based not

on a negative premise to promote exclusivity but on a positive one that propels and preserves, among

other things, the catholicity of the Church (the Greek word katholikos primarily means fullness, not

merely geographical universality). It was practiced uniformly and without controversy from the apostolic

period until very recent times and mirrors Gods previous work among His people in the Old Testament.

It is founded upon the received tradition that has always formed and informed the Christian

understanding of Church. Let me say from the beginning that I acknowledge the sensitive nature of

this topic and the strong feelings it can evoke. In no way have I set out to cause offense or to rub salt in

any open wounds. Discussions of such central issues as Eucharistic communion should never be decided

by emotions, but with a robust and courageous desire for truth and a willingness to bow before what St.

Vincent of Lerins called, what has been believed everywhere, at all times, and by all.

Defining the Terms

Before moving on to more substantial matters, perhaps a word should be said regarding terminology, for

words are no small matter. The early Christian declaration, lex orandi lex credendi (the rule of prayer is

the rule of belief), reminds us how our use of words influence our beliefs and vise versa. The difference

between truth and heresy can literally turn on a word, or part of a word, as was the case in the Arian

controversy and the word homoousios (of the same essence). As our only means to convey reality,

words (most especially theological words) are worth fighting for. As G. K. Chesterton so aptly put it:

What is the good of words if they aren't important enough to quarrel over? Why do we choose one word

more than another if there isn't any difference between them? If you called a woman a chimpanzee

instead of an angel, wouldn't there be a quarrel about a word? If you're not going to argue about words,

what are you going to argue about? Are you going to convey your meaning to me by moving your ears?

The Church and the heresies always used to fight about words, because they are the only thing worth

fighting about. Now I dont know who first coined the phrase closed communion, but I am certain it

was not one of the Church Fathers. It is likely quite modern. This in itself might be enough to give me

pause in using it. But it seems also to contain an inherent bias and implicit agenda much like other recent

secular creations invented to put a positive spin on an old sin, e.g. pro-choice, marriage equality

(who in their right mind could be against choice or equality?!). Especially in America today, the word

closed carries negative connotations. One of the worst accusations possible is that of closed -

mindedness. A politically correct culture will not tolerate anyone or anything that is closed, for to be so

is de facto bigoted and intolerant. Therefore closed communion referring to the long-standing

tradition of communing only those who are members of a unified body is becoming an ecclesial sin.

Ironically, most of us would admit that a healthy society is built upon closed marriage. The point here

is that the expression closed communion is not an adequate or faithful description of the ecclesiology

that undergirds the traditional practice of communion. For in reality there is no such thing as open or

closed communion there is either communion or there is not. In other words, either there exists a

communion of faith expressed in a common understanding of doctrine and worship, sacramental and

spiritual practice, or such communion does not exist.

The criteria for a communion of faith here is no different from the boundaries that existed in the first

Christian congregation: And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship

(literally: communion), in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers. A more precise description of

what has been practiced for most of Christian history would be called monogamous communion. This

phrase indicates fidelity and commitment to a tangible, historical tradition and to a body of membership

that likewise has committed themselves to the same. It is more faithful to the organic biblical terminology

identifying the Church as Christs own Body (1 Cor. 12:27), His Bride (Rev. 21:9), the Israel of God (Gal.

6:16), Gods field and building (1 Cor. 3:9), and the Vine to which individual members are then

grafted in (Rom. 11:17). To be continued in next Sundays bulletin