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Weekly Bulletin

Assumption Greek Orthodox Church
15625 S. Bell Road - Homer Glen, Il 60448 - 708-645-0652
Fr. Sotirios Dimitriou, Pastor

May 12, 2019 - Sunday of Myrrh Bearers
St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus, St. Germanos, Patriarch of Constantinople, St. Theodorus the Righteous of Cythera And the Removal of the Sacred Relics of Saint Joachim "Papoulakis" of Vatopaidi

Epistle Lesson: Acts 6:1-17                Gospel Lesson: Mark 25:43-16:8

We Would Like to Welcome All Visitors to Our Community Today!

When receiving Holy Communion, we ask that you kindly come up, row by row and follow the direction of the Parish Council Member.

WHO CAN RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION
Receiving Holy Communion and any other Sacraments is an expression of our acceptance of the dogmatic and moral teachings of the Orthodox Church. Only Orthodox Christians (by Baptism or Chrismation) in good standing may participate. For this reason, persons who do not agree with these teachings, or are not in good standing (for example, married outside the Church, or civilly divorced but not ecclesiastically divorced), must return to good standing in order to participate in the Sacramental life of the Church. For the same reasons, Orthodox Christians cannot receive sacraments in non-Orthodox

Apolytikion of Great and Holy Pascha - Plagal of the First Tone
Χριστὸς ἀνέστη ἐκ νεκρῶν, θανάτῳ θάνατον πατήσας, καὶ τοῖς ἐν τοῖς μνήμασι, ζωὴν χαρισάμενος.

Christ is risen from the dead, by death, trampling down upon death, and to those in the tombs He has granted life.

Resurrectional Apolytikion - Second Tone
Ὅτε κατῆλθες πρὸς τὸν θάνατον, ἡ ζωὴ ἡ ἀθάνατος, τότε τὸν ᾍδην ἐνέκρωσας, τῇ ἀστραπῇ τῆς Θεότητος. ὅτε δὲ καὶ τοὺς τεθνεῶτας ἐκ τῶν καταχθονίων ἀνέστησας, πᾶσαι αἱ Δυνάμεις τῶν ἐπουρανίων ἐκραύγαζον. Ζωοδότα Χριστὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, δόξα σοι.

Whilst the tomb was sealed, Thou, O Life, didst shine forth from the grave, O Christ God; and whilst the doors were shut, Thou didst come unto Thy disciples, O Resurrection of all, renewing through them an upright Spirit in us according to Thy great mercy.

Apolytikion of St. Joseph of Arimathea in the Second Tone
Ὀ εὐσχήμων Ἰωσήφ, ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου καθελὼν τὸ ἄχραντόν σου σῶμα, σινδόνι καθαρὰ εἰλήσας καὶ ἀρώμασιν, ἐν μνήματι καινῷ, κηδεύσας ἀπέθετο· ἀλλὰ τριήμερος ἀνέστης Κύριε, παρέχων τῷ κόσμῳ τὸ μέγα ἔλεος.

Apolytikion of Myrrh Bearing Women in the Second Tone
Ταῖς μυροφόροις γυναιξί, παρὰ τὸ μνῆμα ἐπιστάς, ὁ Ἄγγελος ἐβόα· τὰ μύρα τοῖς θνητοῖς ὑπάρχει ἁρμόδια· Χριστὸς δὲ διαφθορᾶς ἐδείχθη ἀλλότριος· ἀλλὰ κραυγάσατε· Ἀνέστη ὁ Κύριος, παρέχων τῷ κόσμῳ τὸ μέγα ἔλεος.

Apolytikion of Synaxis of John the Forerunner in the Second Tone
Μνήμη δικαίου μέτ' ἐγκωμίων, σοὶ δὲ ἀρκέσει ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ Κυρίου Πρόδρομε, ἀνεδείχθης γὰρ ὄντως καὶ Προφητῶν σεβασμιώτερος, ὅτι καὶ ἐν ῥείθροις βαπτίσαι κατηξιώθης τὸν κηρυττόμενον. Ὅθεν τῆς ἀληθείας ὑπεραθλήσας, χαίρων εὐηγγελίσω καὶ τοὶς ἐν ἅδῃ, Θεὸν φανερωθέντα ἐν σαρκί, τὸν αἴροντα τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου, καὶ παρέχοντα ἡμῖν τὸ μέγα ἔλεος.

The memory of the just is celebrated with hymns of praise, but the Lord's testimony is sufficient for thee, O Forerunner; for thou hast proved to be truly even more venerable than the Prophets, since thou was granted to baptize in the running waters Him Whom they proclaimed. Wherefore, having contested for the truth, thou didst rejoice to announce the good tidings even to those in Hades: that God hath appeared in the flesh, taking away the sin of the world and granting us great mercy.

Apolytikion of Dormition of the Theotokos in the First Tone Εν τή Γεννήσει τήν παρθενίαν εφύλαξας, έν τή Κοιμήσει τόν κόσμον ού κατέλιπες Θεοτόκε, Μετέστης πρός τήν ζωήν, μήτηρ υπάρχουσα τής ζωής, καί ταίς πρεσβείαις ταίς σαίς λυτρουμένη, εκ θανάτου τάς ψυχάς ημών.

In birth, you preserved your virginity; in death, you did not abandon the world, O Theotokos. As mother of life, you departed to the source of life, delivering our souls from death by your intercessions.

Seasnon Kontakion - Plagal of the Fourth Tone
Εἰ καὶ ἐν τάφῳ κατῆλθες ἀθάνατε, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ᾍδου καθεῖλες τὴν δύναμιν, καὶ ἀνέστης ὡς νικητής, Χριστὲ ὁ Θεός, γυναιξὶ Μυροφόροις φθεγξάμενος. Χαίρετε, καὶ τοῖς σοῖς Ἀποστόλοις εἰρήνην δωρούμενος ὁ τοῖς πεσοῦσι παρέχων ἀνάστασιν.

Epistle Reading - Acts of the Apostles 6:1-7 - IN THOSE DAYS, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists murmured against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the body of the disciples and said, "it is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." And what they said pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochoros, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaos, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands upon them. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

The Gospel according to Mark 15:43-47; 16:1-8 - At that time, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. And Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. And he bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud, and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.
And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?" And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back; for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you." And they went out and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

The Holy and Sacred Synod of our Ecumenical Patriarchate has elected
Metropolitan ELPIDOPHOROS of Bursa to be the Archbishop of America.
Among the first, Lord, remember our Archbishop ELPIDOPHOROS: grant him to Your holy churches in peace, safety, honor, and health, unto length of days, rightly teaching the word of Your truth.

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros (Lambriniadis) of America was born in 1967 in Bakirköy, Istanbul. He studied at the Department of Pastoral Theology, Thelogical School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, from which he graduated in 1991. In 1993, he finished his postgraduate studies at the Philosophical School of the University of Bonn, Germany submitting a dissertation entitled, "The Brothers Nicholas and John Mesarites". He was ordained a Deacon in 1994 at the Patriarchal Cathedral and was appointed as the Codecographer of the Holy and Sacred Synod.

In 1995, he was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod. From 1996-1997 he studied at the Theological School of St. John the Damascene in Balamand, Lebanon, where he improved his knowledge of the Arabic language. In 2001, he presented a doctoral dissertation at the Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki under the title: "Severus of Antioch and the Council of Chalcedon" proclaiming him a Doctor of Theology. In 2004, he was invited to Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Boston, where he taught as a visiting professor for one semester.

In March 2005, at the proposal of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, he was promoted by the Holy and Sacred Synod to the position of Chief Secretary and was ordained to the priesthood by the Ecumenical Patriarch in the Patriarchal Cathedral. In 2009, he submitted two dissertations to the Theological School of Thessaloniki and was unanimously elected Assistant Professor of Symbolics, Inter-Orthodox Relations and the Ecumenical Movement. The dissertations are entitled: "The Synaxis's of the Hierarchy of the Ecumenical Throne (1951-2004)" and "Luther's Ninety-five Thesis. Historical and Theological aspects. Text - Translation - Commentary ".
In March 2011, he was elected Metropolitan of Bursa and in August of the same year was appointed Abbot of the Holy Patriarchal and Stavropegial Monastery of the Holy Trinity on the island of Chalki. He has served as the Orthodox Secretary of the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Lutheran World Federation and as a member of the Patriarchal delegations to the General Assemblies of the Conference of European Churches and the World Council of Churches. He was the Secretary of the Pan-Orthodox Synods in Sofia (1998), Istanbul (2005), Geneva (2006), and Istanbul (2008). He has been a member of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches since 1996.

On May 11, 2019, he was elected Archbishop of America.

THE INCREDIBLE, EDIBLE EGG
               There is an icon in our Orthodox Church which glorifies the incredible, edible egg. The icon is of Saint Mary Magdalene and she is portrayed holding a red egg in her right hand and an oil pitcher in her left hand.
               From ancient times the lowly egg has been a symbol of belief in a future life. Christianity borrowed this idea and in the icon of St. Mary it appears as the symbol of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Easter egg represents the sealed tomb of Christ, while the red color (originally the only color used and today the color of the eggs given out in Orthodox Churches at Easter) represents the sacred blood of our Lord, shed for our salvation.
               To pursue the custom of the egg at Easter, we have a tradition of cracking eggs, one with another. As one egg is cracked (symbolizing the seal of the tomb of Christ being broken), the person holding that egg says, “Christ is Risen.” The other person holding the (for the moment) un-cracked egg, responds, “Truly He is Risen.” Thus with this simple “game” our faith is proclaimed - our belief in the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is declared.
               Getting back to the icon of Saint Mary - truly a Resurrection Icon in every sense of the word - we recall a tradition that the custom of the Easter egg actually originated with her. The legend tells us that after the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus, St. Mary visited the Emperor of Rome. She greeted him with “Christ is Risen” and gave him a red-dyed egg. Then she proclaimed the Good News of our Savior, using the lowly egg as a focal point.
               St. Mary is also holding an oil pitcher. From the Gospels we know that she, as one of the Myrrh-bearing Women, ran to the tomb at dawn on the first Easter to anoint Jesus’ body. Other women were with her at that time but, St. Mark tells us (16:9) later, our Resurrected Lord appeared first to Mary. St. John adds in his moving account (20:11-18) that Jesus spoke to her and even asked her to deliver a message to the disciples, the same disciples who did not believe as she did.
               For her glory in being with Jesus, for agonizing at his trial, for weeping at his crucifixion, for believing in His Resurrection, for being a truly repentant sinner and next to his mother, the woman closest to Jesus , our Church has proclaimed her “equal to the Apostles.”
               In this age of women’s lib, it is refreshing to know that 2,000 years ago a lowly woman was honored and elevated to the highest position man or woman could achieve: Apostle of our Lord. And, too, the lowly egg as it is glorified by representing the Resurrection of our Lord. (Courtesy of the Spirit, St. Demetrios Church, Towson, MD.)

Community News
Philoptochos General Dinner Meeting - Thursday, May 16th at 5:30 p.m., dinner will be serve. For reservations, please call Mary at 708-481-6764.

Junior Olympics .... This year, the Junior Olympics will be held on Memorial Day Weekend at SS. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Palos Hills. There will be many events for each and everyone of our youth to sign up for. The individual and team events include track and field, chess, checkers, bowling, table tennis, tennis, swimming, basketball, volleyball, softball, and soccor. All the parishes of the Chicago Metropolis will be participating. As in the past, we need help from the parents with coaching and organizing the children for the junior Olympics. If you would like to get involved in helping with the Junior Olympics, please see Father Sam.

7th Annual Motorcycle Blessing – Next Sunday, May19th, along with the Greek American Motorcycle Association, we will be hosting the 6th Annual Motorcycle Blessing. What better way to kick off the summer riding season than to have our Chancellor, Fr. Chysostom, along with Fr. Sam and all the riders along with their motorcycles, by saying a prayer for their safety.   The blessing is open to all. If you have friends that have motorcycles, please extend to them an invitation to come and have their bikes blessed. Parents, please bring your children’s bicycles, tricycles, big wheels, and whatever they ride. The blessing will take place immediately following the Divine Liturgy.

Going Green Collection Program! Our parish will be participating in a recyclable program, but we are not going to be collecting plastic bottles and papers. Instead the recyclables we are collecting are clothing, blankets and shoes. A GOIN’ GREEN Drop of box is placed on the Church grounds that will be visible to not only our parishioners, but also to the general public. This is an opportunity for our parish to give back to the community at large and to participate at recycling goods that will help those who are less fortunate than us. So now, when we have clothes, blankets, coats or shoes that we don’t need anymore, we can bring them to Church and drop them off in the GOIN’ GREEN Drop box. For more information about this program, please see Fr. Sam.

IN THE HOSPITAL, LET FATHER KNOW! In order to assist Father in his pastoral duties, please inform him if you or a family member has been hospitalized. Our hospitals DO NOT have a policy of informing the church if they have a parishioner as their patient.

ADDRESS CHANGED? Please help us keep our membership and mailings as accurate as possible by notifying Father of address, name or phone number changes. Thank you for your assistance.