APOLYTIKION OF SAINT NECTARIOS
The offspring of Silyvria*
and the guardian of Aegina* the true friend of virtue who appeared in the
last years. O Nectarios* we faithful honor you* as a godly servant of
Christ, * for you pour forth healing* of every kind for those who piously
cry out. * Glory to Christ who has glorified you; * Glory to Him who has
shown wonders in you; * Glory to Him who works healing through you for
all.
ΑΠΟΛΥΤΙΚΙΟΝ ΑΓΙΟΥ ΝΕΚΤΑΡΙΟΥ
Σηλυβρίας
τὸν γόνον
καὶ Αἰγίνης
τὸν ἔφορον,
τὸν ἐσχάτοις
χρόνοις
φανέντα ἀρετῆς φίλον γνήσιον,
Νεκτάριον
τιμήσωμεν
πιστοί, ὡς ἔνθεον
θεράποντα
Χριστοῦ. Ἀναβλύζει
γὰρ ἰάσεις
παντοδαπὰς
τοῖς εὐλαβῶς
κραυγάζουσι :
Δόξα τῷ
σὲ δοξάσαντι
Χριστῷ, δόξα τῷ
σὲ θαυμαστώσαντι,
δόξα τῷ
ἐνεργούντι
διὰ σοῦ
πᾶσιν ἰάματα.
Sunday of the Samaritan Woman
One
of the most ancient cities of the Promised Land was Shechem, also called Sikima, located at the foot of Mount Gerazim. There the Israelites had heard the blessings
in the days of Moses and Jesus of Navi. Near to this town, Jacob, who had
come from Mesopotamia in the nineteenth century before Christ, bought a
piece of land where there was a well. This well, preserved even until the
time of Christ, was known as Jacob's Well. Later, before he died in
Egypt, he left that piece of land as a special inheritance to his son
Joseph (Gen. 49:22). This town, before it was taken into possession by
Samaria, was also the leading city of the kingdom of the ten tribes. In
the time of the Romans it was called Neapolis, and at present Nablus. It
was the first city in Canaan visited by the Patriarch Abraham. Here also,
Jesus of Navi (Joshua) addressed the tribes of Israel for the last time.
Almost three hundred years later, all Israel assembled there to make Roboam (Rehoboam) king.
When
our Lord Jesus Christ, then, came at midday to this city, which is also
called Sychar (John 4:5), He was wearied from the journey and the heat,
and He sat down at this well. After a little while the Samaritan woman
mentioned in today's Gospel passage came to draw water. As she conversed
at some length with the Lord and heard from Him secret things concerning
herself, she believed in Him; through her many other Samaritans also
believed.
Concerning
the Samaritans, we know the following: In the year 721 before Christ, Salmanasar (Shalmaneser), King of the Assyrians, took
the ten tribes of the kingdom of Israel into captivity, and relocated all
these people to Babylon and the land of the Medes. From there he gathered
various nations and sent them to Samaria. These nations had been
idolaters from before. Although they were later instructed in the Jewish
faith and believed in the one God, they worshipped the idols also.
Furthermore, they accepted only the Pentateuch of Moses, and rejected the
other books of Holy Scripture. Nonetheless, they thought themselves to be
descendants of Abraham and Jacob. Therefore, the pious Jews named these
Judaizing and idolatrous peoples Samaritans, since they lived in Samaria,
the former leading city of the Israelites, as well as in the other towns
thereabout. The Jews rejected them as heathen and foreigners, and had no
communion with them at all, as the Samaritan woman observed, "the
Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans" (John 4:9). Therefore,
the name Samaritan is used derisively many times in the Gospel
narrations. After the Ascension of the Lord, and the descent of the Holy
Spirit at Pentecost, the woman of Samaria was baptized by the holy
Apostles and became a great preacher and Martyr of Christ; she was called
Photine, and her feast is kept on February 26.
Elected Archbishop of America on May 11, 2019
Biography of His Eminence
Archbishop Elpidophoros of America
His Eminence
Archbishop Elpidophoros (Lambriniadis)
of America was born in 1967 in Bakirköy,
Istanbul. He studied at the Department of Pastoral Theology at the
Theological School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki,
graduating in 1991. In 1993, he completed postgraduate studies at the
Philosophical School of the University of Bonn in Germany, submitting a
dissertation entitled: “The Brothers Nicholas and John Mesarites.”
He was ordained to the Diaconate in 1994 at the Patriarchal Cathedral and
appointed Kodikographos (Scrivener) 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 advanced 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” and was proclaimed a Doctor of Theology. In
2004, he was invited to Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in
Boston, where he taught as Visiting Professor for a semester.
In March 2005, at the proposal of
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, he was elevated by the
Holy and Sacred Synod to the position of Chief Secretary and 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 Synaxes of the
Hierarchy of the Ecumenical Throne (1951-2004)” and “Luther’s Ninety-five
Theses: 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 Halki. He has served as
Orthodox Secretary of the Joint International Commission for the
Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Lutheran World
Federation and 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.
Source Link: https://www.goarch.org/archbishop/biography
Special Announcement:
·
If someone wants
to sponsor the coffee hour, there is a sign-up sheet in the Hall. Please
write legibly your name next to the date you want to sponsor
·
We need oil (Extra
Virgin Olive Oil) for the Church, please donate.
·
Please notify us
if someone in the member of the family or yourself is sick, so that we
may offer healing prayer.
·
We would like to invite all ladies of our church to join Saint
Nectarios Philoptochos Society. All ladies 18 years and older are asked to
join. We will be meeting every other month on the last Sunday
of the month. The executive board will meet the alternating month after
church on the last Sunday of the month. All
meetings will be after coffee time in the last modular building on the
left or Learning Center. Girls of younger than 18 years
and husband of a member can join as Associate member but no voting
privilege. There is a $50-member signup fee.
|