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 Muñoz, Proistamenos
ΑΠΟΛΥΤΙΚΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΗΜΕΡΑΣ/APOLYTIKIA FOR TODAY

Let the Heavens rejoice; let earthly things be glad; for

the Lord hath wrought might with His arm, He hath
trampled upon death by death. The first-born of the
dead hath He become. From the belly of Hades hath He
delivered us, and hath granted great mercy to the world.

Εὐφραινέσθω τὰ οὐράνια, ἀγαλλιάσθω τὰ ἐπίγεια,

ὅτι ἐποίησε κράτος, ἐν βραχίονι αὐτοῦ, ὁ Κύριος,
ἐπάτησε τῷ θανάτῳ τὸν θάνατον, πρωτότοκος τῶν
νεκρῶν ἐγένετο, ἐκ κοιλίας ᾅδου ἐρρύσατο ἡμᾶς, καὶ
παρέσχε τῷ κόσμῳ τὸ μέγα ἔλεος.

Most glorified are You, O Christ our God, Who has

established our Fathers as luminous stars upon the
earth, and through them did guide us all to the true
Faith. O Most Merciful One, glory be to You.

Υπερδεδοξασμένος εί, Χριστέ ο Θεός ημών, ο φωστήρας επί γής τούς Πατέρας ημών θεμελιώσας, καί
δι' αυτών πρός τήν αληθινήν πίστιν, πάντας ημάς οδηγήσας, Πολυεύσπλαγχνε δόξα σοι.

ΚΟΝΤΑΚΙΟΝ ΤΗΣ ΗΜΕΡΑΣ/KONTAKION FOR TODAY

Προστασία τών Χριστιανών ακαταίσχυντε, μεσιτεία πρός τόν Ποιητήν αμετάθετε, Μή παρίδης
αμαρτωλών δεήσεων φωνάς, αλλά πρόφθασον, ώς αγαθή, εις τήν βοήθειαν ημών, τών πιστώς
κραυγαζόντων σοι. Τάχυνον εις πρεσβείαν, καί σπεύσον εις ικεσίαν, η προστατεύουσα αεί, Θεοτόκε,
τών τιμώντων σε.

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.

Sunday of the 7th ecumenical council

Nazarius, Gervasius, Protasius, & Celsus of Milan, Cosmas the Hagiopolite,
Praised Ignatius, Archbishop of Methymna, Righteous Paraskeve of Serbia
October 14th 2018
 Today’s scripture readings
Epistle reading
St. Paul's Letter to Titus 3:8-15
Prokeimenon. Mode 4.
Daniel 3.26,27
Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers.
Verse: For you are just in all you have done.

TITUS, my son, the saying is sure. I desire you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed
in God may be careful to apply themselves to good deeds; these are excellent and profitable to men. But
avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels over the law, for they are unprofitable
and futile. As for a man who is factious, after admonishing him once or twice, have nothing more to do
with him, knowing that such a person is perverted and sinful; he is self-condemned. When I send
Artemas or Tychicos to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the
winter there. Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack
nothing. And let our people learn to apply themselves to good deeds, so as to help cases of urgent need,
and not to be unfruitful. All who are with me send greeting to you. Greet those who love us in the faith.
Grace be with you all. Amen.

Gospel pericope
Luke 8:5-15

The Lord said this parable: "A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the path,
and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock; and as it
grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew
with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold." And when his
disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the
kingdom of God; but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they
may not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are
those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not
believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with
joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. And as for what
fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares
and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. And as for that in the good soil, they are
those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with
patience." As he said these things, he cried out "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
 Announcements
Mon. Oct. 15th: Important Choir Rehearsal for upcoming Hierarchal Liturgy, 7pm
Mon. Oct. 15th: Philoxenia Exec. Committee Meeting, 6pm
Wed. Oct. 17th: Parish Council Meeting, 5pm **early start**
Thurs. Oct. 18th: St. Luke the Evangelist, Orthros/Divine Liturgy 8:30am
Fri. Oct. 19th-Sat. Oct. 20th: GOYA Overnight retreat to SIRC in Wisc.

Today’s Memorial Service: Ms. Tamara Woroncow- 6yrs

Outreach to our college students: in an effort to keep our youth who have moved on to college connected
at some level with church we have decided to send “care packages” to them throughout the academic
year. To that point, we are in need of your students’ mailing addresses! Please see Halina or Father, or
email church at office@rochesterorthodoxchurch.org. Thank you for your assistance in this new
endeavor!
Important Choir Rehearsals Scheduled: in anticipation of our new Metropolitan’s imminent visit, there
were will choir rehearsals scheduled on Monday evenings Oct. 15, 22 at 7pm. PLEASE plan on attending
to finetune our participation within the complicatedly beautiful Hierarchal Divine Liturgy.
HOW TO RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION—Only Orthodox 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.

Pearls from the desert…

Whomever the Lord visits with a grievous trial, with sorrow or with the deprivation
of a beloved neighbor, such a person will involuntarily pray with his whole heart,
with all his thoughts and with all his mind. Consequently, the wellspring of prayer
is in everyone — it is tapped either by gradually delving deeper into oneself in
accordance with the teachings of the Fathers, or instantaneously, thunderstruck by
God‚s piercing to the core of the soul. - Elder Leonid of Optina (1768ˆ1841)
 Today’s liturgical commemorations
1. The Venerable Parasceva [Petka]

This glorious saint was of Serbian descent, and was born in the town of Epivat
between Selymbria and Constantinople. St. Parasceva's parents were wealthy,
devout Christians. They also had a son, Euthymius, who was tonsured a monk
during his parents' lifetime, and later became the famous Bishop of Madytos.
The virgin Parasceva always yearned for the ascetic life for the sake of Christ.
After her parents' repose, she left her home and went first to Constantinople,
then to the wilderness of Jordan, where she lived the ascetic life until old age.
Who can express all the labors, sufferings and demonic temptations that St.
Parasceva endured in the course of her many years? In her old age, an angel
of God once appeared to her and said: ``Leave the wilderness and return to
your homeland; it is necessary that you render your body to the earth there, and your soul to the
habitation of the Lord.'' St. Parasceva obeyed, and returned to Epivat. There she lived for two years in
ceaseless fasting and prayer, then gave up her soul to God and took up her abode in Paradise. St.
Parasceva entered into rest in the eleventh century. Over the course of time her relics were translated to
Constantinople, to Trnovo, again to Constantinople, and then to Belgrade. Her relics now repose in
Romania, in the town of Iasi. In Belgrade, the well of St. Petka miraculously heals the sick who draw near
with faith in God and love for this saint.

2. The Holy Martyrs Nazarius, Gervasius and Protasius

Nazarius was born in Rome of a Jewish father and a Christian mother. His mother, Perpetua, was
baptized by the Apostle Peter himself. Confessing his mother's Faith, Nazarius sincerely fulfilled all the
precepts of the Church. Fearlessly preaching the Gospel, Nazarius went to Milan. There, he found the
Christians Gervasius and Protasius in prison, and ministered to them with great love. Learning of this, the
local eparch ordered Nazarius to be beaten and driven from the city. His mother came to him in a vision
and told him to go to Gaul, and to preach the Gospel there; and this is what Nazarius did. After several
years, Nazarius returned to Milan-this time with a disciple, the young man Celsus, whom he had baptized
in Gaul. There he found the brothers Gervasius and Protasius still in prison, and he was soon thrown in
with them by the governor Anulinus. Christ's martyrs rejoiced because of this reunion brought about by
God's providence. Emperor Nero ordered Nazarius slain, and the governor brought Nazarius and Celsus
out of prison and beheaded them. Soon after that, General Astazius, passing through Milan en route to
battle against the Moravians, beheaded St. Gervasius along with St. Protasius. He had heard that these
two brothers would not sacrifice to idols, and fearing that he might lose the battle by losing favor with his
false gods, he commanded that they be executed immediately. Gervasius and Protasius were twins, born
of the blessed parents Vitalius and Valeria, who were also martyred for the Faith. The relics of St.
Nazarius were translated by St. Ambrose from a garden outside the city to the Church of the Holy
Apostles. The relics of St. Gervasius and St. Protasius were revealed to him in a miraculous vision.
 Suffering and the Crucified
Christ
Fr. Emmanuel Clapsis

Suffering is an inescapable aspect of human life in the present

world. Suffering, affliction and tragic experiences disclose the
vulnerable nature of human life; it enables us to recognize our
limitations as human beings and our dependence upon others and
upon God for sustenance in life. Suffering has the potential to lead
human beings either to despair, misery and self enclosure or to
transcendence through hope and faith, trusting the benevolence of God and His covenant relationship
with His people.

There is a strong instinct in humans to seek reason(s) for their suffering. Why? Why me? These
questions emerge from every human experience of suffering. The need to search for the causes of
suffering is deeply engrained in us. Sometimes we find the answer and modify our behavior in the light
of bad experiences. But, sometimes the causes are beyond our knowledge or control, and the search leads
to increased frustration, misplaced guilt or blaming others. Yet, we find it hard to accept that we may
never know the real reason for our suffering. We resent the inex plicable mystery, especially when we
feel helpless and numb in the face of meaningless suffering. Thus, our search for meaning and
explanations employs all our rational capacities to find intelligible causes for the inexplicable.

Every act and any reflection on suffering and death must begin by doing justice to actual human
experience. Not all suffering is meaningless. Suffering can be an opportunity for maturation; an occasion
to direct one’s life to the essential. Nevertheless, the suffering which one mos t often encounters is
deadening, barbaric, and meaningless. The concrete experience of human suffering continues to call for a
response, continues to raise the issue of its meaningfulness or, alternately, its meaninglessness. Suffering
can never be kept at a distance: I am always involved in it; I share in it, either personally or insofar as I
share in the lives of the others. Undeserved suffering makes suffering intolerable in a world which is not
ruled by irrational fate but by the just and powerful God. In Scripture, we find multiple responses and
interpretations of what suffering means in a theocentric structure of reality. All of them, however, are
worth understanding and may help in dealing with our own suffering and that of others. Yet, none of
these approaches is fully satisfactory taken on its own. Each one of them is a helpful resource to cope with
suffering since escape from suffering as long as we live in history is impossible.

Suffering is not a problem, but an unfathomable, theoretically inco mprehensible mystery. We should not
try to explain suffering or construct theories about the reasons for suffering in the world and systematic
explanations that seek to reconcile innocent suffering with belief in a good and all powerful God. The
pervading presence of senseless suffering in the world falls outside the bounds of every rational system.
Remember how Dostoyevsky in his book Brothers Karamazov was seized with horror in contemplating the
picture of suffering throughout the world, especially the su ffering of the innocent and of the little children.
The only answer, which Aliosha (representing Dostoyevsky's own faith and attitude) can give is the image
of the Crucified: He can pardon all; He can reconcile all, for He has measured the depth of our aff lictions,
of our loneliness, and of our pain. In the Crucified Christ, God does not remain a distant spectator of the
undeserving suffering of the innocent but He participates in their suffering through the Cross and plants
hope in the life of all afflicted persons through the Resurrection. When faced with the mystery of evil and
suffering, the story of Jesus as the story of God is the only adequate response. The human quest for
meaning and hope in tragic situations of affliction, draw from Christ’s death a nd Resurrection the power of
life needed for sustenance. Thus, as Christians we do not argue against suffering, but tell a story.

The suffering and death of Jesus were the outcome of his public ministry, his preaching and making
present the reign of God. The death of Jesus cannot be an isolated act of redemption detached from what
transpired in His life. The crucifixion of Jesus was the intrinsic historical consequence of both His message
and His lifestyle. The cross is salvific only in light of what God h as accomplished in the Resurrection. The
Crucifixion of Jesus should be envisioned as the ultimate expression of human rejection of salvation -from-
God offered in Jesus. God, who according to Leviticus ‘abominates human sacrifices’ (Lev. 18:21 –30;
20:1–5), did not put Jesus on the Cross. Human beings did that. Although God always comes in power,
divine power knows no use of force, not even against those who had crucified Christ. But the kingdom of
God still comes, despite human misuse of power and human reje ction of God’s love.

The fact that Jesus in the last supper with His disciples offered the cup to His disciples for one last time,
with the trust that He will drink it anew in the reign of God (Mk. 14:25), indicates Jesus’ trust that His
communion with God and with His disciples was stronger than deat h. Jesus’ cry of abandonment: “My
God, my God, why have you forsaken me,” taken from the opening line of Psalm 22, should be interpreted
in light of the entire psalm. Read as a whole, this psalm is a prayer of anguish but also a confession of trust
in God. And it concludes with an expression of praise and thanksgiving for deliverance by God.
What is Christian Stewardship? Christian Stewardship is…

…learning how to be a responsible and concerned caretaker of Christ’s Church; it is learning

how to enjoy Church life and be happy in Church work., for in Her dwells the fullness of the
Spirit of God.

…our active commitment to use all our time, talent and treasure for the benefit of humankind in
grateful acknowledgment of Christ’s redeeming love.

…caring for the needs of others.

…offering one’s self to God as He offered Himself to us.

…what a person does after saying “I believe…”, as proof of that belief.

…devotion and service to God and His Church as persons, as families, as diocese/metropolis, as
national Church and as Church universal.
 ICONS: Q and A
Do Orthodox Christians pray to Icons?
Christians pray in the presence of Icons (just as Israelites prayed in the presence of Icons in the
Temple), but we do not pray to the image.

Do Orthodox Christians Worship Icons? What's the difference between "worship" and "veneration"?
Orthodox Christians do not worship Icons in the sense that the word "worship" is commonly used in
modern English. In older translations one finds the word "worship" used to translate the Greek word
proskyneo (literally, "to bow"). Nevertheless, one must understand that the older use of "worship" in
English was much broader than it is generally used today, and was often used to refer simply to the
act of honoring, venerating, or reverencing. For example, in the old Book of Common Prayer, one of
the wedding vows was "with my body I thee worship," but this was never intended to imply that the
bride would worship her husband in the sense in which "worship" is commonly used now. Orthodox
Christians do venerate Icons, which is to say, we pay respect to them because they are holy objects,
and because we reverence what the Icons depict. We do not worship Icons any more than
Americans worship the American flag. Saluting the flag is not exactly the same type of veneration
as we pay to Icons, but it is indeed a type of veneration. And just as we do not venerate wood and
paint, but rather the persons depicted in the Icon, patriotic Americans do not venerate cloth and dye,
but rather the country which the flag represents.

Doesn't the 2nd Commandment forbid Icons?

The issue with respect to the 2nd commandment is what does the word translated "graven images" mean? If it
simply means carved images, then the images in the temple would be in violation of this Commandment. Our
best guide, however, to what Hebrew words mean, is what they meant to Hebrews—and when the Hebrews
translated the Bible into Greek, they translated this word simply as "eidoloi", i.e. "idols." Furthermore the
Hebrew word pesel is never used in reference to any of the images in the temple. So clearly the reference here
is to pagan images rather than images in general. Let's look at the Scriptural passage in question more closely:
"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image (i.e. idol), or any likeness of anything that is in heaven
above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to
them, nor shalt thou serve (worship) them..." (Exodus 20:4-5a). Now, if we take this as a reference to images
of any kind, then clearly the cherubim in the Temple violate this command. If we limit this as applying only to
idols, no contradiction exists. Furthermore, if this applies to all images—then even the picture on a driver's
license violates it, and is an idol. So either every Protestant with a driver's license is an idolater, or Icons are
not idols. Leaving aside, for the moment, the meaning of "graven images" lets simply look at what this text
actually says about them. You shall not make x, you shall not bow to x, you shall not worship x. If x =
image, then the Temple itself violates this Commandment. If x = idol and not all images, then this verse
contradicts neither the Icons in the Temple, nor Orthodox Icons.