Great Lent 2017

The MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE

HOLY TAXIARHAI AND SAINT HARALAMBOS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH

7373 CALDWELL AVENUE, NILES, ILLINOIS · 60714 PHONE (847) 647-8880 WWW.SAINTHARALAMBOSGOC.ORG

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18)

Repentance is the beginning of the new Christian life, or of

the new Christian existence, an existence in Christ. The

Gospel began with the words of St John the Forerunner:

“Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” And Christ’s

preaching after His Baptism was: “Repent and believe in the

Gospel.” But in our times the question is raised: why does

one need to repent?

Repentance is a religious concept. It is not simply to change

one’s lifestyle, or one’s inner feeling, or one’s experience, but

to change one’s whole being.

Here is an example for you. One of our Serbs – he is now

already sixty years old – was a Communist in his youth and,

like all of them, did a lot of bad to the people. But later he

turned to faith, to God, to the Church, and said, when he was

offered to receive Communion: “No, I did a lot of evil.”

“Well, go, confess.” “But no,” he said, “I’ll go to confession to

a priest, but I sinned in front of the people, and I need to

confess openly to the people.”

These words are full of an understanding of what repentance

is. Here you see the ecclesiastical perception, that of ancient

Christianity, and authentically Biblical, that man is never

alone in the world. He stands, above all, before God, but also

before people. Therefore in the Bible, man’s transgression

before God is always related to one’s neighbor, and this

means that it has social, public dimensions and consequenc-

es. From this we get a holistic understanding of repentance,

as a correction and standing before both God and people.

Christ begins His Gospel, His good news, His teaching to

mankind with repentance. St Mark the Ascetic, a disciple of

St John Chrysostom, who lived as a desert-dweller in the

fourth-fifth centuries in Asia Minor, teaches that our Lord

Jesus Christ, the power of God and the Wisdom of God, left

only one law: the law of freedom. But one can reach this law

of freedom only through repentance. Christ commanded the

Apostles: “Preach re-

pentance to all the na-

tions, for the Kingdom

of God is at hand.” By

this the Lord wished to

say that the power of the

Kingdom of Heaven is

contained in the power

of repentance, just as

bread is contained in

leaven, and a plant is

contained in a seed. In this way repentance is the beginning

of the Heavenly Kingdom. Recall St Paul’s Epistle to the He-

brews: those who repented felt the power of the Heavenly

Kingdom, the power of the age to come.

So repentance is not simply the social or psychological abil-

ity to live with other people without conflict. Repentance is

ontological, that is, a category of being in Christianity.

Christ’s word of repentance is not a defamation of human

nature, it is not an “intrusion” of something foreign into

man’s nature, but is the most nature, normal, appropriate

thing to man’s nature. The only problem is that man’s nature

is fallen, and therefore is in an abnormal condition. Repent-

ance is precisely the tool by which man can correct his na-

ture, returning it to its normal condition. Therefore the Lord

said: “Metanoite,” that is, “change your mind.”

The problem is that our thought has departed from God, has

departed from ourselves and from others. It is an illness, a

perversion, but not yet destruction, as illness is not the

destruction of an organism, but merely corruption. The

sinful state of man is a corruption of his nature, but man can

be restored and corrected, and therefore repentance works

(Continued on page 6)

REPENTANCE (excerpts) By Bishop Atanasije (Jevtic)

WORSHIP SCHEDULE

GREAT LENT 2017

MARCH Monday, March 20 6:00 pm—Great Compline

Wednesday, March 22 6:00 pm--Presanctified Liturgy

Friday, March 24—Eve of the Annunciation 7:00 pm—Vespers with Salutations

Saturday, March 25—The ANNUNCIATION 8:30 am—Orthros and Liturgy

Sun, March 26—St John of the Ladder 8:15 am—Orthros 9:30 am—Sunday School 9:30 am—Divine Liturgy

Monday, March 27 6:00 pm—Great Compline

Wednesday, March 29 6:00 pm--The Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete

Friday, March 31 7:00 pm—The Akathist Hymn

APRIL Sun, April 2—St Mary of Egypt 8:15 am—Orthros 9:30 am—Sunday School 9:30 am—Divine Liturgy

Monday, April 3 6:00 pm—Great Compline

Tues, April 4 7:00 pm—Pan Orthodox Akathist at New Gracanica Serbian Orthodox Monastery in Grayslake, IL

Wednesday, April 5 6:00 pm--Presanctified Liturgy

Saturday, April 8—Saturday of Lazaros 8:30 am—Orthros 9:30 am—Divine Liturgy Lazaros Retreat Day!

Sun, April 9—PALM SUNDAY 8:15 am—Orthros 9:30 am—Sunday School 9:30 am—Divine Liturgy HOLY WEEK BEGINS (see page 7) OUR SISTER COMMUNITY of the Annunciation Cathedral in Chicago invites you to Great Vespers on Friday evening, March 24, in honor of the feast of the Annunciation, and to Liturgy on Saturday morning, March 25. (Of course, Liturgy WILL be celebrated at St Haralambos on March 25.)

SACRAMENTS AND BLESSINGS MINISTRY TO PERSONS WHO ARE SICK-We urge Orthodox Christians who would like to receive Holy Sacraments but are unable to attend church (hospitalized or at home) to contact the church office so Holy Sacraments can be administered to them.

If your loved one is hospitalized please call us, even if the illness is not serious! In a wholistic approach to healing and well-being, a visit from the priest can be very positive. Most hospitals do not in-form us when they receive patients from our parish. We depend on you!

BLESSINGS OF INFANTS—Forty days after birth, a child and its mother come to church to receive a 40 Day Blessing, imitating Christ who was presented in the Temple 40 days after He was born. Please call the church office to arrange this blessing.

BAPTISMS—Please call the church office to schedule Baptisms. Plan ahead!—there are some days when Baptisms are not performed. Keep in mind that there should be only one Godparent and that a child is sup-posed to be given one name when he or she is baptized.

WEDDINGS—Please arrange an appointment with Fr. Dean at least eight months before the proposed wedding date to allow time for all necessary marriage preparation.

CONFESSION—Confessions are arranged by appointment. Please call the church office to schedule Confession.

MEMORIAL SERVICES—Memorial Services are offered for the eternal rest of persons who have fallen asleep in the Lord. Customarily, these services are offered at 40 days, at 6 months, at 1 year and at 3 years. When three years have passed, the departed are more properly remembered on the Saturdays of the Souls.

END OF LIFE ISSUES 1 - A Proper Funeral Conveys Divine Grace to Our Loved One For an Orthodox Christian, a church funeral is a necessity. As we pray, the funeral service brings divine Grace to those who have fallen asleep, for their forgiveness and eternal rest. We should not consider a church funeral to be an inconvenience, out of love, it is our duty. What good reason can there be to deny our loved ones from God’s saving Grace and the honor they deserve? Let us honor our parents and rela-tives with the respect they deserve!

2 - About Cremation Orthodox Christians believe that in the General Resurrection, our bodies and souls will be restored to each other. Cremation is the delib-erate desecration and destruction of what God has made, and is viewed as the denial of the Resurrection. In cases where there is intention for the body of a deceased person to be cremated, thus choosing to disregard our understanding of the Resurrection, the honor of a church funeral is not given, either in the church, or the funeral home or any other place. Additionally, memorial services with kolyva are not allowed, since the connection of the “kernel of wheat” as a sign of the Resurrection has been intentionally destroyed.

2017 STEWARDSHIP

DISCOVER THE LIGHT!

2017 STEWARDSHIP UPDATE

As of March 10, 2017

268 families have promised $151,932

for 2017 Stewardship!

Average level of giving is $567!

Have you become a 2017 Steward yet?

HOLY TAXIARHAI AND SAINT HARALAMBOS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH

From Father Dean Great Lent 2017 Dear Stewards and Friends,

We are in the middle of one of our busiest seasons! After our delightful 66th Anniversary Luncheon Banquet (thanks to the chairpersons Rubine Giannopoulos and Rubina Antonopoulos!), we enjoyed an outstanding Tsiknopempti Dinner hosted by our Philoptochos, and a fun-filled Apokreatiko Party hosted by our Saturday School PTO!

Now that Great Lent has begun, we are invited to attend the special evening services: Great Compline on Monday evenings, the Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesdays and the Salutations/Akathist Hymn on Fridays. Everyone is busy, but Lent is a period of Retreat. This is a war term, when the soldiers need to get away from their regular stress in order to regroup and strengthen them-selves. This is something we all need!

One very special service is the Pan-Orthodox Akathist, which will take place at 7:00 Tuesday evening, April 4 at the New Gracanica Serbian Orthodox Monastery in Grayslake, IL. We hope to see you there!

Our newly-created Inreach Committee launched the first of three lectures on March 11. The speaker was Dr. Brad Nassif from North Park University, and our audience was very enthused! The next lecture will be at 7:00 on Tuesday evening, March 28, and the speaker will be Dr. Philip Mamalakis, who teaches pastoral care at Holy Cross School of Theology in Brookline, MA . His topic will be “Raising our Children in the Faith.” (See the flyer on page 5 for more details.)

Our Pledge Drive continues for our Expansion Project. This is a major project and we need everyone’s (100%) support to make it happen!

Phase 3 is different from our annual stewardship campaign. Phase 3 asks us to make a special effort for a special project. After so many years, we have obviously outgrown our facilities, and we come to you for help, as we did in 1983 for our community center, and 1987 for our church. You made it happen!

Many years have passed since 1987 and now we ask you to make an exceptional sacrifice. If everyone helps, we can make this happen, too! We are looking for 100% participation! Over a three year period, how can you help? We are anxious to begin, and we need you!

Very soon it will be Holy Week, a time to examine our relation-ship with God and be grateful for His love and sacrifice for our salva-tion. No one celebrates Holy Week and Pascha like the Orthodox!

We wish you a prayerful and productive Lenten season, and Καλή Ἀνάστασι!

IN THIS ISSUE:

About our Community (pg 2) Letter from our Priest (pg 3) Announcements (pg 4) Phase 3! (pg 5) Lenten Cuisine (pg 6) Holy Week Schedule (pg 7) Easter Bake Sale (pg 8) Calendar (pg 10)

HOLY TAXIARHAI AND SAINT HARALAMBOS

GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH NILES, ILLINOIS

Proistamenos…………....…... Fr. Constantine P. Botsis Synefimerios…………..….…....... Fr. George Lamberis Pastoral Assistant....….…..... Deacon John G. Suhayda Chanter…………..........…….....…..…..Nick Harisiadis Parish Council Officers President………...…...………..… Perry Giannopoulos Vice President….................…...……..… Nick Andrews Treasurer……….…............................... David Loomos Secretary……………….……………..… Kathy Apithis Phase III Chairman......................... Perry Giannopoulos Stewardship………………………………. Budget Committee Chairman .........Perry Giannopoulos Building & Grounds Chairman……. …... Michael Pontikes and Theodoros Karabatsos Decor Committee Chairman..............Stephan Aliferakis Finance Committee Chairman...…............. Tom Sikoral Outreach Committee………....………...…..John Pierce Inreach Committee………………... School Board Chairman….................Olympia Bournias Audit Committee Chairman……..……..George Houpis ..

Food Fest Chairman………………. Philoptochos President..…………........Maria Dimitriou PTA Co-Presidents (Afternoon School)…. ….....Anna Sikoral and Kathy Ioannidis PTA President (Preschool)…....…...Marianna Memmos PTA Co-Presidents (Saturday School)……. ......Melina Papadopoulos and Irene Mohr Greek School Principal….............. Mrs. Anastasia Liapi Saturday School Director…Mrs. Andrianna Panayiotou Preschool Director…..…...…….........Mrs. Rita Petratos Sunday School Director….....Presvytera Georgia Botsis Athletic Director…………...…....…..… David Loomos Scoutmaster..……..…………....…..... Vasili Zimbrakos Asst Cubmaster…...…………...………....... John Frake Little Angels…………..……… Mrs. Christine Kavadas YAL President……..................….....Christina Pappadis GOYA President….......................... ……... Alex Anton Jr. Goya Advisor……..….….…..……… Father George Bookstore Manager….........…......……Jolynn Ruggerio Web Master and IT.....…....…....…..…George Houpis Facebook……………..………………...Elizabeth Kotis Office Staff….. …………………….. Barbara Skaouris, Alexandra Grivas, Anna Sikoral Maintenance Staff…..Juan Caro and Carolina Contreras

COMMUNITY NEWS ΑΝΑΚΟΙΝΩΣΕΙΣ

2017 Stewardship—DISCOVER THE LIGHT! We remind you to please submit your 2017 Stewardship Card to our church. Stewardship is the foundation for all of our financial and spiritual goals. Our Church and its many ministries are possible because of the love and support of you, our Stewards.

SHUT-INS–Please inform the Church office about elderly or ill individuals who would like our priest to visit them and bring them Holy Communion during this holy season.

HOLY CONFESSION--Great Lent has begun, and it is customary to receive the Sacrament of Holy Confession dur-ing Lent. This can be done by appointment with Fr. Dean. We urge you: schedule your confession as early as possible and please do not wait until Holy Week!

PAN-ORTHODOX AKATHIST HYMN will take place at 7:00 pm on Tuesday evening, April 4th at the Serbian Ortho-dox Monastery of the Holy Mother of God in Grayslake, IL. The wonderful Pan-Orthodox Choir of Chicago will sing the responses. Plan to attend this beautiful service!

ANNUAL EASTER BAKE SALE—The St. Haralambos Ladies Philoptochos invite you to their An-nual Easter Bake Sale, taking place on Wednesday and Thursday, April 5-6 in our Community Center. A great opportunity to buy your Easter Tsourekia, red eggs and pastries! Lunch will be served both days, and the Coffee Shop will be open! Please tell your friends, and bring them with you to shop for all your Easter Pastries and breads! The Bake Sale will be from 9:00 am until 6:00 pm.

SATURDAY OF LAZAROS FAMILY RETREAT “HOW DID YOU KNOW JESUS?”--Join us for a transformational retreat for the entire family on April 8, beginning at 9:30 am with a TEACHING LITURGY! After worship, there will be a Lenten meal, crafts, music and making palm crosses. The retreat will end at 3:00 pm. Proper Church clothes are required.

You must register so there will be enough supplies! There is a registration cost of $25 per family, and registrations will be accepted until Monday, April 3. Don’t miss this!

ANNUAL PALM SUNDAY LUNCHEON—April 9 is Palm Sunday! The St. Haralambos PTA invites you to its annual Palm Sunday Luncheon, after church services on Sunday, April 9. Because of space limitations, reservations will be required. The donation will be $20 for fish with skor-dalia, and $8 for spaghetti with marinara sauce; a number of "To Go" orders will also be available at $20. To make reser-vations, please call the Church office (847-647-8880) not later than April 7!

HOLY UNCTION ON HOLY WEDNESDAY—We would like to remind everyone that, on Holy Wednesday, Holy Unction will only be given by anointing. If there is a need for the anointing of the sick or those who are unable to attend the service, the priest will visit and anoint those persons by arrangement at the proper time. Holy Unction will no longer be given out.

2017 Stewardship—DISCOVER THE LIGHT! Ο Χριστός, που είναι το Φως του Κόσμου, μας είπε «Είστε το φως του Κόσμου, αφίστε το φως σας να λάμψει μπροστἀ από τους ἀλλους.» Stewardship είναι η ανακάλυψη του δικού μας φωτός χρησιμοποιώντας τα ταλέντα μας και τα δώρα που ο Θεός μας έχει χαρίσει. Σας παρακαλούμε να συμπληρώνετε την κάρτα προσφοράς σας για το 2017 προσεκτικά και να απαντάτε σε ΟΛΕΣ τις ερωτήσεις. Οι εθελοντικές υπηρεσίες που σας ενδιαφέρουν αντανακλούν τα ταλέντα και τα δώρα σας απ΄το Θεό—το φως που υπάρχει μέσα σας!

ΤΟ ΜΥΣΤΗΡIΟΝ ΤΗΣ ΕΞΟΜΟΛΟΓΗΣΕΩΣ--Συvηθίζεται vα γίvονται εξoμoλογήσεις κατά τηv διάρκειαv της Μ. Σαρακoστής. Δια να γίνει αυτό πρέπει να κανονίσετε συνάντηση με τον π. Κωνσταντίνο. Σας παροτρύνουμε να κανονίσετε ημερομηνία εξομολογήσεως το συντομότερον δυνατόν και παρακαλούμε μην περιμέvετε vα εξoμoλoγηθείτε την Μεγάλη Εβδομάδα!

ΑΝΑΚΟΙΝΩΣΗ—Μια υπενθύμιση ότι την Μεγάλη Τετάρτη, το Άγιον Ευχέλαιον θα δίδεται μόνον κατόπιν χρίσεως από τους ιερείς. Εαν υπάρχει ανάγκη να χρισθεί κάποιος άρρωστος ή κάποιος που δεν μπορεί να έλθει στην εκκλησία, ο ιερέας θα φροντίσει να επισκεφτεί τα άτομα αυτά και να τα χρίσει στο σπίτι την καθορισμένη ώρα. To Άγιον Ευχέλαιον δεν θα δίδεται πλέον εκτός εκκλησίας.

ΕΣΩΚΛΕΙΣΤΑ ΑΤΟΜΑ-Παρακαλούμε όπως πληροφορείτε το γραφείο της εκκλησίας δια τους ηλικιωμένους ή αρρώστους που θέλουν να λάβουν την Θείαν Κοινωνίαν και δεν δύνανται να έλθουν στην εκκλησία, ούτως ώστε ο ιερέας μας να προγραμματίσει να τους προσφέρει την Θείαν Κοινωνίαν όπου διαμένουν.

Η ΕΤΗΣIΑ ΜΑΣ ΠΩΛΗΣΗ ΓΛΥΚIΣΜΑΤΩΝ θα λάβη χώραv τηv Τετάρτη και Πέμπτη, 5-6 Απριλίου στην κοινοτική μας αίθουσα! Ελάτε vα πρoμηθευτείτε τα Πασχαλιvά σας γλυκίσματα και ψωμιά! Ολα είvαι σπιτίσια και voστιμώτατα! Η Πώληση γλυκισμάτωv θα διαρκέσει από τις 9:00 π.μ. έως τις 6:00 μ.μ.

ΟΙΚΟΓΕΝΕΙΑΚΗ ΣΥΝΑΞΗ ΤΟΥ ΣΑΒΒΑΤΟΥ ΤΟΥ

ΛΑΖΑΡΟΥ Η Ετήσια ΟΙΚΟΓΕΝΕΙΑΚΗ ΣΥΝΑΞΗ το Σάββατο

του Λαζάρου θα λάβει χώραν την 8η Απριλίου και θα αρχίσουμε

στις 9:30 π.μ. με Διδακτικήν Λειτουργία! Η Σύναξη περιλαμβάνει

νηστήσιμο πρόγευμα, μάθημα και χειροτεχνία. Εγγραφή είναι $25

η οικογένεια!

Πρέπει να εγγραφείτε για να έχουμε αρκετές προμήθειες!

Ημερομηνία λήξεως εγγραφών είναι η Δευτέρα, 18 Απριλίου.

ΕΤΗΣΙΟ ΓΕΥΜΑ ΤΗΣ ΚΥΡΙΑΚΗΣ ΤΩΝ ΒΑΙΩΝ-Το “PTA” του Αγ. Χαραλάμπους σας προσκαλεί στο ετήσιο Γεύμα της Κυριακής των Βαίων, 9 Απριλίου, μετά το τέλος της Θείας Λειτουργίας. Επειδή ο χώρος είναι περιορισμένος, χρειάζεται να κρατήσετε θέσεις. Η δωρεά είναι μόνον $20 δια το μπακαλάο με σκορδαλιά, και $8 δια τα μακαρόνια. Επίσης δεχόμεθα

IOCC CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY! ANNUAL BANQUET will take place at 6:00 pm on Thurs-day, May 11 at the Café la Cave, 2777 Mannheim Road in Des Plaines. IOCC provides desperately needed food and medical supplies worth millions of dollars to people in need and to disaster vic-tims around the world in the name of our Orthodox Church. They truly deserve our support! Plan to attend this event! Please call the St. Haralambos Church Office (847-647-8880) to make your reservations!

THE SAINT HARALAMBOS

COMMUNITY CENTER EXPANSION INSPIRED BY FAITH. COMMITTED TO BUILD.

Now is the time to faithfully

consider a 3-year pledge to help achieve our goal.

Let everyone one of us do the best we can!

Let’s make it 100% participation,

because we need everyone’s help!

I read an interesting commentary on “what on earth can I eat since the church forbids eating meat, fish and dairy?”

It’s a reasonable question, but must not be allowed to govern our understanding of what Lenten fasting is all about, or give the impression that Lent is primarily about food.

The Church does not have any food laws in the way that Judaism, Islam, or Hinduism have food laws. Religions often have food laws, but Christianity is not a religion. Rather, it is our participation in this world as preparation for the Kingdom of God, and as such it transcends “religion” with all its categories, includ-ing the category of unclean food.

Religions have such categories; for example, Judaism and Islam forbid the eating of pork. Hinduism forbids eating cows, and some of its literature declares that no one who eats meat can have any knowledge of God.

These are true food laws, and no one can obtain dispensation from them to eat pork any more that they could obtain a dispensa-tion from the law of gravity. They are not “food guidelines,” but “food laws.” Unclean food remains unclean no matter what.

Christianity knows nothing of this. Saint Paul declared that “nothing is unclean in itself” (Romans 14:14), and that “nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for then it is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer.” To deny this in the Church, he says, is one of the “doctrines of demons” (I Timothy 4:1-5). Our fasting rules are not “food laws.”

What then is the point of them?

The rules and abstinence have less to do with the stomach, and more to do with the heart. By fasting from good things such as meat, fish and dairy, we train our appetites to submit.

Have you ever seen a dog with a treat balanced on its nose? The dog longs for the treat, but has been trained by its master not to eat the treat until allowed.

Lent disciplines us to imitate the obedience of the well-trained dog, and not eat the treat until allowed at Pascha. In Great

Lent, we show that our mind guided by the Lord is our “boss,” and not our stomach as we smell tempting foods around us.

Finally, the most important thing about the Lenten fasting cuisine is that it helps soften our heart and promote love.

As Saint Paul once warned his Galatian converts, “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Galatians 5:14). It is too easy to speak words which wound, and to destroy another by gossip, criticism, and insult.

As Solomon once taught, death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21), and we often use that power for death and not for life. Saint James warned us that the tongue is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

Man stands at the top of the food chain, and has tamed every other species—lions, and tigers, and bears. But who can tame the tongue? If one has tamed the tongue, one has seen the Kingdom, and is mature and perfect man (James 3:1-12)!

Lent bids us tame the tongue and to love silence. Some peo-ple, when they arise in the morning, turn on the computer or the television or the radio and leave it on all day. So often I would preach to leave the television off during Lent (except possibly for new programs or documentaries).

It’s hard work to observe silence, just as fasting is hard work. But only by doing this can we find a spiritual maturity.

Can a fig tree yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

Control—our mind as guided by the Lord and His teach-ings—guides what goes into our bodies and what comes out of them.

May you have a Good Lent.

By Fr. Eugene Pappas “The Epistle” newsletter of the Retired Clergy Association

LENTEN CUISINE

(Continued from page 1)

REPENTANCE Bishop Atanasije (Jevtic)

like health amidst sickness, on the sick nature of man. Given

that the Savior said that we must repent, even if we do not

feel ourselves in need of repentance, we should believe Him

that we do really need to repent. In fact the closer the great

saints approached God, the more strongly they felt the need

for repentance, inasmuch as they felt the depths of man’s

fallenness.

One Serbian peasant-communist said fairly crudely: “Well,

where is God, that I can grab Him by the throat?” Is he an

atheist? No, he is not an atheist; he has a lively sense of God,

struggling with God like Jacob. Of course it is outrageous to

speak this way, but he felt a vital life…

In the Song of Songs or in the Psalms we see an existential

dialog between God and man. They both suffer. God feels

sorry for man, and man feels sorry. Dostoevsky in particular

has clearly shown that when man is distanced from God he

loses something precious and great. Such a blunder, not

coming to meet God, is always a tragedy. Tragedy is the con-

sciousness of the loss of that which could have been grasped.

When man loses love, is distanced from God, he feels this

tragically, for he was created for love. Repentance returns us

to normal or, at least, to the beginning of a normal path. It is

like an earthquake that destroys all that had seemed stable,

but turned out to be false, and then one needs to change

everything that had been. Then begins the authentic, perma-

nent formation of the personality, of a new man.

GREAT AND HOLY

WEEK 2017 Η ΑΓΙΑ ΚΑΙ MΕΓΑΛΗ

EΒΔΟΜΑΣ 2017

THE SATURDAY OF LAZAROS (April 8) 8:30 am – Orthros 9:30 am – Divine Liturgy with Commentary

PALM SUNDAY (April 9) 8:15 am – Orthros 9:30 am – Sunday School 9:30 am – Divine Liturgy

PALM SUNDAY EVENING 7:00 pm– Service of the Bridegroom

GREAT AND HOLY MONDAY (April 10) 7:00 pm – Service of the Bridegroom

GREAT AND HOLY TUESDAY (April 11) 7:00 pm – Service of the Bridegroom;

Hymn of Cassiani

GREAT AND HOLY WEDNESDAY (April 12) 2:00 pm – The Sacrament of Holy Unction 7:00 pm – Orthros of the Last Supper,

Holy Unction Anointing

GREAT AND HOLY THURSDAY (April 13) 6:00 am – Divine Liturgy of the Mystical Last

Supper (Holy Communion) 7:00 pm – The Twelve Passion Gospels

GREAT AND HOLY FRIDAY (April 14) 9:00 am – The Royal Hours 2:00 pm – The Descent from the Cross 7:00 pm – Service of the Lamentations

GREAT AND HOLY SATURDAY (April 15) 8:30 am– Liturgy of the "First Resurrection"

(Holy Communion)

HOLY SATURDAY EVENING 11:00 pm – Orthros 12:00 am– THE RESURRECTION,

LITURGY OF PASCHA

PASCHA SUNDAY (April 16) 12:00 noon – THE "AGAPI" EASTER VESPERS

OF LOVE

BRIGHT FRIDAY – (April 21) THE LIFE-GIVING FOUNTAIN 8:30 am – Orthros and Divine Liturgy

HAPPY EASTER!

ΣΑΒΒΑΤΟ ΤΟΥ ΛΑΖΑΡΟΥ (8 Ἀπριλίου) 8:30 πμ – Ὄρθρος 9:30 πμ – Θεία Λειτουργία

ΚΥΡΙΑΚΗ ΤΩΝ ΒΑΙΩΝ (9 Ἀπριλίου) 8:15 πμ – Ὄρθρος 9:30 πμ – Κατηχητικό Σχολείο 9:30 πμ – Θεία Λειτουργία

ΚΥΡΙΑΚΗ ΤΩΝ ΒΑΙΩΝ – ΒΡΑΔΥ 7:00 μμ – Ἀκολουθία τοῦ Νυμφίου

ΑΓΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΜΕΓΑΛΗ ΔΕΥΤΕΡΑ (10 Ἀπριλίου) 7:00 μμ – Ἀκολουθία τοῦ Νυμφίου

ΑΓΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΜΕΓΑΛΗ ΤΡΙΤΗ (11 Ἀπριλίου) 7:00 μμ – Ἀκολουθία τοῦ Νυμφίου, Ὕμνον τῆς Κασσιανῆς

ΑΓΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΜΕΓΑΛΗ ΤΕΤΑΡΤΗ (12 Ἀπριλίου) 2:00 μμ – Τὀ Μυστήριον τοῦ Εὐχελαίου 7:00 μμ – Ὄρθρος τοῦ Μυστικοῦ Δείπνου,

Εὐχέλαιον

ΑΓΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΜΕΓΑΛΗ ΠΕΜΠΤΗ (13 Ἀπριλίου) 6:00 πμ – Θεία Λειτουργία τοῦ Μυστικοῦ

Δείπνου (Θεία Κοινωνία) 7:00 μμ – Τά Πάθη (Δώδεκα Ευαγγέλια)

ΑΓΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΜΕΓΑΛΗ ΠΑΡΑΣΚΕΥΗ (14 Άπριλίου) 9:00 πμ – Οἱ Βασιλικές Ὥρες 2:00 μμ – Ἐσπερινός τῆς Ἀποκαθηλώσεως 7:00 μμ – Ὁ Ἐπιτάφιος Θρῆνος

ΑΓΙΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΜΕΓΑ ΣΑΒΒΑΤΟ (15 Ἀπριλίου) 8:30 πμ – Λειτουργία «Πρώτης Ἀναστάσεως» (Θεία Κοινωνία)

ΜΕΓΑ ΣΑΒΒΑΤΟ ΒΡΑΔΥ 11:00 μμ – Ὄρθρος 12:00 πμ – H ΑΝΑΣΤΑΣΙΣ, ΘΕΙΑ ΛΕΙΤΟΥΡΓΙΑ

ΤΟΥ ΠΑΣΧΑ

ΚΥΡΙΑΚΗ ΤΟΥ ΠΑΣΧΑ (16 Ἀπριλίου) 12:00 μμ – ΕΣΠΕΡΙΝΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΑΓΑΠΗΣ

ΠΑΡΑΣΚΕΥΗ ΤΗΣ ΛΑΜΠΡΗΣ ΤΗΣ ΖΩΟΔΟΧΟΥ ΠΗΓΗΣ (6 Μαίου) 8:30 πμ –Ὄρθρος καἰ Θεία Λειτουργία

ΕΥΛΟΓΗΜΕΝΟ ΠΑΣΧΑ!

The Lenten Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian

O Lord and Master of my life,

Give me not the spirit of laziness,

meddling, love of power and gossip;

Give, rather, the spirit of purity,

humility, patience and love to me,

Your servant.

Yea, O Lord and King,

Grant me to see my own faults

and not to judge my brother,

For You are blessed to the ages of ages.

Amen.

25th ANNIVERSARY! IOCC

ANNUAL BANQUET TO PROVIDE FOOD AND MEDICINE TO PEOPLE

IN NEED AROUND THE WORLD

6:00 pm Thursday evening, May 11, 2017

Café la Cave 2777 Mannheim Road,

Des Plaines, IL

Please call St. Haralambos Church Office for reservations,

by May 6! 847-647-8880

SATURDAY OF LAZAROS FAMILY RETREAT

How Did You Know Jesus?

9:30 am to 3:00 pm

SATURDAY, April 8, 2017

Commentary Liturgy 9:30 am Proper church clothes required

A day of Liturgy, Crafts, Lenten Lunch and learning for the whole family!

Come and help us make palm crosses

and decorate the Church for Palm Sunday!

You must register so there will be enough supplies! There is a registration cost of $25 per family, and registrations will be accepted until Monday, April 3. Don’t miss this!

St. Haralambos Philoptochos presents its

Annual Spring Bake Sale

Home-made Pastries for Easter!

Thursday-Friday, April 5-6, 2017

St. Haralambos Community Center

PAN-ORTHODOX AKATHIST HYMN

7:00 IN THE EVENING, TUESDAY, APril 4, 2017

Holy Mother of God Serbian Orthodox Monastery Rt. 45, 1 mile south of Rt 132

(Grand Av.) Third Lake (Grayslake), IL

RESPONSES WILL BE SUNG BY THE PAN-ORTHODOX CHOIR

OF GREATER CHICAGO

Holy Friday Family Gathering

12:00 noon to 2:00 pm Friday, April 14, 2017

Proper Church clothes required

Activity, Wrap eggs for Anastasi, Snack

2:00 pm—Apokathelosis Service

Great Lent 2017

19 VENERATION OF THE CROSS 8:15 am—Orthros 9:30 am—Sunday School 9:30 am—Divine Liturgy

20

5:30 pm—Family Night

6:00-Compline

7:30 pm—GOYA

21 11:30—-Little Angels 4:30 pm—Greek School

22

6:00-Liturgy of Presanctified

8:00 pm—Parish Council Mtg

23

7:30 pm -Bible Study

24 10:00 am-Preschool March 25 Program 4:30 pm—Greek School

7:00-Salutations

25 THE

ANNUNCIATION

8:30 Orthros and Liturgy

26 ST JOHN

OF THE LADDER

8:15 am—Orthros 9:30 am—Sunday School 9:30 am—Divine Liturgy 7:00—Lenten Vespers

27

6:00-Compline

7:30 pm-GOYA Confession Night

28 11:30—-Little Angels (no Greek School-Spring Break)

29

6:00—Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete

30

7:30 pm -Bible Study

31 (no Greek School-Spring Break)

7:00- Akathist Hymn

APRIL 1

9:00 am—Saturday Greek School

2 ST MARY

OF EGYPT 8:15 am—Orthros 9:30 am—Sunday School 9:30 am—Divine Liturgy

3

5:30 pm—Family Night 6:00-Compline 7:30 pm—GOYA Confession nite

4

11:30—-Little Angels 4:30 pm—Greek School 7:00pm—-Pan-Orthodox Akathist

5

6:00-Liturgy of Presanctified

6

7:30 pm -Bible Study

7 4:30 pm—Greek School

8 SATURDAY

OF LAZAROS 8:30—Orthros 9:30—Liturgy

LAZAROS RETREAT DAY

9 PALM

SUNDAY 8:15 am—Orthros 9:30 am—Sunday School 9:30 am—Liturgy

LUNCHEON

7:00 pm-Bridegroom

Service

10 HOLY

MONDAY

7:00 pm--Bridegroom

Service

11 HOLY

TUESDAY

7:00 pm--Bridegroom

Service

12 HOLY

WEDNESDAY

2:00-Holy Unction

7:00 pm-Orthros of the Mystical

Supper

13 HOLY

THURSDAY 6:00 am—Liturgy of

the Mystical Supper

7:00 pm—The 12 Passion Gospels

14 HOLY

FRIDAY 9:00 am—The Royal Hours

2:00 pm-Descent from the Cross

7:00 pm-The Lamentations

15 HOLY

SATURDAY 8:30 am-Liturgy of the “First Resurrection” 11:00 pm-Holy Resurrection

Η ΑΝΑΣΤΑΣΙΣ

16

PASCHA!

11:30 am—The Vespers of Agapi

17 18 4:30 pm—Greek School

19 7:30—

Philoptochos Meeting

20

(no Bible Study) 8:00 pm—Scouts

21 THE

LIFE-GIVING FOUNTAIN

8:30am-Orthros and Liturgy

4:30 pm—Greek School

22

9:00 am-Saturday Greek School

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

SPRING BAKE SALE

HOLY TAXIARHAI AND SAINT HARALAMBOS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH 7373 CALDWELL AVENUE NILES, IL 60714-4503

Address Service Requested

One of the great disciplines of the Lenten season is fasting. After His baptism, even Christ fasted for 40 days in the wilderness; to fast, therefore, is one way of imitating Christ.

In Orthodox Christian tradition, we can distinguish two kinds of fasting. One is absolute fasting, which means to eat or drink noth-ing at all. Obviously, absolute fasting is observed only for short periods of time; this, for example, is the fast that we keep from the time we wake up until receiving Holy Communion.

We also observe certain seasons of fasting, such as the 40 day period of Great Lent which precedes Holy Week and Pascha. This kind of fasting may be called ascetical fasting, because it consists mainly in abstinence from certain foods over a longer period of time. Its goal is to train and liberate us from the dominance of the flesh. To restore the primacy of the soul over the body requires a slow and patient effort; through fasting, we discover that we do

not live "by bread alone". During these fasting periods, we contin-ue to keep this ascetical fast even after receiving Holy Commun-ion, and meats and fats are not permitted.

But what can we eat? Here is a list of foods that are permitted during Great Lent:

1. Sea foods (other than fish): Shrimp, lobster, squid, octopus, oysters, clams, scallops, etc. 2. All fresh, canned or dried fruits. 3. All fresh, canned or dried vegetables. 4. Olives. 5. Bread and pastas: Spaghetti, macaroni, couscous, etc. 6. Grains and legumes: Rice, beans, chick peas, lentils, etc. 7. All kinds of nuts: Peanuts, walnuts, almonds, etc. 8. On weekends, oil and wine are permitted, also.

Note: Fish is permitted on March 25 and Palm Sunday

FOODS PERMITTED DURING GREAT LENT

DONATIONS FOR HOLY WEEK AND PASCHA

The St. Haralambos Church is very grateful, because every year we have so many thoughtful donors who step forward with Easter donations for general purposes and for those things that are needed for our celebration of Holy Week and Easter. If you would like to make a donation to cover any of the items listed below, please call the church office at 847/647-8880.

30 potted Easter Lilies $ 35.00 each 3 Priest's Easter Candles donated 2 Vigil Lambathes donated Candles for the Cross (6 sets of 3) donated 5 Flower Wreaths (stefani) $165.00 4 boxes Vaia $75.00 1 white sheet donated 2 boxes Palms donated Olive Oil, Flour donated (for Unction Service) All Easter donations, whether for these specific items or for the general needs of our Church, are greatly appreciated, and we thank you!