1

GREEK ORTHODOX COMMUNITY & PARISH

OF PROPHET ELIAS NORWOOD & EASTERN

SUBURBS INC.

87 BEULAH RD. NORWOOD SA 5067 P.O. BOX 277, KENT TOWN SA 5071
ALL CORRESPONDENCE TO THE HON. SECRETARY

O
24
: 8362 4139 . 8431 7789 . 0412 710 037

27-01-13
30 . 1436

WEEKLY MAGAZINE

THE WORD OF GOD

PHONES: 8362 4139 H. 8431 7789 M. 0412 710 037

DATE 27-01-13
YEAR 30TH NUMBER 1436
WEB PAGE: WWW.PROPHETELIAS.ORG.AU
ONLINE MAGAZINE & RADIO PROGRAM: WWW.PROPHETELIAS.BLOGSPOT.COM
EMAIL: PROPHETELIAS@ESC.NET.AU

(. 19, 1-10) 27 . 2013

,

. ,
, .
,
. ,
...

,
.
,
.
, .
,
. , ,

.

, , ,
;
;
,
;


, ; .

.

, .
. ,
,
.
, ,
, , ,
. , .

,
.
.

;

.
.
,
, .

.

.
.

,
.

.

.

. , .

,
.

, ,
.
,
,
; . ;

.
,
,
, ,
. .

: , ,

,
.

;
. ,

.
: (22,1),
, : ...

, .
:
,
.
:

.

, ... .

.
.

.
: ...

.
.
15th SUNDAY OF LUKE (Luke 19, 1-10) 27th January 2013
Right from the very beginning of todays gospel reading we can see that the meeting
between the Lord and Zacchaeus was not by chance. In the same way each time the
Lord interacted with somebody, if you see these interactions through an Orthodox
Christian spirit, all have a salvific purpose. If you ask someone who does not believe or is
a pagan, then they would say that this was simply a chance encounter, that the Lord
walked under the sycamore tree and by chance, lifted His head to see Zacchaeus.
However, dear brethren, we who believe that God's will governs everything for the
salvation of mankind believe that this meeting was part of Gods plan.

The Lord was travelling to Jerusalem and had already passed through Jericho, when he
came to Zacchaeus and his salvation. It is useful to also mention that in the town of
Jericho Jesus had already given the blind man sight. This miracle seems to affected the
head tax-collector Zacchaeus, and so he wanted greatly to see Christ. This wish, slowly
grew into a great desire and when he discovered that Jesus would be passing by there
he climbed the tree thinking that the abundant foliage of the sycamore would hide him.
The Lord knows the thoughts of us all no matter where we are, was it possible for
Zacchaeus to elude Him? Would the man who was the reason for Him to coming to this
place escape His gaze? Would the repentant sinner who wanted to confess and restore
his conscience escape from the gaze of the All Seeing Lord?
Would the Lord Who left His divine throne with the sole purpose of meeting the
repentant man and leading him to paradise, forsake Zacchaeus and leave him in black
disappointment? Definitely not! Certainly his reputation as head tax-collector would
have been damaged in the eyes of the world. He became a laughingstock to those who
watched this short man trying to climb high into the branches of the trees. But he did
not even care. At that time, his only goal was to see the Great Master and miraculous
Lord, he was not interested in what the rest of the world would have to say about him.
"And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him and said to him,
Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house. "
Zacchaeus asked only see Christ, and the Lord not only granted this but also said to him
that He would not continue on His way to Jerusalem but instead go and stay at his
home. Imagine the honour and the pleasure and excitement of Zacchaeus. Once he
heard these words Zacchaeus climbed down quickly and took Him to his house. You see
how God works and how He acts to save people how had been deceived? It was enough
that Zacchaeus took one small step towards Christ, and Christ then took ten steps
towards Zacchaeus. The Lord continues to do the same for each and every believer
today. It is enough to declare our good intentions and repentance then His grace will
come and lead us to practical repentance, just as was the case with Zacchaeus.
It is with sadness that we observe the dark moments in today's Gospel reading. These
are the Pharisees and others turned a blind eye man and did not see the miracles. They
were unrepentant and did not believe in repentance, they did not want to believe that
there is forgiveness in this life. They could not get their heads around the fact that the
rich head tax-collector preferred to lose his lucrative job and follow this poor man. They
could not imagine that one in such a high position could repent and change his mind and
life. They could not believe the things that they had witnessed with their own eyes and
ears. Therefore, we see them throwing mud in the face of reality and trying to provoke
the hatred of the people against Christ. "But when they saw it, they all complained,
saying He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner." In such a slanderous
manner they wanted to excite crowds so everyone doubted the authenticity of Christ. If
the Scribes and Pharisees did not have this malicious intent then they would have
waited to see what would take place inside the house of Zacchaeus before making their

conclusions. But what if they had learned of Zacchaeuss sincere repentance, and of him
restoring and returning the goods to the poor, would they have announced this news to
the crowds? Absolutely not. Why not? Because this would mean that they admitted the
supremacy of Christ, and all of the crowds would repentant of their sins and follow
Christ.
That which testifies to the sincere repentance of Zacchaeus, is that fact that he did not
deny the issue of his guilt, he did not attempt to justify his love of money, he did not
delay in coming to a decision, he was in no way an indecisive man, he had already made
his decision. He took in his hands half of his possessions and stood before Christ saying:
"Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from
anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold."
Do you see dear brethren how first he confessed and then he judged himself? There was
no court convened nor a judge appointed to impose punishment on Zacchaeus. The
sincerity of repentance, sat on the throne of repentant heart of Zacchaeus and passed
judgement in this way, using the criteria that is found in the book of Exodus: (22),
Therefore Christ, the Lord of Mosaic law, immediately passes fair judgment: " Today
salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. " Which
means: Today that Zacchaeus has returned to God and did right and gave charity just
like the righteous and hospitable Abraham, he has become a son of Abraham and
worthy citizen of eternal salvation. The Lord finishes by saying: "for the Son of Man has
come to seek and to save that which was lost." in the tenth verse.
With these words He closed their growling mouths of and relieved their indignation, to
overthrow sinful men. The Lord knew Zacchaeus as a transgressor but also as
repentant. Everyone who was following the events from the start could also see this.
This return of Zacchaeus is a testament to the success of the work of Christ. We also see
magnanimity Christ: Today salvation has come to this house." Zacchaeus confessed
everything before Christ and received absolution. Brethren let us follow his holy
example to find our own salvation.

19 , . .
, .
.

, ,
.
, .

,

.

11
11 ,

..

: 20,21,22 23 2013,
.

. ,
.. ,
Detroit . ,
. ,
. ,
:

, ( ,
), ,
,


. .
4 ,

, -,
,
,

- -
.


, . ,
,
.

,
,
.

, .

, ,
11
.

30
, ,

,
, 7.45 9.30 .

9 6-7 ,
.
,
.

10

9 2013
,
, .

, ,
.

, ,
, ,

.

, 9 2013 6.30. 12.00,

- , 87Beulah
Road Norwood. ,
.
.

:
, . ,
, , .

, .

, ,
, ,
.
.

.
.

11

. ,
, .
.
.
,
.
, 9 2013, .
.

.

, . ,
, , .
, ,
. ,
3 2013
. ,

. 5
/ .

9 /
. 7 .
:

4.00..

7.00..

12

7 , 4.00.. 6.30.. .
7 , 9.00.. 12.00
.
4.00.. 6.00.. ,
,
, /
$50 . ,
.

,
.

,
, 9.30 10.30.
10 .

3
.

. ,
.

News from our Community-Parish

Baptism
Last Saturday 19th January, the charming son of Mr Matthew and Mrs Sylvia
Villiou was baptized in our Church. The godmother Dimitra Villiou gave him
the name Nikolaos. Congratulations to the parents and godmother for giving
this spiritual opportunity to their child to be cleaned from the original sin, put

13

on Christ and be enlightened by the Holy Spirit. May the desire for the
blessing of little Nicholas continue and grow, so that the child may grow and
increase in the knowledge of God, he and those who want to do their
spiritual duty as Orthodox Christian parents and godparents.

Eleventh Clergy-Laity Congress

The 11th Clergy-Laity Congress of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia under
the leadership of His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos of Australia held in
Sydney from 20th 23rd January 2013 was a resounding success. It is not
easy to describe all the wonderful things that happened during those four
days. The Congress was honoured by the presence of Metropolitan
Nicholas of Detroit representing the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew;
Metropolitan Evgenios of Rethymnon and Avlopotamos; the Honourable
Director of the Theological College of Athens Mr Nicholas Xexakis, Their
Graces Assistant Bishops to His Eminence: Serafeim of Apollonios,
Nikandros of Dorylaion, and Iakovos of Miletoupolis (Iezekiel of Derbe was
absent for health reasons); the Bishops of the Serbian and Romanian
Churches; The Greek Diplomatic officials; the official Leaders of the State
and Opposition; and many other officials who filled the newly-built wing of
the Bilingual College of St Spyridon, Sydney. Room in the Newsletter allows
us just to mention the fourth day. The invited guests were amazed at the
huge work of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia - in the spiritual domain in
the Parish-Communities, Churches, Monasteries for men and women,
Religious and Sunday Schools, as well as in the educational domain of
schools and afternoon schools. What especially dumbfounded those who
didnt already know, was the care available for the elderly, abandoned, and
people with special needs. A work which particularly amazes this State also
was the love and embrace that the Holy Archdiocese of Australia extends to

14

the lightening of human pain and misery throughout the country. Further,
the spirit of unity in Christ of the entire Orthodox community of Australia
was obvious in the discussions among the delegates. His Holiness referred
to unity and love in Christ in his greeting and praise to His Eminence via the
big screen during the official Dinner. With the same means of
communication using the latest technology, His Eminence our Archbishop
answered in the presence of us all. The program, the quality, the
technology and the spirit of Christ were perfect factors resulting in the
complete success of the 11th Congress of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia.
Church Services
This coming Wednesday 30th January Day of the Three Hierarchs and Martyr St
Chrysi; Thursday Day of the Unmercenaries Cyrus and John; Friday Day of St
Tryphon; and Saturday The Meeting of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Church will
officiate Matins and Divine Liturgy from 7.45 am to 9.30 am approximately.

Divine Liturgy in English

On Saturday 9th February from 6-7 at the evening, the first Divine Liturgy in
English language for this year will be officiated in our Church. So please come
and participate. At the end of the service Father Stavros is requested by our
youth to deliver a small message.

Agiasmos
Next Sunday 3rd February, the Blessing for the commencement of Greek School,
Sunday School and Bible Classes will take place during the Church service.

Reminder Invitation
Next Sunday 3rd February, there will be a luncheon after the Blessing of our
Schools. We are all invited with our families for a tasty lunch in the Hall after
Divine Liturgy. There are no tickets; there will simply be a basket of love
circulated and you may offer whatever you can in aid of our Greek School.

Greek School

15

We are happy to announce the opening of our Greek School for the school year
2013. Classes begin Tuesday 5th February.
The School times for this year are as follows: Tuesday 4-7pm with dancing,
Friday 4-6:30pm with dancing, Saturday 9am-12pm with dancing and Thursday
nights 4-6pm High School.
The classes of the Prophet Elias Greek School in Norwood are housed in our
own rooms behind the Church and offer comfort, security, freedom and quality.
The books which are used are the best for our students and they are free of
charge. Dancing lessons and Byzantine Music Lessons are also free of charge.
There is an enrolment fee of $50. We ask that students bring their books from
last year so that they may continue to use them. Those parents who have not as
yet enrolled their children are urged to fill in and hand in an enrolment form,
available from the Pangari at the front of the Church, ASAP.

Byzantine Music Lessons

The children of our school not only have the opportunity to learn dancing along
with their Greek lessons but also to learn how to chant. Lessons of Byzantine
Music will be offered to our children by the Chanter of our Church, Mr. Andrew
Psaromatis, free of charge. Please dont miss this golden opportunity.

Greek Dancing Lessons

As is well known, our CommunityParish has a dancing-group and offers Greek
Dancing Lessons to those interested. The lessons are for free. Classes are
conducted by Alexia and Christopher Crocker on Tuesday nights 7-8pm for ages 1335years and Saturday mornings from 11:30am 12:30pm.
The purpose of these lessons is not only to learn Greek dancing, but also to participate
as a youthful team in the various functions of our parish, such as our upcoming Festival,
and also the Glendi, the Glenelg Festival and others. Currently, amongst the Greek
organizations of Adelaide, there are more than 150 youngsters participating in the
various functions. Greek dance and song keep our children closer to Greek customs.
Soon, we shall be hosting our own festival, where many Greek groups will be dancing
why should our group be lagging in number of participants? Do come along - everyone is
welcome!

16

Sunday School
Parents are encouraged to please enrol their children in the Parish Sunday
School. Classes are held in the rooms of our Community Centre every Sunday
morning from 9.30am 10.30am. Sunday School starts Sunday 10th February.

The Greek Festival of Norwood

The purpose of the Greek Festival of Norwood is to advance our Greek
customs, language, culture and Orthodox Christianity; the maintainance
of traditional Greek dancing, food, music and wholesome entertainment.
The Greek Festival of Norwood publicizes Greek customs so that our
children and grandchildren will continue unabashedly to eat, sing and
dance the Greek way and also live Christian Orthodox lives. The Greek
Festival of Norwood will be held on Saturday of Apokreas 9th March
2013, 5.00 pm 12 midnight. An Adelaide band of Greek compatriot
musicians have prepared a superb festival program of live entertainment,
including , for us all. Entrance is free.
At the Greek Festival of Norwood, you will find:
Abundant menu of roasts, mezedes and all sorts of delicious things
Greek salads, cheeses, spanakopites
Greek dancing by various groups - as well as our own Prophet Elias
dancing-group, the dancing groups of Saint Dimitrios, Saint Andrew,
The Bulgarian Dancing Group and others will perform;
Games for children of all ages
Greek fun in a happy, multicultural and family atmosphere
Visits, explanations and tours of the Orthodox Church
The only Greek-Australian Museum in Adelaide
Come and enjoy a happy evening in the shade of the trees, with a little
kokkineli and retsina and hot, delicious mezedes. For a little while,
immerse yourself in the festival of the motherland you have left; and
- let us take a
stroll and remember the old times!

NORWOOD GREEK FESTIVAL