HOLY
ORTHODOXY
LEARNING THE TRUE FAITH
Catechetical Instruction for Adults
PART ONE The Faith of the Church (Sessions 1 - 10)
PART TWO The Worshiping Church (Sessions 11 - 19)
PART THREE The Life in Christ (Sessions 20 - 23)
STARTS: Following Divine Services on November 3, 2019,
with plans to meet every other Sunday.
HOLY ORTHODOXY: LEARNING THE TRUE FAITH
St. Luke the Evangelist Orthodox Church
1510 Audubon Drive, Columbia, MO, 65201
saintlukecolumbia.org
ST. LUKE The EVANGELIST
GreeK orThodox chUrch
OCTOBER 20, 2019 — 6TH SUNDAY OF LUKE
H
OLY GREAT MARTYR ARTEMIOS OF ANTIOCH was a prominent military leader during the
reigns of the emperor Constantine the Great (May 21), and his son and successor Constantius (337-361).
Artemios received many awards for distinguished service and courage. He was appointed viceroy of
Egypt. In this official position he did much for the spreading and strengthening Christianity in Egypt.
Saint Artemios was sent by the emperor Constantius to bring the relics of the holy Apostle Andrew from
Patras, and the relics of the holy Apostle Luke from Thebes of Boeotia, to Constantinople. The holy relics were
placed in the Church of the Holy Apostles beneath the table of oblation. The emperor rewarded him by making
him ruler of Egypt.
The emperor Constantius was succeeded on the throne by Julian the Apostate (361-363). Julian in his desire to
restore paganism was extremely antagonistic towards Christians, sending hundreds to their death. At Antioch
he ordered the torture of two bishops unwilling to forsake the Christian Faith.
During this time, Saint Artemios arrived in Antioch and publicly denounced Julian for his impiety. The en-
raged Julian subjected the saint to terrible tortures and threw the Great Martyr Artemios into prison. While
Artemios was praying, Christ, surrounded by angels, appeared to him and said, “Take courage, Artemios! I am
with you and will preserve you from every hurt which is inflicted upon you, and I already have prepared your
crown of glory. Since you have confessed Me before the people on earth, so shall I confess you before My Heav-
enly Father. Therefore, take courage and rejoice, you shall be with Me in My Kingdom.” Hearing this, Artemios
rejoiced and offered up glory and thanksgiving to Him.
On the following day, Julian demanded that Saint Artemios honor the pagan gods. Meeting with steadfast
refusal, the emperor resorted to further tortures. The saint endured all without a single moan. The saint told
Julian that he would be justly recompensed for his persecution of Christians. Julian became furious and resort-
ed to even more savage tortures, but they did not break the will of the saint. Finally the Great Martyr Artemios
was beheaded.
His relics were buried by Christians. After the death of Saint Artemios, his prophecy about Julian the Apos-
tate’s impending death came true.
Julian left Antioch for a war with the Persians. Near the Persian city of Ctesiphon, Julian came upon an elderly
Persian, who agreed to betray his countrymen and guide Julian’s army. The old man deceived Julian and led his
1510 audubon drive A columbia, missouri, 65201 A tel. 573.817.0050
email: info@saintlukecolumbia.org A web: www.saintlukecolumbia.org

the hymns of the antiphons
Before the Entrance…
Apolytikion of the Resurrection.
mode 1.
T he stone had been secured with a seal by the Ju-
deans, * and a guard of soldiers was watching
Your immaculate body. * You rose on the third day,
O Lord * and Savior, granting life unto the world. *
For this reason were the powers of heaven crying
out to You, O Life-giver: * Glory to Your resurrec-
tion, O Christ; * glory to Your kingdom; * glory to
Your dispensation, only One who loves mankind.
(x2)
After the Entrance…
Apolytikion of the Resurrection.
mode 1.
T he stone had been secured with a seal by the Ju-
deans, * and a guard of soldiers was watching
Your immaculate body. * You rose on the third day,
O Lord * and Savior, granting life unto the world. *
For this reason were the powers of heaven crying
out to You, O Life-giver: * Glory to Your resurrec-
tion, O Christ; * glory to Your kingdom; * glory to
Your dispensation, only One who loves mankind.
Apolytikion for the Holy Martyr.
mode 4.
Y our Martyr, O Lord, was worthily awarded by
You * the crown of incorruption, in that he
contested for You our immortal God. * Since he pos-
sessed Your power, he defeated the tyrants, * dash-
ing the demons’ powerless displays of defiance. * O
Christ God, at his fervent entreaties, save our souls.
Apolytikia of the Church.
mode pl. 1.
T
he holy Apostle, the All-hymned Luke, * who is
acknowledged by the Church of Christ * as the
recorder of the Acts of the Apostles, * and the splen-
did author of the Gospel of Christ. * Let us praise
with sacred hymns as a physician, * who heals the
infirmities of man, * and the ailments of nature, *
who cleanses spiritual wounds, and prays unceas-
ingly for our souls.
Kontakion of the Season.
mode 2.
O
Protection of Christians that never falls, in-
tercession with the Creator that never fails,
we sinners beg you, do not ignore the voices of our
prayers. O good Lady, we implore you, quickly come
unto our aid, when we cry out to you with faith.
Hurry to intercession, and hasten to supplication,
O Theotokos who protect now and ever those who
honor you.
“
Correct dogmas are of no use
whatsoever if we’re negligent
in our conduct and way of
”
life.
—st. john chrysostom
fall into temptation and a snare of the devil and into
many useless and harmful desires, which plunge men
into destruction and damnation. For covetousness is
the root of all evils, and some in their eagerness to get
rich have strayed from the faith and have involved
themselves in many troubles. But thou, O man of
God, flee these things; but pursue justice, godliness,
faith,’3 and the rest. I ask you, brethren, if we are silent
concerning the rest of the Scriptures, is not this one
thought of the Apostle enough for a Christian? In-
deed, if a man does not arise from the sleep of avarice
at the sound of such thunder, we must consider him,
not asleep, but dead.
(4) Therefore, brethren, because due to the frailty
of our flesh we are continually tormented and pricked
by many sins like flies buzzing around, let us has-
ten to the haven of God’s mercy in the midst of the
storms and tempests of this world. Perhaps someone
will ask how he can arrive there. Let him hear Christ
saying: ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain
mercy’;4 and later: ‘give alms, and behold, all things
are clean to you.’5 According to the Apostle’s thought
which we ought to keep always before our eyes, if we
want to escape from the sea of this world we should
be satisfied to have a reasonable amount of food and
clothing, but nothing rich or luxurious. If God grants
us anything further we should not refuse it to the use
of the poor, for through us it clearly is transmitted
to them. If we do not relinquish what is superflu-
ous we attack the possessions of another. Moreover,
as many poor as have died through hunger with our
knowledge will testify against us before the tribunal
of Christ.
( 5) Since there are two kinds of almsgiving, one
whereby we give to the poor and another whereby
we forgive our neighbors or brothers as often as they
injure us, let us with God’s help perform both, be-
cause one cannot benefit us without the other. If you
extend alms to the poor but do not pardon a person
who injures you, it is of no avail. Contrariwise, too, if
you forgive those who wrong you but refuse to give
the needy whatever you can, the one cannot benefit
you without the other. Now, brethren, let us provide
these two kinds of almsgiving for ourselves as the
oarage of spiritual wings. Thus despising the desire
for earthly possessions, unimpeded by and freed from
them, we may happily be able to fly on the wings of
virtue like spiritual doves and reach the royal country
of that heavenly Jerusalem. This is what the Psalmist
longs and prays for when he says: ‘Who will give me
wings like a dove, and I will fly and be at rest?’6
(6) It is certain, brethren, that, unless each one
strives to free the wings of his soul from the glue of
sin and the excessive hindrances and snares of the
world, he can never arrive at true rest. Although even
with God’s help we cannot entirely remove the im-
pediments of the world from our hearts, let us strive
as much as our strengh permits to control or cut off
some of them, so that we may have a few hours to
devote ourselves to reading and prayer. If earthly
preoccupations wholly distract us, it must be feared
that the following may happen to us: ‘The burdens
of this world have made them miserable.’7 With the
Lord’s help let us rather strive for the fulfillment in
us, at least in part, of what is written concerning the
just man: ‘On the law of the Lord he shall meditate
day and night.’8 May the Lord in His mercy deign to
grant this to your holy charity, to whom is honor and
might, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
world without end. Amen.
NOTES
1 Cf. Isa. 58:7.
2 Matt. 6:19, 21.
3 1 Tim. 6:8–11.
4 Matt. 5:7.
5 Luke 11:41.
6 Ps. 54:7.
7 The source of this quotation is unknown.
8 Ps. 1:2.
 A Sermon on Love of Parents,
and on Giving Tithes
by St. Caesarius of Arles
(1) As we read the Prophets, dearly beloved, we
find the Lord advising us always to love and honor
our parents, and if it happens that they are distressed
by poverty, we should relieve their necessities as far
as we can. Truly we read: ‘If thou shalt see one na-
ked, cover him, and despise not the members of thy
own seed.’1 Here the members of our seed are to be
understood as our parents. Now, someone may say:
Who would hate his parents, that the Lord through
His Prophet warns us as concerning a great matter?
Doubtless, the Holy Spirit knew, brethren, that when
some men attain honors or riches which they have
sought everywhere they despise their poor parents so
much that they even refuse to look at them. Anyone
who does this should not doubt that he has commit-
ted sin, and a serious one. It may even happen that
through riches and pride a man commits great sins
and faults, while his parents in their poverty retain
humility, simplicity, and justice. With what kind of
a conscience does such a man disdain to care for his
innocent, good parents, when he is a wicked sinner?
Therefore, if anyone is wealthy while his relatives are
poor, he should first provide for their necessities, and
then distribute alms to poor strangers. Indeed, if you
do not give to the rest of the poor someone else will,
but, if you are not generous to your poor parents, it is
difficult for another to give liberally to them.
(2) The just and proper order of almsgiving is that
first you should provide for yourself and your fam-
ily sufficient, moderate food and clothing, but noth-
ing rich or luxurious; secondly, as I said, you should
generously give whatever you can to those of your
relatives who are poor; and, thirdly, you should not
allow your servants and maids to be hungry or cold.
Whatever God has given you beyond this, except
your food and clothing, you should not store up in
earthly treasure ‘where thieves break in and steal,’ but
in heaven, so that ‘where thy treasure is, there thy
heart also may be.’2 Then, when the priest says: ‘Lift
up your hearts,’ we may reply with confidence and in
truth: ‘We have lifted them up to the Lord.’ With the
exception of moderate, reasonable food and clothing,
whatever God has conferred upon you as the result
of military service or agriculture He did not give to
you in particular, but He transmitted it through you
to be spent upon the poor. You know that, if you are
unwilling to give, you take away what belongs to an-
other because, as I said, only what reasonably suffices
for ourselves and our family is really ours. God has
sent everything over and above that for distribution
among the poor.
(3) Now, we ought not give merely tithes, but
should distribute faithfully and transmit to others
whatever remains of the nine-tenths after we have
paid taxes and taken care of our expenses. If we do
this, what we give is truly ours; if we do not, what we
hold back is not ours, nor will we who seem to cling
to it be our own masters. Moreover, brethren, I do
not understand with what feelings we do not even
offer tithes of the whole amount we have received.
If God wanted to balance the account He might say:
I made the earth which you are cultivating; you who
cultivate it and your servants I created; I made the
animals which help you cultivate; the heat of the sun
I give, and I dispense rain at the proper seasons; when
you sow, I even give you seed to scatter. If you will
settle a just account, you ought to keep one-tenth for
yourself and give Me nine-tenths. This I do not ask,
for I want to be merciful. I am furnishing you an ex-
ample, so that you may have pity on the poor just as
I have pity on you. If God wanted to settle a just ac-
count with us, brethren, is there anything we could
say in reply? Although He admonishes us on this
subject in many places of Scripture, God especially
proclaims it in warning through the Apostle’s words:
‘Having food and sufficient clothing, with these let
us be content. But those who seek to become rich
the readings of the day
epistle reading
The Second Letter of St. Paul
to the Corinthians (9:6-11)
B
rethren, remember this: whoever sows
sparingly will also reap sparingly. Whoever
sows generously will also reap generously.
Let everyone give according to what he determines
in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for
God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all
grace abound to you, so that by having what is needed
in everything, you may overflow in every good work.
As it is written: He has scattered abroad, he has given
to the poor. Now may he who supplies seed to the
sower and bread for food also supply and multiply
your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your
righteousness. Thus, may you be enriched in every-
thing, so that you may be generous in all things; and
through us, this brings thanksgiving to God.
gOspel reading
Luke (8:26-39)
A
t that time, when Jesus reached the country
of the Gadarenes, a man from the town who
had had demons for a long time came to meet
him. This man wore no clothes, and he did not live in
a house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried
out and fell down before him. With a loud voice, he
said, “What do you want from me, Jesus, you Son of
the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me!”
(For Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to come out
of the man). The unclean spirit had often seized the
man and he was kept under guard, bound with chains
and fetters. [But he had been] breaking the chains and
was driven by the demon into deserted places. Jesus
asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “Le-
gion,” for many demons had entered into him. And
he begged Jesus not to command them to go into the
abyss. Now there was a large herd of swine feeding
on the mountain, and the demons begged him that
he would allow them to enter into those [pigs]; and
Jesus allowed them. The demons came out from the
man and entered into the pigs. Then the herd rushed
down the steep bank into the lake and [the swine]
were drowned. When the people who fed the pigs saw
what had happened, they fled and told the story in the
city and in the countryside. Then people went out to
see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found
the man from whom the demons had gone out. He
was sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind;
and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the
people how the demon-possessed man had been de-
livered. All the people of the surrounding country of
the Gadarenes asked Jesus to depart from them, be-
cause they were extremely afraid. So he got into the
boat and went back. The man from whom the demons
had gone out begged to go with Jesus, but Jesus sent
him away, saying: “Return to your house and proclaim
what great things God has done for you.” So the man
went on his way, proclaiming throughout the whole
city what great things Jesus had done for him.

announcements
UPCOMING SERVICES
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 23, St. Iakovos the Brother of God, Orthros / Divine Lit., 8:30am
FRIDAY, OCT. 25, Great Vespers for St. Demetrios, 5pm
SATURDAY, OCT. 26, St. Demetrios the Great Martyr, Orthros / Divine Lit., 8:30am, Great Vespers, 5pm
FLOWERS - FEAST DAY
Thank you to all who generously donated for the
flowers for our patronal feast day!
PARISH FEAST DAY POTLUCK
In honor of our Parish Feast day, please join us for
a Community Potluck today. Please see the sign up
sheet in the Narthex.
BOOKSTORE
Visit the Bookstore today to purchase spiritually
edifying reading!
GIVE A MONTH Towards Our Future
Help offset our additional mortgage payment with
a donation of $640—we need 8 more payments for
2019. If you would like to sponsor one month for 2019,
please contact Fr. Michael.
LEARNING OUR FAITH
Fr. Michael will begin a class on the Orthodox
faith on November 3. The class will meet every other
Sunday following Divine Services. A syllabus can be
found in the Narthex. Required texts can be pur-
chased in the bookstore. Those wishing to study as
Catechumens must speak with Fr. Michael before at-
tending. More details to follow.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Join us next Sunday, October 27 as we make or sign
get well and thank you cards for our local Veterans.
We will also offer a coffee hour to collect monetary
donations for the Adopt a Soldier Goody Boxes that
we send out in December. Thank you for helping to
Make a Difference!
PROSPHORON - BREAD OF OBLATION
Please consider signing to bake prosphoron. Vol-
unteers are needed, please see the sign up sheet in
the Narthex. Donations of $20 are always needed and
accepted for Holy Communion wine.
CHILDREN’S WORD
Copies of this weekly OCN ministry are available in
the Narthex. Take one for your child or read one for
your own spiritual edification.
“
When we’re out of sorts, the whole
atmosphere around us is soured and
we start to be rude to one another.
Irrespective of what others say or do
to us, we should be meek and forget
”
any insult aimed at us.
—elder tadej VitoVničk
army into the Karmanite wilderness, where there was
neither food nor water. Tired from hunger and thirst,
Julian’s army battled against fresh Persian forces.
Divine retribution caught up with Julian the
Apostate. During the battle he was mortally wound-
ed by an unseen hand and an unseen weapon. Julian
groaned deeply said, “You have conquered, Galilean!”
After the death of the apostate emperor, the relics of
the Great Martyr Artemios were transferred with
honor from Antioch to Constantinople.
SAINT GERASIMOS THE NEW ASCETIC
of Cephalonia was born in the village of Trikkala in
the Peloponessos. As a young adult, he became a monk
on the island of Zakynthos. On the Holy Mountain he
became a schemamonk and studied with the ascetics
of Mt Athos. Receiving a blessing from the Elders,
the monk went to Jerusalem to worship at the Life-
bearing Tomb of the Savior. After visiting many holy
places in Jerusalem, Mount Sinai, Antioch, Damas-
cus, Alexandria and Egypt, he returned to Jerusalem
where he became a lamp-lighter at the Sepulchre of
the Lord.
The monk was ordained a deacon and then a priest
by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Germanus (1534-1579).
Saint Gerasimos maintained the discipline of an as-
cetic. For solitude he withdrew to the Jordan, where
he spent forty days without respite. Having received
the Patriarch’s blessing for a life of silence, Saint
Gerasimos withdrew to Zakynthos in solitude, eating
only vegetation.
After five years he was inspired to go the island of
Cephalonia, where he lived in a cave. He restored a
church at Omala, and he founded a women’s mon-
astery where he lived in constant toil and vigil for
thirty years. He prayed on bent knees stretched out
on the ground. For his exalted life he was granted a
miraculous gift: the ability to heal the sick and cast
out unclean spirits.
At 71 years of age, the venerable Gerasimos knew
that he would soon die. He gave his blessing to the
nuns and peacefully fell asleep in the Lord on August
15, 1579. Two years later, his grave was opened and his
holy relics were found fragrant and incorrupt with a
healing power.
Since the Feast of the Dormition falls on August 15,
Saint Gerasimos is commemorated on August 16th.
Today’s Feast celebrates the uncovering of his holy
relics in 1581.
SAINT MATRONA was born in the village of
Volissos on Chios of wealthy and pious parents, Leon
and Anna sometime in the fourteenth century. From
her youth she showed an inclination for monasticism.
One day she left her parents and went to live in an
unpopulated area, where she founded a small mon-
astery for women. Soon other nuns joined her in her
ascetical struggles.
Saint Matrona worked many miracles both dur-
ing her life and after her death, and was revered
throughout Chios for her virtuous life and holiness.
She showed charity to the poor, and was able to heal
the sick.
The service to Saint Matrona was composed by
Metropolitan Niketas of Rhodes. It was found in a
codex from 1455, which would indicate that she died
sometime before this date.
Saint Matrona is also commemorated on July 15
(the finding of her head).
Holy Saints of God
intercede for us!
“
In all things, we have to watch what
we say and how we say it. We should
always concentrate on how to please
God and never want anything more
than we want Him. We shouldn’t be
hasty in judging the words and deeds
of others and we shouldn’t meddle in
”
affairs that don’t concern us.
—elder cleopa