our monasteries in nsw

need your help

 

"Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

 We need your assistance - action is needed prior to Tuesday 31 May 2011!

After many years of hard work and fund-raising, and with the support of all the Greek Orthodox Australian faithful of NSW and other States, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia has been developing two Monasteries on the Central Coast of NSW: Pantanassa Monastery at Mangrove Creek and Holy Cross Monastery at Mangrove Mountain. At the time of acquiring these lands, the construction of a monastery, including a church was permissible within the current zones, and on this basis the lands were acquired and the monasteries planned.

NOW, Gosford Council is proposing to eliminate "places of public worship" from the zones on which the Monasteries are located under its "Gosford Draft LEP 2009". This means that future development and expansion of the monasteries, including construction of new churches, is threatened and may not be permissible on monastery lands. 

 We have:

1. made detailed submissions to Council opposing the proposed change to the zoning - these have been rejected! and
2. asked Council to acknowledge the monasteries future development needs by placing the monasteries in the SP1 'Special Activities Zone' which would allow for development of the monasteries with Council consent based on merit considerations - this too was rejected!

On Monday 23 May 2011 we were informed that Council plans to consider the adoption of the "Gosford Draft LEP 2009" on Tuesday 31 May 2011!
You can help by sending letters we have prepared for you to the Councillors and Ministers at the click of one button. We have less than one week to let Councillors and NSW State Government Ministers know that we are very upset and disappointed with this whole matter! We must act before Tuesday 31 May 2011.

 CLICK HERE TO ACT NOW!

We thank you in advance for your support and pray that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ bless you and your families. We will email you further developments if needed.

Prayerfully Yours,

Pantanassa Monastery
&

Holy Cross Monastery"

a bit of a parking problem

police command centre proposition 

Those who attended the Easter services would of noticed protest signs in and around the houses of Henry street. These signs were in regards to a proposal made for a  Leichhardt local area police command centre for 29 Derbyshire Road (the street behind the church, beside the bus depot and Pioneers park). The implications of such a proposal on the St Gerasimos Parish and community has caused some concern. The list below are just some of the effects the command centre will cause:

- There will be no additional parking made for staff (100 staff on shift 24/7)
- Access will be via William street only (an already dangerous area with buses coming in and out of the depot)
- Footpath removal from Pioneers Park
- Criminals from Glebe, Balmain and Newtown will be transported to the Command centre for lock up, bail etc.

As part of St Gerasimos community, there is still time to have your concerns and voices heard, as community and council meetings are still taking place. A more creative resolution to the traffic and parking problem should be considered with such a proposition (i.e building under/upper ground parking) rather than making a current problem for the local community worse.

A way you can voice your concern and/or support, is by picking up a petition letter or by downloading it here, signing and returning it to Fr. Leslie at the church. More information on this proposal can be found at Church and this page will also be updated shortly.

allow Him

to enter your life.

"Once again we have come together on this Easter night to proclaim and confess our fundamental belief in the Resurrected Person that we call Jesus Christ. And all our faith, all our belief, all our convictions, all our teachings is based not on a theory, not on a philosophy, not on a hypothesis, not on an idea or on abstract thinking...but on a person. A human being.

That is why we are here: to proclaim, to confess, to underline this human being. Everything that Jesus Christ taught, lived and died for depended upon His Resurrection. Not a dictum or ideology, but a historical fact in time and space. We have to ask ourselves: How is this human being different? How is He distinct? How can we "tell Him apart"?Just notice and just think...

In the world everything can be taken from us. They can take our possessions away. They can take our ownership away. They can take our money away and our titles away. Everything we have can be taken away, except, our death. 

No one can take our death away.

No one.

No person.

No guru

No prophet.

No idol.

No polytheistic gods.

No holy person.

No religious leader.

No political leader.

No prime minister.

No pop star. 

No movie star.

Except one person: Christ. Except, Jesus Christ.

Only Jesus Christ has made the claim and conviction that He takes away death. That is why we can sing, "Death where is your sting?", "Death where is your victory?". Jesus Christ has taken it away and destroyed Death by His death. Don't we chant, "Life in the tomb.."?

So tonight it's a message of hope, of confidence, of faith, of assurance.Life is not gloom and doom, like others teach.It's not a message of despair, of emptiness, of sadness. The world has given us that, with what we have all been experiencing and hearing in the last 5 months.With the Resurrection we are not dealing with something that's different or differs from earthly life. The Resurrection is not a different life, but it is this lived, loved and mortal life, which becomes different, healed, reconciled and perfected. Life lived on earth in love can offer inspiration to evoke life in God.

Therefore with Christ, with the Resurrected Christ, the person we celebrate tonight:

Allow Him to enter our life.

Allow Him to enter our pain.

Allow Him to enter our wounds.

Allow Him to enter our emptiness.

Allow Him to enter our being.

Allow Him to enter our death.

 And everyone who has experienced death in the family, of a loved one, a friend, a family member, a child, a god parent, parent, wife or husband...whoever, whether here or overseas...tonight He gives comfort, hope, assurance. No person stops with the shovel of a grave digger. He has overcome death and no more are we in bondage. That is why we hold our lit candles tonight and we take them to our homes.

Xristos Anesti!"

~ Rev Fr Leslie

Xristos Anesti

to all our readers!

  

As we now stand in the bask of the joy of our Lord's Resurrection, we thought that we would return to that night where we saw His Cross standing before us. This is a sermon given by Rev. Fr Leslie Kostoglou on Holy Thursday last year, that we thought would be a good reflection to re post. 

"When one reflects on the services so far this week, one cannot help in underlining the amount of times there is references to trees and to wood. It is not a coincidence. These are not casual sentences or descriptions. But this reference to trees, root us into a deep understanding of what tonight is about.

The cross that you see before you tonight is the center of the Church. On it hangs all our faith. Hanging on the cross is all our theology, all our spirituality. But to understand this lets go back a bit…

We started Triodion with the gospel reading of Zacchaeus who climbed up a sycamore tree[1]. And in that sycamore tree was revealed – who Jesus Christ is. The presence of God was made real. (Like in the mamre trees of the Old Testament when Abraham felt the presence of God).

In the first Salutations (heretismi) to the Virgin Mary, again a reference to the Tree of the vineyard: Christ is the vine and we are His branches.

3^rd Sunday of Lent: The Cross is venerated. The Cross occupies the center of Lent. Christ makes a proclamation about this - “Whoever wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me”[2].

Sunday night of Holy Week: the striking gospel reading of the withered fig tree. The fig tree that has all these leaves, its leafy…but has no fruit[3]. The parallel is that humans are all show, but no fruit, no content. That is why all the other days are about hypocrisy and remembering Jesus Christ’s words - “…you will know them by their fruits”[4].

There are many other references to trees, but tonight I want to draw your attention to: ‘The Tree of the Cross’. Before you, is all the convictions, all the Truth about our Orthodox Tradition.

When you think about it - in the 1^st century Roman Empire – there was no glory in public crucifixion. If you and I had stood near the Cross we would not have gained comfort from Jesus’ suffering and death. We would not have walked away confidently declaring – “Jesus has died for our sins and saved us on that Tree”. Something else had to have happened that removed the despair from the disciples’ hearts and replaced this with faith, hope and love.

Only because we know the surety of the Resurrection can we confess the Cross. And the Cross has this understanding that will unfold in the services from now on. All the things we say about Him…Jesus as:

“the Alpha and Omega”,

“the Resurrection and the Life”,

“You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”,

“You saved us from sin and death”.

These meanings are not comprehended yet. The Resurrection is the culmination. The Resurrection is the fulfillment of all this and everything else. He Who is crucified - is He Who is resurrected. He who truly died-  is the same Who is ever living. And we read that beautiful verse of God: “By this we know love, because he laid his life down for us”[5].

To phrase this in the context of our church language:

“The person on the Cross is crucified LOVE.

The person on the Cross is crucifying LOVE.

The person on the Cross is LOVE VICTORIOUS”.

This is the meaning of tonight.

Allow me to draw our some theology here…

We are not here just because of the act of Golgotha, processions, dim lights…it’s not just a ritual here (and sadly this is when all people start to come – but the beauty started before). In our early history we commemorated a Saint from Syria, St Ephraim the Syrian and we are familiar with him because of his prayer that is read everyday during Lent (“Lord and Master of my life, give me not a spirit of idleness, meddling, love of power and idle talk…”)[6]. But in one of his books he gives this beautiful imagery in poetry (the Syrians, their theology is very poetical, the Greeks are very philosophical). After the Transgression of Adam and Eve – the Tree of Life was subsumed into the earth only to sprout again on Calvary…(a quote):

 “ The Tree of Life

sank down into the virgin ground and was hidden – to burst forth and reappear on Golgotha;

humanity, like birds that are chased, took refuge in it

so that it might return them to their proper home.

The chaser was chased away, while the doves that had been chased,

now hop with joy in Paradise…”

The Tree of Life that was forbidden in the garden manifests itself fully at the Crucifixion. That is why when one looks at the icon of the crucifixion – at the bottom is a skull, which is Adam’s. Christ now is the second Adam. Easter night is known as the first Day of the new Creation and Christ is the New Tree of Life and all can now therefore partake of Him.

The Cross and He who was crucified on it are inseparable. Christ and the Cross, his body and the wood, Himself and the tree are bonded as one and yield the fruit of eternal Life…Christ is the Tree of Life. The Blood is the sap of the tree and his body is the wood. The Resurrection is the fruit of the Tree of Life.

The power of the cross is the Resurrection, because in Love crucified we find out what it means to be human and what is not loved is not saved. And nothing can stop the love of God for us.

Your cross O Lord is Life and resurrection to us and from the Cross came the New Testament commandment:

 “Love one another as I have loved you”[7].

The crucifixion is understood not as an extreme sacrifice, but rather as Ultimate Love. And Ultimate Love – renews us, restores us and heals us. Amen."

---

[1] Luke 19:1-10

[2] Mark 8:34

[3] Matthew 21:19

[4] Matthew 7:16

[5] 1 John 3:16

[6] Recited in Great Lent, with a prostration after each verse:

“Lord and Master of my life,

give me not a spirit of idleness, meddling, love of power and idle talk.

But grant me, your servant, a spirit of soberness, humility, patience and love.

Yes, Lord and King, grant me to see my own faults, and not condemn my brother;

For blessed are you, to the ages of ages. Amen.”

[7] John 15:12

pencils ready

learning about holy week

The traffic is great on Parramatta Road because school holidays are here! I am sure the kids are wanting to go to the Easter show and have their eyes fixed on the chocolate eggs sold in every shop window. But here is a way to prepare them for next week: Great and Holy Week.
They will enjoy colouring in these icons and learning from you (the parents!) what happened in the life of our God Jesus Christ in this week: His Passion and what they will see and experience in Church next week.
(A great resource for Holy Week is: http://lent.goarch.org)

Enjoy! And please send any finished artworks in!

 

Panagia Iamatiki Chapel

building update


Many parishioners and visitors to St Gerasimos, would have noticed the work proceeding on our side chapel dedicated to Panagia Iamatiki.
The structure of the archways have been made for the main entrance and the side windows.
It is exciting to imagine what the church will look like upon completion!

Children's countdown calendar

to Easter..starting today!


Please feel to download the below calendar for your children this Lenten period. They can colour it in and put it up on their wall, so that they can cross off the days to the day we all proclaim "Christ is risen!"

"Truly He has risen!"

what's happening on Feb 20?

our first born Aussie bishop

Very Reverend Archimandrite Iakovos Tsigounis (pictured) will now become Bishop Iakovos of Militoupolis. This historic ordination of Very Rev Fr Iakovos of Oakleigh Victoria, will take place on February 20th 2011, during the Divine Liturgy at the the Cathedral of the Annunciation Redfern (Archdiocese grounds).

A graduate of St Andrew's Theological College, Very Rev. Fr Iakovos was elected unanimously by the Holy Synod in Constantinople, in the same year that the college celebrates its 25th anniversary.

I personally have not seen a bishop been ordained before and I'm not quite sure that I will have the opportunity again. So I will be making my way on that Sunday to be a part of this 2nd century service, along with all the other Greek Orthodox pilgrims nation-wide.(hint...don't try and park on the archdiocese's grounds that day!)

A Blessing for the Greek Orthodox Church in Australia!

why water?

Epiphany 2010

We bring so many elements of creation into our services, but why is water chosen today? For one, it can not be made by humans. But it is also where we were born from and what we are made of.

This water we use to bless, serves to remind us of the sacrament of our baptism. To go back , revisit and read the prayers that were once said over us. There you will find the answer to the question I often get asked: How can I be a good Christian?   ~ fr Leslie        

 Read the prayers once said over you and the answer: here.

 

This Sunday the traditional blessing of the Sydney waters (and therefore creation) with the Holy Cross takes place at Yarra Bay, 9th January at 12.30pm. The celebrations, with music, food and rides proceed until 6pm in the evening.  

our example of dedication

Sermon given on the 21^st Nov:

Entry of the Theotokos sermon 

~ by Rev Fr Leslie Kostoglou

We are in the close of the year and from the 15th we began the fast of Christmas. The lent of Christmas, just like the lent of Pascha, but not as strict.

Today we celebrate the entry of the Theotokos into the temple. The fact that we call her ‘Theotokos’ (God-bearer) makes us aware of what is to come at Christmas. Her entry into the temple, as our example, makes us think of how we enter the temple? How do we enter the church?

At thirteen years old the Virgin Mary conceived God. But at three, her parents presented her to the Jewish temple, where she would become the veil weaver. We have kept this in our icons, for you will see that she holds knitting needles and a deep cherry wool in her hands. This was the colour of the veil surrounding and separating the Holy of Holies. This is the veil that is referenced to at Easter, at the crucifixion, when "the veil was torn in two". But there is a lot of interpretations about that.

The Theotokos, with her knitting needles, occupies the royal gates to the altar in our church. This is because, through her, God came to earth. She is that bridge. That same bridge that we too make when we come to church and pray.

How do we enter the church? How do we come to church?

With what body do you come to church? With what mind do you come to church? With what heart do you come to church? With what soul do you come to church? These are the questions we must ask ourselves.

We are not to be perfect. I often get, "Fr, when I have it altogether...I'll come to church". But they have it all wrong.

You can not heal yourself, one hundred percent. You can not help yourself, one hundred percent. You can not get it together by yourself. If you excuse the terminology, that is God's "job". Our "job" is to come to church in whatever stage and reality of your life that you find yourself in. If you feel you are in the pigpen like the prodigal son. Or if you feel like you are wearing the best robe in the mansion. If you feel you are at negative one hundred. Or if you feel you are at positive one hundred: you bring that to the church.

Whatever you are going through. Whatever is going through your head or your heart - bring it to church. We tend to be too hard on ourselves. There is also a tendency that we have a false humility and an authentic pride. We come to church even if, we knowingly or unknowingly, have a false humility or authentic pride - and God makes them right. He will work on you, so that those things are reversed and you have an authentic humility and false pride. He puts us in our right mind and the prayers in the Liturgy speak of this.

The Theotokos, is our example in three ways:

One: She said "yes". Without hesitation, she said "yes" to the Archangel Gabriel to bear God.

Two: Is that she had the freedom to say "no". If she had said "no", it would have been accepted. There would not have been any questions. The angel would have gone somewhere else to complete God’s plan.

3. Her freedom. And this is where you can tell the difference between those who are sincere or false, between those who have an authentic humility or an authentic pride. Cults are those who restrict freedom and take it away.

  

When every year closes, we think about how the years have passed and how they fly by faster and faster. And just when we think we have worked things out in our thoughts, our bodies make us stop and say "enough is enough". From next week you will notice that the hymns will change to that of Christmas, preparing us for that big and great day of Dec 25^th: of the Incarnation of our God. Today, the Theotokos points us to this day of Christmas. She is at the beginning of our journey as our example. The Theotokos was dedicated to the temple and so must we also be. 

falalalala...

lalalala

There will be a lot of singing going on at the Archdiocese grounds on December 19th! It's a good evening out with the family or friends, so get into the Christmas spirit and check it out...

christmas community appeals

two to mention...

First is run by the Greek Welfare Centre, collecting the following on Wednesday 15th December, 9am-4.30pm at Marrickville Town Hall, 303 Marrickville Road, Marrickville.

- Clothing (new and used)

- Cans or packets of food items

- Household items (new and old)

- Games/ toys, presents (for kids and adults)

- Donations/ money vouchers

All items collected will be donated to various families and charitable organisations.

St Gerasimos Parish is also collecting toys for the orphanage it helps it Nigeria. The church is collecting until the 31st December, so it is a perfect opportunity to donate any unwanted or excess toys from Christmas. Any items can be brought from now, in the mornings 8.30-10.30am.

Have a look around the house, there is most likely something you don't need and that someone else does.