dence of Presbyters and Deacons on the Bishop as the

centre of the unity of the faithful.

We know, of course, that today the Divine Liturgy
is not celebrated in the various parishes by the Bishop,
but by the Priests, who are assisted in this service by
Deacons as well. However, these Priests belong to the
presbytery of one Bishop. In addition, they have to commemorate the name of their Bishop during every Divine Liturgy they celebrate X actually, not the name of
the Bishop who ordained them, but the Bishop under
whose jurisdiction the Divine Liturgy is celebrated.
In the Orthodox Church, there is no priest who does
not come under a canonical Orthodox Bishop, or does
not belong to the presbytery of a Bishop. Nor is an Orthodox Divine Liturgy ever celebrated without the commemoration of the Bishops name.
So, then, it is important to note the name of the
Bishop who is commemorated in a Divine Liturgy,
and whether he is a canonical Bishop of the Orthodox
Church in that region. Just as every Presbyter needs to
belong to the presbytery of the local Bishop, likewise,
the canonical Bishop must belong to the order of the
Bishops of the Orthodox Church.
But, how can we determine if a Bishop is canonical?
That is, if he belongs to the Orthodox Church? For a
Bishop to be Orthodox, he must be in communion with
the other Bishops in the same land, who, together with
the Orthodox fold constitute the Orthodox Church
of that land (for example, the Church of Greece, the
Church of Cyprus, etc.).
We should also know that every autonomous
Church, in order to be an Orthodox Church, must also
be in communion with the other Orthodox Churches in
the entire world. All the Orthodox Churches together
constitute the one body of the One, Holy, Catholic and
Apostolic Church. And all the Bishops appointed far and
wide, are of the will of Jesus (Ignatius).
In this way, although we have many parishes in one
place, and the Divine Liturgy is celebrated in many places, the Bishopric is one. Also, although there are many
Bishoprics in one land, they constitute together one autonomous Church. Finally, although there are more than
one autonomous Churches, they are all united in the
Faith and in the Divine Eucharist, and they all constitute
the One Orthodox Church, i.e. the One Body of Christ,

and they all manifest the mind of Christ (1 Cor.2:16; Acts

15:28).
This Church is scattered throughout the entire
world, but she is gathered together in a mystical manner in the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, just as the
grains of wheat are gathered to constitute the one bread
of the Divine Eucharist, which is changed into the Body
of Christ.
What, then, should we look out for in order to ensure
that a Synaxis of the people for celebrating the Divine
Liturgy belongs to the Orthodox Church and as such
guarantees our salvation?
As mentioned earlier, we must ascertain the Bishop
to whom the priest officiating in the Divine Liturgy belongs. Then, it is necessary to find out the Church to
which that Bishop belongs. If that Church is united with
our own Orthodox Church, in which we have been incorporated through Baptism, then, we are assured that
the Divine Liturgy is a synaxis of the Orthodox Church
and guarantees our salvation.
How basic this matter is, is revealed to us by St. Cyril
of Jerusalem. In addressing travellers and pilgrims, he
says, that they must be careful not to enter a congregation, nor to participate in a Liturgy, if they have not been
previously assured that this synaxis is not a conventicle
of heretics and a gathering of people who have seceded
from the canonical Bishop. And should you perchance
migrate, he says, do not only try to find where the
Temple is, because the heresies of the impious dare to
call their (rapatious) caverns Temples. Do not try to find
only where the Church is, but rather, where the Orthodox Church is (Catech.16:26).
How misled, indeed, are those people who abandon
the Orthodox Church, that is, the Orthodox worship,
and resort to other gatherings They risk losing that
which Christ was sacrificed for: the salvation of their
souls. Because salvation is possible only through union
with the Church, that is, with the Eucharistic synaxis
of the Church. And the criterion for that synaxis is its
union with the canonical Orthodox Bishop of that region.
All the above prove just how far we must flee from
the congregations that do not belong to our Church, and
do not gather with the knowledge and the approval of
the Bishop to whom we belong, and who is for us the
guarantor of union with Christ and a guarantee of His
presence.

SAINT LUKE THE EVANGELIST

GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH

nov e m b e r 16, 2 01 4
s t. m at t h e w t h e a p o s t l e a n d e va ng e l i s t
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, was also named Levi (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27); he was one of the
Twelve Apostles (Mark 3:18; Luke 6:45; Acts 1:13), and was brother of the Apostle James Alphaeus (Mark 2:14).
He was a publican, or tax-collector for Rome, in a time when the Jews were under the rule of the Roman Empire.
He lived in the Galilean city of Capernaum. When Matthew heard the voice of Jesus Christ: Come, follow Me
(Mt. 9:9), left everything and followed the Savior. Christ and His disciples did not refuse Matthews invitation
and they visited his house, where they shared table with the publicans friends and acquaintances. Like the host,
they were also publicans and known sinners. This event disturbed the pharisees and scribes a great deal.
Publicans who collected taxes from their countrymen did this with great profit for themselves. Usually greedy
and cruel people, the Jews considered them pernicious betrayers of their country and religion. The word publican for the Jews had the connotation of public sinner and idol-worshipper. To even speak with a tax-collector
was considered a sin, and to associate with one was defilement. But the Jewish teachers were not able to comprehend that the Lord had come to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Mt. 9:13).
Matthew, acknowledging his sinfulness, repaid fourfold anyone he had cheated, and he distributed his remaining possessions to the poor, and he followed after Christ with the other apostles. St Matthew was attentive to
the instructions of the Divine Teacher, he beheld His innumerable miracles, he went together with the Twelve
Apostles preaching to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Mt. 10:6). He was a witness to the suffering, death,
and Resurrection of the Savior, and of His glorious Ascension into Heaven.
Having received the grace of the Holy Spirit, which descended upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost,
St Matthew preached in Palestine for several years. At the request of the Jewish converts at Jerusalem, the holy
Apostle Matthew wrote his Gospel describing the earthly life of the Savior, before leaving to preach the Gospel in
faraway lands.
In the order of the books of the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew comes first. Palestine is said to be the
place where the Gospel was written. St Matthew wrote in Aramaic, and then it was translated into Greek. The
Aramaic text has not survived, but many of the linguistic and cultural-historical peculiarities of the Greek translation give indications of it.
The Apostle Matthew preached among people who were awaiting the Messiah. His Gospel manifests itself as
a vivid proof that Jesus Christ is the Messiah foretold by the prophets, and that there would not be another (Mt.
11:3).
The preaching and deeds of the Savior are presented by the evangelist in three divisions, constituting three
aspects of the service of the Messiah: as Prophet and Law-Giver (Ch. 5-7), Lord over the world both visible and
1510 audubon drive columbia, missouri, 65201 tel. 573.817.0050 / fax 573.449.8452
email: info@saintlukecolumbia.org web: www.saintlukecolumbia.org

at the small entrance we sing

. . .

apolytikion. Mode pl. 2.

,
, , .
, ,
, ,
, .

hen the angelic powers appeared at Your grave,

the soldiers guarding it feared and became as
dead. And standing by the sepulcher was Mary who
was seeking Your immaculate body. You devastated
Hades, not afflicted by it. You went to meet the virgin, and granted eternal life. You resurrected from the
dead. O Lord, glory to You.

. .

apolytikion of the apostle. Mode 3.

, , , .

. . .

holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, make intercession to our merciful God, that He grant our
souls forgiveness of offenses.
Apolytikion for the Church. Mode pl. 1.

,
,
, ,
, , .

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 splendid
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 unceasingly for our souls.

. .

Kontakion. Mode 4.

, ,
, ,
, ,

.

he Saviors most pure and immaculate temple, the

very precious bridal chamber and Virgin, who is
the sacred treasure of the glory of God, on this day
is introduced into the House of the Lord, and with
herself she brings the grace in the divine Spirit. She is
extolled by the Angels of God. A heavenly tabernacle
is she.

No-one can be a Christian outside the Divine Eucharist, that is, on his own, by means of a direct union with
God. Christ said that whosoever does not eat His Body
and does not drink His Blood would, has no life inside him
( John 6:53).
Outside the Divine Eucharist, a man can have the
Holy Bible, the kerygma, prayer, and moral life. But outside the Divine Liturgy, one cannot have the Body and
the Blood of the Lord, which would grant him salvation
and true life. It is necessary for us to underline this point,
because there are some who incorrectly believe that they
are supposedly Christians, without participating in the
Eucharistic Synaxis of the faithful, that is, in the Divine
Liturgy.
Next to this, we must underline that in the divine Liturgy it is impossible to have mere spectators among the
faithful, that is, people who have not come to the Holy
Sacrament.
This, however, does not mean that anyone can come
forward unprepared (1 Cor. 11:27- 29). Saint Ambrose
says, regarding this matter, in a very characteristic way:
Receive every day that which is useful for that day. Live in a
manner that makes you worthy of it.
3. Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father

In the Greek language, Liturgy means a work of

the people. From what we have mentioned so far, it is
quite clear what this divine work that takes place in the
Eucharistic gatherings of the faithful is.
In the divine Liturgy, the faithful constitute the
Church and reveal to the world the Body of Christ. They
proclaim that with Christs death and resurrection, those
scattered have once again reassembled into one and that
they are now participating in this synaxis of the children
of God ( John 11:52; 1 Cor.10:16, 11:26).
Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and
the Holy Spirit, the Priest intones at the beginning of the
divine Liturgy. Thus, the kingdom is no longer an event
that belongs totally to the future, and of which human
beings cannot have any foretaste. The kingdom of the
Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit has already commenced in this life, and it is the Divine Liturgy and our
participation in it (Matth.12:28; Luke 17:21; Mark 9:1;
Luke 9:27).
It is the event of mans communication with the life
of the Triadic God, which is realized by means of con-

suming of the Lords Body and drinking His Blood, as

well as the event of the unity of all the children of the
Kingdom within the one Body of the Lord.
4. The external characteristics of the Orthodox Synaxis

If the Divine Liturgy is of primary importance for

our salvation, then we need to underline the characteristic features of the true Divine Liturgy, so that we can
distinguish it from the gatherings of heretics, which do
not contribute to the unity, but rather to the division
of the Lords Body and are a threat to the event of our
salvation (See 1 Cor.1:13; 11:18-34). This is a necessity
that we must be familiar with, when travelling to foreign
lands and are not familiar with the details of the life of
the Christian communities that exist there.
We need to be aware of this, when we go to foreign
lands and we are ignorant of the particularities of the life
of the Christian communities that exist in these regions.
As mentioned earlier, the Bishop of a region constitutes
an image of Christ and is the guarantor of the unity of
the faithful in the One Body of the Church.
In the ancient Church, the Divine Eucharist was celebrated only by the Bishop or by a Presbyter (Elder)
who belonged to the presbytery of that Bishop and had
received the bishops authorization to perform that task.
In this way, the Bishop constituted the guarantee of the
presence of Christ, which is necessary for the performance of the Divine Eucharist, because in reality, Christ
is he who offers and is offered (See Hebr.7:23-28).
Where Christ is, there the Church is, says Saint Ignatius,
and he also notes, that the Church is where the Bishop is
too. It is not a portion of the Church there, but the catholic (=entire) Church, as a whole, that is to say, the Orthodox Church. Therefore, the presence of the Bishop constitutes a guarantee of the genuineness of the Orthodox
Liturgy.
The Bishop is not a self-called person. He traces his
Priesthood, through Apostolic succession, to the Apostles and from there to Christ Himself. Therefore, the
canonical and genuine Bishop of the Orthodox Church
must be found within this succession. Otherwise, he
does not have the Priesthood that Christ instituted.
This Priesthood is conferred by the Bishop to all the
remaining clergymen, i.e. to Presbyters and Deacons
whom he himself ordains. This act, with the celebration
of the divine Eucharist as its basis, reveals the depen-

The Synaxis of those Scattered

by +Protopresbyter Antonios G. Alevizopoulos
Trans. by Protopresbyter George. D. Dragas
an excerpt from A Handbook of the Orthodox Faith

1. The Saving Unity of Believers

hortly before Christs sacrifice on the cross, in that

prayer of His agony for all those who would believe
in His name, the Lord asked the Father to keep them in
godly unity: That they may all be one, as You, Father, are
in Me, and I in You; that they too may be one in us. I gave
them the glory which you gave me, that they may be one as
we are one. I am in them, and You in Me; that they may be
perfected, until they become one... ( John 17:21-23).
With these words, Christ called the faithful to a
unity, which is not external, but internal, absolute, like
the unity of the three Persons of the Holy Trinity, from
which humanity had fallen away through the fall. This is
a unity, whose basis and goal are the three Persons of the
Holy Trinity, and which signifies humanitys redemption and perfection: I in them, and You in Me, that they
may be made perfect in one... ( John 17:23).
The unity therefore, of which Christ speaks, is not the
road to salvation; it is salvation
itself.
2. The Divine Eucharist as the source of the unity in Christ

In what way can we reach this unity? Undoubtedly,

the completion of this unity is connected with the triumph of the Church at the last time, i.e. with the coming
of the Lord and the last judgment.
Even in this life, however, there is for the faithful a
foretaste of that perfect unity. This is the event of the
Divine Eucharist. The Apostle Paul characteristically
says: Since one is the Bread [of the Divine Eucharist], one
Body too are we, the many, because we all partake of that
one Bread (1 Cor.10:17). The Lord Himself, referring
to the Divine Eucharist, identifies mans participation in
It with the very event of salvation and life, whereas He
identifies mans abstention from It, with spiritual death:
Truly, truly I say to you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son
of Man and do not drink His blood, you will have no life in
you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal
life, and I will raise him up on the last day ( John 6:53-54).
After the fall, human beings lost their unity with each
other, which was based on Gods love, and so they be-

came internally alienated and dispersed. By his incarnation, Christ assumed the entire humanity which became
mortified through Christs death and was resurrected
with Him into a new life, united again with Gods love.
So Christ restored humanity to its former unity with
God.
When the faithful gather together to celebrate the
Divine Liturgy and they participate in the Divine Eucharist, then they are reunited again into one body, the risen
and deified Body of Christ. Then they come together as a
Church (1 Cor.11:18) and they constitute and manifest
again the Body of the Lord, that is, the Church. Then the
basic and essential Mission of the Incarnation and the
Sacrifice of Christ, by means of which the Lord sought
to gather together in one [Body] the scattered children of
God, is fulfilled ( John 11:52).
This event of gathering into one [Body] all the scattered children of God is perfectly expressed in the liturgical texts of our Church.
A beautiful prayer of the Divine Liturgy of the first
Christians says this with the following words: Just as
this portion was scattered over the mountains and, being gathered, became one, so may Your Church be gathered from the ends of the earth, into Your kingdom...
In other words, just as this piece of bread, which we use
in the Divine Eucharist, used to be wheat scattered over
the mountains and, after being gathered, became one,
may Your entire Church be gathered together, from the
ends of the earth, into Your kingdom, during the celebration of the divine Eucharist.
And in the divine Liturgy of Basil the Great, the priest
prays as follows: Unite together all of us, who partake from
the one Bread and the one Chalice, with each other and in
the communion of the one Spirit... that we might find mercy
and grace together with all the Saints who pleased You from
the beginning.
So then, the Divine Communion gathers the scattered members of Christ who, together with Him, who
is the Head, constitute His Body and are an organic
unity. This is the reason why we can unhasitedly identify the Church with the event of Synaxis of the faithful,
with the celebration of the divine Eucharist and with the
event of consuming the Body of the Lord and drinking
His Precious Blood.

THE READINGS OF THE DAY

e p i s t l e r e a di ng

g o s p e l r e a di ng

The letter of paul

to the romans 10:11-21; 11:1-2

Matthew 9:9-13

RETHREN, the scripture says, No one

who believes in him will be put to shame.
For there is no distinction between Jew and
Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and bestows his
riches upon all who call upon him. For, every one
who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
But how are men to call upon him in whom they
have not believed? And how are they to believe
in him of whom they have never heard? And how
are they to hear without a preacher? And how can
men preach unless they are sent? As it is written,
How beautiful are the feet of those who preach
good news But they have not all obeyed the gospel; for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what
he has heard from us? So faith comes from what is
heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of
Christ. But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they
have; for Their voice has gone out to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world. Again I
ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, I
will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.
Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, I have been found
by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself
to those who did not ask for me. But of Israel he
says, All day long I have held out my hands to a
disobedient and contrary people. I ask, then, has
God rejected his people? By no means I myself am
an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member
of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his
people whom he foreknew.

t that time, as Jesus passed on from there,

he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the
tax office; and he said to him, Follow me.
And he rose and followed him. And as he sat at
table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and
sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said
to his disciples, Why does your teacher eat with
tax collectors and sinners? But when he heard it,
he said, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what
this means, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. For I
came not to call the righteous, but sinners.

There are many obstacles obstructing the way to humility; but no obstacles bar the way to belief in the
words of God. As soon as we wish
with all our heart, straightway we
believe. For faith is a gift of the allmerciful God, which He gave us to
possess by nature, subjecting its use
to the authority of our own will.

ST. symeon
the theologian

announcements
Saturday,
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turday
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January
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uaarr y 2
25
25,
5, G
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Great
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Vespers,
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5p
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u p c om i ng c h u rc h s e r v ic e s:
Friday, November 21, Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple, Orthros / Div. Liturgy, 8:30am
Saturday, November 22, Great Vespers, 5pm.
general assembly
The annual Fall General Assembly of the parish will be held today following Divine Services.
All members in good standing are encouraged to
attend.
community christmas card
If you would like to be included in our Community Christmas card, please see Elly Aslanidis
to sign up. A minimum $10 donation is requested.
Proceeds benefit Philoptochos for their charitable work. Extra sign-up sheets are in the narthex.
Deadline is December 7.
craft club
Craft club will meet this Wednesday, November
19, at 6pm. All are welcome please join us on the
first and third wednesdays of the month Bring a
craft project that you are working on.
flower donations for st. nektarios
We still need 2x$100 donations for flowers to
decorate the icon of St. Nektarios.
angel wreath - donations needed
Angel Wreath: We are once again participating in
the Voluntary Action Center Christmas Program,
and will sponsor four single parent families with
two to three children each. If you would like to participate, take one or more angels from the wreath
in the Narthex, buy the suggested gift listed on the

back and bring the gifts back to church unwrapped

with the angel attached by 12/7. Thank you for
your generosity
family night
Save the date and join us for the next Family
Night on December 14. Registrations forms are
available in the Narthex.
community potluck
Please join us for a community Advent Pot Luck
on December 14 after Divine Services. Bring a
Lenten dish to share. (No dairy or meat products.)
philoptochos - gift cards
The next deadline to order gift cards will be
Dec. 9. These cards make great gifts and also are
great for everyday spending. Proceeds benefit the
ministries of Philoptochos. Please see Ronni
Harwood or Karen Sade to purchase or to order
other gift cards.

invisible (Ch. 8-25), and finally as High Priest offered

as Sacrifice for the sins of all mankind (Ch. 26-27).
The theological content of the Gospel, besides
the Christological themes, includes also the teaching
about the Kingdom of God and about the Church,
which the Lord sets forth in parables about the inner preparation for entering into the Kingdom (Ch.
5-7), about the worthiness of servers of the Church
in the world (Ch. 10-11), about the signs of the Kingdom and its growth in the souls of mankind (Ch. 13),
about the humility and simplicity of the inheritors of
the Kingdom (Mt. 18:1-35; 19 13-30; 20:1-16; 25-27;
23:1-28), and about the eschatological revelations of
the Kingdom in the Second Coming of Christ within
the daily spiritual life of the Church (Ch. 24-25).
The Kingdom of Heaven and the Church are closely interconnected in the spiritual experience of Christianity: the Church is the historical embodiment of
the Kingdom of Heaven in the world, and the Kingdom of Heaven is the Church of Christ in its eschatological perfection (Mt. 16:18-19; 28:18-20).
The holy Apostle brought the Gospel of Christ to
Syria, Media, Persia, Parthia, and finishing his preaching in Ethiopia with a martyrs death. This land was inhabited by tribes of cannibals with primitive customs
and beliefs. The holy Apostle Matthew converted
some of the idol-worshippers to faith in Christ. He
founded the Church and built a temple in the city of
Mirmena, establishing there his companion Platon as
bishop.
When the holy apostle was fervently entreating
God for the conversion of the Ethiopians the Lord
Himself appeared to him in the form of a youth. He
gave him a staff, and commanded him to plant it at the
doors of the church. The Lord said that a tree would
grow from this staff and it would bear fruit, and from
its roots would flow a stream of water. When the Ethiopians washed themselves in the water and ate the
fruit, they lost their wild ways and became gentle and
good.
When the holy apostle carried the staff towards the
church, he was met by the wife and son of the ruler
of the land, Fulvian, who were afflicted by unclean

spirits. In the Name of Christ the holy apostle healed

them. This miracle converted a number of the pagans
to the Lord. But the ruler did not want his subjects to
become Christians and cease worshiping the pagan
gods. He accused the apostle of sorcery and gave orders to execute him.
They put St Matthew head downwards, piled up
brushwood and ignited it. When the fire flared up, everyone then saw that the fire did not harm St Matthew.
Then Fulvian gave orders to add more wood to the
fire, and frenzied with boldness, he commanded to set
up twelve idols around the fire. But the flames melted
the idols and flared up toward Fulvian. The frightened
Ethiopian turned to the saint with an entreaty for mercy, and by the prayer of the martyr the flame went out.
The body of the holy apostle remained unharmed,
and he departed to the Lord.
The ruler Fulvian deeply repented of his deed, but
still he had doubts. By his command, they put the
body of St Matthew into an iron coffin and threw it
into the sea. In doing this Fulvian said that if the God
of Matthew would preserve the body of the apostle
in the water as He preserved him in the fire, then this
would be proper reason to worship this One True
God.
That night the Apostle Matthew appeared to
Bishop Platon in a dream, and commanded him to go
with clergy to the shore of the sea and to find his body
there. The righteous Fulvian and his retinue went
with the bishop to the shore of the sea. The coffin carried by the waves was taken to the church built by the
apostle. Then Fulvian begged forgiveness of the holy
Apostle Matthew, after which Bishop Platon baptized
him, giving him the name Matthew in obedience to a
command of God.
Soon St Fulvian-Matthew abdicated his rule and
became a presbyter. Upon the death of Bishop Platon,
the Apostle Matthew appeared to him and exhorted
him to head the Ethiopian Church. Having become
a bishop, St Fulvian-Matthew toiled at preaching the
Word of God, continuing the work of his heavenly patron.