St. Catherine’s

Newsletter June, 2010

Assumption Greek

Orthodox Church

CONTRIBUTORS

Yannis Chulos Saarinen

Dina Loumakis

Luke Maggos

Kelly Skoulikaris

Lauren Sussman

Sunday Church School Awards Sunday

Did you know that Assumption Church is celebrating its 85th anniversary? On May 13, Mr. Harold P. Peponis gave a lecture to our church called “Assumption Church of Chicago--85 Years of Challenges and Triumphs.” Here are some facts about Assumption. The first church was a wooden structure built in 1925. In 1929, there was the Great Depression and many Greeks lost their homes and businesses. Many Greek Or-thodox people were moving to the neighborhood and they wanted to build a bigger church. In 1935, there was a building campaign to raise money for a†new church. The church cost $200,000 and the school cost $175, 000 to construct. The people raised lots of money from bonds. They started building the new church in 1937. It is the one we still have today. The new church had its first Divine Liturgy on Christmas Day, 1938. In 1950, Chicago had the largest Greek community outside of Greece. Plato school was added on in 1952. It was a day school for kindergarten through eighth grade. The architect even had plans for a gym/community center, but it was never built. In the late 1950s, our church was one of the largest Greek Orthodox communities in the United States. We had about 1,500 Sunday school students and over 400 kids in Greek School. A big restora-tion was done after the 75th anniversary that made it even more beautiful inside. Another special event hap-pened at our church in 2006, when Father Demetrios Kantzavelos who grew up attending our parish and served in the altar , was consecrated as a bishop in our church. As you can see, our church has a great history. The church and the community around it have gone through some changes, but I still think it is the most beau-tiful church in Chicago.

Assumption Church Celebrates 85th Anniversary by Luke Maggos

Junior Olympics coverage inside

Sunday Church School Awards Sunday took place May 16, 2010. The teachers announced their classes and each child was presented with a cer-tificate and a book by Father Timothy and Father Athanasios. Awareds were given for perfect at-tendance (0 absences)†and faithful attendance (1-4 absences).

Perfect Attendance: Lea Arvanites, Marisa Ar-vanites, Autumn Ferguson, Alexandra Georgopou-los, Lucas Maggos, Constantina Tsaganos, Fotis Tsaganos, Petroula Tsaganos

Faithful Attendance: Paul Georgopoulos, Chris-topher Godellas, Helena Godellas, William Godel-las, Thalia Holguin, Zachary Holguin, Lily Jurasek, Athena Koulouris, Elena Koulouris, Strati Kou-louris, Demetrios Kouvelis,

W. Maximos Kouvelis, Theo Kozil, Billy Panos, Christen Massouras, Evan Massouras, Nicholas Rodinos, Kimberly Voulgarakis.

The Assumption Philoptochos Society presented Marika Maggos and Christen Massouras with checks in recognition of their Oratorical Festival entries.

Little Lambs Class

High School Class

ST. CATHERINE’S NEWSLETTER

Page 2

Dina Loumakis: Hello everyone! †For the past year I have been attending the Illinois Institute of Technology with a major in Molecular Biochemisty and Biophysics (loads of fun!). It's definitely a lot of fun there, but lots of work. It's mandatory that you have a balance between work and pleasure. In college, I have joined the Honors Medical Society, Engineers without Borders, and the Society of Women Engineers. Being in college is an amazing opportunity that many people don't have, so don't take it for granted. Do well in school and make goals, but most importantly, strive for excellence, not importance! I miss you all! Peace and Happiness!

Question: What is the Icon in the Dome? Is it God or Jesus?

The Pantocrator (Dome) The Apse

As we sit in Church, if we look high above the Altar and the seated area, we will see two beautiful Icons, images that look down upon us. This area is referred to as the Heavenly Zones of the Church, comprising the Pantocrator (Dome) and the Apse. The cupola icon (Dome) is, of course, Christ the Pantocrator seated on His jeweled throne. This Icon is referred to as the Pantrocrator, or Almighty One in the Dome. With His left hand, Jesus holds the Holy Bible which contains His Words of life. In fact, Christ is known as “the Word”. With His Right hand, Jesus blesses those who have come to His holy House (Church). Jesus is depicted in the Dome to remind us that His eye is always upon us. Christ Himself told us that He would be with us al-ways, and as Orthodox Christians, that message is told to us in the Dome. But Christ is not only with us in Church, but in everything we do as well. Notice the grouping of his fingers; three together and two together. The three fingers symbolize the Holy Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The other two represent Christ being both God and man (Human and Divine).

Also, high above the Holy Altar Table is the area that we call the Apse. This Icon contains the Panagia, the Virgin Mary who is the Mother of God, Jesus. The importance of this Icon is the following: just as the Panagia is caring for the Christ Child, she also opens and extends her arms to cradle us as well. Leading us to the only True Way, to her Son, our Savior!

Question: What does the word “Amen” mean in our Worship Services?

The Divine Liturgy that we celebrate each Sunday is the divine work of the people that pertains to God. At its essence though, it is simply a dialogue between the celebrant and the laity. It is through this dialogue, this conversation, complimented by gestures and movements and the ever-present Holy Spirit, that the work of the Church, culminating in the consecration and reception of the body and blood of Christ our Lord, is undertaken and accom-plished.

The Divine Liturgy is structured in such a manner that the fullness of God is not only discussed, but also experienced by the faithful. The people accom-plish this as they chant the appropriate responses to the petitions and prayers offered by the priest. The responses may be as complex as the chanting of a hymn, or it may be as simple as a the word, "Amen."

"Amen" is a word that is used quite frequently in the Divine Liturgy. It is the first word uttered in unison by the people when the celebrant opens the Liturgy with "Blessed is the Kingdom..." Likewise, it is said many times throughout the Divine Liturgy by the people. Another special and meaningful time that we use the word “Amen” is when the priest chants the following words, "And make this bread the precious body of your Christ." "Amen." “And that which is in this cup the precious blood of your Christ." "Amen." "Changing them by the power of your Holy Spirit." Amen, Amen, Amen." And, it is the final word that our echo as the Divine Liturgy comes to a close when the priest says the words, "Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers...".

The word "Amen" is derived from Hebrew. As such, it is commonly found in both the Old and the New Testament. If used at the end of a sentence it means "so it be". If, on the other hand, it is said at the beginning of a sentence, it implies "truly". In either case, it is a simple word that carries a pro-found meaning and implication for our liturgical life.

With this response of our faithful who are present in the Divine Liturgy, they affirm the Kingdom of God and the Liturgy is brought to a close. Knowing this, it is crucial that the faithful respond "Amen" with confidence and commitment throughout the Service. It is not an addition to the Liturgy to simply make the laity feel involved, but rather an affirmation of the statement, petition and/or prayer of the priest. And, it is the completion of the liturgical formula that opens the Kingdom of God and a way of life to a people who are present that day in Church and who are in need of the blessing of our Lord.

Ask Father…………..by Very Rev. Timothy Bakakos

ASSUMPTION GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH

2010

Junior

Olympics

Page 3

Spotlight on Sunday Church School

Teachers: Mrs. Mary Maniatis and

Mr. George Maniatis

The students in this class are: Lu-cas, Lauren, Jayne, Sophia, Eleni, Tina, Theo, Eliana, Nico, James, and Dominique.

We are mostly learning about the Old Testament, its stories and people. We even made masks of some of these people, gathered facts about them, and then played "guess my person" with our parents at our open house. Recently, we have been talking about the Ten Commandments and 9 Beatitudes.

Our class is special because we work very well together. Mrs. Maniatis likes to set up trivia games about what we've recently studied. For every correct answer, you get a piece of candy in reward. We learn a lot and have lots of fun and joke around. Mr. Maniatis is very funny and adds many laughs to our lessons.

Mrs. Maniatis says, “I've always wanted to be a teacher and this allows me to do so. I also like kids and their enthusiasm. It's very exciting.” In her free time she enjoys drawing, reading, and gar-dening. Her favorite church service is Anastasi. All the lights are out and candles are lit, it's very pretty.

5th & 6th Grade

By Lauren Sussman

Mrs. Demetra Spyropoulos Dr. Evie Maggos

The nine students in the class are: Lea, Georgia, Yannis, Au-tumn, Nicole, Alexandra, Emily, Kelly and Benjamin. Each Sun-day we discuss the Gospel Reading, say our prayer, learn about saints and our lesson on Sharing God’s World. What is special about our class is that our class has been together for many years!

Mrs. Spyropoulos loves all church services but she especially loves Easter services. She loves teaching kids...teaching them about God and she loves doing God's work!

Third Grade By Kelly Skoulikaris

Assumption athletes had a great time competing in the Metropolis of Chicago Junior Olympics. Forty three Assumption athletes competed in track, soccer, basketball, softball, volleyball, table tennis, swimming and the 10K run. Many de-voted parents and fans were present to cheer them on. The coaches, Father Timothy, Father Athanasios and the Parish Council supported the efforts of all the athletes. The athletes put forth great effort and competed well in all events. A total of six gold medals and seven silver medals were won by our teammates!

Lucas Maggos, gold 50 m dash; Alexandra Palmis-ano, gold 10K run and silver table tennis; Thomas Palmisano, silver 400 m relay; Niko Lakerdas, silver 400 m relay; Basile Manikas, silver 400 m relay; Mike Lagon, silver 400 m relay; George Koulouris, gold 50 yd freestyle, gold 50 yd breast-stroke, silver 50 yd backstroke; Strati Koulouris, gold 50 yd freestyle, gold 100 yd freestyle, silver 50 yd butterfly.

The St. Catherine’s Newsletter was created in 2007

by a Sunday School student. It serves to inform,

educate, and entertain the children of the Assump-

tion Greek Orthodox Church community. All are

welcome and encouraged to contribute to the news-

letter.

If you are interested in writing an article, sending in

a self written piece of work, or just for more infor-

mation… PLEASE CONTACT: Very Rev. Fr. Timo-

thy Bakakos —FrTimothy@assumptionchicago.org

or Dr. Evie Maggos— demags@aol.com

Assumption Greek Orthodox Church 601 S. Central Avenue Chicago, IL 60644

Phone: 773-626-3113 Fax: 773-626-3141

HOURS

MATINS — 8:00 AM

DIVINE LITURGY—

9:30 AM

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Artwork by

Yannis Chulos SaarinenYannis Chulos SaarinenYannis Chulos SaarinenYannis Chulos Saarinen

SAVE THE DATE

Mini Golf Outing

Thursday, July 8