THE NEWS FROM ST. NEKTARIOS

Theophany ~ a Three-year Event

A MESSAGE FROM FR. STEVE DALBER

“… the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, “Thou art my beloved Son;

with thee I am well pleased.” Luke 3:22

“And John bore witness, “I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it

remained on him.” John 1:32

O ur Lord began His three year ministry at the river Jordan when He condescended to be

baptized by John. Every year in the Orthodox Church we remember this event with the celebration of Theophany. During this season we ask the Holy Spirit to bless the waters in remembrance of our Lord’s baptism. Then we, in turn, bless all of creation through the sprinkling of this water. This is such a beautiful and visual event that it’s very easy to miss the important theological reason for the Great Theophany of our Lord. From the beginning and throughout Scripture, we see many examples of false gods and false prophets. It is critical to understand that our faith teaches that we must not accept prophets and teachers without putting them to the test. It is not acceptable for someone to proclaim themselves to be prophetic. They must have witnesses and it must not be contradictory to preceding prophesies or Tradition. For this reason it was important that God’s appearance to the world had to have reliable and uncontestable witnesses. Theophany (θεοφάνεια) is an ancient Greek word meaning that a god has appeared or has revealed himself to humans. It is a revelation. This is precisely what happened when God revealed Himself to His creation at Theophany. This was not, however, a single, one day event. In reality Theophany can and should be seen as a three year event. Our Lord’s entire ministry was a Theophany. In fact “Theophany” wasn’t realized until after His Resurrection. It was only then that His disciples realized that He was indeed God. It took many miracles and many witnesses to these miracles combined with Jesus’ death and resurrection to bring about the realization of a

Theophany. In other words no one knew they were experiencing a Theophany until it was over. On the day of our Lord’s baptism, His divinity was revealed by God the Father with the voice from heaven saying; “this is my son with whom I am well pleased.” The Holy Spirit was also there as witness in the form of a Dove. John the Baptist was also there as a witness. During Jesus’ ministry He fulfilled the words of the Old Testament Prophets through His teachings, His actions, the miracles He performed and finally through His Resurrection. Miracle after miracle, sign after sign, were the proof and the witness to His divinity. He didn’t come into the world declaring Himself to be divine, as do the false prophets and the false gods. But rather, he allowed God, His disciples, His actions and words speak for Him. Those who rejected Him cannot say

that it was for lack of proof. The fact that His disciples/apostles were willing to and in fact did give their lives is a powerful witness to what they saw and experienced during this Theophany. That may be the most compelling proof of all that in fact this was a true Theophany. Since the great Theophany of our Lord, many have proclaimed

themselves to be prophets and even the messiah, but none have the powerful and overwhelming witness that was given on behalf of Jesus. We hear of false prophets claiming divine experience in remote forests or in caves. They claim to have seen God or an angel of God who has revealed secrets and mysterious writings and how they were told that what they were experiencing was the truth. They deny Jesus or try to reinvent Him as merely being a prophet. But in every case they are witnesses to themselves and their experience is private and personal. In these cases, we as Orthodox Christians must stand together with a unified voice and ask; where are your witnesses!? Jesus and His Church are unique in the number of witnesses and material proof that Jesus is the son of God and that Jesus is God. He didn’t proclaim Himself as others have, but rather He revealed Himself as no other can. He is God and He revealed himself to us in an uncontestable way. He

is, was and always will be the true Theophany.

“…no one

knew they were

experiencing a

Theophany until

it was over.…”

Inside this Issue

Focus on our Community

2

Parish Council Oath of Office

2

New Year’s Day Vasilopita Cutting

3

Epiphany 2018 3

Christmas Program

4

Philoptochos 5

St. Nektarios Christmas Dance

6-7

AHEPA 7

Youth Pages 8-11

Saints of our Faith 20

VOLUME , ISSUE

2

In our prayers

Zoe Andrews Helene Antone Pat Baker Sylvia Belk Sandy Brewer John & Sandra Capousis

Christopher Chopelas Mary Jane Cloninger Nick Collias Cleo Demopoulos Duke Duncan

Shannon Elliot Vasileki Frangopoulos Ted Gillis Hank Hanegraaf Cynthia Hicklin Gail Hood

Georgia Kalivas Maria Kleto Dean Kondilis Mary & Elton Longshore Georgia & Peter Mannering

Catherine Manthos Jack McCullough Michael Christopher Mentavlos Tish Merrill Christina Nixon

Anastasia Peceridou Margaret Phillips Mark Phillips Athena Rodgers Heather Solomon Teziah Stalling

Mary Thayer Russ Thayer Lilly Trakas Maria Tsiamis Sue & Ernest Tsitouris Ron Wheatley

FOR THOSE IN SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY

Helene Carras Buddy Craft Jordan James Dunn Krassimire Ivanov Nicholas Kachulis Michael Constantine Mentavlos Zack Millsaps

Matthew Millsaps Amanda Moril Danielle Zervakos Nickolopoulos Anton Savin

Congratulations and best wishes

To Fr. Stephanos and Sherry Potter on the baptism of their granddaughter, Felicity Claire Potter

To Dina and Tom Papazis on the baptism of their daughter, Mia Sage

To Heather and Christiaan van Deur on the baptism of Mieka and Christiaan’s sister, Lucy Frances

To Salem Bishop and Tim Wiltse on the baptism of Ethan’s sister, Arabella Rose

To Samar and Christopher Haddad on the 40 day blessing of their daughter, Nadia Daniela

To Ranim and George Mawardi on baptism of their son, Bruce Nemat

To Daniel Monroe on his Chrismation

To Bess Asimos and Brooks Whitmore on their marriage

To Summer Clewell for being inducted into the National Junior Honor Society and for receiving a Moral Focus Award for Self Control for the month of December

To Florence Hatzis on her move to Florida

With Sympathy on the passing

of our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ

To Mary-Margaret James on the passing of her father, Gus James, in Virginia Beach VA

To the Bikhazi family on the passing of Tony’s sister, Nina Bikhazi, in Beirut Lebanon

To the Cockinos and Malliadis families on the passing of their mother and grandmother, Dee Cockinos

To the Kontoulas family on the passing of Jimmy’s mother, Constandina (Dena) Kontoulas, in Greensboro

To the Sarantou family on the passing of Heidi’s father, Darrell Helgens in Iowa

To the Manousos family on the passing of Maria’s husband, Antonio “Tony”

In Appreciation

Dear St. Nektarios parishioners and friends, I cannot thank you enough for the kindness and love you have shown to me since I joined St. Nektarios. I could not have asked for more kindness or

more love. I will not forget you and pray the Lord will continue to bless you. You are in my prayers always. Please keep me in yours until we meet again.

Florence Hatzis

Thanks to Diane Gilbert and Copycat for printing the Church Bulletin

and Newsletter each month.

kclewell@stnektarios.org

Focus on our community Celebrations, Milestones, Comfort & Support

Epiphany 2018

T he Feast of the Holy Theophany

(Epiphany) of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ is celebrated each year on January 6. The Blessing of Water is held on the eve of the Feast of the Epiphany and on the day itself, following the Divine Liturgy. The Blessing not only remembers the event of Our Lord's baptism and the revelation of the Holy Trinity but also expresses Orthodoxy's belief that creation is sanctified through Christ. The Feast commemorates the Baptism of Christ and the divine revelation of the Holy Trinity. John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus and the one chosen by God to proclaim His coming, was preaching in the wilderness and was baptizing all who would respond to his message calling for repentance. As he was doing this, John was directing the people toward the one who would baptize them with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11). The Scriptures tell us that Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. Initially, John would not do this, saying that Jesus should baptize him. Jesus said to John, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness (3:15). John consented and baptized Jesus. When Jesus came up from the water, the heavens opened suddenly, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him. The Bible records that the Spirit descended like a dove and alighted on him. When this happened, a voice came from heaven and said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” This was the voice of God the Father. Christ’s baptism in the Jordan was “theophany,” a manifestation of God to the world, because it was the beginning of our Lord’s public ministry. It was also a “theophany” in that the world was granted a revelation of the Holy Trinity. All three Persons were made manifest together: the Father testified from on high to the divine Sonship of Jesus; the Son received His Father’s testimony; and the Spirit was seen in the form of a dove, descending from the Father and resting upon the Son.

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New Year’s Day Vasilopita Cutting

O ur annual tradition at St. Nektarios includes the blessing and

cutting of the Vasilopita following Divine Liturgy on New

Year’s Day. Our Philoptochos ladies bake bread following the

tradition from the 4th century by St.

Basil the Great. St. Basil wanted to

distribute money to the poor in his

Diocese so he commissioned women

to bake bread in which gold coins

were placed into the dough before

baking.

Thalia Fergione, Philoptochos President, assisted in handing out the slices to each

ministry department representative and to the children who eagerly awaited Fr. Steve’s

invitation to come forward. Following the Divine Liturgy and the Vasilopita Cutting, the

Hospitality Ministry hosted a New Year’s Day brunch in the Spiritual Life Center. Thank you

to everyone who participated on this special day.

Parish Council pictured left to right:

Teddy Poulos, Aka Vashakidze, John Tsefrikas, Elizabeth Kelto, Christina Bonderer, Theodora Sexstone, Khouloud Alyateem, Charles Hubbard, Jim Thomas, Peter Keretsis, George Bacogeorge

~ 2018 Parish Council Officers ~ President - Peter Keretsis, Vice President - Elizabeth Kleto, Treasurer - Theodora Sexstone

Asst. Treasurer - Jim Thomas, Secretary - Charles Hubbard, Asst. Secretary - Kholoud Alyateem

Members: George Bacogeorge, Christina Bonderer, Teddy Poulos, John Tsefrikas and Aka Vashakidze

Parish Council TAKES OATH OF OFFICE

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St. Nektarios Christmas Program

O ur Community Christmas Program was held on Saturday, December 16, 2017.

Students from the Youth Catechism Department narrated and depicted the Living Icon of the Nativity. This was followed by seasonal talent presented by members of our community: Owen Whiting, Ana Levantis, Fr. Seraphim Dedes, Maria Swanson, Laura Wallace, Mary Dresser, Brian and Ariadne Steele, Dina Marinakos-Oara, Varvara Pasiali, Andrew McCullough, the Clonaris Family, Dennis, Lea, and Speros Kokenes, and Joanna Dendrolivanos. Finally, the St. Nektarios Choirs led the singing of

Christmas Carols.

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Philoptochos — A Legacy of Philanthropy

“Sharing the Joys of

Christmas”

19th Annual Christmas Luncheon &

Fashion Show

C ongratulations to

the Philoptochos

Board for chairing AND

presenting our 19th

annual Christmas

Fashion Show and

Luncheon. Enjoy the

photos attached; thank you to ALL who

participated, it was a wonderful day!!

This year’s show was held on December

2nd at the Marriott South Park for the

2nd year in a row! Our main beneficiary

was USO of NC, Charlotte. We raised

$7375.90 thanks to the generosity of ALL

our community. This allowed us to give

additional funds to some of our other

worthwhile charities as well!

Preparations began months in advance

with selecting the site, recruiting

volunteers to make centerpieces for the

silent auction and competition,

coordinating the fashion show, selling

tickets, gathering door prizes! With the

hard work of our door prize and raffle

committee, many ladies went home

winners. We had numerous prizes from

over 40 generous donors, and a very

special thank you to all our sponsors

too!

“Mainstream Boutique” showcased

their stylish clothes!! Our beautiful

models did an outstanding job modeling

the fashions: Pauline Blehi, Christina

Bonderer, Maria Demakis,

Noura Daher, Stephanie

Edwards, Kellie Karavokiros,

Athena Kortesis, Ariadne Steel

and Renee Tsefrikas.

The children’s Pajama Parade

stole the show again this year!!

Showing off their favorite

pajamas were: Matthew

Gervescu, Daniel Lowen, Dean

Kortesis, Mary Ella

Kortesis, Taylor Rankin,

Lexie Tsefrikas, and Hazel

Whitaker! With the

added donations of

pajamas there will be

many happy children

wearing new and warm

pajamas this winter,

thanks to the

generosity of our

members again!

This was our 4th year

conducting the silent

auction & competition

for centerpieces!

Nineteen creations

were displayed

beautifully all over the

room! We asked our guests to vote for their

favorite centerpiece; Bess Karavokiros came

in 1st place & runner-up was Deidre

Lepkowski! Thank you to our

othercenterpiece donors: Tessa Dunn, Sandy

Gallins, Carol Jelush, Kellie Karavokiros,

Evelyn Klund, Kabee Kokenes, Valerie

Kokenes, Christine Malatras, Charlotte

Overlook, Nadine Rosekrans, Becky Smith,

Walter Smith and Bessie Vrettos. The

highest bidders took home the

centerpieces and we raised an incredible

$840.

Thank you to our Brunch committee for

another successful year: Helen Bakos,

Helen Clonaris, Dee Drobonick, Thalia

Fergione, Soraya Kaloudis, Joanne Kiser,

Niki Kleto, Evelyn Klund, Ana Levantis,

Madalina Lowen, Ritsa Neary, Charlotte

Nickolopoulos, Rita Pappas and Bessie

Vrettos!

Thalia Fergione

Our fashion show models pictured below

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Young at Heart hosts Community Christmas Dance

7

AHEPA Breakfast Chefs

AHEPA Marathon Chapter 2,

Charlotte, NC

Christmas morning . .

while many were rushing to open presents, others jumped out of bed to become “Breakfast Chefs” for Charlotte Rescue Mission (http://charlotterescuemission.org). The mission of the AHEPA Family is to promote Hellenism, Education, Philanthropy, Civic Responsibility and Family & Individual Excellence. As part of their Civic Responsibility and their commitment to serving local community based programs, twelve selfless men from Holy Trinity and St. Nektarios awoke early to make breakfast for and serve others who probably had no presents to open. Pictured are those who offered their time, talent, and outpouring of love to Charlotte Rescue Mission and their clients. For more information on joining AHEPA, contact the church office. An important component of AHEPA's mission is to create an awareness of the principles of Hellenism to society. These principles include commitment to humanity, freedom and democracy. The preservation and promotion of these ideals is where AHEPA has, and always will be deeply committed to community service projects and volunteerism. For more information on AHEPA, please visit http://www.ahepa.org/.

AHEPA serving Christmas breakfast at Charlotte Rescue Mission

A n evening of dancing, delicious food

(lobster tails included), good company,

and holiday fun created a great Church

family celebration. Everyone came ready to

enjoy the festivities. Tommy Pappas

provided the music — Greek, Arabic and

American. Pete Douglas and his tireless

crew prepared an elegant buffet dinner

including what has become his signature

seafood specialties. A few door prizes

added a little extra excitement to the

evening. The smiling faces filled the

room; just count those captured on

these pages!

A big thank you goes out to our

Young at Heart who hosted this

event and opened up their annual

Christmas dinner dance to the

greater St. Nektarios family.

Volunteers set-up the room to give the

space a special festive touch. Sponsors

stepped up to help raise over $37,000 for

our Capital Improvement and Repair Fund,

specifically earmarked to replace the

kitchen walk-in refrigerator and freezer.

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9

10

11

12

Isaac the Syrian,

Bishop of Ninevah

January 28

T he great luminary of

the life of stillness,

Saint Isaac, was born in the

early seventh century in

Eastern Arabia, the present-

day Qatar on the Persian

Gulf. He became a monk at a young age, and at

some time left Arabia to dwell with monks in Persia.

He was consecrated Bishop of Nineveh (and is

therefore sometimes called "Saint Isaac of

Nineveh"), but after five months received

permission to return to solitude; he spent many

years far south of Nineveh in the mountainous

regions of Beit Huzaye, and lastly at the Monastery

of Rabban Shabur. He wrote his renowned and God-

inspired Ascetical Homilies toward the end of his

long life of monastic struggle, about the end of the

seventh century. The fame of his Homilies grew

quickly, and about one hundred years after their

composition they were translated from Syriac into

Greek by two monks of the Monastery of Mar

Sabbas in Palestine, from which they spread

throughout the monasteries of the Roman Empire

and became a guide to the hesychasts of all

generations thereafter.

Blaise the Holy

martyr of Sebastia

February 11

S aint Blaise was Bishop of

Sebastia. Divine grace,

through which he healed the

diseases of men and beasts, and especially of

infants, made his name famous. He contested for

the Faith under Licinius in the year 316. Saint Blaise

is invoked for the healing of throat ailments.

http//www.goarch.org

"Copyright © Holy Transfiguration Monastery,

Brookline, MA, used by permission. All rights

reserved.”

OUR MISSION: St. Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church is dedicated to the continuation

of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’s ministry of salvation through the proclamation and teaching of the Gospel;

through Baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and through loving service to God and to mankind.

OUR VISION: The community will provide a loving, caring and welcoming environment where all belong and grow in the faith through

worship, service, witness, and fellowship.

DIRECTORY

Church Office: 704-708-4669 Church Fax: 704-846-6094

Email: office@stnektarios.org Website: www.stnektarios.org

5108 Kuykendall Rd. Charlotte, NC 28270

Father Steve Dalber, Protopresbyter

Home: 704-708-4638 Cell Phone: 704-451-6524 Email: frdalber@stnektarios.org

Father John Wallace Home: 704-364-2211 Cell Phone: 704-364-2211 Email: frwallace@stnektarios.org

Father Seraphim Dedes Music Ministry Phone: 704-719-3074 Email: frdedes@stnektarios.org

Dn. Father Stephanos Potter

Dn. Father Paul Tsahakis

2018 Parish Council President: Peter Keretsis, Vice President: Elizabeth Kleto, Treasurer: Theodora Sexstone Assist. Treasurer: Jim Thomas, Secretary: Charles Hubbard Assist. Secretary: Kholoud Alyateem, Members: Christina Bonderer, George Bacogeorge, Teddy Poulos, John Tsefrikas and Aka Vashakidze

Parish Administrator Evelyn Klund

Administration Staff Niki Kleto, Kim Braswell, Madalina Lowen, Carol Jelush, Silva Awaimrin

Dir. Youth Ministries, Helen Giles

Property Manager, Dena Kondilis

Philoptochos Board

President: Thalia Fergione Vice President: Charlotte Nickolopoulos Recording Secretary: Helen Clonaris Corresp. Secretary: Joanne Kiser Treasurer: Evelyn Klund Ass’t. Treasurer: Madalina Lowen Members: Helen Bakos, Dee Drobonick, Maria Kleto, Niki Kleto, Ana Levantis, Ritsa Neary, Rita Pappas, Bessie Vrettos, Maria Wheatley (Advisor)

SUNDAYS AT

SAINT NEKTARIOS

Worship Matins 8:15 & Divine Liturgy: 9:15 a.m. Youth Catechism: Following Divine Liturgy

Fellowship Coffee: Following the Divine Liturgy

Prosfora Please contact the church office or Christie Asimos at 704-756-1512 if you would like to provide or sponsor Prosfora.

Coffee Hour Please contact the church office if you would like to host or co-host a Coffee Hour on Sunday. Your Stewardship pays for the coffee hour refreshments provided by the Hospitality Ministry Team.

Flowers

You may donate flowers in honor of a family member’s feast day, in memory of a loved one or friend, on the occasion of a holiday, or simply as a gift to the community of St. Nektarios. To donate flower arrangements to be placed at the Iconostasis, St. Nektarios Shrine or in the Narthex for Sunday Services, please contact the church office to reserve a Sunday.

Sacramental Wine & Pure Olive Oil You may make a financial gift to help defray the cost of the sacramental wine that is used for Holy Communion. Please note on the memo line of your check or on the envelope “Communion Wine”. You may also donate a bottle or can of pure olive oil which is then blessed at the Shrine of St. Nektarios and is offered in the anointing kits. Please feel free to bring this with you to any of our services and give to an usher on duty. For additional information contact the church office.

UPCOMING DEADLINE Newsletter & Bulletin: Information Due: February 13, 2018 Published: February 23, 2018