It is with a heart full of joy and love that I welcome you to Holy Trinity
Greek Orthodox Church in beautiful Fort Wayne, Indiana. We are a small, but
growing community located on the Northwest side of Fort Wayne.
I look forward to seeing you soon.
Peace be with you all.
With pastoral love,
+Rev.Fr. Paul C. Bebis
Happy New Year!
Father Paul Bebis
Sep-01-2009
On Tuesday, September 1st, 2009, Orthodox
Christians begin the New Ecclesiastical Year.Our Church computes the start of the New Year not on January 1st,
but September 1st, because it was the practice common in the lands
in the Biblical times, especially in the areas surrounding the Mediterranean
Sea.This practice was also based on the
fact that the harvest of the summer season was completed, and the crops were
collected and stored as the farmers were prepared to start a new agricultural
cycle once again.Our Church has
designated September 1st as a day of the beginning of a new cycle of
spiritual life, a new life of ecclesiastical activities, a new opportunity for
spiritual growth and experience.For
this reason, many of the hymns which are used by the Church on September 1stWe
ask God Almighty to bless the new Ecclesiastical Year with His blessings
saying, “Bless, O Lord the Crown of the Year with Your Goodness.”We ask the Lord to bless the New Year with
His love, mercy, and grace.As we begin
this New Year, we ask our parishioners to join us together with the activities
and work of our parish and community.We
pray that our parishioners will participate in the Liturgical Life of our
Church, to attend our Sunday and weekday services.Now is the time to attend our Bible Studies
and Book Club meetings, and to enroll your children for Sunday School. As most of us begin the New Year on January 1st
with special New Year’s Resolutions, we should begin our New Ecclesiastical
Year with resolutions that involve the building of a relationship with God and
His Church, for He is the sustainer of the universe and the Creator of
all.Now that the summer months are
coming to an end, our vacations come to an end, and now we must begin the new
Fall Season renewing our Spiritual lives and commitment to God, to our Church,
and to our Faith.
declare that the New Year belongs to God, for he is giving it to us and we ask
Him to bless it and to sanctify it.
During this New Ecclesiastical Cycle, the Church observes
the “Nativity of the Virgin Mary” on September 8th, 2009. According
to our Church Tradition, which was accepted by the Fathers of the Church, the
parents of the Theotokos were two pious people who were Joachim and Anna. St.
Anna had no children, but she prayed for a miraculous intervention of God for
she prayed for a child and her prayers were answered. She gave birth to her
daughter and she named her “Maria,” or Mariam, a Hebrew name which means Lady,
Mistress, and Princess. Accordingly, in the birth of the Virgin Mary, our
Church visualizes the beginning of the salvation of the human race, because the
Theotokos, (God Bearer) became the mother of Jesus Christ Himself, the Savior
of the World.Today, we hope that God
will answer your prayers and that He will intervene in your lives, for in order
for this to happen, you need to make an effort to pray and attend Church.The prayers of Joachim and Anna were answered
because they made a solid effort. Are your efforts just as solid?St. Paul said to the Galatians, “I have been
crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in
me.”As we begin our Ecclesiastical New
Year, we are reminded to renew our faith in God, for we should ask ourselves,
“does Christ live in me?”