TOWARDS the end of
the reign of
the emperor Phocas, Chosroas, King of Persia, conquered
Egypt and Africa, took Jerusalem, where he slew thousands of
Christians. and carried off to Persia the Cross of the Lord, which
Helena had set up on Mount Calvary. Heraclius. who succeeded Phocas,
moved by the many hardships and calamities of war, sued for peace, but
Chosroas was so puffed up by his victories that he could not obtain it,
even on unfair terms. Heraclius, in dire straits, earnestly implored
help from God, giving himself to prayer and fasting; divinely inspired,
he raised an army and joined battle, and overcame three of Chosroas'
generals with their three armies.
BROKEN by these
defeats, Chosroas took to flight, and,
when about to cross the Tigris, he made his son Medarses a partner in
his kingdom. But Chosroas' elder son Siroes resented this slight. and
plotted the murder both of his father and of his brother. This he
carried into effect soon after their return from flight, and obtained
the kingdom from Heraclius by accepting certain conditions, the first
of which was that he should restore the Cross of Christ.
THEREFORE the Cross
was received once more fourteen years
after it had fallen into the hands of the Persians. Heraclius,
returning to Jerusalem, with great pomp bore it on his own shoulders
unto that Mount whither the Saviour had borne it. The event was marked
by a famous miracle. Heraclius, adorned as he was with gold and jewels,
was forced to halt at the gate before Mount Calvary. For the more he
strove to go forward, the more he seemed to be held back.
HERACLIUS and all
those with
him were dumbfounded by this occurrence, but
Zacharias, Patriarch of Jerusalem, spoke out, saying: See, O Emperor,
lest in bearing the Cross in thy triumphal apparel, thou shouldst show
too little of the poverty and humility of Jesus Christ. Then
Heraclius laid aside his magnificent robes and took off his shoes,
and, clad in lowly garments, easily finished the journey, and set the
Cross on the same place on Mount Calvary from whence it had been
removed by the Persians. Therefore the festival of the Exaltation of
the Holy Cross, which was celebrated yearly on this day,
began to be
held in more glorious memory, because of the Cross being thus
restored by Heraclius to the place where it had first been set
up for the Saviour.
SERMON ON THE EXALTATION OF THE
HOLY CROSS
JESUS
said unto the multitudes of the Jews: Now is the judgment of
this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And the
rest.
Homily by S. Leo the Great
Sermon 59; 8 on the Lord's Passion Ch.
6
& 8
WHEN
Christ is lifted up on the Cross, dearly beloved, let not that sight be
before your eyes that was before the eyes of the wicked, of
which it was said through Moses: And thy life shall hang in doubt
before thee: and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none
assurance of thy life. For in the crucified Lord they were able to find
nothing but their own wickedness, and they feared greatly, not with
that fear which cometh by true faith, but with that fear with which an
evil conscience is tormented.
BUT our
understanding, which is enlightened by the spirit of truth, discerns
with a pure and open heart the glory of the Cross as
it shines upon heaven and earth; and it perceives with an inward glance
what our Lord meant, when, as his Passion was drawing near, he said:
Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world
be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all mcn
unto me. O wondrous power of the Cross, O ineffable glory of the
Passion, wherein is the judgment-seat of the Lord, the judgment of the
world, and the power of the Crucified! Lord, thou didst draw all things
unto thyself, and when all day long thou didst spread forth thy hands
unto a disobedient and gainsaying people, the whole world saw that
thy majesty was to be acknowledged.
LORD, thou didst
draw all things unto thyself, when, in abhorrence
of the Jews' crime, all the elements passed sentence: when the light of
heaven was darkened, and day was turned into night, when the earth was
moved with strange quakings, and all creation refused to serve
the wicked. Lord, thou didst draw all things unto thyself, for the veil
of the temple was rent, the Holy of holies recoiled from unworthy
priests; that the type might be changed into the reality, prophecy
into manifestation, and the Law into the Gospel.
LORD, thou didst
draw all things unto thyself, that what had been hidden in the Jewish
temple under shadows and
symbols might be clearly and openly celebrated everywhere through the
devout worship of all nations. For now the
order of Levites is more illustrious, and the honour of the elders is
greater, and the anointing of priests is more sacred: because thy Cross
is the fount of all blessings, the cause of all grace; through
which
is given to those that believe strength for weakness glory for shame,
life for death. Moreover, the various carnal sacrifices have now come
to an end, the one oblation of thy Body and Blood fulfils all forms of
sacrifice: for thou art the true Lamb of God that takest away the sin
of the world; and thus in thee all mysteries are
consummated, that, as there is one sacrifice for many
victims, so may there be one kingdom for all nations.
HISTORY OF ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH, DUNEDIN
We have held this
copy since November 1979 in the hope of hearing from
the author. However,we feel justified in reprinting this material which
otherwise is pretty inaccessible to the people it most concerns. It is
from the text (below) and Appendix (to the right) of Fr. John Evans'
Southern See, a history of the Anglican Diocese of Dunedin .
In 1910 Nevill's interest
in the Orthodox Church was further
encouraged by the arrival in Dunedin of Father Nicholas Manavitch, a
Russian priest who had spent many years in the United States and
Canada. On 6 February he occupied a seat in the sanctuary of St
Peter's, Caversham at Evensong, and it was reported that he
contemplated settling in Dunedin after a tour of the neighbouring
colonies to raise funds to build a small church. The first Orthodox
Mass in Dunedin was held in St. Peter's Church. By September a site
had been acquired in Fingal Street. South Dunedin, and £200
had been subscribed, about half the total cost of site and building. On
14 January 1911 St Michael's Church was consecrated by Father
Manavitch. Nevill was present, accompanied by Dean Fitchett, Canons
Woodthorpe and Bryan King, and the Revs. Hoani Parata, G. C. Blathwayt
and G. B. Bryan King. Father Manavitch preached from the text. "I will
build my Church on a rock. and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it". His theme was that God built His Church on the faith and
confession of St Peter, not on Peter's personality. The present
division and confusion were, he said. "a shame and a disgrace", and he
prayed that the twentieth century would bring more union and faith. The
relationship between the Church of England and the Greek Church went
back to the third century, and the relationship had become closer in
the previous five or six years. He then invited the Bishop to address
the people and give apostolic benediction. In his address Nevill
supported Father Manavitch's interpretation of the text, and in
showing the close connection between the two Churches he pointed out
that in some parts of Asia Minor, Palestine and other places where
there were no English clergymen. the Church in England had advised its
people to communicate in the Greek Orthodox Church. After the
service theBishop, Father Manavitch,and the Dean were entertained to
afternoon tea by Mr Michael Idour, a Lebanese Christian
living in South Dunedin.
2
THE SYRIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH IN SOUTH
DUNEDIN
The establishment of this
church in 1911 has already been recorded in
Chapter 18, and this Appendix is designed to describe its origins and
subsequent history. It was the first place of worship for the Greek
Orthodox Church in New Zealand, and served a community of about fifteen
Orthodox families, some of whom had attended Anglican churches since
they had come to New Zealand in the 1890's. Most of the Syrian people
wcre very poor, but they did not allow their poverty to deter them from
having a church of their own. Mrs Anthony Idour wrote to the Patriarch
of Antioch, through the Bishop of Tripoli in Syria, and permission was
given to proceed with the plan. A committee was formed, consisting of
Mrs Jack Idour as President, his brother Michael as Secretary and Mrs
Anthony Idour as appeal organiser. They got in touch with all the known
Orthodox people in New Zealand and asked for donations; they also
approached Bishop Nevill, who agreed to sign an appeal. and as most of
the Syrians were hawkers in the country they took it with them as thcy
travcllcd, and wcrc gcncrally well rcccived. One generous donor was Mr
Acton Adams of the Moa Flat Station, and the Bishop was a subscriber
too. In just over six months the sum of £480 had been raised to
pay for the building, but more money was required for the furniture of
the church. To provide this the Lebanese put their talent for
craftsmanship to good use by producing material for a bazaar which was
opened in the St Kilda Town Hall in 1911 by the Mayor of Dunedin. This
enterprise yielded several hundred pounds. So it became possible to
open the church, which was dedicated to the Archangel Mirh;lcl, free of
debt in the same year.
There was not enough
money to pay Father Manavitch regularly, but he
stayed with the Idour family and collections were made for him:
money
was found to send him to Australia, where there were Orthodox churches
in Sydney and Melbourne. While he was in Australia he was
able to secure Syrian service books (which are still in use) and some
money during an absence of two months. Services were held regularly in
Dunedin until 1913, when Father Manavitch left for Australia to
minister to the large number of Russians who had settled in Sydney, and
for a while there were no Orthodox serviccs in Dunedin, where there was
no money to pay another priest.
However, about 1916,
Father Shehadie, a Syrian pricst, came to New
Zealand, and after staying in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, he
arrived in Dunedin, where he stayed for two or three months. By now the
Lebanese were more prosperous and were able to raise the necessary
money, but when Father Shehadie left the church was again closed. After
this apparently very little happened until 1937, when the Very Reverend
Archimandrite Antonius Mobayed, of St Michael's Church, Melbourne,
visited New Zealand, and, having visited Auckland, Wellington and
Christchurch, came to Dunedin, where he stayed with Mr George Barbara
for several months. It was at his suggestion that an approach was
made to the Anglican Church for help, and after meetings with the
Bishop
this was granted. For a while Canon A. B. Pywell of Caversham
ministered to the Syrian congregation as much as he could until
Canon C. E. P. Webb of the Holy Cross parish took his place, having
been instructed by the Archimandrite in the ceremonies of the Eastern
Rite. The Archimandrite came back to Dunedin in 1939. Canon Webb
continued to look after St Michael's Orthodox Church even after his
retirement in 1951. He died in 1964. Since his time the church has
always been the responsibility of the Vicar of Holy Cross parish. *
The small Lebanese community of Dunedin has given one priest to the
Anglican Communion. The Rev. Michael Barbara, assistant curate of
Queanbeyan (Canberra), is a son of Mr George Barbara. Miss Margaret
Idour, daughter of Mr Jack Idour, was commissioned in 1956 for
missionary work in India, as has already been mentioned.
* until 1972 when Fr Roger
Taylor handed it over to Fr Jack.
EXTRACT
FROM THE MAIN ADDRESS AT THE CONFERENCE OF ORTHODOX TERTIARY STUDENTS,
NOVEMBER, 1982,
BY HIS GRACE ARCHBISHOP GIBRAN.
I would like to
stress the importance of what Judas
did in our salvation. Now this might sound negative to you. But to me
it is part of the plan of God. With little settlement in our minds we
should realize that God has chosen Judas, from the beginning, for the
job which we call the "betrayal". Let us read the Gospel carefully and
let us understand the economy of salvation. Jesus had to be delivered
to be crucified in the manner the Father has arranged. How many
times they wanted to grab Him, but no one laid a hand on Him. No one,
no
power, no strength, no Pilate, no Caesar could have altered thc plan of
God the Father, even Jesus Himself: he asked His Father to let
"this cup pass by", yet he accepted "Thy will be done"!
Even Jesus
himself could not alter that plan which God has kept according to His
own will: Thy will be done. Jesus was not delivered until His hour
was come.
So, we don't want to praise Judas for being obedient
to God fulfilling
His will - this is his business, between him and his God - but at least
let us not make out of him a wall of protection behind which we hide
from our protesting conscience, and behind which we bury our own sins -
without any repentence I want to stress this point very clearly by
mentioning the prayer of Jesus "O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have
mercy on me a sinner and forgive me". In my version I say: the sinner.
3
I don't
consider myself one of a group: when I am sinning I am sinning
alone, myself, and no one is my partner, in the meaning that no one
carries with me my
sin. Therefore I can not hide behind anyone... Thus I
mention Judas and me, and I am drawing the comparison between Judas and
me or vice-versa. He committed his sin: let him pay for it. I am
committing my sins: I
should pay for them. And I should not hide behind you. I come to the
priest for confession and tell him: Father, you know, well... we are
all weak... you see... we are sinners, etc ... well: No!! This is not
acceptable. I should use the first tense: Father I am week, I did this,
I am doing that.
In this context you can understand, and you should understand, why and
how I discussed Adam and Eve, and even Judas. I did that to
eliminate from the way between Jesus and me all obstacles: human and
material. Thus I come to Jesus directly and honestly for Salvation. And
if I am confessing it to Him directly it means: I am doing it. I am not a
sinner. There are millions and billions of sinners. And I am not one of
them, before
Jesus. I am myself.
Therefore I am the
sinner. This is my orthodox
teaching. Therefore I don't hide behind anybody, anything, any excuse
...
This all too short extract may
nevertheless be long enough to
show how worthwhile it is to send A$3-00 to the
Secretary, OCCC, Orthodox Chaplaincy, Univers ty of NSW, P.O.Box
1, Kensington, NSW 2O33, Australia, for the whole PROCEEDINGS; or
borrow
and read our copy if you're poor.
[photo not yet
found]
[photo not yet found]
OVER THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS,
1982 / 3,
ORTHODOX SERVICES WERE HELD IN THE CHURCH AT ASHLEY, just north of
Rangiora, after which the Church Committee kindly consented to allow us
subject to their discretion and sufficient notice to continue to do
so. The above photos show LEFT: the interior looking west (Ted Molony
standing by the font) and RIGHT: after the Liturgy on January
30, Fr. Jack and Max Perkins, looking rather pleased with ourselves.
Further use will be discussed soon, with other possibilities.
4
[date?]
