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Saint Sophia

Greek Orthodox Cathedral

“God’s people, serving God’s people”

5th of January, 2014

Eve of Epiphany

1324 South Normandie Avenue, Los Angeles, 90006 Office: 323.737.2424 Fax: 323.737.7029

www.stsophia.org www.stsophia.org/bulletin

Very Reverend Father John S. Bakas, Dean Reverend Father Allan Boyd, Assistant Priest

Office Hours 8:30am - 4:30pm Monday - Friday

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FOUNDATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Executive Officers

George E. Preonas, President; Andrew Evangelatos,

Executive Vice President; James A. Demetriou, PhD,

Vice President & C.F.O.; Constantine M. Boukidis,

Secretary; Tina Callas, Treasurer

Members

V. Rev. Fr. John S. Bakas; Nicholas Bissias; Timi Loomos

Freshman; Alek Haidos; Steven C. Hanna; Michael

Huffington; Gig Kyriacou; Brent A. Noyes; John T.

Pappas; Jim Zaferis

Presidential Appointments

Anthony A. Demetriou, Presidential Assistant; John G.

Marakas III, Sr. V.P. of Wells Fargo, Advisor to the

Board; Andrew J. Demetriou, Foundation General

Counsel

PARISH COUNCIL BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Executive Officers

Brent A. Noyes, President; John Kopatsis, Vice-

President; Irene Andreadis, Recording Secretary; Karen

Sarames, Corresponding Secretary/Legal; Michael

Kraios, Treasurer & C.F.O.

Members

Bertha Angels; Jeanine Hanna; Glenn Lianos; Eleni

Constantine Manolelis; Loula Moschonas; Kouji

Nakata; Alex Oxyzolou; Peter Pallas; Dean Peratsakis;

Dorothy Spirus

Board of Auditors:

Jim Ananias; Tony Demetriou; Tom Moore

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MINISTRY NEWS

PHILOPTOHOS V.I.P.

PRIZES AND SURPRISES - Thursday January 23, 2014

It's that time of the year when we play our favorite

game. Please join us at 11:00am for a delicious lunch

for a donation of $10.00. Following lunch, you can

enjoy an afternoon of "prizes and surprises" with your

friends. Reservations are required. Please call

chairperson Jayne Poullos (310)429-3949 or co-chair

Irene Mitropetros (323)346-5223

LUNCHEON WITH A MATINEE - Thursday February 13,

2014

Let's get together for a fun day with movie and lunch

at 11:00am for $10.00

Chairpersons Vivi Demopoulos and Mary Kezios. For

reservations please call Mary Kezios at (562)923-7110

KATHARA DEFTERA - Monday March 3, 2014

Let us together celebrate the first day of Lent with

church services at 10:00am followed by a delicious

Lenten Lunch which will be served in the Maniatakos

Fellowship Hall prepared by our lovely VIP chefs.

Chairperson Irene Mitropetros, co-chair Electra

Koutsoukos.

In His Service,

Athina Lolonis

VIP President

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PHILOPTOHOS NEWS

Please join us today in the Maniatakos Hall after liturgy for

Vasilopita and coffee!

OUR NEXT General Assembly Meeting for the New Year will

be Sunday, January 26 after liturgy. Barbara Kappos will be

speaking to us about Elder Abuse and the aging

population. Please join us for a very informative program. If

you are not a member of Philoptohos yet, consider

becoming one. Make new friends and come listen to what

we do. Even if you are not a member of Philoptohos you

are welcome to attend the meeting and presentation.

Lunch will be available. We hope to see you there.

AN EVENING WITH FRIENDS DINNER honoring James (Jim)

Demetriou, Anthony (Tony) Demetriou and Andrew (Andy)

Evangelatos will be held on Saturday, February 1, 2014 in

the Maniatakos Hall. Chairman Marianna Politis and her

committee are already making plans for this spectacular

evening. Invitations and solicitation packages are out in

the mail. Send your greetings in for the program book as

soon as possible. Save the date!

MOTHER OF THE YEAR: Philoptohos is now accepting letters

of recommendation for Mother of the Year. You may send

your letter to us in care of the church office. Please get

your letter in to us no later than February 1st.

“For the poor you always have with you, but you do

not always have me”

—John 12:8 With love in Christ’s service,

Virginia Noyes and

The Philoptohos Board of Directors

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EVENTS AT THE HUFFINGTON CENTER

Host events in the beautiful Huffington Center. Is your

business looking for a venue to host a conference or

seminar? Have you decided to tie the knot and need

a perfect place for a catered reception? The

Huffington Center serves as a fine setting for all your

events and special occasions offering state-of-the-art

media and IT capabilities, a commercial grade

kitchen, and free parking for all your guests. Call or

email the Huffington Center to inquire about dates or

to schedule a visit. Discounts available to Cathedral

stewards and to those who have booked sacraments

in the Cathedral.

Email: events@huffingtoncenter.org

Phone: (323)737-2424 ext. 108—Eleni Vlahos

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MINISTRY NEWS

THE HELLENIC SOCIETY OF CONSTANTINOPLE

Celebrates their 47th ANNUAL VASILOPITA DINNER

DANCE on Saturday JANUARY 11, 2014 at the Wilshire

Country Club, 301 N. Rossmore Ave, Los Angeles. The

evening will include music, dancing and the

traditional cutting of the Vasilopita with the Gold Coin.

We'll be honoring our Consul General of Greece Mrs.

Elizabeth Fotiadou for her support of the Hellenic

Society of Constantinople and the Ecumenical

Patriarchate. For more information, please call Mary

Morrison at (818)500-0904 or Jeanette Owens

Benedatos at (323)660-5707.

SAVE THE DATES:

Feb. 1: The Philoptohos presents, "An Evening with

Friends," honoring parishioners Jim Demetriou, Tony

Demetriou, & Andy Evangelatos.

Feb. 2: Super Bowl Party! In the Jim Gianopoulos family

theater. Sponsored by the Parish Council.

Feb. 8: Greek Dance Group's Annual Glendi, in the

Maniatakos Hall.

Feb. 22: Apokreas (Greek Mardi Gras), fun for all ages,

in the Maniatakos Hall. Sponsored by the Parish

Council.

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MINISTRY NEWS

BOOKSTORE SALE

The bookstore is offering 10-20% off on select books

and icons before Christmas. These include books on

the Jesus Prayer, various Church and Desert Fathers,

books for those coming to Orthodoxy from various

backgrounds, and cookbooks.

And if the "reason for the season" is getting lost in all

the Christmas planning, shopping, and partying, we

have a couple great books that will help you "re-

orient"...to turn once again to meet our Lord and

Savior Jesus Christ!

The Winter Pascha: Readings for the Christmas-

Epiphany Season by Thomas Hopko contains forty

meditations for the season of Advent, Christmas and

Epiphany, ending with the feast of the Meeting of the

Lord in the Temple on the fortieth day after Christ's

birth (celebrated February 2).

Prepare O Bethlehem: Reflections on the Scripture

Readings for the Christmas-Epiphany Season by

William C. Mills helps you keep your focus on the Word

of God amidst the many distractions of the season.

Stop by see what we have!

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MINISTRY NEWS

JOY OF PARENTING CLASSES

Join your fellow parishioners in a lively discussion of

parenting children of all ages: from toddlers to teens and

beyond. Classes are held in the Work/Study Room in the

Huffington Center, upstairs near the left-hand side staircase,

immediately following Holy Communion and concluding at

12:15. Come with your concerns and questions or just

listen; there is no pressure to speak to the class. It's a

wonderful way to get acquainted with other parents. There

is no fee to attend. The Joy of Parenting Ministry is

facilitated by Barbara Kappos, LCSW and Nikolaos

Stefanidis, Ph.D. Mark your calendars for upcoming

classes:

January 19th — Setting Family Goals

January 26th — Listening vs Hearing

LEGEND OF THE VASILOPITA

Do you know the story of the origin of the custom of

Vasilopita? (if the story your yiayia tells you is a little different

just remember there are a few sides to every story!)

Let’s take a journey through time and space to the 4th

Century AD city of Caesarea in Asia Minor. There lived a

man, and elder, a bishop of the Church who would

become one of the greatest Saints of the Church — Basil

the Great. He lived during the reign of a wicked Byzantine

Emperor, Julian, who would go down in history as Julian the

Transgressor. During one of his expeditions against the

Persian Empire, Emperor Julian passed through Caesarea.

Upon entering the city he received a warm welcome from

the humble Bishop Basil who brought three loaves of barely

bread to offer to the King. The city of Caesarea was quite

poor but the Emperor came expecting offerings of gold,

silver, and precious jewelry.

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LEGEND OF THE VASILOPITA

Enraged by such a simple gift of bread the emperor

departed the city and sent three bails of hay as insulting

repayment for the bread. Delighted by any response from

the emperor, Basil replied with a letter of gratitude: “As you

asked of us, we offered the best we had and we see you

have done for us. We thank you!”

Further enraged by the kindness of the Bishop, Julian

vowed to destroy the City of Caesarea. Time passed and

St. Basil heard of Julian’s return. Thinking to save his

people, St. Basil called the faithful together to bring any

precious items or wealth they had to appease the wrath of

the emperor. The people did as they were told and

collected their precious item. Then St. Basil and his people

held vigil in the Cathedral and prayed for their

deliverance. During the prayer service St. Basil had a

vision; he saw the Virgin Mary sending St. Mercurius with an

army of angels against Julian’s army. But the vision was no

dream, it was a revelation of true events taking place just

outside the city walls. Julian and his forces fled in fear at

the sight of the mighty angels arrayed in defense of the

city.

The danger avoided, St. Basil still had the task of returning

all the precious items to their rightful owners. In order to

save the people from the temptation of stealing more than

they had offered, Basil asked that each of the items be

baked into loaves of bread. He prayed over the loaves

and distributed the loaves to the people. By a miracle of

the Lord each person received to loaf containing their

own precious items.

The Church. In memory of this event and of Saint Basil

himself, keeps the custom of the Vasilopita (St. Basil’s

Bread) every new year.

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MINISTRY NEWS

ADULT GREEK DANCE

Sign up now! Saint Sophia’s Adult Greek Dance For

Fun! The class is off to a great start and there’s still

room for growth! Come by next Saturday, January

11th at 10AM and join the fun!!

WHERE: HUFFINGTON CENTER @ST SOPHIA CATHEDRAL

WHEN: SATURDAYS, JANUARY 4 – MARCH 8, 2014

TIME: 10 AM – 11:45 AM

FEE: $140 (Returning Students $120)

INSTRUCTOR: RAMSEY SEIKALY

CONTACT: Saint Sophia Office 323 737 2424

THE FORUM RETURNS!

Looking for spiritual oasis in the dry desert of the work

week? The Forum is a weekly gathering of Orthodox

Christian adults seeking to further their life in Christ

through fellowship, discussion, prayer, and feasting!

Join the Forum this Tuesday night (Jan. 7th) at 7:00pm.

You won’t regret it!

Like Us on Facebook! Facebook.com/CWLA.forum

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St. Anthony 8:30am Orthros 9:30am Liturgy