The monthly newsletter of Saint Katherine Greek Orthodox Church

Falls Church, Virginia Volume 7, Number 12

DECEMBER 2009

DOXA

INSIDE THIS ISSUE… AHEPA ........................ 11 Bookstore ...................... 10 Book Club ..................... 10 Book Review .................... 6 Calendar .......................... 9 Catechetical School ............ 4 Craft/Vendor Fair ............ 10 Daughters of Penelope ....... 10 Ellena’s Corner ................. 6 GMU OCF ..................... 11 GOYA ............................ 4 GRACE ........................ 12 Greek Article .................... 5 Greek School ................... 5 HOPE ............................. 4 JOY ............................... 4 Missions and Outreach ........ 8 Paideia Bilingual Preschool . 10 Parish Council .................. 3 Philoptochos ................... 10 Registry ........................ 13 Safeway Benefits ............... 7 Stewardship ................ 14-15 Support Our Troops ............ 7 YAL ............................ 12 and more!

CHRISTMAS

CHRISTMAS—the holiday of love, peace, and joy comes to us as the blessed certainty of the boundless love of God and His compassion for men. Christmas reflects the fir-mament of Heaven in our eyes, makes our countenances smile, puts blessings on our lips, fills our hands with gifts, and fills our spirits with exaltation.

On Christmas Day there is neither darkness nor cold, for the Divine Infant of Beth-lehem lights up and warms all things. As present day Christians, too few of us find the time to seek out the deeper and soul-saving meaning of Christmas. We speak of the spirit of Christmas without really comprehending it in its entirety. We try to find the significance and the message in Christmas-time preachings and writings, instead of in our hearts. We fear to venture into the deeper reality of the supernatural miracle, which we view as an idyllic scene, framed with angels, magi, and shepherds with an accompaniment of heavenly hymns and psalms with “peace on earth” and “good will towards men” as their theme.

At Christmas, our hearts do not speak of a birth of our own, of our being re-born, of humility of purification, of spiritual elevation, nor of moral perfection. Yet, in these are the true meaning and the message of Christmas. Our Church expresses this senti-ment in a hymn which is chanted from the holiday of the Presentation of the Theotokos in the Temple on November 21 through Christmas. Let us hearken to it:

Christ is born, glorify Him! Christ has come from the heavens, receive Him! Christ is on earth, elevate yourselves!

Elevate yourselves so high that no sin can reach you, bring you down, and destroy the wings that guide you aloft. Attune the melodious chords of your faith with a Dox-ology for the Lord Who humbled Himself.

It is my prayer and hope that this Christmas, this Christougenna—birth of Christ—will be the best of your lives. It will be, when you share your day and your joy with Christ. Your day with Christ will be the beginning of a new life. Your joy will extend so widely that it will become the joy of all of us and the joy of Christ, Who was born so that we may be reborn.

Along with the angels, magi, and shepherds, let us embrace the Lord who lays in the manger. Let us, as the family of Saint Katherine, celebrate the real joy of Christmas.

Christ is born! Glorify Him! Merry Christmas,

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New Jersey Saint Katherine Greek Orthodox Church

www.saint-katherines.org 3149 Glen Carlyn Road Falls Church, VA 22041

703-671-1515 phone 703-671-1385 facsimile

CLERGY Rev. Protopresbyter Konstantinos A. Pavlakos, 571-213-1109 mobile frcostas@stkchurch.com Proistamenos 703-239-2627 home Rev. Protopresbyter Theodore H. Chelpon 571-262-9555 mobile FatherTHC@aol.com 703-823-4541 home STAFF John Vlachos, Chief Financial Officer 703-671-1515 Anna Vassilopoulos, Assistant Financial Officer 703-671-1515 avassilopoulos@stkchurch.com Sophia Tsangali, Secretary/Teacher 703-671-1515 stsangali@stkchurch.com Roberto Medina-Valdez, Maintenance Supervisor 703-671-1515 Theodoros Theocharis, Information Technology 703-671-1515 ttheoch@stkchurch.com PARISH COUNCIL Harry Spanos, President 703-237-2731 hjspanos54@att.net Daphne Papamichael, Vice President 703-241-0610 cyprusd@aol.com Maria Papathanassiou, Secretary 571-201-2787 marpapkom@hotmail.com George Charuhas, Treasurer 703-960-3604 gscharuhas@cox.net Aristotelis Chronis, Legal Advisor 703-470-3971 achronis@chronislaw.com Diane Argerson 703-759-3781 dionysia6@yahoo.com Costas Mavromatakis 703-830-0224 cgm387@gmail.com Andrea Ballard 703-250-5419 andreaballard1@verizon.net George Silis 703-660-0026 georgesilis@verizon.net Franklin Burton 703-256-5531 mintfour@cox.net Helen Spanos 703-237-2731 haspanos87@yahoo.com Antonia Chelpon 703-258-5437 achelpon@aol.com Jim Stoucker 703-690-1050 jstoucker@aol.com Christian Demeter 703-534-5669 cdemeter@excite.com Ramon Vazquez 703-723-7424 rayvazquez1@aol.com Art Dimopoulos 703-642-6065 giasou@verizon.net Maria Wills 703-948-7950 mwills28@verizon.net Steve Doulis 703-671-7424 sdoulis@comcast.net Athanasios Zuppas 703-888-0144 azuppas@worldbank.org Chris Euripides 703-477-7101 cceuripides@hotmail.com

BOARD OF AUDITORS Aggie M. Capsalis, Chairman: 703-938-6597 | John Agnos: 703-280-2691 | Louis Cherpes: 703-845-3033

Elvira Garnett: 703-425-3675 | Stavros Veletsis: 703-765-3924 | James Velezis: 703-339-1755

CHURCH MINISTRIES Adult Bible Study Bill Polizos 571-434-7790 polizos@att.com Adult Catechetical School Rev. Dn. Christodoulos Wallace 703-836-7863 YAL Bible Study Bill Porter 703-901-2404 beporter@verizon.net Youth Catechetical School Christian Demeter, Principal 703-534-5669 cdemeter@excite.com Greek School Sophia Tsangali, Principal 703-671-5820 stsangali@stkchurch.com Greek School Auxiliary Elena Lagos, President 703-241-1176 pedakia@aol.com Acolyte Captains Bobby Demson and Andy Wills AHEPA #370 (Mt. Vernon) George K. Eliades, President 703-383-0073 geliades@verizon.net AHEPA #438 (P. Derzis) Vassilis Fotopoulos, President 703-723-6229 fuhuaxi@gmail.com Bookstore Christopher and Frances Kalavritinos 703-671-1515 Book Club Christina Vazquez 703-723-7424 czvmail@aol.com Choir David Jacobs 315-525-2055 dvdjcbs@gmail.com Daughters of Penelope Helle #283 Lynn Francis, President 703-978-4370 EFrancis@fcps.edu DOXA Presvytera Pauline Pavlakos 703-239-2627 przpauline@stkchurch.com GOYA (ages 13-18) Andy Wills, President 703-948-7950 bear2010@verizon.net GRACE Maria Papageorgiou 703-631-9430 times8@cox.net HOPE (ages 7 and under) Jeanette Spirides, Co-Director 703-354-5119 jspirides@cox.net JOY (ages 8-12) Tina Papamichael, Director 703-536-4711 athena02@verizon.net Missions Dr. John Demakis 703-319-1610 jgd11@erols.com Nursery TBD PAIDEIA Bilingual Preschool Marilena Tsirigotakis 703-671-7715 marilena@gopaideia.org Philoptochos Andrea Ballard, President 703-250-5419 andreaballard1@verizon.net Psalters James Loizou, Protopsaltis 703-356-8220 dimitri14@verizon.net Stewardship Christian Demeter, Chairman 703-534-5669 cdemeter@excite.com Website Presvytera Pauline Pavlakos 703-239-2627 przpauline@stkchurch.com Jim Stoucker 703-690-1050 jstoucker@aol.com YAL Helen Spanos, President 703-237-2731 haspanos87@yahoo.com

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PARISH COUNCIL

CHURCH DUTY ROSTER

December 6, 2009 Antonia Chelpon, Captain Andrea Ballard Ari Chronis* Christian Demeter

8:00am Liturgy Chris Euripides*

Maria Papathanassiou Ray Vazquez

December 6, 2009 Harry Spanos, Captain Diane Argerson* Frank Burton Daphne Papamichael

9:30am George Silis* Helen Spanos Jim Stoucker

December 13, 2009 C. Mavromatakis, Captain Diane Argerson Frank Burton* Art Dimopoulos

8:00am Liturgy Daphne Papamichael

Ray Vazquez Maria Wills*

December 13, 2009 Thanos Zuppas, Captain Andrea Ballard* George Charuhas Ari Chronis

9:30am Steve Doulis*

Chris Euripides Harry Spanos

*One Liturgy Only* (Christmas Pageant)

December 20, 2009 George Charuhas, Captain

Christian Demeter Art Dimopoulos*

Jim Stoucker*

9:30am GOYA Volunteers: Victoria Campbell, Theano Goranitis Gigi Roulidis, and Eleni Voudouris.

*One Liturgy Only* (Christmas Pageant)

*One Liturgy Only* (Christmas Weekend)

December 27, 2009 Art Dimopoulos, Captain

Steve Doulis Chris Euripides

Costas Mavromatakis*

9:30am Maria Papathanassiou Harry Spanos* Maria Wills

*One Liturgy Only* (Christmas Weekend)

*Asterisks denote members who will serve on the Welcoming/Stewardship Committee during Coffee Hour.

Saint Katherine YAL

presents

New Year’s Eve A Night on the Greek Riviera

Featuring

Greek Comedian “Basile” Live Music by Zephyros

Saint Katherine Church Meletis Charuhas Center

Thursday, December 31

8:30pm to 3:00am

Kids (12 & under) $40 Tweens (Ages 13-20) $75

Adults

Early Bird $100 (thru December 6) Regular Price $125 (Dec. 7-Dec. 27) Week of Event $150 (Dec. 28-Dec. 31)

For more information, call : Helen Spanos 703-301-5289 George Moshos 202-409-2302

AS THE COMMUNITY came together to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of Saint Katherine, we shared a blessed and historic event. We were privileged to have His Eminence Metropolitan Evangelos in attendance, as well as nine visiting clergy, including our own Fr. George Alexson and Presvytera Ioanna from Atlanta. We were also fortunate to have with us two of our original founders, William Dukas and James Loizou, along with their fami-lies and the families of several of the other founders. I want to thank my co-chair, Antonia Chelpon, and the com-mittee members and volunteers for all their hard work. I also want to thank my daughter Helen for creating such a beautiful event. To Mr. and Mrs. Pantelis Firippis and their family, my heartfelt gratitude for preparing and pro-viding such a delicious meal; and to George Moshos, my thanks for his support and assistance with keeping the eve-ning on track.

We have many exciting upcoming events this month. We begin with elections for the Parish Council on Sunday, December 6 and on Sunday, December 20, the Catechet-ical and Greek Schools will have their Christmas Pageant. YAL will have their fourth annual New Year’s Eve Gala on December 31—an event not to be missed! As 2009 comes to its conclusion, please be sure to fulfill your stew-ardship pledges so that the church can continue its many ministries.

In closing, I want to wish you all a very blessed Christ-mas and a New Year filled with love, joy, good health, and prosperity.

Yours in Christ’s service, Harry Spanos

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CATECHETICAL SCHOOL NOW AFTER JESUS WAS BORN in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasure, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:1-2; 2:11)

FOR OUR YOUTH AND OUR FAMILIES, the most significant aspect of the month of December is Christmas, and like the three wise men, our focus is on the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. On December 20 the students of both the Catechetical (Sunday) School and the Greek School will present our annual Christmas Pageant. The Pageant will give our young people the opportunity and privilege to present to our community the scriptural narra-tive of the birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The actors will pantomime as narrators recite Biblical passages in both Greek and English. Some of our other students from both schools will be angels and some will be singers. The singers, together with members of our Adult Choir, will sing the accompanying music. A number of our senior high school students will serve as guides and ushers. A rehearsal schedule has been distributed to all students to take home. Parents are urged to review the schedule and make sure that the children meet their rehearsal assign-ments. On December 19 beginning at 10 a.m., we will have a dress rehearsal and following that enjoy a party and a visit from Saint Nicholas. The Pageant will be presented on Sunday, December 20, immediately after the Divine Liturgy in the community center. Our students are very excited about this presentation, and we are certain that our parents will be eager to see and hear them as they relay to us the TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS.

In the last issue of DOXA, we related to you that during both November and December our young people and staff focus on the scriptural lesson that “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Through the kindness and devotion of Mrs. Rebecca Visos, a Giving Tree has been decorated and placed in the downstairs foyer of the community center. From the tree, each student has been given the opportunity to take one of the tags. The tag sug-gests the purchase of a gift for an adult male or female. It is requested that the gift consist of new warm clothing such as a sweater, gloves, scarf, hat, socks, etc. It is re-quested that the giver wrap this gift and place the tag from the giving tree amidst the ribbon used to make the bow. Our young people will bring in their presents to the home-less and place them under the Giving Tree on either Sun-day, December 6, 13, or 20. On the 21st the gifts will be taken to the homeless shelter in Falls Church.

We know that when our students return to school on January 6 they will be excited talking about Christmas and New Years. We look forward to that reunion.

HOPE (ages 7 and under) A SPECIAL THANK YOU to all that helped with " Support Our Troops.” On Friday, November 13, we held our third annual event in which over 30 children put together Thanksgiving care packages for our troops.

A special thank you to Rosalie Georgeadis for talking with the children and also taking the care packages to the distribution center. The distribution center stated that Saint Katherine has donated over 6,000 pounds of supplies to our troops! Way to go! JOY (ages 8-12) THANK YOU to all JOY families who donated to our toy drive for the Arlington Pediatric Center. We collected over 30 new toys which will brighten the holidays for many children! Bless you all for your generosity.

On Sunday, December 13, JOY will attend a perform-ance of “A Christmas Carol” at the newly renovated Ford’s Theater. The bus will leave Saint Katherine at 1:00pm. Tickets are sold-out! Contact Tina Papamichael to see about last-minute cancellations.

For families looking for something to do during the Christmas break, consider visiting the Walters Art Mu-seum in Baltimore. Their free exhibition Heroes: Mortals and Myths in Ancient Greece runs through January 3. More information at: thewalters.org.

To receive updates about JOY events contact Tina Papa-michael, JOY Director, at athena02@verizon.net or 703-536-4711

GOYA (13-18 years old) CHRONIA POLLA to all GOYAns celebrating a birthday in December: Emily Vazquez, Andrew Wills, and Nico Had-jichristodoulou. Happy birthday to Fr. Costa as well!

The following GOYAns will help with Church Duty on Sunday, December 20: Victoria Campbell, Theano Goran-itis, Gigi Roulidis, and Eleni Voudouris. Please report to Mr. George Charuhas by 9:30am. GOYA will make lunch and gift bags for the homeless in DC on Tuesday, December 22. On Christmas morning, they will distribute these bags. GOYA plans to go on the White House Christ-mas tour during the week between Christmas and New Year’s. GOYA will have a New Year’s Party in Founders’ Hall on Saturday, January 2, 8:00pm-11:00pm.

Starting at 12:00pm on Tuesday, January 19, GOYA parents will cook a meal for Bailey’s Crossroads Homeless Shelter and at 4:30pm parents and GOYAns will deliver, set up, and serve the food. GOYA will participate in the Saint Nicholas Basketball Tournament, January 23-24.

Check our online calendar, http://calendar.yahoo.com/goya_st_katherine frequently. Also check out our web page: http://www.saint-katherines.org/goya.html. If you are between 13 and 18 years of age (or the parent of that GOYA-aged person) and are not receiving the GOYA e-mails or would like more information about GOYA, please contact Presv. Pauline at GOYA_St_Katherine@msn.com.

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Η ΠΙΟ ΓΛΥΚΕΙΑ ΑΡΜΟΝΙΑ! Σοφία Δ. Τσαγκάλη

ΟΙ ΨΥΧΕΣ ΜΑΣ διεγείρονται τα Χριστούγεννα γιά να προσφέρουν στο Θείο Βρέφος ύμνο, βιωτή και πράξεις, όπως οι άγγελοι στον ουρανό! Ολόκληρα δύο χιλιάδες εννέα χρόνια έχουν περάσει από

τότε.... Πρωτάκουστο αγγελικό τραγούδι αντήχησε στη γη τη νύχτα εκείνη! Ο ουρανός άστραψε πιό λαμπρός και από την μέρα.

Μυριάδες άγγελοι φτερούγισαν από τον ουρανό προς την γη! Τα αγγελικά τους φτερουγίσματα λες και απέδιωξαν την παγωνιά που κρύωνε τα σώματα και τις καρδιές των ανθρώπων. Γαλήνη και ζεστασιά σκορπίστηκε στην πλάση. Η παραδεισένια γλυκειά αρμονία της αναρίθμητης αγγελικής στρατιάς γλύκανε τις πονεμένες ψυχές των φτωχών βοσκών. Ανακούφιση, γαλήνη, ελπίδα λυτρωμού, χαρά φέρνει στην καρδιά τους. Το ξεχωριστό φως της Θείας Νύχτας τους θάμπωσε, καθώς φύλαγαν άγρυπνοι τα πρόβατά τους πιό κει στο λιβάδι. Ο αρχάγγελος, σταλμένος από τα ύψη του ουρανού, τους φέρνει το χαρμόσυνο μήνυμα: "Ευαγγελίζομαι υμίν χαράν μεγάλην...ότι ετέχθη υμίν σήμερον Σωτήρ!..." Στη συνέχεια πλήθος αγγέλων σκορπά ολόγυρα τον

αγγελικό ύμνο: "Δόξα εν υψίστοις Θεώ και επί γης ειρήνη εν ανθρώποις ευδοκία". Η χαρά αυτή κάνει την επίγεια Βηθλεέμ γιά λίγο κομμάτι του ουρανού. Τί ουράνια γλυκειά μελωδία! Μήπως κι εμείς πόσες φορές δεν έχουμε επιθυμήσει να ήμασταν παρόντες εκείνη τη Θεία Νύχτα εκεί, να ακούγαμε τη θεία υμνωδία και να υμνούσαμε το Θείο Βρέφος μαζί με τους αγγέλους! Ας γινόταν να ακουστεί άλλη μιά φορά στη γη η ουράνια

αυτή μελωδία! Να σταματούσαν οι πόλεμοι! Να σώπαιναν οι πόνοι! Να τέλειωναν του κακού τα ακούσματα και οι πράξεις! Και τώρα, δεν είναι αργά, ακόμη μπορεί να ακουστεί η ουράνια αγγελική υμνωδία μαζί με τη δική μας υμνωδία. Πώς όμως μπορεί να επιτευχθεί αυτό; Με την πίστη μας και την ζεστή καρδιά μας! Με τα Κάλαντα που τραγουδάμε πρίν και μετά που ακούμε το "Χριστός γεννάται". Με τον εκκλησιασμό μας, όπως οι φτωχοί ποιμένες πήγαν να Τον προσκυνήσουν στην φάτνη και Τον θρόνιασαν μέσα τους Βασιλιά! Τότε θα νοιώσουμε χαρά που θα είναι ακόμη πιό μεγάλη

και από αυτή που θα μας έδινε μιά αρμονία αγγελική. Θα ακούσουμε μέσα μας τα γλυκοτόνιστα τραγούδια της καλωσύνης. Μελωδικοί σκοποί θα συγκινούν την ψυχή μας, την ώρα που θα δίνουμε στοργικά το χέρι στον άρρωστο, στο γέροντα, στο φτωχό. Θ αισθανθούμε πρωτογνώριστους σκοπούς, όταν θα δώσουμε από το εορταστικό φαγητό και γλυκό μας, όταν δώσουμε κάποιο ένδυμα ή παιχνίδι. Θα ακούσουμε αγγελικό ύμνο στην καρδιά μας, όταν θα μονοιάσουμε με τον μαλωμένο αδελφό μας. Χαράς τραγούδια θα σαλπίσουν στην ψυχή μας, όταν καταφέρουμε και τους άλλους γύρω μας να καθαρίσουν της ψυχής τους την φάτνη, να πάνε στην εκκλησία και να δεχθούν τον Χριστό. Ανοίγουμε την καρδιά μας καθαρή και ταπεινή σαν φτωχική φάτνη γιά να δεχθεί τον Χριστό, όταν κοινωνήσουμε.

(Continued on page 7, column 1)

ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΟ ΣΧΟΛΕΙΟ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥΓΕΝΝΑ! Η χαρά των χριστιανών σε όλα τα μήκη και πλάτη του κόσμου! Κι εμείς εδώ στην ενορία μας, και δη στο Ελληνικό σχολείο μας, ετοιμαζόμαστε να προϋπαντήσουμε τον Σωτήρα του κόσμου με το δικό μας αγνό, παιδικό τρόπο. Με την Χριστουγεννιάτικη γιορτή μας, που γίνεται από κοινού με το Κατηχητικό. Με τα Κάλαντα που τραγουδάμε στα σπίτια και στις businesses. Με τα δώρα που προσφέρουμε σε ανθρώπους λιγότερο τυχερούς από μας. Και το ιερότερο, βιώνοντας και προσφέροντας όλα αυτά, γεμίζει η καρδιά μας αγάπη, γίνεται η ίδια φάτνη και κλείνει παντοτεινά μέσα της τον Θεάνθρωπο και Σωτήρα του κόσμου. Ευχαριστούμε τους γονείς γιά τα τρόφιμα που πρόσφεραν και έδωσαν χαρά το Thanksgiving σε άτομα που είχαν ανάγκη. Ευχαριστίες θερμές στους μαθητές μας που διαγωνίστηκαν στα Com-prehensive Exams του Εκπαιδευτικού Τμήματος της Αρχιεπισκοπής μας, τα οποία είναι αναγνωρισμένα από την πολιτεία της Νέας Υόρκης. Οι εγγραφές γιά τις εξετάσεις της Ελληνομάθειας θα λάβουν χώρα από 1η Φεβρουαρίου μέχρι την 22α Μαρτίου. Γιά πληροφορίες και αιτήσεις απευθυνθείτε στην κ. Σοφία Τσαγκάλη, την διευθύντρια, στο γραφείο της Εκκλησίας, (703) 671-1515. Ακολουθούν οι ημερομηνίες, που πρέπει να προσέξουμε, μετά το αγγλικό κείμενο.

GREEK SCHOOL CHRISTMAS! The joy of all Christians everywhere! We also are joyful at Saint Katherine Greek School! We are preparing to welcome the Savior Jesus Christ in our own pure way with the Christmas Pageant, which we perform together with the Catechetical School. We will go Christ-mas caroling and offer presents to those who are less for-tunate than us. But the most important thing is that our hearts fill with love and let Jesus live there forever.

We thank the parents for the food baskets they prepared and offered to needy families on Thanksgiving. We thank our students who took the Comprehensive Exams of the Department of Education of the Archdiocese which are recognized by the state of New York. Registration for the Ellinomathia Exams will take place February 1 to March 22. For information and applications, please call the Ms. Sophia Tsangali, the principal, at the Church office, 703-671-1515. Please note the following dates: December 5 Teachers’ Meeting December 11 Kalanda Practice December 12 Kalanda Practice December 18 Kalanda Practice December 19 Christmas Pageant Full Dress Rehearsal Christmas Luncheon with Santa Claus Kalanda December 20 Christmas Pageant/Kalanda December 25-26 Christmas Break February 6 Apokreatiko Glendi

The Great Church in Captivity. Steven Runciman. Belmont, MA: Cambridge University Press. 2006. 455 pages.

The book, as its subtitle states, is “a study of the patriarchate of Constantinople from the eve of the Turkish conquest to the Greek war of independence.” After Constantine the Great became the Roman Emperor, he built the great city of Constantinople—the city from which he ruled. The period that Western historians call the Byzantine Empire spanned 1100 years. Yet despite this, in the West little is known about the Byzantine Empire.

Steven Runciman was a British historian who devoted his career to a study of Byzantium and the Crusades. His ap-proach to his scholarly research allowed him to grasp many of the truths of the Byzantine period. In this particular work, the first 165 pages are devoted to a summary of the Church in the Byzantine Empire. The remaining portion of the book is devoted to the Church during the period from 1453 through 1821.

In the chapter on Church and Philosophers, Runciman notes that unlike the church in Rome that turned to pagan Greek philosophy, in particular Aristotle, in Byzantium, the Church did not embrace philosophical systems. To the extent terms common to a particular philosophy might be used, those terms were redefined to express a Christian content and understanding. For the Orthodox, theology was not an intellectual or dialectical exercise of the mind, but an expres-sion of a life in Christ and it was apophatic in approach.

In the chapter on The Theology of Mysticism, the author states, “The drifting apart of the Eastern and Western branches of Christendom is clearly marked in their respec-tive attitudes towards mysticism.” The author’s use of the phrase “drifting apart” suggests movement by both the East and the West. But, in fact, it was a movement by the West away from the mystical tradition of the Church towards re-ducing theology to philosophy—to an intellectual academic sterile endeavor dependent only upon the keenness of a par-ticular person’s mind.

In the Orthodox Church mysticism involved knowing God through participation in the uncreated divine energies of God (grace), without becoming God by nature. This participation is described as deification or theosis. This is absent in the West. Orthodox mysticism and western mysticism are far apart.

This was in part due to the reduction of theology to phi-losophy, which led to a person such as Barlaam the Calabrian, who argued against the hesychasts and the uncre-ated energies of God, and whose views have endured in the West until this day. Saint Gregory Palamas opposed Barlaam attacks and prevailed. In “July 1351 a Council attended by representatives of all the Orthodox Churches, and therefore ranking in Orthodox eyes as Oecumenical, published a Syn-odal Tome approving all [Saint Gregory Palamas’] views. After various local synods had confirmed the Tome, it was reproduced in a Synodicon of Orthodoxy, which was ap-pended to the liturgical books of the Church.” Saint Greg-ory’s works witness to the significant fundamental differ-ences between Orthodoxy and Catholicism that continue to exist.

BOOK REVIEW

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THOUGHTS DURING RECOVERY Ellena Keriazes Griffiths

THIS SUMMER I had a health scare. An eggplant sized tu-mor was removed from my right thigh. After the surgery I waited three days for the pathology report. The news it was benign was a relief but I then had to wait for my body to heal. Unfortunately, I did not have a primary care doc-tor on top of my healing process. I thought I was doing okay, however two months after surgery I was having problems and only then did my doctor refer me to physical therapy.

I did not know what to expect and lost some faith in doctors. I went to that first appointment frustrated, unbe-lieving, and afraid of more pain. I learned that 60 minutes each week was not going to make me better. I needed to do prescribed exercises on my own to get better and these exercises involved pain. My quiet time with God in the early morning hours with a cup of tea was now spent at the gym. In my discomfort I had more reason to talk to God. With all of my being I never believed He gave me a tu-mor. I believed that sometimes these things happen, but I did ask Him to make the pain go away.

During my second appointment the therapist asked me to review for him my exercises. In the middle of one, I stopped and said, “This hurts right here.” He replied, “That’s right.” From the floor I looked at him sitting in his stool and I waited. I expected, “You should not be in pain,” or “Stop doing that move and do this instead.” In the silence I processed his words, “That’s right,” with nothing that followed to take away the pain. Surely, he did not want me in pain as I searched his countenance for mal-ice and found none. He expected me to continue the exer-cises and I placed faith in his prescription for my body’s healing, but I decided that he must be demented.

It was difficult to put myself in a position of discomfort with the purpose of healing. I acknowledged that I needed to do my part at home in order to make the most of my sessions with the physical therapist. He could tell me what to do, but I had to do it. As I forced myself to focus in spite of the discomfort, I contemplated his words and tone of “That’s right.” By the third week I could do the exer-cises without tears. In less pain, I could think clearly and my quiet time with God was still at the gym but more fo-cused. I thought a lot about how often we look to the sky and say, “This is hard,” and “This is not fair.” I now imagined a concerned God, a physician of our souls and bodies, respond, “That’s right.”

My weekly trip to the physical therapist is like atten-dance in weekly liturgy. My work during therapy can’t be duplicated on my own and liturgy is something I cannot do at home either. In terms of physical healing, only one hour with the therapist per week would not do much for me. In fact, what I do on those six other days has more influence on my recovery. The same conclusion can be made for my

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SUPPORT OUR TROOPS AS WE HONOR OUR MILITARY, let us also remember the following men and women who we directly supported through our Support the Troops Program. These individual names were mostly provided to us by our parishioners and friends within our community. All of these young men and women were recipients of our care packages sent to Iraq and Af-ghanistan. Two individuals were commanding officers and distributed the packages to their units. Through the continued generosity of our community, Saint Katherine has made a difference to these individuals. Thank you for all your support.

Aydlette, SP4 Sam Berg, Major Russell Black, Lt. Nick Burke, Lt. Col Chad Carr, LTC Tony Davis, Capt. Nathaniel Dimitri, SPC Joshua Dowd, Capt. Dan Durham, Capt. Owen Easley, Capt. English, Sgt. Keith Farrell, 1st Lt. Aileen Fisher, SGT Sam

Geisberker, Capt. Jim Ghorski, 1st. Lt. Brian Gray, Sgt. Major Groat, Spec. Ryan Hall, LTC Kathryn Hayes, Sgt. Wells Johnson, Major Joe Kace, Matt Kalantzis, Fr. John (chaplain) Kelissides, Chris Kingston, 2nd Lt. Peter Layton, AIC Julia Leake, Lt. Col. Timothy

Lindsay, Major Timothy Maceira, Major John Malik, LCPL Benjamin McCracken, LTC David McKenna, Sgt. Major McPhee, 2nd Lt. Weston Mettert, Sgt. Rachelle Navjead, Capt. Laurie O’Farrell, PFC John Oaks, Spc.K.P. Overton, Pvt. Joshua Paizianis, SPC Constantinos Paul, Bryon USAF

Reily, SPC Bryon Ruwe, Cpt. C.S. Sava, Capt. Matt Seeberger, Cdm. Scott Shriver, Gy. Sgt. Timothy Sinkler, SSGT Tiffanie Susalitis, PFC Leon Swiderski, SFC Swisklinski, CDW (chaplain) Trevino, SPC Jose Vamvakias, Major Nick Walker, Wesley Wells, Sgt. Hayes

SAFEWAY BENEFITS for Saint Kathe-rine Greek Orthodox Church is underway. Please join us in reach-ing the $8,000.00 which Safeway is willing to donate to our church each year if we shop at Safeway stores. The only thing you have to do is give us your Safeway cour-

tesy card number. We’ll do the rest to enroll you in the program. For more information, call Elvira Gar-nett at 703-425-3675. Please fill in the form below and mail it to the church or put it in one of offering baskets on Sunday. Thanks.

SAFEWAY BENEFITS ENROLLMENT

Safeway Card Number: ______________________

Full Name: ________________________________

Address (including zip): _____________________ _________________________________________ Telephone number: _________________________ E-mail: ___________________________________

΄Ετσι, όταν με αγάπη θα τρέξουμε να βοηθήσουμε, όπου υπάρχει ανάγκη, χωρίς οι άλλοι να μας καλέσουν, ο φύλακας άγγελός μας, μαζί με όλα τα άλλα αγγελούδια του ουρανού, θα σκορπίζει στη ψυχή μας γλυκόλαλους σκοπούς. Με την χαρούμενη όψη μας, με τους γλυκούς χριστουγεννιάτικους ύμνους μας, με την καλωσύνη μας και της αγάπης μας τα δώρα, θα δίνουμε στους συνανθρώπους μας το μήνυμα "επί γης ειρήνη"! Θα συμβάλουμε στο να ακουστεί ξανά στην γη μας η θεϊκή εκείνη αγγελική και η πιό γλυκειά αρμονία!... "Δόξα εν υψίστοις Θεώ και επί γης ειρήνη εν ανθρώποις ευδοκία"! Μπορούμε και τα φετεινά Χριστούγεννα να το πετύχουμε!...

"Τρέξτε ποιμένες, γυναίκες, παιδιά να δείτε μιά μορφή, θεία γλυκειά... Σήμερα ο Χριστός εγεννήθη και φως, χαρά στον κόσμο εχύθη!

Τρέξτε σ’ Αυτόν!...

(Continued from page 5) spiritual growth and healing. My weekly presence at church means little for my spiritual self if I ignore the practice of being a Christian the other six days of the week.

My physical therapist is not demented. He understood my pain in the process of my healing. This process was not about causing me pain but the body working to strengthen itself again and perhaps be stronger. We live in a world that while spectacular goodness exists, there is also pain, sorrow and suffering. God is not absent in our darkness. He acknowledges it. When we put our faith in His word and prescribe to His teachings, we can work through our pain towards personal growth and the healing of our souls.

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MISSIONS AND OUTREACH Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) has an-nounced its short-term mission teams for 2010. Most of the mission teams are for 2-3 weeks. Teams are planned for Alaska, Albania, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Korea, Madagascar, Romania, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. A full listing of dates and missions and applica-tion forms can be found at http://teams.ocmc.org or con-tact OCMC directly at 877-463-6787.

OCMC Invites Families to Experience a Mission Team. For the first time, OCMC is offering families the opportu-nity to participate together on Orthodox Mission Teams. Four 2010 OCMC Mission Teams are open to parents and youth (13 and older). Family Teams allow youth to travel with a parent to offer their time and talens as living wit-nesses to the Orthodox Christian Faith. 2010 Family Team destinations are Eklutna and Old Harbor, Alaska; Shen Vlash, Albania, and Cluj, Romania. For more information or to apply for one of these Family Teams, log on to teams.ocmc.org, contact OCMC by phone at 877-GO-FORTH, or e-mail teams@ocmc.org.

Saint Katherine Guatemala Mission Trip, April 15-24. Fr. Costa will lead a team of missionaries from Saint Katherine to the Hogar Raphael Orphanage in Guatemala from April 15 through April 24, 2010. The team has been chosen. More details to follow on how others can partici-pate through prayers and donations.

Project Mexico. A trip is planned in 2010 from Saint Katherine. More details will be in a future DOXA.

Red Cross Blood Drive. Our October 17, 2009 Red Cross Blood Drive was successful. Twenty units of blood were collected. A new date will be set up in the winter of 2010 and announced in DOXA.

Homeless Shelter Clothing Collection. We are continu-ing to collect clothing and toiletries for the Bailey’s Cross-roads Homeless Shelter. Clothes may be new or used but must be clean. Toiletries should be unopened. There is a collection receptacle in the foyer of the Meletis Charuhas Center. Please be generous to those less fortunate.

Food for the Homeless Shelter. On October 27, a group of parishioners cooked food for the shelter and then deliv-ered and served the food to the people at the shelter. (See photo below). We hope that all church groups will be tak-ing a turn serving food once a year. GOYA has already volunteered for Tuesday, January 19. Contact John De-makis at jgd11@erols.com.

Lenten Retreat, February 27. Saint Katherine will spon-sor a Lenten Retreat, Saturday, February 27, 2010. The main presenter will be Presvytera Kyriake Fitzgerald. Her topic will be the 50th Psalm. On Sunday, February 28th, Presvytera Fitzgerald will speak at the Adult Bible Class on women in the Church.

OCMC Benefit Dinner, Sunday, May 2. Nathan Hoppe, our full time missionary in Albania for many years will be the main speaker at the 2010 OCMC Benefit Dinner on Sunday evening, May 2, hosted by Saint Katherine. More details to follow.

TOP 50 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT SAINT KATHERINE OUR PARISH WAS SURVEYED for the “Top 50 Things I Love about Saint Katherine” and these are the long-awaited results. 1. The collective wisdom, compassion, eloquence, and

experience of two (sometimes three, sometimes four) priests at any given Liturgy.

2. The many philanthropic and friendly church organiza-tions and activities for our youth, young adults, and more mature members.

3. Two Liturgies on Sunday and the good balance be-tween Greek and English.

4. The beautiful Iconography—Heaven on Earth! 5. Two halls and many classrooms to serve our growing

community. 6. Two festivals with the best home-cooked food and

pastries. We share our culture and faith with new and old friends.

7. Loukoumades. 8. The orderly lines and reverence shown by people

waiting to receive Holy Communion. 9. The expanded Narthex that includes steps for the Icons

allowing children to approach and venerate them. 10. That our two priests love each other and how that ra-

diates into the community. Thank God for both of them!

11. The friendly welcomes from Parish Council members when people arrive in church.

12. The best choir in town—full of angelic voices that are so spiritual.

13. The monthly DOXA. 14. Coffee, sweets, and fellowship following the Liturgy. 15. The professional and useful website. 16. The weekly bulletin which includes, among other

things, the Epistle and Gospel readings, announce-ments, contact information, and other items of inter-est.

17. Updated sound system, including speakers built into the pews and backrests, which make it easier to listen to and enjoy the Liturgy.

18. The annual Christmas Pageant. 19. The bookstore full of so many books and Icons and

Orthodox gifts. 20. The AHEPA Christmas ornaments. 21. The lighting and tranquility during Vespers. 22. Watching children’s innate feeling of reverence and

awe for God. 23. The new dome—a marvel and teaches something new

each time it is viewed. 24. Fr. Costa’s and Fr. Ted’s sermons. They are very

inspiring and I am reminded of their words during the hectic week.

25. Priests are baseball fans. 26. The fellowship of our Bible Study friends. Bill, our

teacher, is highly versed in the Bible and we are very fortunate to have his contributions in both word and deed.

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DECEMBER 2009 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Please check our online calendar (http://www.saint-katherines.org/calendar.asp) for the latest information.

1 Adult Greek School 6:00pm Beginners II 7:30pm Beginners I

2 10:45am Women’s Book Club

7:00pm Missions Meeting

3 Adult Greek School 6:00pm Intermediate 7:30pm Advanced

4 Barbara the Great Martyr 9:00am Orthros 10:00am Divine Liturgy 5:00pm Greek School

5 9:30am Greek School 1:30pm GS Tchr’s Mtg

6 18th Sunday of Luke Nicholas the Wonder-worker

8:00am Divine Liturgy 9:30am Orthros and Cate-chetical School

10:30am Divine Liturgy Parish Council Elections Philoptochos Bake Sale Craft Fair DOP Luncheon at WCC 7pm Ladies’ Open Gym

7 8:00pm YAL Basketball

8 Adult Greek School 6:00pm Beginners II 7:30pm Beginners I 8:00pm AHEPA #438

9 Conception by Saint Anna of the Theotokos

9:00am Orthros 10:00am Divine Liturgy

10 Adult Greek School 6:00pm Intermediate 7:30pm Advanced

11 5:00pm Greek School

12 Spyridon the Wonder-worker of Trymithous

9:00am Orthros 10:00am Divine Liturgy 9:30am Greek School

13 11th Sunday of Luke 8:00am Divine Liturgy 9:30am Orthros and C.S. 10:30am Divine Liturgy Paideia Preschool Break-fast Fundraiser

1:00pm JOY Bus Leaves for A Christmas Carol

GMU OCF Dinner 7pm Ladies’ Open Gym

14 7:30pm YAL Deuteri Deutera

15 Adult Greek School 6:00pm Beginners II 7:30pm Beginners I

16 10:45am Women’s Book Club 7:30pm Parish Council

17 Adult Greek School 6:00pm Intermediate 7:30pm Advanced

18 5:00pm Greek School 5:30pm HOPE

19 9:30am Challenge Lit-urgy at Saint George, Bethesda

9:30am-1:30pm Christ-mas Pageant Rehearsal

20 Sunday before the Nativity of Christ

9:30am Orthros and Cate-chetical School

10:30am ONE Liturgy Christmas Pageant Philoptochos Bake Sale 7pm Ladies’ Open Gym

21 8:00pm YAL Basketball

22 6:00pm GOYA Lunch/Gift Bag Making for the Homelss in DC

Adult Greek School 6:00pm Beginners II 7:30pm Beginners I

23 24 Eve of the Nativity 6:00pm Hours 7:00pm Vespers/Liturgy

25 The Nativity of our Saviour Jesus Christ

9:00am Orthros 10:00am Divine Liturgy 7:00am GOYA distribut-ing Sandwich/Gift Bags to the homeless in DC

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27 Sunday after the Nativ-ity of Christ

9:30am Orthros 10:30am ONE Liturgy 7pm Ladies’ Open Gym

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29 Adult Greek School 6:00pm Beginners II 7:30pm Beginners I

30 31 9:00pm New Year’s Eve sponsored by YAL

*Note: We will cele-brate only one Divine Liturgy on Sundays:

December 20 December 27 January 3

Deadline for January DOXA Submissions

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PHILOPTOCHOS THE WEATHER IS GETTING COLDER, and the Philoptochos has elected their new slate of officers. Congratulations to President Andrea Ballard, Vice President Helen Spanos, Treasurer Mary Charuhas, Assistant Treasurer Kathy Cavallo, Recording Secretary Anna Vassilopoulos, Corre-sponding Secretary, Chris Eskinzes, and Advisor Irene Burton.

A special thank you to Irene Burton and the many volun-teers for preparing a wonderful Thanksgiving luncheon for the seniors in our community. Irene has worked tirelessly for the past four years as Philoptochos president and we are fortunate to have the benefit of her advice and counsel in the coming year.

Also a heartfelt “Thank you” to all who contributed to the reception for Saint Katherine’s nameday.

The Philoptochos Christmas bake sale will be held fol-lowing liturgies on Sundays, December 6 and 20. Make sure you call in your Vasilopita orders to Elvira Garnett, 703-425-3675, so you are ready for the holidays! The price is $15 per vasilopita and will be available for pickup on December 20.

We are publishing an updated Philoptochos member di-rectory for 2010. The Philoptochos has been very active in the Saint Katherine’s and local community and we are al-ways looking for new members to help us continue these important programs. Please mail your Philoptochos stew-ardship for 2010 to the church as soon as possible so we can include you in the directory. Please include your name, address, phone number and e-mail address (if you have one) You will be glad you did!

May you have a blessed Christmas and joyous New Year. SAINT KATHERINE BOOKSTORE VISIT SAINT KATHERINE BOOKSTORE after Liturgy on Sun-days for all your Christmas shopping needs. We have Or-thodox (iconographic) Christmas cards and ornaments, as well as gift books, special items for children, CDs and calendars. Thank you for your support of our ministry. HOLIDAY CRAFT/VENDOR FAIR COME AND DO YOUR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING without having to go to the malls! We will have a holiday Craft/Vendor Fair on Sunday, December 6, after both liturgies in the Founders’ Hall. A portion of all of the proceeds will be donated to the church building fund. In addition, a basket filled with craft/vendor goodies will be raffled, with all of these proceeds going to the building fund.

If you are a member of the church and are part of either a direct sale company or have crafts to sell and would like to participate in this event, please contact Daphne Vac-carello at 703-830-0892 or dvac.memories@verizon.net immediately.

WOMEN’S BOOK CLUB THE WOMEN’S BOOK CLUB keeps growing each month. It is a blessing to have several women reading and attending the books discussions. Through our talks, our faith, and spiritual life continues to grow.

This month we have started reading the book, Father Arseny: Priest, Prisoner, Spiritual Father, translated by Vera Bouteneff. Father Arseny, born Piotr Andreyevitch Streltzof (1893-1973), was a priest to many Russians dur-ing the time of Stalin. He performed several miracles when many lost hope due to the difficult circumstances of life in communist Russia. The book was written by the spiritual children of Father Arseny, who knew him best. It describes Father Arseny’s love of mankind which drew many people to the Orthodox faith. Despite being perse-cuted and tortured, Father Arseny focused on his love of Christ and he showed others how to love those who hate you.

This month the book club will meet on Wednesdays, December 2 and 16 to begin our talks on Father Arseny. Our meetings will begin at 10:45am in the boardroom. We look forward to a fruitful and spiritually uplifting discus-sion. PAIDEIA PRESCHOOL PROGRAM ΚΑΛΑ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥΓΕΝΝΑ! We wish everyone a blessed Christmas and a New Year filled with love, health, and happiness. I keep thinking how lucky we are as educators. We have the opportunity to come everyday and work with children, teach them, laugh with them, learn with them, and watch them grow. I rejoice before the Lord and look forward every morning to be greeted by the smile and joy in the faces of our angels! We are truly blessed!

Our little ones have been very busy this month! They have been practicing the Kalanda with their music teacher, Mrs. Vretea. We want to thank Kyria Gilda for instilling in them a love for music and “making their day” every Thursday! The children have been making Christmas crafts, have been decorating the classroom and are prepar-ing for the Christmas Celebration. Our Breakfast Fund-raiser is held on December 13, after Divine Liturgy. Our Parents’ Committee has done a wonderful job organizing events for the school and the community. I hope you or-dered Greek Items from our Holiday Fundraising List as they make great holiday gifts! Please note the dates below.

The PAIDEIA Preschool is open every day of the week from 7:30am to 6:00pm. For additional information please contact the Director, Marilena Tsirigotakis, at 301-346-4110 or 703-671-7715. Important Dates: December 4 Parent-Teacher Conference (No aftercare, pick–up at 4:00pm) December 13, Breakfast Fundraiser after church December 18 Christmas Program Dec. 21 – Jan. 3 Christmas Break

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AHEPA #438 CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT THE PETER N. DERZIS AHEPA CHAPTER #438 is proud announce orders are now being taken for the Second An-nual Community Christmas Ornament. Each year, a topic of distinctive interest to the community (symbolized in this year’s edition by an icon of The Nativity from the recently completed iconography on our church’s dome) will be cho-sen as the subject matter for that year’s ornament. These high quality ornaments are manufactured by the same firm that creates the famous White House Christmas ornaments.

These orna-ments make wonderful gifts! The cost is $20 each with pro-ceeds going to AHEPA Chari-ties and Schol-arships. The ornaments are on sale after each Liturgy. Only a limited quantity of or-naments will be available for those who do not pre-order.

Please order NOW and make sure you get your ornaments!

INTERESTED IN THE MAIDS OF ATHENA? THE MAIDS is a junior order of the Daughters of Penelope. If you are between the ages of 14 and 28, you are welcome to join. The Maids provide new friendships, scholarship opportunities, chances to earn community service hours, as well as opportunities to celebrate Hellenism with other girls nationwide through conventions and events. If you would like more information, please contact Karen Po-lizos, 571-434-7790, or e-mail kpolizos@aol.com.

DAUGHTERS OF PENELOPE THE BEGINNING OF NOVEMBER ushered in an active month for Helle Chapter members. Fifteen members of Helle Chapter attended the DOP Founder’s Day luncheon at Al-fio’s Trattoria in Chevy Chase, MD on Saturday, Novem-ber 7, joining Hermione and Arion Chapters to remember the founding of the Daughters of Penelope 80 years ago.

Several sisters also attended a fashion show luncheon and silent auction on November 13tat the Alexandria Hil-ton Mark Center sponsored by The Board of Lady Manag-ers of Inova Alexandria Hospital. Three of our sisters serve on this board, which raises money to benefit the Inova Alexandria Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Many sisters and their families attended the beautiful 50th Anniversary Gala of our church on November 14. The following day our Metropolitan, Evangelos, celebrated the liturgy at Saint Katherine with Father Costa and Father Ted and our departed sisters were remembered in the me-morial service. Helle Chapter sisters hosted the coffee hour following the service and then met after the liturgy for a chapter meeting and initiation. We were pleased to welcome five new members to our sisterhood.

In the spirit of the Christmas season, Helle Chapter will host a Christmas Luncheon on Sunday, December 6 at 1:00pm at the Westwood Country Club. If you have not already made your reservations, please contact Katherine Anitole Misleh at 703-448-0296 to see if there are still seats available. For our Christmas giving project the chap-ter is collecting toys for children, toddler to age 10, to donate to the Arlington Pediatric Center. They are in need of 200 gifts for their annual Children’s Christmas party for sick and underprivileged children. Please plan on bringing an unwrapped toy not to exceed $20 to the luncheon to help support this effort. If you are unable to attend the luncheon, you may still bring a toy to leave in our dona-tion box at the church hall.

On Saturday, December 12, Helle Chapter is planning a trip to the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore to see the exhibit on Heroes: Mortals and Myths in Ancient Greece. Guests are welcome. Please call Kathy Cavallo at 703-978-1539 for more information.

We wish everyone a blessed Christmas.

OCF at GMU GMU OCF (ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN FELLOW-

SHIP) will have a Christmas Get-Together on Sunday, De-cember 13, 6:00pm at the home of Fr. Costas and Presv. Pauline Pavlakos, 6315 Wil-

mington Drive, Burke, VA 22015. Please RSVP to Fr. Costas by Monday,

December 7 at frcostas@stkchurch.com or 703-671-1515.

Please join us for a Family Breakfast sponsored by Saint Katherine Paideia Preschool on Sunday, December 13. Meals will be offered after both the first and second liturgies. A hearty and kid-friendly breakfast will be offered. Proceeds to benefit the Preschool.

THE DETOUR SOMETIMES IT’S REALLY DIFFICULT getting your heart and mind around the aching sense of separation that comes with a loved one’s death. The departed one was here one moment, then gone the next. You were cherishing this person one moment, then left bereft the next. No doubt about it, life’s journey is a hard one. The detours are espe-cially tough, but if you keep in mind the ultimate destina-tion, you can put them in perspective.

You know that one day you hope to return home to our Father in Heaven. If you really let yourself embrace the idea, a sweet peace envelops you as you think of being reunited with all your loved ones who have already passed. However, you might abruptly stop your reverie and re-member that you are still on earth and missing that special someone who has passed not too long ago. The here and now is dismal without them. But what if you approach this feeling of emptiness a different way? What if you regard it as a detour on the same trip that you and the loved one have always been on?

You and the beloved individual are no longer on the same road, that’s true, and s/he was such an ideal compan-ion on your trip. That’s why going it alone has been so hard on you. But you will meet up again eventually—this you know from your faith. Continue your trip with joy, a sense of adventure and enthusiasm for life. Drink what you can from this sublunary life. In time, your detour will end. Finally, you and your loved ones will be together again for all eternity.

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Saint Katherine Greek Orthodox Church offers a grief support group, GRACE (Grief Recovery: Accepting, Coping, and Evolving). For further information, please call Fr. Costa Pavlakos at 703-631-9430.

27. Jim Loizou—the man is an institution and an inspira-tion to so many.

28. It is a beautiful place of worship where heaven meets earth. An incredibly welcoming community.

29. The warmth that surrounds you when you are in, or even outside, the church. It glows with togetherness.

30. Having been to many other churches for GOYA Tour-naments I believe that no other church is as welcom-ing as Saint Katherine. You are always welcomed back no matter how long it has been since you last went to church.

31. This community is comfort, full of love and peace. 32. It is chicken soup for the soul! 33. I went there right after college and made lifelong

friends. It was where the "fun" priests served and they were always supportive, always opened their homes to young people away from home during the holidays.

34. Teaching Sunday School and being blessed to learn about our Greek Orthodox faith together with our beautiful children.

35. Being restored and feeling God’s love around me when I attend church.

36. Saint Katherine is home to us. It brings so much joy to see our boys so comfortable, so eager to go to church each Sunday and learn about God and be with friends and family.

37. It is the MOST inclusive church we have ever been members of.

38. The many Thanksgivings I spent with the Chelpon family when I first moved to the area. We’d have a fantastic meal and then go to a movie. When we re-turned home, the table would be set and we’d do Thanksgiving all over again!

39. That we are incredibly blessed to have two loving and caring spiritual leaders in Father Costa and Father Ted.

40. I started attending Saint Katherine in 1999. The mem-bers of the YAL were very warm, friendly and invited me into their group. The friendships I made then are lasting ones that I maintain today.

41. Saint Katherine is home to me. It is the most welcom-ing church community I have ever had the privilege to be part of.

42. Easter week, especially Holy Friday services...so moving.

43. The New Year’s Eve Party and being able to celebrate with my church "family."

44. Father Ted’s jokes! 45. Father Costa’s welcoming nature. 46. Dedicated Stewards who serve those near and far who

are in need. 47. Sunday School, especially Bible "Jeopardy." 48. All our schools: Paideia Pre-School, Greek School,

and Sunday School. 49. Our Outreach Ministries. 50. I have the deepest respect and appreciation for the

dedication of so many people in our church who work so tirelessly.

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YAL THIS MONTH, YAL will be holding our Deuteri Deutera sandwich-making for the homeless event on Monday, De-cember 14 at 7:30pm in the kitchen of the Meletis Charu-has Center, followed by dinner at a local restaurant.

YAL Ladies’ Open Gym for basketball is held on Sun-day evenings at 7:00pm. The Annual Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament hosted by Saint George YAL will be held January 9-10, 2010.

As 2009 draws to a close, YAL will host our annual New Year’s Eve Gala. Tickets are now on sale! This year we will celebrate “A Night on the Greek Riviera,” featur-ing entertainment by the fabulous Greek comedian, Basile, and live music by Zephyros. Please plan to join us in the Meletis Charuhas Center for a fun- filled evening.

We wish everyone a safe and blessed holiday season with loved ones. We look forward to seeing you at church and upcoming events soon, as well as in the New Year.

If you are new to the area and would like more informa-tion about YAL events, please e-mail your contact infor-mation to StKatherinesYAL@yahoo.com so that we may add you to our listserv. Contact Helen at has-panos87@yahoo.com for event information.

REGISTRY Baptisms

Marianna Theodora (November 1) daughter of John and Maria Drapas

Godparents: Christos and Tracey Alexandrou

Alexandros (November 29) son of Pavel and Stella Pekarsky

Godparents: Panagiotis and Lynda Taousakis

Lauren Kate (November 29) daughter of Brett and Mary Freireich

Godparents: Elizabeth George and Greg Vidovich

Wedding

Dawn Marie Terminellas and

Christos Snear (November 28) Koumbara: Barbara Spyridakis

Congratulations!

Funerals

Esther J. Zazanis (October 23) Penelope Zuber (November 4)

May their memory be eternal.

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CONGRATULATIONS TO ANNA STEELE, daughter of Dr. William Steele and Dr. Olympia Dallas Steele, who accepted at The University of Michigan–School of Law. Kai eis anotera! CONGRATULATIONS TO ALEX MITRAKAS, son of Mike and Tina Mitrakas, on his admission to the Virginia Bar. Alex focuses his practice in Business Litiga-tion and International Arbitration and practices in the District of Columbia. A life-long member of Saint Katherine, Alex earned his B.S. in Law and Society, with University Honors, from American University and his J.D. from The University of Michigan–Detroit, with distinction third in class.

SAINT KATHERINE SPONSORS ST. INNOCENT ORPHANAGE CHRISTMAS

BUDDY, MANUEL ESTEBAN We are collecting checks or donations for Manuel this year. Please make checks payable to Saint Katherine and note Project Mexico on the memo line. If you would like to purchase an item, please bring it to Saint Katherine by December 6, 2009. Please contact Ray Vazquez for more information at 703-723-7424 or via e-mail at rayvazqu-ez1@aol.com. MANUEL’S CHRISTMAS 2009 NEEDS & WISH LIST

Needs 2 prs. Casual pants (e.g., khakis) W30/L30 1 pair Slacks/suit pants W30/L30 1 pair Jeans W30/L30 Belt Fits 28” waist Warm-up suit Men’s Medium 1 pair Pajamas Men’s Medium 2 Collared shirts (e.g., Polo) Men’s Medium 1 Collared dress shirt 15½/ 32-33 1 Casual shirt, no collar Men’s Medium Tennis shoes, all white Men’s 10 Casual shoes, all black Men’s 10 Indoor soccer shoes Men’s 10 Socks, colored and white Fits shoe size 10 Swim trunks Boy’s Medium Underwear 30-32 White undershirts Men’s Medium Shower sandals (flip-flops) Men’s 10 Wishes Gameboy cartridge Wallet Red indoor soccer list Interests History, Spanish, Computers, soccer, and football

Christ is born! Glorify Him!

Congratulations to the Reverend Deacon Christodoulos Wallace, son of Mr. and Mrs. Dimitrios and Vasiliki (deceased) Wallace, who was ordained to the Holy Diaconate on Sunday, November 15 by His Eminence Met-ropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey. Axios!

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STEWARDSHIP SHOWN BELOW is a list of families and individuals who participated in the Saint Katherine stewardship program as of Octo-ber 31, 2009. Thank you for responding to the needs of our church.

Our Church and community depend on your stewardship commitment. If you have not yet sent a pledge, please do so as soon as possible. If you wish, you may pledge online today at www.saint-katherines.org/onlinedonations.html.

If you have any questions, please contact Anna Vassilopoulos at 703-671-1515 or avassilopoulos@stkchurch.com.

M/M Donald Adams Mrs Irene Adams Mr Frank Agnos M/M John Agnos Dr/Mrs James Alatis Ms Marianne Alberti Mr Nicolaos Alexandropoulos M/M Dimitri Alexis M/M Dimitri Alexson M/M Peter Aliferis M/M Elias Alpos M/M James Anagnos M/M Larry Anagnos Mrs Cleoniki Anastasiou Ms Helen Anderson Ms Janis Anderson M/M John Andre Mr Alexandros Andreou M/M Paul Anson M/M Tasie Anton Mrs Voula Antonaiou Mr Pericles Apostolou Mr Basil Argerson M/M Dennis Argerson Dr/Mrs Nicholas Argerson Mr James Argodale M/M Nektarios Athanasiou Mrs Kalliopi Axiotis Mrs Panagiota Bakatsias Capt/Mrs James Ballard M/M James Ballis M/M Konstantinos Balos M/M Andreas Baltatzis Mr Richard Bambacus Dr/Dr George Banks Mrs Gerta Bardhoshi Ms Ina Bardhoshi Mrs Sophie Barfield M/M James Batistas Dr/Mrs Theofaniy Batistas M/M Vatistas Batistas M/M Thomas Bean M/M Tom Beck Dr Dean Bellas M/M George Bilidas M/M Adam Birnbaum Mr Lambros Bisbikis and Mrs Georgia Siozios M/M George Bistis M/M Michael Bohle Mr John Bonadeo and Mrs Betty McDonald Mr Basil Boobas M/M George Boosalis Mr George Boosalis Mr Peter Boosalis M/M Peter Bota M/M James Bouloukos M/M Theodore Bousbouras M/M James Brackman Mr Brackney and Mrs Galifianakis M/M John Broening M/M David Buddendeck Mrs Stoeckl Andrea Burlew Mrs Theresa Burrage M/M Bryan Burton M/M Elias Burton Col Paul Calbos M/M Edward Cameron M/M Michael Campbell, Jr Mrs Catherine Speleos Canard Mrs Gisella Caparell M/M Aggie Capsalis M/M Manuel Capsalis M/M Thomas Cardamone, Jr M/M Todd Carr Mr Speros Casey

M/M Adam Caskey Mrs Katherine Cavallo Mrs Anna Chaconas M/M Christopher Chaconas Mr Paul Chaconas M/M Pete Chambers Mrs Kristy Chandler M/M Demetris Charalambous Mrs Bessie Charuhas M/M George Charuhas Mr Telly Charuhas Miss Antonia Chelpon M/M Constantine Chelpon Miss Ekaterina Chelpon M/M Harry Chelpon Rev and Presv Theodore Chelpon M/M Louis Cherpes M/M Emmanuel Chiaparas Mrs Emerald Chiotakis M/M John Chipouras Ms Afrodite Christ M/M Athanasios Christ Mrs Helen Christ M/M George Christacos Dr Nicole Christacos M/M Stavros Christacos Dr/Mrs Joseph Christodoulides M/M Constantis Christofi Mrs Eugenia Christofi and Mr Carlos Dr/Mrs Andrew Christopher M/M Nicholas Christos M/M Aristotle Christou M/M Chris Christou M/M Christos Christou M/M Paul Christou Mr Aristotelis Chronis M/M Athanasios Chronis Mr Themistocles Chronis Miss Ljiljana Ciric M/M Charles Cogar Ms Susan Comninel Mr Constantine Constant Mrs Froso Constant Dr/Mrs James Constantine Mrs Rolandi Constantinides Dr George Contis M/M Harry Contos Ms Christine Cope Dr Susan Coronis M/M Gus Costas M/M Adamantios Coulouris M/M Gus Coutlakis Mrs Galatia Cowan Adm/Mrs Robert Cowley Mrs Betty Craten Ms Mary Critharis M/M Nikolaos Dais Mr Michael Dakes M/M Stephen Dakes M/M Kirk Damalas M/M Ivan Danzig Dr/Mrs Nicholas Darzenta Mr Lycurgus Davey Mrs Dorothea Davidian Dr/Dr Elias Debbas M/M James Dehart Mr George Delta Dr/Mrs John Demakis Mrs Antoinette Demeres M/M Christian Demeter M/M Demetrios Demetriou Ms Elpida Demetriou M/M Lambros Demetriou M/M Peter Demetriou M/M Demetrios Demson Ms Venetia Demson Mrs Helen Derzis

M/M James DeSatnick M/M Angelos Dhana Mrs Mary Diakides Miss Alexandra Diapoulis Mrs Kaliope Diapoulis M/M Nicholas Diapoulis Ms Georgia Dimitras M/M Andreas Dimitriou M/M Alexios Dimopoulos M/M Arthur Dimopoulos Dr/Mrs Harry Dinella Mr/Dr Stephen Dinos Mr Nicholas Dopuch Ms Dimitra Doufekias M/M John Doulis Mr/Dr Steven Doulis Mrs Mary Drakoulis M/M John Drapas, Jr M/M Stavros Drosos M/M Spiros Drossos Mr Roger Duclos Mrs Nicolitsa Economou Mr Paul Economou Mrs Catherine Edgington Michael and Evangeline Emanuel M/M James Eskinzes M/M Christopher Euripides Mr Kyriacos Charlie Euripides Mr Richard Euripides M/M Steven Falcon Ms Rosemary Filou M/M Dennis Floros M/M Stephanos Flossos Mrs Dianne Kavros Fogarty Ms Despina Foster M/M Vasilios Fotinos Ltc/Mrs Vasilios Fotopoulos M/M James Francis M/M Stephen Francis M/M George Fthenos Mr Demetrios Gadonas M/M Dimitrios Gadonas Mr William Galanis M/M R. Gamble Ltc/Mrs Dennis Garbis M/M John Garbis Ms Korinna Garbis Mr Louis Garbis M/M Martin Gardner M/M David Garnett Mr Thomas Garzlaff and Mrs Angela Goanos Mrs Effie Gasparis M/M George Gasparis M/M Nicholas Gasparis M/M Chris Gavras M/M Demetrios Gellios Mrs Aspasia Georgatos M/M Evans George M/M George Georgeadis Mrs Angelina Georgelas Mr Todd Georgelas Ms Mary Georghiou M/M Frank Gerow, Jr M/M Arthur Gianelos Mr Nick Gianourakos M/M Nick Glakas Mrs Helen Glekas M/M Michael Goldsmith M/M Arthur Gomez Ms Areti Gourzis M/M John Gouvis M/M Peter Gouvis M/M Brian Gross M/M Mark Gull M/M Andreas Hadjichristodoulou Mr Menbere Haile

M/M John Hall LCDr/Mrs Philip Hamilton M/M Daniel Haner Mrs Antigone Harocopos M/M Peter Hatzi Mr Eleftherios Hazapis Ms Georgia Higley M/M Bryan Holloway M/M Thomas Holmes Mr Steve Hondros M/M Keith Horenstein M/M James Howard M/M Kevin Hunter M/M Andreas Ioannou Mrs Hariklia Ioannou M/M Iacovos Ioannou Mrs Angeline Ionedes M/M James Jatras Ms Kristin Jenkins Mr James Jeweler M/M John Jeweler Ms Kim Johnson M/M Timothy Johnson M/M Gregory Joiner M/M Tom Jouvanis Mr Benjamin Jurado and Mrs Smaragda Strifas Mr Christ Kacoyannakis and Mrs Nancy Thompson Mrs Irene Kakaviatos Mr Kalamatianos and Mrs Adamopoulos M/M James Kalaris M/M Christopher Kalavritinos M/M Peter Kalomiris Mrs Athena Kaloudis M/M Brasidas Kanakos M/M John Kanellias Mr Constan Kanellos Mr Alex Kantsios M/M George Kapetanakis Mrs Konstantina Kapetanakis Mr Nickolas Kappatos and Mrs Kara Manton M/M Peter Kappatos Mrs Anastasia Kapranos M/M Bill Kapsidelis Ms Koula Karabelas M/M Apostolos Karageorge M/M Harry Karageorge Mrs Margaret Karageorge M/M Peter Karageorge M/M Gregory Karahalis M/M Dimitrios Karamanis M/M John Karamanis M/M Nick Karanikas Mrs Lula Karas Mrs Elina Karmokolias M/M Peter Karounos Mrs Rene Katsaitis M/M Anthony Katsakis M/M Stavros Katsakos M/M Eythimios Katsapis M/M Dean Katsikes M/M George Kavarligos Mr Vasilios Kavarligos and Mrs Demetra Tsantes M/M George Kavros M/M Michael Kavros M/M Pete Kayafas Mrs Anne Kaylor Ms Susan Kaylor M/M George Kehaiov M/M Anastasios Kehayias M/M Nikolaos Kiaoulias M/M Michael Kiklis M/M John Kiriakou

M/M Mike Kiros M/M Thomas Kiszka Mrs Anastasia Kitsantas and Mr Stephen Willet Ms Melissa Kleriotis M/M Andreas Kokkinis M/M Costas Kolas M/M Alexandros Kolovos Mr Nicholas Kolovos M/M Peter Kolovos Mrs Barbara Koltos Ms Penelope Koltos M/M Panos Konstas Mr James Kontzamanys M/M George Kontzias Mrs Sousana Kontzias Mr Zachary Kontzias Mr Vitali Kopylov M/M Dionisios Korkos M/M Christos Kosmakos M/M George Kosmakos M/M Sotirios Kospanos M/M George Kostolampros Ms Vanessa Kostopoulos M/M Ted Kosturos M/M Konstantino Koukides Mrs Danae Koulizakis Mrs Marika Koumanelis Mrs Paraskeve Koumarianos Mr Teddy Koumarianos Mr Nick Koumas M/M Dimitris Kouretas M/M Demitris Kouris M/M Stanley Koussis Ms Annette Koustenis Mrs Maria Koustenis Dr/Mrs Panos Koutrouvelis M/M Gregoris Kozakos Miss Panagiota Kozakos Ms Christine Krithades M/M John Kubik M/M John Kushner Ms Christina Kutschenreuter Dr/Mrs Andy Kydes Mr Nicholas Kyrus M/M Nicholas Lagos M/M Thomas Lallas M/M Sheldon Lampert M/M Michael Lampros Mr Nicholas Larigakis M/M Brian Lehman Mr Vassilios Lekkas and Mrs Maria Vouras M/M Spiro Lekoudis M/M John Lemondes Ms Nicole Leontsinis Mrs Irene Levy M/M Theodosios Liappis M/M Konstantinos Liatsos Mrs Bessie Ligelis Ms Elaine Ligelis Ms Tina Ligelis M/M Angelo Linardakis Mrs Georgia Lindroth Ms Julie Lippmann M/M James Loisou M/M James Loizou Mrs Koula Lolos M/M George Louvis M/M Robert Lower M/M Nicholas Ludlum M/M Klaus Luthardt Mrs Angela Lykos M/M Allen Lyubinsky Mr Joseph Macekura

(Continued on page 15)

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Mrs Aspasia Makrigiorgos M/M Nikolaos Makrigiorgos M/M Vasilios Makrigiorgos Miss Gaye Mallis Ms Rebecca Malone M/M Christopher Mandaleris Dr Thomas Mandes M/M Frank Manno M/M George Manoleras Dr/Mrs John Manolis Mrs Lena Manos M/M Constantinos Mantziaras Mrs Angelike Maoury M/M Tony Marinos M/M Gus Maris M/M James Marko Mr Jeffrey Maroulis Mrs Anne Masters Mrs Stasia Mastorakis M/M Georgios Mavromatakis Mr Constantinos Mavromatakis M/M William McCarthy M/M Gregory McKinney Ms Elaine Mentis M/M Peter Mentis M/M Peter Michos M/M Harlan Miller Mrs Kathyleen Milton M/M Marwan Mina Mrs Evdoxia Mitchell M/M Louis Mitchell Mr Alex Mitrakas M/M Kosmas Mitrakas Mr Andreas Mitsingas Mr Scott Mooney and Mrs Eleanor Galifianakis Ms Jane Moore M/M William Moore M/M George Moratis Mrs Paraskevi Morlock M/M Ralph Morris M/M John Moschopoulos Mrs Anna Moshos Mr George Moshos M/M Gus Moshos Ms Tina Moshos Maj/Mrs Matthew Mowery Mr Emanuel Mpras Mr/Dr Michael Mpras M/M Nicholas Mpras Mr Dane Musil M/M Nicholas Myseros M/M Steven Myseros M/M Raef Nadda Mr/Ms Sean Neagle Dr/Mrs Peter Neff M/M Daryoush Nejadian Mrs Iro Nestoros Mrs Erma Nettles M/M Veldon Newtson M/M Demetrios Nicholakos M/M George Nicholakos M/M Sotirios Nicholakos M/M Christopher Nicholaou Dr/Mrs George Nichols Mr George Nicolaides Ms Virginia Nicolaidis

Mr/Ms Clayton Nightingale Mr Greg Nightingale Mrs Nadia Nikas Dr/Mrs Constantine Nonas Mrs Catalina Novac and Mr Igor Bosnjak Mrs Roula Oktay M/M George Opacic Ms Anastasia Orfanoudis M/M Crysilios Orphanides M/M Peter Padiotis M/M Anthony Pagonis M/M Kyriakos Pagonis M/M Demetrios Panagopoulos Mr Panagopoulos and Mrs Thiakouli M/M Alkis Panagoulias M/M George Panteleos M/M Nickolas Panteleos M/M John Papadopoulos Mr Panagiotis Papadopoulos Mrs Maria Papageorgiou Dr E.C. Papailias M/M Demetrios Papalabrakopoulos Mrs Anastasia Papalios Ms Crystallo Papamichael Ms Daphne Papamichael Mrs Mamie Papamichael Dr/Mrs Alexander Papas M/M Panayiotis Papasavvas Dr/Mrs George Papastergiou M/M Dennis Papathanasopoulos Mrs Agatha Papathanassiou Ms Maria Papathanassiou M/M Michael Papazoglou Dr/Mrs Chris Pappas Mr Louis Pappas Dr Sam Pappas M/M James Paras M/M Haralabos Paraskevopoulos M/M Charalambos Pashiardis M/M Christos Passakos Ms Maria Passakos Ms Alexandra Pattaras Mr Andrew Pavlakos Mr Christopher Pavlakos Rev/Presv Costas Pavlakos M/M Gregory Pehlivanis M/M Pavel Pekarsky M/M Nick Pekatos Mrs Katherine Pergola M/M Andreas Pericli Mrs Kathy Pesavento M/M George Petalas M/M John Petalas Mrs Eli Petrova Col/Mrs Daniel Peyser Ms Jessica Pfeltz Mrs Catherine Phass Dr/Mrs Dean Phass Mrs Loiza Pieri Mr Bryan Pietrzyk and Mrs Akrivi Angelakis M/M Demetry Pikrallidas M/M Euripides Pikrallidas M/M Kostas Pikrallidas Mr Dean Pilarinos Mrs Frances Pilarinos M/M Nicholas Pittas M/M John Pizzi

M/M Alexandros Ploutis Mr Jerry Pnevmatikatos M/M Bill Polizos M/M John Polizos M/M John Polizos M/M Spyridon Polyzos M/M Manolis Ponirakis Mr John Pors M/M William Porter, Jr M/M Patrick Potter Mr Pete Poulos Mr Christos Prapas and Mrs Kokoni Mrs Anastasia Pratt Theodoros and Sivone Priftis M/M James Procopis M/M Cary Prokos Mr Charles Psachos Mrs Sylvia Psarakis M/M Nicholas Psaros M/M Anthony Quebral M/M Stephen Rader M/M Mitchel Raftelis Dr/Mrs Demosthenes T. Rantis M/M Theofanis Rantis Mrs Kathy Rice Dr/Mrs Haris Riris Dr/Mrs Adel Rizkalla Ms Christine Roiniotis M/M George Roiniotis Mr Spiro Roiniotis and Ms Julia Youn M/M Harry Roupas M/M Basil Rousos M/M Emanuel Rouvelas M/M Sam Sabbarese M/M Anastasios Sakkas M/M William Salavantis Ms Valessia Samaras Ms Stephanie Samergedes M/M Panagiotis Sapountzis M/M Christos Sarantis Mrs Xenia Sarantis Ms Christina Sarris M/M Michael Sarris M/M Milton Sarris Mr Nicholas Sarris Mrs Kaliope Sauter Mr Thomas Scatamacchia and Mrs Snezana Pavlovic Ms Dalia Schlegel Mrs Katherine Scourby Mrs Ann Sedor M/M John Seward Mr Jon Sheldon and Mrs Tina Papamichael M/M Panos Siatis Mr Perry Siatis Dr George Silis Dr/Dr Manny Silis M/M Panagiotis Silis Mr Thomas Silis Mrs Katherine Simmons M/M Andrew Sirpis M/M Jordan Skenteris Mr/Dr George Smaragdis M/M John Smaragdis M/M Eleftherios Smirniotopoulos Ltc/Mrs Michael Sneeder Mrs Sophie Soffos Mr Frank Sofocleous

M/M James Soiles M/M Gregory Soter Mr Peter Soukas M/M Harry Spanos Ms Helen A. Spanos Ms Jennifer Spanos Ms Helen J. Spanos M/M John Spanos Ms Stella Spathopoulos M/M Dennis Spirides M/M Nicholas Spyros M/M Louis Stack Mrs Vasiliki B. Stafilatos Ms Panorea Stalter M/M Nick Stames M/M John Stamos M/M Apostolos Stamoulas Ms Maria Stamoulas Ms Stephanie Stanga Mrs Helen Stassinos M/M Odysseus Stassinos M/M Peter Stathis M/M Peter Stathis M/M George Stathopoulos M/M Vasilios Stavrakas Dr/Dr William Steele M/M Peter Stefanou Ms Stella Stenson M/M Demetrios Stergiou Mr/Ms Ken Stewart M/M James Stoucker M/M Tom Stoumbos Mr Clifford Stouts Rev/Mrs Milan Sturgis M/M Tommie Summers M/M Gus Svolis M/M Marcus Talbott M/M Panagiotis Taousakis M/M Pierre Tavoularis Mrs Kelly Taylor Mrs Mary Tetradis M/M Peter Tetradis M/M Leonidas Theodorakoglou Ms Nathalie Theodorakoglou Mr Theodorakoglou and Mrs Muffole M/M Athanasios Theodoropoulos M/M Craig Thomas M/M James Thomas M/M Gene Thornton Mrs Andromachi Timotheou Dr/Mrs John Topping M/M Philip Toumazatos Mr Angelo Toutsi Mr Thomas Toutsi Dr/Mrs Michael Trahos M/M Basil Trikas Mr Paul Tripathi and Mrs Chrysanthe Dr Basil Tripsas Mr Dino Tsakonas Ms Sophia Tsangali Ms Irene Tsapos Dr/Mrs Michael Tsapos Mrs Angelika Tsatsakis M/M George Tsempales Mr John Tsempales M/M Thomas Tsianakas Mrs Anna Tsimbidis Mrs Helen Tsintolas Mr David Tucholski and

Mrs Theodora Vroustouris M/M Constantine Tzafolias M/M Themis Tzamarias M/M Peter Tzitzis M/M Craig Underhill Mrs Marie Unkle M/M Thomas Vaccarello Ms Ann Vaffis Dr/Mrs Charles Valases Ms Nikki Valavanis Mr Peter Vamvakaris Col/Mrs Nicholas Vamvakias Ms Catherine Vangellow M/M Christopher Vargas M/M Stratis Varlas Ms Christine Varoutsos Hon/Mrs George Varoutsos Mrs Olga Varoutsos Mr Constantine Vassilopoulos M/M George Vassilopoulos M/M Derrick Vaughan M/M Ramon Vazquez Mr George Veletsis M/M Stavros Veletsis Col/Mrs James Velezis Ms Martha Velezis M/M Chris Velisaris M/M Pete Veltsistas M/M Larry Visos Mr John Vlachos Mr Peppino Vlannes Mrs Dru Ann Vlissidis Mr Nicholas Vlissidis M/M Demetris Voudouris M/M George Vouras Mrs Nausika Vouvalis M/M Sakellarios Vouvalis M/M George Vroustouris M/M Colin Waitt Mr Christos Wallace Dr/Mrs Thomas Weir Mrs Galatia Whittemore Mr Carter Wilkinson and Mrs Andrea Gevas M/M Donald Wills Ms Daniel Winters M/M George Woglom Mrs Deatra Wood Mr Jack Wuerker and Mrs Effie Triarhos Mr Peter Xefteris Mrs Aliki Xepapas Mr John Xereas M/M Nicholaos Zacharatos Mrs Mary Zacharias Ms Lee Zachos Mrs Mary Zakia M/M Nicholas Zangos M/M Elias Zarkadoulas M/M Nicholas Zavolas M/M James Zervas M/M Stratis Zervos Capt/Mrs Christos Zirps Ms Nora Zirps M/M Mihail Ziu M/M Theodore Zois Ms Panagiota Zorbas M/M Peter Zuppas

(Continued from page 14)

2009 COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS CARD YOU ARE INVITED TO participate in the annual Christmas card of our parish. Our Community Christmas Card brings us together as a family, expressing prayers and love to all of our broth-ers and sisters. It will be mailed by the church office to everyone on our mailing list for only $25.00. Please send your name and check payable to Saint Katherine Greek Orthodox Church to the church office by Monday, December 7. Thank you.

SAINT KATHERINE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH 3149 Glen Carlyn Road | Falls Church, VA 22041 Return Service Requested

Non-Profit Org. U. S. POSTAGE

Paid Falls Church, VA

Permit No. 19

ATTENTION POSTMASTER: Please expedite. Dated material.