Message from Metropolitan Alexios
My Beloved Ones,
On September 1st, we are blessed to celebrate the beginning of a new Ecclesiastical Year. This date comes to us from the ancient practice established in the Byzantine Empire as a day of taxation, during the time of harvest. On Monday September 4th, we will be fortunate to celebrate the secular holiday of Labor Day. Therefore, it is a beautiful occurrence that this Sunday’s Gospel reading is takes place in a vineyard.
In our Lord’s parable however, the tenants of the vineyard do not behave honorably, nor do they regard others. When the owner of the vineyard wishes to inspect their works during the harvest and receive the fruit that is rightfully His, He sends servants to represent Him. However, the tenants beat one, stone another, and kill the last. Again, the owner wishes to contact His tenants, and so He sends more servants—but this shameful process is repeated. Finally, the owner of the vineyard reasons that they will respect His son, but when His son arrives, the tenants see a way to steal his inheritance, and so they murder him as well.
The parallels of this parable were not clear to those whom Christ was speaking. The vineyard, of course, is earth; the owner is God, and the tenants to whom he lets out the property were the Israelites. Just as the owner wished to communicate with His tenants in the season of the harvest, God sent His servants, the prophets. In the abuse and horrible mistreatment of all His messengers, Christ is criticizing the frequent rejection of God’s Word—as well as predicting His own Crucifixion, only days before, as He is the Son of the Vineyard Owner.
However, the people to whom He is speaking still grasp the meaning of the parable, even without understanding their role in it. When He asks what the owner will do to the wicked tenants, the listeners correctly say that the owner will “…put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons" (Matthew 21:41). Christ ends His preaching quoting Psalm 118 which predicts that the rejected stone shall become the chief cornerstone, encouraging those Israelites to turn to Him.
My brothers and sisters, as we begin this Ecclesiastical New Year, I pray that we all take the time to examine what spiritual fruits we have produced for the Glory of God. The meaning of this parable was not simply historical; we too can reject our Creator’s message: not only by disobeying His commandments, but by failing to cultivate a spirit of prayerful humility, and by rejecting those who come to us in a time of need. Christ makes it very clear that the gifts His Father bestowed to humanity can be easily taken from us and given to others who prove more worthy of them.
As we begin this new Ecclesiastical Year, approaching the time of harvest let us work to insure that we will be able to give a good account to the owner of the Vineyard when He returns to receive His fruit.
+ALEXIOS
Metropolitan of Atlanta
From the Chancellor's Deskk
In ancient Greece it was customary for peddlers who walked the streets with their wares to cry out, “What do you lack?” The idea was to let people know they were in the vicinity, and also rouse the curiosity of the people. Coming out of their houses they would want to know what the peddler was selling. It might be something they lacked and needed, or simply something they desired.
What do you lack? We may have sight and hearing, but what do we lack? Take an honest inventory of yourself. Have you found contentment? Are you close enough to God to receive His guidance and strength? Have you secured peace of heart and peace of mind, invaluable assets in life? Deciding what we lack is the first step in securing it. Christ can fulfill our needs – needs that are to some extent physical, but, more so, the deepest needs of heart, mind, and soul.
Our Lord Jesus Christ encountered those who were deaf. They lacked the physical ability to hear. But many of us lack the spiritual ability to hear. We suffer a kind of a spiritual deafness. The affliction of not listening to people, or, to put it another way, the affliction of physically listening to people, yet failing to comprehend, to understand, and come to grips with what they are saying, is a plague upon the Church. For, you see, it is possible to listen to a person, yet fail to really hear them.
To carry this notion of proper spiritual understanding further, I encourage you to reflect on the question, “Who Is Our True Leader?” Amidst so much international, national, and local debate about whom to follow and whom to select as our leaders, I hope you will consider reflecting upon what our world truly lacks . . . the acknowledgment and faithful response to our one true leader – our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.
+Fr. George Tsahakis
Chancellor
The Strategic Plan
Strategic Plan Updates
SAVE THE DATE: SATURDAY NOVEMBER 11 IN ATLANTA - FAITH FORUMS
The Faith Forums are where the 28 specific new programs and ministries developed to aid you and your parish community come to life with guided workshops to teach the content and answer your questions.
As a Metropolis family, together we are stronger and more capable. It is in this spirit that your Metropolis invites ALL laity and clergy from EVERY parish (regardless if you are a delegate or not) to join with us to explore exciting and positive best practices to help us on our journey as Christians and to make disciples of ourselves, our families, and our communities.
Why should I come?
We are excited to announce the following topics for the first official Faith Forums:
- 1.1 Parish Strategic Planning
- 1.3 Risk Management
- 4.2 Orthodox Leadership Training
- Managing Difficult Conversations
- Understanding Parish Finances
- 5.1 Early Parenting
- 5.4 Programs For Our Seniors
- 8.1 Spiritual Growth Resources
- 9.1 Comprehensive Stewardship
If any of these apply to you, you will want to attend! If you have any questions or wish to attend, please contact our Communications Director, Zoe Kafkes, at communications@atlmetropolis.org
Family Life Ministry
The Metropolis of Atlanta’s Family Life Ministry (www.familylifeministry.atlanta.goarch.org) strengthens individuals, families and church families through adaptable programs, blogs and educational materials as a means of fostering connection within our homes and our parishes.
It’s a common scenario, we’ve all seen it and many of us are trying to manage it – a whole family at dinner, and everyone is on a device. Join us today as we discuss how to balance the risks and benefits of screen time, while fostering a close, Christ-centered family environment at the same time. Listening to our children creates an environment of support where our children feel that we are listening and taking them seriously and they listen too. So let’s put the electronics down and limit usage at home during family time.
Journey of Marriage (Pre-Marital Seminar)
All couples marrying in the Metropolis must attend a Metropolis-sponsored Journey of Marriage seminar prior to their wedding. The couple will present their certificate of completion to their parish priest after the seminar.
- September 9, 2017 - Hollywood, FL
- September 16, 2017 - St. Augustine, FL
- January 20, 2018 - Ft. Pierce, FL
- May 5, 2018 - North Miami, FL
To see the full list of seminars through 2017, some scheduled already for 2018, and to register, please visit: http://www.familylifeministry.atlanta.goarch.org/upcoming-events-2/
Shop with Amazon, donate to the DRC
Amazon Smile is a program that allows for 0.5% of your eligible Amazon purchase to be donated to the Diakonia Retreat Center (No Added Cost To You). To find our Amazon Smile page, visit https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-2187047.
At the inception of a new Ecclesiastical Year, we are invited through our commemoration of the Feast of the Indiction to come before the Lord in worship and prayer. We are encouraged to renew our offering of our life to Him and to enhance our communication with Him through prayer and worship.
The Holy and Great Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate announced today the new composition of the Synod for the period Sept.1, 2017 to Feb. 2, 2018 under the chairmanship of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Francis released today the following joint message for prayer for the environment and God’s creation that includes an appeal for the healing of our wounded creation.
With God’s grace, today we enter the new ecclesiastical year, even as we continue to provide witness “through him who loved us” (Romans 8.38) and “give an account for the hope that lies in us” (1 Peter 3.15), living in the Church, in Christ and according to Christ, who promised to be with us “all the days of our life, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28.20)
In response to the unprecedented catastrophic Hurricane Harvey, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, speaking on behalf of the Holy Eparchial Synod and the entire Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America said:
“In the wake of Hurricane Harvey that hit Texas and