Sunday after the Elevation of the Holy Cross<\/h2>\n\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/elevation-cross-500x333.png\")
<\/p>\nThe Elevation of the Precious and Life Giving Cross<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Please Note:<\/strong> Since we had to cancel Liturgy this week for the Feast of the Elevation of the Cross, we will hold the small service for the Elevation following Liturgy this Sunday.<\/em><\/p>\nSave O Lord your people and bless your inheritance. Grant victory to the faithful against the adversaries of the faith. And protect your people through your Holy Cross.<\/em><\/p>\nSaint Helen, the mother of Saint Constantine the Great, when she was already advanced in years, undertook, in her great piety, the hardships of a journey to Jerusalem in search of the cross, about the year 325. A temple to Aphrodite had been raised up by the Emperor Hadrian upon Golgotha, to defile and cover with oblivion the place where the saving Passion had been suffered. <\/p>\n
The venerable Helen had the statue of Aphrodite destroyed, and the earth removed, revealing the Tomb of our Lord, and three crosses. Of these, it was believed that one must be that of our Lord, the other two of the thieves crucified with Him; but Saint Helen was at a loss which one might be the Wood of our salvation. At the inspiration of Saint Macarius, Archbishop of Jerusalem, a lady of Jerusalem, who was already at the point of death from a certain disease, was brought to touch the crosses, and as soon as she came near to the Cross of our Lord, she was made perfectly whole.<\/p>\n
Consequently, the precious Cross was lifted on high by Archbishop Macarius of Jerusalem; as he stood on the ambo, and when the people beheld it, they cried out, “Lord have mercy.” It should be noted that after its discovery, a portion of the venerable Cross was taken to Constantinople as a blessing. The rest was left in Jerusalem in the magnificent church built by Saint Helen, until the year 614. At that time, the Persians plundered Palestine and took the Cross to their own country (see Jan. 22, Saint Anastasius the Persian).<\/p>\n
Later, in the year 628, Emperor Heraclius set out on a military campaign, retrieved the Cross, and after bringing it to Constantinople, himself escorted it back to Jerusalem, where he restored it to its place.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nThe Theotokos, St. Panteleimon and St. Paisios Protected Us During the Hurricane<\/h2>\n\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/theotokos-panteleimon-paisios-hurricane.png\")
<\/p>\nThe Theotokos, St. Panteleimon, St. Paisios<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
So far all reports are that none of the parishioners of St. Peter’s have been hurt or suffered any appreciable damage to their homes because of the hurricane. Even a parishoner whose home is on Marco Island avoided flooding and reported minimal damage (pool cage gone and a few roof tiles blown off).<\/p>\n
This is because we were protected by the Theotokos, St. Panteleimon and St. Paisios. The Theotokos put her veil of protection on all the Orthodox in Florida and through them protection was extended to others as well. St. Paisios and St. Panteleimon were involved in calming the storm just as Christ did for the disciples. I will speak of this in more detail on Sunday.<\/p>\n
We were blessed and protected. The Lord intervened through His Saints. That’s why a Category 4 hurricane was reduced to a Category 1 in only 175 miles of geography, and why we were not harmed and suffered only minimal damage.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile we pray for and help those who were impacted more forcefully then we were such as the people on the Keys and the islanders whose homes were ruined. Out of our blessing we bless them with material comfort and aid.<\/p>\n
May God be glorified in all things.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nSt. Demetrios Visits St. Peter’s<\/h2>\n\n![\"St.](\"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/st-demetrios-myrhh-500x624.png\")
\n<\/div>\nI shared the following on Facebook earlier this week:<\/p>\n
\nAfter checking church today I entered my office (dark, no power) and as I opened the door a very strong aroma of myrrh had filled the office, and by strong I mean it was palpable.<\/p>\n
I located the source and it came from this icon that had some myrrh from the relics of St Demetrios of Thessaloniki. It exuded through the plastic.<\/p>\n
The Orthodox will understand the meaning of this. It is a sign of the protection of St. Demetrios towards our parish. I moved the icon to our still barren altar area.<\/p>\n
God is glorified through His Saints.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Meanwhile…A Patriot Challenges Irma<\/h2>\n
Max Koco stepped out of the home of his daughter during the hurricane and in no uncertain terms refused defeat and fought back. He won too. The condo escaped damage even though there was a tornado directly over the roof.<\/p>\n
\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/max-koco-500x490.png\")
<\/p>\nNo giving up without a fight!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Interfaith Charities Needs Cereal and Spaghettios<\/h2>\n\n![\"Interfaith](\"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/interfaith-charities-cherrios-spaghettios.png\")
\n<\/div>\nInterfaith Charities Needs Cereal and Spaghettios to help hungry children in our immediate area (south Lee County). Supplies are running low. Please buy some extra cereal or spaghettios the next time you are out shopping. We will make sure they get to the kids.<\/p>\n
Interfaith Charities is a coalition of churches and business that help the poor in the San Carlos and south Fort Myers area (view their website<\/a>).<\/p>\nSt. Peter’s is committed to helping the poor among us. If each family could bring some of these items to church this Sunday and the next, then we will get them to Interfaith Charities and the families who need them.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nThe Elevation of the Precious and Life Giving Cross<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Please Note:<\/strong> Since we had to cancel Liturgy this week for the Feast of the Elevation of the Cross, we will hold the small service for the Elevation following Liturgy this Sunday.<\/em><\/p>\n Save O Lord your people and bless your inheritance. Grant victory to the faithful against the adversaries of the faith. And protect your people through your Holy Cross.<\/em><\/p>\n Saint Helen, the mother of Saint Constantine the Great, when she was already advanced in years, undertook, in her great piety, the hardships of a journey to Jerusalem in search of the cross, about the year 325. A temple to Aphrodite had been raised up by the Emperor Hadrian upon Golgotha, to defile and cover with oblivion the place where the saving Passion had been suffered. <\/p>\n The venerable Helen had the statue of Aphrodite destroyed, and the earth removed, revealing the Tomb of our Lord, and three crosses. Of these, it was believed that one must be that of our Lord, the other two of the thieves crucified with Him; but Saint Helen was at a loss which one might be the Wood of our salvation. At the inspiration of Saint Macarius, Archbishop of Jerusalem, a lady of Jerusalem, who was already at the point of death from a certain disease, was brought to touch the crosses, and as soon as she came near to the Cross of our Lord, she was made perfectly whole.<\/p>\n Consequently, the precious Cross was lifted on high by Archbishop Macarius of Jerusalem; as he stood on the ambo, and when the people beheld it, they cried out, “Lord have mercy.” It should be noted that after its discovery, a portion of the venerable Cross was taken to Constantinople as a blessing. The rest was left in Jerusalem in the magnificent church built by Saint Helen, until the year 614. At that time, the Persians plundered Palestine and took the Cross to their own country (see Jan. 22, Saint Anastasius the Persian).<\/p>\n Later, in the year 628, Emperor Heraclius set out on a military campaign, retrieved the Cross, and after bringing it to Constantinople, himself escorted it back to Jerusalem, where he restored it to its place.<\/p>\n The Theotokos, St. Panteleimon, St. Paisios<\/p>\n<\/div>\n So far all reports are that none of the parishioners of St. Peter’s have been hurt or suffered any appreciable damage to their homes because of the hurricane. Even a parishoner whose home is on Marco Island avoided flooding and reported minimal damage (pool cage gone and a few roof tiles blown off).<\/p>\n This is because we were protected by the Theotokos, St. Panteleimon and St. Paisios. The Theotokos put her veil of protection on all the Orthodox in Florida and through them protection was extended to others as well. St. Paisios and St. Panteleimon were involved in calming the storm just as Christ did for the disciples. I will speak of this in more detail on Sunday.<\/p>\n We were blessed and protected. The Lord intervened through His Saints. That’s why a Category 4 hurricane was reduced to a Category 1 in only 175 miles of geography, and why we were not harmed and suffered only minimal damage.<\/p>\n Meanwhile we pray for and help those who were impacted more forcefully then we were such as the people on the Keys and the islanders whose homes were ruined. Out of our blessing we bless them with material comfort and aid.<\/p>\n May God be glorified in all things.<\/p>\n I shared the following on Facebook earlier this week:<\/p>\n After checking church today I entered my office (dark, no power) and as I opened the door a very strong aroma of myrrh had filled the office, and by strong I mean it was palpable.<\/p>\n I located the source and it came from this icon that had some myrrh from the relics of St Demetrios of Thessaloniki. It exuded through the plastic.<\/p>\n The Orthodox will understand the meaning of this. It is a sign of the protection of St. Demetrios towards our parish. I moved the icon to our still barren altar area.<\/p>\n God is glorified through His Saints.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Max Koco stepped out of the home of his daughter during the hurricane and in no uncertain terms refused defeat and fought back. He won too. The condo escaped damage even though there was a tornado directly over the roof.<\/p>\n No giving up without a fight!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Interfaith Charities Needs Cereal and Spaghettios to help hungry children in our immediate area (south Lee County). Supplies are running low. Please buy some extra cereal or spaghettios the next time you are out shopping. We will make sure they get to the kids.<\/p>\n Interfaith Charities is a coalition of churches and business that help the poor in the San Carlos and south Fort Myers area (view their website<\/a>).<\/p>\n St. Peter’s is committed to helping the poor among us. If each family could bring some of these items to church this Sunday and the next, then we will get them to Interfaith Charities and the families who need them.<\/p>\nThe Theotokos, St. Panteleimon and St. Paisios Protected Us During the Hurricane<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\nSt. Demetrios Visits St. Peter’s<\/h2>\n
\n<\/div>\n\n
Meanwhile…A Patriot Challenges Irma<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\nInterfaith Charities Needs Cereal and Spaghettios<\/h2>\n
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