Presbyter Neketas S. Palassis, Editor
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April 27/May 10, 1998
FOURTH SUNDAY OF PACHA: SUNDAY OF THE PARALYTIC
Vol. XXXI, No. 18 (1441)
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Epistle: Acts 9: 32-42. Gospel: John 5: 1-15. Tone: III.

Hieromartyr Symeon the kinsman of the Lord; St. Stephen, abbot of the Kiev Caves and Bishop Vladimir in Volhynia; St. John, abbot of Cathares Monastery at Constantinople; New-martyr Elias Ardunis of Mt. Athos; St. Seraphim, bishop of Phanar; St. Machalus, bishop of the Isle of Man; Martyr Poplion; St. Eulogius the Hospitable at Constantinople; Martyr Longinus the New.

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    On the island of Mitylene there was a large and beautiful church, built in honor of Saint George. The inhabitants of the island had a pious custom of gathering in this church on the feast day of the holy martyr for a common triumphant veneration of Saint George. The Saracens living on the island of Crete knew this, and once in the evening  they attacked this place. Those of the Christians who were outside the church were saved from the Saracens by running away, but those in the church were taken by the Saracens and carried away as prisoners. Among the prisoners there was a Christian youth who was brought to the Island of Crete and taken by the chief of the Saracens to be his servant.

    The parents of this youth, though deprived of their son, did not change their pious custom. When the annual feast in memory of the holy martyr arrived, they went to the church for the public prayers to the holy martyr and made a feast in their house in honor and memory of Saint George. When the guests had already begun to gather for the feast, the mother of the young prisoner went to the church (which was not very far from their house) fell on her knees and ardently prayed to the saint to deliver her son from captivity by ways known to the saint. Her ardent prayer was heard. When she had finished she went back to the guests at the feast, and at the very moment when her husband was invoking in prayer the holy martyr and was extolling him as a helper and defender and was about to drink the health of the guests and the winebearers were standing ready — suddenly, just at that moment, that youth was taken by Saint George from the place of his captivity and brought to the house of his parents. At the same time the youth was holding in his hand a vessel with wine which he offered to his mother. It appeared that just at that moment that youth, who was in Crete, was serving the Saracen chief who was having dinner and was just going to give him the wine when suddenly, like Abbacum of old*, he was caught up into the air and was transferred to the Island of Mitylene with the vessel full of wine. All who were sitting at the table, when they saw that youth, were astonished and with one voice asked him:

    “Where have you been, where have you come from and how did you get here?” And he replied:

    “I had filled this vessel with wine in order to give it to my master. But at that instant I was suddenly taken by some glorious man mounted on a horse who seated me on the horse too. With one hand I held on to the belt of that man, and with the other I held this vessel of wine; and then I appeared here, as you see yourselves.” On hearing this, all were amazed at such a glorious miracle and, rising from the table, they gave thanks to God and to His servant, Saint George.

    In the Syrian countries, in a city called Ramel, there was going to be built a stone church in the name of the Great Martyr, Saint George. But there happened to be no suitable stone from which the great stone pillars could be made for the support of the church building. Such pillars were usually bought in distant countries and brought by sea. Many of the pious inhabitants of Ramel went to various countries to buy the stone pillars for the church. With that purpose a certain pious widow also went with much zeal and great faith in St. George, wishing to buy with her small means one pillar for St. George’s Church. Having bought in a certain country a beautiful pillar, she brought it to the shore of the sea where the mayor of the town of Ramel, having bought some pillars, was loading them on a ship. And the widow began to beg the mayor to take her pillar on his ship and convey it to the church of the martyr. The rich man did not listen to her request and did not take her pillar, but after loading the ship only with his own pillars he sailed away. Then out of sorrow the woman fell on the ground and with tears invoked the help of the Great Martyr that he would somehow arrange the delivery of her pillar to his own church in Ramel. In sorrow and tears she fell asleep, and St. George appeared to her in a vision in the form of a general on a horse. He lifted her from the ground and said:

    “O woman, tell me, what is the matter?”

    She related to the saint the cause of her grief. He got off his horse and asked her:

    “Where do you want to put the pillar?”

    “On the right hand side of the church,” she replied.

    At once the saint wrote with his finger on the pillar the following:

    “Let the pillar of this widow be put second in the row of pillars on the right hand side of the church.”

    Having written this, St. George said to the woman: “Help me yourself.”

    When they took hold of the pillar, the stone became light and they threw the pillar into the sea. That was what the woman saw in her dream.

    When she woke up she could not find the pillar and, putting her trust in God and His servant, Saint George, she set sail for her native land,. But before she reached it and before the ship arrived, on the second day after her vision, her pillar was found lying on the shore of Ramel harbor. When the mayor of the town, called Basil, sailed into Ramel with his pillars and went ashore, he saw the widow’s pillar with the inscription on it made by the finger of the saint. The man was extremely astonished and, seeing the miracle of the Great Martyr, realized his sin and repented for having despised the widow’s request. With many prayers he asked St. George for forgiveness, and he received it from the saint who appeared to him a vision. The widow’s pillar was installed in the place shown by the inscription to the memory of that pious woman, to the praise of the miracle worked by the Great Martyr, and to the glory of Christ our God, the Source of miracles.

    This Church of St. George was very old and decayed, so that at any minute it could have fallen. But there was no one who could build a new church or restore the old one, for, owing to the poverty of the inhabitants of that place, the church had been left without attention. Once this miracle took place in it.

    Children were playing with one another by the church, and they were laughing and making fun of one boy who was always beaten in the games. On this occasion he lost his patience and, turning to the Church of St. George, said:

“St. George! Help me to overcome my opponents. As a thanks offering for this, I will bring to they church a big cake.”

And actually the boy beat his comrades in the games, and beat them not once or twice but even many times.

When the boy came home to his mother, he told her that he had promised to give St. George a cake, and asked her to carry out his promise to the saint.

    Out of love for her child and also out of respect for the martyr, his mother made a cake in accordance with her son’s request and gave it to him while it was still warm and had not had the time to get cold. The boy took the cake to the church and placing it before the sanctuary, made a prostration and went away. It happened that at that time four merchants were passing by the church. They went into the church to worship St. George and they saw on the floor the tempting cake — it had not yet got cold and smelt delicious. The merchants said to one another:

    “The saint does not need this. Let us eat the cake and put incense in its place.”

    When they had eaten the cake they wanted to leave the church, but they were quite unable to find the doors because the doors seemed to them to be the wall. Then they each put a silver coin on the floor, but still they could not find the way out. Then they all together put one gold coin and fervently prayed to the saint to help them get out. But even this time they could not find the way out, being overcome as it were by blindness. Finally all four of them put a gold coin each and still more fervently prayed, and then they found the way out, for they found the church doors open and passed through them.

    These gold and silver coins served as the beginning of a collection of money required for the restoration of the church, for the report of that miracle spread through the whole of that country and many pious people voluntarily offered gold and silver. With this money a new stone church was built, a much larger one, sufficiently adorned and provided with all that was necessary for the divine services. In that church many miracles were worked to the glory of
God and the praise of St. George.
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    Since 1981, the parish of St. Cosmas of Aitolia, serviced by Presbyter Seraphim Johnson, has been in an office building in Riverdale, Maryland, just outside our capitol. There is a large parking lot outside the building and a small shopping center on one side. The church is on the second floor, and since the offices are closed on Sunday, there is ample parking space and privacy for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy.

    What a surprise when one visits the parish and enters the room which is used for the church through a narrow corridor. One would never have suspected that there could be a church in such a setting. We all refer to it as our catacomb parish. On Saturday evening and Sunday morning, one of the candle stands is brought out into the corridor since there is not much room in the church. It is a lovely and compunctionate church, well decorated inside, and has served our faithful in the Washington-Maryland area for many years. But from the beginning it became evident that there was a need for a more permanent church facility.

    For one, no funerals could be held there, because a casket could not be brought up the stairs, and the door into the church was not wide enough. All funerals, therefore, have been in funeral homes. One can well imagine the labor of emptying the baptismal font and the proper disposing of the water after every baptism.

    The whole parish, therefore, has been searching for a new location with adequate facilities. But church edifices are not numerous in the area and the zoning code is unfavorable for churches. Thus, the few opportunities that have come up during the past seventeen years were either beyond the means of the parish, or permits could not be obtained for church use.

    Many times it seemed that the parish just would not be able to relocate. But friends, and especially our monastery and convent in Boston, would encourage the parish to be patient, saying that God and St. Cosmas had something special for them, and it would come as a surprise, even as it had come for them when they relocated. Many times they were told how crowded the convent was on Orchard Street and how Mother Stephania of blessed memory would visit Vladyka Andrei in Spring Valley and ask Vladyka to pray that they find a larger place. Vladyka would run his hand through his chotki and say, “Wait! Wait! And it comes!” And so it did, with patience. And when it came, it came most bountifully.

    Thus, in 1997 a property came to the attention of the parish, which consists of an acre and a half beautifully landscaped with a small house on it. The property is in Lanham, Maryland, just two to three miles from Washington, D.C., and within easy driving distance. It is a corner property and there is a Protestant church on the block on the opposite side of the street.

    The person who built the house and landscaped the grounds, lived there for more than half a century. The property is filled with tall slender oak trees and a great variety of azaleas and flowers. The childless owner loved his azaleas and tended to them as if they were his children. He put a clause in his will that the property had to be preserved whole for fifty years. This became a great drawback for the sale of the property. For one, the taxes are substantial for an acre and a half in such a lovely residential area, and, two, the house is not large enough for most families. If the property could be subdivided, there would easily be eight to nine building lots. Then, the selling price would be more than  half a million dollars and totally out of reach.

    This truly was the blessing and surprise which our Savior and St. Cosmas had in store for them.
After negotiations, the property was bought for $150,000. The parish had been saving throughout the years in a building fund and with some help from friends, the sum was raised. Now there is a need for an additional $120,000 for the construction of a parking lot and for converting the present dwelling into a beautiful church with an adequate hall. Should the parish grow and the need arise, there is adequate property for a church proper to be built and the present dwelling to become church offices and hall facilities. Of late, some Orthodox Greek families which are involved in construction work have joined the parish and have pledged to donate their work.

    We, therefore, appeal to all our faithful to please help in the construction and work to convert the present property for worship of the St. Cosmas of Aitolia parish. You  can make checks payable to:

    It will truly be an adornment to the glory of our Orthodox Church, worthy of the capitol of our country. St. Cosmas is a small parish, but rich in blessings. It has offered four monastics to the glory of our Savior.