ANNUNCIATION CELEBRATES WEDDINGS/NAMES MOTHER OF THE YEAR..... IN STYLE!

On Saturday, May 9, Annunciation Cathedral’s Korinthias Center was transformed into a lovely wedding banquet hall, complete with wedding cakes as centerpieces, favors, and, of course, with brides, lots of them. Wedding dresses worn by parishioners from as far back as 1870 right down to 2004 were featured, in lieu of a regular fashion show. The event, attending by some 360 people, was a great success. How does one top this one? Well, leave it to the resourcefulness and ingenuity of our Philoptochos, which sponsored the event. We’re certain next year’s Mother’s Day Luncheon and Fashion Show will be as wonderful an occasion.

As is our custom since the founding of the Mother’s Day Luncheon and Fashion Show, a mother is singled out and named “Mother of the Year.” This year’s Mother of the Year is Mary Pantages. In introducing her, Father Stephen noted, “her home is open as her heart is wide,” a reference to decades of choir rehearsals held in the Pantages home. Mary was born on April 21, 1927 in Tucson, Arizona. She was married at the age of 20 to Gregory Pantages in the old Annunciation Cathedral on July 20, 1947, at which time she began her career as a homemaker.

Mary and Greg had three children, all of whom, together with their parents, sang in the church choir. Mary also joined a special group of ladies who worked for years for our senior citizens, providing them with hot lunches and a host of activities.

In 1974, Frank Desby, the choir director of Los Angeles (and composer of a Divine Liturgy that bears his name), planned a choir concert tour of Greece. He selected 34 choir singers from all of the state choirs. Four of the 34 were members of the Pantages household! At the 1994 Choir Conference, the Diocese Choir Federation awarded Mary and Greg the George N. George Award for their years of dedicated service to the parish and to the choir. In addition to the choir, where Mary sings almost every Sunday, she can be seen at the annual Food Festival, working and hostessing in her lovely Greek costume, and always with that winning smile. Axia!

PARISH ASSEMBLY CONVENES, NAMES NOMINATING COMMITTEE, BOARD OF ELECTIONS, BOARD OF AUDITORS

On Wednesday, May 19, Annunciation Cathedral’s parishioners convened for the first of two parish assemblies for the year 2004. Granted, this was not a heavily attended Parish Assembly, since there are no major issues like voting to build or to buy property. Nevertheless, it was a productive assembly. First, all fifteen members of the Parish Council were present. In accordance with our by-laws, a quorum is met either when 75 parishioners in good standing are present or when 75% of the Parish Council, an equal number of other parishioners in good standing, together with the Dean, are present.

Following the Financial, Stewardship, and other reports, the Assembly then named the Nominating Committee for 2004. This committee, consisting of Anne Mountanos, Pat Destein, and Ted Leventis will place in nomination at the October assembly the names of those who are running for Parish Council. (This year, seven Parish Council members are up for re-election.) Then, this same committee will become the Board of Elections, which will oversee the elections (to be held Sunday, December 12, following the Divine Liturgy).

The Parish Assembly also named a Board of Auditors. This group audits the financial records of the Parish and, after meeting with the Parish Council, reports to the Parish Assembly. The members of the Board of Auditors are: Angie Leventis, Jim Loukas, and Nick Svetcoff.

Meanwhile, the Assembly voted to send Father Stephen to the 37th Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress of the Archdiocese, to take place at the New York Marriott Marquis, July 23-30. Father Stephen will leave for New York on July 25 and arrive in time for the opening of the Congress, which will take place on Monday, July 26. The theme of this year’s Congress is: Building Communities of Faith & Love: Orthodox Parishes in Worship and Ministry.

Finally, the Assembly heard Jim Loukas, our webmaster, explain not only how he has updated and how he oversees our site, but how he is currently developing an archive, complete with a written history and photographs of the pioneer founders of our historic Annunciation Cathedral parish. Given that Annunciation’s web site comes up whenever anyone keys in a combination of: Annunciation/Greek Orthodox/Church/Cathedral -- always in the top 10 sites!--ours is a most valuable vehicle not only for navigating to other sites (in order to learn about our Faith), but now for our heritage as well. Keep up the outstanding work, Jim, along with your team of inputters, including Robert Larson and Athena Tsougarakis, and those who conceived of our site and are responsible for its technical maintenance, namely John Sooklaris and Nick Rally.

The site is under the overall supervision of Father Stephen and the Annunciation Cathedral Parish Council. Do log on and explore our site. Our address is www.annunciation.org.

A LOOK AT OUR FINANCES

In our May issue, Gus Vouchilas, our Stewardship Committee Chair, wrote a wonderful article about stewardship, which invites your involvement of time, talents, and resources. For, it is these three ingredients, along with faith, hope, and love that account for the dynamics of our outstanding community. The contribution of your resources is what enables us to provide the many programs and ministries of the Cathedral, to the tune of $627,749 in calendar year 2003. Of this amount spent, $255,889 came from Stewardship. (Our overall receipts for the year were $541,379.) You can see all of this clearly spelled out in the graph included in this issue of the Herald, prepared for us and presented to the Assembly by our Treasurer, Nick Rally.

As you can readily see, the major expenditure of our operation is for salaries, including our clergy, our building manager, our office staff, our custodians, our Greek school teachers, and our cantor, choir director, and organists. In addition, we maintain loans of about $1 million on our buildings, worth in excess of $5 million. The Cathedral also has $309,000 in the Building Fund (for Phase II), $83,000 in scholarship funds, and about $60,000 in stocks (which came about as bequests to the Cathedral). We hope you will agree that our Treasurer’s reports give us a clear financial picture of our community, as well as a sense of where we need to go in order to improve programs and ministries, along with a church building, and our corporate and individual responsibility in shaping our future.

RECENT SERVICES AT THE CATHEDRAL

CONFIRMATION
Priscilla Fisaga Selianitis was received into the Church through the Sacrament of Holy Chrismation on May 9. Her sponsor is Annette Eliopoulos.

Na Mas Zisi!

BAPTISM
Melina Flora, daughter of James P. and Angela Mary Selianitis Winzler, was baptized at the Cathedral May 23rd. Her sponsors are Tony and Priscilla Selianitis and Karen Guldbech.

Na Mas Zisi!

FUNERALS
Effie (Eftimia) Poulos, who fell asleep in the Lord on May 8, was buried May 13. She is survived by her son James Poulos, his wife and children, and a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Gus Harry (Constantine) Petsikas, who fell asleep in the Lord on May 20, was buried May 25. He is survived by a number of nephews and nieces, and their children, as well as close friends.

DEATH
Our beloved and beautiful lady, our mother, grandmother and great grandmother, Erifili Anastasiades, born 3/15/1919 in Ioannina, Greece, passed through this life to be with out Lord 3/15/2004 in Ionnina, Greece.

We love her, miss her and her memory fills our hearts daily. Her loving, warm and kind heart, her spirited personality, her enormous devotion as a Christian, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend to all will forever live with us. We love you “Manoula and yiayoula mas.” Survived by George and Tula Anastasiades Kourtoglou, and Filomila Anastasiades, her grandchildren Dimitri and Angela Sogas, Leonidas Kourtoglou, and Christopher and Angi Kourtoglou with great grandchildre, Elexi and Sophia.

Aionia aftion i mnimi! May their memory be eternal!

FESTIVAL 2004...OUR BIGGEST GATHERING

Our Annual Greek Food Festival, A Taste of Greece 2004 is rapidly approaching! With your help, this year's Festival promises to be yet another spectacular success. Our many gourmet chefs are planning their menus, dance groups are practicing their routines and our entertainment committee is adding more family activities. Great food, great music and great entertainment all put on by our great Annunciation Cathedral Community! Make sure you mark your calendars for September 17, 18, 19, 2004...to enjoy a fun filled weekend.

Even though the Festival is still a few months off, planning starts NOW! May 9th officially kicks off our community promotion campaign with "get the word out" fliers available at the church. Take a few home to pass out to friends, family, co-workers, business acquaintances and anyone else who'd like to experience our wonderful culture.

We're also expanding our email list to promote our festival and community. If you'd like to help expand Festival awareness "electronically", please leave your email address with Tessie Obester at tcobester@aol.com or visit our annunciation.org website and click on the festival web page. We'll put you on our list, keep you informed of Festival activities and provide you with electronic fliers to forward to all your friends.

Of course, the best promotion of all is by word of mouth, so don't be shy! Please help our community by inviting all your friends out to a great Greek weekend! We are also still looking for volunteers to help plan the festival - all talents are welcome! With just a little help from everyone, this year's Food Festival is sure to be a success! Thank you, efharisto!

PAOI SUMMER INSTITUTE JUNE 16-19

The Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Intitute, located in Berkeley, CA, announces three days of lectures, namely “The Desert and the City,” by the Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis, “Women in the Church,” by Dr. Valerie Karras, and “Working with the Law of the Church,” by the Rev. Dr. Patrick Viscuso to take place at the Institute Wednesday, June 16 through Saturday, June 19. A registration catalog is available at the Cathedral pangari. If you prefer, you may call the PAOI at 510 649-3450 or e-mail paoi@gtu.edu.

EASTERN ORTHODOX ETHICS*

Health care.

It follows quite logically that thecare of one's own health and societal concern for public health are moral imperatives (Androutsos, pp. 191-195, 250).  Throughout its history, Eastern Orthodox Christianity has concerned itself sacramentally with the physical health of the faithful. The Sacrament of Holy Unction has not been conducted as a service of the "last rites." Rather, it is a healing service conducted both publicly and privately for the faithful. One of the constituents of the condition of original sin in which man actually finds himself is sickness. Total harmony of the creation with God would in fact eliminate sickness and ill health. The spiritual and physical dimensions of health are closely bound together in Orthodox thought. Thus, it was natural for the priest and the physician often to be one and the same person (Constantelos, 1967).

The issue of the allocation of scarce medical resources demands a general principle of distribution. Neither the ability to pay nor an aristocratic criterion of greater human value or worth is acceptable. Eastern Christianity has always distinguished between the essential value of human life and social worth. In spite of the enormous difficulties involved, the ethical imperative from the Orthodox perspective calls for the widest possible distribution of health care and life-protecting facilities and resources, rather than a concentration of such resources for the select few. The famous health care center established by Saint Basil in the fourth century in Cappadocia of Asia Minor was designed to reach as many people as possible. It and similar institutions embodied the Eastern Christian view on health distribution (Constantelos, 1968, chap.11).

Rights of patients.

The understanding that each person is created in the image and likeness of God with the personal destiny of achieving theosis implies that each patient has an essential and inviolate dignity as a person. The fact that individuals can achieve personhood only in community (Unus Christianus, nullus Christianus), requires the concern of the healthy for the ill. Those who deliver health care, therefore, do not morally discharge their responsibility by the mere mechanical application of healing methods and practices. Underlying every medical procedure ought to be a basic respect for the patient as God's image and likeness. The patient is never a thing. Consequently, medical practitioners are obligated, within reason and in the light of the patient's well-being, to maintain confidentiality and to obtain informed consent for procedures that entail excessive risk. Exceptions and restrictions on this obligation should be made in the light of the patient's welfare and whenever possible in consultation with those having immediate responsibility for the patient, e.g., his or her family.

Human experimentation.

For the same reasons articulated in the previous section, the Eastern Orthodox Christians take a very hesitant stance vis-à-vis human experimentation. Medical trial and error conducted for the well-being of the patient himself is often required and necessary. However, the submission of a patient to experimental procedures without significant regard for his or her direct personal benefit is wrong. There is no moral obligation of any person to be used by another for the benefit of a third party. Human self-determination requires that the patient decide. Such a decision must be based on adequate information regarding the procedures, ends to be achieved, and risks involved. The patient does not have the right to inflict harm upon himself unnecessarily. The researcher should use human experimentation procedures only after all other means of testing have been exhausted and there is every reasonable expectation of the avoidance of harm to the subject. In every case, experimenter and subject are morally obligated to exercise great caution. The hope of benefiting mankind in general does not outweigh the moral obligation of the protection of the individual life.

Abortion.
Eastern Christianity has a long history of opposition to abortion. Its ethical teachings as embodied in canon law and in the penitential books, as well as in more formal ethical instruction, condemn abortion as a form of murder. Because our humanity is a psychosomatic unity and because Orthodox Christians see all of life as a continuous and never ending development of the image and likeness toward theosis and full humanity, the achievement of particular stages of development of the conceptus is not ethically relevant to the question of abortion.

In his second canon, St. Basil specifically rules out the artificial distinction between the "formed" and "unformed" conceptus (The Rudder, pp. 789-790). Thus, any abortion is seen as an evil. Since the physical and the personal aspects of human existence are understood as essential constitutive elements of our humanity, the conceptus - unfulfilled and incomplete as it may be - may not be destroyed under normal circumstances. Eastern Orthodox ethicists reject as unworthy those counterarguments which appeal to economic and social reasons and so hold fife to be less valuable than money, pride, or convenience. Armed with modem genetic information, they also reject the argument that an abortion may be justified because a woman is entitled to control her own body. That basic affirmation of self-determination is not rejected; what is rejected is the claim that the conceptus is a part of the mother's tissue. It is not her body; it is the body and life of another human being entrusted to her for care and nurture.

Only in the case in which the life of the mother is endangered by the conceptus is it morally appropriate to consider the possibility of abortion. Yet, even here, the main operative value is the preservation of life. Numerous prudential considerations will be taken into account, though it is likely that the preservation of the mother's life will most often be chosen. In any case, it falls into the class of "involuntary sin" in which the evil of the event is recognized, while the personal guilt is mitigated (Papacostas, pp. 9-13, 83-105).

Organ transplants.

In the case of organ transplants, the crucial ethical considerations are two: the potential harm inflicted upon the donor and the need of the recipient. Historically, the Orthodox Church has not objected to similar, though not identical, procedures, such as blood transfusions and skin grafts. In both cases, no radical threat to the life of the donor is perceived, and the lifesaving consequences for the recipient are substantial. Similar considerations affect the Orthodox Christian judgment of organ transplants. In no case should a person ignore or make light of the ethical implications of organ donation. Donating an organ whose loss will impair or threaten the life of the potential donor is never required and is never a moral obligation of any person. If the condition of health and the physical well-being of the donor permits, some transplants are not objectionable. Renal transplants are a case in point. A healthy person may consent to donate a kidney knowing that his or her health is not thereby impaired.

Heart transplants present a special case. Objectively they are different from other sorts of organ transplants because they presupposed the death of the donor. Though some Orthodox hierarchs have objected to heart transplants because the "heart" is often designated in the devotional literature of the Church as the seat of the soul, most have not responded negatively to heart transplants in principle. However, caution has been expressed regarding the temptation to hasten the death of the donor for the sake of the recipient. Also, so long as this procedure does not yet have a high success rate, it is morally questionable to continue its practice until the phenomenon of tissue rejection is better understood.

Drug addiction.

The use of stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogens for any purpose other than the restoration of health or the alleviation of abnormal pain, when properly and legitimately prescribed by a physician, is condemned; but Orthodox ethics, because of its teaching on "involuntary sin," is able to recognize the evil of the condition of drug addiction and yet also recognize that the essence of the evil is that personal self-determination has been lost, and with it a large measure of personal responsibility. Orthodox texts often refer to sinful conditions as "sickness" and "illness." In the case of drug addiction the cure is the restoration of self-determination In the Orthodox view, the judgment that drug addiction and alcoholism are evil and sinful, on the one hand, and the judgment that they are illnesses, on the other hand, are not mutually exclusive. This is not to say, of course, that every sickness is the result of individual voluntary sins, a position specifically denied by the Orthodox doctrine of original sin.

Mental health: values, therapies, institutions.

At the heart of the Eastern Orthodox Christian approach to mental health is the understanding of human wholesomeness in the doctrine of theosis. True and full human well-being is the consequence of our proper relationship with God (Demetropoulos, pp. 155-157). Mental health is one dimension of this total relationship. Since no individual human being perfectly achieves this relationship, it may be noted that, just as we are all in some measure "less than fully human," in the same manner we are all in some measure lacking in full mental health. The Orthodox concept of repentance or metanoia implies a change of mind, a transfiguration and transformation of the human mind. What is significant is that the teaching of the spiritual Fathers of the Eastern Church emphasizes the need for constant repentance on the part of every human being in the direction of his human goal and destiny.

Some recent studies have related traditional spiritual methodologies to standard psychotherapeutic theories, methods, and approaches (Faros). There are differences, of course, but there is also a remarkable number of parallels to be found between the ancient spiritual disciplines and modern schools of psychology.

Orthodox ethics sees the mentally ill as fellow human beings who need compassionate assistance. Therapies that degrade their essential humanity and attitudes that dehumanize the mentally ill in the eyes of society and deny assistance, relationship, and therapeutic support are in themselves immoral and dehumanizing.

Aging.

In the ethical consciousness of the Church, respect and deference for the elderly, and especially for elderly parents, is an important moral responsibility. There is a strong feeling that children ought personally to care for their aged parents. It is only when circumstances are such that it is truly impossible for children to care for their aged parents that they may be placed in appropriate institutions for care. Such institutions have long been a part of the Eastern Orthodox Church's social mission (Constantelos, 1968, chap.13).

Death, dying, and euthanasia.

The traditional definition of physical death is "the separation of soul and body." Such a definition is not subject to objective observation. Thus it is not within the province of theology to determine the medical indications of death and the onset of the dying process. However, in reference to the terminally ill person, certain distinctions can be made. Physical life is generally understood to imply the ability of the person to sustain his or her vital activities. Physical death begins when interrelated systems of the body begin to break down. Death occurs when the systemic breakdown becomes irreversible. It may well be that physical life and death are events in a continuum in which it is impossible to discern when the dying process actually begins. Nevertheless, the bias of the Church and the traditional bias of the medical practitioner (cf. Oath of Hippocrates) is to do everything possible to maintain life and hinder the onset of dying and death. The medical use of drugs, surgical operations, and even artificial organs (mechanical kidneys, lungs, hearts, etc.) are considered legitimately used when there is a reasonable expectation that they will aid the return in due time to normal or close to normal functioning of the whole organic system.

The special case arises in that it is now medically possible to keep the body "alive" with a complex array of artificial organs, medications, transfusions, and the like. Under these conditions it may not be feasible to expect, with any degree of probability, the restoration of the organic functioning of the body. When, especially, there is no evidence of brain activity in conjunction with the systemic breakdown, we can safely say that the patient is no longer alive in any religiously significant way, and that, in fact, only certain organs are functioning. In such a case there is no moral responsibility to continue the use of artificial, means. It is of interest that the Prayer book of the Eastern Orthodox Church includes a whole service devoted to those in the process of dying. In the case of the individual whose death is prolonged and attended by much "struggling to die," the key sentence in the prayer calls upon God to separate the soul from the body, thus giving rest to the dying person. It asks God "to release your servant (name) from this unbearable suffering and this continuing bitter illness and grant rest to him" (Mikron Euchologion, p. 192).

However, it must be emphasized that this is a prayer directed to God, who, for the Orthodox, has ultimate dominion over life and death. Consequently, the preceding discussion in no way supports the practice of euthanasia. Euthanasia is held by some to be morally justified and/or morally required to terminate the life of an incurably sick person. To permit a dying person to die, when there is no real expectation that life can sustain itself, and even to pray to the Authorof Life to take the life of one "struggling to die" is one thing; euthanasia is another, i.e., the active intervention to terminate the life of another. Orthodox Christian ethics rejects the alternative of the willful termination of dying patients, regarding it as a special case of murder if done without the knowledge and consent of the patient, and suicide if it is permitted by the patient (Antoniades, II, pp. 125-127). One of the most serious criticisms of euthanasia is the grave difficulty in drawing the line between "bearable suffering" and "unbearable suffering," especially from an Eastern Orthodox perspective, which has taken seriously the spiritual growth that may take place through suffering (Rom. 8:17-39).

Ethical decision making is never precise and absolute. The principles that govern it are in a measure fluid and subject to interpretation. But to elevate euthanasia to a right or an obligation would bring it into direct conflict with the fundamental ethical affirmation that as human beings we are custodians of life, which comes from a source other than ourselves. Furthermore, the immense possibilities, not only for error but also for decision making based on self-serving ends, which may disregard the fundamental principle of the sanctity of human life, argue against euthanasia.

Generally speaking, the Orthodox Church teaches that it is the duty of both physician and family to make the patient as comfortable e as possible, to provide the opportunity for the exercise of patience, courage, repentance, and prayer. The Church has always rejected inflicted, and unnecessary voluntary suffering and pain as immoral; but at the same time, the Church also has perceived in suffering a positive value that often goes unrecognized in the "logic of the world."

The only "eu-thanasia" (Greek for "a good death") recognized in Orthodox ethics is that death in which the human person accepts the end of his or her life in the spirit of moral and spiritual purity, in hope and trust in God, and as a member of his kingdom. True humanity may be achieved even on a deathbed.

The transmission of life.

Orthodox Christian ethical thought considers that the transmission of human life is no less a fundamental responsibility of mankind than its protection. The Church sees this aspect of its concern as the divinely chosen means by which human beings contribute cooperatively in God's creative work. The transmission of human life is thus a holy and sacred moral responsibility. This responsibility is a generally human one and is taken up, sanctified, and made a part of the corporate life of the body of Christ in the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. Though not the only purpose of marriage, the transmission of human life is an important duty and moral responsibility. This is readily seen in the fact that if each and every person now alive failed to contribute to the transmission of human life, it would be only a matter of time until human life would be extinguished from the face of the earth. The divine injunction "to be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1:28) is a fundamental moral imperative in the teaching of the Orthodox Christian Church. It is within this larger framework that we approach the specific issues of human sexuality, fertility control, population, artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, andgenetic screening and counseling.

(* While the information contained in this timely article is not definitive, i.e. the final word, it represents current thinking relative to a number of contemporary issues. We hope you find the information useful in understanding the approach of the Orthodox Church to these vital issues. This is part two of three parts. Part three will appear in the August issue of the Herald. Part one can be found in the last issue of The Herald.)

ARIZONA BILLBOARDS

"God Speaks" billboards are getting attention in Arizona. They are awesome - here are a few. Enjoy.

Tell the kids I love them. -God
Let's meet at my house Sunday before the game. -God
C'mon over and bring the kids. -God
What part of "Thou Shalt Not..." didn't you understand? -God
We need to talk. -God
Keep using my name in vain, I'll make rush hour longer. -God
Loved the wedding, invite me to the marriage. -God
That "Love Thy Neighbor" thing... I meant it. -God
I love you and you and you and you and... -God
Will the road you're on get you to my place? -God
Follow me. -God

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June/July 2004 Herald
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral.