THE CATHEDRAL TURNS 85!

As one can readily see from the letter to the right, the Cathedral was founded in 1921, specifically, in June, 1921. Originally, it was called "The Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sophia." Notice the seal on the left hand side of the letter. It notes the year 1921 and shows an engraving of the Great Church of Christ, Aghia Sophia in Constantinople. Also, note that St. Sophia was established under the presidency of Metropolitan Meletios Metaxakis, who later became Ecumenical Patriarch. Also, the President of the parish was the Reverend Philaretos Johannides, and the Secretary of the parish was the Reverend Pythagoras Caravellas. Philaretos later went on to become Bishop of Chicago, and Father Caravellas became the second priest of St. Sophia. In the letter, monies collected for the capital campaign, in the form of promissory notes, are being forwarded to the bank for deposit.

Click on the letter for a bigger image that opens in another window.

In 1927, when St. Sophia was relocated from Hayes and Pierce Streets, to Valencia Street, it retained its cathedral status. However, in 1936, due to the economic situation, St. Sophia became bankrupt and reorganized, this time as the Annunciation. It bought back its property on Valencia Street, from the Bank of Italy. The Bank of Italy later became the Bank of America. Except for a period in the 1950's, when the cathedral was relocated to Los Angeles' St. Sophia, under Bishop Athenagoras Kokkinakis, the Cathedral for the Diocese, now the Metropolis of San Francisco, has always been here.

We celebrate our 85th year, not only as a cathedral, but as a parish, and look forward to the future with optimism, as we continue to serve. Much has been said about a gala celebration later this year. As this issue of the Herald goes to press, we are meeting to explore just how to celebrate. Meanwhile, we wish our entire Cathedral family a happy new year, and our Cathedral, a happy 85th!

EIGHT ELECTED TO PARISH COUNCIL; SWEARING IN SUNDAY, JANUARY 8

On Sunday, December 11, 2005, parishioners cast votes for the eight candidates for Parish Council, as follows: Michael Bagatelos, 63 votes; John Coundouris, 56 votes; Thomas A. Nuris, 66 votes; Nikolas Stathopoulos, 60 votes; Nicholas Svetcoff, 54 votes; George Vlahos, 58 votes; James D. Vorrises, 59 votes; and Gus Vouchilas, 66 votes. The eight will join John Sooklaris, Nicholas J. Rally, Patricia Aleck, George Ambadiotakis Ambus, Nick Kontonis, Peter Manetas, and Michael Misthos, who in 2004 were elected to a two-year term, and, together with Father Stephen, will comprise the Parish Council for 2006.

They will recite the oath of office at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, on Sunday, January 8. Prior to the start of the regular Parish Council meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, January 18, the officers for the 2006 Parish Council will be elected.

ON STEWARDSHIP AND YOU

On Saturday, December 10th, 2005, our Parish Council met with Frather James Retelas (our second priest here at the Cathedral from 1987-1992), who is currently the Pastor of the Annunciation Church in Sacramento. While at his previous parish of the Holy Trinity in Portland, Oregon, Father Jim took a sabbatical, during which time he took courses on fund raising in non profit organizations and, specifically, in churches. He shared with us some of what he learned during that time. We would like to share some of these with you.

1) Father Jim spoke of the overall mission of the Church, which imparts the message of salvation. The Church is about changing lives, by bringing people to Christ: it is about saving lives. This is a message which appeals to the very core of our being: it appeals to the human heart. Because the Church represents the loftiest of human goals, which are ultimate meaning and connection with God, people give both because of the integrity of those leading the effort; they also give because they are asked. People give to people; they do not give to causes. Let us take stewardship. The goal has to be clear: the goal is to operate the church and fund its ministries. Then, the message has to be communicated. It is communicated through the clergy. It also is communicated through the lay leaders. As these people are committed to the cause, their message is seen to be sincere. When they ask you for your gift, you are likely to respond. People respond when the appeal is clear and when it is focused.

2) Father Jim also shared with us the need to establish goals and to take steps to attain these goals. With respect to stewardship, the goal is that your commitment for the year should take care of the entire budget of the parish. For example, if the budget for the year is $700,000, then we should strive to raise the entire amount from the stewardship commitment of our faithful. This, of course, can not be achieved overnight; it takes education, willingness, and development. How is this to be done? It is done by setting a standard of giving. The most equitable and proven standard is for each family to commit $1 per week for each $1000 of income. To illustrate, if a family earns $50,000 a year, the standard would be $1 times 50, or $50 per week. This translates into approximately $2500 per year. We are asked to get into the habit of thinking in terms of what we can give per week. In this way, our giving goals become clear and attainable. Our Archdiocese has identified as the stewardship theme for 2006 the image of Christ the Sower, that is, the one who spreads the seed.

In a few days, you will be receiving a letter from the Cathedral's Stewardship Committee. The letter asks you to review your commitment and to adopt the goal of the standard of giving $1 a week per $1000 of annual income. We trust that you will give this your prayerful consideration. For, we are all called to continue to sow the seeds of our Faith and the Good News of our salvation in Christ.

CRAB FEED SOLD OUT

No sooner were letters and flyers mailed to our parishioners announcing the Crab Feed, which will take place Friday, January 20th, and inviting your participation, than, thanks to your overwhelming response, was completely sold out within two weeks! That's incredible. This is our 24th Annual Crab Feed, as you know, and a major fund raiser for the Philoptochos, which gives out over $25,000 a year in support to various charities and needy individuals. The cocktail reception will begin at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7:30 p.m. Attended parking will be available. We thank you for your overwhelming response, again this year.

ANGEL TREE PROJECT

The Angel Tree Project sponsored by the Ladies Philoptochos of the Cathedral was very successful and we wish to thank all parishioners who brought gifts for the children and those that gave money for our community outreach project.

The gifts were donated to FranDelJa Enrichment Center located at 950 Gilman Avenue in the Southeast region of San Francisco, which includes the communities of Bayview Hunter's Point/Double Rock, Visitacion Valley and Portero Hill. This center is a non-profit state licensed child development center serving children ages 0 to 13 years of age. The money which was donated will be used to purchase additional items that this center needs for their ongoing operations.

We feel that this was a most deserving center to donate the wonderful gifts which you the parishioners so generously gave towards this effort. As a new organization, FranDelJa offers a comprehensive program intent on meeting the needs of the children and families through primary preventive early intervention and additional support services. FranDelJa is a unique childcare agency in that FranDelJa is not only located in the community, it is the community.

We certainly hope that our parishioners feel that in someway they have made a difference in a young child's life by giving them a gift.

Again, thank you for supporting our Philoptochos in such a big way. Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year!

PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS VASILOPITA JANUARY 8

As we do every year, so also on Sunday, January 8th, Philoptochos is sponsoring the annual Vasilopita, or "St. Basil's bread." Named so after St. Basil the Great, one of the "three hierarchs," who lived in the 4th century, and whose Divine Liturgy we celebrate on his feast day, January the first, and on other solemn days during the year, Vasilopita contains a coin. Whoever finds the coin is said to be especially blessed during the New Year. The origin of inserting a coin into the bread goes back to St. Basil himself, who hid gold coins in bread and distributed the bread anonymously among the poor people in his Diocese in Cappadocia (the middle part of modern day Turkey). This enabled the poor girls in the Diocese to be married, since the gold coins provided the dowry, which a young girl was required to have, at that time, in order for her to be married.

This year the Philoptochos is sponsoring a brunch, following the Divine Liturgy. We invite you all to attend the brunch. The donation is $10 per person ($5 for children 12 and under). Proceeds of the brunch will go to support the students at St. Basil's Academy, which is located in Garrison, New York. Originally an orphanage, the institution, which is administered by our Archdiocese, is the property of the Philoptochos. The brunch, therefore, is worthy of our support.

ARCHDIOCESE ORATORICAL COMMITTEE TO MEET JANUARY 19

As reported in our December Herald, our Metropolis, and specifically, our Annunciation Cathedral, will host the 2006 Oratorical Festival, which will take place beginning Friday, June 2, with the arrival of finalists from throughout the country and their families, and ending Sunday, June 4, with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, a luncheon, and departure.

The finalists and their families will be housed at the Sheraton Hotel at Fisherman's Wharf and, following the Festival itself, which will take place at the Cathedral on Saturday, June 3, and a celebratory luncheon afterwards (both events open to the community), they will be taken on a tour of San Francisco and perhaps a boat cruise in the evening. On Friday, June 2, following their arrival, we will hold Vespers at Holy Trinity Church, San Francisco, followed by a meal and a social. On Sunday, June 4, the Divine Liturgy will take place at the Church of the Holy Cross, Belmont, followed by a luncheon and departure.

The initial committee consists of the following:

The next meeting of the committee will take place in the Cathedral's second floor conference room Thursday, January 19. If you wish to assist in the planning of this St. John Chrysostom Archdiocese Oratorical Festival, please speak with Father Stephen, following the Sunday Divine Liturgy or by calling him, at 415 864-8000.

DR. ANTON VRAME TO SPEAK AT CATHEDRAL MARCH 4

The Cathedral is pleased to announced that Dr. Anton Vrame, Ph.D., Director of the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute and Assistant Professor of Orthodox Christian Studies at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, will be our first Lenten series speaker this year. He will speak, following the Liturgy, on Saturday, March 4, on the general topic: What Does it Mean to Be Orthodox? The conference will take place, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with time for questions, discussion, and lunch. The donation will be $10, just to cover the cost of the lunch. We look forward to Dr. Vrame's speaking, and on a topic that is pertinent and vital, especially in our growing age of relativism and, simultaneously, religious indifference and even hostility on the one hand, and an ever more vocal religious right on the other.

Dr. Vrame is a native of Chicago, holding degrees from DePaul University (B.A.) and the University of Chicago (M.A.) A 1989 graduate of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (M.Div.), he worked as Associate Director of the Department of Religious Education, specifically focusing on the creation of the Living Our Orthodox Faith curriculum series as well as other projects. In 1997, he received the Ph.D. in Theology and Education from Boston College. He is the author of "The Educating Icon: Teaching Wisdom and Holiness in the Orthodox Way," editor of "The Orthodox Parish in America: Faithfulness to the Past, Responsible for the Future." He has published articles on issues in Christian Education in English and Greek in academic journals. He taught Christian education at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary. He is Vice President of the Orthodox Theological Society of America.

DIRECTORY

We thank you, our Cathedral parishioners, supporting businesses, and friends, for updating the information which will be included in our 2006 directory. The information has been forwarded to our Productive Printing for processing and printing. The 2006 directory, which will include your names, addresses, work/home phone numbers (no cell numbers), and E-mail addresses, will be forwarded to you within the next two weeks.

LEARNING COMMUNITY RESUMES JANUARY 19

Our Thursday evening study, begun by Father Paul Schroeder, is being continued by Father Stephen. Our theme for last semester's study has been "Building the New City." We focused on the Ten Commandments ("You shall have no other gods before me." Exodus 20:1-12) and the Beatitudes ("Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:1-12), reflecting on how these important texts from the Old and New Testaments might help us to envision and create a new world, a "new heaven and a new earth, where justice abides" (II Peter 3:13). We also read a book together: The Ladder of the Beatitudes by Jim Forest.

The class, along with Father Stephen, are in the process of formulating this semester's class. Needless to say, it will be as engaging as last semester's, since it involves not only study, but relating the Scripture to current events, scholarship, and research, and praying for ill and needy members of our immediate community, and beyond. Learning Community goes hand in hand with Community Link, an outreach program, whereby members visit home bound, hospitalized, and institutionalized parishioners.

REMARKS OFFERED BY FATHER STEPHEN AT ONE YEAR MEMORIAL FOR METROPOLITAN ANTHONY

Father Stephen was asked by Metropolitan Gerasimos to offer remarks following the Divine Liturgy, at the Monastery of the Theotokos, the Living Spring on the occasion of the one year memorial for Metropolitan Anthony of San Francisco. Following are his remarks in English.

To some of us he was brother, and uncle; to others, fellow hierarch and friend; to all of us our Metropolitan and spiritual Father. As we gather this first anniversary -save a week- of his passing, our thoughts are directed to that seminal scripture which defines the High Priest. In the fifth chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews, we read: "Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins." Here, the writer focuses not on the human nature of the hierarch, wrought, as it were, in the weakness of our humanity, but, rather, on the nature of service.

Metropolitan Anthony was "put in charge of things pertaining to God on our behalf, in order to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins." Does, then, his falling asleep end our relationship as brother or uncle or concelebrant or as children to their spiritual father? The writer to the Hebrews here quotes the Psalmist: (110.4) "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek." The writer enjoins it to underscore the eternal nature of the High Priesthood of Christ. But then he goes on to develop the belief that the earthly High Priest participates in the High Priesthood of Christ. And what shares defies, or survives, death. Love does that. Moreover, the Church infers from the total body of Scripture the continuance of life: indeed the Gospel read at funerals has Jesus speak of death as Metavasis, or Crossing Over, from death to life.

We can be reassured, therefore, that Metropolitan Anthony continues to pray on our behalf, to plead our case before the throne of God, in his own inimitable way, persevering to the end, until, so to speak, he gets his way, as he did in life. With this understanding, then, we hear the words of St. Paul in that earliest of Christian writings---his letter to the Thessalonians-exhorting us to grieve, but not as those who have no hope. It is hope that brings us to this sacred place of the living spring, which he established. Hope gathers us to pray for his soul, to ponder, as the preacher-poet John Donne observed in his 17th Meditation, "when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language," to pledge to continue the good fight. It is this we have endeavored to do this past year, to the best of our abilities, and with all the strength that God has given us. We are not bereft, Your Eminence. We were blessed to be his… And, now, with your coming, the Metropolis is blessed again, as it goes on to articulate new visions, for the glory of God's Holy Name.

May his memory be eternal, in our lives, as surely it is in God's, and may God grant you many years, that you may continue to teach aright the word of His Truth.

EDUCATION INTRODUCING THE ORTHODOX CHURCH RESUMES JANUARY 8

This course, which has resulted in a number of adult baptisms/chrismations, is being offered Sunday mornings 9-10 a.m. Father Stephen Kyriacou and Father Gregory Ofiesh teach this course alternately. We invite those who wish to explore, or learn more about the Orthodox Faith to attend these sessions. The sessions are required for those who wish to be received into the Orthodox Church through Baptism or, if already baptized in another church in the Name of the Holy Trinity, through chrismation.

FESTIVAL 2006: SAVE THE DATE

Our 2006 Food Festival will take place on our church grounds at 245 Valencia Street, San Francisco, Friday through Sunday, September 15, 16th and 17th. Foula Vasilogiorgis is this year's chairman. Let us all assist her in this monumental undertaking, for the benefit of our community. A planning meeting will be held Tuesday, January 24, at 7 p.m. in the second floor conference room.

SERVICE IN DECEMBER

BAPTISM

On December 4, the Feast of St. Barbara, Fatima Selim was received into the Church through Baptism and Chrismation. She has taken on the Christian name, Barbara.

Na mas zisi! (Long life!)

SUNDAY BIBLE STUDY - JANUARY 8

Our Sunday Bible Study, taught by Marina Taylor, following the Divine Liturgy, is an important ministry for our parishioners, particularly those whose native language is Greek. Since this study is held primarily in Greek, we invite those who wish to learn about our Faith in their native language, to attend this wonderful gathering of our faithful.

The topic for this term is an in-depth look at the Book of Revelation, also known as the Apocalypse. In addition to reading the text, the class explores interpretations of the text by the Church Fathers and how these may be applied to our modern day lives and to our faith.

"THANK YOU PHILOPTOCHOS"

In many instances, life is truly a paradox. Often times we work hard and receive nothing in exchange, only the knowledge that you tried. Here, at our beloved Annunciation, there has been one organization whose ministry stands out above all, and yet often times their charitable endeavors are presupposed.

Beginning with the Vasilopita and continuing through the Crab Feed, Easter, Festival, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, the contributions of our Philoptochos seem endless. Although we can never properly thank our "Friends Of The Poor" for their philanthropic deeds, the youth of the Annunciation would nevertheless like to acknowledge them with an "Appreciation Reception" on Saturday, March 4th. Cocktails and hors d’ouvres will commence at 5:00 pm followed by dinner at 6:15. A raffle, bingo, and other surprises are on our program. All Philoptochos members will be the "special guests of our youth.

If a Philoptochos member wishes to invite a friend, a $10.00 donation to defray costs will be appreciated.) For more information, please contact either Mike Canellos or Angie Leventis.

January 2006 Herald
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral.