Annunciation Cathedral Herald

Newly found original minutes dating back to 1921 detail the origins of the Cathedral! On May 19, 1921 the following individuals--Archimandrite Philaretos Joannides (our first Priest), D. Kapatos, Kokos, Chr. Antoniades, J. Jerome, D. Douvaras, G. Giannopoulos, K. Molakides, Chr. Catharios, D. Glafkides, Ch. Frangogiannis, I. Pantazopoulos, Chr. Saris, G. Karotakos, G. Evangelou, Th. Doumanis, S. Bonatsos, Emm. Vogiatzis, G. Meletopoulos, and Al. Alimisis, convened, for the first time as an Administrative Council, or Board, in San Francisco’s Phelan Building, and formally established the Cathedral. The meeting was chaired by no less than the man who a year later would become the Ecumenical Patriarch--Meletios Metaxakis. At the time, having been removed by the Greek monarchy as Archbishop of Athens, he was known as Metropolitan of Athens. In fact, he stayed in San Francisco at least until the end of June of 1921, during which time he presided over nineteen meetings of the Board. During this time, the community bought property on Hayes and Pierce Streets in San Francisco, built a temporary wooden church and school there, consecrated the church, and incorporated the entity as the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sophia, complete with by-laws, which are still preserved in the original Greek. Most of the early minutes are recorded by Germanos Polyzoides, who later became a Metropolitan of the Church. He was followed by the Reverend Pythagoras Caravellas, who became the Cathedral’s second Priest.

Taking the floor, His Eminence the President declares he is still moved by the establishment of the Church and School, during the banquet on May 17 at the Fairmont Hotel...He notes that the Community of San Francisco has been designated as the seat for the Diocese of San Francisco [covering] the Western States. It is for this reason that the Church to be established has been given the name Cathedral, as it comprises the center of spiritual worship for the surrounding parishes.

He notes, besides, that the establishment was necessitated by the nature of things, the fact that the City of San Francisco has 5-6 thousand Greeks. It is not a matter, he says, of dividing the Community, but rather of filling the present need, as it is becoming apparent at the present time. For the time being, two Churches in San Francisco are not a lot, taking into consideration that the more recent one will also be an educational center. Mr. Al. Alimisis reads a plan for incorporating, in English, and in Greek translation.

At its eighteenth session, on June 30, the Board adopted the Charter and a number of Articles, appended to it. This is what the text says:

Charter of the Religious Organization, the Greek Orthdoox Cathedral Church
St. Sophia in San Francisco.

Purpose
This organization is being founded in order to have and maintain a church in which Christ, the Wisdom and Power of God, is worshipped in accordance with the teachings and canons of teh Holy Eastern Orthodox Church, in the Greek language, in which the Holy Gospels and the remaining books of the New Testament were written, in order that it be the seat of the Greek Bishop, who will shepherd the Orthodox Greeks of San Francisco and all of California and the adjacent Greek Parishes and that it comprise the center of the ecclesiastical, educational, philanthropic and missionary movement of the entire Episcopal jurisdiction.

Article 48 is of special interest because it looks forward to the establishment of an Archdiocese, which was incorporated the following year. This article says, in its entirety, “ Especially for the sale, exchange or encumbrance of ecclesiastical real property, special approval by the Greek Archbishop of America is required for the decision of the Admin. Council [the Board]. The decision of the Admin. Council, in such a case, is legal when it is made by a majority vote of two-thirds of the twelve member Admin. Council.”

Then, article 51, which covers finances, notes that monies raised through fund raising, subscriptions, fees, tuitions, etc. “are devoted to the building of the church and its educational facilities and towards their maintenance and that of their personnel, for the celebration of divine worship, towards participation in the maintenance of the Bishop’s offices, for helping indigents, for the support of work connected with the strengthening of the Orthodox Faith and for philanthropy.”

While, it is clear from later records, that a bishop of San Francisco was not installed until the year 1927, when Bishop Callistos was named, the minutes offer irrefutable evidence that the Cathedral was established to be the seat of the Bishop of San Francisco. This is borne out by contemporary publications of the time, as the Greek newspapers, California, published by Anastasios Mountanos, and also Prometheus.

It is our intention to produce a facsimile edition of these early minutes, together with an English translation, while preserving them in their original state as well as on microfilm.

This is fascinating history, both because it accounts for the origin, the growth, and the development of our parish, but also for the Diocese, now the Metropolis of San Francisco.

(Click above to view this historical financial document. File size approximately 1mb)

SUSAN McLAUGHLIN NAMED WOMAN OF THE YEAR

She was born in San Francisco at St.Mary’s hospital, on March 22, 1960, the third of four children. She was baptized and raised primarily Irish Catholic. She was exposed to other cultures as well, her mother being half-Greek and half German. When she was a baby, she and her family moved to Marin County, but they still came to San Francisco often to visit her Irish Grandmother who lived in the Haight Ashbury.

She graduated from Novato High School, then worked and studied Dance in San Francisco. In 1985, she relocated to Montana to where her brother lived and attended the University there. Four years later, she received her Bachelors degree in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. She had always planned on returning to San Francisco after college, but during her senior year she was persuaded by a friend to spend a year in New York City. That October, she arrived in New York minutes after the Loma Prieta earthquake hit San Francisco.

While living and working in New York, she became more connected to her Greek heritage. She first visited Greece in 1992 and spent time with a friend who lived below the Mega Spileon Monastery near Kalavrita, a place she later learned was a stones throw from her Grandfather’s village of Derveni. Back in New York, she also became close to an extended Greek family and began attending baptisms and weddings, weddings and baptisms, celebrating Easters and becoming more exposed to the Christian Orthodox faith. Although she thrived in New York and her one year there grew to twelve, she never stopped missing the Bay Area and her family, so in 2001, two months before 9/11, she moved home.

She started attending Annunciation Cathedral in the late spring of 2002 and was immediately embraced by Annunciation’s warm community. She worked on the Stewardship committee, has helped with Marketing and Promotion for the festival for the past few years and currently serves as Recording Secretary for Philoptochos. On Sundays, she sings in the choir.

She came to the church as a Roman Catholic, but began Orthodox classes with Father Paul and last year, on Easter Saturday, she was Chrismated, choosing George Copolos and Gus Vouchilas as her God Fathers.

She often feels the warm presence of God in the Cathedral’s busy kitchen, whether she is getting a cup of coffee before services, or helping to prepare the food. She’s learned a lot from the many people who have always been so kind to her, teaching her faith while teaching her Greek cooking. She feels like an eternal beginner in her found faith, but continues to find strength and knowledge in the Scriptures, and notably through the grace and love of the Priests, the Presvyteres, and all of her fellow parishioners.

She’s grateful to her mother and her family and for her seed of Greek heritage planted by her Grandfather who was born on this day, March 25th, 110 years ago. She is also grateful to Angie and the Ladies Philoptochos who continue to teach and inspire her every day through their commitment and good works. AXIA!

On April 23rd, hundreds of millions of Orthodox Christians around the world will celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. We call it Pascha, which is a Hellenized way of saying Pesach, the Hebrew word, which means “Passover.” You recall how in the book of Exodus there is a description of how the angel of death “passed over” the houses of the Hebrews who had made the sign of the cross on with the blood of the lamb on their doorposts. Because the crucifixion of our Lord, as well as his burial and resurrection, took place around the time the Jews were celebrating Passover, these events were understood by the early Christians to mean that we, who believe that he is the Messiah, are now protected (saved, justified, sanctified) in him. In fact, St. Paul calls Christ “our Passover, who is sacrified for us” (1 Corinthians 5.7). And St. Paul goes on to say, in his letter to the Romans, “if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Romans 6.5). In other words, the events--his crucifixion, his burial, and his resurrection--are not just historical events; they usher in a new creation. Our existence becomes new, or renewed, because of them. Life takes on new meaning, and it is now sustained not just with knowledge about God, but by life in God. We call this “faith.”

When we say, Kali Anastasi, we do not just mean something like, “may we be well and celebrate April 23rd as a day of remembrance of the Resurrection.” No. We mean something more like, “may we celebrate April 23rd as a remembrance of how he who rose from the dead brings new life, to the world, and to me.” In this spirit, then, we wish you all, Kali Anastasi.

Noting the significance of the choice of San Francisco as the location of the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Church in the West, and the fact that Archbishop Demetrios of America will be on hand to mark the occasion, we have been given the use of City Hall on Sunday, November 12 (not November 11, as we had previously mentioned), for a gala celebration under its magnificent rotunda. Mark the date on your calendars, and do plan to be with us to celebrate this historic day.

A committee has come together to plan the event itself and all that goes into making for a memorable evening, including food, program, entertainment, invitations, logistics, protocol, and the like. The committee, coordinated by Father Stephen, consists of three co-chairs--Tom Nuris, President of our Parish Council, Angie Leventis, President of the Cathedral’s Philoptochos, and Patricia Aleck, who has served as Past Parish Council President, and is a member of our Philoptochos Board. They will each chair specific areas and, together, will oversee all aspects of the event. They invite your participation and involvement.

Toward this end, a sign-up sheet is being circulated following the Divine Liturgy on Sundays. With your input, we can make this an extraordinary event, one our children, and their children, will be talking about when they sit down, some day, to write the history of what we did, in our time, to nurture and perpetuate our Greek Orthodox faith and heritage, our own legacy to them and to coming generations.

Our 85th anniversary, then, is a celebration, of our Past, our Present, and our Future! Just as the present is impacted by what our founders did for us, so, what we do here and now will chart the course of those who will follow us. Happy anniversary!

Last month, the Cathedral Philoptochos put forth a paragraph or two describing the varioius ways in which Philoptochos helps people. And this they do. They did not recite a litany of charities which they support for a pat on the back, nor to let the “left hand know what the right hand is doing,” so to speak, but to share with all of you the joyful and fulfilling way they follow Christ’s mandate to “feed the hungry, and clothe the naked.”

We often say, an Orthodox church community is as vibrant as its Philoptochos. And the Cathedral’s is vibrant, indeed. In addition, Philoptochos is in the forefront of many community events and undertakings. In our case, Philoptochos raised $1 million towards the rebuilding of our facilities following the 1989 earthquake. We are fortunate, indeed, and we invite all women of the parish to become a part of Philoptochos. On Sunday, April 2, His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos, Valerie Roumeliotes, the President and other Members of the Metropolis Philoptochos Board are hosting a tea at the Metropolis House, 372 Santa Clara Avenue, San Francisco, 2-6 p.m. to welcome new members and to further explain the work of Philoptochos to prospective members. (This is similar to what the Cathedral Philoptochos did during the month of February during its membership drive.)

We look forward to seeing you there. Meanwhile, please note the following meetings and activities of the Annunciation Cathedral Philoptochos.

(All events and meetings take place at the Cathedral, unless otherwise noted.) Plan to participate in as many as you can and to assist in any way you can.

Youth hosts and Philoptochos honorees seated at the “Tribute to Philoptochos” Dinner held on March 4th, and hosted by the Cathedral GOYA.

You are cordially invited, and encouraged, to attend this year’s Independence Day Hellenic Cultural Celebration and Parade on the occasion of the 185th anniversary of Greek Independence, on Saturday, April 1. The schedule of events is as follows: 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. The Parade, from Market and Mason Streets, San Francisco, to City Hall; 1:30-3:30 p.m. Celebration/Reception, City Hall, North Light Court.

The parade and the reception are free of charge. As for parking, the committee suggests using the Civic Center Plaza underground garage. Shuttle buses from City Hall to the parade site at Market and Mason Streets will run from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. For further information concerning the parade, please contact Lou Eleopoulos or Margo Drosos. For information concerning the overall program, please contact Ted Laliotis.

Parishioners of the Annunciation Cathedral are invited to attend a Parish Assembly to be held Sunday, April 2, 2006, following the Divine Liturgy.

The Agenda for the Assembly is as follows:

As noted in the Regulations of the Archdiocese, only parishioners in good standing may participate in the Parish Assembly. A quorum consists of 12 members of the Parish Council, 12 additional parish members, plus the Dean. If 12 members of the Parish Council are not present, then a quorum consists of a total of 75 parishioners in good standing, whether or not they serve on the Parish Council. The Assembly is scheduled to last no more than one hour.

Community Link is a ministry of the Annunciation Cathedral focusing on community building and outreach.

What We Do
We prepare food together, pray, share a potluck meal together, then go out to the homes of those who would like to receive a visit.

Who We Visit
Our visits include people experiencing isolation because of age or illness, undergoing a particularly stressful time due to the death of a loved one or loss of a job, or celebrating a joyful occasion, such as the birth of a child.

An Expanding Circle of Care
The idea underlying “Community Link” is an “expanding circle of care.” We began by focusing on the needs of our own Cathedral community and will expand that circle of love and concern outward to include people outside our church community, seeking to respond to Christ's call to show love and mercy to our neighbors.

How do I request a visit?
If you or someone you know would like to receive a visit, please call Irene Avdoulos, our visitation coordinator. Or, you can contact the Cathedral Office at (415) 864-8000. All calls will be handled with confidentiality and sensitivity to your privacy.

How do I get involved?

Anyone who is interested in volunteering should phone or email Caroline Pappajohn cpappajohn@yahoo.com.

Community Link 2006 Schedule (meet 10am at the Annunciation Cathedral Kitchen)

SUNDAY, APRIL 9 IS GODPARENT SUNDAY: AFFIRMATION, FOLLOWED BY FELLOWSHIP LUNCHEON

Each year, over the last several years, our Stewardship Committee hosts a most meaningful event. It is called “Godparent Sunday.” It is a designated Sunday, when individuals come to church with those who baptized them, i.e. their Godparents, or with those whom they baptized, i.e. their Godchildren. Together, they participate in the Divine Liturgy, recite the Symbol of the Faith, i.e. what they believe--the Nicene Creed, which is also recited at the time of Baptism. Just before receiving Holy Communion, they affirm, as they did at the time of Baptism: “I renounce Satan...I have been joined to Christ.” In short, they renew their sacred bonds, which they forged at the Baptismal Font, and which they continue to cultivate throughout their lives.

Following the Divine Liturgy, a lenten luncheon will take place in our Korinthias Center, a further opportunity for bonding and fellowship. The event is open to all and is free of charge. Avail yourselves of the opportuntiy of worshiping together as Godparents and as Godchildren, as we prepare to enter that most holy time of year, for, on the 16th is Palm Sunday, followed by Holy Week, and the Great and Holy Pascha.

It may only be April, but plans are under way to to make this year’s Festival a memorable event. Last month’s Herald asked, “Are you ready? Are you able? Are you willing? To get involved in the planning of this year’s festival?” A number of you responded to this appeal and a) came to the Festival meeting March 21st with ideas about the delineation of the various sub-committees and also how to promote and put on a wonderful event, keeping what is tried and true, while at the same time, incorporating new items, and b) went up to Foula Vasilogiorgis, our 2006 Festival chairman and offered your assistance.

Some of the items are now pretty routine--getting licenses, ordering equipment, getting the basic committees in place, such as food, pastries, bar, souvenir book, cash registering, wine tasting, raffle--while some are more challenging--publicity, advertising, volunteers, events to attract teens, new food items, and so on. A Food Festival is, after all, a community undertaking. We are confident that you will respond, as you always have in the past, with enthusiasm and with optimism, particularly in this, our 85th anniversary year.

Sign-up sheets will be circulated during the coffee hours, following the Divine Liturgy, through May. We invite your participation. Meanwhile, the next meeting of the Food Festival Committee will take
place at the Cathedral, Tuesday, May 2, at 7:00 p.m. We look forward to seeing you.

On March 25th, at the patronal feast day celebration of Annunciation Cathedral, His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco appointed our own John Michael Boyer as Protopsaltis, or First Cantor of the Metropolis of San Francisco.

John will be heading up a new ministry of the Metropolis: the St. John Koukouzelis Institute for Liturgical Arts. One of the activities of this ministry will be a series of week-long workshops in Byzantine Chant, held at St. Nicholas Ranch and Retreat Center. The first such workshop will take place August 6th – 12th of this year.

We wish John all the best as he embarks on this most important ministry of the Church. Axios!

As many of you may know, I have recently started working as Pastoral Assistant and Director of Program Development here at the Annunciation. One part of my responsibilities here is to act as Director of Liturgy, that is, to schedule, facilitate and coordinate the various elements of the liturgical life of our community: the choir and cantors, the acolytes, the clergy, and the materials and supplies needed for a full liturgical life to flourish. Although the Cathedral has accrued many of these materials and supplies over the years, we are still in need of some very important things. We are looking for some members of the community to come forward and donate the funds necessary for the following items:

Also, as part of the continual strengthening of our music program, I am in the process of writing and compiling the music books, both in Greek and English, needed for the singing of all of the services of the Church. This is a long process of writing, formatting, printing and binding, and requires much time and effort, not to mention resources. Anyone willing to donate either time or funds for this process would be greatly appreciated.

Wishing you all a blessed remainder of Great Lent, and a most joyous Pascha, in Christ,

John Michael Boyer

Dr. Anton Vrame speaking on "What Makes Us Orthodox" at the Cathedral March 4th, 2006.