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1 THE SHEPHERD • MARCH 2024 • SAINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF SAN DIEGO FROM THE DESK OF FATHER ANDREW www.theshepherdnews.com The Shepherd Newsletter My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The first Sunday of Great and Holy Lent (Sunday, March 24th) is called The Sunday of Ortho- doxy. This Sunday celebrates the restoration of our holy icons back into our homes and our churches. During the 8th and 9th centu- ries, there were those called Iconoclasts who (wrongly) taught that icons were considered to be “graven images.”The Iconoclasts likened the veneration and honor given to an icon to the worshipping of idols. Nothing could be further from the truth. The debate became fierce and even bloody. Besides others, Saint John of Damascus was instrumental in help- ing the Seventh Ecumenical Council in 787 AD decide the correct place and understand- ing of the holy icons. In his statement, he marks the difference between the words ven- eration and worship . St. John uses two Greek words to help him accent the difference be- tween the words veneration and worship. The Greek word proskynesis is a general term and is used to show honor or veneration toward a person or thing, like an icon. The Greek word latreia is a specific word and is used to denote the worship due only to the “Most High God.” We give honor and venerate our icons, but we worship only God. We know that up until Christ, God had not been seen. He was not visible to human eyes and therefore could not be depicted or paint- ed. However, with the birth of Christ, man is able to see his God. Through the Incarnation, God took on flesh in the form of Jesus Christ and thus made Himself visible. Therefore, man has seen God and is permitted to depict him in the sacred icons. The same holds true concerning the figures of the Theotokos and of the Saints of the Church. The honor and veneration, though not worship, offered to the icons of Christ, the Theotokos, and the Saints is recognized as being transmitted to the prototypes of those icons. Thus, through the honor and veneration giv- en to the icon, it is given not to the wood, the paint, or the mosaic but to the person or the event that icon depicts. The Seventh Ecumenical Council relates this truth as fol- lows: “The honor rendered to the icon is in effect transmitted to the prototype; he who venerates the icon, venerates in it the reality for which the icon stands.” The icons of the Church have been around for a long, long time. One of the main purposes of an icon was and is to teach the faithful the truths of the Church. This is why icons have been called “books of the illiterate.” Thus, the icons of the Church help to properly instruct the faithful about God’s saving plan, which includes Christ, the Theotokos, and the Saints of the Church. The images and events depicted on the icons help relate a scriptur- al truth about God and his attempts to save mankind. From the book of Hebrews Saint Paul writes “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses...” That cloud of witness is the Saints of the Church: those who “gave their whole life to Christ our God.” They gave their lives to the building of churches, monasteries, and hospitals. They spent their days feeding the poor and cloth- ing the naked; living the practical and spiri- tual call of Jesus Christ. Some even became Martyrs , who paid the ultimate price because they would not deny Christ. They stood firm in their belief, and let their blood flow to the ground as a witness to that faith. Throughout the ages and even today Ortho- dox Christians reap the benefits of the Ecu- menical Council’s findings. With the use of icons, we are reminded in a real way that we The Shepherd The official newsletter publication for the parish of Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church of San Diego I S S U E 3 3 4 • MA R C H 2 0 2 4 continues 2 IN THIS ISSUE FR. ANDREW ............................................. p. 1 PRESIDENT OF THE PARISH COUNCIL, WOMEN OF THE WORD........................... p. 2 DIVINE SERVICES, HOLY SACRAMENTS, MEMORIALS, NEWS FROM THE LOFT, BIRTHS, SENIORS ......................................p. 3 YOUTH MINISTRIES ................................. p. 4 GREEK LANGUAGE SCHOOL ................ p. 5 DANCE & CHORAL .................................. p. 7 BOOKSTORE .............................................. p.8 PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS .......................... p. 9 PARISH CALENDAR ................................. p. 10 STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE .................. p. 11 CONTACT INFORMATION....................... p. 12 Daylight Savings Time begins SUNDAY MARCH 10 at 2 AM (clocks ahead 1 hour) spring forward! don’t forget to ...