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Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church

501 West 27th St Cheyenne WY, 82001

(307) 635-5929 office@cheyennegoc.org

www.orthodoxcheyenne.org

Father Jason Dickey

In This Issue:

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TRANSCENDEN-

TAL REALITY

Orthodox

Demonology

Stewardship

DELUDED TO WOR-

SHIP SATAN?

A FEW WORDS

FROM SAINT NES-

TOR

Community Snap-

shots

TRANSCENDENTAL

REALITY "The savage in man is never quite

eradicated” wrote a local author as he questioned what was worse, the dead rising from their graves and attacking their loved ones, or the families of the dead, desecrating their corpses in order to prevent them from turning into vampires.

When and where do you think this

took place? Did it happen in some

remote corner of Eastern Europe?

Did it happen in the dark ages?

Maybe this incident never hap-

pened, and it was the inspiration for

Bram Stoker’s Dracula, or some

modern day teenage vampire dra-

ma?

This incident happened in 1859.

The local author was Henry David

Thoreau, and believe it or not, be-

tween 1799 and 1892, there was a

widespread panic in response to

what historians now call the “New

England Vampire Scare” that took

place throughout Massachusetts,

Vermont, Connecticut, and Rhode

Island.

Were the Salem Witch Trials not exciting enough for New Englanders? Historians now believe that people were suffering from con-sumption (tuberculosis), and that their misinformed relatives respond-ed in a way that was perhaps more

unhealthy than the disease itself. I could go into more details but I won’t – not even for Halloween’s sake!

We can laugh about how in these particular cir-cumstances, the savage in man had not been eradicat-ed. However, think about the times in which they lived. The country was also about to engage in a war that would kill

about 750,000 people. At the time, it

was also legal to own people. Why am I bringing up such odd

and scary things? First of all, Hal-

loween is coming up! Second of all,

whether it’s crazy New Englanders

like myself, or people who lived in

the 19th century, it’s very easy to

assume that we’re better off than

other people are when in fact “the

savage” in all of us “is never quite

eradicated.”

Grave robbers & Canon Law There’s more to the circumstanc-

es of our lives than meets the eye!

The Holy Canons of the Church,

much like our fears of monsters are

often thought to be irrelevant.

Continued on page 7...

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Office HoursFr. Jason’s Office Hours are:

Mon-Thurs (9am-4pm)

Father Jason can be reached on his cell phone (219) 895-0626 after business

hours in the event of a pastoral emergency. Please call the church for

all other matters.

Pastoral Visits“I didn’t want to bother the Priest” is never a valid excuse for not calling Fr. Jason for a pastoral emergency! Did you ever think that it might bother the priest when you don’t call?

Pastoral visits and phone calls are not only vital to those who are in need of pastoral care, but they are vital to the life of our parish.

Call the Church Office or call Fr. Jason’s emergency cell phone number and let him know! You can also ask your family members, a social worker, or your Hospital’s Chaplain services to notify the Church so that they can inform Father Jason that you are in need of pastoral care.

We must pray and support one another in every way possible. If you know of someone who is in need of pastoral care, please en-courage them (or their designated caregiver to call the Church office or Fr. Jason’s emergen-cy cell phone number).

Also, if you have a scheduled surgery or a Dr. appointment, please ask Fr. Jason for the sacrament of Holy Unction following Divine Liturgy or during his office hours throughout the week.

Home Visits

The Sacrament of Confession

Confession is a necessary element of our personal healing, and for the repentance and forgiveness of sins. It’s also a vital element of our Lord’s Commission to us as Orthodox Christians for the life and growth of the Church.

Please speak to Fr. Jason in order to make the necessary arrangements for the sacrament of confession. He is also available on Tuesdays, unless called to a pastoral emergency.

Do you or anyone else know of someone who needs a home visit due to health reasons, or just be-

cause they need someone to talk to? Please call Fr. Jason or ask our Ladies Philoptochos in order to

schedule a pastoral visit.

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Orthodox

Demonology 101 By St. John of Damascus

He who from among the angelic powers was set over the earthly

realm, and into whose hands God committed the guardianship of the earth, was not made wicked in na-ture but was good, and made for good ends, and received from his

Creator no trace whatever of evil in himself. But he did not sustain the brightness and the honor which the Creator had bestowed on him, and of his free choice was changed from what

was in harmony to what was at variance with his nature, and became roused against God Who created him, and determined to rise in rebellion against Him: and he was the first to de-part from good and become evil. For evil is nothing else than absence of goodness, just as

darkness also is absence of light. For goodness is the light of the nous, and, similarly, evil is the darkness of the nous. Light, therefore, being the work of the Creator and being made good ("For God saw all that He made, and behold they were exceedingly good." - Genesis 1:31) produced darkness at his free-will. But along with him an innumerable host of angels subject to him were torn away and followed him and shared in his fall. Wherefore, being of the same nature as the angels, they became wicked, turning away at their own free choice

from good to evil.

Hence they have no power or strength against any one except what God in His dispensation has conceded to them, as for instance, against Job (Job 1:12) and those swine that are men-tioned in the Gospels (Mark 5:13). But when God has made the concession they do prevail,

and are changed and transformed into any form whatever in which they wish to appear.

Of the future both the angels of God and the demons are alike ignorant: yet they make predic-tions. God reveals the future to the angels and commands them to prophesy, and so what

they say comes to pass. But the demons also make predictions, sometimes because they see what is happening at a distance, and sometimes merely making guesses: hence much that

they say is false and they should not be believed, even although they do often, in the way we have said, tell what is true. Besides they know the Scriptures.

All wickedness, then, and all impure passions are the work of their mind. But while the liberty to attack man has been granted to them, they have not the strength to over-master anyone: for we have it in our power to receive or not to receive the attack. Wherefore there has been prepared for the devil and his demons, and those who follow him, fire unquenchable and ev-

erlasting punishment (Matthew 25:41).

Note, further, that what in the case of man is death is a fall in the case of angels. For after the fall there is no possibility of repentance for them, just as after death there is for men no re-

pentance.

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Stewardship

Where there is no vision, the people perish —Proverbs 29:18

It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!

The “Great Pumpkin” first appeared in

Charles Schultz’ “Peanuts” Comic Strips in

1960. Who was he? We never really found out.

According to Linus, he was a mysterious

Pumpkin, was supposed to rise from a pump-

kin patch, and deliver toys to boys and girls on

the night of Halloween. The only problem was

that unlike Santa, he never followed through

with his plan. By the time Charles Schulz re-

posed in 1999, the Great Pumpkin hadn’t lived

up to Linus’ expectations.

Believe it or not, the first theology book that

your priest ever read was a book called “The

Gospel According to Peanuts” by Martin Short

from the library at Ft. Bragg North Carolina.

The second he ever read was “The Parables of

Peanuts.” Trust me, there’s a lot we can learn

from the Great Pumpkin!

Schultz who was a devout Christian was not

only trying to show us how the Great Pumpkin

represents our expectations of God, but how

we do so with a material and consumerist pos-

ture.

Linus was of-

ten the most

reasonable

and pious of

the peanuts

gang. Yet, the

idea of a res-

urrected

pumpkin who

showers us with gifts on the night of Hallow-

een suddenly kicks all reason and piety out the

door! It’s also a complete perversion of the na-

ture of God, His resurrection in Jesus Christ,

and how we are rewarded by His blessings in

our lifetime.

The process of Great Pumpkin gift giving

even differs from Santa Clause insofar that

children don’t have to be good or believe. The

only requirement to receive material wealth is

good intentions.

GOOD

GRIEF OR

BAD GRIEF?

Because of

our expecta-

tions towards

God, the stress

that we create

in our lives is

often very

similar to Li-

nus’. In the words of Charlie Brown: “GOOD

GRIEF!”

Or is it “BAD GRIEF?” The Great Pumpkin

never came. Even though he was rational and

pious throughout most of his daily life, and

had the most sincere intentions with regards to

what the Great Pumpkin would do for him, Li-

nus’ hopes, and his expectations of material

gain were dashed.

It’s not like he didn’t try! Linus worked his

tail off! Had he been waiting for the right

thing, he would probably be considered the pa-

tron saint of patience.

There is prosperity to the message of salva-

tion, but it is attained through sacrifice as op-

posed to entitlement. God expects us to give,

not to receive.

“Rich men have been turned away, and

have been sent away empty. But those who

seek the Lord, shall never be in want of any

good thing!”

With God’s help, and with a greater vision of

His plan for the salvation of the world, may

we keep our lamps lit for when Christ our

bridegroom appears.

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With God’s help we can...

Take time to participate in the min-istries of the Church that we are in-terested in

Learn about the ministries that aretaking place at our Church - even ifwe do not have time to participatein them

Invite people to Church!!!

Take time to introduce yourself tonewcomers

Attend services at Saints Constan-tine and Helen that you don’t nor-mally attend

Learn more about and participatein the Stewardship Program atSaints Constantine and Helen

Learn more about our investmentportfolios from our financial advi-sors

Contribute to our All Saints Foun-dation

Find out more about our plannedgiving program from the Depart-ment of Stewardship, Outreach,and Evangelism

Learn more about our parish’s fi-nancial assets from our parishcouncil and finance committee

As a parish family, we will do far greater

things than simply keep our doors open. With

Christ in our lives, we can serve as a beacon of

light for all who are seeking salvation in Jesus

Christ.

The Numbers are Coming in

As of Halloween a total of 98 families (154

stewards) have pledged $100,000.00 for the

year 2014.

We have surpassed of our goal for our annual

budget of $96,235.00. We have also collected

$79,255.75 in stewardship pledges for the

year. We have done so because of the love and

dedication of our parish family!

The life and ministries of Saints Constantine

and Helen Greek Orthodox Church depends

on God. However, we need to cooperate with

God in order for His purpose in our lives to be

fulfilled here in Cheyenne, and throughout the

world.

If you have not yet pledged for 2014, please take the time to prayerfully do so.

Get Ready for our upcoming Stew-ardship Campaign for 2015!

Your Stewardship Committee

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Deluded To Worship Satan?

Saint Iakovos had such love for Christ, and so little regard for the things of this world, that he liquidated his entire estate and gave the proceeds to the poor without spending any of the money on himself. He gave him-self over to a life of poverty, fasting and pray-er. His life won him the praise of the people. Later, instead of closing his ears to this praise, he fell into a demonic temptation and became very proud. He would say, "Who knows better than I do, concerning my own salvation?" Following his own self-will and personal preferences, he lived in sol-itude and undertook difficult struggles without first seeking the advice of wise and experi-enced ascetics. This was diagnosed to be his downfall.

While in solitude with a puffed up ego, a de-mon appeared to him in the guise of an an-gel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). He told Iakovos that Christ was very pleased by his labors and that he was an equal of the Apos-tle Paul, and therefore he would come that night to reward him. "Clean your cell," the demon said, "and make ready by lighting the lamps and burning incense."

The foolish Iakovos, in his delusion, accept-ed all of this without question. When Satan came at midnight, Iakovos opened his door and fell down in worship before him. Satan mocked him and struck him on the head, then vanished after Iakovos made the sign of the Cross.

Iakovos fell into despair and at dawn went to visit a certain Elder to tell him what had happened. Be-fore Iakovos could speak a single word, the Elder said, "You must leave this place, for you have been deceived by Satan."

Iakovos was heartbroken and wept bitter tears. The Elder also advised him to go to a cenobitic mon-astery, which he did. There he fulfilled his obedience in the trapeza with great humility and obedi-ence. Then for seven years he sat in his cell working at some handicraft, and fulfilling his Rule of prayer.

St. Iakovos acquired the gift of discernment, learned the straight and narrow path of God, and be-came a great wonderworker for being an example of humility. He completed the course of his life in peace.

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Continued from page 1.

Yet, so many circumstances and conflicts in our lives, often stem from the belief in things that do not exist,

and our decision to act upon them it in a way that separates ourselves from God,

and one another.

For example, Saint Nikodemos in his commentaries of Saint Basil’s 66th Canon al-

so mentions vampire mania! But in his day, they were called “vrykolakas.” As a

matter of fact, they still are!!!

Why was Nikodemos concerned about human behavior in response to vampire

mania? It’s because he saw people acting in response to things that weren’t real.

As a result, he saw that the devil was obsessing them with the very thing that peo-

ple thought that they were reacting to – evil.

This is why Nikodemos criticized people who chose fear of vrykolakas over a healthy fear of God and the real circumstances from which He saves us from.

It’s kind of creepy. When we react to something that we believe is bad, and doesn’t

even exist, we will ultimately end up imitating it. God needs us to base our actions

on reality.

Mercy Brown was the

most well known and

last documented New

England “vampire” in

1892.

A FEW WORDS FROM SAINT NESTOR

Like everything that we encounter in our world today,

Halloween is what we decide to make of it! If you’re

like me, if you see something that scares you, you’ll

overcome it with the help of God. When God helps you,

you’ll find joy in the Lord, and with his saints who bless

us! Thank GOD!!!

On Saturday, October 25th from

4pm to 8pm, join St. Macrina’s

Academy, our Parent Teacher Organization, and all

of our young people for a retreat, and plenty of fun

while we learn about the Warrior

Saints of the Orthodox Church!

Join me, Sts. George, Demetrios,

Callistratus, and others as we learn

how to fight evil. We know what we’re talking about!

We’ve defeated bad guys and dragons in the arena. We

were even on horse back before cowboys made it cool!

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Community Snapshots!