In announcing the “Year of the Family,” Archbishop Demetrios stated, “Through this special emphasis on the family, our goal is both to affirm the importance of the family as a blessed gift of God and to address the specific needs of families as they try to live in a very challenging culture and world.  As Orthodox Christians we know that each and every family needs to be connected to the Church, a place where true relationships with God and one another are nurtured and sustained.  Thus, through this program we will be working to bring more aspects of our faith into the home and to bring more families into the Church.”

The theme for the “Year of the Family” will be “Family as Church,” a program that follows the biblical phrase used by the Apostle Paul, kat’oikon ecclesia, “the church in the home” (Romans 16:5, Colossians 4:15). In explaining the significance of the theme, Rev. Father Constantine Sitaras, coordinator of the Archdiocesan Center for Family Care, stated, “We know the early Christians met in homes for worship, teaching, and fellowship.  This undoubtedly formed a unique connection between Church and Family.  We hope to renew this relationship by showing families that the Church and its attributes are essential to the well-being of the family.”

To assist this effort, resources for use in the home and the parish are being prepared and distributed. One resource is a table prayer guide that encourages families to pray together. Another is a brochure on establishing a home iconostasion, a place for regular family and personal prayer. Parishes will receive resources for planning and conducting a monthly parish family night.  Further, regional retreats and one-day family conferences will be held throughout the year to provide additional support and training.  To distribute these and other resources, an extensive “Year of the Family” web site has been established at http://www.familyaschurch.org.  Currently, the site includes introductory material for the “Year of the Family,” and more resources will be added as they are produced or made available.

The “Year of the Family” is the first initiative of the Archdiocese toward the establishment of a national center for family care.  This major effort was announced by Archbishop Demetrios at the 2002 Congress in Los Angeles.  Following the Congress, the Archbishop appointed a Roundtable on the Family consisting of clergy, marriage and family specialists, physicians, and other professionals.  The Roundtable has met regularly over the past two years to plan and implement this national campaign.

For more information on the “Year of the Family” visit the web site at  http://www.familyaschurch.org or contact the Center for Family Care at 845-424-8175 or by email at familycare@goarch.org.

Contact: Rev. Fr. Constantine Sitaras
Center for Family Care
Tel. 845-424-8175
Email: familycare@goarch.org

The Gioles Scholarship Fund was established in 1997 with a generous gift in memory of George and Naouma Gioles.  At least three scholarships of $1500.00 each will be awarded for the 2005-06 academic year.

Applications are also being accepted for the Katina John Malta Scholarship Fund of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.  This fund was established in 2002 by means of a generous gift from the estate of Katina John Malta in recognition of the love Katina had for the Church and in honor of her desire to help others, especially children and youth.  For the 2005-06 academic year, at least two scholarships of $2000 each will be awarded.

Criteria and forms for both scholarships are available on-line at:

http://www.goarch.org/en/archdiocese/administration/chancellor/scholarships.asp

Applications are also available upon request from the Office of the Chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese by phone (212) 774-0513, by e-mail at scholarships@goarch.org, or by written request. Completed applications should be sent to the Gioles or Malta Scholarship Fund, c/o Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Office of the Chancellor, 8 East 79th Street, New York, NY  10021.  The deadline for applications is April 15.  Awards will be announced no later than May 31.

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

Share The Light Sunday
16 January 2005

To the Most Reverend Clergy, Venerable Monastics and The Devout Faithful of the Holy Orthodox Church in the Americas.

Dearly Beloved in the Lord,

Can any of us look at the world today, from international turmoil to personal tragedies in the lives of loved ones and neighbors, and not see that this world needs the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ?  Our Lord Jesus said that we who follow Him are “the light of the world.”  We are the reflected light of His glory, of His hope, of His love, to a world stumbling in the dark shadows of sin and sorrow.

But what happens when the world cannot see because the light is hidden?  More and more of our fellow human beings, persons created in the image of God, wander without a guiding Light to help them avoid the pitfalls of modern life.  No wonder Christ instructed us to never put our light “under a basket," but set it “on a lampstand” so that it will give its light to the whole house. We, the faithful of the Orthodox Church are called to not allow any hindrance to block the life-giving light of our Lord Jesus Christ from those who so desperately need it.

Because of the tools available to us today, we can let our light shine through the use of modern communications.  Our faithful are bombarded every day with messages from the media. Our Orthodox youth are shaped and informed by radio, TV, and the internet.  If our Church is habitually absent from these forms of communication, can we really hope to reach out to this culture with the light of Jesus Christ?

We Orthodox Christians in North America are some of the most privileged Christian believers in the world.  We can pick up and use the tools God has gifted to this world to share His eternal message of hope and love to the hurting and lost. That is why we have called on all our faithful to observe this special Share The Light Sunday.

For the past several years Orthodox Christian Networks has produced a weekly radio program called Come Receive The Light.  This program is helping us communicate the light of Christ to this age.  As the media outreach of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas, OCN is ready to spread love, joy, and hope in Jesus Christ by using the media to provide a witness for the Orthodox faith throughout North America.  Already, Come Receive The Light is heard in over 20 broadcast venues each week, encouraging faithful Orthodox listeners and enlightening those who are unaware of the Orthodox Christian faith.

This needs to be happening in every city in America, and that is why we have designated this Sunday to call on all the faithful to help us take the “basket” off the light of Orthodoxy.  On this Share The Light Sunday, we are convinced that, together, we can begin driving the darkness of doubt and confusion away, and create a way for all our faithful to be educated and encouraged. We can also create a way for anyone who hungers for the fullness of the faith to come to know the richness of Orthodox Christianity.  Please join us in creating and sustaining through your generous gifts and prayers a national media outreach for our Holy  Orthodox Church.

May Christ, our True Light, grant you His peace and salvation!

With Paternal love and devotion,

+Archbishop DEMETRIOS, Chairman   
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America   
    
+Metropolitan PHILIP, Vice Chairman   
Antiochian Orthodox Christian
Archdiocese of North America

+Metropolitan CHRISTOPHER, Secretary    
Serbian Orthodox Church in the USA and Canada

+Metropolitan NICHOLAS of Amissos, Treasurer  
American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox
Diocese in the USA  

+Metropolitan HERMAN
Orthodox Church in America  

+Archbishop NICOLAE
Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese
in America and Canada 

+Metropolitan JOSEPH
Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church

+Metropolitan CONSTANTINE 
Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA

+Bishop ILIA of Philomelion
Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America