Welcome to the Ss. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Pacific Website
Services Schedule
Sundays: Orthros (Matins):8:15 AM | Divine Liturgy: 9:30 AM (Fellowship follows in our Social Hall)
"Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God." - Romans 15:7
Through this web site, we are pleased to be able to introduce you to that same worship and fellowship as it is expressed in the life of our Parish. If you are a new member of our parish, or are considering membership, these web pages will acquaint you with what our parish offers to those who give it support and sustenance; to those who already belong to the church, we hope they will provide you with the assurance that your sacrificial offerings are received with profound respect, and are utilized to maximum effectiveness. They will, in any case, enable you to make the informed decisions that are necessary for a meaningful relationship with your church.
The Theophany of Jesus Christ
My Dear Spiritual Ohana,
I extend to all of you my “best wishes” for a Happy but not too happy, Healthy and Fruitful New Year as we “ring in” 2016! Why do I say “not too happy?” St. Paisios of Mount Athos says states very beautifully why. He says: “I wish you many years — but not for them to be too happy, because happiness in the world isn’t really so healthy. When a man is too happy in this world, he forgets God and forgets death.” So the answer is that we could easily forget God when all is going too well and forget that our lives on this earth are meant to be only temporary.
As is with every year, we close out the previous year and have new beginnings with 2016. There is a “bitter-sweet” feeling as we commend 2015 into the past and into history. In 2015, as a faith community, we experienced an array of joyful times, sad times, triumphs, disappointments, health, health challenges, etc. These are all part of life!
What spectacular 50th Anniversary Celebrations we had in 2015! I will never forget the special year we celebrated at our Cathedral. I’m sure that it will remain a very significant memory in many of our lives.
To all our dearly beloved who had many health and physical challenges, it has been an honor to pray with you, to anoint you and be with you during those times. I have seen the Glory of God working in your lives, witnessing from time to time, God bringing needed healing, as He wills, to whom He chooses to, often with the help of Panagia’s intercessions and prayers.
In this 2016 year, it is my continued hope and desire for all of us to grow in our relationship with our Loving God, connecting with Him Who gives us our ultimate purpose and meaning for existing and Who is our Source of Life and Fulfillment. Our relationship with Him ought not to remain static, distant and disconnected, but to be dynamic, ever moving from “glory to glory,” growing closer and closer to Christ.
I have resolved in this 2016 Year to make specific improvements, tweaks and adjustments in attempts to benefit all of you. It is my desire in my ministry to you that we work in synergy with one another toward being involved and invested in the ministries of our faith, that is, to use our God-given gifts and talents to help one another grow together in Christ. I would like us to explore, encounter and perhaps rediscover, especially, the depth and meaning of the Divine Liturgy and various aspects of our worship and faith through sermons, messages and sharing in fellowship.
One of my immediate goals, beginning this month, is to change the appointed time of my sermons to be right before Holy Communion so that I can reach and speak to more of you than I have been able to, than when I spoke after the reading of the Holy Gospel. I feel it is very crucial for me, unworthy as I am, to help foster, within each and every one of you, a relationship with God which is very connected and very real. I truly want each of you to know what your purpose and meaning are as being part of the Body of Christ, His Church!
I list a few achievable goals for us in 2016:
- Comprehend the depth and meaning of the Divine Liturgy
- Youth Groups to be active and for young people to connect
- Adult Religious Education to continue 10 Point Program with Fr. Alex, start a new series of classes led by Dr. Robert Arakaki (his Biblical Basis Series was exceptional), allow others to teach
- Altar Boy Recruitment & Training
- Chant Group Development
- Ministry Teams & Strategic Planning Implementation
With Love & Service in Christ,
+Fr. Alexander
Extra Extra Read All About it…
Click on the following graphic to access monthly & weekly bulletins & calendars.
To receive your bulletin electronically, simply send an e-mail to the Church Office, at: office@greekorthodoxhawaii.org with “Bulletin Electronic Subscription” in the subject line.
Note: A limited number of bulletins will also be available in the narthex for our visitors and parishioners who want a printed copy. Due to postage increases Shorelines will no longer be mailed.
Aloha Choir and Nisiotes Dancers of Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral Fundraiser
Taso Comanescu
- Date: Saturday, July 10, 2016
- Place: Chirgotis Social Hall of Ss. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church
- Time: 2:00 PM
Aloha Choir Concert
Congratulations - FDF Winners
Congratulations to Ss. Constantine & Helen's Nisiotopoula Dancers and Aloha Youth Choir! The Nisiotopoula Dancers won the Founders Award in the Senior Division. Aloha Choir placed 2nd in Division II and director Stelio Scordilis won Choral Director of the Year.
Liberation through Great Lent
The leader of a Makiki church says fasting is not about obsessing over rules By Pat Gee
Honolulu Advertiser March 8, 2014
Giving up chocolate or taking on more Bible study during Lent are common sacrifices for Christians during 40 days of Sacrifices of treats and time take willpower. Still, they're a bit lightweight compared with the lenten fasting and other rigors Eastern Orthodox Christians shoulder to underscore the importance of Christ's resurrection to their faith.
Even so, the Rev. Alexander Leong, the new head of Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Pacific emphasizes that his church's strict no-meat diet "exists to liberate us and set us free, and not to restrict us."
Leong, who came from California to head the Makiki church in September, said, "Fasting is seen as a tool to bring us closer in relationship to God, to place our dependence in him, to curb the sinful impulses of the flesh, to be kind and charitable to our fellow human beings."
The Orthodox Church calls this season Great Lent, which began this week with Clean Monday (to denote a new beginning). Western churches, including the Roman Catholic and mainstream Protestant churches, began Lent with Ash Wednesday this week. Easter will fall on the same day this year — April 20 — for both churches. Eastern churches use the Julian calendar, while Western churches follow the Gregorian/international civil calendar.
Leong said in addition to not eating any animal protein, church members are asked to eliminate fish, dairy products, oil and wine. Oil and wine are permitted on Saturdays and Sundays, however. Forty days of Great Lent fasting ends April 11, right before Holy Week, but there are other kinds of fasts until Easter, he added.
"The danger of fasting is you can become too focused on the rules" and the temptation to "show off," he said, noting that fasting should be quietly personal and dependent on one's health.
Great Lent is "filled with many beautiful services," which are longer, held more frequently and stress incorporating substance and solemnity.
During the lenten season, each Sunday service follows a theme focusing on messages to pray more, give extra to charity and forgive one another, he said. Every Friday evening, the Akathist Hymn is sung while "you're standing for one hour. People love that service" because it praises the Virgin Mary, who "holds a special place in our hearts."
Prodded on by a jam-packed schedule, Leong said, "the 40 days seems to go too fast. It's a joyful celebration. I kinda miss all those services when it's over."
Leong first experienced Pascha, the church's term for Easter, as a 15-year-old and found the elaborate two-hour service enchanting.
"What struck me about the Greek Orthodox Church was the richness of the worship. All the five senses are used, and your whole being is involved in worship."
Leong continued, "What really impressed me was how we greet each other with the words, ‘Christ the Lord is risen,' and then, ‘Truly is risen' is the response," he said. The congregation also sings the hymn "Christ the Lord Is Risen," and "everybody has lit candles and we proclaim Christ's victory over death."
Leong added that so much of Orthodox liturgy language is put in the present tense, instead of the past tense, so congregation members feel like they are part of an event that is actually happening.
A favorite Easter custom shared by Western and Orthodox churches is the dyeing of eggs, the symbol of new life. But Orthodox churches dye their eggs red rather than a pastel color to recall the bloodshed of Christ on the cross. As the priest hands each person a red egg, he proclaims, "Christ is risen!" in the first hour of Easter Sunday, after the midnight service, he said. A red egg is also placed in the center of specially prepared bread.
Leong's congregation of 150 consists of members with varied roots — Greek, Russian, Serbian, Romanian, Asian and others.
He is one of few Asian priests in the Greek Orthodox Church. Before coming to Hawaii with wife Nicole and three children, Leong served at Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Vallejo, Calif., for 10 years.
Epiphany 2014 Hale Koa
Christmas Play 2013
Thanks to Greg Malick for this great video.
Nisiotopoules Dancers & Aloha Choir
Welcome back home, Nisiotopoules Dancers and Aloha Choir! We heard and read that you had a wonderful experience at FDF in Anaheim last week! Congratulations to our Aloha Choir who won “1st Place” in the Choral Competition! Well done!
Ionian Village: Are You Ready?
Click Here to Apply Online
Click Here for Scholarship Info
Stewardship: We Are Family
Stewardship is our response to God’s grace and it moves us from grace to gratitude. Just as we love because God first loved us from 1 John 4:14, we give because God first gave to us.
Click here to go to the stewardship page
How to Schedule a Memorial Service
If you are interested in scheduling a Memorial Service for a loved one, please contact Father Alexander at the office so that he can schedule a date on the calendar.
Youth Ministry Guidelines Qualifying for Travel Funding
Please review the attached document to find out about the guidelines for children to qualify for funding from the parish to attend youth events.
If you have any questions please see Father Alexander or a member of the Parish Council.
Orthodox Study Center: Orthodoxy 101
Click here to jump Orthodoxy 101
Wedding in Hawaii?
Orthodox couples from around the world have chosen to be married at Saints Constantine & Helen, the ‘Cathedral in Paradise.’ It’s easier than you think!
Begin your wedding plans by contacting our Priest early.
Voice: (808) 521-7220
Email: (Click Here) Rev. Fr. Alexander Leong, Dean
(Or Copy) fralexanderleong@yahoo.com
Services Schedule
Sundays: Orthros (Matins):8:15 AM | Divine Liturgy: 9:30 AM (Fellowship follows in our Social Hall)
FeastDays: Divine Liturgy: 9:00 AM (as announced on Calendar)
For information please contact the Church office at (808) 521-7220 between the hours of 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday.
Our Faith
Spirituality
The Orthodox Church proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the Greek language, the word for Gospel is Evangelion which means literally "the good news." Learn more»
Saints, Feasts, and Readings for 9/30/2016
Online Stewardship
Parish Calendar