Ο ΕΝΟΡΙΑΚΟΣ ΝΑΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΑΓΙΟΥ ΑΡΤΕΜΙΟΥ
Ὁ Ναὸς τοῦ Ἁγίου Ἀρτεμίου, ἐπὶ τῆς ὁδοῦ Φιλολάου, ἀνήκει στὸν ἀρχιτεκτονικὸ τύπο τοῦ συνθέτου, τετρακιονίου, σταυροειδοῦς ἐγγεγραμμένου, μετὰ τρούλου καὶ νάρθηκος. Ὁ θεμέλιος λίθος ἐτέθη κατὰ τὸ ἔτος 1923. Ἡ κατασκευὴ του διήρκεσε ἕως τοῦ ἔτους 1953. Εἶναι κοσμημένος μὲ νεώτερες τοιχογραφίες καθὼς καὶ φορητὲς εἰκόνες βυζαντινοῦ ρυθμοῦ, ἀπὸ τὸν ἁγιογράφο Δημήτριο Κεντάκα (1960-1974), ἐνῶ συμπληρώσεις στὴν ἁγιογράφηση ἐντὸς τοῦ ἱ. βήματος καὶ στὸ ὑπερῷον ἔγιναν ἀπὸ τὸν ἁγιογράφο Γεώργιο Γιομελάκη (1990 καὶ ἐντεῦθεν). Ἡ ἀπεικόνιση τοῦ Ἁγίου στὸ ἁψιδωτὸ ὑπέρθυρο τῆς κεντρικῆς εἰσόδου τοῦ ναοῦ, φέρει τὴν ὑπογραφὴ τοῦ Φωτίου Κόντογλου. Τὸν ἐσωτερικὸ διάκοσμο τοῦ ναοῦ συμπληρώνει μωσαϊκό δάπεδο ἀπὸ τὸν ἀρχιτέκτονα – μηχανικὸ Γ. Νομικὸ (1966) μὲ συμβολικὲς παραστάσεις πρωτοχριστιανικῶν πρωτοτύπων, ἄμβων, δεσποτικὸς θρόνος καὶ τέμπλο ἐξ ὁλογλύφου μαρμάρου, ἐπιπλέον δέ, ξυλόγλυπτα προσκυνητάρια καὶ ἀναλόγια ἱεροψαλτῶν.
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Ἡ πατερικὴ γραμματεία καὶ οἱ κανόνες τῶν τριῶν πρώτων αἰώνων, ἀναφερόμενα στὴν τοπικὴ Ἐκκλησία, ὁμιλοῦν γιὰ «ἐν-ορία», καὶ ἐννοοῦν τὴν πόλη – ἐπισκοπῆ. Λειτουργός τοῦ μυστηρίου τῆς Θείας Εὐχαριστίας τότε, ἦταν μόνος ὁ ἐπίσκοπος. Μὲ τὴν ἀριθμητικὴ αὔξηση τῶν βαπτισμένων χριστιανῶν καὶ γιὰ τὴν ἀποτελεσματικότερη διαποίμανσή τους, οἱ πρεσβύτεροι ἀρχίζουν σταδιακὰ νὰ τελοῦν τὴ Θ. Εὐχαριστία, στὸ ὄνομα τοῦ ἐπισκόπου τους. Ἐνορία πλέον δὲν ὀνομάζεται σύνολη ἡ Ἐπισκοπή, ἀλλὰ μέρος αὐτῆς, μὲ κέντρο τὸ ναὸ τῆς περιοχῆς, τὸν ἐνοριακὸ ναό.
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Η ΕΝΟΡΙΑ ΤΟΥ ΑΓΙΟΥ ΑΡΤΕΜΙΟΥ ΣΤΗΝ ΑΘΗΝΑ
Στὸν ἱερόν ναόν, πέραν τῆς – κατὰ Κυριακή, Σαββάτο καὶ μεγάλη ἑορτὴ – Θείας Λειτουργίας, ποὺ ἀποτελεῖ τὸ κέντρο τῆς ζωῆς τῶν Χριστιανῶν, τελοῦνται καθημερινῶς τακτικὲς ἱερὲς ἀκολουθίες (Ὄρθρος, Ἑσπερινὸς κ.ἄ.) καθὼς καὶ ἔκτακτες (μυστήρια βαπτίσματος, χρίσματος, γάμου, ἐξομολογήσεως κ.ἄ.) σύμφωνα μὲ τὶς ἀνάγκες τοῦ λαοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ.
Μὲ τὸν ὅρο «ἀκολουθία», ὑπογραμμίζεται ἡ ἔννοια τῆς συμμετοχῆς ὅλων ἀνεξαιρέτως στὴ Θεία Λατρεία, καταργεῖται δὲ ἡ ἐγωκεντρικὴ θεωρήση τῆς σχέσης μας μὲ τὸ Θεό. Ὁ ἱερεύς, μνημονεύοντας τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ ἐπισκόπου του, προΐσταται καὶ ὁ λαὸς «ἀκολουθεῖ», σὲ μιὰ κοινὴ πορεία ὅλων πρὸς τὴ Βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ.
Οἱ ὑπεύθυνοι ἱερεῖς τῆς ἐνορίας, δίδουν τὸ «παρών» σὲ ἔργα ἀγάπης πρὸς τὴ νεότητα, τοὺς φτωχούς, τοὺς γέροντες καὶ ἀνήμπορους ἀδελφούς, τῆς ἐνοριακῆς μας οἰκογενείας, σὲ συνεργασία μὲ πλῆθος ἐνοριτῶν, οἱ ὁποῖοι ἀπὸ διάφορες θέσεις, καὶ μὲ ποικίλους τρόπους στηρίζουν αὐτὴ τὴν προσπάθεια.
Ἔτσι, ὅλοι μας, μετέχοντας στὸ κοινὸ ποτήρι τῆς Θείας Εὐχαριστίας, καὶ στὴν κοινὴ προσπάθεια γιὰ τὴν ἐνίσχυση τῶν ἐμπεριστάτων ἀδελφῶν μας, βιώνουμε τὸ μυστήριο τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ὡς «κοινωνίας Ἅγιων», κατὰ τὸ πρότυπο τῆς κοινωνίας τῶν τριῶν Προσώπων τῆς Ἁγίας Τριάδος «μέχρι καταντήσωμεν οἱ πάντες εἰς τὴν ἑνότητα τῆς πίστεως καὶ τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ» (Ἐφεσ. 4,13). Ἀμήν.
THE HOLY AND GREAT MARTYR ARTEMIUS
Saint Artemius lived during the reign of emperor Constantine the Great and in that of Julian the Apostate. He was appointed Duke of Alexandria and imperial representative ( local sovereign) in the whole of Egypt and was honoured in various ways by Constantine’s sons and successors. Coming into power Julian the Apostate became the persecutor of Christians and favoured the polytheistic religions of the ancient Greeks. At one point and after specific summons by Julian, St Artemius arrived in Antioch with all his army. Seeing the merciless flogging of two martyrs-Eugenius and Makarius-because of their faith, he censured Julian courageously for his inhumanity and the futility of trying to bring back the pagan religions, the idolatry. As a result, St. Artemius himself was martyred, endured atrocious and unspeakable acts of torture and in the end he was beheaded. The miracles by St. Artemius are countless. He is considered to be the healer of hernias and other relative disorders. For years now, the Greek Police Force considers him its protector Saint.
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In the Orthodox Faith and the Life of Our Church after our Lord and founder Jesus Christ and His Holy Mother, the Saints and Martyrs hold the highest position. By surrendering their lives to God and suffering the torture of both mind and body, they became and continue to be so, the living witnesses of the presence of Christ in the world. That is why the Orthodox Church prides itself in having these Saints and Martyrs, worships their holy relics, honours and respects them by erecting churches in their honour.
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THE CHURCH OF ST ARTEMIUS
The church of St. Artemius, located in Filolaou St, is of the architectural style of the complex, four-columned, shaped like a cross with a central cupola and nave. The founding stone was laid in the year 1926. Its construction lasted till 1953. The church is adorned with newer wall paintings as well as portable icons of Byzantine order by the icon painter Dimitrius Kentakas,(1960-1974), while complements in both the Holy Altar and the vault over it were completed by the icon painter George Giomelakis (1990 and hence).
The depiction of the Saint on the arched top part of the main entrance, is the work of Fotis Kontoglou. The interior adornment is completed with the mosaic floor by Nomikos(1966) with symbolic images, pulpits from the original early Christian period, the bishop’s throne and the icon screen all made of marble, the wood carved icon stands and the cantor’s lecterns.
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The writings of the Holy Fathers and the canons of the three first centuries which refer to the local church, speak of the “en-oria” which means the town-episcopate. The priest responsible for the Holy Eucharist was only the bishop. As the number of the Baptized Christians increased and for more effective guidance, married priests eventually began to perform the Holy Eucharist in the name of their bishop. “Enoria” or parish is no longer the whole episcopate but part of it, having as its centre the church of the area, that is, the local church.
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THE ST ARTEMIUS PARISH IN ATHENS
In our Holy Church the liturgies or religious services, which are the life-centre of Christians, are performed on Saturdays, Sundays and other great celebration days. Apart from that, though, there are other regular holy services performed daily (Matins, Vespers etc.) as well as special services (baptisms, confirmations, weddings, confessions etc.) according to the needs of god’s flock.
With the term ‘service’ we underline the meaning of everybody’s participation in Holy Adoration, and in this way we ban the self-centred consideration of our relationship with God. The priest, by commemorating the name of his bishop, is the leader and the people ‘serve’, in a common path to the Kingdom of God.
The priests responsible for the parish, are present in the projects of love towards the youth, the poor, the elderly and the ailing brothers of our parish family, in cooperation with many people in the church community which support this effort in many different ways from the various positions they hold in the community.
In this way, by participation in the common chalice of the Holy Eucharist, and in the joint effort for the support of our brothers and sisters in need, we experience the mystery of the Church as the “community of Saints” following the model of three of the Holy Trinity itself ‘till we all reach the unity of faith and complete knowledge of the Son of God”(Ephesians 4.13), Amen.
Ἐπιμέλεια Κειμένων : Ἀρχιμ. Ἰγνάτιος Σαξαμπάνης