THE ANNUNCIATION CATHEDRAL
BOOKSTORE & GIFT SHOP
Contact:
Participation: Volunteer Parishioners interested in Orthodox resource sales.
Purpose:The Annunciation Cathedral Bookstore and Gift Shop is a ministry of making our people more aware of the literature available about the Orthodox faith, written in both Greek and English. It also has a nice selection of icons, livanistiria (incense holders) and incense, candelia (votive holders), stefanothikia (wedding crown display cases), and sfragithes (sacred seals/stamps for prosforo bread brought to the church for Holy Communion and antidoron), to enhance the spiritual life of the Orthodox Christian.
Hours of operation:The Annunciation Cathedral Bookstore and Gift Shop is open Sundays after the Divine Liturgy (12:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.) and at the Greek Festival. During the week, the book store is accessible through the Cathedral Office or by special appointment.
New! Book Reviews by Adriane …
When You Intermarry: A Resource for Inter-Christian, Intercultural Couples, Parents and Families by Rev. Fr. Charles Joanides, Ph.D., LMFT, Hendrix & Hendrix, Eds.
This book is an invaluable resource that is one of the products of the Interfaith Research Project of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The Interfaith Research Project was conducted to study the growing population of Orthodox faithful who have chosen to marry someone from another Christian, or perhaps another cultural, background. The author draws upon in-depth interviews with hundreds of couples in this population, giving countless examples – many as quotations from the couples’ interviews - of what difficulties these couples faced during the different phases of their relationship: engagement, marriage, the first few years of marriage, raising children and learning to live as a couple after their children have left home. Examples of difficulties presented are accompanied by examples of solutions, and how they apply to couples in different circumstances.
The importance of newly engaged, inter-Christian couples discussing topics such as the following before marriage and some throughout their marriage, cannot be overstated, according to the author. Some of the salient issues are: In which church will we marry? After we are married, will we go to the same church or will we each attend our own churches separately? If we have children, in which church will we baptize them? If we have children, which church will they attend? How will we respect each other’s cultural traditions? Do we understand each other’s cultural traditions?
The couples who participated in this project overwhelmingly encouraged these types of discussions upon engagement and throughout the marriage, with an effort made at respecting their own wishes, their spouses wishes, their wishes as a couple, their future children’s well-being as well as their extended family’s wishes, citing assumptions as a major cause of disagreement among them. This book discusses in depth the importance of the interfaith couple having proper boundaries when interacting with extended families, as the couples’ parents, grandparents and siblings can inevitably bring additional stress upon the couples’ relationship by trying to urge the couple to make decisions about such matters based on their family’s traditions and wishes. It also stresses the importance of the couple praying together in their home, and keeping God at the center of their relationship, remembering that one of the most important things that the couple shared in their relationship from the very beginning was their belief in the Holy Trinity and salvation through Christ. This book will benefit anyone who is considering an inter-Christian marriage and will certainly help to strengthen their relationship with their future spouse by bringing important matters to the forefront from the beginning.
Adriane Creety, Book Reviewer
Annunciation Cathedral Bookstore & Gift Shop
THE CATHEDRAL LIBRARY
Contact: Jennifer Michaels at 770-723-0353 or the staff at the Cathedral Office during the week at 404-633-5870 for additional information.
Purpose: The Library is a ministry of making our people more aware of the literature and audio –visual materials available to them about the Orthodox faith, written in both Greek and English.
Activity: The Library is open Sundays during Sunday School and after the Divine Liturgy. During the week, the book store is accessible through the Church Office or by special appointment. Material can be check-out by all Cathedral members.
The Annunciation Cathedral Library provides reading and audio-visual materials as a service to Cathedral Members and Annunciation Day School students and staff.
The scope of our collection includes lending and reference materials on:
Orthodoxy
Church History
Greek History
Hellenic Culture
Art and Iconography
Greek Language
Music and Psalmody
Classics
Cathedral Authors
Fiction by Greek Authors
Local Church, Metropolis and Archdiocesan Materials
Children’s Books
The majority of the collection is English-language material, which is complemented by a substantial number of Greek-language volumes. The materials are indexed and cataloged using the Library of Congress Classification system, and are accessible through a computerized library database. The library is staffed by volunteers and the collection is provided through the generous donations of the Cathedral Community, both material and financial.
Our Library was founded over 30 years ago by the late Reverend Father Homer Goumenis and Librarian Mary Kartas, and was later grown by the donation of the current library room by the late Dr. John Skandalakis, and by the efforts of the late Mrs. Ann Woodward, Cathedral Librarian for over 25 years.
The Library is open on Sundays during Sunday school and after Sunday Liturgy in the summers, and by appointment.