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Daily Meditations

The Great and Holy Tuesday

04/07/2026

On Holy Tuesday the Church [Matins celebrated by anticipation on Holy Monday evening] calls to remembrance two parables, which are related to the Second Coming. The one is the parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-3); the other the parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30). These parables point to the inevitability of the Parousia and deal with such subjects as spiritual vigilance, stewardship, accountability and judgment. From these parables we learn at least two basic

The Great and Holy Monday. Services of the Bridegroom

04/06/2026

Introduction Beginning on the evening of Palm Sunday and continuing through the evening of Holy Tuesday, the Orthodox Church observes a special service known as the Service of the Bridegroom. Each evening service is the Matins or Orthros service of the following day (e.g. the service held on Sunday evening is the Orthros service for Holy Monday). The name of the service is from the figure of the Bridegroom in the parable of the Ten

Palm Sunday: The Entrance of Christ into Jerusalem

04/05/2026

Introduction On the Sunday before the Feast of Great and Holy Pascha and at the beginning of Holy Week, the Orthodox Church celebrates one of its most joyous feasts of the year. Palm Sunday is the commemoration of the Entrance of our Lord into Jerusalem following His glorious miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. Having anticipated His arrival and having heard of the miracle, the people went out to meet the Lord and welcomed

Parish Community Letter -April 2026

04/04/2026

Dear Saint Sophia Parishioners, With the blessings from Father Steve and Father Gregory, the Clergy, Parish Council, and Staff wish everyone a Blessed and Glorious Easter!  Kalo Pascha! LITURGICAL CALENDAR: Every Sunday 8:30 AM Orthros and 10:00 AM Divine Liturgy. Our weekday worship now begins at 7:30 AM Orthros and 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy – please see the website, website calendar, bulletins, and emails for other services and updates. We also have published a 2026

Lazarus Saturday

04/04/2026

Saturday of the Holy and Righteous Friend of Christ, Lazarus Introduction On the Saturday before Holy Week, the Orthodox Church commemorates a major feast of the year, the miracle of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when he raised Lazarus from the dead after he had lain in the grave four days. Here, at the end of Great Lent and the forty days of fasting and penitence, the Church combines this celebration with that of

The Sixth Friday of Great Lent. The Raising of Four-Day Dead Saint Lazarus- A Symbol of the General Resurrection

04/03/2026

Hierodeacon Rafael Misiaoulis, Theologian Great Lent has been completed and ends with two splendid festal days. These are Lazarus Saturday, on which we commemorate the raising of Christ’s bosom friend, Lazarus; the other is Palm Sunday, when we celebrate Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem six days before he was betrayed and suffered death on the Cross. Today we see the raising of Lazarus, a miracle performed by the Lord before he entered the city of

The Sixth Thursday of Great Lent. The Cross and the Resurrection

04/02/2026

Protopresbyter Vasileios Kalliakmanis The Cross leads to the Resurrection, Great Friday bears fruit on the bright Sunday of Easter. Sorrow, listlessness and despair make way for the joy and peace of the Resurrection. Without the Cross, the Resurrection is inconceivable and without the Resurrection the Cross has no point. It might be better to say that the Resurrection is concealed within the Cross. This is why orthodox Easter is both the Cross and the Resurrection.

The Sixth Wednesday of Great Lent. Wednesday before Palm Sunday

04/01/2026

Protopresbyter Georgios Dorbarakis Having strengthened by the power of the cross my mind weakened by wicked attacks, direct me to your will, Lord. Raise me, Christ, who am sleeping on the bed of pleasures, slumbering in sloth, and show me to be a venerator of your Passion. Having burnished our souls with fasting, let us, now cleansed, hasten to Jerusalem to meet Christ, who is coming in the flesh. (Matins, ode 1 [3]). This first

The Sixth Tuesday of Great Lent. The Death of God, my Death and the Resurrection

03/31/2026

Sister Parakliti, Holy Skete of Saint Mary Magdalene, in Liti The grandeur of Great Friday and Great Saturday lies in the fact that human reason is incapable of comprehending that the Son of God died. In a war, for example, we can evaluate how tragic the situation is by the extent of the destruction. In some way, the same is true here. In order to stop the mighty catastrophe of human history, God died. So

The Sixth Monday of Great Lent. The Son of Man Will Be Delivered

03/30/2026

Protopresbyter Themistoklis Mourtzanos ‘We are going up to Jerusalem’, he said, ‘and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles’ (Mark 10, 33). Among all the religions, only in the Christian faith does the founder not promise long life, prosperity, pleasure and comfortable circumstances for those who follow his words and example. It’s the only

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