Published by Pemptousia Partnership on August 7, 2020 Archbishop Stylianos of Australia † The time from August 1 to 15 is a period in the Church’s year during which the Orthodox soul turns to Our Most Holy Lady the Mother of God, with eyes full of contrition. For the two weeks before the feast of the Dormition, the bells ring at sunset and crowds of the faithful go to sing the Great Paraclitic Canon. Of course, we have
Commemorated on July 25 Saint Anna was the daughter of the priest Matthan and his wife Mary. She was of the tribe of Levi and the lineage of Aaron. According to Tradition, she died peacefully in Jerusalem at age 79, before the Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos. During the reign of Saint Justinian, the Emperor (527-565), a church was built in her honor at Deutera. Emperor Justinian II (685-695; 705-711) restored her church, since Saint
Saint Kyriaki was the daughter of Christian parents, Dorotheus and Eusevia. She was given her name because she was born on Sunday, the day of the Lord (in Greek, Kyriaki). Kyriaki was raised in a Christian enviornment and was highly respected, extremely educated, and philanthropic, but also very beautiful. Dorotheus and Eusevia were elderly and wanted security for Kyriaki upon their deaths which could be obtained through marriage. Kyriaki, being very devout in her Christian
~By Stephen Freeman June 3, 2025 I was visiting a hospice patient back around 2000. The home was quite modest as was the woman who was the subject of my visit. We had conversations that ranged over her life and her family – the things that mattered most for her in her last days. The climax of our time together came when she pulled out her heavily worn Bible (King James) to show me something.
~Konstantinos Holevas, Political Scientist Five hundred and [seventy-three] years have gone by since that accursed day, 29 May 1453. When the cry “The City has fallen” rang out and the Reigning City, the City of Saints, Emperors and legends passed into the occupation of the Ottoman dynasty. Thus began the years of Turkish rule. The Greek nation survived, but Constantinople and Ayia Sofia (The Church of Holy Wisdom) remain in foreign hands. Today we honour
ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The feast of the Life-giving Spring has its origins in the fifth century. It commemorates the consecration of the Church built next to it outside of Constantinople. The very large and beautiful church named in honor of the Theotokos of the Life-giving Spring was built by the Emperor Leo the Great (457-474) in Valouki, west of Constantinople (now Balıklı, Istanbul). Emperor Leo (January 20), before his ascension to the throne, had encountered a blind
St Patrick is not only a saint for the Irish or for Roman Catholics. He is verily an Orthodox Saint and celebrated on March 17. He lived from the late 4th Century until the late 5th Century. Patrick was actually from Wales, not Ireland but was taken captive by pirates to Ireland. He was actually sold as a slave and made a herder of swine. It was during his time as a slave that he
~Sermon preached by Claire Koen, PhD Candidate, Fordham University, on Sunday, March 31, 2024 Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. Over the last few weeks of Antiochian Women’s month we have heard about forgiveness and healing, mercy and judgment, and the sacraments that the church offers us to aid us in our paths towards theosis. Today, on the Sunday of Gregory Palamas, we remember this great saint and his
On the 1st Saturday of Great Lent, we commemorate St Theodore the Tyre and the miracle of the kollyva (κόλλυβα). St Theodore has his own feast, February 17 which is the date of his repose. However, there is a great miracle associated with him that is celebrated every year on that 1st Saturday in Great Lent. St Theodore the Tyre was a soldier in the region of Pontus, in Asia Minor. Tyre is the Latin
~Sermon Preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, November 18, 2007 Luke 12:16-21 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Glory to Jesus Christ! There is a misconception that the Christian life is supposed to be miserable. Why, if that is not true, would the Church ask us to fast, to sacrifice and to deny ourselves the pleasures and goods of this life? But
© 2020 Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral
