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The Fourth Wednesday of Pascha. Mid-Pentecost

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou ‘I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely’ [1]. During Great Lent, to a certain degree, we taste of Christ’s death. In the middle of this period, the Church institutes the Veneration of the Precious Cross, to quicken inspiration and strengthen us in our struggle to be vouchsafed to enter into the life-giving presence of the Risen Lord.

The Third Wednesday of Pascha. The Icon of the Resurrection

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! ~Father Stavros N. Akrotirianakis Peter said, “Brethren, I may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was

Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearers

Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou ‘And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb.’[1] Just before His Passion, the Lord promised the inalienable joy of the Resurrection to His disciples and all those who loved Him, ‘I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.’ [2] As He went forth to His incomprehensible Passion, setting His face to derision and

The Second Thursday of Pascha. Greatmartyr, Victory-bearer, and Wonderworker George

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Holy Great Martyr George the Victory-Bearer, was a native of Cappadocia (a district in Asia Minor), and he grew up in a deeply believing Christian family. His father was martyred for Christ when George was still a child. His mother, owning lands in Palestine, moved there with her son and raised him in strict piety. When he became a man, Saint George entered into the service of the Roman

The Second Monday of Pascha. Disbelief and Divine Compassion

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! ~Protopresbyter Vasileios Kalliakmanis, Professor of the Theological School, A.U.Th. Divine compassion, as a consequence of the mystery of divine self-emptying, isn’t restricted to the Cross and burial. It continues after the Resurrection as well. The risen Lord had no wish to impose the glad tidings on people by force. Nor did he require them to embrace the news unconditionally. As the glorified Lord, he agreed to be the object of

The Great and Holy Saturday

Introduction On Great and Holy Saturday, the Orthodox Church commemorates the burial of Christ and His descent into Hades. It is the day between the Crucifixion of our Lord and His Glorious Resurrection. The Matins of Holy Saturday is conducted on Friday evening, and while many elements of the service represent mourning at the death and burial of Christ, the service itself is one of watchful expectation. Commemoration of Holy Saturday On Great and Holy

The Great and Holy Friday

Introduction On Great and Holy Friday, the Orthodox Church commemorates the death of Christ on the Cross. This is the culmination of the observance of His Passion by which our Lord suffered and died for our sins. This commemoration begins on Thursday evening with the Matins of Holy Friday and concludes with a Vespers on Friday afternoon that observes the unnailing of Christ from the Cross and the placement of His body in the tomb.

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

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

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 Fourth Wednesday of Great Lent. Why the Crosses around our Neck?

~Sermon preached by Dimitri Newman on Sunday, April 7, 2024 In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, One God, Amen. Christ is in our midst! What a strange symbol we wear as Christians: this cross around our necks. The cross was a tool of torture and execution in the Ancient world, most famously used and perfected by the Romans. It was an agonizing way to die; it