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The Dormition (Koimesis) of the Theotokos

08/15/2019

On August 15, Orthodox Christians celebrate the greatest of all the religious festivals which the Church established in honor of the All-Holy Virgin Mary (Panagia), the feast of the Dormition (Koimêsis) of the Theotokos. The feasts of the Virgin Mary (theomêtorikai eortai) are second in importance after those of our Lord Jesus Christ in the annual cycle of festivals observed by the Orthodox Church because, after our Lord Himself, the All-Holy Virgin is the most

The Feast of the Dormition, Tradition and Icon

08/14/2019

The Feast of the Dormition or Falling Asleep of the Theotokos commemorates the death, resurrection, and glorification of Christ’s mother. To help us in our preparation of the feast, it is preceded by a two week fast. As with the Nativity of the Virgin (September 8) and the feast of her Entrance to the Temple (November 21), the Feast of the Dormition also comes from the Tradition of the Church. There we learn that Mary died as all people die because she had

Palm Sunday. The Lord’s Entry into Jerusalem

04/21/2019

In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. [On Palm Sunday] Christ enters the path not only of His sufferings but of that dreadful loneliness which enshrouds Him during all the days of Passion week. The loneliness begins with a misunderstanding; the people expect that the Lord’s entry into Jerusalem will be the triumphant procession of a political leader, of a leader who will free his people from oppression, from slavery,

The Twenty-Third Day of Christmas Advent. Anxious About Life.

12/07/2018

THEREFORE, I TELL YOU, DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT YOUR LIFE.” That is what Jesus says, but is it really possible to live without anxieties both big and small? We are anxious about children, friends, jobs, health—and the list goes on and on. We are anxious about so many things. There is unbelieving anxiety, and then there is anxiety encountered by faith. John Henry Newman said of Christian faith, “Ten thousand difficulties do not add

The Universal Elevation or Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of Christ – Commemorated on September 14

09/14/2018

The Elevation of the Venerable and Life-Creating Cross of the Lord: The pagan Roman emperors tried to completely eradicate from human memory the holy places where our Lord Jesus Christ suffered and was resurrected for mankind. The Emperor Hadrian (117-138) gave orders to cover over the ground of Golgotha and the Sepulchre of the Lord, and to build a temple of the pagan goddess Venus and a statue of Jupiter. Pagans gathered at this place

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Wednesday of the Third Week of Pascha. Spiritual Despondency

04/25/2018

The word accidie [acedia] (translated as ‘despondency’ or ‘spiritual sloth’) means, etymologically, ‘lack of care’, i.e. about one’s salvation. With few exceptions, all humanity is now living in the state of accidie [acedia]. People have become indifferent about their salvation. They do not seek divine life. They confine themselves to forms of life which appertain to the flesh, to everyday needs, to the passions of this world, to mundane activities. God, though, created us out

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Friday of the Second Week of Pascha: He was Crucified for Every Being.

04/20/2018

We must have the same consciousness as Christ, who bears in Himself the whole world; this is what makes for the universality of the human person. The word of Christ does not stop; it is without limits. If, as we confess in the Creed, Christ is very God, the Savior of the universe, the Creator of the world, ‘by whom all things were made’, how can we bring our understanding of Him down to a

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Wednesday of the Second Week of Pascha: We Should Follow Him.

04/18/2018

Christ said: ‘I am the Way’. If He is the Way, we should follow Him, not outwardly, but from within. And we must remember that on Golgotha and in Gethsemane He was confronted by the hostility of everyone. Alone. There are times, when the love of Christ touches us that we feel eternity. This cannot be understood rationally. God acts in a manner proper to Himself, which is beyond reason. We must not be too

Renewal (Bright) Thursday. Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen!

04/12/2018

Why are the consequences of Adam’s disobedience so disastrous? Why does spiritual life in Christ take, in this world, the tragic form of a hand-to-hand battle against death? Why is God’s creation linked to this negation, to death, to this struggle full of pain? Why does His act of creation not lead harmoniously to the fulfillment of humankind in the image of God? Why must I struggle against things which kill me without having the

The Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross

09/14/2017

Archive

The Dormition (Koimesis) of the Theotokos

The Feast of the Dormition, Tradition and Icon

Palm Sunday. The Lord’s Entry into Jerusalem

The Twenty-Third Day of Christmas Advent. Anxious About Life.

The Universal Elevation or Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of Christ – Commemorated on September 14

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Wednesday of the Third Week of Pascha. Spiritual Despondency

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Friday of the Second Week of Pascha: He was Crucified for Every Being.

Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! Wednesday of the Second Week of Pascha: We Should Follow Him.

Renewal (Bright) Thursday. Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen!

The Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross

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