Holy of Holies Archives

The Sixth Monday of Great Lent: The Perpetual Catechumen

04/22/2024

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, September 6, 2021 It should not surprise us to learn that we are often creatures of the culture in which we live. We understand this, particularly when we travel and encounter people whose culture differs profoundly from our own. What seems obvious to us, might seem obscure to them. What we eat, how we shop, what counts as polite, what is rude, all of these are shaped by culture. In truth,

The Twelfth Day of Christmas: Sermon at the Vigil for Epiphany

01/05/2024

By Metropolitan Anthony Bloom, 5 January 2022 The day of the Theophany is the day when the whole world is being renewed and becomes a partaker of the sanctity of God. But at the same time, it is the day when Christ enters on the way to Calvary. He came to John the Baptist at the Jordan not in order to be cleansed, because He was free of sin—both as God and in His humanity

Apostle James, the Brother of our Lord, First Bishop of Jerusalem

10/23/2023

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on October 23, 2017 James W. Lillie Saint James was the son of Joseph the Betrothed from his (first) marriage. He was blessed by God while he was still in his mother’s womb and was so righteous in his life that all the Jews called him the “Just”. Even from a very early age, James lived a very ascetic life. He did not partake of wine or other strong drinks. In imitation of Saint

The Seventh Day of Christmas Advent: The Presentation of the Mother of God

11/21/2022

Published by Pemptousia Partnership, November 21, 2016 Vladimir Lossky The Presentation or Entry (είσοδος) of the Mother of God in the Temple (November 21st) does not belong to the most ancient festivals of the Church. None the less, it must be earlier than the end of the VIIth century, since St. Andrew of Crete had known it at Jerusalem at this epoch. It seems that it was introduced at Constantinople a century later, under the

The Holy of Holies

10/12/2021

The link between the Old and New Testament Temples By Abbot Tryphon, December 6, 2019 Orthodox temples have kept to the same form and function since ancient times. Using the Old Testament Temple model, Orthodox churches are divided into several courts or spaces peculiar to their function. The Holy Table, upon which is celebrated the Eucharist, is situated at the east end of the building behind the Iconostasis (icon screen). This is a continuation of

The Entrance of the Theotokos in the Temple

11/21/2018

The Feast of the Entrance of the Virgin in the Temple is believed to be not among the most ancient festivals of the Church. However, indications that the Feast was observed in the first centuries of Christianity are found in the traditions of Palestinian Christians, which say that the holy Empress Helen (May 21) built a church in honor of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple. St. Gregory of Nyssa, in

Seventh Day of Christmas Advent: THE ENTRY OF THE MOTHER OF GOD INTO THE TEMPLE (Part II)

11/21/2014

The Temple of God According to the story of the Entry (and the hymns of the Church), the Virgin Mary not only entered the Holy of Holies, but also remained there for twelve years, being fed by an angel: 1 Led by the Holy Spirit, the holy and immaculate maiden is taken to dwell in the holy temple. She who is in truth the most holy temple of our holy God is nourished by an

Sixth Day of Christmas Advent: THE ENTRY OF THE MOTHER OF GOD INTO THE TEMPLE (Part I)

11/20/2014

The Temple of God The most pure Temple of the Savior, the precious Bridal Chamber and Virgin, the sacred Treasure of the glory of God, is brought today into the house of the Lord. She brings with her the grace of the divine Spirit. God’s angels sing her praise: She is the heavenly tabernacle. (Kontakion of the Feast of the Entry of the Mother of God) THERE IS A STRANGE SILENCE about the Nativity in

Fourth Day of Christmas Advent: Temples of the Living God

11/18/2013

In the Orthodox Church the Virgin Mary is the image of those who are being saved. If Jesus Christ is the Savior, Mary is, par excellence, the image of the saved. She is, in every aspect of her life, as Father Alexander Schmemann so often said, not the great exception, but rather the great example. From her conception to her dormition, that is, her true and real death, she shows how all people must be

Archive

The Sixth Monday of Great Lent: The Perpetual Catechumen

The Twelfth Day of Christmas: Sermon at the Vigil for Epiphany

Apostle James, the Brother of our Lord, First Bishop of Jerusalem

The Seventh Day of Christmas Advent: The Presentation of the Mother of God

The Holy of Holies

The Entrance of the Theotokos in the Temple

Seventh Day of Christmas Advent: THE ENTRY OF THE MOTHER OF GOD INTO THE TEMPLE (Part II)

Sixth Day of Christmas Advent: THE ENTRY OF THE MOTHER OF GOD INTO THE TEMPLE (Part I)

Fourth Day of Christmas Advent: Temples of the Living God

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