Tags

The Dormition of our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary (Part I)

After the Ascension of the Lord, the Mother of God remained in the care of the Apostle John the Theologian, and during his journeys, She lived at the home of his parents, near the Mount of Olives. She was a source of consolation and edification both for the Apostles and for all the believers. Conversing with them, She told them about miraculous events: the Annunciation, the seedless and undefiled Conception of Christ born of Her,

Fifth Wednesday after Pascha: Equal of the Apostles and Emperor Constantine with his Mother Helen

The Church calls St Constantine (306-337) “the Equal of the Apostles,” and historians call him “the Great.” He was the son of the Caesar Constantius Chlorus (305-306), who governed the lands of Gaul and Britain. His mother was St Helen, a Christian of humble birth. At this time the immense Roman Empire was divided into Western and Eastern halves, governed by two independent emperors and their corulers called “Caesars.” Constantius Chlorus was Caesar in the

Renewal Friday, Christ is Risen! Saint Mark the Apostle and Evangelist

St Mark is recognized by all Christians world-wide as one of the four Evangelists who wrote a Holy Gospel. Through St Mark, the prophecy spoken of in the Holy Book of Isaiah the Prophet has been fulfilled, “…there will be an altar for the Lord in Egypt and a pillar at its boundaries…” St Mark was also one of the seventy apostles. Although the disciples and the apostles are considered ecumenical or universal bishops for

Palm Sunday

At the outset of His public ministry Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God and announced that the powers of the age to come were already active in the present age (Lk 7.18-22). His words and mighty works were performed “to produce repentance as the response to His call, a call to an inward change of mind and heart which would result in concrete changes in one’s life, a call to follow Him and accept His

Twenty-First Day of Christmas Advent: Saint Savas the Sanctified

Saint Savas the Sanctified (439–532), a Cappadocian-Greek monk, priest and saint, lived mainly in Palaestina Prima. He was the founder of several monasteries, most notably the one known as Mar Saba. The Saint’s name is derived from the Hebrew meaning “old man”.  St. Savas was born at Mutalaska, near Caesarea of Cappadocia, the son of John, a military commander, and Sophia. Journeying to Alexandria on military matters, his parents left their five-year-old son in the

Seventh Day of Christmas Advent: The Entrance of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple

During the first days of the Christmas fast the Church celebrates the feast of the entrance of the child Mary into the Jerusalem temple. Called in the Church The Entrance of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, this festival, which is not among the biblically recorded events, is one of the twelve major feasts of the Orthodox Church year. Its purpose is not so much to commemorate an historical happening as to celebrate a

Fourth Day of Christmas Advent: Temples of the Living God

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

Truth and the Times: The Culture Conundrum (Part II)

An Interview with His Eminence Metropolitan Savas of Pittsburgh PRAXIS: How would you address the concerns of those who question the legitimacy of any attempt to communicated the eternal truths of the Gospel of Christ in the ephemeral terms of popular culture, those who characterize the effort as a trivialization, a casting of pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6), even a kind of blasphemy? METROPOLITAN SAVAS: There have always been, from the beginning of the Church’s

Christians Bring the Church to Birth

Each of us ought to realize this fact: each one of us is also the Church. The Church belongs to the second Adam, the Christ. From his side dripping blood and water on the hill of the skull, God took the Church, while the eyes of the Crucified were closing for their three days’ sleep. When on the third day the New Adam awoke, he embraced the Church and made her fruitful with his Spirit.

Tuesday before the Feast of Holy Pentecost

Celebrating Pentecost, by Matushka Ioanna Callinicos Rhodes After the Ascension of Christ the disciples were eagerly awaiting the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem as was promised them by Christ. They had no clue as to when this occurrence was going to happen. They never realized what the impact of that moment was going to be and how it was going to affect them. Finally, ten days after the Ascension, the Holy Spirit descended as in tongues