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Apostle Jude the Brother of the Lord

The Holy Apostle Jude, one of the twelve apostles of Christ, is descended from King David and Solomon, and was the son of Righteous Joseph the Betrothed (Sunday after the Nativity of the Lord) by his first wife. The Holy Apostle John the Theologian writes in his Gospel, “… neither did his brethren believe in Him” (John. 7:5). Saint Theophylact, Archbishop of Bulgaria, explains this passage. He says that at the beginning of the Lord

Lazarus Saturday

Saturday of the Holy and Righteous Friend of Christ, Lazarus Introduction On the Saturday before Holy Week, the Orthodox Church commemorates a major feast of the year, the miracle of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when he raised Lazarus from the dead after he had lain in the grave four days. Here, at the end of Great Lent and the forty days of fasting and penitence, the Church combines this celebration with that of

The Beheading of the Holy Glorious Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John

The Beheading of the Prophet, Forerunner of the Lord, John the Baptist: The Evangelists Matthew (Mt.14:1-12) and Mark (Mark 6:14-29) provide accounts about the martyric end of John the Baptist in the year 32 after the Birth of Christ. Following the Baptism of the Lord, Saint John the Baptist was locked up in prison by Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch (ruler of one fourth of the Holy Land) and governor of Galilee. (After the death of

Is There a Christian Theory of History?

By Father Stephen Freeman I am a child of the 50’s. I became aware of the world around me in the 60’s. I finished college and seminary in the 70’s (and have embarrassing pictures to prove it). I could go on with my decadal memories. I daresay no people at any time have been more aware of time labels and how the fashions and trends of those periods shaped their lives. Of course, the labels

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent. Stop Passing the Buck!

So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see    to it yourselves.” Matthew 27:24 (From the Fifth Gospel of Holy Thursday Evening) Pontius Pilate, depending on one’s perspective, is almost a “tragic” figure in the Passion of Christ. Because he wanted to do the right thing, he knew what

The Tenth Day of Christmas. A Spiritual Inventory

Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. -Matthew 3:5-6 (Gospel from Royal Hours of Epiphany) Christ is born! Glorify Him! St. John the Forerunner was known as the Baptist, because he was baptizing people in the River Jordan. In the Jewish faith, one entered the faith through the ritual of circumcision. Periodically thereafter, people

The Fifteenth Day of Christmas Advent. We All Come from Somewhere

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled

Feast of the Holy, Glorious, and All-Praiseworthy Chiefs of the Apostles, Peter and Paul

The divinely-blessed Peter was from Bethsaida of Galilee. He was the son of Jonas and the brother of Andrew the First-called. He was a fisherman by trade, unlearned and poor, and was called Simon; later he was renamed Peter by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Who looked at him and said, “Thou art Simon the son of Jonas; thou shalt be called Cephas (which is by interpretation, Peter)” (John 1:42). On being raised by the

Thirty-Fourth Day of Christmas Advent, Meditation: Gifts to Give for Christmas and Every Day

Meditation: Gifts to Give for Christmas and Every Day We Christians give gifts at Christmas in humble imitation of the Gift that God gave-His only Son, our Lord Jesus. For the Christian the emphasis is on giving, not receiving. A man told what happened to him one Christmas Eve when he was a boy, after the Christmas story had been read. After he and his brothers and sisters had opened all their presents, his father

Thirty-Second Day of Christmas Advent, Meditation: Where is Bethlehem?

Meditation: Where is Bethlehem? Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea. Where is Bethlehem? Did the Son of God come to be born in a tiny hamlet in far-away Palestine? Or was He born there that He might come to be born somewhere far closer? If Christmas is the time that God chose to come close to us, then Bethlehem must be somewhere very close to us. Where is Bethlehem? It is not far at