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Figures of the Nativity—The Shepherds

12/09/2019

By Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis, December 5, 2018 No parent in Bethlehem two thousand years ago hoped that their child would grow up to be a shepherd. Being a shepherd was a dangerous, lonely and nomadic life. It was dangerous, because sheep were often prey for wolves and other dangerous animals. Shepherds were armed with staffs, not guns, and could easily be hurt or worse by animals preying on the sheep. Shepherds had to be on

The Feast Day of Saint Romanos the Melodos: The Deacon Who Couldn’t Sing

10/01/2019

By Bev. Cooke He wasn’t a priest or a bishop or a hierarch or even a dedicated monastic. He was born to humble parents who may not have even been Christian. He was a deacon and a reader and a singer, but for part of his life, he had the worst voice in Constantinople and he couldn’t string two words together during a service. Yet today, St. Romanos the Melodist is regarded as the greatest

Most Holy Theotokos, Save Us!

08/02/2019

Orthodox Christians begin and end the liturgical year with celebrations dedicated to the Virgin Mary, whom we venerate as the Theotokos or “bearer of God.” On September 8, the end of the first week of the new year, we commemorate her Nativity or birth; on August 15, we close the year with the feast of her Dormition, her “falling asleep” and translation to heaven. As the hymns of these and other Marian feasts make clear,

The Fourth Day of Christmas. Tomorrow’s Feast of the Holy Children (December 29).

12/28/2018

TOMMOROW’S FEAST (December 29) OPENS UP ANOTHER WAY TO LOOK AT THE INCARNATION. Until now we have been gazing at the child in the cradle, the scene of the Nativity, the angels rejoicing. But Herod’s story was one of rage, jealousy, and fear. Herod the Great, despite his high office as the Tetrarch of Galilee, was afraid of the long-promised Messiah. When he heard from the Magi that such a royal heir had been born

The Fast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin (Part I)

08/08/2018

By Father Leonidas Contos There are in the Orthodox tradition three principal periods of fasting during the ecclesiastical year; they are also the ones that are the least neglected. One is the forty-day period of Advent; the second is the forty-day period of Lent; the third is the fifteen-day fast which begins the first of August, and will end on the fifteenth with the commemoration of the Falling Asleep of the Theotokos. Among the three

The Second Day of Christmas. Mary, Did You Know? The Winter Pascha

12/26/2017

By Presvytera Vassi Haros There are hundreds of Christmas songs and hymns.   They come in all different shapes and sizes and they range from fun to reverence.  You may have heard of a song titled, “Mary, Did You Know?” It’s about the amazing things Jesus did and questions if Mary knew after giving birth that her son would:  walk on water, bring the dead to life, give blind men sight, heal the lame…  “Did you know

The Thirty-Fifth Day of Christmas Advent. What do I want for Christmas?

12/19/2017

By Fr. Vasile Tudora As we approach the holy night of Nativity, comes a time when we ask ourselves the timeless question: what do I want for Christmas? If one looks around, generally electronics are popular with men, jewelry with women, gaming consoles with teens, and so on; as we could expect, mostly material things. I have yet to hear one answering, “I want the gift of prayer,” or of spiritual discernment, or unwavering faith.

The Thirtieth Day of Christmas Advent. Accepting the Lord’s invitation

12/14/2017

By Fr. Steven Kostoff Within the Orthodox Church, the Sunday between December 11-17 is called, simply enough, the “Second Sunday Before the Nativity of the Lord,” and more specifically, the “Sunday of the Forefathers.”  This liturgical preparation for the Feast of our Lord’s Nativity—something of a build-up—is a conscious echo of the lengthy time of preparation, determined by God and embodied in the history of Israel, before the sending of His only-begotten Son into the

The Twenty-Ninth Day of Christmas Advent. Christmas Time

12/13/2017

By Father Stephen Freeman The feast of the Nativity of Our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ, draws near and the anxiety of the world increases. There are those who worry that the feast is surrounded by too much commercialism. Others fear that religion will once again invade their safely guarded secular spaces. These are only the most vocalized anxieties – busyness consumes our lives. I think of the words from the Dr. Seuss character,

The Twenty-Seventh Day of Christmas Advent. The Fire of Christmas

12/11/2017

By Father Stephen Freeman As a child of the South, accustomed to the tones and the tales of my region, I was well aware of the “fires of hell”. Roadside signs proclaimed the eternal destiny of those who were not saved. I have discovered in later years, that many adult Christians remain committed to the most literal possible version of the fires of hell and will argue as though heaven itself depended on the burning

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