In addition to the celebration of the Annunciation, there are three major feasts in the Church honoring Mary, the Theotokos. The first of these is the feast of her nativity which is kept on the eighth of September. The record of the birth of Mary is not found in the Bible. The traditional account of the event is taken from the apocryphal writings which are not part of the New Testament scriptures. The traditional teaching
Ephrem the Syrian, Paschal Hymn I fall in adoration at your feet, Lord!I thank you, God of goodness;God of holiness, I invoke you,on my knees, in your sight. For me, an unworthy sinner,you have willed to undergo the death of the cross,setting me free from the bonds of evil. What shall I offer in return for your generosity? Glory to you, friend of men!Glory to you, most merciful!Glory to you, most patient!Glory to you who
The Feast of the Annunciation is one of the earliest Christian feasts, and was already being celebrated in the fourth century. There is a painting of the Annunciation in the catacomb of Priscilla in Rome dating from the second century. The Council of Toledo in 656 mentions the Feast, and the Council in Trullo in 692 says that the Annunciation was celebrated during Great Lent. The Greek and Slavonic names for the Feast may be
Hope Lessens the Labour The Psalter begins with the words: ‘Happy is the one who does not take the counsel of the wicked for a guide.’ These words immediately show us our final end which is happiness. The hope of future goods, therefore: can help us to accept willingly the sufferings of life. For anyone travelling along an impassable road, the hope of a comfortable hotel is a relief. Merchants have to face many risks,
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
1. Every generation offers hymns, O Virgin, to honor your entombment 2. Come with all creation to sing the hymns of parting as you are raised, O Virgin. 3. Disciples of my Lord Christ, arrive to tend the body of my God’s purest Mother. 4. Invisibly attending, the archangels and angels in ranks sing hymns to praise you. 5. The women high in honor along with the apostles are crying out and weeping. 6. O
1. Truly it is right that we magnify you who bestow life, just as your pure Mother you magnify for her life-creating falling into sleep. 2. Truly it is right that we magnify you, Theotokos, you took your divine and all-blameless soul and entrusted it into the Hands of God. 3. Wonder strange and new! For the Door now passes through the Doorway, Heaven enters Heaven! We stand in awe as the Throne of God
1. In a grave they laid you yet, O Christ, you are life and they now have laid the Mother of Life as well: both to angels and to men a sight most strange! 2. We exalt you greatly, Theotokos most pure, and we glorify your holy Dormition now, as we bow before your honored precious tomb. 3. In your womb you held him who cannot be contained; you are life to all the faithful:
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