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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

A HOMILY ON THE DORMITION OF THE MOTHER OF GOD (Part II)

08/07/2018

We have peace when we are with the Lord and His Most Holy Mother; she is always here to help whenever we call upon her. In her we have unshakable support, which remains the same for all ages and which will not change. We cannot find this support anywhere else on earth, not even among our family members, let alone in things like riches, earthly power, and honor. We can be left without all these

Transfiguring Practices

08/06/2018

By Aristotle Papanikolaou, PhD What happened on the day of our Lord’s Transfiguration? On this day, Jesus took with him three disciples, Peter, John and James, three of the better-known disciples. He took them to a ‘high’ mountain, the Bible tells us (Mt 17:1-9; Mk 9:2-8; Lk 9:28-36). They are at the ‘high’ mountain, which is often a place of revelation in the Bible, and at this mountain Jesus is transfigured. St. Matthew tells us,

A HOMILY ON THE DORMITION OF THE MOTHER OF GOD (Part I)

08/03/2018

I thank the Lord and the Most Holy Mother of God that He has willed to embellish this feast day of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos through the angelic voices of the children who sang so beautifully. When the chanting is as beautiful as this, we are freed from all our cares and our interest for earthly things and we ascend into eternity with the Lord, His angels, and the saints, where our

Why the Orthodox Honor Mary (Part II)

08/02/2018

By Father Stephen Freeman, August 1, 2016 John’s gospel seems to me to be marked with a profound understanding of the mystery of Mary. Of special note is his first mention of her. We meet her at the Wedding in Cana. John provides no introduction to her character – he presumes a prior knowledge on the part of his readers. At the Wedding, the wine runs out. And with no explanation of a practical sort, John simply relates

Why the Orthodox Honor Mary (Part I)

08/01/2018

By Father Stephen Freeman, August 1, 2016 Today (August 1) marks the beginning of the Fast of the Dormition, the annual preparation for the feast of the Falling Asleep of the Virgin Mary. I offer this article as reflection. The most difficult part of my Orthodox experience to discuss with the non-Orthodox is the place and role of the Mother of God in the Church and in my life. It is, on the one hand,

“There was an evening and a morning…”

07/31/2018

“There was an evening and a morning…” No less than six times in the first chapter of the first sacred book of the Hebrews, God is represented creating the days of the week and setting evening as the time at which the day begins. The way people today count time is not Your way, O Lord. Instinctively, they tend to start the day with morning. The day begins with the pale light of daybreak. Then

Path of Descent: The Crucified Jesus

07/30/2018

They will look upon him whom they have pierced. —John 19:37 Those who “gaze upon” the Crucified long enough—with contemplative eyes—are always deeply healed of pain, unforgiveness, violence, and victimhood. It demands no theological education, just an “inner exchange” by receiving the image within and offering one’s soul back in safe return. It is no surprise that a naked man nailed to a cross is such a deep, archetypal symbol in the Western psyche. It

Saint Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon

07/27/2018

By Isaac Linder, February 26, 2012 Holy Great-Martyr & Healer St. Panteleimon The Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon was born in the city of Nikomedia into the family of the illustrious pagan Eustorgias, and he was named Pantoleon. His mother Ebbula was a Christian. She wanted to raise her son in the Christian faith, but she died when the future great martyr was still a young lad. His father sent Pantoleon to a

“Who Am I”?

07/26/2018

As humans we have struggled continually through time to answer the seemingly simple question; “Who am I?” Philosophers continue to wrestle with this question. Some popular psychology tells us that we are who people tell us we are. Others tell us that we are who we want to be. And of course pop-society advertising tells us that we are what we eat, drink, wear, drive, etc. So we go through life trying to define ourselves

Blog

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

A HOMILY ON THE DORMITION OF THE MOTHER OF GOD (Part II)

Transfiguring Practices

A HOMILY ON THE DORMITION OF THE MOTHER OF GOD (Part I)

Why the Orthodox Honor Mary (Part II)

Why the Orthodox Honor Mary (Part I)

“There was an evening and a morning…”

Path of Descent: The Crucified Jesus

Saint Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon

“Who Am I”?

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