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The Ninth Day of Christmas. The Tradition of the Vasilopita (with Recipe)

01/02/2018

From the DOWAMA St. Raphael Clergy Brotherhood The tradition of baking and cutting a special “pita” (which can mean a loaf of bread, a cake, or even a pie) each year on January 1st is observed in honor of our holy father Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappodocia– hence its name “Vasilopita” meaning “St. Basil’s Bread.” This tradition is observed in both parish churches and in the homes of the faithful. What is

The Eighth Day of Christmas. Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Cæsarea in Cappadocia

01/01/2018

Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, “belongs not to the Church of Caesarea alone, nor merely to his own time, nor was he of benefit only to his own kinsmen, but rather to all lands and cities worldwide, and to all people he brought and still brings benefit, and for Christians he always was and will be a most salvific teacher.” Thus spoke Saint Basil’s contemporary, Saint Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium. Saint

The Fifth Day of Christmas. 14,000 Innocent Children: Christmas Has a Cost

12/29/2017

By Andrew Estocin Christmas can be too comfortable sometimes. As the Nativity Season unfolds, churches are celebrating the birth of Christ. Gifts are being shared, kitchens are busy preparing traditional foods, and retreat speakers have returned home from their visits to parishes. While all these events may be well intentioned, they frequently point us in the direction of nostalgia rather than a living faith. Nostalgia can often be unhealthy. The more we focus solely on

The Fourth Day of Christmas. Between Christmas and….

12/28/2017

By Stephen Freeman The Feast of Christmas has, for many, come and gone. The eagerness of children for the day of their presents has now passed and, with it, some of their anxieties. Far from marking Christmas as “Twelve Days” (as the old English Christmas carol notes) many parts of the culture hurry forward, eager to put Christmas in the past. In my childhood, it was generally held within the surrounding Protestant culture that a

The Third Day of Christmas. Saint Stephen: The Death of a Revolutionary

12/27/2017

By Father Lawrence Farley Saint Stephen is usually hailed as the first Christian martyr, but he is more than that. His death was also a boundary, and the blood which flowed from his body as the stones hit him became a river, one which separated the faith of the Christians from the religion of Judaism. For unlike the martyrs who followed him, Stephen was not killed by the pagan Romans, executed under a law which

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

MERRY CHRISTMAS! St. John Chrysostom’s Christmas Homily

12/25/2017

Proffered by Father Stephen Freeman BEHOLD a new and wondrous mystery. My ears resound to the Shepherd’s song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn. The Angels sing. The Archangels blend their voice in harmony. The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise. The Seraphim exalt His glory. All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven. He Who is above, now for our redemption

The Fortieth Day of Christmas Advent (Christmas Eve). Ecumenical Patriarch’s Christmas Message: Christ Conquers Violence and Evil through Love

12/24/2017

By His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I + BARTHOLOMEW By God’s Mercy Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch To the Plenitude of the Church: Grace, mercy, and peace from the Savior Christ, born in Bethlehem Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, “Christ is descending from the heavens; let us meet Him!” God has appeared on earth and, at the same time, we have seen the perfect man together with the inconceivable value of the

The Thirty-Eighth Day of Christmas Advent. The Fiery Furnace of Christmas

12/22/2017

By Father Stephen Freeman The three youths, wise in God, who shone with joy in the furnace, proclaimed the birth of Christ on earth; For just as the Lord sent down a precious dew, He preserved from the flame her who gave birth; He keeps her undefiled and enriches her with divine gifts. Therefore, Daniel, pleasing to God, rejoiced and was glad, For having foreseen the stone from the unquarried mountain, he now prays

The Thirty-Seventh Day of Christmas Advent. What to Give to the One Who Made Everything?

12/21/2017

By Fr. John Parker So here is a twist on the usual question: what do you get for that someone who *made* everything? I confess to you, dear reader, that the question comes a bit crassly off my fingertips. But the truth is, here we are, at the inauguration of the Christmas feast—which continues through December 31 in Orthodox Christianity—and while we are hauling bags of wrapping paper and boxes to the curb (not the

Blog

The Ninth Day of Christmas. The Tradition of the Vasilopita (with Recipe)

The Eighth Day of Christmas. Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Cæsarea in Cappadocia

The Fifth Day of Christmas. 14,000 Innocent Children: Christmas Has a Cost

The Fourth Day of Christmas. Between Christmas and….

The Third Day of Christmas. Saint Stephen: The Death of a Revolutionary

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

MERRY CHRISTMAS! St. John Chrysostom’s Christmas Homily

The Fortieth Day of Christmas Advent (Christmas Eve). Ecumenical Patriarch’s Christmas Message: Christ Conquers Violence and Evil through Love

The Thirty-Eighth Day of Christmas Advent. The Fiery Furnace of Christmas

The Thirty-Seventh Day of Christmas Advent. What to Give to the One Who Made Everything?

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