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The Twenty-Eighth Day of Christmas Advent: Saint Spyridon the Wonderworker and Bishop of Tremithus

12/12/2014

Saint Spyridon of Tremithus was born towards the end of the third century on the island of Cyprus. He was a shepherd, and had a wife and children. He used all his substance for the needs of his neighbors and the homeless, for which the Lord rewarded him with a gift of wonderworking. He healed those who were incurably sick, and cast out demons. After the death of his wife, during the reign of Constantine

The Twenty-Seventh Day of Christmas Advent: THE TWO SUNDAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS (Part I)

12/11/2014

Come, let us faithfully celebrate the annual commemoration of Abraham and those who are with him, the fathers that lived before the Law. Let us honor the tribe of Judah as it is meet; let us praise the youths in Babylon, who, as an image of the Trinity, quenched the flame of the furnace, together with Daniel; and holding fast to the prophecies of the prophets, let us cry aloud with Isaiah: “Behold, a Virgin

The Twenty-Sixth Day of Christmas Advent: The Angel of the Lord and the Mountain of God (Part II)

12/10/2014

The burning bush is not the only instance where the Angel of the Lord appears and is declared as God. The same Angel appeared to and conversed with the patriarchs and prophets (e.g. Gen. 16; 32; Judg. 6; 13). In all of the passages, those who see this Angel of the Lord are amazed that they have seen God and lived: “I saw God face to face, and my soul was saved.” (Gen. 32:30) Gideon

The Twenty-Fifth Day of Christmas Advent: ST. ANNAS CONCEPTION OF THE MOTHER OF GOD

12/09/2014

Barrenness and Fertility “Be glad, O barren woman who does not bear; break forth and cry out, you who are not in travail, for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord. (Isaiah 54:1) ON DECEMBER 9, the Church commemorates the conception of the Virgin Mary. This is another story that is nowhere recorded in the Old or New Testaments, but it was known to the

Twenty-Fourth Day of Christmas Advent: The Angel of the Lord and the Mountain of God (Part I)

12/08/2014

The Lord came down from Sinai and appeared to us from Seir; He hastened from Mount Paran along with myriads at Kadesh, angels with Him at His right hand, (Deuteronomy 33:2) ANOTHER OLD TESTAMENT ALLUSION in the fourth ode of the katavasias is the mount of shaded leafy trees, which is a reference to the Book of Habakkuk: “God will come from Teman, the Holy One from the mount of shaded leafy trees” (Hab. 3:3).

The Twenty-First Day of Christmas Advent: Saint Savas the Sanctified

12/05/2014

Saint Savas the Sanctified (439–532), a Cappadocian-Greek monk, priest and saint, lived mainly in Palaestina Prima. He was the founder of several monasteries, most notably the one known as Mar Saba. The Saint’s name is derived from the Hebrew meaning “old man”. St. Savas was born at Mutalaska, near Caesarea of Cappadocia, the son of John, a military commander, and Sophia. Journeying to Alexandria on military matters, his parents left their five-year-old son in the

The Twentieth Day of Christmas Advent: Holy Great Martyr Barbara

12/04/2014

The Holy Great Martyr Barbara lived and suffered during the reign of the emperor Maximian (305-311). Her father, the pagan Dioscorus, was a rich and illustrious man in the Syrian city of Heliopolis. After the death of his wife, he devoted himself to his only daughter. Seeing Barbara’s extraordinary beauty, Dioscorus decided to hide her from the eyes of strangers. Therefore, he built a tower for Barbara, where only her pagan teachers were allowed to

Nineteenth Day of Christmas Advent: Search the Scriptures (The Katavasias, Part III)

12/03/2014

Rod of the Root of Jesse The fourth ode of the katavasias refers to one of the great prophecies predicting the coming of the Messiah: There shall come forth a rod from the root of Jesse, and a Bower shall grow out of his root. The Spirit of God shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and godliness. (Is. 11:1-2) Jesse was

Eighteenth Day of Christmas Advent: Search the Scriptures (The Katavasias, Part II)

12/02/2014

Rod of the Root of Jesse IN OTHER WORDS, the katavasias have a prophetic nature, and they point us to their fulfillment in Jesus Christ: First Ode Christ is born, give glory. Christ comes from heaven, go to meet Him. Christ is on earth, be exalted. Sing to the Lord, all the earth, and sing hymns in gladness, O people, for He has been glorified. Third Ode To Christ our God, the Son who was

Seventeenth Day of Christmas Advent: Search the Scriptures (The Katavasias, Part I)

12/01/2014

Rod of the Root of Jesse Rod of the root of Jesse, and flower that blossomed from his stem, You, O Christ, have sprung forth from the Virgin. From the mount of shaded leafy trees, You, the God who is not material have come to be incarnate from her who did not know wedlock. Glory to Your power, O Lord. (Fourth Ode of the Katavasias of the Nativity) We begin to chant the Katavasias of

Blog

The Twenty-Eighth Day of Christmas Advent: Saint Spyridon the Wonderworker and Bishop of Tremithus

The Twenty-Seventh Day of Christmas Advent: THE TWO SUNDAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS (Part I)

The Twenty-Sixth Day of Christmas Advent: The Angel of the Lord and the Mountain of God (Part II)

The Twenty-Fifth Day of Christmas Advent: ST. ANNAS CONCEPTION OF THE MOTHER OF GOD

Twenty-Fourth Day of Christmas Advent: The Angel of the Lord and the Mountain of God (Part I)

The Twenty-First Day of Christmas Advent: Saint Savas the Sanctified

The Twentieth Day of Christmas Advent: Holy Great Martyr Barbara

Nineteenth Day of Christmas Advent: Search the Scriptures (The Katavasias, Part III)

Eighteenth Day of Christmas Advent: Search the Scriptures (The Katavasias, Part II)

Seventeenth Day of Christmas Advent: Search the Scriptures (The Katavasias, Part I)

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