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Third Wednesday after Pascha, Christ is Risen!

PASCHA: THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE (Ps. 118-24), Part II By the Very Reverend Joseph Antypas On earth, the Resurrection of Christ proclaims to the earth the Father’s will for the universe. And in hell, the risen Christ stamps out hell, delivers all humanity and extends a liberating hand to Adam and Eve. Hippolytus of Rome reflects on the whole picture and refers to Pascha as the common feast: invisible feast for angels,

Third Tuesday after Pascha, Christ is Risen!

PASCHA: THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE (Ps. 118-24), Part I By the Very Reverend Joseph Antypas Christians throughout the world celebrate the Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. On the day of the Resurrection, we give thanks to God who has granted us victory through Jesus Christ, our Lord, and put an end to the power of sin, which brought death to our Lord. Jesus Christ is the

Third Monday after Pascha, Christ is Risen!

The Feast Day of St. Irene the Great Martyr of Thessalonica The holy Great Martyr Irene was born in the city of Magedon in Persia during the fourth century. She was the daughter of the pagan king Licinius, and her parents named her Penelope. Penelope was very beautiful, and her father kept her isolated in a high tower from the time she was six so that she would not be exposed to Christianity. He also

Second Friday after Pascha, Christ is Risen!

In the Early Church the rite of Christian initiation was not divided. Three of the sacraments belong together: Baptism, the Holy Chrism (Confirmation), and the Eucharist. The Initiation described by St. Cyril, and later on by Cabasilas, included all three. Sacraments are instituted in order to enable man to participate in Christ’s redeeming death and thereby to gain the grace of His resurrection. This was Cabasilas’ main idea. “We are baptized in order to die

Second Thursday after Pascha, Christ is Risen!

Saint John Chrysostom on the Truth of the Resurrection Seest thou how they labour for the truth against their will? For they themselves came to Pilate, themselves asked, themselves sealed, setting the watch, so as to be accusers, and refuters one of another. And indeed when should they have stolen Him? on the Sabbath? And how? for it was not lawful so much as to go out. And even if they transgressed the law, how

Second Wednesday after Pascha, Christos Anesti!

How the Resurrected Bodies will be Transformed at the Second Coming of Jesus, by Saint Symeon the New Theologian This is the revelation received by Saint Symeon the New Theologian from God while in ecstasy. It reveals to us how our material bodies will be transformed and become incorruptible at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.            “One day, while I was praying to God with purity of heart, a breeze came upon me and

Second Tuesday after Pascha, Christ is Risen!

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

Second Monday after Pascha, Christ is Risen!

Concerning the Resurrection of Christ: In what it consists, or how Christ’s resurrection takes place in us, and in it the resurrection of the soul. The mystery of this Resurrection. Delivered on the Monday of the second week of Pascha. By St. Symeon the New Theologian Brothers and fathers, already Pascha, that joyous day, that day of all gladness and delight, the day of Christ’s Resurrection, has arrived in the annual cycle. Rather, it occurs

Renewal Friday, Christ is Risen! Saint Mark the Apostle and Evangelist

St Mark is recognized by all Christians world-wide as one of the four Evangelists who wrote a Holy Gospel. Through St Mark, the prophecy spoken of in the Holy Book of Isaiah the Prophet has been fulfilled, “…there will be an altar for the Lord in Egypt and a pillar at its boundaries…” St Mark was also one of the seventy apostles. Although the disciples and the apostles are considered ecumenical or universal bishops for

Renewal Thursday, Christ is Risen!

The Father accepts the Son’s sacrifice ” “by economy” (“po domostroitelstvu”): “man had to be sanctified by God’s humanity” (St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Oration 45, On the Holy Pascha). Kenosis [God’s self-limitation, His Divine condescension, especially in taking on human nature in Christ] culminates and ends with Christ’s death, to sanctify the entire human condition, including death. Cur Deus homo? Not only because of our sins but also for our sanctification, to introduce all the