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The Elevation of the Venerable and Life-Giving Cross: Losing Ourselves in Love

Sermon preached by Fr. Antony Hughes on Sunday, September 16, 2018 at St. Mary Orthodox Church in Cambridge, MA. The Reading is from the Gospel According to Mark 8:34-38; 9:1 Today’s Gospel reading from Mark chapter 8, marks a turning point in the Lord’s ministry. From chapter 8 to chapter 13 we read the account of Christ’s final journey to his crucifixion in Jerusalem. Jesus announces his death and meets with resistance. Peter rebukes him,

The Nativity of the Theotokos: Arise, O Lord, Thou and the Ark of Thy holiness

By Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick, September 8, 2010  The Nativity of the Theotokos, September 8 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. In the Book of Exodus, after the Hebrew people left the land of Egypt, they wandered in the desert for some forty years before they finally came to the Promised Land. During this time, they met with God on the holy mountain

Zacharias the Prophet

The prophet Zacharias was the son of Barachias, a priest of the Old Testament.  He performed the priest’s office in Jerusalem during the reign of Herod, and was of the daily course of Aiba.  His duty was to burn incense in the Temple, while performing the priest’s office before God. On one occasion, a large crowd of people was gathered to pray when an angel of the Lord appeared before him, standing on the right

Mary and the Temple

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, September 12, 2017  “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” (Exo 25:8) The center of Jewish life at the time of Christ was the Temple in Jerusalem. Jesus was presented there at forty days of age. His family traveled to the Temple when he was twelve. He taught there during His ministry and drove the money-changers out. There is a tendency in much modern thought

Dormition of the Righteous Anna, the Mother of the Most Holy Theotokos

Commemorated on July 25 Saint Anna was the daughter of the priest Matthan and his wife Mary. She was of the tribe of Levi and the lineage of Aaron. According to Tradition, she died peacefully in Jerusalem at age 79, before the Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos. During the reign of Saint Justinian the Emperor (527-565), a church was built in her honor at Deutera. Emperor Justinian II (685-695; 705-711) restored her church, since Saint

The Personality of Saint Mary Magdalene, Equal to the Apostles

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on July 24, 2021 Georgios Zaravelas, Theologian Saint Mary Magdalene is the most outstanding person in the circle of Christ’s women disciples, and, indeed, the most significant female figure in the Christian Church, after the Mother of God. Her importance for the Church is expressed in the lengthy references to her in the Lives of the Saints. We have very little information concerning her life. She was born in Magdala, a town to the

The Summer Lent: Celebrating the Feast of SS. Peter & Paul

By Catherine K. Contopoulos On June 29, we celebrate the feasts of Saints Peter and Paul, two men whose dedication to the formation and sustenance of Christianity in the first century AD made them true pillars of the Church. Both men were chosen by Christ to minister to the world and both were given new names to mark their new life in Christ. They both embraced their martyrdom in Rome circa 67 AD. On June

Thaddeus (Jude) the Apostle & Brother of Our Lord

The holy, glorious and all-laudable Apostle Jude was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ and his brother, along with St. James, by virtue of being the son of St. Joseph the Betrothed. He is also called Levi or Thaddeus and sometimes the name Jude is rendered as Judas, but he is not to be confused with Judas Iscariot, the Apostle Matthew (also called “Levi”), or the Apostle Thaddeus of the Seventy. He is

Are there limits to human kindness?

Published by Pemptousia Partnership on November 15, 2021 Ioannis Karavidopoulos, Professor Emeritus of New Testament Hermeneutics, A. U. Th. It’s right and proper, if you’re in a hurry to get to work, to your office, or to go about your business that you should stop on the way and help somebody in need, even though you risk being late, losing out on something or even getting into trouble. Organization and the pace of life, a schedule and a

ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN! The Sixth Monday of Pascha: The Community We All Need

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, May 24, 2017  Communities are not built by pioneers. They are rooted in mutual need and brokenness. Stanley Hauerwas has observed: My hunch is that you don’t just make a community up. You discover that you need one another because you’re in danger. The need, created by various forms of weakness, must be acknowledged and accepted. The “shame” associated with it must be borne by the community as a whole. Without