Mother of God Archives - Page 7 of 14

Great and Holy Saturday

05/01/2021

Introduction On Great and Holy Saturday, the Orthodox Church commemorates the burial of Christ and His descent into Hades. It is the day between the Crucifixion of our Lord and His glorious Resurrection. The Matins of Holy Saturday is conducted on Friday evening, and while many elements of the service represent mourning at the death and burial of Christ, the service itself is one of watchful expectation. Commemoration of Holy Saturday On Great and Holy

Holy, Righteous Simeon the God-Receiver

02/03/2021

Righteous Simeon the God-Receiver was, according to the testimony of the holy Evangelist Luke, a just and devout man waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him (Luke 2:25). God promised him that he would not die until the promised Messiah, Christ the Lord, came into the world. Ancient historians tell us that the Egyptian pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-247 B.C.) wished to include texts of Holy Scripture in the

Fortieth Day of Christmas Advent. For so has God Loved the World (Part II)

12/24/2020

But the road from Bethlehem to Zion is long, and is leading us through Gethsemane and Golgotha. Already in Bethlehem the newborn Godchild is presented with funeral offerings by the Wise Men from the East. “Today God leads the Wise Men to worship through the star, prefiguring His three-day burial in gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” The very doors of the Bethlehem cavern are nearly stained with the innocent blood of the children who were killed

On October 28 the Greek Orthodox Church commemorates the Feast Day of the Protection of the Theotokos, the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary.

10/28/2020

The feast-day of the Holy Protection of the Mother of God was established following a vision of holy Father Andrew during the course of a Vigil in the Church of Vlachernae at Constantinople. At the Fourth Hour of the night while deep in prayer, the Saint lifted up his eyes to heaven and beheld the Holy Mother of God watching over the faithful as she covered the faithful with her holy Veil. Epiphanius, the disciple

Α Goth Saint: The Holy Martyr Nikitas

09/15/2020

Nikitas was born in the land of the Goths and was a disciple of their God-bearing bishop, Theofilos, who took part in the 1st Ecumenical Synod in Nicaea in 325. When the leader of the Goths, Athanaric, began to persecute and torture Christians, Nikitas opposed him with boldness and denounced him as an inhumane idolater. He was immediately arrested and tortured cruelly. He not only withstood this, but confessed his faith in Christ with even greater

The Dormition of the Mother of God

08/15/2020

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, August 14, 2007 In giving birth you preserved your virginity, In falling asleep you did not forsake the world, O Theotokos. You were translated to life, O Mother of Life, And by your prayers, you deliver our souls from death. Troparion of the Feast – Tone 1 It is easy to be put off by Orthodox devotion to the Mother of God when coming at Orthodoxy from a Protestant background. Both

Why Mary Has Always Been Honored

08/14/2020

By Father Stephen Freeman, August 13, 2018 This Saturday (August 15) is the Feast of the Dormition, the Falling Asleep of the Virgin Mary. I offer this article as a 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, deeply theological and even essential to a right understanding

Dormition or Assumption?

08/13/2020

In our Orthodox tradition we are usually very careful to distinguish between the “Dormition” of the Mother of God and her “Assumption” into heaven. The former, we feel, is properly Orthodox, while the latter strikes us as a purely Western designation, derived from a Roman Catholic “misunderstanding” of the meaning of this feast, celebrated universally on August 15. It is true that some very genuine yet misguided interpretations of Mary’s death and exaltation can be

Mary: The Blessing of All Generations

08/07/2020

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, August 7, 2019 n my childhood, it was not unusual to hear someone ask, “Who are your people?” It was a semi-polite, Southernism designed to elicit essential information about a person’s social background. The assumption was that you, at best, could only be an example of your “people.” It ignored the common individualism of the wider culture, preferring the more family or clan-centered existence of an older time. It was possible

The Mystery of the Mother of God

08/05/2020

By Fr. Stephen Freeman, August 3, 2010 The 15th of August is the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God (her death). Orthodox Christians fast for two weeks prior to this great feast and celebrate it with great solemnity. A question was recently placed by a reader about the “perpetual virginity” of Mary. I am offering this small post to address that question and to look at the place of the Most Holy

Archive

Great and Holy Saturday

Holy, Righteous Simeon the God-Receiver

Fortieth Day of Christmas Advent. For so has God Loved the World (Part II)

On October 28 the Greek Orthodox Church commemorates the Feast Day of the Protection of the Theotokos, the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary.

Α Goth Saint: The Holy Martyr Nikitas

The Dormition of the Mother of God

Why Mary Has Always Been Honored

Dormition or Assumption?

Mary: The Blessing of All Generations

The Mystery of the Mother of God

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