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Third Day of Christmas Advent: The Nativity Fast

ADVENT-DERIVED FROM the Latin adventus, meaning “coming”—is a word that is not often used by Orthodox Christians living in the Eastern parts of the world. It is used more frequently by Orthodox Christians living in the West, for the simple reason that when they say “Advent”, other Christians immediately understand they are referring to a period of preparation before the Great Feast of Christmas, the Nativity of Our Lord. However, there are three key differences

Why Fast for Dormition?

By Daniel Manzuk It would be a gross understatement to say that much has been written about the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos. Yet very little has been written about the fast that precedes it. Every Orthodox Christian is aware and generally knows the reason behind the fasts for Pascha and Christmas. But while they may know of the Dormition Fast, few follow it, and more than a few question why it is

Sixth Wednesday after Pascha, Christ is Risen!

Ascension: The Event between Events By the Very Reverend Vladimir Berzonsky “Thou hast ascended in glory bringing joy to Thy disciples with the promise of the HolySpirit. O Lord, glory to Thee!” (Exclamation of Holy Ascension Feast) I find it odd that the great and joyful feast of Ascension is often not well attended by our faithful. Understandably they are yet not over the euphoria of Pascha. Even forty days is not ample time to

Fourth Thursday after Pascha, Christ is Risen!

“Let us be Radiant” By Father James Kordaris  (Paschal Hymn) In the 8th Century, Saint John of Damascus wrote this Hymn to theResurrection: The Day of Resurrection! O People, let us be radiant. It is Pascha, the Lord’s Passover; for Christ God has carried us over from death to life, from earth to heaven, as we sing a victory hymn. In the coming period from the Resurrection to Pentecost, the Sunday Epistle readings tell us

Fourth Wednesday after Pascha: The Feast of Mid-Pentecost and the Pentecostarion, Christ is Risen!

The fifty days following Pascha until the Feast of Pentecost are known as the period of the Pentecostarion in the Orthodox Church. At the mid-point between these great feasts of Pascha and Pentecost, on the twenty-fifth day which is always a Wednesday, is one of the most beloved feasts for the most devout Orthodox Christians known quit simply as Mid-Pentecost. Mid-Pentecost is to the Pentecostarion what the Third Sunday of Great Lent which honors the

Third Thursday after Pascha, Christ is Risen!

We Are Always Going Towards Pascha By Janice Bidwell Great Lent came and went, and I’m still traveling toward Pascha at a steady lumbering pace. My life is a series of peaks and valleys between the seasons, but my route never varies. This rhythm is unchanging, and yet different each year. This is the path I travelled as a child, and now I’m on this same Paschal path of my ancestors with my own children.

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,

Renewal Tuesday, Christ is Risen!

In the center of our liturgical life, in the very center of that time which we measure as year, we find the feast of Christ’s Resurrection. What is Resurrection? Resurrection is the appearance in this world, completely dominated by time and therefore by death, of a life that will have no end. The one who rose again from the dead does not die anymore. In this world of ours, not somewhere else, not in a

Renewal Monday, Christ is Risen!

It is necessary to explain that Easter is much more than one of the feasts, more than a yearly commemoration of a past event? Anyone who has, be it only once, taken part in that night which is “brighter than the day,” who has tasted of that unique joy knows it. But what is that joy about? Why we can sing, as we do, during the Paschal liturgy: “today are all things filled with light,

Christos Anesti! The Holy and Great Sunday of Pascha!

On the Great and Holy Feast of Pascha, Orthodox Christians celebrate the life-giving Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This feast of feasts is the most significant day in the life of the Church. It is a celebration of the defeat of death, as neither death itself nor the power of the grave could hold our Savior captive. In this victory that came through the Cross, Christ broke the bondage of sin, and