Theotokos Archives - Page 12 of 16

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

12/24/2015

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

Twenty-Sixth Day of Christmas Advent, Journey to Bethlehem, Part IV

12/10/2015

By Father John Parker Our journey to Bethlehem through the images in Andrei Rublev’s Nativity finishes at the center—a center which has two foci: Mary, the Virgin Mother, and the somewhat less obvious (because of His size) newborn Christ (who, biblically speaking, is not “Jesus” until He is named on the 8th day—see Luke 2:21.) Mary—the Theotokos, or God-bearer, as she is known in the Church—is the most noticeable figure in the icon. One’s eyes

Eleventh Day of Christmas Advent, Great Martyr Catherine of Alexandria

11/25/2015

The Holy Great Martyr Catherine was the daughter of Constus, the governor of Alexandrian Egypt during the reign of the emperor Maximian (305-313). Living in the capital, the center of Hellenistic knowledge, and possessed of a rare beauty and intellect, Catherine received an excellent education, studying the works of the greatest philosophers and teachers of antiquity. Young men from the most worthy families of the empire sought the hand of the beautiful Catherine, but she

Feast of the Dormition of our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary

08/15/2015

INTRODUCTION The Feast of the Dormition of Our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary is celebrated on August 15 each year. The Feast commemorates the repose (dormition and in the Greek kimisis) or “falling-asleep” of the Mother of Jesus Christ, our Lord. The Feast also commemorates the translation or assumption into heaven of the body of the Theotokos. BIBLICAL STORY The Holy Scriptures tell us that when our Lord was dying on the Cross, He saw His mother and His disciple John and said to the Virgin Mary, “Woman, behold your son!” and to John, “Behold your mother!” (John 19:25-27). From that

MARY THE MEDIATRESS (Part VIII)

08/14/2015

It is fitting to present here the complete Theotokarion of St. Andrew of Crete, which, up to now, has been quoted only in parts and scattered verses: “Rejoice, O God after God. You have honors second after the Trinity and you directly receive the fullness of the gifts of God, transporting them to all, to angels and to men, O Bride of the Father, spotless Mother of the Son, holy and all-illumined Temple of the

MARY THE MEDIATRESS (Part VII)

08/13/2015

She is our only Mediatress, the only Mother of Life, and the holy Fathers reserved the office of mediation for Christ and His mother only. Yes, we have other intercessors to God, but the Orthodox faith interposes neither saints nor angels as mediators and intercessors to her. In the vast tradition of liturgy and piety of the Fathers, there is not a single request to angels or to saints for their intercession to the Mediatress

MARY THE MEDIATRESS (Part VI)

08/12/2015

The members of this New Israel are a new, “holy nation, a peculiar people,” an ethnos without tribes or ethnicity, a nation with no abiding or ruling city here. In the New Israel, not only priests and kings but all the people are anointed with a new anointing, the holy chrism and seal of the Holy Spirit, into “a royal priesthood”39 inherited not through “the will of the flesh,”40 not through a family, tribe, or

MARY THE MEDIATRESS (Part V)

08/11/2015

Mother and symbol of the Church In Old Israel, only the kings and the priests were anointed. The anointing was powerless, prefiguring but not conferring the seal of the Holy Spirit. In the Virgin, the barren church of Old Israel is reborn as the New Israel, and the royal and priestly lines are recapitulated and become one. The fruit of her womb is the one High Priest and King of the New Israel Who, in

MARY THE MEDIATRESS (Part IV)

08/10/2015

Her mediation and Christ’s mediation operate as one in an unceasing, indivisible synergy in Heaven and in the world. Therefore, she remits sins, intercedes, saves, heals, enlightens, sanctifies, guides, guards, protects; she routs demons and barbarian hordes, delivers us from dangers, turns tides, calms storms. A profound vesper hymn clearly distinguishes the unique nature of the intercessions of the Theotokos: “Unveil to us the boundless sea of your mercy and goodness and thereby wash away

MARY THE MEDIATRESS (Part III)

08/07/2015

The New Testament gives us the following vivid example of the power of her mediation with motherly boldness before the Lord. When the Savior attended the marriage at Cana, the time had not yet come according to the divine plan for His public miracles to begin. Therefore, replying to His mother’s mediation to Him because the host’s wine had been exhausted, He said, “Woman, what hath this to do with Me and with thee? For

Archive

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

Twenty-Sixth Day of Christmas Advent, Journey to Bethlehem, Part IV

Eleventh Day of Christmas Advent, Great Martyr Catherine of Alexandria

Feast of the Dormition of our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary

MARY THE MEDIATRESS (Part VIII)

MARY THE MEDIATRESS (Part VII)

MARY THE MEDIATRESS (Part VI)

MARY THE MEDIATRESS (Part V)

MARY THE MEDIATRESS (Part IV)

MARY THE MEDIATRESS (Part III)

Categories

Archives

View Our Live Stream Services

Keep In Touch

Stewardship Application

Daily Meditations

Worship Schedule

Light a Virtual Candle

Text-to-Give in 2 easy steps!

1) Text 202-899-7801 to include your donation amount

2) Follow the link to complete the one-time registration