“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things..” (Phillipians 4.8)
The holy season of Great Lent is a time of intense preparation for Orthodox Christians. The forty days leading up to Pascha, the glorious celebration of the resurrection of Christ, call for a concentration on repentance, confession and renewal through increased activity in worship, prayer, fasting, confession, almsgiving, etc. We should expect suffering and sacrifice, … [Read more…]
On the Fourth Sunday of the Fast, we celebrate the memory of our Holy Father John the author of the Ladder. In the Church services for the fourth Sunday the Holy Church offers us a great example of the life of fasting in the person of the Venerable John of the Ladder, who, “having overcome … [Read more…]
The Third Sunday of Lent is called “The Veneration of the Cross.” At the Vigil of that day, after the Great Doxology, the Cross is brought in a solemn procession to the center of the church and remains there for the entire week-with a special rite of veneration following each service. It is noteworthy that … [Read more…]
On the Second Sunday of the Fast, we celebrate the memory of our Father among the Saints, Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica. The situation in St. Gregory’s time was that Orthodoxy was being debased; it was becoming worldly and being changed into either pantheism or agnosticism. Read more…
The Sunday of Orthodoxy is the first Sunday of Great Lent. The dominant theme of this Sunday since 843 has been that of the victory of the icons. In that year the iconoclastic controversy, which had raged on and off since 726, was finally laid to rest, [read more…]