Today’s Gospel reading is Matthew 25:31-46, the parable of the Last Judgment. It reminds us that while trusting in Christ’s love and mercy, we must not forget His righteous judgment when He comes again in glory. If our hearts remain hardened and unrepentant, we should not expect the Lord to overlook our transgressions simply because Read more...
As we begin the Great Fast, the Church reminds us of Adam’s expulsion from Paradise. God commanded Adam to fast (Gen. 2:16), but he did not obey. Because of their disobedience, Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden and lost the life of blessedness, knowledge of God, and communion with Him, for which they Read more...
In the Orthodox Church, the last Sunday before Great Lent – the day on which, at Vespers, Lent is liturgically announced and inaugurated – is called Forgiveness Sunday...continue reading the article by Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann click: https://www.oca.org/reflections/fr-alexander-schmemann/forgiveness-sunday
A basic distinguishing feature of the Great Canon is its extremely broad use of images and subjects taken both from the Old and New Testaments. As the Canon progresses, the congregation encounters many biblical examples of sin and repentance. The Bible (and therefore, the Canon) speaks of some individuals in a positive light, and about Read more...
Today we remember those in our lives who have fallen asleep. We bring our lists and the names are commemorated during the Liturgy. 1st Saturday of Great Lent: The Miracle of the Boiled Wheat Today we remember the miracle of Saint Theodore the Recruit and the boiled wheat. Fifty years after Saint Theodore’s martyrdom, Emperor Read more...
The first Sunday of Great Lent is called the Sunday of Orthodoxy. It commemorates the restoration of the Holy Icons and the triumph of the Orthodox Faith against the terrible heresy of the Iconoclasts. As in those heretics who refused to honour the Holy Icons. For more than a hundred years the Church was disturbed Read more...
You are Welcome to join in any Tuesday that works for you. Each Tuesday will be a stand-alone class. Feel free to invite anyone you think might be interested. Join in with them or just check out a class or two yourself. This course will run for the duration of Great Lent, to allow us Read more...
This Sunday was originally dedicated to Saint Polycarp of Smyrna (February 23). After his glorification in 1368, a second commemoration of Saint Gregory Palamas (November 14) was appointed for the Second Sunday of Great Lent as a second “Triumph of Orthodoxy.”...his life story continues at:https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2022/03/20/12-2nd-sunday-of-great-lent-st-gregory-palamas
You are Welcome to join in any Tuesday that works for you. Each Tuesday will be a stand-alone class. Feel free to invite anyone you think might be interested. Join in with them or just check out a class or two yourself. This course will run for the duration of Great Lent, to allow us Read more...
Today we the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. we also commemorate the Forefeast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary.
The Feast of the Annunciation is one of the earliest Christian feasts, and was already being celebrated in the fourth century. There is a painting of the Annunciation in the catacomb of Priscilla in Rome dating from the second century. The Council of Toledo in 656 mentions the Feast, and the Council in Trullo in Read more...
The Third Sunday of Lent is that of the Veneration of the Cross. The cross stands in the midst of the church in the middle of the lenten season not merely to remind men of Christ’s redemption and to keep before them the goal of their efforts, but also to be venerated as that reality Read more...
You are Welcome to join in any Tuesday that works for you. Each Tuesday will be a stand-alone class. Feel free to invite anyone you think might be interested. Join in with them or just check out a class or two yourself. This course will run for the duration of Great Lent, to allow us Read more...
We also commemorate Saint Titus the Wonderworker displayed zeal for the monastic life from his youth. He pursued asceticism in the ninth century at the Studion monastery near Constantinople. By his deeds of fasting, purity of life and mild disposition, Saint Titus gained the love of the brethren, and at their request he was ordained Read more...
