The Saturday Before The Feast Of Pentecost
On the Saturday before Pentecost we commemorate all departed pious Christians, with the idea that the occasion of the coming of the Holy Spirit not only consists of the economy of the salvation of man, but that the departed also participate in this salvation. Therefore, the Holy Church, sending up prayers on Pentecost for the […]
The Ascension Of The Lord
Introduction The Feast of the Ascension of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ is celebrated each year on the fortieth day after the Great and Holy Feast of Pascha (Easter). Since the date of Pascha changes each year, the date of the Feast of the Ascension changes. The Feast is always celebrated on a […]
Saturday Before Meatfare Sunday By Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos
SATURDAY before MEATFARE Sunday On the same day, the most Divine Fathers appointed a commemoration of all those who, from ages past, have piously fallen asleep, in the hope of resurrection unto life eternal. Verses Forgive the dead their transgressions, O Word, And do not show Thy good compassion to be dead. Synaxarion Since it […]
The Presentation of Christ in the Temple
Introduction This feast, celebrated on February 2, is known in the Orthodox Church as The Presentation of Christ in the Temple. Another name for the feast is The Meeting of our Lord. Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians call the feast, The Purification of the Holy Virgin. About 450 AD in Jerusalem, people began the custom […]
The Great Feast Of Theophany
Theophany is the Feast which reveals the Most Holy Trinity to the world through the Baptism of the Lord (Mt.3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22). God the Father spoke from Heaven about the Son, the Son was baptized by the St John the Forerunner, and the Holy Spirit descended upon the Son in the form of […]
The Feast Of The Holy Apostles Peter And Paul (June 29)
1. THE HOLY APOSTLE PETER Peter was the son of Jonah and the brother of Andrew, the First-called. He was of the Tribe of Simeon from the town of Bethsaida. He was a fisherman and, at first, was called Simon but the Lord was pleased to call him Cephas or Peter: “And he brought him […]
The Synaxis of the Chinese Martyrs
Sunday of the Chinese Martyrs Second Sunday after Pentecost/Second Sunday of Matthew Synaxarion On this day, second Sunday of Matthew, we celebrate the Synaxis (gathering) of the Chinese Orthodox Christians who were martyred in Peking during the Boxer Rebellion in the year 1900. Short History In the year of our Lord 1900, when the Empress […]
The Holy And Great Feast Of Pentecost
“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And […]
The Saturday Before The Feast Of Pentecost
On the Saturday before Pentecost we commemorate all departed pious Christians, with the idea that the occasion of the coming of the Holy Spirit not only consists of the economy of the salvation of man, but that the departed also participate in this salvation. Therefore, the Holy Church, sending up prayers on Pentecost for the […]
The Ascension Of The Lord
Introduction The Feast of the Ascension of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ is celebrated each year on the fortieth day after the Great and Holy Feast of Pascha (Easter). Since the date of Pascha changes each year, the date of the Feast of the Ascension changes. The Feast is always celebrated on a […]