Dec 9 / Dec 22

The Conception by Saint Anna, of “Whence is Conceived the Holy Mother of God” Commemorated on December 9 The Conception by Saint Anna, of “Whence is Conceived the Holy Mother of God”: Saint Anna, the mother of the MostHoly Mother of God, was the youngest daughter of the priest Nathan from Bethlehem, descended from the [...]

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Saint Silouan on Love

Saint Silouan on Love The soul cannot know peace unless she prays for her enemies. The soul that has learned of God’s grace to pray, feels love and compassion for every created thing, and in particular for mankind, for whom the Lord suffered on the Cross, and His soul was heavy for every one of [...]

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Fifth Sunday of Pascha: The Samaritan Woman

Today we celebrate the Samaritan Woman. According to Church tradition, the Samaritan Woman was named Photini (Photina) (or in Slavonic, Svetlana). She was that Samaritan woman who had the rare fortune to speak with the Lord Christ Himself at Jacob’s Well in Sychar (John. 4). Coming to faith in the Lord, she then came to [...]

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The Venerable Theodore the Sanctified

Theodore was a disciple of St. Pachomius. He was born and raised as a pagan but as a young man came to the knowledge of the True Faith and was baptized. Learning about St. Pachomius, he secretly fled from his parent’s home to Pachomius’ monastery. St. Pachomius tonsured him a monk and admired him because [...]

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“All the Saints Are our Elder Brothers”

St. John of Kronstadt from: Orthodox Photos . The ever-memorable Russian Pastor, St John of Kronstadt, in his “Thoughts Concerning the Church” writes: “Acknowledge that all the saints are our elder brothers in the one House of the Heavenly Father, who have departed from earth to heaven, and they are always with us in God, [...]

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Three Brightly Burning Lamps

Monday, March 23, 2009 / March 10, 2009 (Church Calendar) 2009 Fourth Week of the Great Lent: Adoration of Cross. Tone seven. Great Lent. By Monastic Charter: Strict Fast (Bread, Vegetables, Fruits) Martyrs Codratus (Quadratus) and with him: Cyprian, Dionysius, Anectus, Paul, Crescens, Dionysius (another), Victorinus, Victor, Nicephorus, Claudius, Diodorus, Serapion, Papias, Leonidas, Chariessa, Nunechia, [...]

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St. Ephraim the Syrian

St. Ephraim (Ephrem) the Syrian gave us the prayer said more than any other in Great Lent: O Lord and Master of my life Take from me the spirit of sloth faintheartedness, lust of power and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of Chastity, Patience, Humility and Love to Thy servant. Yea, O Lord [...]

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The Holy Prophet Daniel and the Three Holy Youths Ananias, Azarias and Misael

The Holy Prophet Daniel and the Three Holy Youths Ananias, Azarias and Misael Commemorated on December 17/30 The Holy Prophet Daniel and the Three Holy Youths Ananias, Azarias and Misael: In the years following 600 B.C. Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonians, the Temple built by Solomon was destroyed, and many of the Israelite people [...]

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Martyrs Onesiphorus and Porphyrius of Ephesus (284)

In Orthodoxy, we often tease one another – especially new converts – about the names of Saints. Nothing irreverent is intended by it, just a bit of humor. The new convert is threatened with being given an obscure and unpronounceable saint as his patron. In some parishes it is an ongoing joke at Trapeza – [...]

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Metropolitan Philip of Moscow

Metropolitan Philip of Moscow January 9, July 3, and again on October 5 +December 23, 1569 When in 1480 Moscow’s Grand Prince Ivan III forced the Tatars to renounce their claim to the Russian tribute, it signaled Russia’s liberation from the Mongol yoke and confirmed Moscow’s ascendancy over the other Russian principalities. Indeed, whether by [...]

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Lessons from the Maccabees – From Fr. Stephens Blog

These are the links to two posts in one of my favorite blogs. They were very meaningful to me, and I hope they will speak to you, also! The Seven Holy Maccabbees Lessons from the Maccabbees I’m not just being lazy – Fr. Stephen has one of the best blogs going, in my NOT so [...]

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Hymn to Christ on Easter Day – St. Gregory Nazianzen

HYMN TO CHRIST ON EASTER DAY (AFTER LONG SILENCE), Cristi anax, se prvton, epei logon heri dvka, dhnaion katecwn, fqegxom apo stomatwn, (Dactylic hexameter, and pentameter.) O Christ the King! since breath pent up so long I have outpoured, Thou first shalt be my song; May this my word, the current of my mind, If [...]

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From the 55 Beatitudes of St. Ephraim of Syria

St. Ephraim of Syria’s 55 Beatitudes # 48 – 55: Blessed the one who has kept the mastery of his eyelids and has not deceived himself with either mind or senses with regard to the skin of the flesh that after a little while oozes putrefaction. Blessed the one who has before his eyes the [...]

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How Many Times Have I Promised – -

“How Many Times Have I Promised, Yet Every Time I Failed to Keep My Word. But Disregard This According to Thy Grace.” Grant forgiveness, O Lord, send also strength. Convert me, that I might live in sanctity, according to Thy holy will. Sanctify my heart that has become a den and dwelling-place of demons. I [...]

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A Hymn at Night, After Failure to Keep Vow – St. Gregory Nazianzen

A HYMN AT NIGHT, AFTER FAILURE TO KEEP VOW. eyeusamhn se thn alhqeian, loge, (Iambic trimeter.) O Thou, the Word of truth divine! All light I have not been, Nor kept the day as wholly Thine; For Thou dark spots hast seen. The day is down: night hath prevailed: My Lord I have belied; I [...]

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Admonitory Address to a Virgin – Gregory Nazianzen

Gregory Nazianzen. ADMONITORY ADDRESS TO A VIRGIN. Parqene, numfe Cristou, (The Greek is of varied metre, arranged in lines of generally seven syllables each.) O bride of Christ on high, Thy Bridegroom glorify! Always thyself keep pure, In word and wisdom sure, That bright with Him all-bright Thou e’er mayst dwell in light. Far better [...]

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Serbian Songs – -

A while ago, one of my Orthodox e-friends (riverdaughter) talked about a couple of CDs she had purchased from the Serbian Orthodox Monastery of St. Paisius in Arizona (Women’s Monastery). They contain both folk song tunes and composed music based on Serbian melodies with the words praising saints and the Theotokos (Mother of God). Well, [...]

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A Private Letter by Elder Paisios the Athonite

A Private Letter Concerning Ecumenism Blessed Elder Paisios the Athonite The Holy Mountain, January 23, 1969 This is the last known epistle sent by the Ever-memorable Elder Paisios. Archimandrite Haralambos Vasilopoulos was the Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Petraki, Athens, and founder of the Pan-Hellenic Orthodox Union and its organ Orthodoxos Typos. Translated and [...]

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St. Nicholas the Wonderworker –

- – of Myra in Lycia. Feast day celebrated each year on Dec 6 / 19 Icon of St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, and Wonderworker, from Sarajevo Church of the Holy Archangels (Old Orthodox Church), tempera on wood 59×39,2 cm, Andrija Raičević, 1641 Sainted Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, and Wonderworker is [...]

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The Three Ways of Attention and Prayer – St Symeon

From:Myriobiblos – On Line Library of the Church of Greece Symeon the New Theologian The Three Ways of Attention and Prayer (sp)   Translated from Greek by Demetrios S. Skagias, 11/96 Translator’s note Though of unknown author, the following text was perhaps understandably attributed to St. Symeon the New Theologian (+1022). The date of authorship [...]

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