Discourse on the Entry of the Mother of God
Saint Neofytos the Recluse A brief discourse on the child of God Mary, when she was dedicated to God at the age of three years old, in the Holy of Holies, by her parents. When it was time for God’s mystery for our salvation to be accomplished, it was...
‘What a strange wonder’. Short setting (Choir of Vatopaidi)
Listen Now. The choir of the Fathers of Vatopaidi sings the short setting of ‘What a strange wonder’ at the vigil for the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. Source: pemptousia.com ABOUT THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN NETWORK The Orthodox Christian Network (OCN) is an official agency of the Assembly...
Did Our Lady give birth to God? Was God born of a woman?
Iraklis Filios Saint Cyril of Alexandria wrote that the Mother of God sanctified the Holy Trinity! At first sight this is a scandalous statement. How could a human being sanctify the Holy Trinity? And if that statement’s challenging, there are people on the other side who doubt and deny...
![The Grandeur of the Mother of God [3]](http://myocn.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/theotokos-OCN.jpg)
The Grandeur of the Mother of God [3]
Monk Arsenios of the Skete of Koutloumousiou, the Holy Mountain If we see that some saints enjoy greater glory than others, this is due to the fact they have even a little bit more of Christ’s humility within them, nothing else. There are saints who have astonishing ascetic achievements...
![The Grandeur of the Mother of God [2]](http://myocn.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/theotokos2-OCN.jpg)
The Grandeur of the Mother of God [2]
Monk Arsenios of the Skete of Koutloumousiou, the Holy Mountain So humility which comes as a natural result after we sin, especially when these are mortal sins, is one thing, and the humility of Christ is another. For sinful people, humility’s absolutely necessary for them to stay alive, so...
Raising Family in the Image of the Theotokos
Almost 35 years ago, I chose to leave the Canadian military and get married. My mother was not impressed. She had spent her entire adult life trying to be someone other than a wife and mother and was hoping her daughters would continue the battle. She felt I was giving...
The Grandeur of the Mother of God
Monk Arsenios of the Skete of Koutloumousiou, the Holy Mountain When the most glorious and richest kings on earth have in mind to build their throne and their royal palace as a whole, they don’t leave a stone unturned until they find the most precious material that nature is...
The Theotokos: An Example for All Women to Emulate
“A fervent prayer, and a wall most unshakable A merciful spring And shelter of all mankind; Fervently we cry to you, Theotokos, our Lady, come to us and from all dangers now deliver us….” — Small Paraklesis to the Theotokos As a little girl, I was always fascinated by my...
Our Mother Who Art in Heaven
Now that I have your attention with the radically unusual title you see above, I want to assure you that no prayer within the corpus of Orthodox Christian writings begins with these words. The ‘paternal’ version of the “Our Father” prayer is well known to us all; and yet during...
Celebrating the Sweetness of the Theotokos
It’s hard to believe we are almost at the Feast of the Dormition. Always, the Dormition Fast seems to arrive unexpectedly, dropping into the hot summer sloth of barbecued chicken, flank steak, frozen margaritas, and big bowls of dip and queso. (I think of December and March as the time...
