“The Prayer Team” is a daily devotion written by Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis, written every day since February 2015. Fr. Stavros is the Parish Priest at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Tampa, Florida. It began in February 2015 as an opportunity to write more on the subject of prayer and now has branched into other subjects.
All generations offer a hymn to Your burial, O my Christ. ~Stanza Three of the Lamentations, Good Friday Evening, Trans. by Fr. George Papadeas — For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man Read more…
It is fitting to magnify You, the Giver of Life, Who extended Your hands upon the Cross, and shattered the power of the enemy. ~Stanza Two of the Lamentations, Good Friday Evening, Trans. by Fr. George Papadeas — He who commits sin is of the devil; for the devil has Read more…
O Christ, the Lord, You were laid in the tomb, and the ranks of Angels were amazed, glorifying Your condescension. ~Stanza One of the Lamentations, Good Friday Evening, Trans. by Fr. George Papadeas — When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was Read more…
Lament not for Me, Mother, as You behold Me in the grave, Whom as a Son you conceived in Your womb without seed. For I shall rise and be glorified, and as God, I shall ceaselessly exalt in glory those, who in faith and yearning, magnify you. My eternal Read more…
And one of the crowd answered Jesus, “Teacher, I brought my son to You, for he has a dumb spirit; and wherever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked Your disciples to cast it out, and they Read more…
For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise. Men indeed swear by a greater than themselves, and in Read more…
You Who clothed Yourself with light as a garment, Joseph with Nicodemus, brought down from the Cross, and seeing You dead, naked and unburied, felt deeply a sympathetic lament, and in grieving said: “Woe to me, sweetest Jesus! Whom, but a short while ago, when the sun beheld You hanging Read more…
The noble Joseph taking down from the Cross Your spotless Body, enwrapped It in clean linen with aromas, and laid It for burial in a new Tomb. ~Apolytikion, Descent from the Cross, Good Friday afternoon, Trans. by Fr. George Papadeas And when evening had come, since it was the Read more…
It was wondrous to behold the Maker of Heaven and Earth hanging on the Cross; to see the sun darkened, the day changing again into night, and the Earth giving up bodies of the dead from their graves. With them, we worship You, Save us, O Lord. 9th Hour, Royal Hours, Good Read more…
You ransomed us from the curse of the Law by Your precious Blood; You have shed forth immortality upon mankind by being nailed to the Cross and pierced with a spear. O Savior of us all, glory to You. ~Kathisma, 15th Antiphon, 12 Gospels, Holy Thursday Evening, Trans. by Fr. George Papadeas Read more…
Because of a tree, Adam was estranged from Paradise; because of the wood of the Cross, the thief abode in Paradise; for the former, in tasting, disobeyed the commandment of the Creator; but the latter, who was crucified with You, confessed, admitting to You the concealed God. O Savior; remember Read more…
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who in every respect has been tempted as Read more…