Watch Now. Partners at Pan Orthodox United has shared this video from Orthodox Voices of America on the topic of “Old Christmas vs. New Christmas & Epiphany.” ABOUT THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN NETWORK Orthodox Christian Network (OCN) is a 501(c)3 and an official agency of the Assembly of Canonical Bishops of the United Read more…
As we come closer to the commemoration of the birth of Christ, we would do well to consider exactly what it is that we celebrate. By in large, the Christian world marks the birth of Jesus in the cave at Bethlehem, the “en-fleshing” of the Divine Word, “full of grace Read more…
The twinkling lights speak of His presence. His birth returns light to the world as He illuminates every shadow of darkness in the world and within us. Christ is here! The evergreen speaks of eternal life. The candy canes display red and white stripes of blood and purity. Christ is Read more…
The Washington Post Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Gene Weingarten, wrote a piece awhile ago about a street performer playing a violin at the top of the escalator outside the L’Enfant Plaza metro station in Washington, DC. He played some of the most inspiring classical music ever written, and the rushing Read more…
It is most agreed upon that other than Christ himself, the Theotokos is the most important person in the Nativity story. There is however another important person in this story that doesn’t always get the credit (I personally feel) he deserves. If the title didn’t give it away, the person Read more…
The following is an imagined excerpt from a recently unearthed ancient manuscript found somewhere in Mesopotamia. The original was probably written in Ancient Hebremaic and has been dated between 2 and 6,000 BC. The really curious feature of the manuscript is that it appears to be written in a format Read more…
The Nativity Fast has begun, and Christmas is just around the corner. Trees are soon to be decorated. Children around the world will make lists, check them twice and anxiously await the arrival of Santa Claus. However, parents beware! Jolly old St. Nick served time in prison. I’m not kidding! Read more…
The relationship between Christmas, Martyrdom, and Liturgy might seem as a stretch at first, but in light of the recent bombing at St. Peter’s Church in Cairo, one may begin to draw a connection between the icon of the Feast Day and martyrdom. In the Christmas icon, the iconographer has Read more…
When I was growing up, I never really gave Mary, the mother of Jesus, much thought, except at Christmas. We were a church-going family, and our church did the whole Sunday School Christmas play thing. That’s when Mary came front and centre. Who would play her? She was, after all, Read more…
No angel figures more prominently in the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ than the Archangel Gabriel. The name Gabriel in Hebrew means “Man of God”. It has also been translated as the “Strength/Power of God”. This archangel has also been called the leader of the heavenly hosts. Gabriel was Read more…