Fr. Andreas Agathokleous The Feast of the Annunciation lends a pre-Paschal feeling to Great Lent, during which it always falls. The atmosphere of compunction recedes and gives way to the joy of the great feast. This is why we have a dispensation to eat fish. The hymns, the celebrations Read more…
The Akathistos Hymn occupies an important in the reverential period of Great Lent and is one of the most popular and well-known hymns, both in terms of its melody and poetry. Its inclusion in the Triodio can be explained by the fact that the content is linked to the joyful Read more…
As a sinful follower of Jesus Christ, my ultimate goal is to joyfully spend eternity in God’s kingdom. Since becoming Orthodox, I’ve frequently turned to the Theotokos for guidance. She is the most pure, with no ego or agenda, and totally devoted to serving and worshipping God. Because of her, Read more…
Dr. Dimitrios Khoilous The feasts of the Mother of God are a matter of joy for the whole Church. Our Lady, who is honoured at these, is the person who glorified the whole of the human race when she answered God’s invitation to participate in His incarnation, thus ushering Read more…
Fr. Alexander Schmemann It seems thousands of years removed from us, but it was not so very long ago that life was marked out by religious feasts. Although everyone went to church, not everyone, of course, knew the exact contents of each celebration. For many, perhaps even the majority, Read more…
Watch now Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta, at the second part of his interview to Pemptousia, talks about the person of the Theotokos, the Mother of God, in the life of the Church. Source: pemptousia.com Watch the first part of the interview: The benefit of the Monasticism to the Church and to Read more…
Since today is, in one sense, the most important day in postlapsarian history, it seems fitting to relate three miracles which have occurred as a result of Mary taking the momentous decision to accede to God’s request that she bear the Lord. These miracles are all associated with her holy Read more…
The Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God holds a place in my life and in my heart that will take me a lifetime to unpack. It has touched me personally on three significant occasions in my ministry. As an Episcopalian, a newly ordained deacon, actually, I had Read more…
St. Mary, the mother of God the, the pure virgin, all holy virgin, and the pride of our race are all names we give the Theotokos to describe her purity and love for God. When we hear these titles, we expect them to come from someone who grew up in Read more…
My name’s Garyfallia and I was born with spina bifida, a rare deformity of the spinal membrane which almost always causes paralysis of the legs and/or arms and even learning problems, depending on how high up the spine the deformity is. Thank God I don’t have any paralysis, but from Read more…