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Worship
Articles on services and prayers.This section of our website has a collection a collection of articles about services, prayers, and worship of the Orthodox Church. See articles in other
categories too: - Orthodox
Church, a collection of articles about the Orthodox Church. We
hope the articles in this section will be helpful to both inquires of
Orthodoxy, and to those who are members of the Church.
- Saints and Icons,
a collection of articles about saints, their relics, or their icons. We
hope to include articles, of special interest to our parish, on the
saints who are depicted on our icons, or whose holy relics rest here.
Articles on our feast day icons will be included here also.
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Beheading of St. John the Baptist |
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Written by Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy
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The Beheading of St. John the BaptistFr. Seraphim Slobodskoy [The church remembers the Beheading of the Prophet, Forerunner of the Lord, John the Baptist on August 29] The preaching of John the Baptist was of short duration.
Having prepared people to receive the Saviour, he ended his life with a
martyr’s death. Soon after the baptism of the Lord, John was put in prison by
the Galilean King Herod. This Galilean King, Herod Antipas, was the son of
Herod the Great, who slaughtered the fourteen thousand Bethlehem infants.
John upbraided King Herod because he had married
his brother Philip’s wife, Herodias, even though his
brother was still alive. Herodias became embittered against for this and wanted
Herod to kill him. But Herod would not agree to this because he considered John
to be a great prophet and feared the people. However, to appease her, he put
John in prison. Herodias was not satisfied with this, especially as Herod
himself listened with pleasure to the admonitions of John and often acted on
his words. |
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Written by Archbishop Dmitri of Dallas
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The Lord is my ShepherdBy
Archbishop
Dmitri of Dallas and the South Psalm 22/23 which begins with the words, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” is probably one of the best known, most often quoted and memorized of all David’s beautiful hymns. It has always occupied an important place in the spiritual life of the Orthodox Christian, and is one of the Psalms included in the order of preparation for the reception of Holy Communion.
In the early Church the catechumens, especially as the time for their baptism drew near, were made familiar with its contents and were even obliged to learn it by heart. It seems, however, that its meaning was not fully explained to them until after they had received the grace of the All-holy Spirit in the mysteries of baptism, chrismation and the eucharist.
“We gave you the Psalm, beloved children who hurriedly approach the baptism of Christ, so that you might learn it by heart. But, it is necessary, because of its mystical, hidden meaning, that we explain it to you, with the light of divine grace.” (From a sermon attributed to St. Augustine.)
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Prayer is essential to Christian life |
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Written by Fr. Thomas Hopko
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Prayer is essential to Christian life. by Fr. Thomas Hopko
Prayer is essential to Christian life. Jesus Christ himself prayed and
taught men to pray. No one who does not pray to God can be a follower of
Christ.
In the Orthodox Church all prayer is Trinitarian. We pray in the Holy
Spirit, through Jesus the Son of God, and in his name, to God the
Father. We call God "our Father" because Jesus has taught us and enabled
us to do so. We have the capability of addressing God as Father because
we are made sons of God by the Holy Spirit (see
Rom 8).
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Written by Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy
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Divine ServicesWritten by Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy
Divine
service is the worship of God or the fulfillment of God's will,
pleasing God through good thoughts, words, and deeds.
Divine services began on the earth with the creation
of the first humans in Paradise. Their divine services consisted of
freely giving glory to God for His wisdom, goodness, omnipotence, and
the all the other divine perfections which are manifest in the created
world and in His providence governing it.
After the fall into sin, it became a greater part of
mankind's service to pray to God, beseeching Him for salvation. Along
with prayer to the Lord, mankind established the practice of sacrificial
offering as part of its divine service. Sacrifice expresses the thought
that all we seem to possess is not ours but belongs to God. In prayer
and sacrifice, man remembers that God receives his supplication because
of its likeness to the sacrifice of the Saviour of the world, the Son of
God come to earth, which was offered for all mankind. |
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Akathist Hymn, Glory to God for All Things |
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Written by Fr. Gregory Petrov
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Akathist Hymn, Glory to God for All Things
This
Akathist, also
called the "Akathist of Thanksgiving," was composed by Protopresbyter
Gregory Petrov shortly before his death in a prison camp in 1940. The
title is
from the words of Saint John Chrysostom as he was dying in exile. It is a
song
of praise from amidst the most terrible sufferings.
(Trisagion
Prayers)
Kontakion 1
Everlasting
King, Thy
will for our salvation is full of power. Thy right arm controls the
whole course
of human life. We give Thee thanks for all Thy mercies, seen and unseen.
For
eternal life, for the heavenly joys of the Kingdom which is to be. Grant
mercy
to us who sing Thy praise, both now and in the time to come. Glory to
Thee, O
God, from age to age.
Ikos 1
I was born a
weak,
defenceless child, but Thine angel spread his wings over my cradle to
defend
me. From birth until now Thy love has illumined my path, and has
wondrously
guided me towards the light of eternity; from birth until now the
generous
gifts of Thy providence have been marvelously showered upon me. I give
Thee
thanks, with all who have come to know Thee, who call upon Thy name.
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