Orthodox Church of the Mother of God website - Home page
Welcome
- Details
- Category: About
Welcome to the official website of the
Orthodox Church of the Mother of God,
Joy of all the Sorrowful
We are a growing parish in the Diocese of New York and New Jersey, of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA).
We are in historic Mays Landing, New Jersey, easily reachable near where Route 40 meets Route 50 in Atlantic County.
115 Hudson St.
Mays Landing, New Jersey 08330
Turnersville, NJ 08012
Archpastoral Letter for the Great Fast 2019
- Details
- Category: Orthodox Church
Sunday of Forgiveness, March 10, 2019
Dearly Beloved of Our Diocesan Family:
Christ is in our midst! – He is and ever shall be!
What is the Church, if not a place where the sick meet their physician?
Those sick from sin come to confess their sickness to God the Physician, and to find medicine and healing from Him who is the true Healer from
all human suffering and weakness, and the Giver of all good things.
-- St. Nikolai (Velimirovich) of Zhicha
At sundown on Forgiveness Sunday, we Orthodox Christians begin our annual observance of Great Lent. This is a season provided by the Church as a time of our healing. As unbelievable as it may seem, we are commanded by Our Savior to “be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48) … and the Lord would not command us to do something that is impossible. Of course, it is not possible for us to become perfect on our own efforts; but with the power of the Holy Spirit, becoming like God (theosis) can be achieved.
Great Lent - Its Meaning For Orthodox Christians
- Details
- Category: Worship
GREAT LENT Its Meaning For Orthodox Christians
by THE RT. REV. ALEXANDER SCHMEMANN (1970)
GREAT LENT The Time of Repentance
"Brethren, while fasting bodily, let us,.also fast spiritually; let us loosen every bond of injustice; let us destroy the strong fetters of violence; let us tear up every unjust writing; let us give bread to the hungry and let us welcome the homeless poor to our houses, that from Christ our God we may receive the great mercy." (Stichira, Wednesday of the First Week)
Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
- Details
- Category: Schedule of Services
We will serve the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm during Great Lent. This liturgy is the solemn Lenten Vespers with Holy Communion added to it. The Communion is received from the Sacramental Gifts of bread and wine offered and sanctified at the Divine Liturgy of the previous Sunday, hence its name of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. Fasting for Presanctified Liturgy should begin after consumption of lunch.
See our full Schedule of Services
About the Patron of our Parish
- Details
- Category: Saints and Icons
(the Icon of the Mother of God "the Joy of All the Sorrowful" is Commemorated on July 23, October 24, and November 19)
About the Patron of our Parish
By Helen Creticos Theodoropoulos
Deep within the heart of the Church, in the place where sorrow and joy meet and where our bitter tears are kissed away by a mother's love, we encounter the Most Holy Mother of God. The Church in its devotion to the Ever-Virgin Mary has always known that she is a mystery and a gift given to us by God. The Theotokos is a mystery that can be experienced and encountered, and yet never explained or described in words of logic and science, and she is a gift that brings radiant joy and comfort in the midst of darkness and need. Through the centuries the Church has expressed its love for her through countless hymns, has praised her in its most exquisite poetry and song, and has portrayed her in its most beautiful and beloved icons. No other saint is the subject of so much devotion, and no other saint has so many miracles attributed him or her.
Purpose
- Details
- Category: About
Purpose
As the local community of the Church of the Mother of God, this parish, exists for the purpose of worshiping God according to the Holy Scriptures and Tradition of the Holy Orthodox Church, to encourage union with God among the members of the parish, to seek out the lost, the searching, and the un-churched and to strive to bring them into union with the Church, to provide religious education to its members and potential members, provide charitable aid, and to defend, promote, and witness to theOrthodox Christian Faith in southern New Jersey.
This website is a tool to help in this purpose. Primarily to publicize our existence in southern New Jersey, and hopefully, encourage people to "come and see".
The many pages on this website contain information we hope is helpful.
Our Church Building
- Details
- Category: About
Our Church Building
Our church building, and the services celebrated within it, are from the tradition of the Church, from the vision of St John the Apostle, as well as the Old Testament Temple. The interior of the Orthodox Church buildings are particularly styled to give the experience of the unity of all things in God. They are not constructed to reproduce the upper room of the Last Supper, nor to be simply a meeting hall for people whose life exists solely within the bounds of this earth. The church building itself, is an image of the world.
See us on Facebook
