Articles Section
This section of our website has articles about Orthodoxy and our church. These articles are also currently subdivided into three categories:
- 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.
- Worship, a collection of articles about services, prayers, and worship of the Orthodox 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.
Also see our Salvation History Section and our list of Videos.
The Great Canon
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- Parent Category: Articles Section
- Category: Worship
- Written by Fr. Alexander Schmemann
- Hits: 3497
The Great Canon
by Alexander Schmemann
The Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete can best be described as a penitential lamentation conveying to us the scope and depth of sin, shaking the soul with despair, repentance, and hope. With a unique art, St. Andrew interwove the great biblical themes-- Adam and Eve, Paradise and Fall, the Patriarchs Noah and the Flood, David, the Promised Land, and ultimately Christ and the Church-- with confession of sin and repentance. The events of sacred history are revealed as events of my life, God's acts in the past as acts aimed at me and my salvation, the tragedy of sin and betrayal as my personal tragedy. My life is shown to me as part of the great and all-embracinf fight between God and the powers of darkness which rebel against Him.
Mary of Egypt
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- Parent Category: Articles Section
- Category: Saints and Icons
- Written by St Sophronios
- Hits: 3502
The Life of Our Holy Mother Mary of Egypt
As read in church during Great Lent:
READER: The Life of our Holy Mother Mary of Egypt. Master, bless.
PRIEST: Blessed is our God, always, now and ever and unto ages of ages.
READER: Amen.
"It is good to hide the secret of a king, but it is glorious to reveal and preach the works of God." (Tobit 12:7) So said the Archangel Raphael to Tobit when he performed the wonderful healing of his blindness. Actually, not to keep the secret of a king is perilous and a terrible risk, but to be silent about the works of God is a great loss for the soul. And I (says St. Sophronios), in writing the life of St. Mary of Egypt, am afraid to hide the works of God by silence. Remembering the misfortune threatened to the servant who hid his God-given talent in the earth (Mat. 25:18-25), I am bound to pass on the holy account that has reached me. And let no one think (continues St. Sophronios) that I have had the audacity to write untruth or doubt this great marvel --may I never lie about holy things! If there do happen to be people who, after reading this record, do not believe it, may the Lord have mercy on them because, reflecting on the weakness of human nature, they consider impossible these wonderful things accomplished by holy people.
ARCHPASTORAL LETTER FORThe Feast of Holy Pentecost 2014
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- Parent Category: Articles Section
- Category: Orthodox Church
- Written by Biship Michael
- Hits: 3505
ARCHPASTORAL LETTER FOR The Feast of Holy Pentecost Sunday, 8 June 2014
Dearly Beloved in the Lord:
“Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)
The Feast of Holy Pentecost marks the day on which the Holy Spirit Whom Christ promised to His disciples (John15:26) came upon them. From that moment, the apostles received “the power from on high,” and they began to preach and bear witness to Jesus as the Risen Christ, the King and the Lord. That day in history has traditionally been known as “the birthday of the Church.”
Saint Luke records this remarkable event for us with these words:
“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”(Acts 2:1-4)
This is an incredible account...but it must be noted, that the Feast of Pentecost is not merely the celebration of a happening which took place centuries ago.It is the celebration of what must happen and does happen to us in the Church today. We have all died and risen with Christ in baptism, and we have all received His Most Holy Spirit in Chrismation. We are all indeed “temples of the Holy Spirit” in whom God’s Spirit dwells (Romans 8:1). We have, by our membership in the Church, received “the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Pentecost has happened to us ... the fire of the Holy Spirit has been ignited in each of us. But just having that flame burn quietly within us, is not enough.
The Home: A Micro Church
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- Parent Category: Articles Section
- Category: Orthodox Church
- Written by HOLY SYNOD OCA
- Hits: 3504
The Home: A Micro Church
The reality of the Church in the New World is that parishes, and dioceses are not the compact units of Old World. Distance is a great problem. Our faithful work far from their homes and live far from their local church. Time is taken up with travel and preparations for it. Once the faithful are at home it is not easy to call them out again for other programs, no matter how spiritually beneficial. The home is however still the "micro/mini church" and we should focus in on that.
Thus, in making available the printed word, radio broadcasts, [web sites, podcasts,] television, and especially home videos, we are extending the Word of God into the Christian household. The media should also help to sanctify the home, drawing families together to see and hear the Good News. Micro and macro Churches thus strengthen each other.
Met. Kallistos Ware - PRP Special: The Jesus Prayer
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- Parent Category: Articles Section
- Category: Videos
- Written by Site Administrator
- Hits: 3537
Met. Kallistos Ware | PRP Special: The Jesus Prayer
Watch the video here.More Articles...
Subcategories
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Orthodox Church
Articles about the Orthodox Church
This section of our website, is a collection of articles about the Orthodox Church. We hope the articles in this section will be helpful to inquires of Orthodoxy, Catechumens, and to those who are members of the Church.
Good starting points would be:
- The Orthodox Church: An Introduction
- Meeting The Orthodox
- What is the Orthodox Church?
- Sources of Christian Doctrine
- A Pastoral Letter on the Occasion of the Third Christian Millennium (a re-telling of the Good News of God's love for us)
- Article Count:
- 94
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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.
Good starting points would be:
- Article Count:
- 82
-
Saints and Icons
Articles on Saints and Icons
This section of our website, is 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.
Besides enhancing the beauty of our church, icons remind and instruct us in matters pertaining to the Christian faith. They can lift us up to the prototypes which they symbolize, to a higher level of thought and feeling, to help transform us and sanctify us. Icons can stimulate us to imitate the virtues of the holy personages depicted on them. They serve as a means of worship and veneration.Good starting points would be:
- Article Count:
- 59
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Videos
Articles by Video
This part of our website is where we post videos for now. They may be moved into other categories on the website, whatever seems best.
(All the 7 questions 7 answers vedios are noiw in this category.)
- Article Count:
- 32
Articles