Sitemap HomeWelcomeTerminologyGlossariesOld Testament ReadingsOld Testament The Old Testament is the first part of the Bible, the books written before the coming of Christ. They are divided into four groups: 1. Books of the Law; 2. Historical Books; 3. Doctrinal and 4. Prophetical. The Old Testament scripture begins with the five books of the Law called the Pentateuch, which means the five books; also called the Torah, which means the Law. Sometimes these books are also called the Books of Moses since they are centered on the exodus and the Mosaic laws. In the Old Testament there are also books of the history of Israel; books called the Wisdom books such as the Psalms, Proverbs, and the Book of Job; and books of the prophecies which carry the names of the Old Testament prophets. A prophet is one who speaks the Word of God by direct divine inspiration. Only secondarily does the word prophet mean one who foretells the future. The Orthodox Church also numbers among the genuine books of the Old Testament the so-called apocryphal books, meaning literally the secret or hidden writings. Other Christians put these books in a secondary place or reject completely their being of divine inspiration.New Testament ReadingsNew Testament Readings The books of the Bible which contain the revelation of God since the coming of Christ: the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the seven General Epistles, the fourteen Epistles of Saint Paul, and the Book of Revelation (Apocalypse). The center of the New Testament part of the Bible is the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John who are called the four evangelists, which means those who wrote the gospels. Gospel in Greek is evangelion which, as we have seen, means the “glad tidings” or the “good news.” In the New Testament scripture there is also the book of the Acts of the Apostles, written by St. Luke. There are fourteen letters called the epistles (which simply means letters) of the Apostle Paul, though perhaps some, such as the Letter to the Hebrews, were not written directly by him. Three letters are also ascribed to the Apostle John; two to the Apostle Peter; and one each to the Apostles James and Jude. Finally there is the Book of Revelation, also called the Apocalypse, which is ascribed to St. John as well. For the Orthodox, the Bible is the main written source of divine doctrine…CalendarSchedule of ServicesSchedule of Services This section of our website lists the schedule of services. ( Other coming events are not listed here, they have there own section called Coming Events. )TodayCalendarAbout the Church YearChurch Year Cycles of Feasts and Fasting – The Church Year The first of September is considered the start of the Church year according to the Orthodox Church calendar. But the liturgical center of the annual cycle of Orthodox worship is the feast of the Resurrection of Christ. All elements of Orthodox liturgical piety point to and flow from Easter, the celebration of the New Christian Passover. Even the “fixed feasts” of the Church such as Christmas and Epiphany which are celebrated according to a fixed date on the calendar take their liturgical form and inspiration from the Paschal feast. The five links here retrive information from our online calendar. Daily Calendar – Information links about any day from our database. Monthly Calendar – Some information and links to the daily Calendar pages. Fixed Feasts by Month – lists all the fixed feast days and can search for feast days also. Movable Feast by Year – list the dates of the movable feasts by year. Readings – lists the different cycles of readings, and has a display of how the cycles fall on a given mouth and year. Articles in this section of our website will list the cycles of…Fixed feasts by MonthMovable Feast by YearComing eventsComing events This section of our website lists events coming up. Also check the Sisterhood Corner for other announcements.( Services are not listed here, they have there own section called Schedule of Services. )Past Events SectionThis section of our website is about past events of of parish.ReadingsNewsArticlesOrthodox ChurchArticles 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)WorshipArticles 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: A Community of Prayer Divine Services Prayer – Orthodox Spirituality The SacramentsSaints and IconsArticles 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: Icons The Saints – Holy TraditionVideosArticles 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 videos are now in this category.)Salvation HistoryPre HistoryThe CovenantThe Law and the Prophets, PreparationThe Law and the Prophets, Preparation The deliverance of the people of Israel by Moses from the slavery in Egypt. The revelation of God to Moses of His divine name of Yahweh — I AM WHO I AM. The passover and the exodus, and the journey of the Israelites, led by God, through the desert. Also, the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai, and the other laws which God gave to Moses concerning the moral and ritual conduct of His People. History of Israel from the settlement in the promised land of Canaan to the first centuries before Christ. The major prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. And the so-called minor prophets.The Son of God, the IncarnationThe Son of God, the Incarnation Before His personal birth of the Virgin Mary as the man Jesus, the divine Son and Word of God was in the world by His presence and action in creation, particularly in man. He was present and active; also in the theophanies to the Old Testament saints; and in the words of the law and the prophets, both oral and scriptural. Because of his perfect love, God sent forth his Son into the world. God knew in the very act of creation that to have a world at all would require the incarnation of his Son in human flesh.Death and Resurrection, RedemptionDeath and Resurrection, Redemption Jesus did not sin and did not have to suffer and die, he voluntarily took upon himself the sins of the world and voluntarily gave himself up to suffering and death for the sake of salvation. Christ is risen from the dead! This is the main proclamation of the Christian faith. It forms the heart of the Church’s preaching, worship and spiritual life. “… if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Cor 15:14). It’ the first fruits of the resurrection of all humanity, the fulfillment of the Old Testament, “according to the Scriptures” where it is written, “For Thou doest not give me up unto Sheol [that is, the realm of death], or let Thy Godly one see corruption” (Ps 16:10; Acts 2:25-36). In Christ all expectations and hopes are filled: O Death, where is your sting? O Sheol, where is your victory? (Hos 13:34).New life, Church HistoryNew Life, Church History. The Church’s history records the progress of Christ’s work throughout the course of the human experience. History in Orthodoxy has a theological importance because of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, that just as God chose to become a physical, living, breathing human being, he also chooses to work in and through human history to bring about salvation. Thus, the Church’s history becomes a sacred history, not in the same sense as the Biblical history which forms the salvation story itself, but rather as a record of the continued effects of the salvation story in the experience of man.Salvation, The Kingdom of HeavenSalvation, The Kingdom of Heaven Through his sufferings as the Christ, Jesus achieved everlasting kingship and lordship over all creation. He has become “King of kings and Lord of lords,” sharing this title with God the Father Himself (Deut 10:17; Dan 2:47; Rev 19:16). As a man, Jesus Christ is King of the Kingdom of God. Christ came for no other reason than to bring God’s kingdom to us. His very first public words are exactly those of his forerunner, John the Baptist: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 3:2, 4:17).PrayersCanticles (or Odes)There are nine Biblical Canticles that are chanted at Matins These form the basis of the Canon, a major component of Matins. The nine Canticles are as follows: Canticle One – The (First) Song of Moses (Exodus 15:1-19) Canticle Two – The (Second) Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:1-43) Canticle Three – The Prayer of Hannah (I Kings 2:1-10) KJV: 1+Samuel 2:1-10 Canticle Four – The Prayer of Habakkuk (Habakkuk 3:1-19) Canticle Five – The Prayer of Isaiah (Isaiah 26:9-20) Canticle Six – The Prayer of Jonah (Jonah 2:2-9) Canticle Seven – The Prayer of the Three Holy Children (Daniel 3:26-56) Canticle Eight – The Song of the Three Holy Children (Daniel 3:57-88) Canticle Nine – The Song of the Theotokos (the Magnificat: Luke 1:46-55); the Song of Zacharias (the Benedictus Luke 1:68-79) Originally, these Canticles were chanted in their entirety every day, with a short refrain inserted between each verse. Eventually, short verses (troparia) were composed to replace these refrains, a process traditionally inaugurated by Saint Andrew of Crete. Gradually over the centuries, the verses of the Biblical Canticles were omitted (except for the Magnificat) and only the composed troparia were read, linked to the original canticles by an Irmos.…Orthodox PsalterDaily Readings from the Orthodox Psalter The Psalter is divided into 20 kathismata of three stases. Each stasis contains between one and three psalms. Except Kathisma 17, it is entirely the long Psalm 118. Each of the divine services contain fixed portions of the Psalter that are read or chanted each time the service is celebrated. In addition, certain services of the Daily Cycle contain prescribed kathisma readings. These prescribed readings rotate daily so that the Psalter is read through once in its entirety in single week, and twice during Great Lent. (The Psalter is not read on Holy Thursday, Holy Friday, or during Bright Week.) Day Psalter Readings Except Lent During Lent Holy Week St. Thomas Sun. to Sept. 21 Dec. 20 to Jan. 14 Sun. of Prodigal toSun. of Forgiveness Sept. 22 to Dec. 19 Jan. 15 to Sat. beforeSun. of Prodigal Except for Fifth Week 5th weekIf Annunciation does not fall on Thursday of week 5 (the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete is read on Thursday Matins) 5th weekIf Annunciation falls on Thursday of week 5 (the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete is read on Tuesday Matins) Sunday Matins – Kathisma 2, 3,…Text of PrayersIn the Orthodox Church it is said that we pray what we believe and believe what we pray. The text of our written prayers not only help with our communion with God through words of praise, thanksgiving, repentance, supplication, and intercession, but also brings to remembrance the Gospel message of Christ, the Apostolic teachings, and our faith. This part of our website gives the text of some of the prayers of the Orthodox Church. The publication of such prayers does not limit the free expression of the Christian soul to the Creator, the Most-holy Theotokos and the Saints. On the contrary, by reading these prayers one can learn how to pray. They become models for our own, personal prayers. Often, we would like to pray but, distracted by the world around us, or troubled by fear or sorrow, we do not even know how to begin. We then begin with the a prayerbook and find that not only much of what we wanted to say is included in the prayers of the fathers, but that afterwards, we find words of our own to continue the outpouring of our soul.Troparia and KontakiaShort hymns sung after the small entrance at Divine Liturgy. For Sundays the subject is the Holy Resurrection; a different hymn for each of the Eight Tones. Every feast has its particular hymn describing the event or the virtues of the saint. Also there are hymns giving in an abbreviated form the substance of the day’s feast. Originally, this was a hymn composed of many stanza (18-24) whose lengthy text required the use of a scroll. What remains today are short preliminary stanzas that give a concise meaning to the feast being celebrated. These hymns are also sung following the Sixth Ode in Matins, and during the Hours.
