The Church begins and ends with Jesus It would seem so obvious, but this truth must become paramount to our thinking, since it is often forgotten. We can get so caught up in all the ecclesiastical, social, political, and cultural aspects of our life in the Church, that the gospel
Category: The Morning Offering
At Baptism we receive the gift of a new birth from above At the time of our baptism the Church gives us the gift of a new birth from above, and welcomes us into the Body of Christ, which is the Church Herself. It is our membership in Christ’s Church
Jesus never apologized for offending the Pharisees The legalistic and cunning minds of the Pharisees, the basis of their hypocrisy, was the focus of much of Christ’s condemnation. The Pharisees were good actors, seeming to be pious and staunch purveyors of correctly practiced religion, yet they were personally offended by
The restoration of our true nature Saint Seraphim, who lived deep in the Forest of Sarov, always greeted visitors with the words, “My joy”. This saint’s words bespoke of his continuous joyful state. His holiness was not a sadness, but a joyfulness that everyone encountered when coming into his presence.
And the Resurrection of Jesus Christ The jubilation of the Church is also the jubilation of the Divine Persons of the Holy Trinity at the accomplishment of our salvation. The resurrection of Christ, which brought on the defeat of the power of death, is the cause of joyful praise, because
The Resurrection of Our Lord, God, and Saviour, Jesus Christ Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen! Хрїстóсъ воскрéсе! Воистину воскресе! Kristus er oppstanden! Han er sannelig oppstanden! Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden! Χριστός ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ανέστη! Христос воскресе! Воистину воскресе! Tha Crìosd air èiridh! Gu dearbh, tha
The Orthodox Observance of Great And Holy Saturday On Great and Holy Saturday the Church observes the day on which Christ reposed in the tomb. Foreshadowing this day as the blessed the seventh day, by Moses, the Church sees it the Blessed Sabbath. In other words, this is the day
The Orthodox Observance of Great and Holy Friday The commemorations of Holy Friday begin with the Matins service of the day which is conducted on Holy Thursday evening. The service is a very unique Matins service with twelve Gospel readings that begin with Christ’s discourse at the Last Supper, and
Holy and Great Thursday Holy Thursday Commemorations Along with the commemoration of the Lord’s washing of the disciples’ feet, the agony in the garden of Gethsemane, and the betrayal of Christ by Judas, the Church commemorates the institution of the Eucharist, on Great and Holy Thursday. At the Mystical Supper
Holy and Great Wednesday The theme of Holy and Great Wednesday is the commemoration of the sinful woman who anointed Jesus before his Crucifixion and Burial; a second theme is the agreement to betray Jesus made by Judas Iscariot. The day begins with the celebration of the Presanctified Liturgy on