October 26, 2020
October 26, 2020
Read about some of our most beloved Saints and Martyrs.
What is the Orthodox response to adversity?
Recently, as I was praying about what inspirational words I could pass on to you, I called to mind +Hieromonk David (Pierce) of blessed memory. When Father David was diagnosed with a glioblastoma brain tumor, his life changed instantly. Following his first surgery, I visited Father David, and he venerated the holy relics that I had brought with me. He had a strong faith, was unshaken, and his eyes were fixed on eternity. We began talking about his prognosis, which led into a discussion about contemporary issues facing Orthodox Christians in an increasingly secular society where much is being done to remove “God” from its midst. The result of that visit was an article we co-authored on how the mind of an Orthodox Christian person should react when facing difficult circumstances.
Father David reposed in 2014, and we never published that article. Because of the healing nature of the Skete’s …
St. Spyridon’s Fish Meal
Saint Spyridon and the Miracle of the Fish
Translated into English for the Queen of All Skete by
Gerontissa Theonymphe, Παναγιοπουλα Μετοχι (Panagiopoula Μετochi), Corfu, Greece
Greetings from Corfu to all of you who follow the site of the blessed Queen of All Skete, evlogeite! I have translated for you, from Greek, an account of this miracle of our beloved Saint Spyridon. This story is recorded in the works of Saint Maximus the Greek, (Jan. 21/Feb. 3, 1556), who is known as the Spiritual Enlightener of Rus.
As most everyone knows, Corfu is blessed with the Holy Relics of Saint Spyridon the Wonderworker. These relics have been preserved for many ages in the center of town in an impressive Church called the ‘Ayio’, built in 1589. In order for the faithful to venerate the Saint’s holy relics, throughout the day clerics open the protective doors to the room which houses …
Service of the Synaxis of All the Holy Doctors
Service of the Synaxis of All the Holy Doctors
by Metropolitan Kyrillos of Rhodes,
translated By Bishop Spyridon of Amastris.
In 2021, the Greek Orthodox Church established the Sunday following the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the 7th Ecumenical Synod as the Sunday of the Synaxis of all the Holy Doctors. This date was chosen because it falls close to the Feast of the Synaxis of the Holy Unmercenary Physicians (Oct. 17/30) and that of the Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist (Oct. 18/31), who was a doctor.
On this day, the Greek Church honors medical doctors and all those in the healthcare industry for their essential contribution and ministry to mankind. The Feast and this Liturgical Service conveys the Church’s concern regarding the spiritual care for every sick and suffering person, and sheds light on the need for dialogue between the medical community and the …
The Harmony of Monarchy and Russian Orthodox Christianity
The Harmony Of Monarchy
And Russian Orthodox Christianity
The world is intrigued this year with the crowning of Charles III of the United Kingdom. Yet let us never forget the glorious reign of another monarchy, the Romanov Dynasty. A little more than 100 years ago, just three days before the start of the Great Fast, Tsar-martyr Nicholas II abdicated the throne, on March 15, 1917, bringing to an end to more than 300 years of Romanov rule. After the light of Pascha shone on the world that year, within a few months the enemies of Christ led Russia into a dark phase of its history, with the regicide of the anointed ruler.
Archpriest Constantine Desrosiers, Ph.D., brilliantly asserts that we must not fix our eyes exclusively on earthly political events, but rather on the Mystery of the Holy Spirit working within human history.
Akoluthia to Bless a Mill
AKOLOUTHIA TO BLESS A MILL
Priest: Blessed is our God, always, now and ever and unto the ages of ages.
Reader: Amen.
Priest: Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Heavenly King, O Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, who art everywhere
present and fillest all things, the treasury of good things and bestower of life,
come and tabernacle in us and cleanse us from every stain and save,
O Good One, our souls.
Reader (trisagion prayers):
Holy God (3x)…
Glory…both now …
All-holy Trinity …
Lord have mercy (3x) …
Glory…both now …
Our Father…
Priest: For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages.
Reader: Amen.
The priest makes the holy water, and with it he says these …
Prayers for Blessing an Aircraft
NOTE: This English-language translation has not been approved by any liturgical commission. As it does not appear in the English-language Book of Needs,
but yet is in the Grand Euchologe, it is being offered simply as scholarly work from the works of Schema-Archimandrite John (Lewis +2007).
PRAYER FOR BLESSING AN AIRCRAFT
Priest: O Lord, the God of powers, who art great and marvelous, who in thine
ineffable goodness and the treasury of they providence governest all, who from
the goods of this world hast given us the gift, and who by the goods already
granted hast given us the pledge of the promised kingdom, who hast made
the clouds they chariot and Thou movest upon1 the wings of the wind, Thou
the most high Lord, who watches over the humble and knowest from afar
who raises up, who hast sent a fiery chariot to Elias and …
The Grand Duke Wladimir Kyrillovich of Russia Book
Now Available!
Excerpt from the book:
“…a Knight of unblemished Russian dignity and honor … the Grand Duke completely accepted the sacrificial task of carrying out the heavy duties and responsibilities of representation, and even more: the leadership of the thousand-year-old Dynasty of the Russian Imperial House, who are the historical descendants of the Byzantine Empire: the founders of Christian culture.”
Page 4
“Along the way, in varying ways and attitudes, the citizenry of Saint Petersburg witnessed … the presence in their midst of Him who might in happier days have been their Tsar. Some disregarded what was happening before them, eager to carry on their work of the day oblivious to anything beyond the desperate search for food and sustenance, the drab drudgery of Lenin’s Promethean hubris. Others stopped to watch in curious and inquiring silence. Still more smiled and waved enthusiastically to the Imperial Family, …