March 17, 2023
March 17, 2023
Read about some of our most beloved Saints and Martyrs.
Saint Spyridon Notes
Saint Spyridon notes from Gerontissa Theonymphe on Corfu
Hello to all of you, those who attend the blessed Queen of All Skete, and to those who follow the Site prepared by the Skete. Special greetings to the hard-working Mother Superior, Mother Andrea, Evlogeite!
As you know, Corfu is blessed as the honored owner of the Holy relics of Saint Spyridon, a long story going back many years. The relics are preserved in the enormous Church called the Ayio, in the center of town. Throughout the day the clerics open the protective doors and allow people to venerate the Saint’s
holy relics, whole, intact, lying in a massive silver casket, over which hang numerous candilia [vigil lamps]. Nearby is the right arm of the Saint in a separate Holy Relic box having come more recently to the island. All this time the clerics read names submitted, for health, enlightenment, and …
Akoluthia for the Adoption of a Child
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 and the Agiasmatarion, it is being offered simply as scholarly work from the works of Schema-Archimandrite John (Lewis +2007).
AKOLOUTHIA FOR THE ADOPTION OF A CHILD
The priest, vested in his vestments, opens the beautiful gate. He/she who is going to be adopted as a son or daughter stands closest to the beautiful gate, he who is going to become the father stands in back; both carry a lighted candle.
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 …
Sewing Room Update
Sewing Room Update
An example of early monastic needlework: the Felbrigge Psalter is possibly the earliest example of embroidered bookbinding that is still in existence. It is believed to have been made in the late 1300s by Anne de Felbrigge, a nun at the Minoresses Convent in Suffolk, England. The 7 3/4 by 5 3/4 book is worked with fine gold threads. This picture is a restoration of the original
For centuries, nuns have engaged in the sacred obedience of crafting fine textile arts such as embroidery, tapestry weaving, beading, and other needlework to produce items of beauty for bishops, churches, homes of the faithful, and even for royalty. Queens would commission tapestries or embroideries as gifts for their husband, the king, extolling his virtues and successful
Pascha Basket Covers and Tea Towels
Pascha Basket Covers and Tea Towels
Mother Tamara has been busy making Pascha Basket Covers so you will have them in time for the Feast of Feasts on April 12th of 2026. They are embroidered onto 100% cotton and are a 17-inch square to top off your basket. All Pascha Basket covers are $45, plus $10 shipping/handling.
The same designs may be embroidered onto tea towels, for a finished size of 27” by 18”. They are also 100% cotton. The design will go at one end of the towel. Cost is also $45, plus $10 shipping.
To personalize items with family name is an additional $15. Any additional personalization (such as date, occasion, etc.) is an additional $10 for a $25 total personalization cost.
Both Basket Covers and Tea Towels are perfect gifts for:
- Pascha
- Baptisms
- Weddings
- Birthdays
- Hostess gifts
- Christmas
- Graduations
- Housewarming gifts
- Anniversaries
Orders must be received
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 …