Queen of All Skete
Queen of All Skete
Read about some of our most beloved Saints and Martyrs.
Antidoron Bags
From Saint Tabitha’s Studio: Antidoron Bags
St. John Maximovitch, Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco, encouraged Orthodox Christians to consume a small bit of antidoron and holy water every morning on days they would not be receiving the Eucharist. This way, he said, the first thing that goes into our body would be something blessed.
In the monasteries, we take the remnants of antidoron that is not consumed and while it is soft, cut it into small, quarter-inch pieces. Then it is air-dried on a baking sheet or foil for a few days, after which it is stored in a glass jar or antidoron bag.
The Queen of All Skete’s Antidoron Bags are made for you to carry home the antidoron from your Church and after drying, for its storage. They are crafted of quality white linen. Each bag is an approximate 6″ square with a ribbon drawstring closure with
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 …
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, …
Homeric Gospel
The Agape Vespers
Gospel of John
Translated from Homeric Greek
By tradition, the Gospel of John (20:19-25) proclaimed at Agape Vespers on the Sunday of Pascha is read in multiple languages to highlight the universality of the Resurrection of Christ and its impact upon all mankind.
This Gospel has never been possible in Homeric Greek because many of the words used in the Gospel were not a part of the Homeric Greek language. For example, it would be impossible to describe that the doors were closed for fear of the Jews, as there was no word for Jews in the Homeric epic dialect.
But in the 18th century, Saint Nicodemos the Hagiorite brilliantly and beautifully set this Gospel to Homeric Greek and meter. In order to do so, the Gospel had to be paraphrased while capturing and retaining its message. The Saint skillfully crafted …
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 …
The Borders of Ukraine
The Borders of Ukraine
Ukraine is a land with vast expanses of wheat and sunflower fields stretching farther than the eye can see; attention to beauty in the smallest of details; hard-working people who are cordial in their hospitality; and so much more that makes it a truly special place.
By God’s grace and through the generosity of Georgiy Belchenko of blessed memory (+2021) and his wife, I was blessed to experience Ukraine with Mother Theodora (in schema Amphilochia, +2015), before the present turmoil.
The one thing that struck us both were the magnificent borders painted on church arches. Mother Theodora, an iconographer, noted that Orthodox church architecture, which often incorporates graceful arches into its design, led to an entire artistic discipline that would enable the arches to be harmoniously united with the overall scheme of the church’s icons, …
Saint Spyridon is quick to hear
Saint Spyridon is quick to hear
A Story from The Optina Garden
The Optina Garden is a beautiful book written by Nina Pavlova, a spiritual daughter of Archimandrite Adrian (Kirsanov). Nina also authored Red Pascha, the account of the three Optina monks murdered by satanists in 1993.
Nina was so captivated with Optina that she purchased a house near the outskirts of the Monastery. Daily she visited with the Elders and monks, which provided her with a privileged connection to the Elders. She kept detailed and valuable notes on events, characters, and dreams. Due to the assistance she provided the Monastery, she was trusted by the elders and with the spiritual guidance they provided her, she received a serious theological education.
Written in Russian, the text was translated into Greek by Father George Konispoliatis. Gerontissa Theonymphe of the Παναγιοπουλα Μετοχι (Panagiopoula Μετochi) in Corfu, Greece, found particularly interesting …
Prayers in time of Invasion by the Nations
PRAYERS IN TIME OF INVASION
BY THE NATIONS
By Makarios of Philadelphia
FIRST PRAYER IN TIME OF INVASION BY THE NATIONS
Deacon: Let us entreat the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: O Master Lord, our God, who is like Thee among the gods, O Lord our God? What
god is as great as our God, manifesting his power in mercy and his goodness in
strength, to console us and to save us? O God, remain not silent nor allay the
retribution which Thou owest to the prideful, for behold, thine enemies are strong,
and them that hate Thee raise their head, against thy people have they woven their
plots, they have taken measures against thy faithful. They said: “Come, let us destroy
them, that their name Israel be remembered no more.” The nations have come into
thine inheritance, they have defiled thy holy …
Akoluthia To Bless a Furnace or an Oven
AKOLOUTHIA TO BLESS A FURNACE OR AN OVEN
FIRST PRAYER TO BLESS A FURNACE OR OVEN
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 …
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.
…
Prayers for a Dyslexic 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 Mega Euchologion, Grand Euchologe and Agiasmatarion, it is being offered simply as scholarly work from the works of Schema-Archimandrite John (Lewis +2007).
AKOLOUTHIA OF INTERCESSION FOR A DYSLEXIC (TIRESOME OR DIFFICULT) CHILD
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 …
Glory/both now …
All-holy Trinity …
Lord …
Father John’s Holy Thursday Message
Schema-Archimandrite John (Lewis, +2007)
All his life, Schema-Archimandrite John was of tenuous health. From childhood he suffered with serious asthma. In his adult years, he developed COPD, diabetes, kidney cancer, fistula and many other afflictions. He attributed much of this to having been born on May 6/19, the feast of the Holy Prophet Job, and he patiently accepted it as God’s will. Every time he rose up out of a chair and pain shot through his body he said, “Glory to Thee O God, glory to Thee.” To his spiritual children, this was a motivation to continue in their own struggles, having this example of long-suffering and continued faithfulness to the Lord.
During Holy Week of 2001, he was hospitalized with pneumonia. Whenever he was in the hospital, the caregivers became frustrated as he would not sleep but two hours in any 24-hour period. He would call …
COVID19 Prayer
With the blessing of His Eminence, the Most Reverend Metropolitan Hilarion, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, we are providing you with this prayer to print out, post somewhere in your home, and read daily. Normally, this is read by the priest as part of the “Molieben Sung in Time of Devastating Epidemic and Deathbearing Pestilence”. Metropolitan Hilarion has blessed all the laity to read this prayer while we are in the worldwide pandemic of Covid-19.
You may find the entire service in The Great Book of Needs, Vol. IV, published by St. Tikhon’s Seminary Press, South Canaan, Pennsylvania, 1999. If your Church or priest do not have this 4- volume set, it is a wonderful gift item. There is also a smaller, pocket edition that is very much appreciated as a gift as they can take it to homes, hospitals, etc.
Prayer in Time
Saint Varsonofy of Kherson
The Life of Our Venerable Father, Saint Varsonofy of Kherson
Imprisoned 25 times by Communists, Christ Himself appeared to the Saint to strengthen him. After his repose in 1954, a moleben at his grave cured two men of alcoholism.
…
The Theotokos: the Border of the Created upon the Uncreated
The Theotokos: the Border of the Created upon the Uncreated
by
Fr. Constantine Desrosiers
Today I am faced with a truly daunting task. I propose to discuss in an intellectual and scholarly theological manner the All-Holy Theotokos, the Ever-Virgin Mary. Not even the greatest of the ascetics dared to do what I propose and I do ask forgiveness of the Mother of God for my presumption and beg Her to see the innocence of that motivates me.
At the heart of the veneration of the All-Holy Theotokos is the mystery of our salvation, the lynchpin of which is the very incarnation of the divine logos. This must also represent for any objective and candid seeker after Divine Truth the essential characteristic that distinguishes Christianity from all other religions in the world. We are faced today with many religions which fairly claim to be monotheistic, such as Islam and …
Saint Maximos of Serbia
Saint Maximos of Serbia, Archbishop of Wallachia (1516)
Feast Day: January 18/31
Saint Maximos was the son of the Despot of Serbia, Saint Stephen the Blind (10 December) and of his wife Saint Angelina (30 July). Giving up all his rights as a prince he became a monk at the monastery of Manassia in central Serbia (founded by Despot Stefan Lazaravić between 1406-1418). When the Turks forced him to leave, he took refuge in Romania, where he was eventually elected Archbishop of Hungro-Wallachi and governed the Church of Christ with wisdom. In his old age he came back to Serbia, and retired to the Monastery of Krushedol. After a long illness patiently borne, he found rest there in the peace of Christ on 18 January 1516.
We learn additional information about his life from the akolouthia. We know that was handsome in appearance, that he preserved his chastity from childhood …
Saint Heldrad of Novalèse
Saint Heldrad of Novalèse (c. 875)
Feast Day: March 13/26
Heldrad (Heldradus, Eldradus, Eldrad) was born in 781 into the wealthy family of Ardrad, the first Lord Lambesc, at Lambesc in Provence, a town at the foot of the Côtes Mountains in the south of France. Provence was then a part of the Carolingian kingdom, which was expanding towards Italy. It was in 814 while on a pilgrimage by boat, in Italy, that he “…discovered the Monastery of Novalèse in Piémont: at the passage of Mont-Cenis was a home of charity and of Christian perfection.” The Monastery had been founded in 726 above a pre-existing church. The new Monastery was dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Andrew, and adopted the Benedictine rule in 817. Thus, he “…left the joyous warmth of Provence for the rude climate of Mont-Cenis, in order to find in solitude the presence of the Lord.”
…
Saint Droctoveus
St. Droctoveus of Saint Germanus (c. 576-580)
Feast Day: March 10/23
Droctoveus (Latin: Droctonius), who is also known under the abbreviated name of Drotté, was born in the region of Auxerre. From his youth he was confided to the hegumen Germanus, then the superior of the monastery of Saint Symphorian of Autun, in Burgundy. It was he who formed him by teaching him the virtues practiced by the anchorites of the East. But this was above all by imitating Germanus himself that Droctoveus rose himself to an eminent degree in the monastic virtues. When Germanus became bishop of Paris, he attracted near him his disciple Droctoveus. At the death of Childebert, in A.D. 558, the bishop celebrated the dedication of the church which this king had built in order to preserve in it the diaconal orarion of the martyr Saint Vincent, brought from Spain. In order to serve this …
Saint Psalmodus of Limousin
The Venerable Anchorite Saint Psalmodus of Limousin
(Saint Psalmode du Limousin) (589)
Feast Day: March 8/21 (Orthodox Commemoration) (June 13 in Eymoutiers & Limoges; June 14 by monks of Ramsgate; in other places: August 6; November 24; October 6)
On 8 March, the memory of our venerable father, the holy Irish anchorite Psalmodus or Saumon, disciple of Saint Brendan of Clonfert, who lived as a hermit near Eymoutiers in Limousin, where he domesticated the wolves.
Verses:
Psalmodus the Irishman, hermit in Limousin,
showed himself a sociable neighbor for the wolves.
He deserved an ode for his sweet patience,
the Limousian hermit who was called Psalmodus.
On the eighth day of March, we celebrate the exodus of him to heaven.
Also known as Psalmet or Saumay, his given name is unknown to us, however, because of his constant psalmodizing for God, reciting the entire Psalter from memory daily, he …
Antidoron Bags
From Saint Tabitha’s Studio: Antidoron Bags
St. John Maximovitch, Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco, encouraged Orthodox Christians to consume a small bit of antidoron and holy water every morning on days they would not be receiving the Eucharist. This way, he said, the first thing that goes into our body would be something blessed.
In the monasteries, we take the remnants of antidoron that is not consumed and while it is soft, cut it into small, quarter-inch pieces. Then it is air-dried on a baking sheet or foil for a few days, after which it is stored in a glass jar or antidoron bag.
The Queen of All Skete’s Antidoron Bags are made for you to carry home the antidoron from your Church and after drying, for its storage. They are crafted of quality white linen. Each bag is an approximate 6″ square with a ribbon drawstring closure with
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.