September 1st is the beginning of a new Church year for Byzantines. What are your plans for growing your faith this year? And what does a new year really mean for the church? September 1st: A History of the New Year Dating Beginning of the Indiction, i.e. the Liturgical New Year Nowadays, September 1st seems …
How to Celebrate a Praznyk It’s that time of year… and I am not just talking about spring and summer. It is Praznyk season! For those of you who haven’t heard of a Praznyk, it is the Feast Day of a particular parish. Eastern Catholics like to make a big event of when a parish …
A house blessing is a common part of our faith. And, as far as I know, common across all rites of the Church. (If there are exceptions you know of, I would be happy to hear it in the comments). Now that Theophany has passed, it is the traditional time for house blessings! I am …
Akathist to The Theotokos – Heading to Egypt In continuation of our akathist to the Theotokos series, let’s cover the seventh set of prayers! This week all of humanity comes together to sing the praises of the Theotokos. If you missed the first six articles, be sure to read them first! Start with https://thebyzantinelife.com/akathist-to-the-theotokos/ and …
Nativity of Our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary On September 8th we celebrate the Nativity of Mary, which is one of the 12 major feast days. It is also the first major feast in our new liturgical year. Tradition is that Joachim (a descendant of King David) and Anna (of the tribe …
Akathist to The Theotokos – Heading to Egypt This week we are heading to Egypt in the Akathist to the Theotokos. Also Happy Church New Year! This year I want to do more saint and bible story read-aloud time with my children. Be sure to check out our new year article and let me know …
Akathist to The Theotokos – The Three Magi This week we continue the series exploring the akathist to the Theotokos. If you missed the first four articles, be sure to read them first! Start with https://thebyzantinelife.com/akathist-to-the-theotokos/ and then follow it up with https://thebyzantinelife.com/ineffable-akathist/. Next there is https://thebyzantinelife.com/akathist-john-baptist/. Finally, read about https://thebyzantinelife.com/akathist-nativity/. The Fifth Set of …
Although the sign of the cross is prayed and practised among the whole Catholic Church, no where is this sacramental sign beloved more than by the Byzantines. Today we are going to look at a bit of the history. How do Byzantine Catholics use the sign of the cross? And how can you add to …
The Protection of Mary in the Akathist to The Theotokos – Section 4 This week we continue the series exploring the Akathist to the Theotokos. And this time we witness the Nativity of Christ within the Akathist, which highlights the protection of the Theotokos! If you missed the first three articles, be sure to read …
John the Baptist – Akathist to The Theotokos Section 3 Let’s keep going through our series on exploring the Akathist to the Theotokos! This week features John the Baptist as the unborn child of Elizabeth’s womb. If you missed the first two articles, be sure to read them first! Start with https://thebyzantinelife.com/akathist-to-the-theotokos/ and then follow …