The Falling Asleep of the Theotokos Although the Dormition of the Theotokos is not in scripture, we know a lot of what happened from Tradition. When the time came for the soul of the Theotokos to be united with her son in heaven, the apostles and disciples were brought mysteriously to Jerusalem. This happened so …
The Placing of the Precious Robe of Our Most Holy Lady and the Mother of God in the Church at Blachernae in Constantinople July 2nd is the feast of the Placing of the Precious Robe of Our Most Holy Lady and the Mother of God in the Church at Blachernae in Constantinople. Isn’t that a …
Synaxis of the 12 Apostles We celebrate the Synaxis of the 12 Apostles the day after the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. The purpose of honouring the apostles together (rather than just on their individual feast days) is to commemorate their role in spreading the Gospel. So this week we will look at an …
Christ is Ascended! From Earth into Heaven! Friends, on this Holy Ascension Thursday, on the feast of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Helena, we greet you! Much ink has been spent on the figure of St. Constantine, his notoriety and controversy. There are many actions throughout the history of his life which are regrettable and in …
Cyril and Methodius Cyril and Methodius are two saints that are very important in the Byzantine churches. We remember them for bringing Christianity to the Slavic nations. And this is why we call them the apostles to the Slavs. These saints provide a great example to us all about how the East and West complement …
April 30th is the feast of Saint James, who is the brother of St. John the Theologian. I recently posted an article about St. James who is called the brother of Our Lord. This article goes into the etymology of James/Jacob in scripture, and also about St. James. But there are two other major James’ …
John the Baptist is one of the most highly venerated saints in Byzantine tradition. Off the top of my head I can think of only three nativity feasts: Jesus’, Mary’s, and John the Baptist’s. We also celebrate the conceptions of these same three. Like many other saints, we celebrate a feast for his death (The …
Forgiveness Vespers is coming up on Forgiveness Sunday! It’s hard to believe we are already approaching the Great Lenten Season. Just a few weeks ago we were still saying “Christ is born!” And now it is time to go through our fridges and use up our meat and dairy products. Last year, I wrote an …
The three Holy Hierarchs are pillars of the Byzantine church. Living in and around the 300s, Sts. Basil, Gregory, and John Chrysostom were great theologians during their age. And, not only were they highly acclaimed during their time, but we continue to read their words and be inspired by their lives now. Over a thousand …
We celebrate the Synaxis of John on the day after Theophany (so January 7th). We have a lot of feast days for John the Baptist (also called John the Forerunner) in Byzantine Churches. First, we celebrate him for being the final prophet and for baptizing Christ. Then there are feasts for his conception, nativity, and …