May 18, 2021 Why Is Christ Shown Holding a Banner in the Icons of His Resurrection and Descent into Hades? Listen to the article In many Orthodox depictions of the Resurrection of our Lord, Christ is shown holding a banner. This way of showing…
May 17, 2021 Memories of St Paisios of the Holy Mountain A Missionary Nightingale St Paisios once shared: “One guy told me that he did not believe in God’s existence. I told him to come…
May 17, 2021 Aquila and Priscilla You will have to forgive me because what I am about to tell you, I learned this many years ago while I attended college….
May 16, 2021 Why Does the Priest Use a Trikirion during Paschal Liturgy? The question refers mainly to the Archbishop’s service. Among the objects used by the celebrant bishop during the service are candlesticks of a particular…
May 16, 2021 On Women Who Became Greater Than Men The third Sunday after Pascha is dedicated not to the apostles or any famous saints glorified for their great acts and podvigs, but to the…
May 15, 2021 When did the Exodus happen? Considering the uncertainties. Part 2 In the preceding part, we estimated the date of the Exodus from biblical sources and considered the archaeological evidence that could corroborate such assessment…
May 14, 2021 Estimating the date of the Exodus The Orthodox Church celebrates the Jewish Pascha as the antecedent of the Pascha of Christ. Because the Jewish Pascha preceded the Exodus of the…
May 14, 2021 Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates – Psalm 24 and the Harrowing of Hades Psalm 24 (23 in the Greek collection) is a Psalm deeply immersed in the religious world of ancient Israel. The Psalm represents a specific…
May 13, 2021 Saint Nectarios of Optina: Thoughts on Salvation and the Challenges of Being an Elder The Venerable Nectarios (1853 – 1928) was the last of the Great Optina Elders. The story of his life amazes the reader with the…
May 13, 2021 Within a Mandorla There is a small class of events within the gospels that are treated in a special manner by iconographers. This special treatment reflects the…
May 12, 2021 The Sacrament of Confession in the Ethiopian and Syrian Churches In the first part of this article, we described some distinctive features of the texts of absolution prayers read over the penitent in the…
May 11, 2021 Layman’s Prayers for the Departed to Be Said at Home and at the Graveside Through the prayers of our holy fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Glory to You, O…
