December 19, 2017 104 0 Where was the First Church in Honor of St. Nicholas Located? In the sixth century the historian Procopius, in his work The Buildings (Bk. 1, Ch. 6), tells us that Emperor Justinian constructed a church in honor…
December 15, 2017 222 0 The Earliest Known Prayer to the Mother of God So far, the earliest known prayer to the Virgin Mary is known as “Beneath thy compassion” (Greek: Ὑπὸ τὴν σὴν εὐσπλαγχνίαν). The earliest text…
November 30, 2017 424 1 An Orthodox Christian Viewpoint on Speaking in Tongues Speaking in Tongues, “Glossolalia,” a popular practice with many Churches today, is a phenomenon which can be traced to the days of the Apostles….
November 15, 2017 66 0 Learning About the Monastery of St. Job of Pochaev in Munich Monk Joseph (Bandmann) (today Bishop Job (Bandmann)) reports on life in the monastery in Germany, dedicated to St Job of Pochaev, where he…
November 10, 2017 1429 1 The Meaning of “Agape” in the Orthodox Christian Church The impact of the Greek word agape — which is usually translated as love in English — remains one of the most inspiring aspects…
November 9, 2017 316 0 A Miracle That Happened During the French Invasion in Russia in 1812 Prince Eugène de Beauharnais, Napoleon’s stepson and the Viceroy of Italy, was a general in the French troops during the French invasion of Russia…
November 8, 2017 2995 0 Leif Eriksson: the First Orthodox Christian in America Most people are aware that the Norse explorer Leif Eriksson was the first European to reach America, some 500 years before Christopher Columbus,…
November 3, 2017 3024 6 10 Facts about St. James the Just, the Brother of the Lord and the First Bishop of Jerusalem 1. St James, called the “Brother of the Lord”, was one of 4 sons of Joseph from a previous marriage, all of which are…
October 26, 2017 135 0 The Significance of the Rituals Connected with Death and Dying in the Orthodox Church Theological and scriptural grounding It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for…
October 12, 2017 248 1 What Was the First Orthodox Christian Parish in America? The question, “What was the first Orthodox parish in America?” is surprisingly difficult to answer. A big part of the problem comes from that…