Source: Department of Religious Education – Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America NATIVITY SERMON SERIES Apodosis of The Nativity of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (Leave-Taking of Christmas) December 31 THE HYMN Heirmos, 1st Ode, Nativity Matins Christ is born; glorify Him! Christ is come from heaven; go and meet Him. Christ is on earth; arise to Him. Sing to the Lord, all you who dwell on the earth; and in merry spirits, O you peoples, praise His birth. For He is glorified. THE SERMON The Limitless Nature Of A Feast Our Church, on December 31st, celebrates the apodosis (or…
Browsing: Christmas
Source: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America (Message in English) (الرسالة باللغة العربية) By the mercy of God Almighty John X Patriarch of Antioch and all the East to My brothers, Pastors of the Holy Church of Antioch My sons and daughters, all over this Apostolic See “Bethlehem has opened Eden: come let us see!… come, let us seize Paradise hidden in the cave! … here the Virgin has borne a child, quenching Adam’s thirst…” With these words, voicing the hymnographer, the Holy Church invites us to contemplate the Nativity of Christ. The Nativity of Christ is the birth…
Source: Orthodox Christian Laity May the Good Lord bless you abundantly with Health, Happiness, Joy, and Prosperity, immersing ourselves in His Love and Wisdom during this blessed Nativity Season and the coming New Year. We pray that He will bless OCL and our efforts to restore proper order to His Church in America and across the world. May He enlighten His Hierarchy, Clergy, and Laity to be diligent, obedient, and united in pursuing the fulfillment of His will. I thank you all for your continued interest and support of OCL and its most worthy mission. For the past 36 years,…
Source: Public Orthodoxy Talia Zajac Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Niagara University I first heard the rumor’s confirmation as I was heading out the church door. The cantor was saying goodbye to me and added with a half-smile that change was inevitable. The Julian calendar was bound to fall behind the Gregorian calendar, he said, so much that Christmas according to the two calendars eventually would be celebrated hundreds of days apart, instead of the current difference of thirteen days. I knew then that the rumor was true. Parishioners and priests had whispered for years that the Ukrainian Greek…
Source: CathNews Ukraine has moved its official Christmas holiday to December 25, breaking with the Russian Orthodox Church, which celebrates it on January 7 in line with the Julian calendar. Source: SBS News. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted a bill pushing for the change in June, with the aim of moving away from “the Russian heritage of imposing Christmas celebrations” in January. Ukraine’s Parliament voted in favour of changing the date of the Orthodox Christmas holiday earlier this month, with Mr Zelenskyy signing the bill on Friday. The bill highlights the deepening rift between churches in Kyiv and Moscow since Russia’s invasion…
Source: The Moscow Times By Ksenia Luchenko The celebration of Orthodox Christmas in both Russia and Ukraine on Jan. 7 provided ample evidence of what the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War has called Russia’s weaponization of religion in its propaganda war against Ukraine. Just as Ukraine’s 2013 Maidan Uprising was seen by Vladimir Putin as a personal affront, the 2018 creation of an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church to replace the Moscow-aligned Ukrainian Orthodox Church Moscow Patriarchate, has not been forgiven by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, who was left fearing a domino effect should other regional churches seek to break…
Source: Orthodox Times Archbishop Elpidophoros of America presided over the Christmas Liturgy and performed the ordination of Deacon John Capones to the Priesthood at Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine in New York, on December 25, 2022. In his speech, the Archbishop stressed that “We possess our natural fathers and mothers according to the flesh. But we also have the Church as our Mother through our baptismal rebirth. And we have the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ by our grace-filled adoption – our calling to be the children of God. Thus, the Lord has become our elder…
Source: OINOS Educational Consulting by Frank Marangos, D.Min., Ed.D., FCEP “He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.” ~ Socrates On the night of November 16, 1930, Mrs. Henrietta Garret, a lonely 81-year-old widow died in her home in Philadelphia. Her death unwillingly started the most fantastic case of inheritance litigation in history. She had failed to leave a will, or, at least, no will was found. The problem? She left an estate of $17,000,000.Although Mrs. Garret, at the time of her death, had only one known relative, a…
Source: PIME Asia News Father Romanelli notes that for now only an “announcement” has been made. Hopefully, words will be followed by deeds. This year no age restriction is expected. Gaza Catholics are waiting for Patriarch Pizzaballa for the celebrations. A solemn Mass will be held “for those unable to get an exit permit.” Gaza (AsiaNews) – This year, Israel has decided to grant hundreds of exit permits for the Christmas holidays to Gaza Christians. This is “good” news as well as a “positive sign” for Christians living in the Strip, although for now, “it is only an announcement”. Hopefully,…
Source: Orthodox Church in America To the Venerable Hierarchs, Esteemed Clergy, Reverend Monastics, and Beloved Faithful of the Orthodox Church in America, My Beloved Brethren and Blessed Children in the Lord, on this the glorious and light-filled Feast of the Nativity in the Flesh of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, I greet you with the words that resound throughout our Churches and homes during this season: Christ is Born! Glorify Him! By the grace of God, we have come through an extraordinary year fraught with challenges and trials that none of us could have expected. We have found…
Christmas Message of Bishop THOMAS preceding the Festal Matins and Divine Liturgy on the eve of Christ’s Holy Nativity.
Source: Ancient Faith Ministries Melinda Johnson Today the Virgin gives birth to the Transcendent One, and the earth offers a cave to the Unapproachable One! Angels with shepherds glorify Him! The wise men journey with a star! Since for our sake the Eternal God was born as a Little Child! Each of us at Ancient Faith wishes you great joy and blessings on this holy day! This year, we asked our content contributors to send us news of what they’ve been working on. We compiled their notes into a “family Christmas letter” post, which you can read below. Blessed Nativity!…