Nativity of the Theotokos Liturgy on Wednesday (Tomorrow) at 6:30pm
The announcement that there would be a bible study on Wednesday, September 7, 2016 was incorrect. Instead we will hold the Divine Liturgy for the Nativity of the Theotokos starting at 6:30pm.
This year begins a full cycle of Liturgical Services at St. Peter’s. Most will be held on the eve of the Feast Day in order to enable more people to attend.
About the Nativity of the Theotokos
The Nativity of the Theotokos is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on September 8.
The Holy Virgin and Theotokos Mary was born to elderly and previously barren parents by the names of Joachim and Anna, in answer to their prayers. Orthodox Christians do not hold to the Roman Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, in which it is supposed that Mary was preserved from the ancestral sin that befalls us all as descendents of Adam and Eve, in anticipation of her giving birth to the sinless Christ.
The Orthodox believe that Mary indeed received the ancestral sin, having been conceived in the normal way of humanity, and thus needed salvation like all mankind. Orthodox thought does vary on whether Mary actually ever sinned, though there is general agreement that she was cleansed from sin at the Annunciation.
Read more on the Orthodoxwiki website.