The Fiftieth Day after Pascha The Great Feast of Pentecost The Descent of the Holy Spirit Fifty days after the Resurrection, on the existing Jewish feast of Pentecost, while the disciples and many other followers of Jesus Christ were gathered together to pray, the Holy Spirit descended upon them in the form of "cloven tongues of fire," with the sound of a mighty rushing wind, and they … [Read more...]

Sunday of the After-feast of the Ascension Commemoration of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council Hieromartyr Eutychios, bishop of Melitene; Martyr Heliconis of Thessalonica The Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council “I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mt. 16:18). Although the Church of Christ on earth will pass … [Read more...]

Christ is Risen! The Sixth Sunday After Pascha The Sunday of the Blind Man Equals-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Helen; Constantine, Prince of Murom, and his sons Michael and Theodore, the Wonderworkers Jesus Heals the Blind Man Introduction The sixth Sunday of Holy Pascha is observed by the Orthodox Church as the Sunday of the Blind Man. The day commemorates the miracle of … [Read more...]

Christ is Risen! The Fifth Sunday After Pascha The Sunday of the Samaritan Woman After-feast of Mid-Pentecost Martyr Isidore of Chios; Hieromartyr Therapont, Bishop of Cyprus Jesus and the Samaritan Woman Photini of Samaria The holy and glorious Great-martyr Photine of Samaria (also Photini or Svetlana), Equal-to-the-Apostles, encountered Christ at the well of Jacob. Tradition … [Read more...]

Christ is Risen! Truly He has Risen! Christ is Risen! The Fourth Sunday After Pascha The Sunday of the Paralytic Appearance of the Sign of the Precious Cross in the heavens above Jerusalem (351 A.D.); Martyr Akakios the centurion at Byzantium Jesus Heals the Paralytic Introduction The fourth Sunday of Holy Pascha is observed by the Orthodox Church as the Sunday of the … [Read more...]

Christ is Risen! Truly He has Risen! Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women Pious Joseph of Arimathaea, Righteous Nicodemus The Myhrr Bearing Women at Christ's Tomb The Myrrh Bearing Women The third Sunday of Holy Pascha is observed by the Orthodox Church as the Sunday of the Holy Myrrhbearers. The day commemorates when the women disciples of our Lord came to the tomb to anoint his … [Read more...]

Christ is Risen! Truly He has Risen! The First Sunday after PaschaSunday of Thomas the Apostle, Called “The Twin” Great-martyr George the Trophy-bearer The Sunday of Thomas the Apostle Though the doors were shut at the dwelling where the disciples were gathered for fear of the Jews on the evening of the Sunday after the Passover, our Saviour wondrously entered and … [Read more...]

Pascha (Passover) The Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ The Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Pascha Holy Week comes to an end at sunset of Great and Holy Saturday, as the Church prepares to celebrate her most ancient and preeminent festival, Pascha, the feast of feasts. The time of preparation will give way to a time of fulfillment. The glorious and … [Read more...]

The Entrance of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into JerusalemPalm Sunday Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem Palm Sunday On the Sunday before the Feast of Great and Holy Pascha and at the beginning of Holy Week, the Orthodox Church celebrates one of its most joyous feasts of the year. Palm Sunday is the commemoration of the Entrance of our … [Read more...]

Fourth Sunday of Great Lent St. John of the Ladder The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil Our Righteous Father Stephen the Confessor, abbot of Triglia St. John of the Ladder (Climacus) Our venerable and God-bearing Father John Climacus (ca. 579 - 649), also known as John of the Ladder, John Scholasticus, and John Sinaites, was a seventh century monk at St. Catherine's monastery at the base … [Read more...]

Third Sunday of Great Lent Veneration of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil Martyrs Chrysanthos, Daria, and those with them of Rome; Martyr Pancharios of Nicomedia Elevation of the Precious and Life Giving Cross Each of the Sundays of Great Lent has its own special theme. This Sunday's theme is that in the cross of Christ crucified lies both "the … [Read more...]

Second Sunday of Great Lent St. Gregory Palamas The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil The Holy Fathers slain at the monastery of Mar Sabbas; New-martyr Myron of Crete St. Gregory Palamas From “A Man Fully Alive” by Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick. On the Second Sunday of Great Lent we celebrate St. Gregory Palamas, the archbishop of Thessalonica in Greece for a number of … [Read more...]

First Sunday of Great Lent The Sunday of Orthodoxy The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil Translation of the relics of Nikephoros, patriarch of Constantinople; Bishops Poplias and Marios The Sunday of Orthodoxy The Sunday of Orthodoxy is the first Sunday of Great Lent. The dominant theme of this Sunday since 843 has been that of the victory of the icons. In that year the iconoclastic … [Read more...]

The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the GardenSunday of Forgiveness (Cheese Fare) Porphyrios, bishop of Gaza; Great-martyr Photeini the Samaritan Woman and those with her The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden The Sunday of Forgiveness, the last of the preparatory Sundays before Great Lent, has two themes: it commemorates Adam’s expulsion from Paradise, and it … [Read more...]

Sunday of the Last Judgment (Meat Fare) Apostles Archippos, Philemon and Apphias of the Seventy The Last Judgment   The parable of the Last Judgment is about Christian love. Not all of us are called to work for “humanity,” yet each one of us has received the gift and the grace of Christ’s love. We know that all persons ultimately need this personal … [Read more...]

Sunday of the Prodigal Son Meletios, Archbishop of Antioch; New-martyr Christos of Constantinople   The Prodigal Son   The Sunday of the Prodigal Son is the second Sunday of pre-Lent, the weeks of preparation preceding Great Lent. It is the Sunday after the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee and Sunday before Meatfare Sunday. This pre-Lent is the start of the Easter … [Read more...]

Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee After-feast of the Presentation (Meeting) of Christ The Martyr Agatha of Palermo in Sicily; and the Holy and Righteous Mothers of the Three Hierarchs: Emmelia, Nona and Anthousa The Publican and the Pharisee   What is a Publican and a Pharisee? A Pharisee was an externally decent and righteous man of religion. The Publican was a … [Read more...]

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost Seventeenth Sunday of Matthew Translation of relics of Ignatius the God-bearer of Antioch New-martyr Demetrios of Chios     Services This Week SUN Jan 22 — THE FIFTEENTH SUNDAY OF LUKE 8:30am, Divine Liturgy 9:30am LIVE STREAM Wed Jan 25 — St. Gregory the Theologian Divine Liturgy / St. Nicholas Academy 9:30am … [Read more...]