Archives

‘Tis the season folks! We are all counting down the days until December 25th, but do we even know when Jesus was born? If we look in the Gospel accounts of the... Read More

On January 1st, we celebrate one of the most beloved saints of the Church, Saint Basil the Great. St. Basil was born in Caesaria which would be modern day Kayseri, T... Read More

September 1st is New Year’s Day for the Orthodox Church. This is a tradition that stems from the Roman Empire, but in modern times this is a day of reflection and ... Read More

You think the Christmas Season starts early because there are door buster sales on Black Friday in retail or online stores? Think again, the Greek Orthodox Church be... Read More

Great Lent is one of the most revered parts of the Orthodox year. Stricter fasting is prescribed, different readings are assigned, typical parishes will offer more s... Read More

In the western world, January 1st is what we know as New Year. It is the beginning of our cycle of 12 months, closes the year for what taxes are due, and so on. The... Read More

When we look at the icon of Theophany we see many different things and imagery used to tell us the story. In the very center we see Jesus Christ almost naked (naked ... Read More

Every year, two weeks following Christmas, on January 6th, we celebrate one of the 12 Great Feasts known as Epiphany or Theophany. Epiphany means “showing forth”... Read More

Saint John the Baptist, also known as the Forerunner, is the cousin of Jesus and highest of the prophets. Biblically we know about John’s early life from the Gospe... Read More

The Vestments of the Greek Orthodox Clergy can be historically dated back to the 300’s AD. Some suggest it started earlier because the Church was being “rais... Read More

When I see the word Thanksgiving so many images, tastes and smells enter into the forefront of my memory (my Aunt Carol’s Homemade Pumpkin Pie is probably tops on ... Read More

Liturgy is actually derived from the Ancient Greek term leitourgia, which at the time refereed to the expensive offerings of service to the people. In modern times,... Read More

Typically when we see our ordained clergymen (Bishops, Priests, or Deacons) we find them either in two “outfit.” The first item is the Anteri or ‘inner... Read More

One of the most beloved saints in the world is Saint George, but how many of us can actually say we know anything about him? We might make some conclusions from look... Read More

Those of the Greek Orthodox faith celebrate Saint Nicholas Day on December 6. While there are many saints named Nicholas, the first and most popularly asked for inte... Read More

On September 8th, we celebrate the Nativity or Birth of the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary. The Theotokos was born to righteous parents named Joachim and Anna. Their... Read More

On September 14th we celebrate the Elevation or Exaltation of the Holy Cross.  This is the only feast out of the 12 major feasts that we are not celebrating a signi... Read More

So does everyone know that part of the liturgy where the singing stops and we all get to sit down for some rest before we stand for the gospel reading? This is actua... Read More

Many times we hear the title Apostle thrown around in Church and we might not necessarily know what it means. Some people will say that 11 of the disciples (11, not ... Read More

The Transfiguration of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is a feast that we celebrate on August 6th. It is the 11th of the 12 great feasts that we celebrate throughou... Read More

St. Demetrios is one of the most popular saints of all Orthodoxy and the patron saint of so many Orthodox Christians. Demetrios was born to a noble family in Macedon... Read More

The “Dormition of Our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary” is the feast of the “falling asleep” of the Theotokos. The Greek word for the feast... Read More

We are told that the Church is Synodal or Conciliar, but what exactly does that mean? On the simplest level, it means that the Church is organized and decisions are ... Read More

In May 2014 I was blessed to visit the city of Istanbul, or as we like to call it in the Orthodox Church, Constantinople. For over half of the first 2000 years of Ch... Read More

Tucked away in the predominantly Muslim country of Turkey, in its major city, Istanbul, we find a very important, yet still popularly unknown center of Christianity.... Read More

One of the most beloved saints who lived within the last century is Saint Nektarios of Aegina who is celebrated on the 9th of November in the Greek Orthodox Church. ... Read More

Whether you waited in lines on “Black Friday,” or searched the deals on “Cyber Monday,” or are just waiting to go shopping at extended “holiday” shopping... Read More

The Icon of the Resurrection or Anastasis is also known under the name of “The Harrowing of Hades.” According to the Greek Orthodox Church, this is after Chris... Read More

Water is used on at least four different occasions in the Greek Orthodox Church. The first is during baptism. The person being baptized is dunked 3 times in the name... Read More

Since September began we all saw it coming. Halloween themed candy was being sold in the grocery store and my beloved Orange Cream filled Halloween Oreos had hit the... Read More

Known to Western Christians as the Virgin Mary, to Orthodox Christians the title formally given to her is Theotokos. Theotokos means God-bearer or Birth Giver of God... Read More

Many times we take for granted the bread that not only is part of communion but also the antidoron that is given after the service is over. Prosforo, the name given ... Read More

Koliva is boiled wheat with (depending on the recipe) a combination of some or all of the following ingredients:  powdered sugar, almonds, ground walnuts, sesame se... Read More

In the most common practice today, we find Godparents who are simply like an added extra aunt or uncle (if they are not already aunt or uncle to the child).  The ro... Read More

Every Sunday and during most days of the year there is a reading called an Epistle. Epistle readings are sections taken from the New Testament, but not including the... Read More

We find the use of incense as far back as the Old Testament, such as Psalm 141:2, “Let my prayer be set forth before you as incense; and the lifting up of my hands... Read More

This service was not always done in the Church, but now has been added to the beginning of the Service of Matrimony. In this service there is a placement of rings on... Read More

In the Orthodox Church, many of our sacraments, especially those that initiate us into a new role in life, have sponsors in them. The Baptism has sponsors known as G... Read More

The Orthodox Service of Matrimony is what we colloquially call a Wedding or Marriage. Outsiders see the service as long and full of symbolism, but the service beauti... Read More

Though commonplace in Orthodox Churches, these tools have an interesting history and an interesting interpretation from outside of the Church. So first, let’s defi... Read More

Fasting is a spiritual discipline that should be exercised to some extent by the faithful people of God. This spiritual discipline is abstaining from certain kinds o... Read More

From my perspective, the most forgotten mystery (“sacrament”) of the Church is the mystery of Confession, also called the order of penance. Regardless of what yo... Read More

In 325 AD, after nearly three centuries of confused dates of Pascha, the 1st Ecumenical Council, held in Nicaea, came up with a plan for all Churches to use to calcu... Read More

Much of the established traditions, guidelines and life style of the Church became “standardized” and widely practiced with the help of what is most commonly kno... Read More

Byzantine Iconography has the ability to portray a whole story in a snap shot, without necessarily all having had happened during the same moment. The Icon of the Na... Read More

Oil today plays an essential role in our lives, but mostly behind the scenes, whether it’s lubricating the gears in our cars, cooking our French Fries, used as fue... Read More

In the Orthodox Church, we have what we call “mysteries” (a term we use rather than the term sacraments). The Greek is derived from this meaning: “to close the... Read More

Not only do we have physical crowns in our Service of Crowning, but we also have the mentioning of several crowns throughout the service. Crowns in the wedding servi... Read More

The first books we find in the New Testament are the four Gospels, the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Gospels mean good news, as the Greek is ευαγγελ�... Read More

The deacon is the lowest of the three ranks of the priesthood (deacon—priest—bishop). The word deacon (διακονος) means server. The first historic account... Read More

Though many Greek Orthodox Christians don’t know it, every day in the week we celebrate a different celebration. On Sunday we remember Pascha (Easter)! For us it i... Read More

In the Orthodox Church we celebrate the memory of many saints and events every day in the Church, but out of these thousands of “feasts” there are the 12 major f... Read More