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At Christmas time, the Virgin Mary gets a bit of attention in the wider culture. A woman gives birth in difficult circumstances: Mother, baby, ox and ass, the manger. It’s a very touching scene. She quickly fades from the scene however, with some five centuries of culture desperately afraid that she will get too much attention. In that vein, she is pretty much absent from Easter. We have eggs, chocolate, bunny rabbits, and the resurrection of Christ (along with new dresses and such), but Mary has no place in our culture’s Easter imagination. Some of this is undoubtedly the result...

As we bask in the glory of the resurrection and greet one another with a joy appropriate for this, the feast of feasts, we must always remember that our salvation is accomplished and completed when Christ rises from the tomb – but it is begun when He is lifted up on the cross. If it concludes in glory and triumph, our salvation originates in shame and pain. We should linger over this fact for a while, and not pass over it too quickly, because it reminds us that Christ has shared and endured all the worst of human suffering and...

Today is the last day of Pascha for Christians of the Byzantine tradition. Each major feast on the Church calendar has an Apodosis that comes, normally, at the end of the octave. The hymns for Matins, the hours, Vespers, Compline, and the Divine Liturgy are repeated as on the first day of the feast. For Pascha, however, the Leave-Taking is on the vigil of the Ascension, but, with the exception of the changed lectionary, the services are the same as for Easter Sunday. Two years ago, Orthodox blogger, John Sanidopoulos, had a nice reflection on the reason for an Apodosis:...

IntroductionThe fourth Wednesday after the Feast of Holy Pascha is commemorated as Mid-Pentecost. This feast marks the halfway point between Pascha and the Feast of Pentecost. As explained below this feast is closely linked to the Sunday of the Paralytic.BackgroundAfter the Saviour had miraculously healed the paralytic, the Jews, especially the Pharisees and Scribes, were moved with envy and persecuted Him, and sought to slay Him, using the excuse that He did not keep the Sabbath, since He worked miracles on that day. Jesus then departed to Galilee. About the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles, He went up again...

Christ is risen! Truly He is risen! I hope your Paschal season is joyous and that you are celebrating with the consumption of “fleshmeats,” as some of the old service books say. In our house, barbecue is definitely on the menu within 48 hours of the midnight Pascha service. As we reflect on Christ’s victory over death, it’s a good season to think about the Cross in our daily lives, and especially about using the sign of the cross. I’ve seen this distinctive gesture repeated on television and in movies through the years, but rarely in real life. The characters,...

May 4, 2021 Saints Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Shrine Church Greenlawn, New York Dear Irene, devoted spouse of our fallen hero, Beloved Children: Jenny and Stavro, Bereaved Parents: Anna and Stavros, Family, Friends, and his Comrades in Arms, Χριστὸς Ἀνέστη. Christ is Risen. In the face of the overwhelming grief and sorrow of this moment, the Church speaks to us with the name of the man we are here to remember and honor today, for Anastasios means “Resurrection.” We proclaim the fundamental truth of our Faith with every mention of his name, a name that we will repeat for all the...

The Swedish Lutheran theologian, Gustav Aulen, published a seminal work on the types of atonement theory in 1930 (Christus Victor). Though time and critical studies have suggested many subtler treatments of the question, no one has really improved on his insight. Especially valuable was his description of the “Classic View” of the atonement. This imagery, very dominant in the writings of the early Fathers and in the liturgical life of the Eastern Church, focused on the atonement as an act of invasion, the smashing of gates and bonds, and the setting free of those bound in hell. Aulen clearly preferred...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (April 14, 2020) — Three Southern California churches that want to keep their doors open during the coronavirus outbreak sued Gov. Gavin Newsom and other officials on Monday, arguing that social distancing orders violate the First Amendment right to freedom of religion and assembly. The suit, filed in the federal court for the Central District of California, also names state Attorney General Xavier Becerra and officials of San Bernardino and Riverside counties. The suit seeks to block Newsom’s month-old stay-at-home order and two county orders designed to slow the spread of COVID-19 by having people mostly stay at...

If any man be devout and love God, let him enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast. If any man be a wise servant, let him rejoicing enter into the joy of his Lord. If any have labored long in fasting, let him now receive his recompense. If any have wrought from the first hour, let him today receive his just reward. If any have come at the third hour, let him with thankfulness keep the feast. If any have arrived at the sixth hour, let him have no misgivings; because he shall in nowise be deprived thereof. If any...

The Easter Liturgy of the Coptic Orthodox Church (Arabic & Coptic appx 4:15 hrs)

Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women Hear the voice of gladness, O women; for I have trodden down rebellious Hades, and raised the world from corruption. Wherefore, hasten ye and proclaim the glad tidings to My beloved; for I desire that joy shall break forth thence upon My creation, whence first came forth sorrow. —Orthros of the Feast, Tone 2 On this day, the third Sunday of Pascha, we celebrate the feast of the holy Myrrh-bearing women. And we also make commemoration of Joseph of Arimathea, who was a secret disciple, and Nicodemus, who was a disciple by night. The women...

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!

Pascha Greetings to all my FRiends! Please enjoy this wonderful video. Christ is Risen!! Translation: People rejoice, nations hear: Christ is risen, and brings the joy! Stars dance, mountains sing: Christ is risen, and brings the joy! Forests murmur, winds hum: Christ is risen, and brings the joy! Seas bow, animals roar: Christ is risen, and brings the joy! Bees swarm, and the birds sing: Christ is risen, and brings the joy! Angels stand, triple the song: Christ is risen, and brings the joy! Sky humble yourself, and elevate the earth: Christ is risen, and brings the joy! Bells chime,...

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Christos Anesti! Aleithos Anesti! Khristos Voskrese! Voistinu Voskrese! Al-Masih-Qam! Hakkan Qam! Hristos a înviat! Adevărat a înviat! Kristus aq ungwektaq! Pichinuq ungwektaq! Xris-tusaq Ung-uixtuq! Iluumun Ung-uixtuq! Harisutosu fukkatsu! Jitsu ni fukkatsu! Atgyfododd Crist! Yn wir atgyfododd! Christus resurrexit! Resurrexit vere! Cristo ha resucitado! Verdaderamente, ha resucitado! Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

IRINEJ, by the grace of God, Orthodox Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovci and Serbian Patriarch, with the all the Hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church – to all the clergy, monastics, and all the sons and daughters of our Holy Church: grace, mercy and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, with the joyous Paschal greeting: CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN! “Christ is risen from dead, trampling down death by death and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.” (Paschal troparion) In greeting you, dear brothers and sisters, with the...

A Joyous Easter to You & Yours! Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen! A beautiful Easter Hymn in Greek to greet you!

Once every few years, Greek Easter falls the same week as “American Easter,” as it was called when I was growing up. In order for “Greek Easter” to be celebrated the same week as “American Easter,” Passover has to have been celebrated already. We Greeks don’t do Easter until after Passover, because how can you have Easter BEFORE Passover. Jesus went to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, after all. Unless it is one of the years when the two holidays align. Like this year......

Christ is Risen! “This is the day of resurrection. Let us be illumined, O people. Pascha, the Pascha of the Lord. For from death to life and from earth to heaven has Christ our God led us.” The Canon of Pascha, Ode I With these verses of the Paschal hymn, dear spiritual children, we, the believing people of God, begin the Celebration above all celebrations, Song above all songs, about the Event above all events — The Resurrection of Christ. The Resurrection, like the Crucifixion, is a stumbling block for the Jews and foolishness for the Greeks, but we experience...

02 April 2007 Christians Enter the Holy Week Today we are entering the hard days, the days when we remember the Passions of Christ, when it will be not easy for us to attend long church services and pray. Many ask themselves if they should attend even if their bodies are so tired, their thoughts are so dispersed, when they feel so internally undisciplined and unconcerned in everything that happens around them? But let us remember the events of the days of Christ’s passion. How many people there were who would have paid much for a chance to run off...

30/04/2005 HOLY FIRE DESCENDS ON HOLY SEPULCHER JERUSALEM, April 30 (RIA Novosti, Olga Lipich) - The Holy Fire has descended on the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. It miraculously lit, as it does every Holy Saturday, in the tomb chamber, where the Body of the Savior was put after deposition from the Cross. Irenaeus the Patriarch of Jerusalem was alone in the chamber at the instant of the miracle. Flashes of light occasionally glowed in the Holy Sepulcher during public prayer for the Blessed Fire. Many candles in the congregation's hands mysteriously lit of themselves the instant the Patriarch emerged from...