Parish articles archive

23 May 2016

Why do we so impatiently await Pascha, which arrives and then again departs? Have we not already celebrated it many times before? This one will also arrive and depart. In this present age, there is nothing constant; our days pass by like shadows, life races...

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“THE NEW AND GLORIOUS MORN”

15 May 2016

Most Americans, even most American Christians, celebrate Christmas much more than Easter, yet it is only Easter — Pascha — that makes sense of Christmas. The birth of Christ is only something to celebrate if you know the rest of the story. Consider the English lyrics of the...

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THE ORIGIN AND MEANING OF THE PASCHAL GREETING

09 May 2016

In accordance with the rite established by the Church, we exchange a Paschal kiss during Matins on the first day of Holy Pascha. The rite is both important and comforting.

Ordinarily, when we exchange that kiss, we say, “Christ is Risen!” and are...

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PASCHAL JOY

30 Apr 2016

Protopresbyter Vitaly Borovoy

When you and I celebrate Paschal Services, we all feel a surge of joy and gladness. When we say, "Christ is Risen!" and answer "Truly He is Risen!" There resounds in our voices not...

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St. Mary of Egypt

12 Apr 2016

St. Mary, who is known as Mary of Egypt, lived from the middle of the fifth century to the beginning of the sixth century. Her youth did not presage anything good. Mary was twelve years old when she left her home for the city of Alexandria. Being free of parental...

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The mystery of unction

04 Apr 2016

Unction is a holy mystery in which a priest or a bishop, by anointing a sick person with consecrated oil, asks, together with the Church, for God's grace which heals the sickness of the soul and the body.

During his earthly life, Our Lord Jesus Christ raised the...

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Repentance: Life's Continual Effort

24 Mar 2016

Bishop Ignaty Brianchaninov left us the following precious instruction: "In order to live spiritually and draw breath from grace, we must continually exhale the ashes of sin." We sin almost constantly, if not in our deeds, then in our thoughts and feelings. Therefore it is...

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The Liturgical Structure of Lent

22 Feb 2016

Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann

To understand the various liturgical particularities of the Lenten period, we must remember that they express and convey to us the spiritual meaning of Lent and are related to the central idea of Lent...

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“DOES MY FAITH BRING ME JOY?”

08 Feb 2016

Priest Victor Klimenko. Reflections before the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord

The service of the Meeting of the Lord repeatedly tells us about the joy that the elder Simeon – and, in him, the entire Old Testament Israel – felt when he took in his arms the...

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