Christmas 2013
Behold a new and wondrous mystery. My ears resound to the Shepherd’s song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn. The Angels sing. The Archangels blend their voice in harmony. The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise. The Seraphim exalt His glory.
About the Fast of the Nativity
On the Nativity Fast.
Saturday after Epiphany: Jesus’ Temptation
After His Baptism by John in the Jordan Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, which is an icon/symbol of the world-a battleground. That’s why the Epistle for the Saturday after Epiphany is Ephesians 6:1-17 where Saint Paul teaches about the Armor of God and fighting the forces of evil. No one, […]
The Apolytikion of the Forefeast of Theophany in Chinese
Tone Four The river Jordan once turned back before the mantle of Elisha, after Elijah had been taken up into heaven, and the waters were divided on this side and on that: the stream became a dry path before him, forming a true figure of the baptism whereby we pass over the changeful course of […]
Jordan Turned Back
The Byzantine icon of the baptism is the icon of the Holy Trinity. The Son in the streams of the river. The Spirit of Truth, in the form of a dove, is above the divine head of the Word. And above, the presence of the Father is made sensorial with a band of lines, a linear depiction of the divine voice: “This is my beloved Son…” At the lower part the river, with greatly pouring, much flowing, a visible symbol of the wealth of the given saving grace and gift.
The Great Feast of Theophany
Theophany is the Feast which reveals the Most Holy Trinity to the world through the Baptism of the Lord (Mt.3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22). God the Father spoke from Heaven about the Son, the Son was baptized by the St John the Forerunner, and the Holy Spirit descended upon the Son in the form of […]
January 1st: Blessed the New Year 2013
On January 1st we commemorate the Circumcision of Our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ; and, Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea. Apolytikion of the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ (Mode 1) In essence being God, most-compassionate Master, You assumed human nature without transmutation. Fulfilling the Law, of Your own […]
January 1st: The Dual Feast of Saint Basil the Great and the Circumcision of Christ
The feast of the Circumcision of Christ and the feast of Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesaria Cappadocia
Basil the Great and Disfigured Christianity
I want to speak on Saint Basil, but I don’t want to say what is commonly told by those who write about this truly “Great” saint. Especially some theologians who are educated by the Franks, who don’t care at all about his holiness or his wisdom according to God, but rather his “classical” wisdom, his […]
Saint Basil on Human Trafficking
Christianity has uprooted many barbaric customs from the society of man. But some of those customs – praiseworthy from the pagan point of view, but shameful from the Christian point of view – are, even to the present day, like hidden corruption oozing from a supposedly healed wound. One of these customs is the unlawful […]