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Riddles and Meanings of the Bright Feast of Baptism
Arkady Mahler On January 19, according to the Gregorian calendar, the Orthodox world celebrates the great feast of the Theophany, which is also called the Baptism of the Lord. For a modern person this feast often seems secondary and remains shadowed by the recently passed feast of the Nativity of Christ. However, for the Ancient…
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Circumcision of the Lord. Essence of the Feast
On January 14 the Orthodox Church celebrates the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord in fulfillment of the ancient law of God given to the people of Israel through Abraham. God commanded to circumcise the foreskin of all male infants on the eighth day of birth. Through circumcision the baby entered into covenant with God,…
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The Protection of our Most Holy Lady the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary. Archpriest Valentin Sventsitskiy.
Today is the great feast – The Protection of our Most Holy Lady the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary. What are we celebrating? In the Blachernae Church at four o’clock in the morning, during the all-night vigil, Saint Andrew the Fool-for-Christ saw the Mother of God in heaven, praying for the people. And he…
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We Worship Thy Cross, O Lord! Sermon on the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. Archpriest Oleg Stenyaev
The Exaltation of the Life-Giving Cross took place in the days of Emperor Constantine and his mother Helena. In the Gospel of John, which was read the day before during the All-night Vigil last night, we heard the words: ”And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of…