Holy Week & Feast Days

Today in Orthodoxy we remember the beheading of the greatest to be born of woman, Saint John the Baptist. Father Micah shares with us that it is a day of both joy and sorrow. The beheading of Saint John the Baptist was truly a tragedy and yet it brought joy to those in hades who heard him preach that their darkness would soon come to an end.

Father Micah shares with us about one of the most beloved and least well known saints of the church.

On August 15th annually Orthodox the world over celebrate the Major Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos. Father Gregory shares with us how Mary is the first to follow Christ. In our human fallen nature we have the free will to choose not to sin. The Church gives us Mary because she heard the Word of God and out of her own free will chose to do it.

Today in Orthodoxy we celebrate the Major Feast of The Transfiguration. Father Micah references the Epistle reading today taken from II Peter 1:10-19. Peter likens the world to darkness, which is a place where many of us have or will experience in our lives. The feast celebrates Jesus' Transfiguration on Mount Tabor as He allows His Divinity to shine before Peter, James and John. As Orthodox Chris...

Father Gregory shares with us that this feast was particularly popular in antiquity. These seven youths were cadets in the military and from noble and wealthy families. Father Gregory shares a story about the youths that foreshadows the resurrection of the dead at the end of time.

Father Gregory shares with us both a practical and edifying message today about Saint Stephen the Protomartyr. He gives insight for us as Orthodox Christians on why the Church has placed certain feasts at various times during the Liturgical calendar. He also gives us practical ways we might offer ourselves as martyrs each and every day in our Christian journey.

Tonight is the first Paraclesis services that will be celebrated during the Dormition Fast. Father Gregory expounds on the Gospel reading from Luke, where Mary sits at the Lord's feet while her sister Martha is distracted by much serving. He reminds us that as Orthodox Christians the one thing needed and necessary to help us cope with our anxious and troubled lives is to sit at our Lord's feet. He...

Father Micah shares with us both the history and relevance of this feast for Orthodox Christians as we begin the Dormition Fast.

Saint Panteleimon was raised by a Christian mother and pagan father. He was devoted to medicine putting his talents skillfully to use healing people. He also called on the name of Christ and the sign of the Cross to heal many others. He is the patron saint of doctors and his life reminds us that true healing and love reside in sacrifice for the other.

Today we commemorate Saint Paisios a modern day saint in Orthodoxy. Father Gregory and Father Micah both share personal reflections and stories about this beloved saint.

In the United States Christians take for granted the freedom we have to confess and worship our Lord Jesus Christ. In the late third century a group of fifty Christians of various ages was tortured and martyred for their faith in Christ. Saint Euphemia a teenage girl acted as the spokesperson for this group as she defended the Christian faith before the authorities. Many years later in 451 A.D. at...

All of us have heard the saying,"beauty is only skin deep". Saint Kyriaki is another of the virgin Saints who was well known for her physical beauty. Father Micah shares with us tonight that Saint Kyriaki literally shown like the sun because she had the light of Christ inside of her heart.

Today in Orthodoxy we commemorate Saints Cosmas and Damian the unmercenaries. Father Gregory shares with us they belong to a group of Saints known as healer saints. These brothers were doctors who healed without pay and said the only thing they wanted for their service was that the healed believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Faith in God and His Son Jesus Christ gives us power to heal and justifies us before God. The Orthodox Christian Church has passed down the faith of the Apostles for centuries. Father Paul shares a short refection on the lives of Peter and Paul both of whom followed Jesus Christ by faith.

In our society many of us do not experience a life of struggle but rather one of ease. Today in Orthodoxy we commemorate the Nativity of John the Baptist a great Saint who gave up everything to follow Jesus. He struggled by living ascetically and preached a message of repentance as he prepared the way for Our Lord.

The custom in Orthodoxy after a Major Feast is to remember a major person through whom it came to pass. Today is known as the Monday of the Holy Spirit and it is the day after Pentecost. Father Gregory shares with us the importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the life of the Church.

Father Gregory shares with us why Orthodox Christians pray for the dead as well as historical facts about kollyiva and it use at memorial services.

Father Micah shares with us a few words about the lives of these apostles who were sent out establishing churches and ordaining bishops and priests.

One of the great paradoxes of the Christian Faith is in Jesus saying I will never leave you and yet He Ascends to the Father. Father Micah shares with us today how we may find Our Lord each and every day through Christian living and the Sacramental life of the Church.

Today is one of the great feasts of the church and is known as Mid-Pentecost. After the healing of the paralytic Jesus went into the temple to teach and astounded the people because His learning was not from this world, but was received with the Father from before all ages. This feast is the meeting point that brings together both Pascha and Pentecost. The Father's of the Church say that we receiv...