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In a Single Moment – Paradise
Read more: In a Single Moment – ParadisePascha and Bright Week always remind me of the joy of paradise. The doors of the altar stand open for all of Bright Week, reminding the people of God that Christ has opened paradise to us all. These are some thoughts on the suddenness and nearness of paradise. As the Elder Cleopas used to say, […]
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The Mystery of Pascha – Expanded
Read more: The Mystery of Pascha – ExpandedI have, on occasion, edited and reissued a post – though not as quickly as this one. My post from earlier this week seemed to want a few more words – something to draw the reader closer to the mystery itself. I offer this small addition and pray it is of some use. In his […]
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Met. Kallistos Ware on Christ and Creation
Read more: Met. Kallistos Ware on Christ and CreationThe mystery of Christ’s Pascha, I noted in my previous post, is the meaning and fulfillment of all things. There are many ways to consider this in the heart. One is to look at creation from within the Scriptures. Today I offer some thoughts of Met. Kallistos Ware, from a small book of his The […]
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The Mystery of Pascha
Read more: The Mystery of PaschaIn his Revelation, St. John describes Christ as the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (13:8). It is one of many interesting statements within that book of images and wonders. However, his description of Christ has much to say about the mystery of Pascha (Christ’s resurrection). First, it is clear that Pascha is […]
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Christos Voskrese – Christ Is Risen!
Read more: Christos Voskrese – Christ Is Risen!This delightful youtube video is a favorite of mine. One of our readers and occasional commenter, Dejan, (without a doubt my favorite Serb) provided the English translation. The words are from a poem by St. Nikolai Velimirovich who served for a time as the Rector of St. Tikhon’s Seminary – truly one of the great […]
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The Sound of Silence
Read more: The Sound of SilenceOn Holy Saturday the Church celebrates Christ victory in the very depths of Hades. I was reminded as well, that this victory happens “silently,” without a witness on the earth – and yet it is a dogma of the faith. It is a silence that overwhelms the world. It is said that “silence is the […]
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In the Midst of Holy Week
Read more: In the Midst of Holy WeekHoly Week has long been my favorite time of year. I remember coming to it rather slowly in my college years. My wife and I were active Episcopalians at the time (while in college we volunteered to be in charge of the junior youth group – some 60 teenagers – that qualifies as being “active”). […]
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In the Belly of the Whale
Read more: In the Belly of the WhaleThe marvelous book of Jonah, read in its entirety on Holy Saturday, includes a very rich prayer which is obviously intended to be spoken from within the depths of Hades itself – thus its inclusion on Holy Saturday, the day on which Christ is proclaiming liberty to those “in prison.” Like the phrase from Psalm […]
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Palm Sunday and Hearing the Word of God
Read more: Palm Sunday and Hearing the Word of GodI am convinced after years of preaching and listening to preaching that the bulk of Scripture has become lost to our ears. We hear it, but fail to “hear” it. And I do not mean this merely in the moral sense (doubtless we fail to be “doers” of the word). Rather, I am aware of […]
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Lazarus Saturday
Read more: Lazarus SaturdayLargely ignored by much of Christendom, the Orthodox mark the day before Palm Sunday as “Lazarus Saturday” in something of a prequel to the following weekend’s Pascha. It is, indeed a little Pascha just before the greater one. And this, of course, was arranged by Christ Himself, who raised His friend Lazarus from the dead […]
Dear Fr Stephen and Mark, Thank you both <3 Michelle