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This post comes from an email in the "Walk Through the Church Year" series which goes out to folks who sign up to receive two emails per month about major feasts and selected commemorations in the liturgical calendar. To receive these emails in your inbox, sign up here.  The original email was sent out in September of 2024. by Ephraim "The Birth of the Theotokos is the final preparation of humanity to receive the Divinity" – Michel Quenot from The Icon: Window on the Kingdom &nb …

This post comes from an email in the "Walk Through the Church Year" series which goes out to folks who sign up to receive two emails per month about major feasts and selected commemorations in the liturgical calendar. To receive these emails in your inbox, sign up here. The original email was sent out in September of 2024. by Brendan Byrd Remembering Those Who Remember Us In Prayer Faithfulness in the small things is the first step on the road, it is the necessary condition for faithfulnes …

This post comes from an email in the "Walk Through the Church Year" series which goes out to folks who sign up to receive two emails per month about major feasts and selected commemorations in the liturgical calendar. To receive these emails in your inbox, sign up here. The original email was sent out in September of 2024. by Brendan Byrd Happy New Year! Welcome to the beginning of the nearly two thousandth year celebrated by the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church as established by the …

This post comes from an email in the "Walk Through the Church Year" series which goes out to folks who sign up to receive two emails per month about major feasts and selected commemorations in the liturgical calendar. To receive these emails in your inbox, sign up here.  The original email was sent out in September of 2024. by Reader John Elevation of the Cross by the hand of Georgi Chimev At my home parish of Holy Cross Antiochian Orthodox Church, September 14 is always extra …

The Creation account is read four times each year in the Orthodox Church: on the eves of the greatest feasts of the Lord Jesus—the Nativity, Theophany, and Pascha—and during the first week of Great Lent. It seems like a fitting visual meditation for the start of the new liturgical year, as well. Read more about this icon by Georgi Chimev. Dear Reader, Do the feasts and commemorations of the church sometimes sneak up on you? The Church in her wisdom gives us cycles of repe …

The burning of incense is a divine command. God gave Moses and Aaron detailed instructions for the times, places, and methods of burning incense. It was to be burned perpetually before the Lord, and it was a holy act of worship (Exodus 30). When the Tabernacle was replaced by the Temple, incense was offered there (1/3 Kings 9:25). When the people fell away into sin and idolatry, their offering of incense was hated by God (Isaiah 1:13), for it was merely an act, and not a true expression of lovi …

Ezekiel 44: 1-3 “Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east; and it was shut. And he said to me, "This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it; for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut. Only the prince may sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way." Ezekiel 46:3 “ Likewise the people of the …

We have often heard from customers, "How do I set up a prayer corner?" We are going to explain the idea of the home prayer corner, the meaning behind each element, and how to get started if you don't have one yet. Location The Prayer Corner can be located in any convenient place in your home. The best place is a prominent wall or corner of your main living room, where the family can gather each day to pray. As Christians throughout history have traditionally prayed facing towards the East, an e …

The Didache, orThe Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, is an early Christian text that most scholars date to the first or early second century. The Didache was highly regarded by many early Christian authors and theologians. Athanasius of Alexandria (†373) recommended it to converts, and it had a great influence on theApostolic Constitutions(375). Before the New Testament canon was formally settled in 692, a number of Biblical canons included theDidache; John of Damascus (†749) was a …

We recently received a message from a customer asking about our new icon of the Visitation of the Theotokos and Elizabeth, which includes Christ and John the Baptist in the wombs of their mothers, and the reasoning behind depicting something that in reality took place secretly. Others may have similar questions, so we wanted to provide a public response to say more about its meaning. When we speak of events that took place secretly, I call to mind the hymn from Vespers on Christmas Eve: "O Ch …