Father Bill's Orthodox Blog – Orthodoxy from the Third Coast
A Variety of Topics: Saints, Seasons, Society, the Moral Life, plus Travels mostly to Greece, and more, by Father Bill Olnhausen
We all know that in the Orthodox Church the Divine Liturgy is always a celebration, not allowed during the penitential weekdays of the Great Lenten Fast. We also know that Holy Week is our most penitential period. Furthermore, running with our peculiar Holy Week schedule (which I’ll not go into again here), this actually turns […]
Read More »In case you’ve tuned in late to this series: These posts are “repeats” (with a little reworking each year) of my Holy Week posts of the past seven years – which are based on talks I’ve gave for about 25 years at Holy Week services at Saint Nicholas Church, Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Why do I not […]
Read More »Troparion of Bridegroom Matins: Kievan chant, sung by “Archangel Voices” Behold, the Bridegroom comes at midnight, and blessed is that servant whom He shall find awake, but unworthy is the servant whom He shall find heedless. Beware, therefore, O my soul, do not be weighed down with sleep, lest you be given up to death, […]
Read More »Before we get started: Tonight at the end of the Aposticha verses we hear the Hymn of Kassiane, a Ninth Century nun and hymnographer. Kassiane was one of several young women interviewed by Emperor Theophilos as a prospective bride. The story says he was so flummoxed by Kassiane’s beauty that he said something stupid, as […]
Read More »Exaposteilarion at Bridegroom Matins, sung on the first three nights of Holy Week: “Thy bridal chamber I see adorned, O my Savior, but I have no wedding garment that I may enter. O Giver of Light, enlighten the vesture of my soul, and save me.” from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgK0Fc8QUOs Pat Tsalgakis at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFrdWVEVKYE Chanted in Arabic […]
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