533. “Are You Saved?” the Orthodox understanding of Salvation

      Christ is risen! Truly He is risen!   “Here’s how we do it. We visit people, and we ask ‘Do you want to be sure you’re going to Heaven?’ Most of them say ‘Yes’.  Then we say: ‘Just recite these words: “I accept Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior”, and […]

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532. 1) The Newly-revealed Martyrs of Mytilene, 2) Father Alexander Schmemann on Division and Unity, 3) Pope Francis

Christ is risen! Truly He is risen!   ______________________________________ The Holy Martyrs the Priest Raphael, Irene and the Deacon Nicholas  commemorated on Bright Tuesday each year Previously forgotten and unknown, these Fifteenth Century martyrs first revealed themselves to the world in 1959! This is an amazing, wonderful story. I wrote about it only a few […]

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531. P.S. How the Theotokos learned of the Resurrection

I promised to write no more, and I meant it. But there’s something important I forgot. My dear cousin Jacklyn wrote to say she identified with the sufferings of the Virgin Mary, as surely have a million mothers who have suffered great loss. I wrote in an earlier Post of how the Theotokos * suffered […]

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529. Holy Saturday Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil

Brothers and sisters, there is a whole lot going on this morning, so pay attention. This service just makes me happy, even go a bit silly for some reason. Divine Liturgy This Liturgy begins as a celebration of Christ’s victory over Satan and death “down below”, and by the middle we are celebrating the Resurrection […]

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527. Holy Friday evening Great Vespers “Service of Taking Down from the Cross”

At last! a Holy Week service (and the only one) that is “in sync” with the time of day. We’re going to cover: 1 The ceremonies, 2 The Scripture readings. Beginning with last night’s Procession of the Cross of Christ and continuing through Pascha, the ceremonies are intended to draw us more fully into these wonderful closing events of […]

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