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Washing of the Disciple's Feet | Feast Day: Holy Thursday The Washing of the Feet The events initiated by Jesus at the Mystical.Supper were profoundly significant. By teaching and giving the disciples His final instructions and praying for them as well, He revealed again His divine Sonship and authority. By establishing the Eucharist, He enshrines to perfection God's most intimate purposes for our salvation, offering Himself as Communion and life. By washing the feet of His disciples, He summarized the meaning of His ministry, manifested His perfect love and revealed His profound humility. The act of the washing of the feet (John 13:2-17) is closely related to the sacrifice of the Cross. Both reveal aspects of Christ's kenosis. While the Cross constitues the ultimate manifestation of Christ's perfect obedience to His Father (Philippians 2:5-8), the washing of the feet signifies His intense love and the giving of Himself to each person according to that person's ability to receive Him (John 13:6-9). Source: https://www.goarch.org/holythursday Back to the Top |
Apokatheilosis | In popular language the Vesper Service of Great Friday is often called the Apokathelosis, a name derived from the liturgical reenactment of the deposition of Christ from the Cross. The service is characterized by two dramatic liturgical actions: The Deposition or Apokathelosis Apokathilosis -literally the Un-nailing); and the Procession of the Epitaphios ('Epitafios, i.e. the icon depicting the burial of Christ encased within a large embroidered cloth). The rite of the Apokathelosis originated in the Church of Antioch. During the course of the nineteenth century it came to Constantinople and from there it passed gradually into the Church of Greece. At Constantinople it received the form we know and practice today. Source: https://www.goarch.org/-/great-friday Back to the Top |
The Hospitality of Abraham | Feast Day: Monday after Pentecost The Hospitality of Abraham, an Old Testament type of the Holy Trinity. Explanation of the Trinity God is not an impersonal essence or mere "higher power," but rather each of the divine persons relates to mankind personally. Neither is God a simple name for three gods (i.e., polytheism), but rather the Orthodox faith is monotheist and yet Trinitarian. The God of the Orthodox Christian Church is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the I AM who revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush. The source and unity of the Holy Trinity is the Father, from whom the Son is begotten and also from whom the Spirit proceeds. Thus, the Father is both the ground of unity of the Trinity and also of distinction. To try to comprehend unbegottenness (Father), begottenness (Son), or procession (Holy Spirit) leads to insanity, says the holy Gregory the Theologian, and so the Church approaches God in divine mystery, approaching God apophatically, being content to encounter God personally and yet realize the inadequacy of the human mind to comprehend Him. Since man is made in the image of God, man also has three natures. Both man and woman have three parts: body, soul, and spirit. God the Son is comparable to the body since the Son is God incarnate. God the Father is comparable to the soul, or mind, since he was the mind that created everything. The Holy Spirit is comparable to man's Spirit. As the body of man is the temple of our spirit, the body of Jesus Christ is the temple to the Holy Spirit which proceeds from the Father through (dia) the Son. The primary statement of what the Church believes about God is to be found in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. Source: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Holy_Trinity Back to the Top |
The Finding of the Precious Cross | Feast: September 14 Click here to learn about the Finding of the Precious Cross Back to the Top |
The Elevation of the Holy Cross | Feast: September 14 Click here to learn about the Exaltation of the Precious Cross Click here to learn about the life of St. Mary of Egypt Back to the Top |
St. Basil the Great | Feast Day: January 1 Click here to learn the life of St. Basil the Great Back to the Top |
St. John Chrysostom | Feast Day: November 13 Click here to learn the life of St. John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople Back to the Top |
The Creation of Adam and Eve | Click Here to learn the Story of Adam and Eve. Back to the Top |
The Nymphios | Click Here to learn about Christ the Bridegroom "Nymphios." Back to the Top |