“The Virgin has Begotten the Wonderful; Let us go and Behold Him” Reflections on the Nativity of Christ Introduction When the Creator saw that man, who He had made with His own hands, perish, He was so moved that, “He bowed the heavens and came down”. The Feast of Nativity
In September we are at the ‘Sleeba Perunnal’, the feast of Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the instrument of salvation, on the 14th. This feast marks the discovery of the Holy Cross on which our Lord was crucified. In Greek and Latin this feast is called the ‘Exaltation of the
To begin with, worship, prayer and liturgy mean not mere an intellectual exercise for the Orthodox, rather actions or activity where the body, soul and spirit are deeply involved in and totally engaged with. In other words, it is the total human being, as creation of God, involving him/herself in
The empty tomb of Christ is a historical reality for every orthodox. The four gospels were written by four different men on different occasions and for different purposes. All of them clearly certify that Jesus rose from the dead without any doubt. Recently a United Methodist bishop was reprimanded by
There are many vivid Old Testament narratives that refer to the passion and death of Jesus Christ and one among them is the story of Abraham going up on to the Mount of Moriah to sacrifice Isaac. We read the unfolding of a touching account of a father climbing upon
on Jan 27th, 2011
Doctrinal Agreement on Christology approved by Catholicos Mar Baselius Marthoma Mathews I and Pope John Paul II issued June 3rd, 1990 1. In our first meeting which was characterized by a spirit of concord, mutual trust, fraternal love and desire to overcome division and misunderstandings inherited from the past, we
Part II – Eucharistic Symbolism in Ephrem Eucharist as “Food” In Ephrem’s writings, the Eucharist emerges as a complex reality that can never be reduced or exclusively equated with any one of its aspects such as, the Eucharist as “food”. Rather, a flexible and often complex exchange of images allows
Part 1 – Ephrem and the Liturgy Life of Ephrem In this paper, I will analyze Ephrem’s most important madrashe on the liturgy, “The Mysteries of the Eucharist,” along with his madrashe on Faith, Pearls, Church, Unleavened Bread and Nativity where Ephrem considers the Holy Eucharist. Ephrem the Syrian, known
Translation: “By Your Baptism, O Lord, purify our minds to be a place for Your majesty. And by Your manifestation, enlighten our senses that we may thank You for Your grace.” The Church moves from the Feast of Nativity to the Feast of the Theophany or Epiphany (6th January) –
The word Advent means ‘coming’ or ‘arrival’; means in the Orthodox Tradition, the period of fasting and preparation in connection with the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord. The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and
