The Annunciation of the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary: When, in the city of Nazareth, the angel of the Lord announced to Mary, “Behold, you will conceive and bear a son, and he will be called Son of the Most High.” Mary said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to […]
Tag Archives: theotokos
Feb. 2 Meeting of our Lord with Simeon and Anna
The encounter of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ with Simeon and Anna is one of the most ancient of all feasts established in Jerusalem in the 4th century. St. Sophronius of Jerusalem wrote about this feast: “Let us all hasten to meet (encounter) Christ. Everyone should be eager to join the procession and […]
Dec. 26 The Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos; The Holy Martyr Euthymius, Bishop of Sardis
The synaxis of the Theotokos: On the second day of the Christmas feast, the Church gives glory and praise to the most holy Theotokos, who bore our Lord, God, and Savior, Jesus Christ. The holy martyr Euthymius, Bishop of Sardis in Lydia, was forced into exile on account of his veneration of the Holy Images […]
Dec. 12 Our Venerable Father Spiridon the Wonderworker, Bishop of Tremithus; Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our venerable father Spiridon the Wonderworker was a shepherd who had a wife and children. He used all his substance for the needs of his neighbors and the homeless, for which the Lord rewarded him with the gift of wonderworking. He healed those who were incurably sick, and cast out demons. After the death of […]
Dec. 8 The Feast of the Maternity of Anna
The Feast of the Maternity of the Holy Anna, mother of Our Blessed Lady, the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary: According to tradition, Joachim and Anna were childless for fifty years of their married life. In their old age, they were promised that a daughter would be born to them. After nine months, St. […]
Nov. 21 Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple
According to Holy Tradition, the parents of the Virgin Mary, Saints Joachim and Anna, praying for an end to their childlessness, vowed that if a child were born to them, they would dedicate it to the service of God. When the Most Holy Virgin reached the age of three, the holy parents decided to fulfill […]
Oct. 1 The Protection of the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary; The Holy Apostle Ananias; Our Venerable Father Romanus the Hymnographer
The Protection of the Theotokos: On Oct. 1, 911 during the reign of emperor Leo the Wise, there was an all-night vigil in the Blanchernae church of the Theotokos in Constantinople. Standing near the rear of the church was St. Andrew the Fool for Christ, and his disciple Epiphanius. At four o’clock in the morning, […]
Sept. 9 The Synaxis of the Holy and Just Grandparents of God Joachim and Anna; The Holy Martyr Severian
The Synaxis of the holy and just grandparents of God, Joachim and Anna, parents of Mary the immaculate Virgin mother of God, the names of whom were preserved by the ancient traditions of Christians from the Jews. The couple lived at Nazareth in Galilee. They were childless into their old age and all their life […]
Aug. 31 The Deposition of the Venerable Sash of the Theotokos
The placing of the Venerable Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos in a church of Constantinople’s Chalcoprateia district took place during the reign of the emperor Theosodius the Younger. Before this the holy relic, entrusted to the Apostle Thomas by Mary herself, was kept by pious Christians at Jerusalem after her Dormition. During the reign […]
Aug. 15 The Dormition of the Theotokos
The Dormition of the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary: Tradition relates that the Mother of God died in Jerusalem, after a visit with all of Christ’s apostles. They carried her coffin to the Garden of Gethsemane where it was placed into a tomb. The apostle Thomas came late and asked that the tomb be […]