During the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Leo the Great (457-474), the brothers Galbius and Candidus, associates of the emperor, set out from Constantinople to Palestine to venerate the holy places. In a small settlement near Nazareth they stayed in the home of a certain old Jewish woman. In her house they noticed a room […]
Tag Archives: theotokos
March 25 The Annunciation of Our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary
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 […]
Jan. 18 Our Holy Fathers, Athanasius and Cyril, Archbishops of Alexandria
Our holy father St. Athanasius is one of the four great doctors of the Byzantine Church, called the Father of Orthodoxy. He opposed the Arians with admirable zeal and endured exile for 46 years. He died in 373. Our holy father St. Cyril opposed the Nestorians and taught that the divine and human natures in […]
Dec. 26 The Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos; Memory of the Holy and Righteous Joseph the Betrothed, David the King, and James the brother of God; 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 Prophet-King David, Saint Joseph the Betrothed, and Saint James the Brother of the Lord are commemorated on the Sunday after […]
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. 8 The Nativity of Our Most Holy Lady, The Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary
The nativity of the Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary, of the seed of Abraham, born from the tribe of Judah, from the line of King David. The Holy Theotokos was born of the elderly parents, Joachim of the lineage of David, and Anna of the lineage of Aaron. Therefore, Mary was of royal birth by her […]
Sept. 7 The Holy Martyr Sozon; Prefestive Day of the Nativity of the Theotokos
The holy martyr Sozon was a shepherd of Lycaonia who taught his family and friends the law of God. Sozon destroyed an idol, and was tortured and then burned for his Christian faith in the year 304 in Popeiopolis in Cilicia. Troparion – Prefestive Today is born to us from the root of Jesse and […]
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 […]