This icon reflected in its very outline the profound, childlike faith in the Mother of God of the Optina Elder Ambrose, one of the Russian people’s great righteous ones of the nineteenth century, who was aflame, as were most Russian ascetics, with extraordinary zeal for the Queen of Heaven. Elder Ambrose did not let a
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Homily on the Nativity of the Theotokos – St. Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov
The Lord, Who lives in the heavens, wishing to appear on earth and abide with men, first prepared a dwelling place of His glory: His Most Pure Mother. For it is the custom of kings that in whatsoever city they desire to live, a place of residence be prepared for them beforehand. And as the
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The Incarnation and Salvation
To the first Christian’s, who first appeared in the eastern providence’s of the Roman Empire, The Incarnation, the mystery which was in God’s Plan from before the ages (Eph.1: 9-10 & Col.1: 26), was the central act in this Divine Plan for mankind to become holy and made immortal through communion with the Incarnate Word
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Did Moses Foresee the Theotokos?
It seems to me that, already, the great Moses knew about this mystery by means of the light in which God appeared to him, when he saw the bush burning without being consumed (cf Ex 3:1ff). For Moses said: “I wish to go up closer and observe this great vision.” I believe that the term “go up
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Entry of the Holy Theotokos Into the Temple
The Entry of the Holy Theotokos into the Temple is one of the twelve major church feasts and is numbered among those that affect our salvation. What takes place on this day? The three-year-old Child, the Most-holy Virgin Mary, is brought by Her parents to the temple of Jerusalem. She is placed on the temple
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The Placing of the Honorable Robe of the Most Holy Mother of God at Blachernae
During the reign of Byzantine Emperor Leo the Great in the early fifth century, the brothers Galbius and Candidus traveled from Constantinople to Palestine to venerate the holy places. They stayed in the home of an old Jewish woman in a small settlement near Nazareth. They noticed a room in her house where many lamps
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THE MOTHER OF GOD IS PARADISE
We see today the newly born girl-child and understand how great is the love of God. We hear the cries of a small child and learn of the unutterable wisdom of the Trinity. We look at the human child and through our tears we see how exalted man becomes through love—exalted to the radiant light
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Miracle of Holy Theotokos in a Christian Town of Syria
A miracle by the Holy Theotokos was reported at one of the monasteries of Saidnaya. This town is one of the most famous Christian inhabited and pilgrimage places in the war torn Syria. The incident was told by one of the Syrian Christian who visited her homeland recently. The ongoing civil war has destroyed several
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