The Greek Orthodox Church conducts the blessing of the waters for the High Feast Day of Theophania. With the blessings of His Eminence +Demetrius the Metropolitan of America, this year's ritual took place at Battery Park in NYC with the participation of the clergy and laity of the Cathedral of St. Markella in Astoria, NY. Five men swam into the Hudson River to retrieve the Holy Cross that was tossed in by Bishop Christodoulos of Theoupolis, and the man who retrieved it presented it to Bishop Pavlos, the retired Metropolitan of America.
This miracle of Saint Spyridon took place in Mandra, Greece in 1926.
It was 12/25 December, 1926. The state Church of Greece adopted the Papal calendar and with the help of the Greek government persecuted all those who did not accept the Papal calendar. The faithful Orthodox Christians of Mandra woke up and headed to their Church to celebrate the Feast of Saint Spyridon. When they reached the Church they saw that the door to the Church had been secured with chains and the faithful could not enter. Before leaving the Church to return to their homes they stuck their candles on the door. As soon as the last person placed his candles on the door
the chains broke and fell. The faithful, confirmed in their Faith, entered the Church and celebrated the Feast of Saint Spyridon.
The miracle was reported the next day by the newspaper Skrip.
Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church is a beautiful mission parish near downtown Tucson, a city in southern Arizona. It was started in 1997 by Father John Bockman, who was a missionary Priest formerly serving missions in Tennessee and Massachusetts since 1990. Father John served the faithful in Tucson and the surrounding area in his home Chapel until his repose in November of 2000. His wife, Presbytera Valerie, continued to make her home Chapel available for the mission, with clergy from Saint Nectarios Orthodox Church in Seattle and His Eminence, Metropolitan Moses of Toronto (then of Portland), visiting to provide the Divine Services.
Read more...2021 St. Xenia Camp
Greetings St. Xenia Camp family,
As previously announced, through the intercessions of St. Xenia, the prayers of so many of you, and with the blessing of Metropolitan Demetrius, St. Xenia Camp 2021 will return to Forest Acres in Fryeburg, Maine August 15-21! Given the continued impact of COVID-19, camp this year may yet be somewhat different from the past Forest Acres experiences. We are sharing this information ahead of registration so that all families can make an informed decision on whether they feel comfortable sending their camper(s) this year. [Read more...]
Q. Are the prayers in the blue prayer book [A Prayerbook for Orthodox Christians by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery —ed.] compulsory for everyone? I mean their morning prayers and the service of Small Compline. My confessor gave me a special rule but wasn’t clear about whether this replaced the book prayers or was in addition to them. Read more...