Throwing the Cross in the Waters   On the sixth of January each year we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany or more accurately, Theophany, which is the manifestation of the Trinitarian God. At the baptism of Christ in the river Jordan, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descended on Christ the Son of God, and the voice of God the Father was heard. For all Orthodox Christians around the world it is called the Blessing of the Waters Day. It is not just a commemoration of a historical event in the life of Jesus, because in [...]

The Antidoron   The Antidoron (ἀντίδωρον) is the small piece of bread that is distributed by the priest at the end of a Divine Liturgy service. The literal translation of the word Antidoron means ‘instead of the Gift’. The Gift, of course, refers to the sanctified portions that are blessed during the Liturgy, and prepared during the proskomedi service in Matins, to be used for the Body of Christ for Holy Communion. Although it has been blessed, the Antidoron has not been consecrated, and consists of the remaining bread portions taken from the same prosforo (bread offering). It is imperative [...]

Paraklisis to Panagia   A paraklisis is a supplicatory prayer that is chanted, at any time of distress or sorrow, for the benefit of the faithful. It can be chanted to a specific Saint, but prayers to Panagia are the most popular. Early Christians recognised the Theotokos as a powerful intercessor for those suffering and in need of protection. Christians have been seeking her intercessions from the time of the ancient Church up to this very day: “For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed” (Luke 1:48). During the first 14 days of August every year, the Orthodox faithful [...]

Fasting Fasting is an integral part of our Orthodox Christian life, and is a spiritual exercise that, when we embrace it, teaches us self denial, strong will-power and discipline. The purpose of fasting is not simply to “give up things”, but rather to practice self-discipline in a day and age when we are “consumed” by food: with a plethora of diets, cookbooks, TV shows, eating disorders, medical intervention treatments etc, we often allow food to control us. We fast as a sacrifice, to improve our self-control - by being more disciplined with our physical desires, we become freer to use [...]

Bringing the Holy Light Home   At midnight on Easter Saturday the deep-toned voices of our Orthodox Liturgists all over the world, shout out the triumphal announcement, “Come receive the light, from the never-setting Light, and glorify Christ who has risen from the dead”! The faithful have awaited this moment from the beginning of Great Lent, when we have been urged as the Prodigal Son to return with deep repentance to the embrace of the loving Father. We have been encouraged to pray as the Publican with humility, “Lord have mercy on me”. We have witnessed the thief on the [...]