1812 Watt Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72227
Radonitsa (Russian Радоница, “Day of Rejoicing”) in the Russian Orthodox Church is a commemoration of the departed observed on the second Tuesday of Pascha (Easter) or, in some places (in south-west Russia), on the second Monday of Pascha. The official liturgical texts, even in Russia, don’t reflect this commemoration of the departed, but the pious [...]
Just after midnight on Easter in Ukraine, people begin to fill the streets and wait for the priest to come and bless their Easter baskets. Thousands of people line the streets. It is an amazing sight. Each basket is placed on the ground with a lit candle. The priest sings songs over the loud speakers [...]
by Fr. Gregory Wigenbach “Do not turn aside too readily from the ancient traditions you have received from the elders, which they in turn learned at their forefathers’ feet…(for) they may still prove profitable to you and yours in your times of need.” Wisdom of Sirach . If you adopt a new homeland and assimilate [...]
A great photo from Theophany 2012. Romanian, right, and Serbian bishops perform the Out-of-Doors Blessing of the Waters marking the Orthodox Epiphany on the river Nera, between the two countries of Serbia, left bank, and Romania, near the village of Vracev Gaj, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. [...]
by Fr. Sergei Sveshnikov Why Bless a Home? The Orthodox Church teaches that we do not have two separate lives–a secular one and a spiritual one–but one human life, and that all of it must be holy. We must not be Christians for just a few hours on Saturday and Sunday, spending the rest [...]
by Fr. Paul Jannakos Anyone the least bit familiar with the Orthodox Church knows that repetition is a key feature of its worship. We do things over and over again, and then, we do it yet again – one more time. As we find in the Little Litany, “Again and again in peace, let us [...]
On Saturday, December 18, at 5:00pm there will be a musical presentation of the traditional Russian story of Father Frost. After we hear about Father Frost, we will have refreshments and then celebrate Great Vespers as usual at (around) 6:00pm. Bring the children of all ages! Who is Father Frost? Father Frost (Russian: Ded Moroz [...]
by Metropolitan of Nafpatkos Hierotheos Vlachos I suspect that the custom of decorating a tree at Christmas time is not simply a custom which came to us from the West and which we should replace with other more Orthodox customs. To be sure, I have not gone into the history of the Christmas tree and [...]
By Father Daniel Daly Several years ago during the Christmas season, a religious program on television caught my attention. The program featured a discussion on the dangers of cults, especially to young people. I found myself agreeing with the panelists as they warned young people about the hazards of involvement in occult or “new age†[...]
The term ‘lampada’ simply means lamp, and is used in the Orthodox Church to designate the lamps (usually oil burning) that hang before icons. They have a practical function, illumination, that has taken on spiritual significance. This beautiful passage from St. Nikolai Velimirovich describes the spiritual significance of lighting both lampadas and offering votive candles: [...]
Stay Connected