The Lenten season is about penitence and reconciliation with God. The Holy Orthodox Faith gives us a prescribed way to achieve this through fasting, prayer and almsgiving. During the time of Lent we endeavour to prepare ourselves in holiness that we might properly greet the Risen Christ at the greatest of all Christian Feast Days, Pascha (also known as Easter). Let's learn more about the purpose of Lent, the weeks of remembrance during Lent, and how Lent is practiced.
In the seven weeks approaching Pascha, the Orthodox fast and pray during a season that we call, “Lent.” Lent is a practice that has been part of the Orthodox tradition for thousands of years. Let’s discover what Lent is, and learn a little more about its long historical development. Great Lent We can divide Eastern Orthodox Lent into three basic periods:
The Orthodox Church embraces what is known as “Holy Tradition.” Sometimes Christians have a problem with this position because they confuse “Holy Tradition” with what the Bible calls “the tradition of men.” But if we look closely at Scripture, we find that Scripture commends us to follow and practice “Holy Tradition.” Let’s learn a little more about the difference between the two.
The church of Antioch is the most ancient church after that of Jerusalem. The city of Antioch is situated on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean near the mouth of the Orontes River in northwestern Syria. Let’s learn about: the history of the Antiochian Orthodox Church, how the Antiochian Church was established and became a major centre for Christians, the persecution and decline of the Antiochian Church, and what can be found in Antioch today.
The ancient city of Byzantium, later renamed Constantinople, today known as Istanbul in Turkey, was dedicated by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great as the new capital of the Roman Empire in 330 AD and functioned as the centre of the East Roman (or Byzantine) Empire for over 1000 years. Let’s learn about what Constantinople was like and how the city fell.
What is the Orthodox understanding of salvation? The Orthodox understand that “salvation” is the term used to describe deliverance from sin and death, union with Christ, and abiding with God forever in eternity.
The Mission of the Orthodox Church as a whole is very simple and straightforward, and the specific goal of the Orthodox Church in Australia aligns with this mission. Let’s learn what this mission is, and how it is specific to Australia. The Mission The Orthodox Mission has as its twin goals: the “incarnation of the Logos of God into the language and customs of a country,” and the “growth of an indigenous church which will sanctify and endorse the people’s personality.”(1)
Over the years I’ve noticed that some visitors to Orthodox services feel uncomfortable and uncertain about kissing the cross at the end of the Liturgy Service. I’d like to try to explain why we do it. Kissing the Cross of Jesus We have to admit, that from a modern perspective, it is a really a strange thing to do. Kissing the depiction of a man being executed could, in fact, be seen as grotesque. The reason we do it, however, is because of what this particular person means to us.
Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev - The Need to Act Bishop Hilarion, who is Russian Orthodox, was born in Moscow, studied at Oxford, and is presently the Russian Orthodox Bishop for Central Europe based in Vienna, Austria Tuesday, May 09, 2006 by Dr. Robert Moynihan INSIDE THE VATICAN: A major conference involving Catholics and Orthodox is scheduled to take place in Vienna in early May. Can you tell us something about the background of this conference, and its chief purpose?
The saints in each generation, joined to those who have gone before and filled like them with light, become a golden chain, in which each saint is a separate link, united to the next by faith, works and love. Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022)