On Holy and Great Monday we commemorate the blessed Joseph the All-comely and also the withered fig tree. Inasmuch as the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ has its beginning on this day, and as Joseph is regarded as an image of Christ from former times, he is thus set forth here.
Joseph was the son of the Patriarch Jacob, born to him by Rachel. Being envied by his brethren on account of certain of his dreams, he was first concealed in a dug-out pit, and his father was tricked by a bloody garment and the deceit of his children into thinking that he had been devoured by some beast. Joseph was then sold to some Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver; they, in turn, sold him to Potiphar, captain of the eunuchs of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. His wife was enraged by the young man's chastity, because not wishing to commit sin, he fled from her, leaving behind his garment. She slandered him to his master, and he was put into bonds in a harsh prison. Afterwards, he was released because of his ability to interpret certain dreams; he was brought before the king and appointed governor of the whole land of Egypt. Later, he was made known to his brethren through his distribution of grain. Having spent the whole of his life well, he died in Egypt, recognized as being great in his chastity and kindness toward others. He is, moreover, a prefiguring of Christ. Christ was also envied by His own people, the Jews: He was sold by a disciple for thirty pieces of silver and was imprisoned in the dark and gloomy pit of the grave, whence He broke out by His own power, triumphing over Egypt, that is, over every sin. In His might He conquered it, and He reigns over all the world. In His love for mankind He redeemed us by a distribution of grain, inasmuch as He gave Himself up for us, and He feeds us with Heavenly Bread, His own Life-bearing Flesh. For this reason, Joseph the All- comely is brought to mind at this time. He is also commemorated on the Sunday before the Nativity of Christ.
06.04.2026Read more
On this day, Palm Sunday, we celebrate the bright and glorious feast of the Entrance of our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.
After the raising of Lazarus from the dead, many people who witnessed this event believed in Christ. Moreover, a decree was passed by the council of the Jews to have both Christ and Lazarus killed. Therefore, giving place to their wickedness, Jesus withdrew. The Jews, for their part, made plans to kill Him during the Feast of the Passover. Having stayed away for a long time in the wilderness near Ephraim, six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany to the house of Lazarus, who had been dead. There at supper, Lazarus ate with Him, and his sister Mary poured ointment on Christ's feet. Since Lazarus had been raised from the dead, numerous Jews had forsaken the lifeless synagogue and believed in Jesus. In the future, these would be recognized as the first Christians. At this time, the Jews were divided between those who wished Christ dead and were planning His death and those who acknowledged Him as the Messiah.
05.04.2026Read more
On this day, the first Sunday after Pentecost, we commemorate the feast of All Saints from all times and throughout all the world: from Asia, Libya, Europe, from the North and from the South.
Our godly Fathers have established the commemoration of this present feast after the Descent of the Holy Spirit in order to show that the coming of the most Holy Spirit worked enormous deeds through the Apostles, sanctifying and bestowing wisdom upon those who were like us, and setting these saints in the place of those angels who had fallen, leading them, through Jesus Christ, to God. Some, the martyrs, came through blood, while others were led through their virtuous way of life, but all were perfected through the Holy Spirit in an ineffable manner.
15.06.2025Read more
On this day, the eighth Sunday of Pascha, we celebrate the day of Holy Pentecost.
We have also taken the celebration of this feast from the Jews. Their celebration of Pentecost was both in honor of the number seven as well as in remembrance of the fact that they received the Law fifty days after the Passover. Thus we also celebrate fifty days after Pascha, receiving the One who gives us the Law, the most Holy Spirit, who guides us in all truth and teaches us what is pleasing to God. It should also be known that among the Jews were three great feasts: Passover, Pentecost; and the Feast of the Tabernacles. Passover was in remembrance of passing through the Red Sea, for the name of the feast itself is one of “passing.” That feast prefigured our own Pascha, which is the passing and returning from the darkness of sin to Paradise.
The second feast celebrated by the Jews, Pentecost, was a reminder of their sufferings in the desert and the hardships through which they passed in order to reach the Promised Land. It was only after these hardships that they could taste the fruits, the wheat and the wine. For us, however, Pentecost shows the departure from the wickedness of unbelief and the entrance into the Church so that we may commune of the Body and Blood of the Master. Many say that Pentecost is celebrated among the Jews in honor of the fact that the holy Prophet Moses fasted fifty days before receiving the God-written Law and the many other events that occurred as he ascended and descended Mount Sinai. Some hold that the Jews celebrated Pentecost for the reasons shown above; others, however, feel that Pentecost was established by the Jews according to the honor given to the number seven, as we have mentioned. This number, multiplied by itself, comes to one less than fifty. The honor that the Jews gave to Pentecost depends not only upon the number of days, but also on the number of years, for this decided the years of the celebration of the Jubilee, named the Time of Forgiveness, or Release, which fell every fifty years. On that year, they would leave the earth fallow and allow the animals to rest, and any slaves who were purchased at a price were given freedom to leave. (See Lev. 25.)
08.06.2025Read more
On this day, the Saturday before Holy Pentecost, we celebrate a memorial for all those who have fallen asleep since the ages in true worship and in the hope of everlasting life.
The Holy Fathers established that on this Saturday that precedes Holy Pentecost, we observe the memory of all people who throughout the centuries died in the right faith, just as they ordered that this be observed on the Saturday before Meatfare Sunday. They did this moved by their love for mankind, so that all who for whatever reason did not have the usual benefit of individual memorial services might be included in this common memorial. According to tradition, the Fathers of the Church received this injunction concerning the memorial services from the Apostles, who themselves taught that the memorials performed on behalf of the reposed bring great benefit to those who have fallen asleep. (See Apostolic Injunctions, 8.42.)
The Holy Fathers specified that we perform them today, because tomorrow we shall welcome the All-Holy Spirit and shall fervently be entreating the Lord for ourselves, that He send us His All-Holy Spirit to illumine us and strengthen us in the fear of God and in keeping the commandments and to guide us in obtaining eternal life. We shall also be praying for the deceased, that He give them rest in His lovely and longed-for dwellings. In praying for the dead, on the one hand, we show our love for our deceased fathers and brothers, and, on the other hand, we become more keenly aware of the vanity of this world, and thus we receive great benefit to our souls. For nothing rouses the slothful to repentance better than the recollection of death. And nothing else brings us the recollection of death as well as the memory of our loved ones who have slept the eternal sleep.
07.06.2025Read more
