The Greek Orthodox Church conducts the blessing of the waters for the High Feast Day of Theophania. This year's ritual took place at Battery Park in NYC. Six men swam into the Hudson River to retrieve the Holy Cross that was tossed in by His Eminence Metropolitan Pavlos, as is the Holy Tradition, and returned it to him. Johnny Soukas was the first man to reach the Holy Cross.
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Orthodox Awareness
Bartholomew Prays at Iftar
Iftar, refers to the evening meal when Muslims break their fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan. Iftar is one of the religious observances of Ramadan and is often done as a community, with people gathering to break their fast together. Iftar is done right after sunset.
We report the following unchanged as it was published:
"The leaders of the Armenian, Roman, Jewish and Syrian communities of Turkey sat around the fasting Iftar dinner in the Beyoglu district of Istanbul."
Community leaders met in Mevlevihane (Tekes Mevlevi) of Galata and proclaimed an encouraging message of unity.
Read more...Missions
Holy Mother of God, Charlottesville, Virginia
Maria never thought she would start a Church. However, God creates circumstances which cause people to do things they never planned to do. She had family members that were Old Calendarists and she had even attended services at St. Markella’s Cathedral many years ago. But that all became a memory, as life’s changes brought her to her own marriage, raising children, and living in diverse locations.Charlottesville, Virginia became her and her husband's home a few years ago. They settled in to the comfortable routine of worshiping in the local New Calendar parish.
Read more...Youth
When:
October 5-8, 2012
Where:
Toronto, Canada
Hosts:
St. Nektarios, Mother of God of Proussa, St. Joseph of Arimathea and St. Theodore of Canterbury Mission
Ask A Priest
Why do we Call Angels “Saint”?
Q. I noticed that we call the angels Michael and Gabriel "Saint." I thought the title "Saint" was only given to humans who have proven themselves Godly. Do you mind clarifying this for me? Is there a deeper meaning to "Saint" that I am not aware of?
-S.L. Read more...