“Today is the beginning of our salvation and the revelation of the eternal mystery”—so begins the troparion of the feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Mother of God. In these words, “our salvation” refers to the incarnation of the Word of God—His coming into the world in the flesh, in human nature and form—as the…
By Bishop Mikhail (Semyonov) In secular art, following a tradition that nonetheless has its roots in ancient Christian iconography, the Holy Virgin or the angel in depictions of the Annunciation is often shown with lilies. The lily is a beautiful symbol of the chaste purity of the Holy Virgin—a fragrant, snow-white flower, joyfully opening itself…
The Annunciation is a joyful feast, for in it is proclaimed the coming into the world of the Saviour, who brought tidings of reconciliation between man and God. He opened the radiant gates of paradise, which had been shut to the human race because of the transgression of God’s commandments, and He declared the endless…
One of the most beloved feasts of Great Lent among Russian Christians since ancient times has been the commemoration of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, who suffered in the year 320 for their faith in Christ God. The Church commemorates their memory on March 22 (March 9 according to the old style). It is striking…
In the mid-nineteenth century, an event occurred that was of great significance for all Old Orthodox Christians: after nearly two centuries of widowhood, the Old Believer Church once again gained a bishop. In 1846, in the village of Belaya Krinitsa, near the city of Chernivtsi (then part of Austria-Hungary, now Western Ukraine), a Greek metropolitan,…