On Saturday, the high priests and Pharisees gathered together before Pilate and asked him to have Jesus’ tomb sealed until the third day; because, as those enemies of God said, “We suspect that His disciples will come and steal His buried body by night, and then proclaim to the people that His resurrection is true, […]
Synaxarion for Holy Friday
When Friday dawned, Christ was sent bound from Caiaphas to Pontius Pilate, who was then Governor of Judea. Pilate interrogated Him in many ways, and once and again acknowledged that He was innocent, but to please the Jews, he later passed the sentence of death against Him. After scourging the Lord of all as though […]
Synaxarion for Holy Thursday
On the evening of this day, which was the eve of the feast of unleavened bread (that is, the Passover), our Redeemer supped with His twelve disciples in the city. He blessed the bread and the wine, and gave us the Mystery of the Divine Eucharist. He washed the feet of the disciples as an […]
Synaxarion for Holy Wednesday
The more accurate and exacting of the commentators on the four Gospels, say that two women anointed the Lord, one long before his Passion, and one a few days before. One of these women was a harlot, and the other was a chaste, virtuous woman. On this day, the Church commemorates this act of piety […]
Synaxarion for Holy Tuesday
On this day we make remembrance of the Parable of the Ten Virgins which Jesus spake along with others as he was coming to the Passion. It teaches us not to rest as though safe in virginity, but to guard it whenever possible, and not to desist from any virtues and good deeds, especially deeds […]
Synaxarion for Holy Monday
On this day begins the anniversary of the holy Passion of the Savior, he of whom Joseph of exceeding beauty is taken as the earliest symbol; for this Joseph was the eleventh of the sons of Jacob, and because his father loved him exceedingly, his brothers envied him and threw him into a pit. Then […]
What are the Bridgegroom Services?
The Orthros for Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday and Holy Wednesday are called the Service of the Bridegroom. The Kingdom of God is compared to a bridal feast and a bridal chamber. The Christ of the Passion is the Bridegroom of the Church. The imagery connotes the final union of the Lover and the beloved. The last days were […]
Philosophy of perfection and problems in American history
I had mentioned yesterday that a philosophy of perfection or at least of a high standard of Christian behavior tends to lead to the subtle pressure to minimize one’s faults in order to maintain the image of near perfection. This is particularly true if one has broken away from another group which one claims is […]
Philosophy of perfection and American History
I mentioned yesterday that if you have a philosophy of near perfection, then it can all too easily lead to a minimizing of your imperfections. This is particularly true if your group claims that you separated in order to set up a community that would show what true Christians were really like. This was the […]
On arguing about the Church
Yesterday, I finished my post by saying, “You see, in order to be able to put forth that argument, one has to engage in a self-deception that, in the long run, can leave one open to self-deception in other areas of one’s life.” If you remember, I was talking about the dangers of citing the […]
