Orthodox Portal

One of the most ancient cities of the Promised Land was Shechem, also called Sikima. Near to this town, Jacob, who had come from Mesopotamia in the nineteenth century before Christ, bought a piece of land where there was a well. This well, preserved even until the time of Christ, was known as Jacob’s Well. This town, before it was taken into possession by Samaria, was also the leading city of the kingdom of the ten tribes. It was the first city in Canaan visited by the Patriarch Abraham. Here also, Jesus of Navi (Joshua) addressed the tribes of Israel for the last time. Almost three hundred years later, all Israel assembled there to make Roboam (Rehoboam) king.

Ream more »

The holy Fathers have appointed the memory of the Patriarch Abraham, the Father of all believers, and of his lineage, the Ancestors according to the flesh of our Lord to be solemnly observed in these days that lead up to the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ream more »

“The Cave in which Christ was born is a type of the Church. St. Athanasius the Great speaks specifically in saying the small room where the Theotokos awaited the birth has been accepted as the type of the Church. The manger is seen as the Altar, Joseph the server, the Magi are the clergy, the Shepherds are the deacons, the angels are the Priests, the Lord is the Bishop, the Virgin is the Throne, the craters in the cave are the chalices, the incarnation is the Vestment, the Cherubim are the [liturgical] fans, the Holy Spirit is the paten, the Father Who overshadows all things with His power is the veil covering the paten.” (The Twelve Feasts of the Lord. pg. 60.)
Ream more »

The mystery of this feast of the Theotokos, which can be compared to the Dormition, leads us into the very treasure house of the Church’s Holy Tradition. The Church breaks the silence of the Scriptures and shows us the incomprehensible ways of providence, which prepare the receptacle of the Word, “the Mother foreknown before the ages,” “preached by the Prophets,” and now introduced into the Holy of Holies, like a hidden Treasure of the Glory of God.”
Ream more »

From time immemorial, the Church has celebrated the Most-Holy Theotokos as the patroness and Protectress of the Christian people, who, by her intercessory prayers, implores God’s mercy for all. The help of the Most Holy Mother of God has been clearly shown numerous times, to individuals and to nations, in peace and at war, in monastic deserts and in densely populated cities….

On October 1, 911…there was an All-night Vigil in the Blachernae Church of the Mother of God in Constantinople. The Church was full of people. St. Andrew the Fool-for-Christ was standing in the rear of the Church… .At four o’clock in the morning, the Most Holy Theotokos appeared above the people holding her omophorion outstretched as a protective covering for the faithful. She was clothed in gold-encrusted purple, and shone with an ineffable radiance, surrounded by the Apostles, Saints, Martyrs, and Virgins. St. Andrew said to Blessed Epiphanius: “Do you see, brother, the Queen and Lady of all praying for the whole world?” Epiphanius replied: “I see father, and am struck with amazement!”

The feast of the Protection was instituted to commemorate this event and to remind us that we can prayerfully receive the unceasing protection of the Most-Holy Theotokos in any time of difficulty. (Prologue from Ochrid, October.)