“O divinely called one, thou wast shown to be the protomartyr and first sufferer among women. Thou didst enter the flame as it were a place a bloom with flowers…”
Saint Thecla the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles (Sept 24/ Oct 7) was taught by the Holy Apostle Paul. Her holy relics are at the monastery bearing her name in Maaloula, Syria, an ancient Christian village which came under attack in 2013 by ISIS-affiliated militants. Their attempt to burn down the entire monastery failed. Twelve nuns who were kidnapped were later released. Looted icons were eventually retrieved. Who can doubt the intercession of the Holy First-Martyress?
“O most lauded one, entreat Christ, that our souls be saved.”
#StThekla
Photos: 6th century fresco at Ephesus of the Holy Apostle Paul
Monastery of St. Thecla, Maaloula, Syria
Icon photo credit: The Eastern Orthodox Church on Facebook
Saint Thecla the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles (Sept 24/ Oct 7) was taught by the Holy Apostle Paul. Her holy relics are at the monastery bearing her name in Maaloula, Syria, an ancient Christian village which came under attack in 2013 by ISIS-affiliated militants. Their attempt to burn down the entire monastery failed. Twelve nuns who were kidnapped were later released. Looted icons were eventually retrieved. Who can doubt the intercession of the Holy First-Martyress?
“O most lauded one, entreat Christ, that our souls be saved.”
#StThekla
Photos: 6th century fresco at Ephesus of the Holy Apostle Paul
Monastery of St. Thecla, Maaloula, Syria
Icon photo credit: The Eastern Orthodox Church on Facebook
"We must reverently preserve the Orthodox Faith, standing firm in it…. while faithfully preserving the Orthodox Faith, everyone must also take care to spread it among the non-Orthodox. Christ the Saviour said that having lit the candle, men do not put it under a bushel but on a candlestick so that it gives light to all (Matt. 5.15). The light of the Orthodox Faith has not been lit to shine only for a small circle of people. No, the Orthodox Church is catholic; she remembers the commandment of her Founder, Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature and teach all nations (Mark 16.15; Matt. 28.19)."
☦️ St Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and Apostle to America. (Glorification Oct 9)
☦️ St Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and Apostle to America. (Glorification Oct 9)
"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him."
Our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action. This is the message of the holy, glorious and all-laudable Apostle and Evangelist John (also John the Theologian or John the Divine), one of the original twelve Apostles. (Sept 26/ Oct 9)
"Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."
"Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister."
Our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action. This is the message of the holy, glorious and all-laudable Apostle and Evangelist John (also John the Theologian or John the Divine), one of the original twelve Apostles. (Sept 26/ Oct 9)
"Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."
"Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister."
Although recent reports of damage to one of the oldest churches in the world, St Porphyrios Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza are false, the church is asking for prayers. In the midst of the current terrors, the church is requesting the faithful to pray for protection of its parishioners and for all those who are seeking sanctuary within its walls.
"Dost thou see, brother, the Queen and Lady, praying for all the world?", asked Saint Andrew, Fool for Christ to his disciple, the Blessed Epiphanios. “I do see, holy father, and I be in awe".
This exchange took place in the 10th century at the fourth hour of the all night vigil on Sunday, October 1, at the Blakhernae church where there the Robe of the Mother of God was preserved. The Holy Theotokos appeared, “resplendent with an Heavenly light and surrounded by an assembly of the Saints. The holy Baptist of the Lord John and the holy Apostle John the Theologian accompanied the Queen of Heaven. On bended knee the Most Holy Virgin began with tears to pray for Christians and for a long time was at prayer. Then, coming nigh the Prestol'-Throne, She continued her prayer, which having completed, she then took from her head the veil and spread it over the people praying in church, protecting them from enemies both visible and invisible.” — from the Synaxarion
This exchange took place in the 10th century at the fourth hour of the all night vigil on Sunday, October 1, at the Blakhernae church where there the Robe of the Mother of God was preserved. The Holy Theotokos appeared, “resplendent with an Heavenly light and surrounded by an assembly of the Saints. The holy Baptist of the Lord John and the holy Apostle John the Theologian accompanied the Queen of Heaven. On bended knee the Most Holy Virgin began with tears to pray for Christians and for a long time was at prayer. Then, coming nigh the Prestol'-Throne, She continued her prayer, which having completed, she then took from her head the veil and spread it over the people praying in church, protecting them from enemies both visible and invisible.” — from the Synaxarion
“Remember us in Thine prayers, O Lady Virgin Mother of God, that we perish not by the increase of our sins, protect us from every evil and from grievous woes; for on Thee do we hope, and venerating the feast of Thine Pokrov, Thee do we magnify".
A forbidden icon: The Mother of God “Enthroned”
The “Enthroned” (or “Reigning”) Icon of the Mother of God appeared miraculously on March 2, 1917, the day of Tsar Nicholas’ abdication, in the village of Kolomskoye near Moscow.
Many copies of the icon were venerated throughout Russia, but these were confiscated by the Soviets. The original icon is in the Novodevichy Museum in Moscow. There is a copy in the Church of the Kazan Mother of God in Kolomskoye.
The “Enthroned” (or “Reigning”) Icon of the Mother of God appeared miraculously on March 2, 1917, the day of Tsar Nicholas’ abdication, in the village of Kolomskoye near Moscow.
Many copies of the icon were venerated throughout Russia, but these were confiscated by the Soviets. The original icon is in the Novodevichy Museum in Moscow. There is a copy in the Church of the Kazan Mother of God in Kolomskoye.