Orthodox and church holidays and fasts
Today is an Orthodox church holiday: * Great Martyr Euphemia the All-Praised (memory of the miracle by which Orthodoxy was established, 451). * Equal to the Apostles Grand Duchess Olga of Russia, in holy baptism Helena (969) and other saints whose names we remember on this day... Tomorrow:
* Martyrs Proclus and Hilary (c. 98-117).
* St. Michael Malein (962) and other saints whose names we remember on this day... Holidays are expected: 07/26/2021
- * Cathedral of the Archangel Gabriel.
* St. Stephen Savvait (794) and other saints whose names we remember on this day... 07.27.2021
- * Apostle Aquila of the 70 (I) and other saints whose names we remember on this day...
07.28.2021
- * Martyrs of Kirik and Julitta, his mother (c. 305). *** Equal to the Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, in holy baptism Vasily, Baptist of Rus' (1015) and other saints whose names we remember on this day...
All Orthodox and church holidays and fasts...
Orthodox Saints of God
The holy saints of God show special love and mercy to those who honor their holy memory.
It seems to many that the saints are far from us. But they are far from those who have withdrawn themselves, and very close to those who keep the commandments of Christ and have the grace of the Holy Spirit.
The holy saints in their earthly life turned to God for help in healing their ailments, sorrows and deliverance from temptations, asking God that even after death He would honor them with the gift of helping people in various cases of life.
The saints have reached the Heavenly Kingdom and there they see the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ; but by the Holy Spirit they also see the suffering of people on earth. Many holy saints of God received special grace from God, and He deigned them to be intercessors before Him for deliverance from our sorrows and bodily ailments, in which they themselves were tempted.
The saints rejoice at our repentance and mourn when people leave God and become like foolish cattle. They feel sorry that people live on earth, not knowing that if they loved each other, then there would be freedom from sin on earth: and where there is no sin, there is joy and gladness from the Holy Spirit, so that, wherever you look, everything sweet, and the soul wonders why it feels so good, and praises God. The saints hear our prayers and have the power from God to help us. The entire Christian race knows about this. We must remember: in order for a prayer to be heard, one should pray to the holy saints of God with faith in the power of their intercession before God, in words coming from the heart.
In our prayers we turn to the Lord God, to His Most Pure Mother - our Intercessor and Helper, to the holy Angels and holy people - the saints of God, because for their sake the Lord God is more likely to hear us sinners, our prayers. The Saints have different names: prophets, apostles, martyrs, saints, saints, unmercenaries, blessed, righteous, confessors. more>>
The Lord says: “When you light a candle, you do not put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it gives light to everyone in the house. So let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:15-16). Saints are bright stars that show us the way to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Let us treasure the closeness of the holy saints of God to God and turn to them for help, remembering that they love us and care about our salvation. It is good to pray to the holy saints of God on those days when the Church celebrates their memory.
«Holy Saints of God, pray to God for us!»
Saints: life, memory, suffering...
Folk traditions of celebrating the Nativity of John the Baptist - Ivan Kupala
Ivan Kupala - a pagan Slavic holiday - in the popular consciousness was closely intertwined with the Nativity of John the Baptist. The Russian Orthodox Church has always condemned the pagan elements that people brought to this holiday, but many traditions and rituals turned out to be very tenacious.
People called the holiday differently: Midsummer's Day, John the Baptist, Ivan Kupala, Ivan Travnik, Ivan the Sorcerer, Ivan Tsvetnoy, Kupala, Travnik.
Even before the adoption of Christianity in Rus', Ivan Kupala was a holiday of water and water deities - kupala. The Slavs had a belief that miracles were performed on the eve of Ivan Kupala. For example, that on the night of a holiday - once a year - a fern flower blooms in the forest (which does not actually bloom). It was believed that whoever finds this mythical flower will be happy all his life. Even on the night of Ivan Kupala, people burned bonfires and jumped over them.
Herbs and flowers collected on Midsummer's Day were dried and used for treatment. The girls wove wreaths from herbs, and in the evening they floated them on the water, watching how and where they floated. If the wreath sank, it meant that the betrothed had fallen out of love and would not marry him.
Orthodox prayers and icons of the Mother of God and saints
The word “icon” comes from the Greek language and means “image”, “image”. The image of the icon is consecrated with holy water and special prayers, through this consecration the grace of the Holy Spirit is imparted to the icon, and the icon is already revered by us as holy. According to the Orthodox dogma of icon veneration, approved by the VII Ecumenical Council, “the honor given to an icon relates to its prototype, and the one who worships the icon worships the hypostasis of the person depicted on it.” The Council especially emphasizes that we give veneration to icons, and not the worship that is due to God alone. “The icon mysteriously contains within itself the presence of the one whom it depicts, and this presence is the closer, more grace-filled and stronger, the more the icon corresponds to the church canon.”
All Icons of the Mother of God and Saints
Iconography of the Nativity of John the Baptist
The very first surviving icon of the Nativity of John the Baptist was found on the frescoes of the St. Sophia Church in Ohrid; it was painted in the middle of the 11th century.
In the Byzantine era, the iconographic plot of the holiday was central to the childhood cycle of John the Baptist. Icon painters depicted the righteous Elizabeth lying on a bed. The plot also included the gospel episode “The naming of John by Zechariah.”
In the 14th century, everyday details began to appear on the icons of the Nativity of John the Baptist: an image of a table with food next to Elizabeth’s bed, the scene of “Rolling the Baby.” In the 16th – 17th centuries, the birth of the prophet also became part of his life cycles.
Prayer in the Christian life. What is prayer? About prayer
Prayer is the most important part of the spiritual life of every believer. Through prayer, a person turns to God, asks him and asks for forgiveness from him. In other words, prayer is nothing more than a person’s way of talking with God. About prayer...
The basis of the life of an Orthodox Christian is fasting and prayer. Prayer, said Saint Philaret of Moscow, “is a conversation between the soul and God.” And just as in a conversation it is impossible to listen to one side all the time, so in prayer it is useful to sometimes stop and listen to the Lord’s answer to our prayer.
Prayer does not require a specific time, place, circumstance or form. It can be verbose - long, and laconic - short. The prayer can be said at any time of the day or night, and anywhere. A person can pray under all circumstances of his life: when he is sick or healthy, when he is happy or sad, when he succeeds or fails, when he is in the company of his enemies or in the circle of his friends, when he is abandoned by everyone, or when he in the midst of your beloved family. But God’s temple serves as a special place of prayer. On Sundays, as well as on weekdays, if time permits, we should go to church to pray, where our brothers and sisters in Christ - Christians - gather to pray together, all together. This kind of prayer is called church prayer.
Every Orthodox Christian must pray daily, morning and evening, before and after eating food, before starting and at the end of any task (for example: before teaching and after teaching, etc.).
In the morning we pray to thank God for preserving us last night, to ask for His Fatherly blessing and help for the day that has begun.
In the evening, before going to bed, we also thank the Lord for a successful day and ask him to keep us during the night.
Before and after meals we pray to thank God for His gifts and ask Him to bless and sanctify the food.
In order for the work to be done successfully and safely, we must also, first of all, ask God for blessings and help for the upcoming work, and upon completion, thank God.
Unfortunately, many people forget about the necessity and importance of prayer, and resort to it only in cases of feeling hopeless. However, even in these cases, as practice shows, God does not forget about the person and gives him his love and support. But not a single prayer will bring anything good to a person if he simply reads it without thinking about what is said. Therefore, it is extremely important, when turning to the Creator in prayer, to truly feel every word.
God is the best of interlocutors; he will always hear a person and help him. You should not be embarrassed to talk to God even about the most secret things that are in your soul. The main thing is to do it with true faith in God.
“True prayer does not consist in words and saying them, but true prayer consists “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). When we pray to God, we must stand before Him not only in body, but also in spirit; and say prayer not only with your lips, but also with your mind and heart; and not only bow our heads and knees, but also our hearts before Him; and raise our intelligent eyes to Him with humility. For all prayer must come from the heart; and what the tongue says, the mind and heart must say.” Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.
And no matter what happens during the day, everything happens according to the will of God; all, without exception, are circumstances in which the Lord wished to place you, so that you could be His presence, His love, His compassion. His creative mind, His courage... And, besides, whenever you encounter this or that situation, you are the one whom God put there to carry out the ministry of a Christian, to be a part of the Body of Christ and the action of God. If you do this, you will easily see that sometimes you will have to turn to God and say: “Lord, enlighten my mind, strengthen and direct my will, give me a fiery heart, help me!” At other times you will be able to say, “Oh my God, thank you!”
In the Christian catechism, that is, in the instruction on the Christian faith, it is said about prayer this way: “Prayer is the offering of the mind and heart to God and is a person’s reverent word to God.” Prayer has extraordinary power. “Prayer not only defeats the laws of nature, not only is it an insurmountable shield against visible and invisible enemies, but it even holds back the hand of the Almighty God Himself, raised to defeat sinners,” writes Saint Demetrius of Rostov.
In the New Testament, prayer is a living connection between the children of God and their infinitely good Father, with His Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit. The grace of the Kingdom is “the unity of the entire Holy Trinity with the entire spirit.” Thus, prayer life is a constant and natural presence in the presence of the Trisagion of God and in communion with Him. Such vital communion is always possible because through baptism our being has become one with Christ. Prayer is Christian because it is communion with Christ and grows in the Church, which is His Body. Its dimensions are the dimensions of Christ's love.
“Prayer is not telling God our needs. Prayer is the condition under which Divine power can contact our spirit and act in us. God is omniscient and knows us better than we know ourselves.” Archimandrite Rafail (Karelin) (XX century).
The history of the appearance of the akathist
John the Baptist was a late child. The saint's parents (priest Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth) had no children for a long time. One day their prayers were heard by the Lord, which was announced to Zechariah by the Archangel Gabriel, commanding him to name his son John.
The Forerunner was born six months earlier than Christ. In addition, they were connected by family ties, since Elizabeth and the Virgin Mary were relatives. The newborn John became a chosen child, destined to perform miraculous works.
The Forerunner managed to escape death during the murder of children in Bethlehem. Until the age of 30, John lived in the desert, leading an ascetic lifestyle: he wore rough clothes, ate locusts and honey, fasted daily, and offered prayers to the Lord. Then he returned to Jerusalem to fulfill the Lord’s will - to announce to the people about the imminent appearance of the Messiah.
Arriving on the eve of a great holiday to the Jordan River, where many people had gathered to perform the sacrament of purification with water, Saint John addressed the Jewish people with a sermon. In it, he called people to moral purification prior to accepting the Gospel.
The purpose of John's baptism was to prepare for the future Baptism of water and the Holy Spirit. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, appeared here to John to receive baptism from the prophet. The baptism of Jesus showed that John's purpose was to serve the Lord as a prophet.
Many people began to come to the prophet, wanting to be baptized and repent of their sins. John considered all people equal, denouncing the vices of both the poor and the rich. He did not make an exception for the ruler Herod, who abandoned his wife and cohabited with his brother’s wife. For preaching against Herod, the saint was arrested and thrown into prison.
During the feast at the king's birthday, the daughter of his wife Salome greatly pleased Herod by dancing in front of him. The pleased king promised to fulfill any request of the girl. She asked for the head of the prophet as a reward.
Herod did not want to execute John, but he did not want to break his word. The servants cut off the Baptist's head and presented it to Salome. Mother and daughter, having mocked the saint’s head to their heart’s content, threw it into the latrine.
The prophet's disciples took his body and buried him in Sebastia. According to legend, while going around preaching in different villages, the Apostle Luke found the hand of John and transported it to Antioch. Later, the head of the Baptist was found and buried on the Mount of Olives, where several monasteries were then founded.
On July 19, 1872, the Holy Synod of the Russian Church decided to establish an akathist dedicated to John the Baptist, which describes the entire earthly life of the Baptist.
Holy Fathers on Prayer
“Prayer is a great weapon, an unfailing treasure, wealth that never runs out, a serene haven, a foundation of peace; prayer is the root, source and mother of countless blessings and is more powerful than royal power.” St. John Chrysostom.
“Prayer in its rank is higher than alms.” St. Isaac the Syrian.
“Prayer is the emergence in our hearts of one after another reverent feelings towards God.” St. Feofan, the Recluse of Vyshensky.
“During prayer, let our speech and supplication be combined with decorum, calmness and modesty. Let us think about the fact that we stand before the face of God and that we must please the eyes of God both by the position of the body and the sound of the voice.” Sschmch. Cyprian of Carthage.
“You must abstain from marital affairs in order to engage in prayer; to abstain from worries about wealth, from the desire for earthly glory, from the enjoyment of pleasures, from envy and every evil deed against our neighbor, so that when our soul is in silence and not disturbed by any passion, in it, as in a mirror, God’s purity and uncloudedness will be insight." St. Basil the Great.
“When starting a prayer, leave yourself, your wife, your children, part with the earth, pass through heaven, leave every creature visible and invisible, and begin by praising Him who created everything, and when you praise Him, do not wander your mind here and there, do not talk about fabulous things. pagan, but choose words from the Holy Scriptures.” St. Basil the Great.
“Every place and every time is convenient for us to pray.” St. John Chrysostom.
Orthodox prayers to the holy saints. Holy saints of God.
Orthodox prayers for those in need for various needs and infirmities.
How to read correctly
Before you start reading the akathist, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the life of the prophet in order to better understand the meaning of the prayer hymn. The sacred text can be read in church, during the veneration of John, or prayed at home. It is also recommended to purchase an icon depicting a saint.
When starting the prayer service, lighted church candles are placed in front of the icon. The akathist dedicated to John, like any other hymn, consists of 25 kontakia and ikos. You need to read them in order, without skipping or changing places. Certain prayers are said before them. The initial ones come first, then they say the Trisagion. They read “Our Father” and end by saying “Glory even now.” You can read the akathist both in the morning, during the day, and at night. The main thing is that this time does not fall during Lent.
The clergy do not recommend reading the sacred hymn when you are depressed or out of mood. The appeal to the saint must come from the whole heart, with sincere faith and good thoughts.
What a Christian Should Remember
There are words of Holy Scripture and prayers that it is advisable to know by heart.
1. The Lord's Prayer “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4). 2. The main commandments of the Old Testament (Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18). 3. The main gospel commandments (Matt. 5, 3-12; Matt. 5, 21-48; Matt. 6, 1; Matt. 6, 3; Matt. 6, 6; Matt. 6, 14-21; Matt. 6, 24-25; Matthew 7, 1-5; Matthew 23, 8-12; John 13, 34). 4.Symbol of Faith. 5. Morning prayers and evening prayers according to a short prayer book. 6. The number and meaning of the sacraments.
The sacraments must not be mixed with rituals. A ritual is any outward sign of reverence that expresses our faith. A sacrament is a sacred act during which the Church calls on the Holy Spirit, and His grace descends on the believers. There are seven such sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Communion (Eucharist), Repentance (Confession), Marriage (Wedding), Blessing of Anointing (Unction), Priesthood (Ordination) ...
