...ified Liturgy. (In the modern practice a light Lenten meal early in the day is generally observed). In the centuries following the time of the Didache the Feast of the Resurrection of the Lord - Pascha - was observed with at first a forty hour fast, then a week long fast and then a forty day fast - known to us as Great Lent. This forty-day fast was generally well established in the fourth centur...

...hop Nikolai, forms the foundation of all the worship of the Orthodox Church; it is the one and only basis for our Christian life and hope. Yet, in order for us to experience the full power of this Paschal re- joicing, each of us needs to pass through a time of preparation. ' We waited,' says Bishop Nikolai, 'and at last our expectations were ful- filled. ' Without this waiting, without this expect...

...is the Pillar of Fire of the Children of Israel. It is the Bright Smoke of Solomon's Temple. It is the Brilliance of the Cloud on the Mountain of Transfiguration. It is the Ineffable Brightness of Pascha, and the Gladsome Light of the Holy Dormition. This Grace calls every man, woman and child. "God is willing that no one should perish," St. Peter writes in his second Epistle, "Instead, that all...

...My Father and your Father, to My God and your God, and I will raise you up with Me to that Jerusalem which is above, to the Kingdom of heaven.'" AMEN! At this critical point in our Journey to Holy Pascha, let us decide whether we, as individuals and parishes, will take up our cross, deny our baser selves, and follow the Way of ascetic discipline for the healing of our souls, or, whether we will si...

...ann Von Gardner have demonstrated. The strains of the original chants of Constantinople that underlie this can often be discerned even today in such things as the singing of the "Hymn of Light" at Paschal Matins: the "Plotiju Usnuv," or the "All Creation Rejoices" (O Tebe Radujetsja) of the Lenten St. Basil's Liturgy. Many of the irmosi - now in danger of being forgotten - of the Feastday Canons f...

...e suffering, and do the work of an evangelist. Let us fulfill our ministry. Let us preach the Word. +METROPOLITAN NICHOLAS (Archpastoral Keynote Address at the Diocesan Convocation of Priests, Paschal Sunday of the Holy Myrrhbearers, at Sts. Cyril & Methodios Church, Camp Nazareth -April 25, 2004) At the end of St. Paul's second pastoral epistle to Timothy, and probably at the very end of his...

...gularly and with discipline, as St Symeon notes, "quickly purify the nous of the soul and by this refining make it dispassionate and clear-sighted." At this critical point in our Journey to Holy Pascha, let us decide whether we, as individuals and parishes, will take up our cross, deny our baser selves, and follow the Way of ascetic discipline for the healing of our souls, or, whether we will si...

...010 In this season of the Great Fast, it is the duty of all Christians to enter into the Holy Mystery of Confession. It is not the only thing that we must do in Lent to prepare for the Feast of Pascha: but it is surely a necessary preparation for that Great and Holy Feast of Feasts. There is no way for us to feel the joy and peace of the Resurrection Festival without first going through prepara...

...uet of multitudes of flowers in full bloom. They knew that she had been raised by the power of her Son and God, our Lord Jesus Christ. They were filled with great rejoicing at the dawn of a Second Pascha. Indeed, Holy Mary has made that great passover from death to life. The Mother of Life has been raised to life, body and soul reunited, and translated into Paradise. Listen again to the words of o...

...erican Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the U.S.A. on the falling asleep in the Lord of +Metropolitan Nicholas. His gracious presence at our choir's choral program in ecumenical celebration of Pascha (April 2010) will be long-remembered, particularly as he exchanged a sincere embrace with our beloved +Metropolitan Basil and later offered kind, encouraging words and his blessing to the choirs a...