In 1891 and 1892, St Alexis Toth (May 7/ May 20) and 361 of the Uniate parish, St. Mary's, Minneapolis, were received into the Orthodox Church of their ancestors.
The efforts of Fr Alexis were instrumental in leading 20,000 Unia immigrants in the U.S. to return home to Orthodoxy.
We hymn this confessor and defender of Orthodoxy in America:
"A worthy shepherd of the Flock of Christ.
He called back the sheep who had been led astray
And brought them by his preaching
To the Heavenly Kingdom!"
The efforts of Fr Alexis were instrumental in leading 20,000 Unia immigrants in the U.S. to return home to Orthodoxy.
We hymn this confessor and defender of Orthodoxy in America:
"A worthy shepherd of the Flock of Christ.
He called back the sheep who had been led astray
And brought them by his preaching
To the Heavenly Kingdom!"
Why do we pray to this humble Matushka— or any Saint, for that matter? We dare to pray to them, with faith, not just because of their God-inspired lives, but because of the glorious place where they now stand— at the right hand of Christ!
"Your righteous deeds in Alaska O Holy Mother Olga, showed to the world that you are an image of the perfect servant of the Lord. By your fasting Vigils and prayers, you were inspired in your evangelical Life. You fed the hungry, and you cared for the poor. You served as a midwife, and you brought babies into the world. You nurtured children, and you clothed all those in need. Now, you stand at the right hand of Christ the Master and you Interceed on behalf of us all."
Troparion in Tone 4 for St Arrsamquq (Matushka Olga) of Alaska
"The God Who makes the moving curtain of the Northern Lights, made you as a living light. Shining in the far North, and lighting up the desolate with His great beauty. Beholding this radiance, we your children lift up our voices and sing: "Rejoice O Mother Olga Healer of the abused and broken.’”
Kontakion in Tone 3 for St Arrsamquq (Matushka Olga) of Alaska
Hear this sung. Video Link
https://youtu.be/Zd3CLUAMPOo
"Your righteous deeds in Alaska O Holy Mother Olga, showed to the world that you are an image of the perfect servant of the Lord. By your fasting Vigils and prayers, you were inspired in your evangelical Life. You fed the hungry, and you cared for the poor. You served as a midwife, and you brought babies into the world. You nurtured children, and you clothed all those in need. Now, you stand at the right hand of Christ the Master and you Interceed on behalf of us all."
Troparion in Tone 4 for St Arrsamquq (Matushka Olga) of Alaska
"The God Who makes the moving curtain of the Northern Lights, made you as a living light. Shining in the far North, and lighting up the desolate with His great beauty. Beholding this radiance, we your children lift up our voices and sing: "Rejoice O Mother Olga Healer of the abused and broken.’”
Kontakion in Tone 3 for St Arrsamquq (Matushka Olga) of Alaska
Hear this sung. Video Link
https://youtu.be/Zd3CLUAMPOo
YouTube
Kontakion and Troparion for Saint Olga of Alaska
"Your righteous deeds in Alaska O Holy Mother Olga, showed to the world that you are an image of the perfect servant of the Lord. By your fasting Vigils and prayers, you were inspired in your evangelical Life. You fed the hungry, and you cared for the poor.…
"O beloved John, Apostle of Christ our God,
Come quickly to deliver your helpless people.
He on whose breast you leaned, will accept you as intercessor.
Entreat Him, O Theologian, to disperse the clouds of darkness,
Granting us peace and great mercy! (Troparion, Tone 2)
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian (May 8 and Sept 26), the "Apostle of Love" was "given to express the most treasured mysteries of the Divine inner life in the final book of the Holy Scripture, the Book of Revelation." His writings are permeated by the understanding that God in His Being is Love (1 John 4: 8). - Orthodox Calendar, translator Fr. S. Janos
Come quickly to deliver your helpless people.
He on whose breast you leaned, will accept you as intercessor.
Entreat Him, O Theologian, to disperse the clouds of darkness,
Granting us peace and great mercy! (Troparion, Tone 2)
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian (May 8 and Sept 26), the "Apostle of Love" was "given to express the most treasured mysteries of the Divine inner life in the final book of the Holy Scripture, the Book of Revelation." His writings are permeated by the understanding that God in His Being is Love (1 John 4: 8). - Orthodox Calendar, translator Fr. S. Janos
“Behold, the Virgin shall conceive in her womb.”
The wonderworking Prophet-Evangelist-Martyr Isaiah (May 9/ May 22) foretold in remarkable detail the coming of the Messiah and His birth from a Virgin. St Isaiah described Christ as both God and Man, and One “wounded for our sins and tortured for our transgressions.”
St Isaiah also describes Christ as teacher of all the nations and founder of the Kingdom of God. He foresees Christ’s Resurrection and the universal spreading of His Church.
Icon: The Holy Prophet Isaiah with the Most Holy Theotokos, Sinai, 13th century
The wonderworking Prophet-Evangelist-Martyr Isaiah (May 9/ May 22) foretold in remarkable detail the coming of the Messiah and His birth from a Virgin. St Isaiah described Christ as both God and Man, and One “wounded for our sins and tortured for our transgressions.”
St Isaiah also describes Christ as teacher of all the nations and founder of the Kingdom of God. He foresees Christ’s Resurrection and the universal spreading of His Church.
Icon: The Holy Prophet Isaiah with the Most Holy Theotokos, Sinai, 13th century
St Nicholas, Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra is commemorated no less than four times on the Orthodox Church calendar as one who “appeared to [his] flock as a rule of faith, an image of humility and a teacher of abstinence." He was also a zealous defender of Orthodoxy against the Arian heresy. The Translation of the relics of St Nicholas to Bari is commemorated on May 9.
"Because of your lowliness heaven was opened to you, because of your poverty riches were granted to you. O holy Bishop Nicholas, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!"
Image Source: basilica.ro
"Because of your lowliness heaven was opened to you, because of your poverty riches were granted to you. O holy Bishop Nicholas, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!"
Image Source: basilica.ro
“Confess, partake, and fear nothing. Confession is the key to the kingdom of heaven.
With all illnesses and sorrows, go to church. Here is our spiritual and physical hospital.
Confess and partake more often, do not blame anyone, kiss your cross in the morning and in the evening. And everything will pass: illnesses, obsession, and thoughts of blasphemy and fornication."
☦️St. John Kronstadt
With all illnesses and sorrows, go to church. Here is our spiritual and physical hospital.
Confess and partake more often, do not blame anyone, kiss your cross in the morning and in the evening. And everything will pass: illnesses, obsession, and thoughts of blasphemy and fornication."
☦️St. John Kronstadt
When the newly-married Simon (Simeon) (May 10/ May 23) saw the Lord change water into wine, he left his home and parents and bride to follow Christ. His great and burning zeal for the Saviour and His Gospel earned him the name Simon the Zealot. The Holy Apostle proclaimed the Gospel from Britain to the Black Sea.
The Holy Apostle Simon imitated the Lord in death, suffering torture and crucifixion.
"With praise let us all bless Simon, the herald of God, who established the doctrines of wisdom securely in the souls of the pious. Now he stands before the throne of glory, and rejoicing with the angels, he unceasingly prays for us all."
The Holy Apostle Simon imitated the Lord in death, suffering torture and crucifixion.
"With praise let us all bless Simon, the herald of God, who established the doctrines of wisdom securely in the souls of the pious. Now he stands before the throne of glory, and rejoicing with the angels, he unceasingly prays for us all."
When you are confronted by demonic snares, let your mind dwell on the things that demons cannot withstand; that is, “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." ☦️ The Holy Apostle Paul, to the Philippians (4:8)
The Saint who took on Zeus
St Glykeria of Trajanopolis in Thrace (May 13) was martyred for Christ in 177.
Instead if offering a sacrifice as ordered by the emperor, she stood in the midst of the pagan temple and prayed fervently that the pagans would come to their senses. Suddenly, thunder was heard and a stone idol of Zeus shattered into pieces.
St Glykeria was subjected to many tortures, escaping each one. Finally, she was sentenced to be eaten by wild beasts. She went to execution with great joy to suffer for Christ, but the lioness meekly crawled up to her and lay at her feet.
As St Glykeria prayed to the Lord to receive her soul, another lioness was set upon her, pouncing on the saint and killing her, but without tearing her apart.
St Glykeria of Trajanopolis in Thrace (May 13) was martyred for Christ in 177.
Instead if offering a sacrifice as ordered by the emperor, she stood in the midst of the pagan temple and prayed fervently that the pagans would come to their senses. Suddenly, thunder was heard and a stone idol of Zeus shattered into pieces.
St Glykeria was subjected to many tortures, escaping each one. Finally, she was sentenced to be eaten by wild beasts. She went to execution with great joy to suffer for Christ, but the lioness meekly crawled up to her and lay at her feet.
As St Glykeria prayed to the Lord to receive her soul, another lioness was set upon her, pouncing on the saint and killing her, but without tearing her apart.
St. Brendan: First Canadian Saint? Our venerable and God-bearing father Brendan the Navigator (May 16), patron saint of sailors, was a 6th-century Irish monastic and missionary who was possibly the first Orthodox Christian to set foot on what is now Canadian soil.
The historic account of a possible trans-Atlantic voyage is disputed, based on doubts about the ability of a curragh, the sea craft on which Brendan is said to have sailed, to make such a journey. However, in 1976, Irish explorer Tim Severin built an ox leather curragh, a replica of the sort Brendan would have used. Over two summers he sailed from Ireland to Iceland and on to Newfoundland to demonstrate that the such a voyage was feasible.
St Brendan is considered one of the "Twelve Apostles of Ireland", said to have been tutored by the great teacher, Finnian of Clonard.
The historic account of a possible trans-Atlantic voyage is disputed, based on doubts about the ability of a curragh, the sea craft on which Brendan is said to have sailed, to make such a journey. However, in 1976, Irish explorer Tim Severin built an ox leather curragh, a replica of the sort Brendan would have used. Over two summers he sailed from Ireland to Iceland and on to Newfoundland to demonstrate that the such a voyage was feasible.
St Brendan is considered one of the "Twelve Apostles of Ireland", said to have been tutored by the great teacher, Finnian of Clonard.
“It is [the Christians] philanthropy towards strangers, the care they take of the graves of the dead, and the affected sanctity with which they conduct their lives that have done most to spread their atheism." (Julian the Apostate, Epistle 22, written to Arsacius, pagan high priest of Galatia, 362 AD)
Let us stand accused of the “atheism” of early Christians.
Let us stand accused of the “atheism” of early Christians.