Lent is Christianity, Concentrated

March 3, 2009 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: Andrew of Crete, ascesis, asceticism, Christianity, church, church services, compline, daily prayers, deification, Divine Energies, Divinization, Eastern Christianity, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, fasting, glorification, good works, Great Canon, Great Compline, Great Fast, Great Lent, Hours, Lent, Lenten services, liturgical services, liturgies, Liturgy of the Hours, night prayer, night prayers, Orthodox Christianity, Orthodox Church, orthodoxy, prayer, prayer services, prayers, religion, salvation, services, Theosis, Uncreated Energies

That’s the upshot of these words of the late Fr. Alexander Schmemann (OCA).  (Link may break after this year; I don’t know if it’s tied to today’s date, as Clean Monday or Pure Monday, the first day of the Great Fast this year, or not.)
An important liturgical and devotional tradition of Byzantine Christianity during the [...]

The most readily recognizably ‘Jewish’ day on the Orthodox Christian calendar

March 2, 2009 in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Tags: Christianity, Eastern Christianity, Eastern Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Greek Orthodox, Greek Orthodoxy, Jewish Orthodoxy, Jewish saints, Judaism, King David, King Solomon, non-Christian saints, Old Testament saints, Orthodox Christianity, Orthodox Church, Orthodox Jewish, orthodoxy, pre-Christian saints, religion, Russian Orthodox, Russian Orthodoxy

…may be December 17!