The Canon of St. Andrew of Crete is the longest Canon of the Orthodox Church, prescribed during the first week of Great Lent. It is a dialog between St. Andrew and his soul, written for his own personal meditation.
Read More
On Sunday, March 6, 2022 the parishioners of St. Herman of Alaska Orthodox Church and volunteers worked energetically to pack boxes of badly needed medical equipment, children’s medicines diapers, analgesics, personal hygiene kits, hospice care supplies and many other items for shipment to the thousand of refugees who are pouring into Poland from the ferocious fighting in Ukraine.
This Sunday we commemorate Forgiveness Sunday sometimes referred to as Cheesefare Sunday. This is the last of the preparatory Sundays before the beginning of Great Lent, which begins on Monday March 7, 2022.
This Sunday has two names: the first is the Sunday of the Last Judgement and the second, Meatfare Sunday. The Gospel reading for this Sunday from Matthew 25:31-46, vividly describes the scene of Christ the King, the Son of God, seated on His throne separating the people like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
We have already begun the Lenten Triodion last Sunday with the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee. Today we hear the Gospel of Saint Luke chapter 15 verses 11 thru 32, the story of the Prodigal Son.
This Sunday marks the beginning of the Lenten Triodion in which we hear the lesson from the Gospel of St. Luke Chapter 18 verses 10-14, the story of the Publican and the Pharisee.
We have already arrived at the Sunday of Zacchaeus and hear the Gospel from the Evangelist Luke 19:1-10 which tells the story of Zacchaeus, a Jew who served as a tax collector for the hated Roman government.
Today we are blessed to hear two very meaningful Gospels from St. Matthew the Evangelist. The first is the story of the Canaanite Women of great faith found in Matthew 15:21-28, about a Canaanite woman, not a Jew, who approached the Lord begging him to heal her daughter who was possessed.
Today we hear the Gospel Lesson from the Evangelist Luke Chapter 18 Verses 35-43. It is the story of the blind beggar Bartimaeus, whom Jesus met as He was approaching Jericho.
We have already traveled through the Feasts of the Nativity, Circumcision and Theophany of Our Lord and are awaiting the culmination of this Festal Season with the Feast of the Presentation of Christ into the Temple in February. Today’s gospel comes to us from the Evangelist Luke chapter 18:18-27, which tells about the rich man who asked Jesus, “What can I do to receive eternal life?” This same story is read in early September from the Gospel of St. Matthew.
