Gladsome Light Dialogues - An Orthodox Blog » Orthodox Feasts

The dividing wall of hostility – Theophany of our Lord

Fr. Vasile — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 17:05:29 +0000

Reading yesterday a Romanian Akathist Hymn dedicated to Epiphany (You can read it here in Romanian) I was moved by the following verse “Glory to you cause with Your body You broke down the dividing wall of hostility, so even us, who are far of upon the sea, will get closer to you. “ Doing a bit of biblical digging I found the corresponding scriptural context “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility” (Eph 2:13-14) From another source I found out that Continue reading

How Santa stole Christmas or Resisting the de-Christianization of Christianity

Fr. Vasile — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 21:01:11 +0000

“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” (Mt. 13:33) Christ came into the world as one of us, to change us from within. He is the leaven of a new world, and although born as a little babe, in a humble and forgotten manger he starts a chain reaction that will reach the entire earth. The apostles were the first to react to this catalyst and they were changed into something better, from humble fishermen into fishers of men, becoming themselves agents of change for the world. Through their missionary work entire populations were converted to Christianity, temples were changed into churches Continue reading

The Akathyst of the Holy Martyr Menas the Wonderworker

Fr. Vasile — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:09:29 +0000

The shrine of St. Menas used to be for the Ancient Eastern Orthodox world what Lourdes is for Roman Catholics, a place where thousands of pilgrims would bring their prayers in distress and receive the grace of God in return, through the intercessions of the Holy Martyr. Though the Shrine of Saint Menas was one of the most popular pilgrimage sites of the early Middle Ages, it fell into oblivion over the centuries with the Muslim occupation and was even believed by many scholars to be a myth. Following its discovery in 1905, the ruins of the fabled city of St. Menas were placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979 as one of the five most historically important Continue reading

Theophany – reflections on the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ

Fr. Vasile — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:43:04 +0000

The word Baptism comes, to no surprise, from Greek: baptisma, meaning immersion into water. So baptism is linked with water by definition. It is the general understanding that through the baptism the person that is baptized is receiving a blessing. In Christ case however the things are different. John's baptism was a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, but Christ had no sin. Here is what a troparion form the Orthros service of the feast says:

Christ is baptized with us, even though He is above all purity; and thus He infuses sanctification into the water, which then becomes the purifying agent of our souls.

Through the baptism of the Lord the waters received God's blessing, being transformed in