St. Barnabas was not one of the twelve chosen by the Lord, he is referred to as an apostle on account of the special commission he received from the Holy Spirit and his apostolic work. His original name was Joseph (Acts 4: 36), meaning Jehovah increases or God will add. Read more
Bartholomew is mentioned sixth in the Synoptic Gospels, after the name of Philip and seventh in the list of Acts and not mentioned in the Gospel of John (Matt. 10:3; Mk. 3:18; Lk. 6:14; and Acts 1:13). St. John refers to him as Nathaniel (Jn. 1: 45-49, 21: 2). The Read more
St. Mina was born in A.D. 285 in the town Nakiyos in Egypt. His father Eudoxius, a governor and mother Euphemia were childless for long time. Euphemia went to a Church in Attrib on the feast day of the Virgin Mary and sought with tears her intercession to grant her Read more
St. Cyril, a distinguished Champion of Orthodoxy and a great teacher of the Church, was born in the town of Theodosion, Lower Egypt, in an illustrious and pious Christian family. He studied the secular sciences, including philosophy, but most of all he strove to acquire knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and Read more
The Early Church Fathers taught that the New Testament is hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is revealed of fulfilled in the New. Let us examine few facts about Cross, embedded and foreshadowed in the Holy Scriptures. In the middle of the Garden of Eden, God planted two Read more
The Holy Cross is the most significant object in the sanctuary and holds a unique powerful place, in the Christian faith, Christian tradition and in the worship of the Orthodox Church. It is kept at the top center of the Holy Altar, placed directly in between the Candlesticks, to be Read more
These are round metallic disk representing a Seraphim’s head surrounded by six wings, mounted on an upright shaft. These are made of silver or some metal and are always used in pairs. The center of the fans, the seraphic face and the wings are represented (Is. 6: 14; Rev. 4: Read more
Incense is part of the joy and beauty of Orthodox Worship. The sight and smell of incense is one of the defining characteristics of liturgical worship in the Orthodox Church. Physical symbols are an important part of Orthodox worship and incensing is a symbol of our prayers ascending to God Read more
The liturgical calendar of the Malankara Indian Orthodox Church commemorates the first Friday following the Feast of Pentecost as the Golden Friday ‘Swarna Velliyazhcha’ remembering the healing of the lame man, aged over forty years (Acts 4: 22), lame from his mother’s womb. This is the first miracle, by the Read more
During our worship in Church and rituals in houses and cemeteries, the priest burns incense in a censer. Incense is a mixture of spices and gums, that is a material used to produce a fragrant smoke when burned causing clouds of smoke to go heavenward, the prayer of God’s people Read more