St. Elizabeth

Elevation of the Holy Cross

2009-09-14T01:00:00.000-04:00

September 14th

Elevation of the Holy Cross

Apolytikion in the First Tone

Lord, save Your people and bless Your inheritance, granting our rulers to prevail over adversaries, and protecting Your commonwealth by Your Cross.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone

Lifted up on the Cross by Your free will, Christ God, grant mercies to the new commonwealth that bears Your name. Gladden our faithful rulers by Your power, giving them victories over their adversaries. May Your alliance be for them a weapon for peace, an invincible standard.

New Ecclesiastical Church Year

2009-09-01T17:39:00.002-04:00

September 1st begins a new Ecclesiastical year for Orthodox Christians the world over. So happy new year!

St. Phanourios

2009-08-27T12:30:00.004-04:00

St. Phanourios is commemorated on August 27th

He is the Patron Saint for Lost Things and for Revealing

More on this great and holy martyr, St. Phanourios:

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Phanourios

http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2009/08/prayers-to-christ-and-st-phanourios.html
http://www.stmaryofegypt.org/devotion/stphanourios.htm

http://fr-d-serfes.org/lives/phanourius.htm
http://www.fortunecity.com/millennium/goodgirl/1215/stfanourios.htm

Feast of Dormition of Theotokos, Ever Virgin Mary

2009-08-15T20:42:00.000-04:00

The Transfiguration of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ

2009-08-06T17:17:00.000-04:00

Orthodox Women Saints

2009-07-28T16:15:00.003-04:00

Here is information that lists all of the women Orthodox saints in one place as well as offering a CD of this information with icons as well:

http://www.antiochian.org/AW-WomenSaints

Resource to Share

2009-03-04T09:52:00.000-05:00

Clean Monday

2009-03-02T14:39:00.002-05:00

Today begins Orthodox Great Lent and is also called "Clean Monday". A significant part of our journey through Great Lent is to cleanse our souls through increased prayer, reading and fasting in preparation for Great and Holy Pascha - the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

So how do we cleanse? It began yesterday with Forgiveness Sunday. If we are truly repentant of any offenses against others - we were to ask for forgiveness openly yesterday. Truthfully, this should be practiced every day! This week is also an excellent week for confession as it launches our journey through Great Lent by seeking forgiveness of our sins and further cleansing our hearts and our minds from sin.

Today and all week (known also as "clean week") it is customary to clean house (thus, Spring cleaning) as we, ourselves, are the cleaning house in our hearts.

Forgiveness Sunday

2009-03-01T14:08:00.000-05:00

Sunday of Forgiveness

Cheesefare Sunday

St. Elizabeth, Mother of John the Forerunner

2009-03-01T12:01:00.005-05:00

St. Elizabeth

Mother of John the Forerunner

This blog is dedicated to my patron saint, the righteous St. Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist. I was raised in the Southern Baptist Church as a child. Upon entering college and entering adult life, I struggled with "the Church" that I had grown up in. I knew that there was something missing and hoped to one day find it. In 1989, I was introduced to the Orthodox Church by husband (though we were only dating at this time). Upon entering the Church, I knew I had found it. I converted to Orthodoxy in November of 1990 and have been on my journey of Orthodox Christianity ever since.

Here is more on the life of St. Elizabeth from Orthodox Wiki:

"St Elizabeth was from the lineage of Aaron and was the sister of St Anna, the mother of the Most Holy Theotokos. She and her husband Zachariah, walking in all the commandments of the Lord (Luke 1:6), suffered barrenness, which in those times was considered a punishment from God.

When Elizabeth gave birth to a son, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit she announced that his name would be John, although no one in their family had this name. They asked Zachariah, who had been rendered mute because of his disbelief when an angel (traditionally the Archangel Gabriel) informed him that his wife would soon bear a child, what the child's name was, and he wrote the name John down on a tablet. Immediately the gift of speech returned to him, and inspired by the Holy Spirit, he began to prophesy about his son as the Forerunner of the Lord.

When King Herod heard from the Magi about the birth of the Messiah, he decided to kill all the infants up to two years old at Bethlehem and the surrounding area, hoping that the newborn Messiah would be among them. The king knew about John's unusual birth and wanted to kill him, fearing that John was the foretold King of the Jews. But Elizabeth hid herself and the infant in the hills. The murderers searched everywhere for John. Elizabeth, when she saw her pursuers, began to implore God for their safety, and immediately the hill opened up and concealed her and the infant from their pursuers.

In these tragic days St Zachariah was taking his turn at the services in the Temple. Soldiers sent by Herod tried in vain to learn from Zachariah the whereabouts of his son. Then, by command of Herod, they murdered this holy prophet Zachariah, having stabbed him between the temple and the altar (Matthew 23: 35). Elizabeth died forty days after her husband, and St John, preserved by the Lord, dwelt in the wilderness until the day of his appearance to the nation of Israel.

On the Greek calendar, Sts Zachariah and Elizabeth are also commemorated on June 24, the Feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist."

Hymns
Troparion (Tone 2)
The memory of Your prophets Zachariah and Elizabeth
We celebrate today, O Lord.
By their prayers, we beseech You,
O Christ God, save our souls!

Kontakion (Tone 4)
As the full moon brightly reflects the light of the sun,
You reflected the glory of the Messiah, the Light of wisdom!
With Zachariah you walked in all of the Lord¹s commandments, Elizabeth, beloved by God.
So as we bless you with fitting songs,
We praise the Lord, the bountiful Light, who enlightens all.

Here are more links on St. Elizabeth:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_(Biblical_person)

http://www.angelfire.com/ga/riggs/StElizabethMoF.html

http://www.antiochian.org/node/16704

http://www.copticchurch.net/synaxarium/6_16.html

http://saints.sqpn.com/sainte58.htm

http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/ELIZABET.htm

http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-religion/1516340/posts

http://www.stgeorgeinzababdeh.com/stelizabeth.shtml

http://www.evangelicalorthodoxcatholic.org/stelizabeth_oratory.html

http://www.stelizabethssf.org/My_Homepage_Files/Page8.html