Our Little Monkeys » Churches

Russian Train Churches

michelle — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:42:54 +0000

Elizabeth posted about this, and I wanted to share it, too.

After the railways were built throughout Russia, churches took residence in them.
Check out the last photo, which shows that this isn’t a modern phenomenon.

photos from here

Presentation of Christ in the Temple

michelle — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:54:53 +0000

On Tuesday, before we left, we celebrated the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple (see Luke 2:25-35) at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral in New Orleans. The church was founded in 1896, making it possibly the oldest Orthodox Church in America. The present building was build in 1985; it obviously survived Katrina, although, areas right near it were devastated.

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The Presentation of Christ in the Temple

from an iconostasis beam and dating from the 12th century
at St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai

This Great Feast celebrates the following event in Jesus’ life (Luke 2:25-35):

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:

“ Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
According to Your word;
For my eyes have seen Your salvation
Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”

And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Love “Turns the Impossible into the Possible.”

michelle — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:21:22 +0000

St Tikhon of Moscow said, “For love does not seek its own, it labors, sweats, watches to build up the brother: nothing is inconvenient to love, and by the help of God it turns the impossible into the possible…Love believes and hopes…It is ashamed of nothing…As an animal cannot exist without bodily warmth, So no good deed can be alive without true love; it is only the pretence of a good deed.”

Today we celebrate the life of St. Tikhon, and my husband reminded me of a church that we visited two summers ago in Marblehead, Ohio, while we were vacationing with my family. The church was consecrated by Bishop Tikhon in 1906, and he conducted the first first services in that new church. You can still see the four main icons of the iconostas, which were donated to the parish by Czar Nicholas II. In 1898, St Tikhon became head of the Orthodox Church in America, and did much to promote the spread of Orthodoxy through the establishment of many churches.

He was a good pastor, who devoted himself entirely to the church’s cause, he called upon the clergy to do the same: “Devote all your energy to preaching the word of God and the truth of Christ, especially today, when unbelief and atheism are audaciously attacking the Church of Christ.”