Father Justin's Blog

Winter sunrise at Saint Catherine’s Monastery.

Δόξα. Καὶ νῦν. Θεοτοκίον.Ἦχος α΄

Τὴν παγκόσμιον δόξαν, τὴν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων σπαρεῖσαν, καὶ τὸν Δεσπότην τεκοῦσαν, τὴν ἐπουράνιον πύλην, ὑμνήσωμεν Μαρίαν τὴν Παρθένον, τῶν Ἀσωμάτων τὸ ᾆσμα, καὶ τῶν πιστῶν τὸ ἐγκαλλώπισμα· αὕτη γὰρ ἀνεδείχθη οὐρανός, καὶ ναὸς τῆς Θεότητος· αὕτη τὸ μεσότοιχον τῆς ἔχθρας καθελοῦσα, εἰρήνην […]

On the feast of Holy Theophany, for the Great Blessing of the Waters, we use a fountain dating from 1783. Water streams from a container above through the beak of a silver dove mounted at the top, from which it drips through the mouths of doves set at the rims of three lower basins, […]

All the icon lamps are lit as we prepare to celebrate the feast of the Nativity of Christ. They are like multi-coloured stars floating just overhead.

In December, the sun reaches its farthest point south, the winter solstice, and imperceptibly begins its return north.

The icon of the Most Holy Theotokos on the iconostasion, at the beginning of Mesonyktikon, the Midnight Office. She is seated on a throne, and holds the Christ Child before her. He raises His right hand in blessing.

At the four corners of the throne are Prophets whose writings foreshadowed the Virgin Mary […]