Orthodox Lenten And Paschal Calendar - 2013

[Apotheoun]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BqWwixGnEY

 

Patriarch Kirill celebrated the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great on the Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas at the Church of the Transfiguration in Moscow (31 March 2013).

[Anastasia13]

The Orthodox calander needs to conform to the Latin one

 

:pope2:

 

Some Oriental do. For example all Armenian churches celebrate the same Christmass and Easter outside of Jerusalem.

Edited April 2, 2013 by Light and Truth

[Apotheoun]

Some Oriental do.

Actually the various Eastern Orthodox countries have adopted the Gregorian calendar for civil and state purposes, but only the Eastern Orthodox Church of Finland uses the Gregorian calendar for determining religious feast days, and it does so because in the mid 1700s Finland was governed by Sweden, and the Swedish government forced all institutions within its territory to use the Gregorian calendar.

 

That said, the self-governing Eastern Orthodox Churches use two different calendars: (1) the traditional Julian calendar, and (2) the Revised Julian calendar. But even those Churches that use the Revised Julian calendar, which is similar to the Gregorian calendar, use the old Julian calendar to determine the date of the Pasch.

 

Moreover, the year 2013 is the first year since the adoption of the Gregorian calendar by the Roman Catholic Church that will see the Churches in communion with the pope (Roman and Byzantine) in Israel and other nations in the Middle East celebrate Easter according to the Eastern Orthodox usage. That means that all Christians throughout the Holy Land (at least those who are members of one of the ancient Apostolic Churches) will celebrate Easter this year on May 5th.

Edited April 2, 2013 by Apotheoun

[Apotheoun]

Some Oriental do. For example all Armenian churches celebrate the same Christmass and Easter outside of Jerusalem.

Most Oriental use their own calendars, and some of those calendars do not even use the Anno Domini dating system.

[Apotheoun]

This is the year A.M. 1729 by the reckoning of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

 

P.S. - A.M. stands for "in the year of the Martyrs" and corresponds to the beginning of the persecution of Christians initiated by the Roman Emperor Diocletian.

Edited April 2, 2013 by Apotheoun

[Anastasia13]

This is the year A.M. 1729 by the reckoning of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

 

P.S. - A.M. stands for "in the year of the Martyrs" and corresponds to the beginning of the persecution of Christians initiated by the Roman Emperor Diocletian.

Do the Coptic Catholics keep a calendar like that at all?

[Apotheoun]

Do the Coptic Catholics keep a calendar like that at all?

I do not know for certain, but I would think it likely that the Coptic Catholics follow the liturgical cycle of the Coptic Orthodox, and so at least the monthly breakdown would be the same. Whether they follow the yearly computation from the age of the martyrs is another matter altogether, and I do not know if they do that.

Edited April 2, 2013 by Apotheoun

[TeDeum]

Sorry I couldn't resist.  :smile3:

 

 

Don't worry my Eastern brothers and sisters, Pascha will be here before you know it.  :cheers:

[Apotheoun]

Here are some pictures from the celebration of the Feast of the Annunciation at the Church of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin.

 

An exterior view of the Church of the Annunciation. The Church was consecrated in A.D. 1489.

 

 

Patriarch Kirill entering the Church.

 

 

A close up image of the altar.

 

 

Patriarch Kirill at the Royal Doors.

 

 

Patriarch Kirill blessing the congregation with the dikirion and trikirion.

[MissyP89]

Apo, I saw a Greek Orthodox church on TV the other day, but it had pews. Is this something specific to the U.S., or was I wrong in thinking Orthodox churches don't have them?

[Apotheoun]

Apo, I saw a Greek Orthodox church on TV the other day, but it had pews. Is this something specific to the U.S., or was I wrong in thinking Orthodox churches don't have them?

Yes. Many parishes of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in the United States have pews, but of course pews are not traditional in Orthodoxy having originated in Protestantism. Pews have the added side effect of making certain traditional practices (e.g., the making of the Greater Metania) difficult or even impossible.

Edited April 7, 2013 by Apotheoun

[Apotheoun]

Video excerpts from the vigil for the Third Sunday of Great Fast at Christ the Savior Cathedral. This years liturgy commemorates both the Feast of the Holy Cross and the Feast of the Annunciation:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lclw4MLUQRw

[Apotheoun]

Video excerpts from the Divine Liturgy celebrated on Sunday (7 April 2013) at the Church of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nVN8oFZOik

[MissyP89]

Yes. Many parishes of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in the United States have pews, but of course pews are not traditional in Orthodoxy having originated in Protestantism. Pews have the added side effect of making certain traditional practices (e.g., the making of the Greater Metania) difficult or even impossible.

 

So would these parishes be sitting down for most of the liturgy, or are they only used for the elderly, etc?

[Apotheoun]

So would these parishes be sitting down for most of the liturgy, or are they only used for the elderly, etc?

I have only attended a Greek Orthodox Church once, and I don't remember precisely how much of the time they spent sitting. I think they sat for the readings and for various prayers, which is really not normal for Eastern Orthodox Christians.

 

In a normal Orthodox parish there are no pews, but there are usually benches along the wall at the back of the Church for the elderly or infirm to sit on, and little children will sometimes sit on the floor.

Edited April 11, 2013 by Apotheoun

[Apotheoun]

The link below is to an interactive web tour that explains the layout of an Orthodox Church:

 

American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the United States

[Apotheoun]

Video excerpts from the Divine Liturgy celebrated on the Fourth Sunday of Great Fast, the Sunday of St. John Climacus, at the Monastery of Our Lady of the Nativity in Moscow:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeYqSM1wtcU

[Apotheoun]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYCA7XKRAq0

 

The chanting of the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete at Christ the Savior Cathedral on Thursday of the Fifth Week of Great Fast.

[Apotheoun]

To read the text of the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete click the link below:

 

Canon of St. Andrew of Crete

 

 

The Theotokion chanted prior to reading the Life of St. Mary of Egypt:

 

Pray with the Apostles, O Mother of God, to the incomprehensible Son and Word of God, Who beyond understanding was ineffably born of thee, that He may bestow true peace on the world, and before our end grant us forgiveness of sins, and in thy extreme goodness make thy servants fit for the Kingdom of Heaven.

[TeDeum]

Are these liturgies in Russian or Old Church Slavonic?