Orthodox Monastery of the Holy Trinity

29/05/2026

The candle in the Orthodox Christian context is a symbol of a worshiper offering oneself to God. It is also a symbol that represents the Light of God or, more specifically, the Light of Christ. The candles may be made of traditional beeswax or cups of oil with floating wicks.

Candles and the symbology of "light" are omnipresent in the Orthodox Christian's life, both in church and the home, providing an ambiance for prayer.

28/05/2026

24/05/2026

Commemoration of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council

On the seventh Sunday of Pascha, we commemorate the holy God-bearing Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council.

The Commemoration of the First Ecumenical Council has been celebrated by the Church of Christ from ancient times. The Lord Jesus Christ left the Church a great promise, “I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mt. 16:18). Although the Church of Christ on earth will pass through difficult struggles with the Enemy of salvation, it will emerge victorious. The holy martyrs bore witness to the truth of the Savior’s words, enduring suffering and death for confessing Christ, but the persecutor’s sword is shattered by the Cross of Christ.

Persecution of Christians ceased during the fourth century, but heresies arose within the Church itself. One of the most pernicious of these heresies was Arianism. Arius, a priest of Alexandria, was a man of immense pride and ambition. In denying the divine nature of Jesus Christ and His equality with God the Father, Arius falsely taught that the Savior is not consubstantial with the Father, but is only a created being.

A local Council, convened with Patriarch Alexander of Alexandria presiding, condemned the false teachings of Arius. However, Arius would not submit to the authority of the Church. He wrote to many bishops, denouncing the decrees of the local Council. He spread his false teaching throughout the East, receiving support from certain Eastern bishops.

Investigating these dissentions, the holy emperor Constantine (May 21) consulted Bishop Hosius of Cordova (Aug. 27), who assured him that the heresy of Arius was directed against the most fundamental dogma of Christ’s Church, and so he decided to convene an Ecumenical Council. In the year 325, 318 bishops representing Christian Churches from various lands gathered together at Nicea.

Among the assembled bishops were many confessors who had suffered during the persecutions, and who bore the marks of torture upon their bodies. Also participating in the Council were several great luminaries of the Church: Saint Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia (December 6 and May 9), Saint Spyridon, Bishop of Tremithos (December 12), and others venerated by the Church as holy Fathers.

With Patriarch Alexander of Alexandria came his deacon, Athanasius [who later became Patriarch of Alexandria (May 2 and January 18)]. He is called “the Great,” for he was a zealous champion for the purity of Orthodoxy. In the Sixth Ode of the Canon for today’s Feast, he is referred to as “the thirteenth Apostle.”

The emperor Constantine presided over the sessions of the Council. In his speech, responding to the welcome by Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea, he said, “God has helped me cast down the impious might of the persecutors, but more distressful for me than any blood spilled in battle is for a soldier, is the internal strife in the Church of God, for it is more ruinous.”

Arius, with seventeen bishops among his supporters, remained arrogant, but his teaching was repudiated and he was excommunicated from the Church. In his speech, the holy deacon Athanasius conclusively refuted the blasphemous opinions of Arius. The heresiarch Arius is depicted in iconography sitting on Satan’s knees, or in the mouth of the Beast of the Deep (Rev. 13).

The Fathers of the Council declined to accept a Symbol of Faith (Creed) proposed by the Arians. Instead, they affirmed the Orthodox Symbol of Faith. Saint Constantine asked the Council to insert into the text of the Symbol of Faith the word “consubstantial,” which he had heard in the speeches of the bishops. The Fathers of the Council unanimously accepted this suggestion.

In the Nicean Creed, the holy Fathers set forth and confirmed the Apostolic teachings about Christ’s divine nature. The heresy of Arius was exposed and repudiated as an error of haughty reason. After resolving this chief dogmatic question, the Council also issued Twelve Canons on questions of churchly administration and discipline. Also decided was the date for the celebration of Holy Pascha. By decision of the Council, Holy Pascha should not be celebrated by Christians on the same day with the Jewish Passover, but on the first Sunday after the first full moon of the vernal equinox (which occured on March 22 in 325).

The First Ecumenical Council is also commemorated on May 29.

~ OCA

Troparion - Tone 8
You are most glorious, O Christ our God! / You have established the Holy Fathers as lights on the earth! / Through them you have guided us to the true faith! / O greatly Compassionate One, glory to You!

Kontakion - Tone 8
The Apostles’ preaching and the Fathers’ doctrines have established one faith for the Church. / Adorned with the robe of truth, woven from heavenly theology, / it defines and glorifies the great mystery of Orthodoxy!

22/05/2026

The ASCENSION marks the completion of Christ's earthly ministry and the glorification of his human nature at the right hand of God the Father. The holy scripture teaches us of Christ’s physical departure from Earth and His glorification with God the Father.

In the icon, Christ ascends in glory, blessing the assembly with His right hand while holding a scroll in His left, the symbol of His continuing teaching and authority in the Church. He is surrounded by the mandorla (concentric circles of light), representing the divine realm and uncreated glory of God.

Angels support the mandorla, sometimes with trumpets, recalling the Psalm: “God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet” (Psalm 47:5).

This icon proclaims that Christ is the Head of His Church. From heaven He continues to bless, guide, teach, and empower His people. The Apostles (and their successors, the Bishops) receive their commission directly from Him and fulfill it in the power of the Holy Spirit.

At the centre, directly below the ascending Christ, stands the Theotokos in a calm, prayerful pose. In contrast, the Apostles are moving about, talking to each other, and pointing towards heaven.

Mary’s peace comes from divine order, having received God’s uncreated energies. The Apostles’ confusion is born of worldly reasoning. As Pentecost has not yet occurred, the Apostles are often depicted without halos.

21/05/2026

The ASCENSION OF JESUS CHRIST is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated forty days after Pascha (and thus always falling on a Thursday).

Forty days after the Resurrection, while blessing His disciples (Gospel of Luke 24:50-51), Christ ascended into heaven, taking His place at the right hand of the Father (Gospel of Mark 16:19 and Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed).

Scriptural accounts
The first account of the Ascension found in the Bible is in the Gospel of Mark (16:14-19). The description is brief. Jesus and the remaining eleven disciples are seated at a table, presumably in a room in or near Jerusalem. Jesus commands His followers to spread the Gospel, and that those who believe will be known by their invulnerability to poison, ability to heal the sick, and the like. After delivering these final words, Jesus is received into heaven to sit at the right hand of God. No description of the Ascension itself is given; Mark simply states that it happened.

The Gospel of Luke is even more brief in its description (24:50-51). Jesus led the eleven to Bethany, not far from Jerusalem. While in the act of blessing them, Jesus was carried up to heaven.

The third, and most celebrated, account of the Ascension is in the Acts of the Apostles (1:9-12). For forty days after the Resurrection, Jesus continued to preach the Gospel. Jesus and the eleven were gathered near Mt. Olivet (or the Mount of Olives), to the northeast of Bethany. Jesus tells His disciples that they will receive the power of the Holy Spirit and that they will spread His message the world over. Jesus is taken up and received by a cloud. Some traditions say that He was taken up in a fiery chariot, much like the Prophet Elijah. Two men clothed in white appear and tell the disciples that Jesus will return in the same manner as He was taken. They say: "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into Heaven? This same Jesus, Who is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into Heaven" (Acts 1:11).[1] Afterwards, the disciples return to Jerusalem rejoicing, remaining continually in the Temple.

The Gospel of Matthew ends at a mountain in Galilee, with Jesus commanding the disciples to spread the Gospel. No mention of the Ascension is made.

Importance
The Ascension of Christ shows the last stage in God's plan for mankind: total union with Himself upon one's departure from the world. According to V. Rev. George Florovsky, "in the Ascension resides the meaning and the fullness of Christ's Resurrection....and with Christ, man's nature ascends also."

Troparion - Tone 4
O Christ God, You have ascended in Glory,
Granting joy to Your disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit.
Through the blessing they were assured
That You are the Son of God,
The Redeemer of the world!

Kontakion - Tone 6
When You did fulfill the dispensation for our sake,
And unite earth to Heaven:
You did ascend in glory, O Christ our God,
Not being parted from those who love You,
But remaining with them and crying:
I am with you and no one will be against you.

20/05/2026

Vigil of the Great Feast of our Lord’s Ascension!

20/05/2026

CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN !!!
Leavetaking of Pascha
Pascha, the Feast of Feasts, has its Leavetaking on the thirty-ninth day.
After the Dismissal at the Liturgy, the paschal hymns are no longer sung, while the prayer "O Heavenly King" is not said or sung until Pentecost. The Winding Sheet (Epitaphios/Plaschanitsa) is taken from the altar and is put in its proper place.

The fortieth day is the Feast of the Lord’s Ascension, which marks the end of the Lord’s physical presence on earth.