The Bright Heavenly Appearance of the Cross Over Jerusalem During the Reign of Constantius in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

 

Commemoration of the Sign of the Honorable Cross Which Appeared in Heaven, at the Third Hour of the Day, During the Reign of Emperor Constantius, Son of Constantine the Great

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. During the days of Holy Pentecost, on the seventh day of the month of May and around the ninth hour of the morning, the honorable and life-giving Cross appeared — consisting of light, while all the people looked on — stretching from holy Golgotha to the holy Mount of Olives. This Cross, by the brilliance of Its light, overshadowed the rays of the sun. Therefore every age, both young and old, together with infants and even nursing babes, came to the church, and with immeasurable joy and fervent compunction offered glory and thanksgiving to God for this wondrous sight.

2. If September 14 is the feast of the Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross — the feast on which human hands, Patriarchal and Imperial, raised up the Honorable Cross, presenting It as the symbol of the Christian faith and “the key of Paradise,” because It is the sign pointing us to Him Who poured out His all-holy blood upon It — then May 7 constitutes another feast of Its Exaltation, not by human hands this time, but by the “hands” of God Himself. For He willed, when the Christian faith had already been accepted and spread abroad, to reveal the Cross in Heaven, as a continuation, we might say, of Its manifestation in the days of Constantine the Great, with the well-known words, “By this conquer.” The hymnography of our Church presents this event and proclaims it in all its dimensions:

Synaxis of All the Venerable Russian Saints of the Holy Mountain

 

On May 7/20, the Russian Saint Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos prayerfully commemorates the Synaxis of All the Venerable Russian Saints of the Holy Mountain.

This day for honoring the memory of all the Russian Athonite saints who shone forth on the Holy Mountain was established in 2016 by the Council of Elders of the Panteleimon Monastery, with the blessing of the monastery’s abbot, Schema-Archimandrite Jeremiah (Alekhin), because ancient Russian liturgical tradition assigns to this day the repose of Anthony of Kiev, the “founder of Russian monasticism.”

In addition, on this same day the memory is celebrated of other Russian Athonite saints: Nil Sorsky and Pachomius the Russian. The feast of Nilus the Myrrhgusher is also kept on this day.

Altogether, the Synaxis of All the Venerable Russian Saints of the Holy Mountain includes more than sixty Athonite ascetics glorified at various times by one or another Local Church (the list, which began with over forty saints, is evolving). Some of them were Serbs, Greeks, and Georgians, yet their lives were connected in one way or another with Holy Rus’ or with Russian monasticism on Mount Athos.

Prologue in Sermons: May 7

Do Not Conceal Your Sins in Confession

May 7

(A homily about the robber who confessed all his sins before everyone in repentance.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

In the Church’s exhortation by the confessor to the penitent before confession, we read among other things: “Behold, my child, Christ stands here invisibly, receiving your confession; do not be ashamed, nor afraid, and hide nothing from me, but without concealment tell everything you have done, that you may receive forgiveness from our Lord Jesus Christ…; but if you hide anything from me, you will have a double sin.” Therefore, whoever hides his sins in confession doubles them. And so it is; for such a person adds another sin to the one he has hidden: he lies before God, Who Himself stands invisibly, receiving our confession. But, unfortunately, many Christians are not instructed by this; some out of false shame, others out of pride, others through lack of faith, and still others simply through not understanding the great importance of the most holy Mystery of Repentance, hide their sins in confession, and thus leave confession not only not cleansed of their sins, but even more burdened by them and condemned. How can such people be led to correction? How can they be instructed so that in the future they will be fully open in confession? Let us try to encourage and instruct them by an example.

Santorini Officially Celebrated Its Patron Saint Irene for the First Time

The Sacred Metropolis of Thera, Amorgos and the Islands solemnly celebrated the sacred memory of the patron and protectress of Santorini, the holy and glorious Great Martyr Irene.

This marks the first official celebration of Saint Irene as patron and protectress of Santorini following the publication of the relevant Presidential Decree (Government Gazette 160/A/18-9-2025), by which May 5 has been established as a local holiday for all schools and public services on the island.

The recognition of Saint Irene as patron saint highlights the island’s spiritual identity, especially since the very name “Santorini” derives from “Santa Irene.”

This official recognition strengthens the bond between the local community and Orthodox tradition, establishing a new annual celebration that is expected to become an important point of reference for both inhabitants and visitors alike.

The festive events took place at the Metropolitan Church of the Reception of the Savior (Ypapanti) in Thera.

Church of Cyprus Statement on Former Metropolitan Tychikos of Paphos

 

ANNOUNCEMENT

Because in recent days many claims have been made public that distort reality and the truth, we wish, for the sake of restoring the truth, to point out the following:

1. Clergy who are under suspension (argia) are not permitted to wear the vestments proper to their rank, nor to commemorate (do the proskomide) at the Holy Prothesis. The suspended former Metropolitan of Paphos, Tychikos, last Sunday wore an epitrachelion and omophorion and commemorated at the Holy Prothesis of the Church of the Holy Apostles Paul and Barnabas with the portion and the holy lance. His lawyer, as a former cleric, should be well aware of what the penalty of suspension entails for a clergyman.

2. When the presiding priest of the church pointed out that such actions are not permitted, the former Metropolitan struck and pushed him at the same time. There is testimony to this effect from the second priest of the church. No one prevents the former Metropolitan from praying or chanting in various churches, especially since he possesses the qualifications of a chanter and has a melodious voice. Indeed, he has recently been doing so, visiting churches celebrating their feasts. However, he is not permitted “to perform the Proskomide” at the Holy Prothesis, something which, for unclear reasons, he did for the first time this past Sunday.

Holy and Righteous Job the Much-Contested in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. The Righteous Job was from the land of Ausitis, which lay on the borders of Idumea and Arabia, and he was one of the descendants of Esau, so that he was of the fifth generation from Abraham. His father was named Zareth and his mother Bosorra. He had been given the name Jobab and he prophesied for twenty-five years. He lived around 1925 B.C. The Lord bore witness concerning him that he was a righteous and blameless man and better than all the people of his generation; for this reason the devil asked God to test Job. Indeed, after the permission given to him by God, the devil stripped Job of all his possessions, afflicted him with dreadful and unbearable sores, and finally departed in shame, because the righteous man proved unbending and unyielding in all the assaults of temptation. At the end of his struggles, God Himself rewarded him and restored to him what is revealed in the account concerning him. After his trials he lived one hundred and seventy years, which means that altogether he lived two hundred and forty-eight years.

Venerable Sophia of Kleisoura in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. "Having been made wise by grace, O divine Sophia, you practiced asceticism wisely in Kleisoura."

The Venerable and God-bearing Mother Sophia, the rag-clad yet Spirit-filled ascetic of Kleisoura, was born in Ardasia of Pontus in 1883. After following the path of the refugees, following the incursion of the Hagarenes against her homeland and the loss of her husband and child, she came to Anarrachi of Eordaia. She longed for the ascetic life, and so she built her first hermitage at the Monastery of Saint Mark in Florina, where she remained for two years.

At the urging, however, of the Most Holy Theotokos, she settled in Her monastery located in Kleisoura of Kastoria, where she struggled in a God-pleasing manner for a full forty-seven years. Without even a bed to rest her earthly body, she endured the cold of winter, sitting near the hearth in the courtyard of the monastery, opposite the south door of the katholikon, gazing at the serene image of the Theotokos above its lintel.

Living simply, clothed in rags, and sometimes even feigning foolishness, she passed through her life. Constantly engaged in the prayer of the heart, she reached the heights of deification. She attracted richly the grace of the All-Holy Spirit and was deemed worthy of both clairvoyant and healing gifts. Always cheerful and approachable, she received visitors to the monastery, teaching them repentance and goodness of character. She foresaw her end and reposed in the Lord in holiness on May 6, 1974.

Her holy relics, which were translated and emitted fragrance, are preserved in the Sacred Monastery of Kleisoura, offering healing to the faithful. She was enrolled among the saints of the Church on October 4, 2011.

Venerable Seraphim of Mount Domvu in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. Venerable Seraphim of Domvu in Livadeia was born in 1527 to pious and virtuous parents in a village of the region of Locris, called Zeli, where he was also taught the sacred letters.

Because he was of good character and studied diligently the sacred books of the Church, as well as the lives of the saints, he felt within his heart a divine love for the monastic life. For this reason he left his parents and relatives and set out in search of the salvation of his soul, which he longed for. After traveling through many places, both deserted and inhabited, and struggling in many ascetic contests — through which he was made worthy to receive from God even the grace of working miracles — he fell asleep in peace on May 6, 1602, in the monastery that bears his name. This monastery he himself built on the western slope of Mount Helicon, in a place called Domvu or Dontu, and there he also erected a most beautiful stavropegial church in the name of Christ the Savior.

He also received there many virtuous monks who longed for the wilderness and sought the salvation of their souls. In this monastery (in which, even while the Saint was still alive, he was glorified by God with His wonderworking grace, and where even now monks live who excel in virtue and holiness of life), his holy relics are preserved as a sacred treasure — confirmed by patriarchal sigils and attested by miracles. From these relics many people from various places daily receive healing grace as they invoke him, to the glory of God, who thus glorifies His saints.

Synaxis of the Icon of the Panagia Kamariani

The Sacred Icon of the Panagia Kamariani was discovered in a miraculous manner during the 19th century in the city of Halicarnassus in Asia Minor.

There lived there a pious Christian woman, to whom the Panagia appeared in a dream, in the form of a dignified woman dressed in black, telling her to leave her house because it belonged to her. The dream was repeated four times.

On the fourth occasion, the Mother of God revealed to her that her icon was buried inside the house and indicated the exact place where they should dig to find it. The woman searched for the icon and found it beneath an arch (kamara), and for this reason it was given the name “Kamariani.”

The discovery of the icon was followed by many miracles, and the inhabitants of Halicarnassus decided to build a church in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos, where they placed the icon. Around the church there was a colonnade with many arches, which, according to another version, is what gave the icon its name. The church survives to this day, though in a state of abandonment.