The Panagia of Old Trikeri: The Discovery of Her Wonderworking Icon and Her Miracles

By Ioannis Fourtounas 

Every year on September 10, the feast of the Most Holy Theotokos of the island of Old Trikeri is celebrated, commemorating the day on which Her wonderworking Icon was discovered.

Old Trikeri is a small island near the entrance to the Pagasetic Gulf in the regional unit of Magnesia, where every year, on the eve of the feast, a multitude of the faithful gathers. There was once a Byzantine settlement on the island, but in the eighth century the Monastery of the Annunciation was burned by the iconoclasts, while in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the island was plundered by pirates. From that time onward, the inhabitants abandoned the island and settled on the opposite shore, at the end of the peninsula of Mount Pelion, leaving the island completely deserted.

The discovery of the Icon, the founding of the Monastery of the Annunciation, Her miracles, as well as the presence of the “Evangelistria” as a religious center, came about as follows.

Holy Martyrs Menodora, Metrodora and Nymphodora in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. These holy women were sisters and came from Bithynia. From a young age they loved the Lord Jesus, whom they continually had as the delight of their souls. Thus, their sole concern was how to adorn themselves with the virtues. Desiring greater asceticism and dedication to God, they left their homeland and withdrew to a hill near the hot baths of Pythia. Through their continual prayer and asceticism in Christ, they attained great heights of virtue, so much so that they healed various illnesses of people who came to them. The governor Fronto, however, who learned of them, sent men to arrest them, and because they refused to abandon their faith in Christ, he began to subject them to harsh tortures: the twisting of their limbs, casting them into the fire, the flaying of their bodies with iron claws, hanging them upon a wooden frame, and finally death by the sword. In all these things the holy women endured steadfastly, keeping their minds fixed on the love of Christ and being strengthened by His grace. After they had surrendered their spirits to God, the governor wanted to burn their holy bodies, but the flames turned against him, while a torrential rain immediately extinguished the fire. The Christians gathered up their relics and buried them with great reverence.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: September 10

The Month of September

Day 10

11. To Orphan Girls Who Are Wronged

(From the Life of Saint Pulcheria the Empress. September Menaion, Sept. 10)

It is difficult, and for the most part very difficult, for all those who are underage and have been left orphaned by the premature death of their father and mother—both young men and maidens—to live. But it goes without saying that it is harder for orphans who are not young men but girls to live. A young man, after all, will now and then speak up for himself and stand up for what is his; but what is an orphaned girl to do? By her innate maidenly modesty, she for the most part remains silent, and she does not even dare to say anything against anyone who may sometimes act unlawfully toward her. And dishonest people often take advantage of this and wrong an orphan girl as they please, however and whenever they see fit. Yes, at times it is bitter for such orphaned girls; at times it is so bitter that it is difficult even to speak of it! How, then, shall we comfort and encourage such girls?

“At the Little Panagia at Pyrgi” (A Poem by Alexandros Papadiamantis)

The Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos, also known as Panagia Kardasi, inspired the poem by Papadiamantis "At the Little Panagia at Pyrgi".

Introduction

Alexandros Papadiamantis’s “At the Little Panagia at Pyrgi” (Στὴν Παναγίτσα στὸ Πυργί) is one of the poet’s late Theometoric poems, composed in 1910, during the final months of his life on his native island of Skiathos. The poem was published posthumously in 1923. Papadiamantis, who was born on Skiathos in 1851 and died there on January 3, 1911, devoted a number of his later poems to particular churches and shrines of the Panagia on the island, joining the familiar landscape of his homeland to the devotional world that permeates his writing.

The title refers to a small church of the Panagia at Pyrgi, and the poem is deeply rooted in the physical landscape surrounding it. Papadiamantis evokes the deserted seashore, the rock and precipice facing the sea, the little fragrant church on the ridge, the wild tree bending over the rocks, and the shepherd with his pipe and animals. Yet this is not merely landscape poetry. At the Nativity of the Theotokos, the entire landscape participates in the feast: the shore, the rock, the tree, the shepherd, the goat, and the kid all rejoice, and finally all creation itself exults. The concrete world of Skiathos thus becomes the setting in which the cosmic significance of the birth of the Mother of God is revealed.

Open for Us the Doors of Mercy: Homily on the Nativity of the Mother of God (St. Cleopa of Sihastria)

Open for Us the Doors of Mercy: 
Homily on the Nativity of the Mother of God 

St. Cleopa of Sihastria

“Your Nativity, O Virgin Theotokos, has proclaimed joy to all the universe, for from you has shone forth the Sun of righteousness, Christ our God.” (Troparion of the Feast)

Beloved faithful!

When I think of the great honor and glory with which the Most Good and Most Generous God has adorned the Mother of God in heaven; when I think of the eternal glorification with which the heavenly powers praise her; when I then think of the divine services and prayers that all the children of the Church of Christ offer to her here on earth, as well as of the words of praise composed in her honor by the saints and chosen ones of God, my mind urges me, unworthy though I am, to add today, on this radiant feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, this small drop to the great sea of praises in her honor. And this is what I would like to say.

Homily on the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos (Fr. Daniel Sysoev)

By Fr. Daniel Sysoev

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!

I congratulate you all on the great feast of the Nativity of our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary! On the very day of the Nativity of the Theotokos, we both rejoice and exult, because she is born who, according to the flesh, gave birth to the Son of God for us. The best of all the daughters of mankind has been born. We can say that the birth of the Theotokos is the greatest of all human births. This, of course, is not the birth according to the flesh of the Son of God, whose vessel the Most Pure Mother of God became, but it is the culmination of all the births that took place in ancient times. We know that the Holy Scripture of the Old Testament and the very practice of the people of ancient times taught that the greatest blessing that can be bestowed upon a person is the birth of a son or daughter, and not simply the birth of a human being, but the birth of a righteous person. This was considered the greatest blessing in ancient times.

The Lord said: “And if you will listen to these ordinances and keep and observe them, then the Lord your God will keep the covenant and mercy with you, as He swore to your fathers, and He will love you and bless you and multiply you, and He will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land” (Deut. 7:13–14).

To many emancipated young women of today, and to worldly men, this may seem abnormal. But God is the source of life, and it is His will that there be more living beings. And the perception of childbearing as a great blessing from God is precisely connected with the perception of God as the Living God.

Synaxis of the Forebears of God Joachim and Anna in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. We celebrate their synaxis on account of the birth of our Most Holy Lady Theotokos. And they became the agents of the salvation of the whole world through their all-holy daughter, the Theotokos. Their repose from this world, however, is commemorated on the twenty-fifth day of the month of July.

2. In the aftermath of the Nativity of the Theotokos (September 8), we celebrate the feast of the Synaxis of the Righteous Joachim and Anna, following the beloved custom of the Church to honor, after a great event, the persons who played the leading role in it. Joachim and Anna are honored as the parents of the Theotokos, that is, as those who cooperated so that, by the will of God, their daughter Mary, who had been predestined to become His Mother, might come into the world. And certainly, it is only natural that such a noble fruit as the Panagia should have parents who were not ordinary, but who were indeed characterized by intense reverence for God and absolute obedience to the law of God, and for this reason surpassed all others in their parental calling. “O blessed pair! You surpassed all parents, because you caused to sprout forth her who surpasses all creation,” as our Church also sings.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: September 9

The Month of September

9th Day

10. A Christian Can Rejoice Even in Sufferings

(From the Life of the Holy Martyr Severian. Menaion, September 9)

It is well known that the Holy Apostles rejoiced even in their sufferings. Thus, it is said of them that after they had been beaten in the Sanhedrin, they “went forth from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 5:41). And the Apostle Paul says of himself: “I rejoice in my sufferings” (Col. 1:24). What, then, is this? Is it really true? Can one truly rejoice in sufferings, not become disheartened in sorrows, and not despair in deprivation? Do not be surprised, brethren: it truly is possible, for this truth can readily be demonstrated not only by the example of the Apostles but by other examples as well. And so, as a further confirmation of it, today we place before you one such example, which in our opinion is particularly convincing.

Homily on the Nativity of our Most Holy Lady Theotokos (St. Theodore the Studite)

Homily on the Nativity of our Most Holy Lady Theotokos 

By St. Theodore the Studite

1. Today creation celebrates with splendor, receiving the Virgin as a new heaven. A maiden has been born upon the earth, the living chamber of the King of heaven. A young woman has come into the light, shining more brightly than a ray of the sun. An infant has shone forth from a barren womb, the most holy sanctuary of virginity.

Who will not hasten to the festival? Who will not bring festal gifts, dear and beloved to the Virgin?

The most beautiful gift for those living in virginity is incorruption; for those who are married, temperance; for the rich, generosity; for the poor, thanksgiving; for rulers, meekness; for kings, justice; for priests, holiness; for all, good order in all things.

Since, then, such are the gifts, and with such gifts comes this splendid celebration, come, let us leap for joy in gladness. Let us sing songs of thanksgiving with David: “Let us rejoice in the Lord; let us shout aloud to God our Savior.”

For the Creator of all things, a temple has been prepared for His reception; for the creative Word, a dwelling place for His sojourn has been prepared; for the Sun of righteousness, a cloud of light has been spread forth; for Him who encompasses the heavens in clouds, the fabric of a God-woven garment is being raised up; for Him who mingles the seasons and gathers together times and years, a bridal gathering-place has been revealed.