On the fortieth day after His birth, the most holy Virgin brought her divine Son to the Temple in Jerusalem, to consecrate Him to the Lord and to purify herself according to the Law (Lev. 12:2-7, Exod. 12:2). And though neither the one nor the other was necessary, nevertheless the Lawgiver would not in any way transgress the Law which He had given through His servant and prophet Moses. At that time Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, was serving his turn as high priest in the Temple. He stood the Virgin Mary in the place for maidens, not that for married women. On this occasion, there were two very special people present: the elder, Simeon, and Anna the daughter of Phanuel. The righteous elder took his Messiah up in his arms and said: "Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation." Simeon also spoke the following words of the Christ Child: "Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel." Then Anna, who had from her youth served God in the Temple in fasting and prayer, and who herself recognised the Messiah, praised the Lord and made known to the inhabitants of Jerusalem the coming of the awaited One. But the Pharisees, present in the Temple and seeing and hearing all that passed, and being vexed with Zacharias for having stood the Virgin Mary in the place for maidens, made this known to King Herod. Believing this to be the new King of whom the star-followers from the East had spoken, Herod quickly sent to have Jesus killed. But in the meantime the holy family had already escaped from the city and set out for Egypt, under the direction of an angel of God. This day has been celebrated from the very earliest times, but its solemn celebration dates from 544, in the time of the Emperor Justinian.

This saint, famed throughout the entire world today, was the only son of his eminent and wealthy parents, Theophanes and Nona, citizens of Patara in Lycia. They dedicated to God the only son He gave them. St Nicholas was instructed in the spiritual life by his uncle Nicholas, Bishop of Patara (see below), and became a monk at 'New Sion', a monastery founded by his uncle.

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Patriarchal Pascha Encyclical 2024

The Serbian Orthodox Church to her spiritual children at Pascha, 2024

PORFIRIJE

By the Grace of God

Orthodox Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovci, and Serbian Patriarch, with all the Hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church to all the clergy, monastics, and all the sons and daughters of our Holy Church: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, with the joyous Paschal greeting:

Christ is Risen!

“When You descended into death,
O Life immortal,
You slayed Hades with the splendor of Your Divinity;
and when from the depths You raised the dead,
all the powers of heaven cried out to You:
O Giver of Life, Christ our God, glory to You.”
(Troparion of the Resurrection, Tone-2)

Boldly and unwaveringly proclaiming the words of this divinely inspired hymn, let us join the holy forefathers, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, venerable ones, righteous ones, confessors, and teachers of the faith, as well as all the angelic choirs, who today in heaven celebrate the holy and life-giving Resurrection of the Lord! Let us also hasten with the myrrh-bearing women to the empty tomb of Christ so that we too can hear the words of the angel, filled with eternal joy:

“The time for sorrow is passed; weep not;
but announce the Resurrection to the Apostles!”

The Holy Nobleborn Prince of Serbia Lazar (Lazarus) lived during the XIV Century – at a time when the Turks, having conquered neighbouring lands, prepared an invasion of Serbia.