September 1 – Church New Year! 5 – Holy Prophet Zachary and Elizabeth 8 – Nativity of the Theotokos 9 – Holy and Righteous Forebearers Anna and Joachim 14 – Exaltation of the Cross 17 – Holy Sophia and her daughters 26 – Repose of St. John the Theologian 28 – Venerable Father and Confessor Karita September in The Byzantine Life Church New Year September is the beginning of a new church year. And, here in Canada, a new school year as well. Little Fox will officially be a first grade student (though doing third grade math and grammar, if you’ve looked at our curriculum choices). It is also a lon ..read more

August 1 – (Dormition Fast Begins) 6 – Transfiguration 9 – Holy Apostle Matthias 15 – Dormition Feast (and Icon) and also Flowers of Dormition 16 – Image not Made by Hands 29 – Beheading of John the Baptist August in The Byzantine Life I am spending this month working on a major project… building a home organization course! I am not making the videos this month. But I am organizing all my notes and plans for the course so that it is ready to film and go! Other major news is that I have spent this summer preparing to take my class 5 road test. It will be a great help to our family if I can star ..read more

On August 6th we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration, which is when Jesus revealed his glory to three of the disciples (Peter, James, and John) on top of Mount Tabor. This occasion is particularly special as it is one Jesus works upon himself. We find many accounts of this event recorded in scripture (Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:1-7, Luke 9:28-36, and 2 Peter 1:16-18). Although not directly recorded in John’s gospel, the Transfiguration permeates it’s writing such that his gospel is called the Gospel of the Transfiguration. John 1:14 is an example of this Transfiguration-infused text. And t ..read more

July (1) – Our Lady of Perpetual Help 2 – The Precious Robe of Our Lady 3 – Holy Martyr Hyacynth 5 – Father Athanasius of Athos 10 – Anthony of Caves of Kiev 11 – Princess Olga of Kiev 15 – Grand Prince Valadymyr Basil 20 – Prophet Elijah 24 – Holy martyrs Boris and Hlib (Roman and David at Baptism) 25 – Dormition of St. Anna 27 – Holy Great Martyr and Healer Pantelemon July in The Byzantine Life There are a lot of great feasts to celebrate in July! Our Lady of Perpetual Help, The Robe of Our Lady, Prophet Elijah, and the Dormition of St. Anna will definitely be highlights. The summer is going ..read more

June 1 – Christ’s Entry into Egypt 5 – BEGIN APOSTLES FAST 9 – Archbishop Cyril of Alexandria 11 – Bartholomew and Barnabus 14 – Prophet Elisha 15 – Prophet Amos 19 – Apostle Jude, cousin of Christ 24 – Nativity of John the Baptist 28 – Christ Lover of Mankind 29 – Sts. Peter and Paul 30 – Synaxis of the 12 Apostles June in The Byzantine Life A major theme for the month of June is the twelve apostles. So, in our home, we will focus on the twelve apostles for catechesis. For children, ByziMom has two magazines free online for these subjects. June 2021 – Apostles, and June 2019 – Sts. Peter and ..read more

A Quick Recap of the Ascension The Ascension occurs on the 40th day of Easter, and refers to Jesus’ ascent into Heaven. This feast day marks the completion of our salvation by Christ. He rose into Heaven so that we may join him there. In the Byzantine Churches, it is a Holy day of Obligation. And is one of the 12 Great Feasts of the church year. The Ascension was also the last time the Theotokos and the disciples saw Jesus on Earth. It happened at the Mount of Olives, which is also where Jesus wept over Jerusalem and foretold of the destruction of the Temple. Jesus made three promises that we ..read more

How to Celebrate a Praznyk It’s that time of year… and I am not just talking about spring and summer. It is Praznyk season! For those of you who haven’t heard of a Praznyk, it is the Feast Day of a particular parish. Eastern Catholics like to make a big event of when a parish is celebrating the feast of its namesake. One year, our parish Feast Day included two divine liturgies, a barbecue, and the blessing of new stained-glass windows. Although Roman Catholic churches also celebrate their parish’s names-day, I have found that these events are not as big as in the Byzantine Churches. Monthly pa ..read more

May 1 – Prophet Jeremiah 3 – Repose of Theodosius 5 – Holy and Glorious Martyr Irene 6 – Holy and Just Long Suffering Job 8 – John the Theologian 9 – Transfer of the Relics of St. Nicholas 10 – Simon the Zealot 11 – Cyril and Methodius 12 – Venerable Epiphanius (18) – Ascension Day 19 – Protomartyr Patrick 21 – Constantine and Helen 25 – Third Finding of John the Baptist’s Head (Separate from the other two times)! (28) – Pentecost Sunday May in The Byzantine Life Feast of the Ascension and Pentecost Make the most of the Easter Season, as its coming to a close this month with the feast of the A ..read more

April 1 – Ven. Mary of Egypt (Lazarus Saturday) (2) – Palm Sunday/Willow Sunday – Start of Holt Week 6 – Repose of Methodius (Great and Holy Thursday) (7) – Great and Holy Friday (8) – Great and Holy Saturday (9) – Pascha/Easter Sunday/The Resurrection of Our Lord – Entering the Easter Season –  Beginning of Bright Week (16) – Thomas Sunday 23 – Great-Martyr George 25 – Apostle and Evangelist Mark 28 – Apostles Jason and Sosipater April in The Byzantine Life Holy Week There is a lot going on in April! First of all we have Holy Week, almost like a second mini Great Lent. And I say this bec ..read more

The Habit of Daily Prayer Recently, I wrote an article sharing some of the most important lessons from my years parenting. These mostly came from books and blog articles. Writing the blog article about these resources reminded me to dig back into them. Which brings me to today’s article. One of the books I mentioned talked about how parents frequently do bedtime prayers with their children, but not first-thing-in-the-morning prayers. And *gasp* that applied to me too! Consistency in Prayer My own morning prayer routine has been shaky since the birth of Little Owl. I know this is because I am n ..read more