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Christ Is Risen! Indeed He Is Risen! Pascha is the feast of feasts of the Christian year - the commemoration of the glorious Resurrection of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Today is the eighth day after Pascha. It is the eighth day of the Resurrection, and it is the commemoration of the appearance of the Risen Lord to the apostles and most especially, Thomas, who doubted the testimony of the apostles and holy women and insisted he would not believe unless “I put my fingers into the wounds” of Jesus’ body.

The Myrrh-Bearing Women Icon can have from three to seven women depicted. They are shown as either an assembly by themselves, holding the jars of spices used to anoint the dead, or at the tomb where they are met by the angel who announces the Resurrection. The central figure is always St Mary Magdalene, Mary of Magdala, from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons, and to whom He first appears. She is shown by her bright red robes.

One of the most popular saints in Christian history, St. George's feast day of April 23rd is celebrated across the Christian world, from the ancient Churches to Anglicans and Lutherans. He reflects universal Christian values, ones that many men in the western world would do well to emulate: constancy, strength, fidelity, love of God and neighbor, self-sacrifice, upholding a true military code of chivalry and honor.

On the Sunday of the Paralytic and for the rest of the Paschal season, Sundays deal with the theme of water. At these Divine Liturgies, the newly baptized adults who had been catechumens were given further instruction in the Christian faith, and so the Sundays all deal with the symbolism of water used in Baptism.

The fifth paschal Sunday is given over to the texts of the Samaritan Woman, she who boldly bantered with the Lord on a hot afternoon by the well of Shechem. Afterward, she led her townspeople to faith in Him as the Messiah.

Today the Church continues the baptismal theme and the use of water, but here spiritual blindness is removed as well as physical. In fact, icons of the miracle show the pool of Siloam in the shape of a baptismal font.

Ascension Thursday comes at the end of the forty days of Pascha. On Wednesday morning, the Easter canon is sung for the last time, and then the Plaschanitsa is removed from the altar and can be laid in the tomb for the faithful to venerate one last time for the year, before it is put away.

The Sunday of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council is the Sunday after the Feast of the Ascension. The First Ecumenical Council was held in 325 AD at Nicaea, outside of Constantinople. This Council authorized the famous Nicene Creed, recited at every Divine Liturgy, which affirms the divinity and humanity of Jesus, and so our salvation through His Passion, Death and Resurrection.

The Descent of the Spirit came with a great wind that rushed through the building, and tongues of fire danced on the heads of the disciples. This event, at nine o’clock in the morning, is commemorated every day in the Divine Office at the Third Hour. As a result of the descent of the Holy Spirit, Saint Peter is transformed and he begins his preaching ministry in the street outside of the house, and thousands are converted to faith in Jesus as the Son of God and the true Messiah of Israel.

Each day of the church year is dedicated to a saint or group of saints. But there are many saints that no one knows or guesses about. In God's Providence, their names are recorded in the Book of Life. Therefore, in order to pay their respects, the Church has dedicated a day to honor all Saints who are not included in the annual cycle of the church calendar.

This Summer Lent is a preparation for the great feast of SS. Peter and Paul on June 29th. These two apostles are the two pillars of the Church. It is also related to what Jesus said in Matthew 9:15, in reply to the Pharisees’ complaint that the apostles were not keeping fast days according to the Law: But the days will come, when the Bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast."

June 24 is the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. He is the only “ordinary” saint whose conception, birth and death are commemorated on the Church Calendar. He is the Forerunner of Jesus, the last of the Jewish prophets, the one who prepared “the way of the Lord” for Jesus’ ministry.

Peter and Paul are considered to be the two pillars of the Church. From radically different backgrounds - Peter a commercial fisherman from Galilee, Paul a well-educated Pharisee and Roman citizen from the colony of Tarsus. Our two saints are responsible for the preaching to the Gentiles (Paul) and approving that mission (Peter).

On the Sunday between the 13th and the 19th of July, the Eastern Churches commemorate the first Six Ecumenical Councils. These began in 325 AD, just 14 years after the Christian Faith was given legal status in the Roman Empire, as the Church sought to define Who Jesus Christ is, and how we are saved by His Precious Blood on the Cross and brought to new life in Him.

The feast of St. Elias / Elijah is commemorated on July 20 every year, by Catholics, Orthodox, and by the Carmelite Order, which sees Elias as its spiritual ancestor. His icons are noted for the bright colors that are used, fiery red especially. He is the patron saint of wheeled vehicles, due to his heavenly chariot, and cars and other vehicles are blessed on his feast day.

August 1 is a multiple feast. First off, today marks the beginning of the Dormition Fast. Next it is the remembrance of the Procession of the Life-Giving Cross: on this day the True Cross was carried through the streets of Constantinople and laid on the altar of Hagia Sophia. Then on the eve of the Dormition, it was returned to its usual resting place near the palace. On both days, the clergy would pray for God’s blessings upon the city and the empire. Some places still do this with a relic of the True Cross being carried around the church.

August 6 marks the holy day of the Transfiguration. Jesus takes his three closest friends – Peter, James and John, who He will also take into the Garden of Gethsemane - to the top of Mount Tabor. There He is finally revealed in all His glory. He is accompanied by Moses, the giver of the Law, and Elijah, the greatest of the prophets, who come to confirm His divinity as the Son of God, the long-awaited Messiah.

The liturgical year, which is the image of the life in Christ, is also defined by two events in the life of Mary, her birth and her death. In fact, the first feast of the liturgical year is the Nativity of the Virgin (September 8). The last major feast of the liturgical year is the Dormition, celebrated on August 15.

Because of his importance, John the Baptist is the only saint, other than Mary the Mother of God, whose conception (Sept 23), birth (June 4) and death (Aug 29) are all commemorated. Along with those dates are the commemorations of finding of his head (Feb 24: First and Second times, and May 25 the Third); and the Synaxis on January 7, the day after the Baptism of the Lord (Theophany, January 6).