The Calendar as Gospel: An Evangelion of History and the Cosmos

The Sunday of Sanctification of the Church, Koodhosh Eetho,
begins the liturgical year of seasons and feasts in the Syriac & Malankara Oriental Orthodox Churches -- on the 8th Sunday before the Nativity of the Lord.

This 8-week period is our Advent.
The birth of the liturgical year is a typos of the birth of Christ in history.
And the Lord's birth into history "implodes" upon all time -- from genesis to the eschaton -- the rebirth of all things in Christ.



The Holy Archangel Gabriel
written by the hand of Heather Durka

We commonly regard the 12 days of Christmas, from Dec.25 to Jan.6,
as the summit of the feast.
But the Oriental Church's Calendar Year of Liturgies,
beginning on the first Sunday of Advent,
provides us a sign that our entire calendar year, and all creation,
is now re-created as "Anno Domini, the Year of the Lord."

This annual "evangelion" of the New Calendar reveals a 2nd birth of history.
St. Paul witnesses in Romans 8 that all creation holds a share in the Mysteries of Salvation. That share is present in the Church's sacramental life and liturgical cycle.

Thus our own days, and all history, belong to the Mysteries of Bethlehem.

The Scriptures proclaimed in the Sanctification Sunday Liturgy
announce the Mysteries of the Kingdom,
and over the coming Sundays we encounter preparations of
the New Israel in our own lives and the whole of salvation history.

Each succeeding Gospel of the 8 Sundays of Preparation
reveals a particular dimension of the indwelling and fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Thus each Sunday becomes a dimension and typos of Pentecost:

1___Sanctification Sunday (Koodhosh Eetho)
2___Dedication & Renewal Sunday (Hoodhosh Eetho)
3___Annunciation to St. Zechariah
4___Annunciation to St. Mary
5___St. Mary visits St. Elizabeth
6___Birth of St. John the Baptist, Forerunner, and Friend of the Bridegroom
7___Annunciation to St. Joseph, Husband of Mary
8___Sunday of the Genealogy of Christ
____Christmas

And so even in the Feast of the Holy Cross, at the end of the Church Year,
our Church continues to reflect upon the Dormition and Assumption of the Virgin Mother.


The Holy Theotokos of Tender Mercy
writtten by the hand of Heather Durka

In the heart of Mary we behold a diary of the human heart.
In her life we share the life of the entire Church~
In her joy we share the journey and joy of all the saints~
In her heart we share the light and love of her Son, the Lord of Heaven and earth~
In her heart we live by faith in the new creation given us
through the Victory of the Holy Cross.