Holy Doors
The royal doors, holy doors, or beautiful gates are the central doors of the iconostasis in an Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic church. The sanctuary (sometimes called the ''Altar'', which contains the Holy Table) is separated from the nave by a wooden screen called the iconostasis. The iconostasis represents Christian continuity from the veil of the Temple in Jerusalem which separated the people from the Holy of Holies that housed the Ark of the Covenant. Normally, the iconostasis has three doors in it. The two single doors to the right and left are called "deacons' doors" or "angel doors" and they usually have on them icons of either sainted deacons (Saint Stephen, Saint Lawrence, etc.) or the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. These are the doors that the clergy will normally use when entering the sanctuary. The central double doors are the "holy doors" ( Slavonic: ''Svyatýa Vratá''), which are considered to be most sacred, and may only be entered at certain sacred moment ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Church Slavonic
Church Slavonic is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. The language appears also in the services of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese, and occasionally in the services of the Orthodox Church in America. In addition, Church Slavonic is used by some churches which consider themselves Orthodox but are not in communion with the Orthodox Church, such as the Montenegrin Orthodox Church and the Russian True Orthodox Church. The Russian Old Believers and the Co-Believers also use Church Slavonic. Church Slavonic is also used by Greek Catholic Churches in Slavic countries, for example the Croatian, Slovak and Ruthenian Greek Catholics, as well as by the Roman Catholic Church (Croatian and Czech recensions). In the past, Church Slavoni ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and is considered Holy city, holy to the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Both Israel and Palestine claim Jerusalem as their capital city; Israel maintains its primary governmental institutions there, while Palestine ultimately foresees it as its seat of power. Neither claim is widely Status of Jerusalem, recognized internationally. Throughout History of Jerusalem, its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, Siege of Jerusalem (other), besieged 23 times, captured and recaptured 44 times, and attacked 52 times. According to Eric H. Cline's tally in Jerusalem Besieged. The part of Jerusalem called the City of David (historic), City of David shows first signs of settlement in the 4th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Four Evangelists
In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew the Apostle, Matthew, Mark the Evangelist, Mark, Luke the Evangelist, Luke, and John the Evangelist, John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts. In the New Testament, they bear the following titles: the Gospel of Matthew; the Gospel of Mark; the Gospel of Luke; and the Gospel of John. Gospels The gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Mark, and Gospel of Luke, Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels, because they include many of the same stories, often in the same sequence or even verbatim. While the periods to which the gospels are usually dated suggest otherwise, convention traditionally holds that the authors were two of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, John and Matthew, as well as two "apostolic men", Mark and Luke, whom Orthodox Tradition records as members of the 70 Apostles (Luke 10): * Matthew the Evangelist, Matthew – a former tax collector (Levi) who w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Theotokos
''Theotokos'' ( Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are or (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are "Mother of God" or "God-bearer" – but these both have different literal equivalents in , and Θεοφόρος respectively. The title has been in use since the 3rd century, in the Syriac tradition (as ) in the Liturgy of Mari and Addai (3rd century)''Addai and Mari, Liturgy of''. Cross, F. L., ed. ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church''. Oxford University Press. 2005. and the Liturgy of St James (4th century). The Council of Ephesus in AD 431 decreed that Mary is the ''Theotokos'' because her son Jesus is both God and man: one divine person from two natures (divine and human) intimately and hypostatically united. The title of Mother of God (Greek: ) or Mother of Incarnate God, abbreviated ΜΡ ΘΥ (the first and last letter of main two words in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Diptych
A diptych (, ) is any object with two flat plates which form a pair, often attached by a hinge. For example, the standard notebook and school exercise book of the ancient world was a diptych consisting of a pair of such plates that contained a recessed space filled with wax. Writing was accomplished by scratching the wax surface with a stylus. When the notes were no longer needed, the wax could be slightly heated and then smoothed to allow reuse. Ordinary versions had wooden frames, but more luxurious diptychs were crafted with more expensive materials. Etymology The word ''diptych'' is borrowed from the Latin , which itself is derived from the Late Greek () . is the neuter plural of () . Art ] As an art term a diptych is an artwork consisting of two pieces or panels that together create a single art piece. These can be fastened together or presented adjoining each other. In medieval times, panels were often hinged so that they could be closed and the artworks protected. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Annunciation
The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Mary that she would conceive and bear a son through a virgin birth and become the mother of Jesus Christ, the Messiah and Son of God, marking the Incarnation. According to the Annunciation occurred in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy with John the Baptist. Many Christians observe this event with the Feast of the Annunciation on 25March, an approximation of the northern vernal equinox nine full months before Christmas, the traditional birthday of Jesus. The Annunciation is a key topic in Christian art in general, as well as in Marian art in the Catholic Church, having been especially prominent during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. A work of art depicting the Annunciation is sometimes itself called an ''Annunciation'' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Iconostasis In Yaroslavl
In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church. The iconostasis evolved from the Byzantine templon, a process complete by the 15th century. A direct comparison for the function of the main iconostasis can be made to the layout of the great Temple in Jerusalem. That Temple was designed with three parts. The holiest and inner-most portion was that where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. This portion, the Holy of Holies, was separated from the second larger part of the building's interior by a curtain, the "veil of the temple". Only the High Priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies. The third part was the entrance court. This architectural tradition for the two main parts can be seen carried forward in Christian churches and is still most demonstratively present in Eastern Orthodox chur ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Antiochian Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch (), also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the Rūm Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East (), is an autocephalous Greek Orthodox church within the wider communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity that originates from the historical Church of Antioch. Headed by the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Antioch, it considers itself the successor to the Christian community founded in Antioch by the Apostles Peter and Paul. It is one of the largest Christian denominations of the Middle East, alongside the Copts of Egypt and the Maronites of Lebanon. Its adherents, known as Antiochian Christians, are a Middle-Eastern semi- ethnoreligious Eastern Christian group residing in the Levant region including the Hatay Province of Turkey. Many of their descendants now live in the global Eastern Christian diaspora. The number of Antiochian Greek Christians is estimated to be approximately 4.3 million. Background The s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Orthodox Church In America
The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian church based in North America. The OCA consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries and institutions in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In 2011, it had an estimated 84,900 members in the United States. The OCA has its origins in a mission established by eight Russian Orthodox monks in Alaska, then part of Russian America, in 1794. This grew into a full diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church after the United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867 named Diocese of Alaska and Aleutines with the Cathedral in Sitka, jurisdiction for all North America and effective see in San Francisco between 1872 and 1903, and later in New York City since 1903. By the late 19th century, the Russian Orthodox Church had grown in other areas of the United States due to the arrival of immigrants from areas of Eastern and Central Europe, many of them formerly of the Eastern Catholic Church ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ecumenical Patriarchate
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen Autocephaly, autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is headed by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Because of its historical location as the capital of the former Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire and its role as the mother church of most modern Eastern Orthodox churches, Constantinople holds a special place of honor within Eastern Orthodox Christianity and serves as the seat for the Ecumenical Patriarch, who enjoys the status of ''primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the world's Eastern Orthodox prelates and is regarded as the representative and spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians. Phanar (Turkish: ''Fener''), the name of the neighbourhood where ecumenical patriarch resides, is often used as a metaphor or shorthand for the Ecumenical Patriarchate o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Liturgy Of The Presanctified Gifts
The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts (Greek: λειτουργία τών Προηγιασμένων Δώρων) also referred to as ''The Divine Liturgy of Saint Gregory the Dialogist'' is a Byzantine Rite liturgical service which is performed on the weekdays of Great Lent and the first three days of Holy Week wherein communion is received from Gifts (the Body and Blood of Christ) that are sanctified (consecrated) in advance, hence its name; this Divine Liturgy has no anaphora (Eucharistic Prayer). The Presanctified is used on the weekdays of Great Lent, a season of repentance, fasting, and intensified prayer when the more frequent reception of communion is desirable; however, the full Divine Liturgy having a joyful character is not in keeping with the somberness of the season of repentance (''Eucharist'' literally means 'thanksgiving') and so the Presanctified is substituted. Although this service may be performed on any weekday (Monday through Friday) of Great Lent, common ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |