Today the Virgin is present in the Church And with the choirs of saints, Invisibly prays to God for us.
The angels worship with the hierarchs,
The apostles rejoice with the prophets;
Because the Theotokos prays for us to the eternal God.
Origin of Icon
On Sunday, October 1 of the year 911, St. Andrew the Fool for Christ and his disciple Epiphanius had a vision in the Church of the Blachernae in Constantinople. The Mother of God escorted by St. John the Forerunner and St. John the Beloved Diciple entered into the Church. She stopped at the ambo where she knelt and prayed fervently. She then proceeded to the altar where she prayed again, then removed her veil and spread it out as a sign of protection of the City.
Description of this Pokrov Icon
This exquisite antique icon is in the Heritage Center of the Eparchy of Passaic. The Mother of God is in the center of the icon with her veil spread out as a symbol of her motherly protection of the city, and her arms raised in the “orans” posture, the prayer posture of the early Christians. Above her is Jesus Christ blessing with his right hand and holding a book in his left hand.
Starting from the center of the icon and moving outwards to our left, in the middle row, St. Michael the Archangel is closest to the Theotokos, then St. John the Forerunner (the Baptizer), then St. Peter the Apostle, St. Paul the Apostle. Above St. Michael is St. Uriel the Archangel, and next to him is St. Basil the Great, then St. Gregory the Theologian, and St. John Chrysostom (not the usual portrayal of him).
Starting from the center of the icon and moving outwards to our right, in the middle row are St. Gabriel the Archangel, St. John the Theologian (the Evangelist and Beloved Disciple), St. James the Apostle, and the Holy Prophet Elijah. Above St. Gabriel is St. Barachiel the Archangel, then the Monks St. Zosimus, St. Savvaty, and St. Sergei.
On the bottom row, St. Romanos the Melodist is in the center of the icon. Moving outwards to our left, the one closest to St. Romanos is the Patriarch St. Gennadius, then Emperor Leo the Wise and his wife Zoë.
Moving in the other direction from the center next to St. Romanos is St. Andrew the Fool for Christ pointing to the Theotokos for the benefit of St. Epiphanios his disciple. Finally, in the lower corner of the icon is the Mother of God appearing to St. Romanos on his sick bed, bringing him healing and his vocation as a songwriter.
NEW: NEW DIRECTIVES AS OF MARCH 31
Read Letter from Bishop Kurt Below
Pandemic - New Changes March 31, 2020
Updated Decree From Bishop Kurt Regarding the Corona Virus
Please read complete letter from Bishop Kurt regarding the COVID-19 by clicking below
You can now give to weekly offering on line.
Please follow the link or or go to the giving page.
A New Tab Has been Added --Live Stream List
which will display parishes that will be live streaming Divine Liturgy this
Sunday, and Sundays going forward untill the current situation returns to normal
The Divine Liturgy is now being celebrated in Brooklyn, New York!
Sundays at 8:00 a.m. at:
Saint Margaret Mary Roman Catholic Church
215 Exeter Street
Brooklyn, New York 11235
Come, pray with us and see our growing community!
For more information please contact Father Iaroslav Korostil
570-507-4483
A Byzantine Catholic community is forming at St. Philip Neri RC Church, 292 Munn Road, Fort Mill, South Carolina (about a half hour drive from Charlotte, North Carolina). Please join us as we grow our community and celebrate together the Byzantine Divine Liturgy.
Father Steven Galuschik of All Saints Byzantine Catholic Church in North Fort Myers, Florida began celebrating the Divine Liturgy with the community at the end of October, 2017. This community will serve the northern part of South Carolina as well as Charlotte, North Carolina.
Please share this information with your friends and family, especially those who have moved "down South." The Divine Liturgy is celebrated on Saturdays at 4:00 p.m. If you would like to participate in any way, or have questions please contact Ron Somich at 440-477-6389 or at ron.somich@gmail.com or visit the website at https://carolinabyzantine.com for news, upcoming gatherings and service times.
For a limited time, click above to preview
the Eparchy of Passaic's new Publication "Come and See"
Copies of the book are availlable from you pastor or by
contacting the Director Of Eastern Christian Formation at
direcf@eparchyofpassaic.com