Monachos.net eNewsletter - 17 February / 2 March 2011

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Monachos.net eNewsletter

Wednesday, 17th February / 2 March 2011

St Hermogenes of Moscow; St Mariamni

Greetings to subscribers of our occasional eNewsletter. As we are in the midst of the final week before the start of Great Lent, Monachos.net has expanded and added to its materials for pre-Lent and Lent in order to provide additional resources for those wishing to focus more deeply on the theology and practice of the Fast. Among the more recent additions to Monachos.net are the following:

Updated resources for Great Lent 2011:

For many years, Monachos.net has maintained an extensive collection of resources for Great Lent. This year, our Great Lent Resources Area has been updated and expanded -- and will continue to be expanded with new materials throughout the Fast. Visit to find services from the Triodion, patristic texts relating to Lenten themes, reflections on days and themes in the Fast, Scriptural readings, a patristic reading plan for every day of the Fast, prayers, and much, much more. Check back throughout the Fast for new materials added weekly.

Two new resources for Forgiveness Sunday:

 

In anticipation of the forthcoming Sunday of Forgiveness - the final of the preparatory Sundays before Great Lent - we have published to the Great Lent Resources Area two new documents: firstly, a selection of quotations from the Fathers on Forgiveness, containing brief sayings and passages from the Church Fathers, patristic-era writers, and some more recent Orthodox Saints on the nature and need of forgiveness. Secondly, a text by Fr Alexander Schmemann on Forgiveness Sunday: 'Neither will your Father forgive you...'. This reflection on the rite of forgiveness for Forgiveness Sunday, speaks to the need to seek mutual repentance, and reflects on the question of why this action is required, 'even if I don't have any enemies.' These are in addition to numerous resources for Forgiveness Sunday already in the area, including the services from the Triodion, as well as pastoral reflections.

A selection of Pre-Lenten homilies:

 

As the Sunday of Zacchaeus marked the threshold of the Orthodox Church's entrance into the pre-Lenten weeks of the Triodion, we added three patristic homilies to our collection of pre-Lenten materials. These are: homilies by St Cyril of Alexandria on the Publican and Pharisee, as well as the Prodigal Son; and a discourse by St Gregory Palamas on the Publican and Pharisee.

Three homilies by St Nikolai the Serb (Velimirovich):

 

We have also recently published to the patristic texts library a document containing three homilies on the Theotokos by St Nikolai (Velimirovich). The newly-glorified (2003) St Nikolai is one of the great luminaries of the Serbian Orthodox Church of the 19th and 20th centuries, and a voice that brings the living tradition of the patristic heritage into full dialogue with the modern world. In the three brief homilies gathered here, St Nikolai addresses what he calls the 'Gospel of the Theotokos': that is, her precious witness to all Christians of the life lived in Christ. These new homilies compliment two large texts by St Nikolai already on-line on Monachos.net: his The New Ideal in Education, and The Agony of the Church.

The Monachos.net Discussion Community - 2010 'Best Forum' on the Orthodox Internet

We were happy to learn that Monachos.net's Discussion Community forum has, for the second year running, won the 'Best Forum' award from Eastern Christian New Media Awards - an annual awards series for the best in Eastern Christian internet resources, based on user-nominated sites put before a general public vote. The Monachos.net Discussion Community forum has won this title both years that it has been offered as a category in the awards.
We're very grateful to all the many participants who take part in the forum, making it the success that it is. If you've not yet visited the Discussion Community, do so now and take part in the thousands of discussion threads on Orthodoxy through patristic, monastic and liturgical study - and see what makes it a very different kind of on-line Orthodox discussion community!

Finally, a reminder that you can be kept even more current as to updates on Monachos.net by subscribing to our What's New RSS feed, which can send updates directly to any RSS feed reader you may use - including your web reader, phone app, or other device. You can also visit the What's New Page at any time for the latest updates and news.