#eastern orthodox

“I confess to Thee, O Savior, the sins I have committed, the wounds of my soul and body, which murderous thoughts, like thieves, have inflicted inwardly upon me.”

—A Stichera from the First Ode of the Great Canon of Repentance by St. Andrew of Crete

“The Holy of Holies was a forbidden place because it was awaiting the Entry of the Virgin Mary, who became God’s real Temple and gave it greater honor. The Virgin was not honored by that inaccessible place, but the place was honored by the entrance of the Virgin who was to become Christ’s mother.”
—St. Nicholas Cabasilas

“It was not our fathers that told us, nor our elders that informed us, but we ourselves have seen the miracles that have taken place through thee; we ourselves have experienced the grace that doth pour forth from thee. Our loved ones were healed, they that were dying rose from bed in good health, our every petition was granted through thy prayer. Wherefore, we honor thee as a favorite of God and an intercessor before the Lord.”

Doxasticon from the Aposticha
Great Vespers for St. John of Kronstadt (+Oct 19/Nov 1)

+O Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke, pray to God for us!

“About the relics of St. Gervase and St. Protase, St. Ambrose relates how they were revealed to him. One night, two youths and an old man appeared to the wakeful Ambrose. He thought that the last was the Apostle Paul. While the young men kept silent, the old man told Ambrose that they were Christ’s martyrs, that their relics lay in the precise place in which Ambrose was at prayer, and that everything else about them could be learned from a little book that would be found in their grave. The next day, Ambrose recounted his vision, began to dig and indeed found the relics of two men, of whom it was learned from the discovered book that they were Gervase and Protase. In Ambrose’s presence, a blind man, Servirus, touched these holy relics and immediately received his sight.”

—The Prologue from Ochrid (A collection by St. Nikolai Velimirovic)

“Come, all ye who love God, and beholding the precious Cross uplifted, let us magnify it together and give glory to the one Deliverer and God, crying aloud: O Thou Who wast crucified on the wood of the Cross, disdain not us that pray to Thee!”

From Vespers to Sts. Sophia, Faith, Hope, and Love

Saint Dumitru Monastery, a Romanian Orthodox Monastery in New York by Anthony Falsarella (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Saint Dumitru Monastery, a Romanian Orthodox Monastery in New York by Anthony Falsarella (CC BY-NC 4.0)

“The Nine Angelic Orders - A Prayer of St. Basil the Great:

O Existing One, Master, Lord God! Thou art praised by

Angels,

Archangels,

Thrones,

Dominions,

Principalities,

Authorities,

Powers,

and many-eyed Cherubim.

Rounded about Thee stand the Seraphim, one with six wings and the other with six wings. With two they cover their faces, with two they cover their feet, and with two they fly, crying to one another with unceasing voices and ever-resounding  praises.”