Blog Posts
The first in our new series of pilgrimage stories comes from Bess Crider:
At Bethany in the Holy Land, I felt the knowledge of Jesus Christ move from my head to my heart.
I have been a Christian most of my life, actively pursuing a faith that is real, sincere, earnest, honest, and true. I became Orthodox in 1998 at age 41 and continued my faith journey.
Blessed Elevation of the Cross to everyone who celebrated on September 14 and to everyone who will celebrate on September 27!
Lord, save Your people and bless Your inheritance. Grant victories to us over our adversaries and, by virtue of Your Cross, preserve Your habitation.
“Why should I pray to Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg for help?” I asked my persistent friend, Ginny, as we chatted on our cell phones. “After all, she was homeless—like me! Why should she care if I get a home?”
It was an oddball phone call. I’d been living with various family members for eight months after becoming widowed and selling my home in Connecticut during the real estate boom of 2021, and I was tired of living out of a suitcase, and even more tired of disrupting the lives of my children and siblings. I had sought housing out West in an effort to be nearer to my sons and grandchildren, but the high cost of living had deterred me, and the intermittent wildfires and smoke had spooked me.
The liturgical year in the Orthodox Church begins on September 1st. And if you are on the new calendar, today is the day!
Happy New Year from Axia!
(detail, Eye of Providence icon, from Mount Athos Gifts / Etsy)
August 27 (NC) is a time when some people’s thoughts turn to baking.
We are working on something exciting… women’s prayer walks! They are still in the pilot stage, but they will be quiet, contemplative events for Orthodox women. More to come!
From author, theologian, professor--and recent Axia webinar presenter--Carrie Frederick Frost:
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I wanted to write in the wake of the Axia blog posts about my book.
My experience of this book was not that it wrote itself—it was not easy to write it—but that I had to write it; I was compelled to write it because I love my church and I felt that the issues laid out in the book were not being comprehensively addressed elsewhere. I felt that one book on women in the Orthodox church that clearly laid out the situation was needed.