What's New on Monachos.net
Use this page to keep up to date with the newest changes and additions to the Monachos.net web site and all its sub-areas. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for this page in your favourite Feed Reader (e.g. Google Reader), in order to receive live updates of every new addition. If you would like instructions on how to configure your Feed Reader to receive updates from this link, please click here. You can also add this What's New feed to your Google Homepage or Google Reader by clicking here: 
Two early documents on the Feast of the Dormition
02 September 2010
We have today added two documents that will be of value to those interested in studying the histories of the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God - a feast for which we have of late been publishing various documents. The first is a document from the apocryphal documents of the New Testament era: Pseudo-John the Theologian's Concerning the Falling Asleep of the Mother of God. A pseudepigraphic text of the fifth or sixth century, this document provides an interesting glimpse into some of the variations in the Dormition tradition that were in circulation in the early period (this text being an example of the 'Bethlehem tradition'), that were known to the Fathers of the Church yet not incorporated into the ongoing liturgical testimony of the feast by reason of their variation from its core details.
Similarly, we have added Theodosius of Alexandria's Discourse on the Falling Asleep of the Mother of God. This late sixth-century text bears witness to the development of the feast within the Coptic milieu, where formerly the commemoration of the dormition was kept separately from that of the bodily assumption of the Virgin, but in Theodosius' day had come together. This is thus a fascinating historical document, as well as a textual insight into some of the common themes between broader Orthodox liturgical life, and the widening gulf with miaphysite contexts (Theodosius himself was at first recognised by the Eastern Orthodox, though later rejected).
Monachos.net turns 10 years old
01 September 2010
On 1st September 2010, Monachos.net celebrated its tenth anniversary on-line. We are delighted to have been able to provide resources on Orthodoxy through its patristic, monastic and liturgical heritage for the past decade, and look forward to the years ahead.
Click here for a letter on our 10th anniversary.
Hymnography for the Dormition of the Mother of God, including the Burial Service
30 August 2010
We have added the
full hymnography for the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos to our collection of liturgical texts and rubrics, including both canons and readings. Additionally, we have added the texts of the
rite of the Burial of the Theotokos, including the lamentations before the shroud (epitaphios) of the Mother of God, which is included in some places as part of the All-Night Vigil for the Feast.
Protoevangelium and materials on the Theotokos
06 March 2010
Following from requests emerging out of
an ongoing thread in the Discussion Community, we have published on-line three texts relating to the patristic veneration of the Theotokos. The first is the second-century
Protoevangelium of James (also known as the 'Protoevangelion', the 'Gospel of James', and the 'Infancy Gospel of James'), which is one of our earliest documents on the life of the Mother of God, and one of the key texts that informs the festal hymnography of her feasts in the Orthodox Church. Second is an
homily by St Gregory Palamas on the entry of the Theotokos into the Holy of Holies, given on the Feast of the Entry of the Theotokos (21st Nov.), and dwelling upon her residing in the Most Holy Place, as recounted in the Protoevangelion and festal hymns. Finally, an
homily by St Andrew of Crete on the Nativity of the Theotokos, which also considers materials from the Protoevangelion and festal hymnography.
Three homilies by St John of Damascus on the Dormition
01 September 2010
We have added to the patristic texts library three homilies on the Dormition of the Mother of God by St John of Damascus (c. 676–749). These homilies form an important and revealing reflection on the falling asleep of the Theotokos, and how this feast is connected to her birth, entry into the Temple, life and service to God. "O how does the source of life pass through death to life? O how can she obey the law of nature, who, in conceiving, surpasses the boundaries of nature? How is her spotless body made subject to death? In order to be clothed with immortality she must first put off mortality, since the Lord of nature did not reject the penalty of death..." Click here for homily 1, homily 2, and homily 3.
Reflection on the Feast of Sts Peter and Paul
07 August 2010
We have added to the Liturgical Reflections section
a reflection on the Feast of Sts Peter and Paul, examining its centrality to the liturgical and ascetical cycle of the Orthodox Church. Why is this Feast, with its intrinsically personal nature, given such prominence in the universal life of the Church? The text is also available
in Russian.
A patristic reading plan for Great Lent
26 February 2010
Today we have published a
day-by-day patristic Lenten reading plan, designed to provide readers with a forty-day guide for reading in the early Church Fathers during the period of Great Lent. Two versions of the plan are provided (one with longer readings each day, one with shorter), which provide key texts from the early Fathers on themes related to the Lenten ascesis and preparation for Holy Pascha. Texts are linked through the plans, so the texts can easily be read on-line each day. In this way the period of Great Lent may be a time of more intentional immersion in the writings of the patristic heritage.
'The Cup of Christ' by St Ignatius (Brianchaninov)
23 February 2010
We have today published an important text by St Ignatius (Brianchaninov), entitled The
Cup of Christ. This remarkable text is a sustained reflection on Christ's 'cup' as that suffering He received from the Father, and how all Christians are called to partake of this Cup of suffering in this life in a proper spirit of willingness and joy. Especially in the season of Great Lent, this writing from a modern-day Father of the Church is of critical importance.
