Orthodox votive oak in Jableczna, Podlaskie, Poland.

The cave of Agia Sofia of Mylopotamos is one of three caves with the same name in Kythira. The other two are located in Agia Pelagia and Kalamos. The name of the cave is a reference to the worship of Agia Sofia Martyros. According to a different story, the caves with this name were dedicated to God’s Wisdom (Sofia) (like the Haggia Sophia in Constantinople) and with time, this name came to be recognized as that of the Saint of the Orthodox Church. It is on the western coast, in the Kokkala port, 60 meters above sea level. It was famous from the 18th century, according to foreign travelers but until 1930 no research was conducted. The famous Kitherian spelaeologist Ioannis Petrocheilos, a teacher of physics in the Kythira Gymnasium, explored the cave and published writings about it. In 1955, after the death of Ioannis Petrocheilos, the cave was again explored by his wife Anna. A detailed study was then published. In 1970, in memory of her husband, she decided to make the cave of Agia Sofia a tourist site, map it in detail and rewrite the previous study. The cave is not fully arranged and still bears its natural characteristics. The adornment of the cave of Agia Sofia immediately catches the visitor’s eye. It has impressive natural black, white, and red, colors, which are a result of the rock evolution in the cave. Its rooms are generally spacy and in certain cases, their height reaches seven meters. This allows visitors to feel at ease since there is no lack of air or space.

Very rare icon. In heart, Mentally turned

Rarest Byzantine Icon. The Virgin Pelagonitissa Orthodox icon of Theotokos "of The Sea", "Pelagonitissa", icon of early 15th cent.

Rarest Icon. If someone knows the details about this icon. Please write in the comments:

Mother of God Eleousa (Amolintos), Crete, second half 15th century Mother of God Eleousa (Amolintos), Crete, second half 15th century against a gold background, the Virgin wearing a dark purple maphorion decorated with gold, holding the Christ Child with both arms, her head inclining deeply towards him, their faces gently touching each other, Christ throwing his head backwards looking up towards his mother and holding a closed scroll with both hands, his left leg bare from the knee downwards Although the icon is of only small size, it makes a strong impression on the viewer. The sophisticated execution of the highly refined painting and the powerful composition as well as the deeply inclining head of the Mother of God, reveals the hand of an excellent master. This particular iconographic type of the Virgin of Tenderness, with the characteristic detail of Christ's prominent bare left leg, was established by Cretan workshops after a Palaiologan model and was reproduced in the 15th century in a number of icons, among them icons attributed to Angelos and Andreas Ritzos.

John 14:23, NIV: "Jesus replied, 'Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them." One of the disciples has asked Jesus what it means that He will "manifest" to them, and not to the world (John 14:22). Prior to this, Jesus had mentioned how the world would no longer see Him (John 14:19–21). In that statement, Jesus tied together the ideas of love and obedience. His essential statement was that those who love Christ obey Christ (John 14:15). Here, Jesus repeats that idea, specifically as an answer to the question asked in the prior verse. Believers love Christ, and have the Holy Spirit, therefore they follow His commands (John 14:16–18). This is what allows them to "see" God, and to know Christ (John 14:19–21). Deeper love for Christ opens us to deeper understanding of Him and His will (John 14:28). This verse deepens the idea of the Holy Spirit "living inside" someone. It also reiterates the idea of the Trinity: that God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are equally God and identical in nature. This follows earlier statements where Jesus claimed to be "the" truth (John 14:6), and referred to the Holy Spirit as the "Spirit of truth" (John 14:17). He also claimed that to see Him was to see God (John 14:9) and that He and the Father were united (John 14:11). In this statement, Jesus explicitly says "we will come…make our home" within a believer. This also echoes the idea of God as three persons in a single being. Jesus includes a word translated as "home," which is the same word used in John 14:2, referring to "dwelling places" or "rooms."

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. 🙏🙏🙏

The Day of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God (also known as The Theotokos of Tikhvin) is celebrated on July 9. This day one of the most revered shrines of the Orthodox world. For example, Yakov Berednikov in his book of 1859. tells: “During the pious Power of Grand Duke Dmitry Ioannovich Donskoy fishers, engaged in catches in the abyss of the Nevo Lake (Ladoga), Suddenly were illuminated by extraordinary brilliance. With confusion and fright, they looked at the sky and saw the icon of the Blessed Virgin in a dazzling radiance, quietly coursing over the waters. Amazed by this inexplicable vision, they with a heartfelt trembling followed with a look and a thought for her procession, but soon its miraculous wraith was hidden from their eyes. In this place, in a reverent memory of the marvelous standing of the icon of Our Lady in the atmosphere, during one hour the orthodox people built a wooden chapel, and then it was replaced with a stone one and dedicated to the manifestations of the of Tikhvin icon of the Mother of God.”

Orthodox Prayer to the Holy Cross (Let God Arise) Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered; and let those who hate Him flee from His face. As smoke vanishes, let them vanish; and as wax melts from the presence of fire, so let the demons perish from the presence of those who love God and who sign themselves with the Sign of the Cross and say with gladness: Hail, most precious and life-giving Cross of the Lord, for Thou drivest away the demons by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ Who was crucified on thee, went down to hell and trampled on the power of the devil, and gave us thee, His honorable Cross, for driving away all enemies. O most precious and life-giving Cross of the Lord, help me with our holy Lady, the Virgin Theotokos, and with all the Saints throughout the ages. Amen. #OrthodoxPrayertotheHolyCross #PrayertotheHolyCross #PrayertotheCross #LetGodArise #Prayer

Christ Pantocrator #Christ #Pantocrator #ChristPantocrator #ChristPantocrator #woodpanel #Byzantineicon #Christdressed #Christhand #Christsdualnature

Christ Pantocrator Christ Pantocrator is a painted wood panel dating back to the 6th century from St. Catherine’s Monastery located in Sinai, Egypt. This painting is considered one of the oldest Byzantine religious icons and is the earliest known work of the pantocrator style (Lowden, 66). The painted panel stands at 84 cm height with a width of 45.5 cm and a depth of 1.2cm (Weitzmann, 13) The painting is believed to have been larger originally, but was cut down on the top and sides at some point, for reasons unknown, to produce the dimensions that we now have (Weitzmann,13). Here Christ is shown dressed in a purple robe— a color commonly chosen to represent those of imperial status and royalty. This choice of color for his robe is symbolic of his status and importance. Christ is depicted raising his left hand to make the sign of a blessing and with his right he holds onto a book. We can assume this book is most likely a Gospel because it is adorned in jewels in the shape of a cross. The painting is deliberately asymmetrical to symbolize Christ’s dual nature (Weitzmann, 15). Christ’s left side is symbolic of his human nature with his features depicted as much softer and light (Weitzmann, 15). Whereas Christ’s right side is symbolic of his divinity with his stern look and intense features (Weitzmann, 15). The eyes themselves are different in shape and size as well as the hair on his left side is swept behind his shoulder (Tour Egypt). #Christ #Pantocrator #ChristPantocrator #ChristPantocrator #woodpanel #Byzantineicon #Christdressed #Christhand #Christsdualnature