Hodos Eatho (Consecration of the Church)- Nov. 9th, 2008

Last week, our Holy Orthodox Church, celebrated the feast of Kudosh Eatho (sanctification of church) and now this week our church celebrates the feast of Hodos Eatho(consecration of the church). Consecration means to dedicate something. The Holy church is living and is the house of God. Christ is the head of the church and we make up the body. Therefore, by saying church, it is understood that we the faithful make up this church. Hence, this sanctification and dedication of the church is not merely for the physical structure of the church, but mainly for the benefit of the components that make up this holy church; for the faithful.

A structural building becomes the holy house of God only after its consecration. Similarly, we humans become Christians after we consecrate ourselves to God. As we've entered into a new ecclesiastical year and as we eagerly await the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, it is important that we look back at our faults, try to correct them, sanctify ourselves, once again confirm our faith, and dedicate ourselves to the will of God.

During the next few Sundays, the Evangelion reading will be about the events taking place before the birth of Christ. They include:

Annunciation to Zachariah
Annunciation to Virgin Mary
Birth of St. John the Baptist
Revelation to Joseph

As our holy church forefathers have taught us, please take this time to sanctify and consecrate the holy church of God.

With Prayers,
Dn. Belson Kuriakose
St. Mary's SOC, Lynbrook, New York