St Irene Orthodox mission centre Kenya was started in may 2010 by Fr Constantino's Eliud and his presbytera Triza. Our mission has played big role in spreading the Orthodox faith in this community. Find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/eliud.muthiru.5
Friday 14 April 2017
Monday 10 April 2017
Q:In that case,though,why do some Orthodox churches celebrate Western Christmas?
A:All Churches celebrate Christmas as a fixed feast and all (apart from Armenian Church) hold it on 25 December.However,since the Russian Orthodox Church,the Serbian Orthodox Church,the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Georgian Orthodox Church follow the Julian calendar,they celebrate Christmas on what,under the Gregorian calendar ,is 7 January.The Greek Orthodox Church,the Bulgarian Church,the Antioch and Alexandria Patriarchates and the Romanian Orthodox Church follow the Gregorian calendar(except with the respect to the calculation of Easter),and celebrate Christmas at the same time as the Western churches.Only the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Christmas on its original date of 6 January and the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord on the same day.
A:All Churches celebrate Christmas as a fixed feast and all (apart from Armenian Church) hold it on 25 December.However,since the Russian Orthodox Church,the Serbian Orthodox Church,the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Georgian Orthodox Church follow the Julian calendar,they celebrate Christmas on what,under the Gregorian calendar ,is 7 January.The Greek Orthodox Church,the Bulgarian Church,the Antioch and Alexandria Patriarchates and the Romanian Orthodox Church follow the Gregorian calendar(except with the respect to the calculation of Easter),and celebrate Christmas at the same time as the Western churches.Only the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Christmas on its original date of 6 January and the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord on the same day.
Q:This year (2017),both Easters are on the same date.When does this happen?
A:The two dates coincide when the full moon following the equinox comes so late that it counts as the first full moon after 21 March in the Julian calendar as well as Gregorian .This is not a regular occurrence,but it has happened more frequently in recent years-in 2001,2004,2007,2010,2014and this year 2017,but after this,not again until 2034.
A:The two dates coincide when the full moon following the equinox comes so late that it counts as the first full moon after 21 March in the Julian calendar as well as Gregorian .This is not a regular occurrence,but it has happened more frequently in recent years-in 2001,2004,2007,2010,2014and this year 2017,but after this,not again until 2034.
Q.So are the two dates always two weeks apart?
A;No.The gap between the two Easters is different every year.It can be as much as five weeks.Besides the fact that the dates of vernal equinox lie 13 days apart,we also have to consider when the full moon falls.So ,if the full moon falls within the 13 days between the Gregorian and Julian equinoxes,Orthodox Easter will be later.There is another complication here,which is that,alongside the equinox,the sun and moon have a part to play as well.Under the Julian calendar,the full moon is calculated using the so-called Metonic cycle(a 19-year cycle under which the phases of the moon fall on the same date every 19 years). However,this calculation is not astronomically accurate either,so it,too,leads to the dates shifting out of place.When this is added to the discrepancy between the Julian and Gregorian equinoxes,it can lead to a difference of up to five weeks between the Orthodox and Western dates of Easter.The Nicaea ruling contains one other provision that is extremely important for the The Orthodox churches.It states that Easter should not be celebrated "with"(Greek "meta")the Jews. Todays theologians are no longer entirely certain what was meant by this,but Orthodox Easter still cannot fall on the same day as Passover.If it does,it is postponed by a week.
A;No.The gap between the two Easters is different every year.It can be as much as five weeks.Besides the fact that the dates of vernal equinox lie 13 days apart,we also have to consider when the full moon falls.So ,if the full moon falls within the 13 days between the Gregorian and Julian equinoxes,Orthodox Easter will be later.There is another complication here,which is that,alongside the equinox,the sun and moon have a part to play as well.Under the Julian calendar,the full moon is calculated using the so-called Metonic cycle(a 19-year cycle under which the phases of the moon fall on the same date every 19 years). However,this calculation is not astronomically accurate either,so it,too,leads to the dates shifting out of place.When this is added to the discrepancy between the Julian and Gregorian equinoxes,it can lead to a difference of up to five weeks between the Orthodox and Western dates of Easter.The Nicaea ruling contains one other provision that is extremely important for the The Orthodox churches.It states that Easter should not be celebrated "with"(Greek "meta")the Jews. Todays theologians are no longer entirely certain what was meant by this,but Orthodox Easter still cannot fall on the same day as Passover.If it does,it is postponed by a week.
Julian and Gregorian Calendar
Q.what is the difference between the Julian and Gregorian Calendars
A.The difference between the two calendars lies precisely in how they resolve this problem.The Julian calendar solution was to add a leap day every four hours ,with the end result that the Julian calendar year was an average of 11 minutes and 14 seconds longer than the earths actual journey around the sun .This meant that the astronomical facts and the calendar calculations would eventually be out by one day in every 128 years.The real equinox for instance ,would then happen one day earlier than the date given on the calendar.The Gregorian calendar attempted to correct this by shortening the average calendar year.it introduced the additional rule that ,in contrast to the Julian calendar leap-year in years ,the Gregorian calendar comes closer to astronomical reality-although it,too is not exact but the difference between the facts of the astronomy and the calendar
A.The difference between the two calendars lies precisely in how they resolve this problem.The Julian calendar solution was to add a leap day every four hours ,with the end result that the Julian calendar year was an average of 11 minutes and 14 seconds longer than the earths actual journey around the sun .This meant that the astronomical facts and the calendar calculations would eventually be out by one day in every 128 years.The real equinox for instance ,would then happen one day earlier than the date given on the calendar.The Gregorian calendar attempted to correct this by shortening the average calendar year.it introduced the additional rule that ,in contrast to the Julian calendar leap-year in years ,the Gregorian calendar comes closer to astronomical reality-although it,too is not exact but the difference between the facts of the astronomy and the calendar
Friday 7 April 2017
Q.Why did the Gregorian calendar reform at all ?Was it necessary ?
A.The calender reform established by Pope Gregory X111 was necessary because of the Julian calender used in those days had begun to rag behind astronomical reality-which is to say that by the time 21 March came around on the calendar,the actual,astronomical vernal equinox had already happened.The fundamental problem behind this is that the astronomical year-that is,the time the earth takes to make its journey round the sun -is not exactly 365 days;it is actually 365 days,five hours ,48 minutes and 46 seconds.However,as the year has to be divided into equal portions for practical purposes leap years have to be introduced to resolve the problem
A.The calender reform established by Pope Gregory X111 was necessary because of the Julian calender used in those days had begun to rag behind astronomical reality-which is to say that by the time 21 March came around on the calendar,the actual,astronomical vernal equinox had already happened.The fundamental problem behind this is that the astronomical year-that is,the time the earth takes to make its journey round the sun -is not exactly 365 days;it is actually 365 days,five hours ,48 minutes and 46 seconds.However,as the year has to be divided into equal portions for practical purposes leap years have to be introduced to resolve the problem
EASTER DATES
Q.So how is the date of Easter calculated?
A.The council of Nicaea established that the date of Easter wouuld be the 1st Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox.
Q. Why,then despite the universal rule laid down at Nicaea,to different parts of the church still celebrate Christs resurrection at different dates?
A.The first thing to remember is that even after the council of Nicaea,differences in the date of Easter remained ,since the council had said nothing about the methods to be used to calculte the timing of the full moon or the vernal equinox.But the real problem behind the situation we have today arose in the 16th century,when the Julian calendar,which had been established in 46BC,was superseded by the Gregorian calendar.It took some time for new calendar to be adopted by all countries(it did not happen in Greece until the start of 20th century).However the Orthodox churches still use the Julian calendar to this day to calculate the vernal equinox and the full moon that follows it.This is why they calculate a different date.
A.The council of Nicaea established that the date of Easter wouuld be the 1st Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox.
Q. Why,then despite the universal rule laid down at Nicaea,to different parts of the church still celebrate Christs resurrection at different dates?
A.The first thing to remember is that even after the council of Nicaea,differences in the date of Easter remained ,since the council had said nothing about the methods to be used to calculte the timing of the full moon or the vernal equinox.But the real problem behind the situation we have today arose in the 16th century,when the Julian calendar,which had been established in 46BC,was superseded by the Gregorian calendar.It took some time for new calendar to be adopted by all countries(it did not happen in Greece until the start of 20th century).However the Orthodox churches still use the Julian calendar to this day to calculate the vernal equinox and the full moon that follows it.This is why they calculate a different date.
WHY EASTER DATES CHANGES
1.Why is not Easter on the same date every year like Christmas for instance?
answer
in the 4th century it was decided that Easter would fall after the first full moon following the vernal or spring equinox.(The equinox is a day in the year on which daytime and night-time are of equal length).This happens twice a year ,once in spring and once in autumn.
We know from the New Testament that Jesus death and rssurection happened around the time of the Jewish feast of passover.According to Matthew, Mark and Lukes Gospels, the last meal jesus shared with his disciples was a passsover meal,while johns gospel says that jesus died on the feast of passover itself.in those days the jews celebrated passover on the 14th day of the first month,in accordance to the bible commands(see Lev 23;5, Num28;16 and Josh5;11).
The months of the Jewish calendar each began at new moon,so the 14th day would the day of the full moon. The first month,Nisan,was the month that began from the spring new moon.In other words, the Passover was celebrated on the first full moon following the vernal equinox and was ttherefore a moveable feast.
Early sources tell us that this very soon led to Christians in different parts of the world celebrating Easter on different dates. As early as the end of the 2nd century , some churches were celebrating Easter on the day of passover itself,whether it was Sunday or not,while others would celebrate it on the Sunday that followed it.By the end of 4th century there were f1our different methods of calculating the date of Easter.In the year 325, the council of Nicaea attempted to bring in unified solution that would retain the link with the date of passover as celebrated in Jesus time.Eventually,therefore,Easters date was established as moveable.
1.Why is not Easter on the same date every year like Christmas for instance?
answer
in the 4th century it was decided that Easter would fall after the first full moon following the vernal or spring equinox.(The equinox is a day in the year on which daytime and night-time are of equal length).This happens twice a year ,once in spring and once in autumn.
We know from the New Testament that Jesus death and rssurection happened around the time of the Jewish feast of passover.According to Matthew, Mark and Lukes Gospels, the last meal jesus shared with his disciples was a passsover meal,while johns gospel says that jesus died on the feast of passover itself.in those days the jews celebrated passover on the 14th day of the first month,in accordance to the bible commands(see Lev 23;5, Num28;16 and Josh5;11).
The months of the Jewish calendar each began at new moon,so the 14th day would the day of the full moon. The first month,Nisan,was the month that began from the spring new moon.In other words, the Passover was celebrated on the first full moon following the vernal equinox and was ttherefore a moveable feast.
Early sources tell us that this very soon led to Christians in different parts of the world celebrating Easter on different dates. As early as the end of the 2nd century , some churches were celebrating Easter on the day of passover itself,whether it was Sunday or not,while others would celebrate it on the Sunday that followed it.By the end of 4th century there were f1our different methods of calculating the date of Easter.In the year 325, the council of Nicaea attempted to bring in unified solution that would retain the link with the date of passover as celebrated in Jesus time.Eventually,therefore,Easters date was established as moveable.
Monday 3 April 2017
ABOUT US
St Irene helps 96 children suffering from spiritual ,economic,social and physical poverty.Some of the
children live with sick parents and elderly guardians who are physically and sexually abusive.
WHAT WE OFFER
FOOD
The 112 children eat in the mission centre at breakfast,lunch,and supper.
we consider balance diet when serving food to our children to avoid malnutrition
HEALTH CARE
From time to time we invite the health workers who assess our children against out break of diseases
Some of the children survive under medication .Most of the time they are in and out for hospital because of their health status
SHELTER/CHILD CARE
The children live with .caregivers in the mission centre,we buy them food and clothes.
EDUCATION
Since education is the key to life ,we empower all these children with education from baby class and hopes to continue tertiary level if we get resources
Our aim is to develop a holistic child who would be self-reliant in future and also somebody who would be of importance to our mission center in future,as a teacher,caregiver or administrator
SPIRITUAL GROWTH /GUIDANCE
We teach catechism to all these children on orthodox faith twice a week and conduct DIVINE LITURGY every Sunday to ensure they grow spiritually as well as mentally.
PHYSICAL ADDRESS
St Irene orthodox mission centre Kenya is situated along Njabini-Engineer road Kanyawa center in Nyandarua County
St Irene Orthodox Mission Center
P.O Box 136-20319
South Kinangop
Email;frconstah1@gmail.com
children live with sick parents and elderly guardians who are physically and sexually abusive.
WHAT WE OFFER
FOOD
The 112 children eat in the mission centre at breakfast,lunch,and supper.
we consider balance diet when serving food to our children to avoid malnutrition
HEALTH CARE
From time to time we invite the health workers who assess our children against out break of diseases
Some of the children survive under medication .Most of the time they are in and out for hospital because of their health status
SHELTER/CHILD CARE
The children live with .caregivers in the mission centre,we buy them food and clothes.
EDUCATION
Since education is the key to life ,we empower all these children with education from baby class and hopes to continue tertiary level if we get resources
Our aim is to develop a holistic child who would be self-reliant in future and also somebody who would be of importance to our mission center in future,as a teacher,caregiver or administrator
SPIRITUAL GROWTH /GUIDANCE
We teach catechism to all these children on orthodox faith twice a week and conduct DIVINE LITURGY every Sunday to ensure they grow spiritually as well as mentally.
PHYSICAL ADDRESS
St Irene orthodox mission centre Kenya is situated along Njabini-Engineer road Kanyawa center in Nyandarua County
St Irene Orthodox Mission Center
P.O Box 136-20319
South Kinangop
Email;frconstah1@gmail.com
Greetings
Saturday 1 April 2017
St. Irene Orthodox Mission
Our mission has played big role in spreading the Orthodox faith in this community.
The mission started from scratch. We rented a room that served as a Church and a catechitical class.
I joined the Makarios 111 seminary in the September the same year. Since my wife is a trained teacher was the one responsible during this period of three years.
By the grace of God and intervention of my spiritual father now His Grace Bishop Neophytos I was ordained into deaconate.
December the same year was ordained into priesthood and given the name Fr Constantino's.
Glory to God was able to execute my duties of administering the sacraments most especially Baptism and Holy Eucharist.
In the mission centre we offer basic education and feeding programme to orphans and other vulnerable children sponsored by people of goodwill.
I humbly request wellwishers both local and abroad to support these children for them to feel worthy in the community too.
Our bank details:
Name: Eliud Muthiru Njuguna
A/c no:1177968940
Bank: KCB
Swift code: KCBLKENX
Motto: Education for All
Mission: proclaim Christ gospel, teaching and spreading the orthodox faith.
Email Address: FrConstah1@gmail.com
Contacts:0254-0727-916-715.
DONATE FOR OUR MISSION
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