“Greek Orthodox Christian Church - Birmingham, Alabama”

Photography Credits: Beth Hontzas - Music: Presbytera Katerina Makiej






Sunday - Myrhh Bearing Women

The Body is for Communion
April 30, 2023

- Fr. Gregory Edwards, Ph.D -


Today, on the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women, the Gospel comes to us from Mark 15:43-47:16:1-8. It narrates women whose love for Jesus brings them early in the morning to His tomb to anoint His body. They say, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?" Father Gregory shares a message about the sacredness and intent of the body that God gives us. Some believe the body is unimportant and solely for our pleasure. Others believe the body is merely a shell for our soul and of little use. The body is sacred and deserves love. The Orthodox view is the body and soul; are joined at conception, and therefore the separation of the soul at death is unnatural. The body given by God is the crown of creation intended to bring it into communion with God. We must love the body and do as the Myrrh - Bearing Women but knowing that God alone removes the stones in our path.



The Rev. Fr. Gregory Edwards, Ph.D., was raised in Virginia and eastern Pennsylvania, and became a member of the Orthodox Church while studying for his Bachelor's degree ...[more]
“Greek Orthodox Christian Church - Birmingham, Alabama”

Photography Credits: Beth Hontzas - Music: Presbytera Katerina Makiej

Sunday Morning Divine Liturgy - 9:30

307 19th Street South, Birmingham, Alabama 35233 | Fr. Gregory Edwards, Dean | 205.716.3080





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The Rev. Fr. Gregory Edwards, Ph.D., was raised in Virginia and eastern Pennsylvania, and became a member of the Orthodox Church while studying for his Bachelor's degree in Religious Studies at Brown University. After completing a Master's Degree in the New Testament and early Christianity at Florida State University, he conducted doctoral studies in Greece at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, graduating summa cum laude in 2012. Ordained in 2007, he served parishes in Thessaloniki and Volos for 9 years. He and his wife Presvytera Pelagia lived in Greece from 2006-2016, where their four children were born. He has served as Assistant Professor of Missiology at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary in New York since 2014. Before coming to Birmingham in March 2019, Fr. Gregory served St. George Greek Orthodox Church in New Port Richey, FL from 2016-2019.