(I think this is the correct forum for this post,)

Can anybody explain or even guess why this took more than 5 weeks to surface?

Also, do I need to renew the certificate, and if so, how do I go about it?

Thanks.

Artie, nothing for you to do except be patient.

This is Verizon failing to renew their mail server's certificate before it expired.

Thanks, David.

I realized what happened, but I wasn't certain if the renewal process updates my deuced Mac(hina) unilaterally or I've got to take action on my end.

It sounds like you're saying that when Verizon gets their act together my certificate will be updated from their end.

And I still don't understand why OS X took more than 5 weeks to realize that the certificate had expired.

Best guess is a screwup at Verizon resulted in the expired certificate being re-installed. Maybe a reload from backup for some reason or other. In the intervening six weeks they have been using a renewed certificate.

Hmmm... I've checked the "Always trust...." box, but I guess I'll keep my eyes open for a while to see what happens.

Thanks.