Orthodox Christianity

Tuesday, December 3/16, 2025. 28th Week after Pentecost. Nativity Fast.

Wine and oil allowed.

Prophet Zephaniah (Sophonias) (635-605 b.c.). St. Sabbas, founder of Storozhev Monastery (Zvenigorod), disciple of St. Sergius of Radonezh (1407).

St. Theodulus, eparch of Constantinople (440). St. John the Silent, bishop of Colonia and monk of St. Sabbas Monastery (558). Hieromartyr Theodore I, archbishop of Alexandria (609). St. George of Cernica and Caldarusani (1806).

New Hieromartyr Andrew Kosovsky, archpriest, of Feodosia (Crimea) (1920).

St. Birinus, bishop of Dorchester (ca. 649). St. Sola, Anglo-Saxon missionary priest under St. Boniface (Germany) (790-794). New Hieromartyr Gabriel, metropolitan of Ganos and Chora, at Prusa (1659). St. Hilarion (Grigorovich), bishop of Krutitsa (1759). New Monk-martyr Cosmas of St. Anne’s Skete, Mt. Athos (1760). New Martyr Angelus of Chios (1813).

Repose of King Magnus II of Sweden and Valaam (Gregory in schema) (1371) and Archimandrite Theophanes of Novoezersk Monastery (1832).

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Ukrainian Church Crisis

A Beacon of Love and Warmth for the Vast Tundra

A Beacon of Love and Warmth for the Vast Tundra Ministering in Russia’s Northernmost Port A Beacon of Love and Warmth for the Vast Tundra Ministering in Russia’s Northernmost Port Hieromonk Joasaph (Kurakulov) Liturgy is a common work—I’m sure of it. Some amazing people, some amazing helpers have gathered around me.

Let’s All Go to Heaven!

Let’s All Go to Heaven! Archpriest Andrew Lemeshonok Let’s All Go to Heaven! Archpriest Andrew Lemeshonok No need for sentimentality, no need for any human feelings, moods, conditions. We face a question: to live or not, to be or not to be.

On the Rich Young Man

On the Rich Young Man St. Philaret of Chernigov On the Rich Young Man Discourse on the 30th Sunday After Pentecost. Luke 8:18–29. St. Philaret of Chernigov Does the Lord ask too much? What is there that the Lord has not the right to require of our hearts? All that you have belongs to Him and ought to be consecrated to Him.

The Nativity Fast

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Publications

Sermon on the Feast of St. Andrew the First-Called

Hieromonk Nazary (Rypin)

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Sermon on the Feast of St. Andrew the First-Called

Hieromonk Nazary (Rypin)

The example of the holy Apostle Andrew tells us that the focus of our life, its core, should be faith in Christ, the hope of the salvation of our souls, the hope that Christ did not just come into this world to save man, but that He came to save each one of us.

“Orthodoxy will be preached and spread as these fateful days unfold”

Orthodoxy Today

“Orthodoxy will be preached and spread as these fateful days unfold”

In this part of our interview, Conrad Franz talks about his own path to Orthodoxy, Orthodox media, the demographics of the Church in the US, and the conversion blooming deep in the heart of Texas.

My encounter with St. Clement, or my path to God

Vadim Prokopenkov

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

My encounter with St. Clement, or my path to God

Vadim Prokopenkov

One night, I woke up from a bright light. A feeling of immeasurable joy penetrated my whole being. An old man of short stature, engulfed in the golden glow, or rather, radiance, was looking at me…

Orthodox Attitude Toward AI: Between Anxiety and Hope

Priest Tarasiy Borozenets

Orthodoxy Today

Orthodox Attitude Toward AI: Between Anxiety and Hope

Priest Tarasiy Borozenets

Any technology is subject to moral evaluation: does it destroy human dignity, substitute living relations, or infringe on the freedom of the personality?

A Zealous Servant of the Holy Trinity

Alexandra Kalinovskaya

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

A Zealous Servant of the Holy Trinity

Alexandra Kalinovskaya

The bloodthirsty executioners carried the infirm eighty-one-year-old elder out on a stretcher and sent him to the Taganka Prison. Interrogations lasted several weeks, but the courageous soldier of Christ did not give a single testimony.

Blessed Are the Merciful

Priest Tarasiy Borozenets

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

Blessed Are the Merciful

Priest Tarasiy Borozenets

Every act of mercy that we do for our neighbor we do for Christ personally.

The Days are Evil. Save Your Soul Before It Perishes

Metropolitan Luke (Kovalenko)

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

The Days are Evil. Save Your Soul Before It Perishes

Metropolitan Luke (Kovalenko)

When God is at the center, everything else falls into place.

Ask, and It Shall Be Given You

On a contemporary miracle of St. Innocent of Irkutsk

Irina Dmitrieva

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Ask, and It Shall Be Given You

On a contemporary miracle of St. Innocent of Irkutsk

Irina Dmitrieva

Liudmila’s sister had told her that that day was the festive service in honor of St. Innocent of Irkutsk, and that she should necessarily bow before his holy relics with her prayer requests. “He’s like that—he’ll definitely help you!” she exclaimed at the end of their conversation.

How to Spend the Nativity Fast in Joy and Not in Despondency?

Priest Alexei Taakh

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

How to Spend the Nativity Fast in Joy and Not in Despondency?

Priest Alexei Taakh

Fasting is not for despondency, but for a joyful victory over yourself, over your passions.

Elder Gabriel (Bunge): I deeply admire the Ukrainian faithful under Metropolitan Onuphry

Orthodoxy Today

Elder Gabriel (Bunge): I deeply admire the Ukrainian faithful under Metropolitan Onuphry

The 84-year-old elder, who holds a doctorate in history, receives regular information about the situation in Ukraine through the Union of Orthodox Journalists.

Orchestra of Bells: Hearing the Symphony in the Peal of Bells

Natalia Malakhova

Churches and Monasteries

Orchestra of Bells: Hearing the Symphony in the Peal of Bells

Natalia Malakhova

Bell ringing is not merely a part of church services, but a special language through which the inhabitants of Ancient Rus communicated.

Greatmartyr Catherine: a Good Example of Christian Upbringing

Archimandrite Diodor (Didkovsky)

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Greatmartyr Catherine: a Good Example of Christian Upbringing

Archimandrite Diodor (Didkovsky)

It is reckless to teach children many skills and sciences while neglecting their upbringing in the commandments and teaching of our Lord and Savior.

What Love There Was Then!

It’s Difficult to Live in a Monastery, but Salvific, Part 2

Abbess Olympiada (Baranova)

Churches and Monasteries

What Love There Was Then!

It’s Difficult to Live in a Monastery, but Salvific, Part 2

Abbess Olympiada (Baranova)

How we loved Mother, how we all wanted to do something nice for her, to at least make her smile.

We Have to Strengthen Genuine Faith

Schema-Archimandrite Mikhail (Krechetov)

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

We Have to Strengthen Genuine Faith

Schema-Archimandrite Mikhail (Krechetov)

All the truths that are given to us in the Gospel, that the Church presents to us in the Apostolic Epistles, in the Church’s typikon, speak of one and the same thing: that saving your soul, and even more so the souls of others, takes time and struggle.

It’s Difficult to Live in a Monastery, but Salvific

Part 1

Abbess Olympiada (Baranova)

Churches and Monasteries

It’s Difficult to Live in a Monastery, but Salvific

Part 1

Abbess Olympiada (Baranova)

Abbess Olympiada shared her story about her spiritual mother and her experience of the continuity of the traditions of Russian female monasticism.

Enter the Church of God With Not Only Your Feet, But Also With Your Hearts

Sermon on the feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple

Hieromonk Athanasius (Deryugin)

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Enter the Church of God With Not Only Your Feet, But Also With Your Hearts

Sermon on the feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple

Hieromonk Athanasius (Deryugin)

In the Church of God everything is done to separate us from the earth and bring us closer to the Creator.

Secluded with God

Sermon on the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple

Hieromonk Sebastian (Kuznetsov)

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Secluded with God

Sermon on the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple

Hieromonk Sebastian (Kuznetsov)

For the Mother of God, entering the Holy of Holies and living there was Her path and ascent from strength to strength towards God, to an even greater purity of heart and an immaculate state.

Tears and Grace

The Life of Hieromartyr Constantin Sârbu, Part 2

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Tears and Grace

The Life of Hieromartyr Constantin Sârbu, Part 2

“They burned my feet with a red-hot iron, tore out my beard, beat me, but I told them: ‘You can torture me as much as you want, but I won’t renounce Christ!’”

The Life of Hieromartyr Constantin Sârbu

Part 1

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

The Life of Hieromartyr Constantin Sârbu

Part 1

Kneeling and tearfully praying before the icon of the Most Holy Virgin Theotokos, entreating her protection and intercession, I, who until that moment had been timid and fearful, lacking any boldness, rose from my knees full of strength, light, and the singular desire to serve the supreme Truth, laying my whole being at the feet of Jesus Christ and thenceforth fearing no one.

Russian Time of Troubles of 1905–1907

Part 6. The Role of the Russian Intelligentsia in Whitewashing Terror

Archpriest Vladimir Vigilyansky, Olesya Nikolaeva

Church History

Russian Time of Troubles of 1905–1907

Part 6. The Role of the Russian Intelligentsia in Whitewashing Terror

Archpriest Vladimir Vigilyansky, Olesya Nikolaeva

In fact, liberal politicians, writers and journalists acted, without fully realizing it, in the role of instigators of terrorism and participants in the “big lie” project.

On the Kinetic Energy of Love: An Essay on Icons

Dr. John Amir Azarvan

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

On the Kinetic Energy of Love: An Essay on Icons

Dr. John Amir Azarvan

Essentially, reverencing icons and prayer fall under the same broad category of devotion. In both cases, we are transmitting something—e.g., a request, a feeling of gratitude—through the spiritual realm.

A Righteous Pastor and a Blameless Confessor

Alexandra Kalinovskaya

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

A Righteous Pastor and a Blameless Confessor

Alexandra Kalinovskaya

“Metropolitan Philaret was a perfect monk, a pure virgin, and a keeper of the vows of purity… Philaret is so great that he even sees the smallest and knows how to sympathize with him…”

Words Without Grace are Poison!

Metropolitan Luke (Kovalenko)

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

Words Without Grace are Poison!

Metropolitan Luke (Kovalenko)

A word with grace is not “sweet talk”—it is the depth of the heart that asks: “For whose sake and for what purpose are you saying these words?”

Who Is Rich Towards God?

Fr. James Guirguis

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

Who Is Rich Towards God?

Fr. James Guirguis

Our giving and our generosity are not only signs of having godly wisdom, they are signs of our real faith and love for Christ.

“Till We Meet Again.” Hieromartyr Theodore Kolerov

Natalia Vashchina

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

“Till We Meet Again.” Hieromartyr Theodore Kolerov

Natalia Vashchina

Already at the time of writing the second letter to Bishop Peter, in November 1922, the question was being decided for him: Should he take a step towards his personal Golgotha, or not? And he firmly decided to follow the Lord. The love of God proved to be higher and stronger than the fear of future suffering and death itself.