Orthodox Christianity

Wednesday, December 12/25, 2024. 27th Week after Pentecost. Nativity Fast.

Monastic rule: cooked food, no oil.

St. Spyridon the Wonderworker, of Tremithus (348).

Hieromartyr Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem (250-251). Martyr Synesius of Rome (270-275). St. Therapontus, monk of Monza Monastery (Galich) (1597).

St. Herman, Wonderworker of Alaska (1836). St. Finian of Clonard and Skellig Michael, teacher of Ireland (549). St. Colman of Glendalough (Ireland) (659). Monk-martyr John, abbot, of Zedazeni Monastery, Georgia (9th c.). St. John, metropolitan of Zichon, founder of the Monastery of the Forerunner on Mt. Menikion (1333). Synaxis of the First Martyrs of the American land: Hieromartyr Juvenaly (1796), Peter (Cungagnaq) the Aleut (1815), and Hieromartyrs Seraphim (Samoilovich), archbishop of Uglich (1937), John (Kochurov), priest, of Chicago (1917), and Alexander (Khotovitsky), priest, of New York (1937).

Repose of Flegont (Ostrovsky), stylite, of Kimlyai (Mordovia) (1870).

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Ukrainian Church Crisis

The Fast of the Joy of the Nativity of Christ

The Fast of the Joy of the Nativity of Christ Archimandrite Justin (Parvu) The Fast of the Joy of the Nativity of Christ Archimandrite Justin (Parvu) Therefore, act according to your conscience, not according to what your body dictates to you. For can train it and shape it as you live your whole life.

From Sartre to St. Silhouan

From Sartre to St. Silhouan The French Anchoress Mary Magdalene. Part 1 From Sartre to St. Silhouan The French Anchoress Mary Magdalene. Part 1 Hieromonk Nektary (Sokolov) Many years later she said of this period: “It would have been better for me if I had been in a dark prison for eighteen years instead of living for so many years without faith in Christ.”

Christians Are Warriors of the Church

Christians Are Warriors of the Church Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol Christians Are Warriors of the Church Eighth Talk on the Divine Liturgy, Part 2 Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol We’re spiritual warriors and must fight against the opposing forces that try to crush the work of the Church.

The Nativity Fast

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St. Spyridon of Tremithus

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St. Herman of Alaska

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Publications

St. Joasaph of Belgorod, in Verse and Song

L. N. Pogozheva

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Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

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St. Joasaph of Belgorod, in Verse and Song

L. N. Pogozheva

The Queen of Heaven is particularly close to children who call upon her. She loves and helps them. Once the father of the holy Russian hierarch Joasaph of Belgorod was sitting on his porch at sunset pondering on what awaited his son when he grew up and finished his studies. Suddenly he saw the Mother of God in the air and his son on his knees, praying at Her feet. Then he heard her say to Joasaph, "Your prayer is enough for me," and from the heights an angel flew down and cloaked the youth in a bishop's mantle.

Homily on the Conception of the Theotokos by Holy Righteous Anna

St. Gregory of Nicomedia

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Homily on the Conception of the Theotokos by Holy Righteous Anna

St. Gregory of Nicomedia

Today, the gates of the King, impenetrable to all humanity, are established and prepared for His incomprehensible passage through them, and to us, they prepare the heavenly gates, now made passable.

The Liturgy is a Conversation Between God and Man

Eighth Talk on the Divine Liturgy, Part 1

Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

The Liturgy is a Conversation Between God and Man

Eighth Talk on the Divine Liturgy, Part 1

Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol

The Divine Liturgy is a conversation between man and God: The priest addresses God in his prayers, and God answers through the grace of the Holy Spirit He sends down, and this is how God and man meet.

Joseph the Fair and Christian Paradigms

Metropolitan Serafim (Joanta) of Germany and Central Europe

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

Joseph the Fair and Christian Paradigms

Metropolitan Serafim (Joanta) of Germany and Central Europe

God cares about everything in a person’s life and in return expects only recognition of this and the fulfillment of His commandments:

Embracing the World With Prayer

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

Embracing the World With Prayer

Praying for others, especially for those who you detest, is bearing their burdens according to the law of love, the law of Christ.

“I Was Falling from the Scaffolding, and Only One Thought Flashed Through My Mind: ‘O Lord, O Lord!’”

How St. Nicholas saved a house painter

Natalya Chernykh

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

“I Was Falling from the Scaffolding, and Only One Thought Flashed Through My Mind: ‘O Lord, O Lord!’”

How St. Nicholas saved a house painter

Natalya Chernykh

As I fell, I felt an elderly man catch me and gently lay me down on a straightedge (a tool used to level plastered walls).

On Trusting Your Spiritual Father

Archpriest Andrew Lemeshonok

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

On Trusting Your Spiritual Father

Archpriest Andrew Lemeshonok

At a meeting of the sisterhood of St. Elisabeth Convent in Minsk, the nuns shared their experiences about how to maintain trust in your spiritual father.

A Guide to Those Keeping the Fast

Priest Tarasiy Borozenets

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

A Guide to Those Keeping the Fast

Priest Tarasiy Borozenets

Fasting is not about restriction and lack of freedom, as many perceive it, but about the ample opportunity to get to know the Truth and the freedom that stems from this knowledge.

Malye Yasyrki, Where There Was a Secret Convent in the Soviet Era. Part 2

Saved from the communists, and restoration

Igumen Anthony (Korolev)

Churches and Monasteries

Malye Yasyrki, Where There Was a Secret Convent in the Soviet Era. Part 2

Saved from the communists, and restoration

Igumen Anthony (Korolev)

When a new wave of persecutions broke out in the 1960s, the authorities decided to close down one of the churches in the area, and their choice fell on Malye Yasyrki. But the sisters and the parishioners stood up for the church.

Malye Yasyrki, Where There Was a Secret Convent in the Soviet Era. Part 1

Saved by the Mother of God and Great-Martyr Barbara

Igumen Anthony (Korolev)

Churches and Monasteries

Malye Yasyrki, Where There Was a Secret Convent in the Soviet Era. Part 1

Saved by the Mother of God and Great-Martyr Barbara

Igumen Anthony (Korolev)

n the Soviet era the church in Malye Yasyrki was a spiritual center where people came for prayer and spiritual guidance not only from all over the Voronezh region, but also from across the USSR.

A Family Catastrophe

Sermon on the Feast Day Holy Great Martyr Barbara, delivered in Christ the Savior Cathedral, 2010

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

A Family Catastrophe

Sermon on the Feast Day Holy Great Martyr Barbara, delivered in Christ the Savior Cathedral, 2010

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill

This truth is profoundly instructive for modern people, many of whom strive to be strong. While this desire is good, we must remember that true strength lies in the human spirit. Without God, this strength remains hidden from us. Without Him, we can only rely on our limited human abilities, which pale in comparison to the power of God. The strength of the martyrs was unattainable through human effort alone.

The Lord in Our Lives

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

The Lord in Our Lives

Loving and trusting, the Lord does not want to see us led and deprived of choice, which means that He does not regard us as slaves, but, on the contrary, as equal to Himself (in His image and likeness) since the creation of the world.

Connecting the Dots: How One Translator Challenges 125 years of Dionysian Scholarship

Evangelos Nikitopoulos

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Connecting the Dots: How One Translator Challenges 125 years of Dionysian Scholarship

Evangelos Nikitopoulos

It is hard to overstate the ramifications of authenticity. Dionysius’ writings contain our earliest canon of the Bible, the earliest description of the Liturgy, a detailed exposition of the Sacraments and the role of Church orders, as well as the theology underlying iconodulia.

The Rich Young Man

Hieromonk Theoktist (Igumnov)

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

The Rich Young Man

Hieromonk Theoktist (Igumnov)

The first point of interest is the personality of the young man who approached the Lord Jesus Christ with his question.

The Life and Service of Prophet Nahum

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

The Life and Service of Prophet Nahum

The primary message of the Book of Nahum is his prophecy of the fall and destruction of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, which posed a threat to the entire East.

Apostle Andrew the First-Called: Preacher to Barbarians and Cannibals

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Apostle Andrew the First-Called: Preacher to Barbarians and Cannibals

This story depicts Andrew not only as a preacher but also as a bearer of Roman culture and civilization.

St. Andrew the First-Called

By Archbishop Philaret (Gumilevsky) of Chernigov (†1866)

Archbishop Philaret (Gumilevsky)

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

St. Andrew the First-Called

By Archbishop Philaret (Gumilevsky) of Chernigov (†1866)

Archbishop Philaret (Gumilevsky)

Bearing the labors and afflictions of proclaiming Christ, the Apostle Andrew preached the Gospel in many lands of Asia and Europe, including Bithynia, Propontis, Greece, Macedonia, Thrace, and Scythia.

Walking On the Waves. An Everyday Guide to Nepsis

A series of talks by His Grace Bishop Emilianos of Meloa

Bishop Emilianos of Meloa

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

Walking On the Waves. An Everyday Guide to Nepsis

A series of talks by His Grace Bishop Emilianos of Meloa

Bishop Emilianos of Meloa

Translated as “watchfulness” or “vigilance,” nepsis refers to the guarding of the mind and heart against harmful thoughts, temptations and distractions.

Moving the Boundary Marker

Fr. Lawrence Farley

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

Moving the Boundary Marker

Fr. Lawrence Farley

Today we find almost every boundary being deliberately transgressed, repudiated, set aside, broken down, and discarded, with a consequent break down of order in the world.

From a German to a Greek

About a wondrous transformation

Hieromonk Nektary (Sokolov)

Churches and Monasteries

From a German to a Greek

About a wondrous transformation

Hieromonk Nektary (Sokolov)

With the surgery that skillfully surpasses anything known to the mind of man, the Lord gradually removes from us the tumors of abomination and the metastases of filth, heals the glaucoma of ignorance and impassable stupidity, thus making us who we can and should become—citizens of the Heavenly City.

A Word About Contemporary Martyrdom

St. Seraphim (Chichagov)

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

A Word About Contemporary Martyrdom

St. Seraphim (Chichagov)

Those who are truly Christ’s and want to understand how the world can hate today can always experience it for themselves.

Fasting As a Sacrifice to God

Priests’ answers

Natalia Ryazantseva

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

Fasting As a Sacrifice to God

Priests’ answers

Natalia Ryazantseva

Our fasting must become a sacrifice to God. But what lies behind these words?

Why God Sometimes Fulfills Unprofitable Requests

Commemoration of the icon of the Mother of God “Of the Sign”

Priest Roman Savchuk

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Why God Sometimes Fulfills Unprofitable Requests

Commemoration of the icon of the Mother of God “Of the Sign”

Priest Roman Savchuk

Man is called in his earthly sojourn to recognize the taste of truth in life, and having experienced it, he will never choose the opposite.

Hieromonk Seraphim (Thievart). A Golgotha for Two

Natalia Vashchina

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Hieromonk Seraphim (Thievart). A Golgotha for Two

Natalia Vashchina

These two holy martyrs saved the Russian Orthodox Church at that time—literally, not figuratively.

Unseen Warfare Against the Church

Revelation, Removing the Veil, Part 22

Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol

Theology

Unseen Warfare Against the Church

Revelation, Removing the Veil, Part 22

Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol

From the very beginning, the devil has wanted to destroy Christ Himself: both as a living being, and His teaching—and he is waging a war against the Church.