Orthodox Christianity

Wednesday, November 19/December 2, 2020. 26th Week after Pentecost. Nativity Fast.

Wine and oil allowed.

Prophet Obadiah (Abdias) (9th c. b.c.). Martyr Barlaam of Caesarea in Cappadocia (304). Sts. Barlaam, monk, Ioasaph, prince of India, and Abenner the King, father of St. Ioasaph (4th c.). St. Philaret, metropolitan of Moscow (1867).

Martyr Heliodorus, in Pamphylia (ca. 273). Martyrs Azes of Isauria and 150 soldiers (284). Martyr Agapius of Gaza (284-305). St. Hilarion of Georgia, wonderworker of Thessalonica (875). St. Barlaam, first abbot of the Kiev Caves (1065). Uncovering of the relics of Hieromartyr Adrian, founder of Poshekhonye Monastery (Rostov) (1625). St. Ioannicius, schemaarchimandrite, of Glinsk Hermitage (1914). St. Porphyriоs of Kapsokalyvia and Kallisa (1991).

New Hieromartyrs Porphyrius (Gulevich), bishop of Simferopol, Ioasaph (Udalov), bishop of Chistopol, Michael (Kvanin), archimandrite, of Moscow, Gregory (Rebeza), archimandrite, of Odessa, and Gerasim (Sukhov), hieromonk, of Kazakhstan (1937). New Hieromartyrs Ioasaph (Krymzin), abbot, and Peter (Mamontov), hieromonk, both of the Holy Transfiguration Guslitsky Monastery (Moscow) New Hiero-confessor Alexis (Kabaliuk), schema-archimandrite, of Khust (Carpatho-Russia) (1947).

St. Patroclus of Bourges (577). St. Egbert, archbishop of York (766). St. Simon, wonderworker of Calabria (10th c.).

Repose of Elder Cleopa of Sihastria, Romania (1998).

See the full calendar

Ukrainian Church Crisis

Let’s Be True to God’s Calling

Let’s Be True to God’s Calling Met. Tikhon (Shevkunov) Let’s Be True to God’s Calling A Sermon delivered on the 25th Sunday after Pentecost, November 29, 2020, in the village of Piskovichi, Pskov Region Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov Where did he get such power that two thousand years on, his story should so enliven our hearts? A man who was not a writer, who two thousand years ago wrote only one book, did what all the professional authors in the world could not do.

The History of the Russian Church Abroad in Portrait of Her Faithful Servants

The History of the Russian Church Abroad in Portrait of Her Faithful Servants Deacon Andrei Psarev The History of the Russian Church Abroad in Portrait of Her Faithful Servants Lecture on the 90th anniversary of ROCOR read at the Synodal Building in New York, December 7, 2010 Deacon Andrei Psarev We will look at representatives of the Russian Church Abroad who began their service in Russia and as a result of the Civil War found themselves abroad, those who filled her ranks during the war and those who began their service before the 1990’s.

A Cheap Imitation of World Orthodoxy is Being Built Before Our Eyes

A Cheap Imitation of World Orthodoxy is Being Built Before Our Eyes Met. Anthony (Pakanich) A Cheap Imitation of World Orthodoxy is Being Built Before Our Eyes Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich) of Boryspol and Brovary A defective and malicious copy of world Orthodoxy is now being built before our eyes. In this parallel system, such aspects as the perversion of the canons, the legalization of schismatics, concelebration with people who have no valid ordination, and the trampling of the conciliar format of Church governance are considered natural and normal.

The Nativity Fast

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Publications

What Did the Previous Metropolitan of Kiev Vladimir Say About the Autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church?

Deacon Sergei Geruk

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Church History

What Did the Previous Metropolitan of Kiev Vladimir Say About the Autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church?

Deacon Sergei Geruk

The Church cannot be changed as secular institutions are changed in our times. The Lord established His Church, and He preserves it. At this time, introducing the status of autocephaly and autonomy is an act which I consider to be dangerous and unnecessary.

The Sound of Color

The Works of Iconographer Anatoly Aleshin

Anatoly Aleshin

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Churches and Monasteries

The Sound of Color

The Works of Iconographer Anatoly Aleshin

Anatoly Aleshin

Anatoly Aleshin is an iconographer and master of mural painting, including frescoes. In 1986, he graduated from the Moscow Secondary Art School at the Surikov Institute. In 1991, he entered, and in 1995 he graduated from the Iconography School of the Moscow Theological Academy, where he now teaches.

“I Am a Monk, First and Foremost”

An Interview with the Ukrainian Primate

Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine

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Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

“I Am a Monk, First and Foremost”

An Interview with the Ukrainian Primate

Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine

We have to try to lead our lives so our eyes and our thoughts would be ever directed to God; then we will see that our entire life is filled with His presence and His all-encompassing grace.

A Word From the Patriarch on Unity, Grace, and Life After Death

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill

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Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

A Word From the Patriarch on Unity, Grace, and Life After Death

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill

Through this historical experience we should learn who our worst enemy is—not foreign enemies but internal conflicts, which often lead people to mutual destruction.

We Are All the Church

Remembering Patriarch Irinej of Serbia, Part 2

Svetlana Luganskaya

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Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

We Are All the Church

Remembering Patriarch Irinej of Serbia, Part 2

Svetlana Luganskaya

What I can wish for as Patriarch—first of all, to preserve the faith. And not just to preserve it, not just to talk about it, but to live according to faith. That’s how we can show the value and essence of the faith—by living it.

The Holy Apostle St. Philip

14/27 November

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Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

The Holy Apostle St. Philip

14/27 November

The Apostle Philip, through whose prayers everyone except Anthipatas and the pagan priests remained alive, died on the cross.

“To Keep the Faith and Live By It”

Remembering Patriarch Irinej of Serbia, Part 1

Svetlana Luganskaya

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Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

“To Keep the Faith and Live By It”

Remembering Patriarch Irinej of Serbia, Part 1

Svetlana Luganskaya

He came in, collected and friendly, and a conversation began, which I would like to quote from, since very little is known about the personality of Patriarch Irinej and his life outside of Serbia.

Give Thanks and Glory to God For All Things

Alexander A. Sokolovsky

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Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

Give Thanks and Glory to God For All Things

Alexander A. Sokolovsky

We have so much to be thankful for. For life, for our families and friends, for the food on our tables. The vicissitudes of a difficult year are nothing in comparison with all the blessings God gives us.

A Mysterious, Invisible Conversation

Sermon on Luke 8:41-56 on the woman with the issue of blood. Sunday, November 22, 2020

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

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Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

A Mysterious, Invisible Conversation

Sermon on Luke 8:41-56 on the woman with the issue of blood. Sunday, November 22, 2020

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

We can converse with the spiritual world without pronouncing a word. This is the great gift of the soul’s communion with God.

We Commune, Aware That We Are the Dust of the Earth

An Interview with the Ukrainian Primate, Metropolitan Onuphry

Metropolitan Onuphry (Berezovsky)

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Orthodoxy Today

We Commune, Aware That We Are the Dust of the Earth

An Interview with the Ukrainian Primate, Metropolitan Onuphry

Metropolitan Onuphry (Berezovsky)

What is needed to restore Eucharistic communion between the Phanar and the Russian Orthodox Church? Is there a threat to Ukrainian Orthodoxy from the Muslim world? How should the Church and its clergy carry out their mission today, and how do today’s trials affect the spiritual life of the faithful?

“What, still snoozing?”

Miracles through the prayers of Metropolitan John (Snychev)

Tatiana Veselkina

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Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

“What, still snoozing?”

Miracles through the prayers of Metropolitan John (Snychev)

Tatiana Veselkina

How did you become so dear to us, Vladyka? Certainly, it wasn’t your rank as a metropolitan, but rather that, without your title, the white klobuk and panagia, you were like a father who taught his flock to stay away from lies, phariseeism, deceit, empty talk, betrayal, faintheartedness and idleness. You taught us to be sincere, honest, kind, and, above all, wise; to help our neighbor whenever possible, and to cherish every minute of our lives and fill them with good deeds.

“I Hope to Be Buried Here”

A Conversation with a Missionary Priest in the Caribbean

Hieromonk Ambrose (Sitalo)

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Coming to Orthodoxy

“I Hope to Be Buried Here”

A Conversation with a Missionary Priest in the Caribbean

Hieromonk Ambrose (Sitalo)

Hieromonk Ambrose (Sitalo) is a missionary priest in the Caribbean, visiting various islands from his base in Grenada, where he serves at the Church of St. George.

The Second Meeting. A Miracle on the Road

In memoriam: Metropolitan John (Snychev). Part 2

Tatiana Veselkina

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Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

The Second Meeting. A Miracle on the Road

In memoriam: Metropolitan John (Snychev). Part 2

Tatiana Veselkina

Vladyka never forced anyone to do good deeds. He was a good shepherd. His spiritual children had a list of needy residents of the northern capital and Moscow whom he helped from time to time. Vladyka tried to help anyone who needed assistance.

Jubilee Epistle of His Eminence Hilarion Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad

Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral)

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Orthodoxy Today

Jubilee Epistle of His Eminence Hilarion Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad

Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral)

Purpose in life emerges when faith in, and the striving towards, God are present, along with the ideals and values that are confessed in the Gospel of Christ. It is imperative that we learn this independently of where we live and what views we hold.

“Grandpa”

In memoriam: Metropolitan John (Snychev). Part 1

Tatiana Veselkina

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Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

“Grandpa”

In memoriam: Metropolitan John (Snychev). Part 1

Tatiana Veselkina

“Metropolitan John speaking,” I heard, and then Vladyka called me by name. Hearing this, I was completely lost for words. How could anyone know the name of an unfamiliar caller?

St. Nektarios’ Miracles Help Bring Us to Repentance

For the 100th Anniversary of the Repose of St. Nektarios of Aegina

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Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

St. Nektarios’ Miracles Help Bring Us to Repentance

For the 100th Anniversary of the Repose of St. Nektarios of Aegina

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the great saint’s repose, we present a few stories from among his countless miracles.

The Song of the Angels

Archpriest Andrei Tkachev

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Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

The Song of the Angels

Archpriest Andrei Tkachev

Angels know more than humans do, yet even they do not know everything. The future is not revealed to them and, in the same way as humans, they are amazed by God’s mysteries.

He Led His Entire Life Like a Confessor

Fr. Daniel Sysoev Through the Eyes of His Brother

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Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

He Led His Entire Life Like a Confessor

Fr. Daniel Sysoev Through the Eyes of His Brother

He was always, for us, a radiant person. We loved him very much, because he was a model in everything. He was the firstborn.

He Managed to Unite All of Moscow

Fr. Daniel Sysoev Through the Eyes of a Brother Priest

Fr. Konstantin Bufeev

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Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

He Managed to Unite All of Moscow

Fr. Daniel Sysoev Through the Eyes of a Brother Priest

Fr. Konstantin Bufeev

He didn’t care for empty words. If he spoke, it was a clear, dogmatic expression and the concrete application of it in the life of the Church. The peculiarity of his activity, of his lively preaching, was that he thought very dogmatically.

How Individuals and Nations Become Demonically Possessed

Sermon on the Gospel reading about the Gadarene demoniac, November 15, 2020

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

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Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

How Individuals and Nations Become Demonically Possessed

Sermon on the Gospel reading about the Gadarene demoniac, November 15, 2020

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

We recall, “Serve ye the Lord with fear and rejoice in Him with trembling.” But there is no trembling here! Only terrible intoxication. Such people are stubborn; they do not obey the Church and reason. These people are suicides, who only later understand it. These people are involuntary murderers—they kill the souls and lives of many people.

Abound in Love

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Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

Abound in Love

Saint Porphyrios tells the story of an elder hermit who had two disciples who lived with him.

“People Are Tired of Rational Christianity—There Is No Joyful Mystery in It”

A talk with the Finnish Doctor of Theology, Hannu Pöyhönen

Hannu Pöyhönen

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Orthodoxy Around the World

“People Are Tired of Rational Christianity—There Is No Joyful Mystery in It”

A talk with the Finnish Doctor of Theology, Hannu Pöyhönen

Hannu Pöyhönen

Western rationalism, which contradicts the human need for mystical experience, has served as a “fertile soil” here.

Cypriot Metropolitan: The Russian Church Was Justified in Breaking Communion with Constantinople

The Conclusions of Metropolitan Nikiforos of Kykkos’ Canonical Study of the Ukrainian Issue

Metropolitan Nikiforos of Kykkos and Tellyria

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Orthodoxy Today

Cypriot Metropolitan: The Russian Church Was Justified in Breaking Communion with Constantinople

The Conclusions of Metropolitan Nikiforos of Kykkos’ Canonical Study of the Ukrainian Issue

Metropolitan Nikiforos of Kykkos and Tellyria

The witness of Met. Nikiforos and his new book is especially important because it demonstrates that, despite the loud insistences of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Ukrainian scandal is not about Russians rejecting the special role of Constantinople and the Greek people within the Church, but rather, it is a question of fidelity to the Orthodox canons and theology.

The Deceived

To the 100-year anniversary of the Russian Exodus

Priest Dimitry Shishkin

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Church History

The Deceived

To the 100-year anniversary of the Russian Exodus

Priest Dimitry Shishkin

But what happened after that not only defies description, but even ordinary human reason. Organized in the Crimea in 1920-21 was real, bloody slaughter.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church: Which is Our True Mother Church, and Who is our True Father?

Part 2 of an interview with Abbess Seraphima (Shevchik)

Deacon Sergei Geruk

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Orthodoxy Today

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church: Which is Our True Mother Church, and Who is our True Father?

Part 2 of an interview with Abbess Seraphima (Shevchik)

Deacon Sergei Geruk

When I see footage of people in camouflage with Right Sector armbands, swearing and shouting, with rebar and weapons in hand, throwing bloodied elderly people out of churches, beating priests, cutting locks, kicking down church doors—in a word, rioting—my heart bleeds.