Orthodox Christianity

Monday, June 9/22, 2026. 4th Week after Pentecost. Fast of the Holy Apostles.

Fish, wine and oil allowed.

St. Cyril, archbishop of Alexandria (444). St. Alexis Mechev, archpriest, of Moscow (1923). St. Cyril, founder of White Lake (Belozersk) Monastery (1427).

Nun-martyrs Thecla, Mariamne, Martha, Mary, and Enmatha, in Persia (346). St. Alexander, founder of the Kushta Monastery (Vologda) (1439). Righteous Cyril of Velsk, or Vazhe (Vologda) (15th c.).

St. Raphael, monk of Old Agapia Monastery (Moldavia) (2005).

Hieromartyr Alexander, bishop of Prusa. St. John of Shavta, bishop of Gaenati (12th-13th c.). St. Columba of Iona (597). St. Baithene, abbot, of Tiree and Iona (600).

Repose of Hieromonk Vitaly of Valaam (1856).

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Ukrainian Church Crisis

Avoid Occasions for Sin and Forgive

Avoid Occasions for Sin and Forgive Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol Avoid Occasions for Sin and Forgive Revelation: Removing the Veil, Part 18A Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol We’re reading chapter 18 of Revelation and with God’s help, we’ll try to look at what’s said there.

Three Christian Stories by Chekhov about Life Without Love

Three Christian Stories by Chekhov about Life Without Love Priest Tarasiy Borozenets Three Christian Stories by Chekhov about Life Without Love Priest Tarasiy Borozenets “The Witch,” “The Nightmare,” and “The Cossack” are three different stories with three different main characters. However, each story revolves around a person who has not fostered love in his heart.

“The Light of the Body Is the Eye.” What Does This Mean?

“The Light of the Body Is the Eye.” What Does This Mean? Priest Konstantin Parkhomenko “The Light of the Body Is the Eye.” What Does This Mean? Priest Konstantin Parkhomenko The Holy Fathers wrote that someone without Christ is in the dark, like a blind kitten; he understands nothing. And when Christ enters his life, He, as the Sun of Righteousness, illuminates all objects, phenomena and events.

Apostles fast

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Publications

Loneliness in the Age of Hyperconnection

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

Loneliness in the Age of Hyperconnection

For a believer, prayer and participation in the sacraments of the Church become powerful resources that remind the soul, quietly but surely, of the following: You are not alone, because God is always with you.

Flora in the New Testament

Education

Flora in the New Testament

Biblical plants, which are witnesses of ancient historical events, help us feel our spiritual link with the Christian past and understand the Bible better.

Nesvizh

Dmitry Kiryukhin

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Churches and Monasteries

Nesvizh

Dmitry Kiryukhin

Nesvizh is a small, charming town southwest of Minsk, Belarus. It is best known for its castle, founded in 1583 and included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

A Teacher of Asceticism—Venerable Abba Dorotheos of Gaza

Alexandra Kalinovskaya

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

A Teacher of Asceticism—Venerable Abba Dorotheos of Gaza

Alexandra Kalinovskaya

Since time immemorial, the teachings of Abba Dorotheos have been an ABC on spiritual life for monastics and pious laypeople alike.

A Short Guide to Confession. Part 6

Confession of Sins That Are Not Externally Visible

Rev. Dr. Oliver Subotic

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

A Short Guide to Confession. Part 6

Confession of Sins That Are Not Externally Visible

Rev. Dr. Oliver Subotic

Every sin is usually preceded by a simple thought, depending on a person’s particular weakness. If there is no habit of cutting off such thoughts, they gradually grow and develop, eventually enslaving the person.

Eva’s Silence: How Assistance from Strangers Changed the Life of an Autistic Girl

Orthodoxy Around the World

Eva’s Silence: How Assistance from Strangers Changed the Life of an Autistic Girl

We have undertaken our mission of helping children with special needs, and we make every possible effort to fulfill it with dignity—with love for the children and with respect for their parents!

Deacon Petar Kozakijevic: “There Are No Serious Problems in Slovenia When Converting to Orthodoxy”

Deacon Petar Kozakijevic

Orthodoxy Today

Deacon Petar Kozakijevic: “There Are No Serious Problems in Slovenia When Converting to Orthodoxy”

Deacon Petar Kozakijevic

Understanding the spiritual needs and interest of Slovenes in Orthodoxy, our diocese and the church community are involved in various projects to translate Orthodox literature into Slovene and are their initiators.

Holy Children

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Holy Children

In the history of Orthodoxy, there have been many cases when children became holy martyrs for Christ and the Orthodox faith, suffering severe torments.

A Short Guide to Confession. Part 5

Confession of Visible, Bodily Sins

Rev. Dr. Oliver Subotic

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

A Short Guide to Confession. Part 5

Confession of Visible, Bodily Sins

Rev. Dr. Oliver Subotic

As the great spiritual father of our time, Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov), observes, all the wartime “slaughters” of biblical Israel depicted in the Old Testament are but a prefiguration of the mental annihilation of sinful thoughts, so that no trace of them remains.

There Are Areas Where Artificial Intelligence Should Not Be Allowed

Vladimir Legoida

Orthodoxy Around the World

There Are Areas Where Artificial Intelligence Should Not Be Allowed

Vladimir Legoida

An interview about mercy in the modern world, the use of artificial intelligence for religious purposes, the risks for preaching and the phenomenon of Orthodox bloggers, as well as about the education of young people, the crisis of the family, the Church’s attitude towards abortion and the protection of traditional values, from the representative of the Synodal Department for Church Relations with Society and the Media V.R. Legoida and TASS.

Sermon on the Second Sunday after Pentecost, of All the Saints Who Shone forth in the Russian Land

Bishop Veniamin (Milov)

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Sermon on the Second Sunday after Pentecost, of All the Saints Who Shone forth in the Russian Land

Bishop Veniamin (Milov)

The saints of Russia shine like bright stars in the Church’s firmament. They shine upon us with the light of their spiritual feats, their moods, their holy words and deeds, inspiring us to imitate them.

Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia: A Brilliant Strategist of Mission in Our Time

Rev. Dr. Oliver Subotic

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia: A Brilliant Strategist of Mission in Our Time

Rev. Dr. Oliver Subotic

The triad of faith–prayer–virtue was the hallmark of Patriarch Ilia, accompanying him throughout his patriarchal ministry.

Minsk

A stroll through the Belorussian capital

Dmitry Kiryukhin

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Churches and Monasteries

Minsk

A stroll through the Belorussian capital

Dmitry Kiryukhin

Walking around Minsk, I visited churches and cathedrals with unusual architecture.

A Short Guide to Confession. Part 4

Proper and Improper Confession

Rev. Dr. Oliver Subotic

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

A Short Guide to Confession. Part 4

Proper and Improper Confession

Rev. Dr. Oliver Subotic

It makes no difference whether a man carries in his bag a single stone weighing one hundred kilograms, or a thousand pebbles weighing one hundred grams each: on his back he will be carrying the same weight.

“There Are Many Cases of Miraculous Help from Our Heavenly Patron”

From the life of the parish of St. Luke of Crimea in Ulyanovsk

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

“There Are Many Cases of Miraculous Help from Our Heavenly Patron”

From the life of the parish of St. Luke of Crimea in Ulyanovsk

We always ask the saint to remain prayerfully in our church and help us comfort the sick.

A Short Guide to Confession. Part 3

Preparation for Confession

Rev. Dr. Oliver Subotic

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

A Short Guide to Confession. Part 3

Preparation for Confession

Rev. Dr. Oliver Subotic

Here the analogy with medicine is almost complete, with the priest being only a servant of the True Physician of soul and body—the Lord Jesus Christ. It is therefore very important to find a priest who is spiritually experienced, so that he may adequately treat the wounds of our soul.

A Short Guide to Confession. Part 2

Repentance as the Need for Purification and a Change of Life

Rev. Dr. Oliver Subotic

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

A Short Guide to Confession. Part 2

Repentance as the Need for Purification and a Change of Life

Rev. Dr. Oliver Subotic

Repentance is not merely a matter of feeling sorry for having committed a sin. True repentance is precisely what the original word signifies—a change of mind—meaning the acquisition of an entirely new way of thinking and acting.

The Apostles’ Fast. A Call to All for Sanctity

Priest Tarasiy Borozenets

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

The Apostles’ Fast. A Call to All for Sanctity

Priest Tarasiy Borozenets

The saints’ victory does not consist in never having fallen, but in steadfastly pressing toward the goal set before them—the Kingdom of Heaven—and remaining faithful to God until the end.

Anger in Children: How to Help Your Child Not to Lose Himself

Ekaterina Silinskaya

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

Anger in Children: How to Help Your Child Not to Lose Himself

Ekaterina Silinskaya

From an Orthodox point of view, it’s important to see that behind these external outbursts, there’s almost always internal disorder in the soul.

A Short Guide to Confession. Part 1

On the Need for Spiritual Health

Rev. Dr. Oliver Subotic

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

A Short Guide to Confession. Part 1

On the Need for Spiritual Health

Rev. Dr. Oliver Subotic

The key issue is our encounter with God in eternity—those whose souls are healthy will experience that encounter as eternal light, while those whose souls are sick will experience it as eternal darkness.

An Expression Full of Suffering. The Venerable Martyr Tavrion (Tolokontsev)

Commemorated: May 25/June 7

Natalia Vashchina

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

An Expression Full of Suffering. The Venerable Martyr Tavrion (Tolokontsev)

Commemorated: May 25/June 7

Natalia Vashchina

As always, the testimony given during the interrogation was twisted around and presented in an absolutely different light. It sounded as if it was not the Bolsheviks who had robbed the Valaam Monastery, but the monks, who “conducted anti-Soviet activities in an illegal apartment monastery and spread various provocative rumors.”

Be Holy

Fr. James Guirguis

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Be Holy

Fr. James Guirguis

The beauty of our faith is that God gives each one of us exactly what we need to grow and become saintly.

Sermon on the Sunday of All Saints

Hieromonk Nikon

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Sermon on the Sunday of All Saints

Hieromonk Nikon

Saints are people who lived and still live close to us, but unlike many of us, they are guided neither by the spirit of the modern world, nor by changing public opinion, nor by popular views or customs, but solely by the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of the Gospel, and the Word of God.

Holy Blessed Mother Xenia, Pray to God for Us!

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Holy Blessed Mother Xenia, Pray to God for Us!

I believed in God in my own way, but I didn’t understand why I should be baptized. “Well, I’ll get baptized and have to follow all the rules; but why should I do that?” I thought then. Nevertheless, I often prayed in front of a small icon of Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg—the only saint whose Life I knew and whose help I had clearly felt.

To the Hesitant

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Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

To the Hesitant

I went down into the water dead in my sins, putrid and rotten. I arose alive and resurrected, iniquity in remission, by the power of the Holy Cross of our Lord and God Jesus Christ.