Orthodox Christianity

Monday, May 23/June 5, 2023. First Week after Pentecost (Fast-free period).

No fast.

St. Michael the Confessor, metropolitan of Synnada (821). Uncovering of the relics of St. Leontius, bishop and wonderworker of Rostov (1164). Synaxis of the Saints of Rostov and Yaroslavl.

Martyr Michael “the Blackrobed,” of St. Sabbas Monastery (9th c.). Virgin Euphrosyne, princess and abbess, of Polotsk (1173). Uncovering of the relics of St. Abramius, archimandrite, of Rostov (1210). St. Paisius, abbot, of Galich (1460).

Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Thou Art the Vineyard.”

Holy Myrrh-bearer Mary, wife of Cleopas (1st c.). Hieromartyrs Epitacius, bishop of Tuy (Spain), and Basil, bishop of Braga (Portugal) (1st c.). St. Damian (King Demetrius) of Gareji, Georgia (1157). St. Ioannicius I, archbishop of Serbia (1270). St. John of Valaam and New Valamo (Finland) (1958).

Repose of Hieromonk Damascene of Valaam (1825), Hieroschemamonk Meletius of Svir (1877), disciple of Elder Theodore of Svir, and Nun Euphrosyne (1934), disciple of St. Barsanuphius of Optina.

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Ukrainian Church Crisis

Postfeast of Pentecost — Day of the Holy Spirit

Postfeast of Pentecost — Day of the Holy Spirit Postfeast of Pentecost — Day of the Holy Spirit It is by the Holy Spirit that “the prophets, divine Apostles, and martyrs are crowned.” He is the source of life and of sanctification.

Holy Trinity Day, Pentecost. On the Unity of the Church

Holy Trinity Day, Pentecost. On the Unity of the Church Archpriest Viacheslav Reznikov Holy Trinity Day, Pentecost. On the Unity of the Church Archpriest Viacheslav Reznikov So, the Holy Spirit descended only on one single day, in one single place.

How to Prepare for Death

How to Prepare for Death A Homily for Soul Saturday Before Pentecost How to Prepare for Death A Homily for Soul Saturday Before Pentecost Hieromonk Spyridon (Dorosh) We prepare for death, but in reality, it’s preparation for a passage, for crossing over. To make it across, we need special equipment, and sustenance, and a good guide.

The Feast of Pentecost, or Holy Trinity Sunday

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Publications

The “Gerondissa” Icon

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

The “Gerondissa” Icon

It was from this incident that the icon of the Mother of God became renowned as such a remarkable image and received the title “Gerondissa.”

St. Stephan of Fileika on the Purpose of the Christian Life

Priest Alexei Veretelnikov

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

St. Stephan of Fileika on the Purpose of the Christian Life

Priest Alexei Veretelnikov

To one degree or another, all of Fr. Stephan’s works are Christocentric, as no one can be saved without Christ.

Nalyvaiko’s Faith and the Decline of Rzeczpospolita. Part 2

Alexey Grigorenko

Church History

Nalyvaiko’s Faith and the Decline of Rzeczpospolita. Part 2

Alexey Grigorenko

In the late eighteenth century, the once great and powerful Rzeczpospolita disappeared from the political map of Europe.

Nalyvaiko’s Faith and the Decline of Rzeczpospolita. Part 1

Alexey Grigorenko

Church History

Nalyvaiko’s Faith and the Decline of Rzeczpospolita. Part 1

Alexey Grigorenko

The Jesuits convinced the king that in order to unify the nation and naturally overcome the national differences between the Poles, Lithuanians and Russians one should start with the unification of religion.

On Russian Refugees in Mexico

Archimandrite Nektary (Haji-Petropoulos)

Orthodoxy Around the World

On Russian Refugees in Mexico

Archimandrite Nektary (Haji-Petropoulos)

We know for sure that the United States does not accept Russian refugees, and it is very hard to get there from Mexico.

Ancient Philosophy and the Transforming Power of Christianity

Archpriest Vladimir Dolgikh

Theology

Ancient Philosophy and the Transforming Power of Christianity

Archpriest Vladimir Dolgikh

Certain philosophers of antiquity are sometimes referred to as “Christians before Christ”, and there are reasons for this.

St. Euphrosyne of Moscow: to Be a Princess Means to Serve Your Fatherland, God, and People

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

St. Euphrosyne of Moscow: to Be a Princess Means to Serve Your Fatherland, God, and People

St. Euphrosyne became the only woman representative of Muscovy to be ranked among the saints.

“Why Are You Surprised? This is Optina!”

On Miracles and Encounters

Elena Kucherenko

Churches and Monasteries

“Why Are You Surprised? This is Optina!”

On Miracles and Encounters

Elena Kucherenko

I can’t get used to the fact that Optina is a place where Heaven meets Earth; where grace is felt as you approach it; where the soul sings; and where the impossible becomes possible.

“The people we have dissuaded from abortion remain forever grateful to us”

In Memoriam: Archpriest Maxim Obukhov

Alexandra Gripas

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

“The people we have dissuaded from abortion remain forever grateful to us”

In Memoriam: Archpriest Maxim Obukhov

Alexandra Gripas

Fr. Maxim will be remembered not as someone who condemned, criticized, or lectured, but as someone who showed love and compassion and offered a helping hand to women who found themselves in a difficult situation.

Confession

St. Nikolai (Velimirovic)

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

Confession

St. Nikolai (Velimirovic)

No one goes to a physician to boast about his health. He goes in order to reveal to him the place on his health that is rotten.

The Arian Heresy: How It Arose, and Who Then Used It For Political Purposes

Marina Borisova

Theology

The Arian Heresy: How It Arose, and Who Then Used It For Political Purposes

Marina Borisova

Since the time of the First Ecumenical Council, the Church has been struggling with this disease, but it keeps coming up again and again.

How To Invent a Love Bomb

Metropolitan Luke’s wartime notes

Metropolitan Luke (Kovalenko) of Zaporozhye and Melitopol

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

How To Invent a Love Bomb

Metropolitan Luke’s wartime notes

Metropolitan Luke (Kovalenko) of Zaporozhye and Melitopol

I decide everything, here and now. And whether good or evil, hate or love will rule this day in the world depends upon me, upon each one of us.

The Secrets of the Protection Church in the Village of Ivan’kovo

Part 2. The story of a blind cinema operator

Churches and Monasteries

The Secrets of the Protection Church in the Village of Ivan’kovo

Part 2. The story of a blind cinema operator

Did the people of Ivan’kovo notice a special kind of divine admonition in the fact that these two elderly people, a man and his wife, who were screening movies in a former church for decades, looking at the screen in front of the altar and helping others to do the same, suddenly became blind together, at the same time?

The Secrets of the Protection Church in the Village of Ivan’kovo

Part 1. When the church was no longer needed, the well dried up

Churches and Monasteries

The Secrets of the Protection Church in the Village of Ivan’kovo

Part 1. When the church was no longer needed, the well dried up

And here I am, standing on the stage with the school choir, and, as I look up, I see a wreath of soft cherubic faces showing through the white ceiling paint, as if through a white veil.

Homily on the Ascension of the Lord

St. John of Kronstadt

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Homily on the Ascension of the Lord

St. John of Kronstadt

So, the Lord ascended from us to heaven—in order to open the doors of heaven to us—for an unhindered entrance there.

We Must Remember Our Roots—the Holy Gospel

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

We Must Remember Our Roots—the Holy Gospel

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill

Today we celebrate the feast of the Equals-to-the-Apostles Sts. Cyril and Methodius—those who, in fact, created our nation’s root system.

The Apodosis of Pascha

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

The Apodosis of Pascha

The day of the leavetaking of Pascha was the last day in the life of Jesus Christ on earth, when the risen Lord appeared to His disciples in order to say His final words about the Kingdom of Heaven.

“Exalting the Eternal Pascha”

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

“Exalting the Eternal Pascha”

On the Apodosis of Pascha some brethren of the Moscow Sretensky Monastery have answered the question of how to preserve Paschal joy.

Why Don’t Christians Repent Today?

Archimandrite Gregorios (Estephan)

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

Why Don’t Christians Repent Today?

Archimandrite Gregorios (Estephan)

Our land is becoming devoid of Christ and His true anointed ones; this land, whose soil was sanctified by the unceasing worship of the Lord and His Christ, has become the land of apostasy. Why?

“How Can I Not Venerate St. Nicholas? He Saved My Life”

Miracles of St. Nicholas in the Backwoods of Ryazan. Part 2. Kasimov

Archpriest Sergei Pravdoliubov

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

“How Can I Not Venerate St. Nicholas? He Saved My Life”

Miracles of St. Nicholas in the Backwoods of Ryazan. Part 2. Kasimov

Archpriest Sergei Pravdoliubov

Vasily Ivanovich began to call for help—but there were no sounds except for some quiet wheezing. No one could hear him. It was late afternoon, and there was no one on the river bank.

“Mom, Did You Pray to St. Nicholas?”

Miracles of St. Nicholas in the backwoods of Ryazan

Archpriest Sergei Pravdoliubov

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

“Mom, Did You Pray to St. Nicholas?”

Miracles of St. Nicholas in the backwoods of Ryazan

Archpriest Sergei Pravdoliubov

These miracles were performed by the holy hierarch near the village of Syntul in the Ryazan region.

Forgotten Russian Architecture in Drawings by Vladimir Orlov

Photogallery

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Churches and Monasteries

Forgotten Russian Architecture in Drawings by Vladimir Orlov

Photogallery

An unusual exhibit has opened In the Museum of Christian Art at the Moscow Theological Academy, of the forgotten artist Vladimir Orlov.

Today’s Gospel places us before the question: Who then are we?

A sermon on the Sunday of the Blind Man

Archimandrite John (Krestiankin)

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

Today’s Gospel places us before the question: Who then are we?

A sermon on the Sunday of the Blind Man

Archimandrite John (Krestiankin)

The main calamity of our times is in just this—people’s extraordinary spiritual blindness.

From Death to Rebirth. The Story of an Army Chaplain

Hieromonk Boris (Stepanov)

Churches and Monasteries

From Death to Rebirth. The Story of an Army Chaplain

Hieromonk Boris (Stepanov)

In a terrible accident ten years ago Fr. Boris lost his wife, and himself miraculously survived his serious injuries. Fr. Boris admits that trust in God and the Jesus Prayer helped him not to lose heart.

A Word On the End of the World

St. Serapion of Vladimir

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

A Word On the End of the World

St. Serapion of Vladimir

So the earth quakes before the face of the Lord to strike us with fear, and many cities have been emptied by God’s wrath. But we don’t fear this either: We don’t stop working evil.