Orthodox Christianity

Monday, August 4/17, 2026. 12th Week after Pentecost. Успенский пост.

Monastic rule: xerophagy (bread, uncooked fruits and vegetables).

The Holy Seven Youths (“Seven Sleepers”) of Ephesus: Maximilian, Jamblicus, Martinian, John, Dionysius, Exacustodian (Constantine), and Antoninus (250 and ca. 446). Uncovering of the relics (2000) of St. Alexis, priest, of Bortsurmany, Nizhni-Novgorod (1848).

Martyr Eleutherius of Byzantium (beg. of 4th c.). Martyr Eudocia of Anatolia in Persia (362-364).

New Hieromartyr Michael (Zhuk), hieromonk, of Staroye Zubarevo (Mordovia) (1937).

New Hieromartyr Cosmas of Aitolia, Equal-to-the-Apostles (1779). Martyrs Ia and 9,000 with her in Persia (363). St. George (Lazar) the Pilgrim, of Varatec, Romania (1916). St. Athanasius (Hamakiotis) of Rodopoli (1967).

Repose of Archimandrite Lazar (Abashidze) of Georgia (2018).

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Ukrainian Church Crisis

If You Show Mercy…

If You Show Mercy… Fr. James Guirguis If You Show Mercy… Fr. James Guirguis The Lord says in effect, “I have forgiven and will continue to forgive you, but you must also forgive others continually.”

Lessons of Faith from the Seven Holy Youths of Ephesus

Lessons of Faith from the Seven Holy Youths of Ephesus Hieromonk Agafangel (Davlatov) Lessons of Faith from the Seven Holy Youths of Ephesus Hieromonk Agafangel (Davlatov) These Seven Holy Youths fell into a deep and sound sleep; they did not die, but rather fell asleep, and they told this story themselves almost two centuries after they were sealed in this cave.

Forgiveness Is Necessary for Our Salvation

Forgiveness Is Necessary for Our Salvation Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) Forgiveness Is Necessary for Our Salvation Sermon on the Eleventh Week of Pentecost Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov) How then brethren can we not be merciful to our neighbors and not forgive their sins against us, when our Heavenly Father Himself loves us all? He is kind to both the ungrateful and the wicked.

The Dormition Fast

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Publications

The Burden of The Sword and The Healing of The Heart: Remaining a Christian While Stopping Evil

Priest Leonid Bartkov

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

The Burden of The Sword and The Healing of The Heart: Remaining a Christian While Stopping Evil

Priest Leonid Bartkov

Forgiveness is not amnesia. Forgiveness is not saying, “Nothing terrible happened.” No, something terrible did happen. Evil is evil. Forgiveness is not reconciliation with evil. Forgiveness is renouncing personal revenge. It is breaking the chain of evil within oneself.

Three Feasts of the Savior and the Mirror of Christ

Hieromonk Spyridon (Dorosh)

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

Three Feasts of the Savior and the Mirror of Christ

Hieromonk Spyridon (Dorosh)

Our faith is called Christianity because Christ is at its center. We look to Him, we strive towards Him, and we become like Him.

The Procession of the Life-Giving Cross

St. Alexei Mechev

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

The Procession of the Life-Giving Cross

St. Alexei Mechev

O Cross of the Lord! Guide us all to the path of salvation, establish peace and calm in our land, so that we may live a quiet and peaceful life in all piety and purity.

The Union of our Spirits: Ekklesia as Epiclesis

Fr. Lawrence Farley

Theology

The Union of our Spirits: Ekklesia as Epiclesis

Fr. Lawrence Farley

The Lord’s sacramental presence among us at Liturgy is a gift, a charisma, the gracious fulfillment of His promise to manifest Himself when His disciples gather together.

What Does it Mean to Stand in the Faith?

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

What Does it Mean to Stand in the Faith?

Hieromartyr Benjamin was condemned for his sharply negative attitude towards the Renovationist schism.

What Does Your Faith Smell Like?

On the commemoration of the Nativity of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

Metropolitan Luke (Kovalenko)

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

What Does Your Faith Smell Like?

On the commemoration of the Nativity of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

Metropolitan Luke (Kovalenko)

Sanctity inspires, heals, and calls us to goodness. It proves that the Gospel is not a distant ideal but real life, accessible to each of us.

Abba Pambo. Restraint of the Tongue as a Spiritual Discipline

Hieromonk Spyridon (Dorosh)

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Abba Pambo. Restraint of the Tongue as a Spiritual Discipline

Hieromonk Spyridon (Dorosh)

For the hermits, silence was the battlefield of continuous spiritual warfare. In solitude, the usual worldly concerns disappeared, and a person was left face to face with his own passions and with temptations from the evil one and the demons.

On Self-Denial and Truth

If Therefore Thine Eye Be Single, Part 2

Hieromonk Savatie (Bastovoi)

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

On Self-Denial and Truth

If Therefore Thine Eye Be Single, Part 2

Hieromonk Savatie (Bastovoi)

While God speaks to us about grace and forgiveness, people speak about laws and punishments. Strength forgives, but weakness punishes.

If Therefore Thine Eye Be Single

Part 1: On Judgment and the Single Eye

Hieromonk Savatie Baștovoi

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

If Therefore Thine Eye Be Single

Part 1: On Judgment and the Single Eye

Hieromonk Savatie Baștovoi

In our neighbor, we find either salvation or perdition.

Tesla’s “Silent Agreement” with Saint Nicholas

Rev. Dr. Oliver Subotic

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Tesla’s “Silent Agreement” with Saint Nicholas

Rev. Dr. Oliver Subotic

In November 1940, the wealthy Serbian-American Mihailo Ducic sent him financial assistance. The ingenious inventor thanked him in a telegram, stating, among other things: “Saint Nicholas and you are my best friends.”

Saint Herman and His Alaska

A new book

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Saint Herman and His Alaska

A new book

How hard it was for the brothers in, the far north! Although autumn brought rain and wind to the brethren, the monks could not help but admire the beauty of the land and praise God despite the harsh weather.

Trust in God and Do Your Best

Sermon on the Feast-Day of Greatmartyr Panteleimon

Hierodeacon Iliodor (Schevchuk)

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Trust in God and Do Your Best

Sermon on the Feast-Day of Greatmartyr Panteleimon

Hierodeacon Iliodor (Schevchuk)

St. Panteleimon was a physician, but at those moments when his profession could not bring any benefit, he turned to God so that He might make up for the weakness of human strength and grant healing to the sick.

St Jacob Netsvetov the Enlightener of the Peoples of Alaska

Commemorated on July 26/August 8

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Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

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St Jacob Netsvetov the Enlightener of the Peoples of Alaska

Commemorated on July 26/August 8

He learned new languages, embraced new peoples and cultures, devised another alphabet, built another church and Orthodox community, and for the next twenty years, until his health and eyesight failed, continued to be an evangelical beacon of the grace of God in southwestern Alaska.

Holy Woman Olympias (Olympiada) the Deaconess of Constantinople

Commemorated on July 25

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Holy Woman Olympias (Olympiada) the Deaconess of Constantinople

Commemorated on July 25

Saint Olympias the Deaconess was the daughter of the senator Anicius Secundus, and by her mother she was the granddaughter of the noted eparch Eulalios (he is mentioned in the life of Saint Nicholas).

Dormition of the Righteous Anna, the Mother of the Most Holy Theotokos

Commemorated on July 25/August 7

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Dormition of the Righteous Anna, the Mother of the Most Holy Theotokos

Commemorated on July 25/August 7

Saint Anna was the daughter of the priest Matthan and his wife Mary. She was of the tribe of Levi and the lineage of Aaron. According to Tradition, she died peacefully in Jerusalem at age 79, before the Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos.

To Dedicate Yourself to God Out of Wholehearted Gratitude to Him

Archimandrite Melchisedek (Artiukhin)

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

To Dedicate Yourself to God Out of Wholehearted Gratitude to Him

Archimandrite Melchisedek (Artiukhin)

Some revere the monastic way of life while being unable to fully understand it; some consider it the pinnacle of Christian life, others an unnecessary extreme.

The Journey of Holy Admiral Theodore Ushakov: From Rybinsk to the French Riviera

Anastasiia Lutcenko

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

The Journey of Holy Admiral Theodore Ushakov: From Rybinsk to the French Riviera

Anastasiia Lutcenko

St. Theodore reminds us that holiness is also possible in the midst of responsibility, public service and difficult decisions. He fulfilled his duty with courage, but he never allowed power to overcome compassion.

The Hermit and Hesychast St. John (Iacob) of Neamț, the New Chozebite

Archimandrite Ioanichie (Balan)

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

The Hermit and Hesychast St. John (Iacob) of Neamț, the New Chozebite

Archimandrite Ioanichie (Balan)

St. John (Iacob) was a holy hesychast of our days, who struggled for twenty-four years in the Holy Land, in the Jordan Valley and in the desert of Chozeba.

The Holy and Righteous Warrior Theodore Ushakov

Commemorated October 2/15 and July 23/August 5

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

The Holy and Righteous Warrior Theodore Ushakov

Commemorated October 2/15 and July 23/August 5

When it came to preserving lives, Ushakov did not divide officers and sailors into first and second class, and he did everything possible to conduct any military operation with minimal casualties.

That the Works of God Should Be Made Manifest

Svetlana Rybakova

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

That the Works of God Should Be Made Manifest

Svetlana Rybakova

St. Mary shared in the apostolic labors, preaching the Gospel among women. And she remained faithful to the Lord not only in the days of His glory, but also at the moment of His extreme humiliation.

From the Valley of Dry Bones to the Hope for Eternal Life

Sermon on the feast of the Prophet Ezekiel

Hieromonk Irenei (Pikovsky)

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

From the Valley of Dry Bones to the Hope for Eternal Life

Sermon on the feast of the Prophet Ezekiel

Hieromonk Irenei (Pikovsky)

Faith in the resurrection of the dead is not only a dogma, but also a source of Christian hope and moral transformation.

Honoring the Saints Is Imitating Their Lives

Sermon on the Feast of the Holy Prophet Elias

Hierodeacon Iliodor (Shevchuk)

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Honoring the Saints Is Imitating Their Lives

Sermon on the Feast of the Holy Prophet Elias

Hierodeacon Iliodor (Shevchuk)

His life’s path was joyless and very difficult; he was an outcast in his own homeland and he had to flee into the desert to escape the persecution of a wicked king. St. Elias went through severe trials and spiritual distress. It was very hard for him, but he passed through all this with God, without abandoning the ministry entrusted to him.

Praying Through The Storms

Fr. James Guirguis

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

Praying Through The Storms

Fr. James Guirguis

We are the iron, often cold and lifeless. Yet we can be activated through prayer.

The Love and Humility of St. Seraphim of Sarov

Sermon on the feast of the Uncovering of the Relics of St. Seraphim, the Wonderworker of Sarov

Hieromonk Ignaty (Shestakov)

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

The Love and Humility of St. Seraphim of Sarov

Sermon on the feast of the Uncovering of the Relics of St. Seraphim, the Wonderworker of Sarov

Hieromonk Ignaty (Shestakov)

Learned and uneducated, rich and poor alike—everyone deeply loves St. Seraphim. It was this love, coming from the believing heart, that once played a key role in his canonization.

Evgenia Rozina: “Giving Christ Only What Is Left Over Is No Great Thing”

Notes from the Kostroma Countryside

Churches and Monasteries

Evgenia Rozina: “Giving Christ Only What Is Left Over Is No Great Thing”

Notes from the Kostroma Countryside

Children who first came to church only for Sunday school gradually led their own parents to Christ. That is one of the remarkable paradoxes of our time.