Orthodox Christianity

Monday, October 27/November 9, 2026. 24th Week after Pentecost.

No fast.

Martyr Nestor of Thessalonica (306).

St. Nestor the Chronicler, of the Kiev Caves (1114). Martyrs Capitolina and Eroteis, of Cappadocia (304). Uncovering of the relics, in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, of St. Andrew, prince of Smolensk (1539). Martyrs Mark of the island of Thasos and those with him (304).

New Hieromartyr Sergius (Chernukhin), abbot, of Danilov Monastery (Moscow) (1942).

St. Claudia Procula, wife of Pontius Pilate (1st c.). St. Otteran (Odran) of Iona, companion of St. Columba (ca. 563). St. Cyriacus, patriarch of Constantinople (1390). St. Demetrius of Basarabov (1685). St. Alexander (Okropiridze), bishop of Guria and Mingrelia, Georgia (1907). Synaxis of the Saints of the Kiev Theological Academy and Seminary.

Repose of Hieroschemamonk Antiochus of Svir, disciple of Elder Theodore of Svir (1832).

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Ukrainian Church Crisis

Archpriest and Psychotherapist Seraphim Chemodakov: “The most sincere and profound confessions take place in my office and in prison.”

“The most sincere and profound confessions take place in my office and in prison.” Archpriest and Psychotherapist Seraphim Chemodakov Archpriest and Psychotherapist Seraphim Chemodakov: “The most sincere and profound confessions take place in my office and in prison.” Archpriest Seraphim Chemodakov Already in prison, I came to realize more deeply how sinful we all are; but we are capable of returning to the better, of discovering the good qualities within ourselves.

Vladyka: Recollections of Archbishop Peter

Vladyka: Recollections of Archbishop Peter Priest Mikhail Moibenko Vladyka: Recollections of Archbishop Peter Priest Mikhail Moibenko Though he took on the episcopal mitre, mantle, and staff without reservation, his many years of monasticism and his time as the cell attendant of St. John of Shanghai had imbued him with a spirituality that shone upon all those around him.

On The Rich Man and Lazarus

On The Rich Man and Lazarus Archpriest Maxim Kozlov On The Rich Man and Lazarus Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost. St. Luke 16:19–31 Archpriest Maxim Kozlov Today’s parable, however, is not about social activism, but about the ultimate recompense that may await even someone who, by outward standards and criteria, is not a bad person.

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Publications

The Numberless Names of the Dead

Homily on St. Demitrios Saturday of the Reposed

Archpriest Alexander Shargunov

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

The Numberless Names of the Dead

Homily on St. Demitrios Saturday of the Reposed

Archpriest Alexander Shargunov

We listen to what the Church sings, and we try to hear the voices of the reposed behind these hymns.

“Be Humble, and Heaven and Earth Will Submit to You”

Alexandra Kalinovskaya

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

“Be Humble, and Heaven and Earth Will Submit to You”

Alexandra Kalinovskaya

From the union of the soul with God, there come joy, fear, love, the sweetness of consolation, enlightenment, awe, compunction, tears, and a complete forgetting of yourself and of everything earthly—which is impossible even to describe…

Hieromartyr Arethas of Valaam

Commorated January 26/February 28 (New Martyrs), June 8/July 21 (Saints of St. Petersburg), October 24/November 6

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Hieromartyr Arethas of Valaam

Commorated January 26/February 28 (New Martyrs), June 8/July 21 (Saints of St. Petersburg), October 24/November 6

“I have never actively opposed the Soviet authorities, but I cannot be a Soviet man, because we monks have been deprived of everything: monasteries and churches are being closed, clergymen are being exiled; in general, the Soviet authorities are persecuting religion everywhere.”

Elder Tikhon the Russian: The Path to a Beautiful Paradise

Alexandra Kalinovskaya

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Elder Tikhon the Russian: The Path to a Beautiful Paradise

Alexandra Kalinovskaya

"This Elder, who spent sixty years there in the desert, had so much humility! His language was a mixture of Church Slavonic, Russian, and Greek—a kind of Esperanto that only he spoke—but his soul… I’ll never forget his eyes!"

Holy Apostle James

Commemorated October 23/November 5

Bishop Alexander (Mileant)

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Holy Apostle James

Commemorated October 23/November 5

Bishop Alexander (Mileant)

The Apostle James was entrusted with a special ministry: unlike the other apostles, he did not travel to various lands preaching the Gospel, but taught and performed sacred rites in Jerusalem, a city of such great significance to the Christian world.

“Martyr Peter Found You!”

A talk with Innocentia Wellman

Innocentia Wellman

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

“Martyr Peter Found You!”

A talk with Innocentia Wellman

Innocentia Wellman

He arrived at Fort Ross and built a bonfire. He laid down some firewood, placed the icon on top, and piled more wood over the icon… But when the fire burned out, the icon remained intact!

Sermon on the November Feast of the Kazan Icon

Hieromonk Ambrose (Parkhetov)

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Sermon on the November Feast of the Kazan Icon

Hieromonk Ambrose (Parkhetov)

It is time for us to undergo an inner transformation. Let us kindle within ourselves this spirit—the spirit of living faith.

The Lord Protects Babies. Vignettes From Real Life

Elena Kucherenko

Coming to Orthodoxy

The Lord Protects Babies. Vignettes From Real Life

Elena Kucherenko

Perhaps the best thing I can say is how blessed we are to have God, the Mother of God, the angels, and the saints watching over us. Without their protection, I doubt any of these children would have made it through childhood in one piece. Not even by sheer luck. And the adults probably wouldn't have survived either.

The Meekness of God

Fr. Stephen Freeman

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

The Meekness of God

Fr. Stephen Freeman

Though He has utterly poured Himself out for us on the altar of the Cross, He nevertheless waits patiently for us to seek Him in return. More than this, in His patience, He invites us into a life of meekness as well.

“Tormented by a Spiritual Thirst”, or the Finest Speech in My Life

In Memory of Metropolitan John (Snychev; October 9, 1927–November 2, 1995)

Alexei Solonitsyn

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

“Tormented by a Spiritual Thirst”, or the Finest Speech in My Life

In Memory of Metropolitan John (Snychev; October 9, 1927–November 2, 1995)

Alexei Solonitsyn

I kept speaking—never once faltering—after reciting The Prophet and remembering everything that needed to be said, so that we might awaken from our spiritual slumber and root out, once and for all, that “loose and sly” tongue.

Lessons Learned from Elder Gabriel (Urgebadze)

Ketevan Bekauri

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Lessons Learned from Elder Gabriel (Urgebadze)

Ketevan Bekauri

Looking at Fr. Gabriel, you understand that there was no other monk or elder like him in the twentieth century.

A Sower Went Out to Sow. Luke 8:5–15

On how to till your “soil”

Priest Dimitry Vydumkin

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

A Sower Went Out to Sow. Luke 8:5–15

On how to till your “soil”

Priest Dimitry Vydumkin

Christ's parable of the sower, prophetically proclaiming that the seed of the word of God will remain largely fruitless among mankind, above all sounds a warning to us Christians.

Hieromartyr Neophyte Lyubimov. Part 2. A burning lamp of faith in Moscow

Natalia Vashchina

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Hieromartyr Neophyte Lyubimov. Part 2. A burning lamp of faith in Moscow

Natalia Vashchina

In the indictment, the investigator noted, “Lyubimov is an avowed monarchist and an opponent of Soviet power,” and concluded with: “Shoot immediately.”

Hieromartyr Neophyte Lyubimov. Part 1. A Teacher of Good Lessons of Faith in Simbirsk

Natalia Vashchina

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Hieromartyr Neophyte Lyubimov. Part 1. A Teacher of Good Lessons of Faith in Simbirsk

Natalia Vashchina

Hieromartyr Neophyte was a missionary and educator who likewise “laid the foundations for a culture of upbringing and systematic spiritual education” which largely shaped the formation of Russian Orthodox Church pastors and their future wives.

Elder Martinian’s Prayer: Icon of the Mother of God, the “Deliveress”

Svetlana Rybakova

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Elder Martinian’s Prayer: Icon of the Mother of God, the “Deliveress”

Svetlana Rybakova

The holy icon has been renowned for its miracles since ancient times.

About Six-Year-Old Maria Shchegoleva’s Prophecy

Churches and Monasteries

About Six-Year-Old Maria Shchegoleva’s Prophecy

It was she, Maria Shchegoleva, who would become the one responsible for the Church of St. Mary of Egypt, built in one of the most famous monasteries in Russia.

Holy Blessed Domna of Tomsk

Commemorated October 16/29

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Holy Blessed Domna of Tomsk

Commemorated October 16/29

She was born into a noble family in the early nineteenth century. Orphaned at a young age, Domna was raised in the household of her aunt. She received an excellent education and spoke several languages fluently.

When Life Loses Its Colors

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

When Life Loses Its Colors

The history of humanity holds many examples of how people found a way out of the deepest spiritual crises. And each time, that way out lay through acknowledging their pain, through an honest conversation with themselves and with God.

Let’s Go to Petushki, to St. Afanasy (Sakharov)

Hieromonk Athanasius (Deryugin)

Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

Let’s Go to Petushki, to St. Afanasy (Sakharov)

Hieromonk Athanasius (Deryugin)

Bishop Athanasius (Sakharov) of Kovrov was one of the remarkable Confessors of the twentieth century, having spent more than thirty years in captivity.

How Do We Talk about God with Committed Materialists?

Part 2. Archpriest Alexander Berezovsky

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

How Do We Talk about God with Committed Materialists?

Part 2. Archpriest Alexander Berezovsky

Publicly defending a stance is one thing; the soul is another. Every human soul seeks God, because it was created by God, and because without Him it is incomplete and suffers.

How Do We Talk about God with Committed Materialists?

Part 1. Archpriest Igor Fomin

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

How Do We Talk about God with Committed Materialists?

Part 1. Archpriest Igor Fomin

We do not converse with him to prove we are right, but so that he, too, may find happiness and come to salvation.

It’s a Great Blessing to Worship the Living God

Twelfth Talk on the Divine Liturgy

Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

It’s a Great Blessing to Worship the Living God

Twelfth Talk on the Divine Liturgy

Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol

Everyone worships someone or something. Some worship themselves, with their passions and egotism. Others worship their knowledge, their mind. But we’re called to worship the true living God, Christ, our Savior.

Mount Athos. Procession with the Iveron Icon

Photogallery

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Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days

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Mount Athos. Procession with the Iveron Icon

Photogallery

One of the greatest sacred shrines of the Christian world is the miracle-working Iveron icon of the Mother of God, located in the Iverson Monastery on Mount Athos. Twice a year the monks make a solemn cross procession with this icon.

Why Do Orthodox Christians Have Icons?

Fr. James Guirguis

Homilies and Spiritual Instruction

Why Do Orthodox Christians Have Icons?

Fr. James Guirguis

The 7th ecumenical council tells us that icons are not only good, but absolutely necessary. They are a continual reminder that God is no longer understood as simply an invisible spirit.

Autumn in Optina. Photos by Hieromonk Vitaly (Belov)

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Churches and Monasteries

Autumn in Optina. Photos by Hieromonk Vitaly (Belov)

Can there be anything more wistfully charming than Optina Monastery in autumn?