Vladimir Basenkov

How Can We See God?

The Ability to Recognize the Divine, Part 2

Archpriest George Zavershinsky

It’s impossible for man to see God. But the Son Whom He sent utters Divine words in human language and reveals God’s truth about being in this world.

The Ability to Recognize the Divine, Part 1

Archpriest George Zavershinsky

You can glorify God not so much with the creation of your own hands—with the beautiful interior of churches, icons, and vestments—as with an inner spiritual response, feeling God’s presence where His voice is heard.

Life Goes On

Archpriest George Zavershinsky

Even in tempest and thunderstorms, in the midst of the chaos and the noise of the big cities, God is in the silence of the heart, if a man desires it.

“I’m not Afraid to Have Few Parishioners in Venezuelan Churches”

Priest Kirill Zholtkevich

My spiritual training began with my grandfather, a priest. He took me into the altar when I was four. Since then I have been in church and have always been surrounded by clergy.

The Nativity Fast Frees the Space of Our Souls for God

Archpriest George Zavershinsky

The Christian’s temperance during the Nativity Fast and the meeting of one of the greatest Christian feasts are closely interrelated.

Father Sergius, Can I Pray to You Here?

On help from St. Sergius of Radonezh in the Holy Land

Nun Mariam (Yurchuk)

And at one moment she looked off to the side and saw that joyful, bright face on the icon. It was St. Sergius!

“Peru Is a Country of Religious, Economic and Social Contrasts”

Hieromonk Innokenty (Karpov)

It should be added that Peru is a multiethnic country, unlike Argentina or Chile. Historically, Lima is a very ancient city: Civilization existed here long before the arrival of the Spaniards. Peru is a country of religious, economic, and social contrasts.

“The trouble in Brazil is that there are very few Orthodox Churches”

Fr. Roman Kunen

Fr. Roman Kunen is the acting rector of the Church of the holy Martyr Zinaida in Rio de Janeiro of the Diocese of Argentina and South America of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, and also an assistant judge. He spoke with us about how tendinitis helped him convert to Orthodoxy, how Brazilians keep fasts, social networks as a means of preaching Christ and what places are worth visiting in one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

A Russian Church in an American Zone

A talk with Hieromonk Anthony (Zhukov). Part 2

Hieromonk Anthony (Zhukov)

We have the custom of helping locals integrate into Church life by fully immersing themselves in the life of the Russian parish, performing the prayer rule and carrying out their obedience.

“In Panama the Whole Family Goes to Church Together”

A talk with Hieromonk Anthony (Zhukov). Part 1

Hieromonk Anthony (Zhukov)

To study to become a long-distance navigator, to become a monk in one of the most inclement corners of Russia, then go on a mission to Latin America...

Bright Week: A Meeting with Eternity

Vladimir Basenkov

At Pascha God gives us an amazing opportunity to experience the atmosphere of the Heavenly Kingdom.

“The Joy We Feel Is Priceless”

On Serving God in Mongolia. Part 2

Priest Anthony Gusev

The community is quite active, helping the parish as much as possible in taking care of the facilities and other issues. Finally, we’ve launched a Sunday School, and our parishioners teach in it.

“I’m Learning Patience From the Mongols”

On Serving God in Mongolia

Priest Anthony Gusev

Another thing that caught my eye, or rather, my nose, was the smell of smoke and burning. It permeated everything you touched. There are 1.5 million people in Ulaanbaatar, and about half of them live in yurts, which are heated with coal.

“Cuba is a country with a rich and dramatic history”

A talk with Priest Savva Gagloev, Havana. Part 1

Priest Savva Gagloev

There was no shock, but it really took time to get used to the new reality, in which I providentially found myself. Sometimes I could not believe that I already lived in Cuba.

“Orthodox Cubans Are a Bridge Between Our Cultures”

A talk with Priest Savva Gagloev, Havana. Part 2

Priest Savva Gagloev

Throughout all times it has been important to find a balance between the eternal and the temporal, the spirit and the letter, the content and the form. It is a tragedy when the letter takes precedence over the spirit, and temporal interests and the current state of affairs—over universal ideals and eternal values.

“It Was Important To Introduce the Danes to Orthodoxy”

Nun Ambrosia (Garayeva)

Sister Ambrosia talks about life in Denmark through the eyes of a nun, the particulars of convent life, and the main spiritual challenges of our time.

“Metropolitan Kallistos Always Taught Us to Ask Ourselves Whether We Are Guided by Love or Not”

Nun Seraphima (Konstantinovskaya)

He was filled with love and was well disposed to all people. It is impossible to list how many people the metropolitan helped in difficult situations.

“Today Orthodoxy Can Be a Model for All Christendom”

Metropolitan Sawa of Warsaw and All Poland

Our Church gives special attention to the education of the younger generation. We do this at the family, school and Church level.

Igumen Nikon (Golovko): “We Must not Tolerate Oppression in the Holy Land in Silence”

Igumen Nikon (Golovko)

We should not tolerate oppression in the Holy Land in silence; on the contrary, we must unite, speak loudly and clearly about the problems that exist, and get international forces involved in resolving the conflicts flaring up here, making every effort to maintain the Christian presence at the greatest shrines of the world.

To What Extent Should Parishioners Be Involved in Parish Life?

If a pastor has not learned how to build relationships with parishioners properly,

“Znamenny chant must be sung in such a way that people would want to listen to it”

Interview with Andrey Kotov, the leader of Sirin Ensemble

Vladimir Basenkov

I become a part of the prayer and feel that I’m God’s creation. I start to understand the value and meaning of words in a different way. Why is intonation prohibited in church readings? To prevent the reader from imbuing the meaning of the words with his or her emotions.

Can a Priest Combine His Pastoral Ministry with a Secular Job?

Orthodox Pastors discuss the problem

One turns to secular work from material need, another—from a spiritual temptation, another—as a spiritual labor. Only God knows who is who.

Archpriest Sladjan Vasic: “Austria Is a Country with Christian Traditions”

Archpriest Sladjan Vasic

I am always happy to see how the Church grows! And recently we had such a case: A young Catholic converted to Orthodoxy simply after attending our Divine Liturgy...

“We Christians Must Make the World a Better Place”

An Interview with Priest George Mashtaler. Part 2

Priest Georgy Mashtaler

Our parish is growing; the church is becoming too small for the community. I rejoice!

An Orthodox Priest in Luxembourg

An Interview with Priest George Mashtaler. Part 1

Priest Georgy Mashtaler

We were brought up in the faith. We tried to preserve what we loved and appreciated in Russian culture.

Orthodox Life in Hungary. Part 3

And Interview with Archpriest Nikolai Kim

Archpriest Nikolai Kim

Any crisis reveals the essence of things and various phenomena. Today in Hungary, the deep, core national traits are manifesting themselves.

Orthodox Life in Hungary. Part 2

An interview with Archpriest Nikolai Kim

Archpriest Nikolai Kim

All events pale next to the raising of an Orthodox cross on top of a church under construction in the heart of Europe.

Orthodox Life in Hungary. Part 1

An interview with Archpriest Nikolai Kim

Archpriest Nikolai Kim

Hungarian Orthodoxy has a rich spiritual heritage and worthy successors.

Archpriest Valentin Basyuk (New Zealand): “The Challenge of the Times for the Church is to Overcome the Triumph of Evil in the World”

Part 2. It is necessary to distinguish faith from nostalgia

Archpriest Valentin Basyuk

You shouldn’t idealize church life and create idols in it. Idols tend to fall and break, and their fragments inflict deep wounds on people around them.

Archpriest Valentin Basyuk (New Zealand): “The Challenge of the Time for the Church is Overcoming the Triumph of Evil in the World”

Part 1. Think, Think and Pray

Archpriest Valentin Basyuk

After that incident, clarity of mind and determination came to me: Since I wanted to be a priest, I must become one. That event influenced my decision.

“We have to talk about God so that they will hear us”

A talk with Archpriest George Zavershinsky (the Diocese of Sourozh). Part 2

Archpriest George Zavershinsky

The parish is our main social project—such is the reality of the life abroad.

From Nuclear Science to the Priesthood

A talk with Archpriest George Zavershinsky (the Diocese of Sourozh)

Archpriest George Zavershinsky

Fr. George converted to the faith while doing research in the sphere of nuclear technology and became a priest after a confrontation with the criminal world.

“We came to realize that the most important thing is a community gathered in the name of Christ”

A talk with Priest Dimitry Ostanin from Ukraine, who with the blessing of the future Patriarch Kirill was sent to serve as rector of the Holy Theophany parish in Bergen (Norway) in 2008. Part 2

Priest Dimitry Ostanin

The place of personal justice is taken by a fair trial. Love is replaced by social services. That is why a variety of charitable projects is an important way for a person to show his humanity.

“We are united by Christ in His Church, not by our origin, culture or language”

A talk with Priest Dimitry Ostanin from Ukraine, who with the blessing of the future Patriarch Kirill was sent to serve as rector of the Holy Theophany parish in Bergen (Norway) in 2008. Part 1

Priest Dimitry Ostanin

The most important lesson from my life in Norway is that we must learn to be happy.

“We priests are servants of Christ”

An interview with Archpriest Dejan Krstic. Part 2

Archpriest Dejan Krstic

In their struggle for survival people very often forget “the only thing that matters.”

“Kosovo is the Grave Where we Have Been Buried for Centuries and from Which we Have Risen Again and Again”

An interview with Archpriest Dejan Krstic. Part 1

Archpriest Dejan Krstic

The reality in which we live today in Kosovo and Metohija can undoubtedly be called, “Divine education”.

“See Only the Good in Every Human Being”

An interview with Archpriest Vaclav Jezek of the Czech Republic. Part 2

Archpriest Vaclav Jezek

The spirit of individualism and pragmatism isn’t helpful. In order to be a good Orthodox Christian one must learn to live in society, in a family, he must learn tolerance.

“Orthodoxy is about Community”

An interview with Archpriest Vaclav Jezek of the Czech Republic. Part 1

Archpriest Vaclav Jezek

Fr. Vaclav serves in the famous Cathedral of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Prague, helping its rector. In Part 1, Fr. Vaclav talks about the complex development of Orthodoxy in the lands of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Czech atheism, and conciliarity as the basis of the Church.

Stories from the Everyday Life of a Few Russian Priests

Vladimir Basenkov

The Lord guides, instructs and teaches us all the time. Sometimes it is obvious, so the meaning of a situation is clear immediately, and sometimes it is hidden. These stories are about God's lessons taught in the humdrum of everyday life.

Priest Hildo Bos: For Me, Orthodoxy is the Experience of Divine Mystery in the Created World

Part 2. Unless your soul finds peace in God, all will be in vain

Priest Hildo Bos

First and foremost, our mission is to be here, to keep our doors open and welcome guests in our churches.

On the Ministry of an Orthodox Priest in Post-Christian Sweden. Part 2

Archpriest Vitaly Babushin

There’s a moving example of the conversion of a Swede who since the time of his conversion has been doing everything for the glory of God. He has built a church on his plot of land, far in the north.

On the Ministry of an Orthodox Priest in Post-Christian Sweden. Part 1

Archpriest Vitaly Babushin

We live in the post-Christian European reality, in a world where everything related to Christianity is ignored or forgotten in favor of some new, and often openly sinful, tendencies.

Before the Cross, All are Equal, Both Senators and Migrants

Part 1. Building a Community is an Amazing Experience

Priest John Dimitrov

The Church is the house of God, not of man. In this house, everybody is a guest, and there is only one Host.

Priest Hildo Bos: For Me, Orthodoxy Is Experiencing the Divine Mystery in This World

Part 1. My friend died, but I still became a believer

Priest Hildo Bos

I did convert to Orthodoxy in the Novgorod Region. This may seem unusual, but it was the culmination of a fairly long process. My journey to Orthodoxy began at a very early stage of my life, I just wasn’t aware of it.

Fatima’s Journey

Stories of the Gorny Monastery

Vladimir Basenkov

Once there was a nun named Nonna who labored at the Russian Gorny monastery in Jerusalem. She told me the amazing story of her conversion to Orthodoxy from Islam.

A Miracle of St. Simeon the God-Receiver

Nun Mariam (Yurchuk)

Rebecca was a diligent student, carefully studying the Old Testament books, Jewish traditions and way of life. One day, while interpreting Isaiah chapter 53, she had her first argument with a rabbi.

For Where Your Treasure Is, There Will Your Heart Be Also

Archpriest Alexander Yavorovsky talks about religious life in Benelux, and how he got around the pandemic restrictions. Part 2

Archpriest Alexander Yavorovsky

Our engaging talk with Fr. Alexander covered topics as varied as how a broken jaw helped him become a priest, what it is like to be ordained at the age of just twenty-one, his truck driver training course and the relationship with other truckers, continuing his ministry while at the wheel of his rig, his multi-cultural parish, the Orthodox children’s camp in Belgium, why Europeans fear death, the deserted Catholic churches in Europe, government assistance and the gift of the priesthood.

A Priest is Always and Everywhere a Priest

Archpriest Alexander Yavorovsky talks about serving as a priest in Europe and his secular job as a long-haul truck driver. Part 1

Archpriest Alexander Yavorovsky

I am on my mission even while driving!

“When you see the resilience of the Irish, you understand where Tolkien got his Hobbits”

Priest John Kazadoev

People tend to consolidate in difficult life conditions—this bears fruit since the center of unity is Christ.

“We have to understand someone else’s pain”

A Talk with Jordanville’s Deacon Andrei Psarev. Part 2

Deacon Andrei Psarev

The selfless ministry of the numerous pastors of the Russian Church in the emigration has taken shape in a kind of iconographic image of ministry as expressed in the Russian saying, “for the sake of Christ Jesus and not for a bite of bread.”

“I am incurably heartsick for Russia”

A Talk with Jordanville’s Deacon Andrei Psarev. Part 1

Deacon Andrei Psarev

Deacon Andrei Psarev is a senior lecturer at the legendary Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville and a researcher into the history of the Russian Church Outside Russia.. We have talked with Fr. Andrei on the outstanding alumni of the Seminary, the difficulties of a seminarian’s life, new historical discoveries, and the distinctive Russian culture in the diaspora. COVID-19, the reasons behind The Black Lives Matter phenomenon, and the lessons of Church life.

“Germans View the Orthodox Church as the Keeper of Patristic Traditions”

A talk with Priest Alexey Veselov

Priest Alexey Veselov

It isn’t easy for Germans to become Orthodox, both emotionally and in practice. They have to not only abandon the faith of their fathers but also to become members of a foreign community with a different mentality and an unfamiliar language. However, the desire to find the truth is so strong that more and more Germans are deciding to take on this burden.

“The Main Mission of a Priest is to Bring People to Communion”

Archpriest Jordan Pashev

When I was fulfilling my compulsory military service, there were some Evangelicals in my battalion. We would spend entire nights arguing about the faith. I started going to church on Sunday and talking with the priest so I could better prepare for my discussions with them.

“The harvest truly plenteous, but the labourers few.” Archpriest Joseph Skinner talks about Orthodoxy in England

Archpriest Joseph Skinner

Our conversation with Archpriest Joseph Skinner is about the life of the Diocese of Sourozh, His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom), the Black Lives Matter activist movement and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Holy Right-Believing Princess Anna of Kashin

Commemorated: June 12/25 (Translation of Relics and the Second Canonization), July 21/August 3 (Uncovering of Relics), and October 2/15 (Repose)

Vladimir Basenkov

Though she became famous for her miracles after her blessed repose, it was not until much later that the holy princess was vouchsafed universal Church veneration.

“A Precious Treasure that Shone Forth From the Depths of the Earth”

Nun Mariam (Yurchuk) on the history of the Lord’s Cross

Nun Mariam (Yurchuk)

The traditions connected with the place where the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord was uncovered and it’s, to say the least, complicated fate over the centuries, are the subject of our conversation with Nun Mariam (Yurchuk) of the Gorny Convent of the Russian Mission [Moscow Patriarchate] in Jerusalem—a guide and the author of a guidebook for pilgrims to the Holy Land.

“There Are Very Favorable Circumstances for Preaching the Word of God in Lithuania”

Vladimir Basenkov, Priest George Sungaila

Priest George Sungaila, a cleric of the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Pure Mother of God in Vilnius, runs a blog on Orthodoxy in Lithuanian. He is actively involved in the preparation and publication of prayer books for fellow Lithuanians and says that he doesn’t have enough people to help him preach Orthodoxy in his native land.

Bishop John of Caracas and South America: “We Always Looked Towards Our Motherland in the Hope of Returning One Day”

Bishop John (Berzins)

Bishop John (Berzins) of Caracas and South America was born and raised in an Orthodox Latvian family in Australia, studied theology in Jordanville, served in the Holy Land, and later began to govern the Edinoverie parishes of ROCOR. We talked about life abroad, Russian emigrants and the preservation of national identity.

Happy Are Those…

Vladimir Basenkov

People are seeking happiness, preferably in recipes and measurable proportions: “Five Steps to Success,” “Six Ways to Stay Calm,” “Ten Secrets of Happiness”… So let’s give the world our true, Christian secrets of happiness, which in one way or another every man seeks throughout his life.

Keeper of the Treasury

In Memory of Hieromartyr Simon (Shleev), the First Edinoverie Bishop

Vladimir Basenkov

In his deep humility, Vladyka Simon, probably dreaming of having a bishop for the Edinoverie more than anyone else, sought this for himself least of all. Batiushka believed there were many who were more worthy than him. And the fate of the Edinoverie bishop did not promise a quiet and full life.

Rating: 9.2|Votes: 48

Edinovertsi’s Treasure: The Rule of Home Prayer

Vladimir Basenkov

Until the revolution in Russia, there was a universal tradition of reading the “lay order” of the services. In the absence of the priest in church, or at home, the entire family would read part or all of the daily cycle of Church services. We will talk today about what happened to this good tradition, how to revive it, and what benefit it brings for the whole body of the Church.

Rating: 9.7|Votes: 46

Is The Benedict Option Relevant to Russia?

Reflections on reading the book by Rod Dreher

Vladimir Basenkov

Some reflections on the sensational book by an Orthodox American Rod Dreher, The Benedict Option, the post-Christian world, and some parallels with the reality in Russia.

Rating: 9.6|Votes: 47

As in Old Russia: Edinoverie Families Today

Vladimir Basenkov

We decided to ask a few questions to simple lay Old Believers about the way of life in their “little church” today.

Rating: 9.1|Votes: 23

In Defense of Building Orthodox Churches: a Perspective from a Russian Province

Vladimir Basenkov

This just made us wonder why these people are against the building of houses of God, what arguments they are presenting and what lies behind these arguments.

Rating: 8.8|Votes: 38

According to “The Domestic Rule”

On Edinoverie Family Life in Our Days

Vladimir Basenkov

The value of tradition as the best experience of our ancestors, accumulated, refined, and transmitted, has been devalued in our days. The modern Orthodox family is compelled to seek new ways to orient their everyday life. Over the course of the many centuries of Christian history, the Russian people created a universal system of family values, which, having moral categories, is always clearly manifested externally: in expressions, relations, and organization of space.

Rating: 9.9|Votes: 27

How a Edinoverie Parish is Organized

Vladimir Basenkov

What was an Edinoverie parish like 100 years ago and today? How do Edinoverie parishes differ from conventional Orthodox parishes? This next article on the Edinoverie discusses these questions.

Rating: 9.7|Votes: 27

Edinoverie Old Believers: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Vladimir Basenkov

The Edinoverie allows you to truly, as a in monastery, break away from worldly vanity, immerse yourself in a prayerful condition, look at the Orthodox faith through the prism of greater strictness with yourself, and pull yourself up to a personal spiritual height.

Rating: 9.3|Votes: 59

Getting To Know the Old Believers: How We Pray

Vladimir Basenkov

There are no longer long services and plangent, angelic singing in our city parishes, and icons of the Rublev school are found far from everywhere. But grains of these olden times, of this semi-monastic life have been preserved, by the will of God, and survived to our day in the Edinoverie (United Faith, Old Rite) parishes of the Russian Church.