5/28/2019
Maria Vasic
We are convinced by our own example that you “don’t walk over the doorstep without asking His blessing”—and, when your doorstep is in Kosovo, you simply can’t do anything without God.
The remaining Orthodox people subsist here solely by farming and a tenacity that can probably be described as unrelenting, and they stay because of their faith.
It’s odd though—the most frequent question we, the residents of Parteš, have had to answer was, “But aren't you afraid?” Aren’t we afraid to go to church, or gather in groups somewhere? Should we fear the joy of the Risen Christ, just tell me?
Stepan Ignashev
It is not easy to be a Serb and Orthodox in your native land--the price for your faithfulness to Christ and the Fatherland is often very high, sometimes even life itself.
The snows of Russia, the harsh Baikal, the Mongolian steppes and the desert—and over all of it is the icon of the Mother of God—a glorious, austere and joyful scene.
The unknown, the uncertainty, and fear have been the reality of our daily life for more than twenty years already.
Archimandrite Damjan (Cvetkovic)
Under such pressure everyone is inevitably faced with a choice—to decide who he really is—a Christian, or just a “common man”.
To put it simply, stop running after monks, submissive as they are! And it is harmful for such a runner himself. This is the usual vanity: “I go for confession to no one but schemamonk so-and-so himself!”
The homes built by their great-grandfathers, where grandfathers and fathers resided, stay empty because the son – he is gone and resides with his family someplace abroad.
Currently, according to my own observations, the people take less interest in the economic dimension than spiritual aspect. And this is very important; it seems as though we are gradually coming to the realization that even though money and the comforts of life do matter, there are other things that still matter more.
Archimandrite Jovan (Radosavlević)
Fr. Pavle stood out for his education. His learning was valued, and people often asked for his advice and explanations. But most of all he was loved—both in the monastery and in the neighborhood—for his meekness, gentleness and good sense of humor.
Not a great night if you lie down expecting a Molotov cocktail to be hurled your way. And what’s most important—you know for sure that not a single soul will come to your defense, there is simply no one left out there.
It’s a fact: The monasteries need money. Another thing is when it becomes the chief objective of the monastery’s existence. What future lies ahead for the monasteries known earlier as the “luminaries of Orthodoxy”?
“I cannot make the Serbs remember the church. But I will always remind them about the church and about Christ.”
Marija Petrovic
It is impossible to imagine a Serb who would remain indifferent to this special day—the day of an earthly defeat, but a heavenly victory.
Archpriest Oleg Vrona
Vladyka Kornily was lying on his back with eyes closed and hands crossed over his chest... At the Russian border, when we were almost done with our prayer rule, we heard some firm steps coming towards us through the corridor.
Priest Roman Savchuk
Our responsibility doesn’t stop when the child grows up. It just moves on to another level and stage.
Patriarch Pavle conveyed to us the words of one of the leaders of the schismatics, “Metropolitan” Timothy: “We’d even work with the devil if only not to work with you, Serbs, and your Serbian Church!”
Hannu Pöyhönen
Western rationalism, which contradicts the human need for mystical experience, has served as a “fertile soil” here.
Priest Andrei Lebedev
I think that in stories about the New Martyrs, the emphasis should be put on the joy of life and death for Christ.
Dejan Baljosevic
“The Ghetto”—that’s what, with a touch of sad humor, the people of Orahovac in Kosovo and Metohija call their town. Divided into two parts—the Serbian and the Albanian—the town really gives no cause for joy. Nevertheless, the Serbs who live there not only keep calm but also keep hope and faith in Christ, without which, as they say, life is meaningless.
Dr. Hannu Pöyhönen
This pandemic has revealed the smallness and superficiality of our faith.
Priest Sergei Ermolaev
Someone hears some news, begins to think about it, gets annoyed, angry, and starts to judge others. As a result we find ourselves in a state when we are unable to pray.
We have talked with Hannu Pöyhönen, a co-founder of the Panagia center and Ph.D in Theology, on the permanent spiritual thirst of people and Christ’s desire to quench it without violating our freedom.
Igumen Dovmont (Belyayev)
Communication with these marvelous people left the warmest memories in my heart forever.
Stepan Ignashev, Vladimir Fedukov
Twenty-five years ago, artist Vladimir Fedukov moved with his family from the city to a rural village in the Russian north. Writer Stepan Ignashev talks with him about Russian realism in both art and life.
Stepan Ignashev, William Brumfield
Rating: 9.2|Votes: 40
This unearthly light can be seen not only on the photographs of churches, but also in the eyes, the smile, the facial expression of a person. In all of this I see God’s Providence. Russia opened my eyes to it through photography.
Rating: 9.5|Votes: 70
When I first arrived to Mt. Athos, literally “tormented by spiritual thirst”, I asked everybody, who could I turn to for spiritual counsel? And they answered with one voice: “Go to Fr. Paisios.”
Rating: 9.4|Votes: 37
Studying and upholding the patristic tradition convinces you of the truth of another paradox: It is only by struggling with false, “plastic” happiness that you find true happiness. Indeed, what can make you happier than an earnest, though difficult, struggle with your sins?
Hannu Pöyhönen, Stepan Ignashev
Rating: 8.7|Votes: 49
The Church should remain the salt of the earth, even if it has to pay dearly for this.
