Aleksei Tereschenko
It’s easy to think ourselves humble when we’re standing in church surrounded by the fragrance of incense and our brothers and sisters in Christ smile at us. But what is the value of this humility if it falls to pieces when a single stranger yells at us somewhere outside?
St. Cleopa (Ilie)
The disciples did not know their Master, they did not know Christ—the Savior of the world Who performed so many miracles. Who revealed to them the mystery of God’s coming to earth and the incarnation of God the Word? The Holy Spirit.
Strong was the blessed one’s love for the Lord, and for this the Lord glorified him with His grace.
Archimandrite Cleopa (Ilie)
When the Heavenly powers saw the Savior removing the gates on high, all the angels blew their trumpets, everyone started singing, and in a chorus of great rejoicing and great singing, Christ ascended and abolished—did not open, but abolished—the gates of Heaven.
Have you heard what Jesus Christ came down for? For the sake of love. Have you heard what He ascended for? To lift us up, the children of man, not in one day, not in two, not in a year, not in a hundred years, not in a thousand or ten thousand years, but all the days of old—that is, as long as the world stands.
Elena Belovitskaya
Anyone who has once decided to travel to Diveyevo as a volunteer will surely say that his life was divided into “before” and “after.”
Sergei Vityazev
Blessed Simon made many prophecies: he foresaw fires, foretold deaths and other events.
St. Nikolai (Velimirovic)
St. Nicholas is the people’s saint, the perfect image of those who, hearing the word of God, hastened to fulfill it and by their example taught others to do the same.
Elena Belova
For over nine centuries now, it has been home to a priceless treasure of the Orthodox world—the relics of the illustrious saint and wonderworker—St. Nicholas of Myra.
Hieromonk Athanasius (Deryugin)
Earthly separation means almost nothing if there is a spiritual bond between us and the one we are parting from.
Irina Krikheli
The repose of our beloved Patriarch Ilya II, who headed the Georgian Orthodox Church for about fifty years, orphaned us, so to speak, and since then we have waited impatiently for a new Patriarch.
Metropolitan Luke (Kovalenko)
In a series of reflections that will follow, I would like to offer my thoughts on the Palantir manifesto, which reveals before us a profound spiritual drama in which the outlines of ancient temptations emerge beneath the façade of technological progress.
Archimandrite Zosima (Gorshunov)
The word “Znamenny” means “sign.” The Znamenny Icon, the Znamenny church—what kind of signs are these? I think they’re signs of God’s mercy, His boundless salvific love for us. Most important is to notice, recognize, and follow these signs.
St. Seraphim (Chichagov)
Among believers, miracles are continual—daily and hourly. Some see them, understand them with the mind, and perceive them with the heart; others do not.
Everyone wanted to be baptized then. There was a massive demand for the Orthodox faith. I remember, as soon as we’d arrive in some remote village, explain to the village council who we were and why we’d come, and make an announcement, all the people would come running right away.
Georgy Ogorodnikov
Metropolitan Chrysanthus studied Russian, made use of the rich library of the main seminary, and became acquainted with the history of Russia and its church structure
Elena Detinina
The first Russian saints, brothers Boris and Gleb, who were deeply humble and peace-loving in an era of internecine wars, received their martyrs’ crowns together. Their Christian act had a profound and lasting influence on the entire history of Russia.
Archimandrite Raphael (Karelin)
By day, seated upon the throne, she governed the affairs of state and rendered judgment, astonishing all who came before her with wisdom and magnanimity, like Solomon himself. By night, Holy Tamar clothed herself in sackcloth and prayed to the Mother of God, calling Her the Queen of Georgia and herself Her lowest handmaid.
For eleven years the hierarch fearlessly defended the Orthodox flock from the caprice of the local pasha and the greed of Ottoman officials.
Hieromonk Ignaty (Shestakov)
Through the lips of an early ascetic, St. Ignatius answers this question: “Who can be saved even in these complicated circumstances? Only a humble, humble-minded person.”
