Standing above Lake Onega, the Church of the Transfiguration seems at once monumental and almost weightless. Its massive pine logs anchor it firmly to the earth, while the ascending tiers of silver-gray domes draw the eye upward.
Elena Nasledysheva
During a true pilgrimage on foot, with all its trials and joys and its atmosphere of prayer, one witnesses how all of this transforms people, inspires them, and strengthens their faith; how it unites people from different countries in a common aspiration—to become purer and kinder, and to draw closer to God and to one another.
Hieromonk Pafnuty (Fokin)
Preparations for manned spaceflight in the Soviet Union began in the spring of 1960. At that time, the concepts of “cosmonautics” and “religion” were regarded in the public consciousness as incompatible and mutually exclusive. And yet, almost all the cosmonauts of the first group were baptized Orthodox Christians.
Evgenia Rozina
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.
Anastasia Lutcenko
The more noise fills our lives, the more important it becomes to recover the ability to hear silence. It is in silence that we most often encounter God.
Maria Tobolova
Shamordino is the child of the great holy Elder Ambrose (Grenkov; 1812–1891) of Optina.
Schemamonk Panteleimon (Volkov)
Divine providence rules everything. Not a single process in the world is random. We need to be able to feel it inwardly. It’s like developing a ear for music.
Conrad Franz
Orthodox blogger Conrad Franz tells us about his trip to the Donbas—what he saw with his own eyes and heard with his own ears.
Returning from Poltava after the victory, Peter the Great en route called in on his associate and friend at the Borisovka estate in the Kursk province and stayed there for six weeks. There Sheremetev revealed to the Emperor his heart’s desire to build a convent.
Dmitry Kiryukhin
St. Elizabeth Convent in Minsk was founded in 1999 on a site where no churches had previously stood. It is dedicated to the Holy New Martyr Grand Duchess St. Elizabeth Feodorovna.
Priest Leonid Bartkov
A candle is not a “payment” for the fulfillment of a wish. It is a visible sign of the invisible movement of the soul.
Alexandra Kalinovskaya
St. Methodius carried logs for the monastery on foot across the river—hence the name, St. Nicholas-Peshnosha Monastery, which he founded. St. Methodius built the monastery on his own, “performing great labors”, as the prayer to the saint says.
Elena Detinina
The monastic community on Konevets Island, which St. Arseny had built, gradually grew, and in 1398 Archbishop John of Novgorod blessed the establishment of a cenobitic monastery in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos there. Pilgrims flocked to it from everywhere. St. Arseny welcomed everyone with a meal and comforting conversation.
Priest Tarasiy Borozenets
A careful reading of the Gospel shows that Christ pronounces the word “blessed” much more often, and in very different circumstances.
Nesvizh is a small, charming town southwest of Minsk, Belarus. It is best known for its castle, founded in 1583 and included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Deacon Petar Kozakijevic
Understanding the spiritual needs and interest of Slovenes in Orthodoxy, our diocese and the church community are involved in various projects to translate Orthodox literature into Slovene and are their initiators.
Walking around Minsk, I visited churches and cathedrals with unusual architecture.
Archpriest Stefan Pruzhinsky
I don't think anything will help us now, except for leading a normal Christian life, believing, confessing, praying, and working well for the benefit of society.
Evgeny Borisov.
Ceramic artists Anton and Olga Perov create unique porcelain works in their Moscow workshop.
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.”
