6/7/2013
Maria Vasic
Recently, Kosovo Serbs were stunned—this time from joy. The tiny town of Orahovac in southern Kosovo and Metohija was inundated with hundreds of pilgrims who arrived there in a single day.
Peter Davydov
The Vologda wanderer Alexander Krainev was revered in St. Petersburg almost as much as the Blessed Xenia.
Dmitry Pavlov
Patriarch Tikhon is the most significant figure in the ecclesiastical history of post-revolutionary Russia.
“Next, for good measure, a selfish thought popped up—why don’t I have God owe me a debt? I was so good today, I didn’t retaliate, I’m just remarkable!”
Do you know who threw us under the Croatian Ustase? Our dear fellow villagers—the ones with whom we sang songs, played football, and had birthday parties together!
How much time and effort does it take to learn at least the basics of this science—to master the ability not to condemn, but to give place to God. Because He knows better.
There have been no clashes on nationalistic grounds in Brezovica: They have lived and continue to live peacefully. No one here is surprised when a Serb helps his Albanian neighbor or vice versa.
Even after seeing the life of the monastery under siege, the suffering of the refugees, monks and nuns, she nevertheless gave our coordinates to those who want to destroy us. Even after seeing the children, seeing that there are no military personnel here, and after shedding a tear…
Abbess Alexandra (Zharin)
The Orthodox were terribly persecuted by the secular authorities of Rzeczpospolita, the Catholics and Uniates. People were humiliated, deprived of their civil rights, tortured and killed, but they remained faithful to Orthodoxy.
Peter Davydov, Maria Vasic
Kosovo, in Vladyka’s words, was lost only for those who have lost themselves—in time, space, and faith.
My mother and father did everything possible so that we would never feel that we were practically living under occupation. A feeling of being at home, a sense of our native home—that’s what they gave us.
“And I propose,” Dragan ended the story, “that we relate attentively to the daily prayers for the world; we hear them continually at the Liturgy. Not with just automatic ‘hearing’. We need to participate in them. Then perhaps the earth will not turn into hell.”
Protopresbyter Joseph Dzagoev
We have every reason to call both Solovki and Magadan and their surrounding territories an enormous Russian antimension spread under the open sky.
Since 1999, Serbian children never returned to their classes in their old school. It is the result of the “optimization of Serbian education,” the Kosovar way.
Dejan Baljosevic
It was hard to see Predrag treading heavily in the evening to his house with blinded windows, carrying another bag of groceries. It was a dreadful loneliness.
Hierodeacon Christopher
Somehow Kosovo is calling us, the people of the twenty-first century, lost in the chaos of our restless and spiteful world.
I noticed that despite all the terrible trials, Nun Magdalene was able to preserve a kind attitude towards people, even those who caused this suffering.
And here I saw sincere smiles, respect for your freedom and an unobtrusive desire and ability to help others. That’s how I saw that Christ was here.
At the service I got frightened, unable to understand where I was—at home in Mongolia or in Heaven.
How could I not be worried when I felt in my guts that the ‘entrance ticket’ into this circle of the chosen is: betrayal—which despite all your struggles for justice pulls you into places absolutely unresembling heavenly tabernacles.
Archpriest Viktor Gorbach
The holiness that we wish for our children is attained in spiritual warfare, but there has been almost no warfare yet, while we hurry to “hang medals” on them.
Peter Davydov, Archpriest Mikhail Kharchuk
The presence of children in the church gives me special joy. Thank God, we managed to arrange a good Sunday school, and children attend it willingly. We try to avoid just cramming the catechism at classes, but we have a lively dialogue about the life of Christ, about the commandments, and what not.
I keep thinking, there’s the “Samaritan” for you! Neither geography nor geopolitics seems to be an obstacle for Christ. Some things are a bit more important to Him. Or some people. Like the Saxons.
Deacon Roman Bannak
In fact, what difference does it make to Fr. George which child has perched on him—a Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian or German? In any case it’s heavy. So probably it is not easy for God with all of us.
"You know, I want to go to Him. Never mind that I stink—I want to talk to Him."
To light such a guiding light in your soul—what is it if not a true miracle of God?
Discontent is a disease of modern times.
We had a visitor a couple of weeks ago: “Oh, it’s pure bliss here, can I spend a month or so with you? I’ll take any obedience, will do anything! At last, I can taste the life of a monastic.”
Archimandrite Damjan (Cvetkovic)
It seems to me that nothing can be compared to Kosovo because this is the most important part, the soul of the Serbian people and Church.
We very quickly simply forgot that we were talking to a patriarch, a person with great authority. There was a feeling that we were sitting and talking with our older brother.
In honor of the 100th anniversary of the great saint’s repose, we present a few stories from among his countless miracles.
Elena Mitrovic
When you know that you serve God, life feels easier and more peaceful.
It all began with a scandal. At the time when the progressives of mankind fought in a unified front against the dictator Milosevic and the “cursed Serbs,” one impudent French teenager dared to insist that France and Serbia share a long-standing relationship in the cultural sphere and as allies. And that all the Serbs had ever wanted was to protect their motherland and its people from disintegration.
To my great shame, I only learned about you very recently, just a couple months ago. Of course I’d heard of you, that there is such a saint as Spiridon of Tremithus. But I only really made your acquaintance just now. I hope, by the way, that our acquaintance will continue—and not for the rather embarrassing utilitarian reasons that brought me to you to begin with. I’ll refresh your memory about that. So, three months ago...
Peter Davydov, Fr. Alexander Lebedev
Rating: 9.7|Votes: 29
A conversation with the dean of the reviving Church of the Nativity of the Most-holy Mother of God on the Nizhny Dol in Vologda, archpriest Alexander Lebedev, about the “wickedness of our days”, given to us for repentance; our so-called “ordinary” sins; the “point of no return”; and the “salvation scheme” of the wise thief.
Peter Davydov, Alexandra Sinyak
Rating: 10|Votes: 30
Those who were not indifferent wrote that they were willing to help as far as possible. And they did—some brought bread, others brought meat, others decorated the café for the New Year and the Nativity of Christ and donated over 1,000 presents. It was a true miracle. We realized that we are not alone.
Fr. Nikola Dragicevic
Rating: 9.9|Votes: 45
The presence of God is more evident here than in “hothouse conditions”. This experience is worthwhile.
Rating: 10|Votes: 27
In my opinion, one of the strongest feelings aroused in the hearts of the visitors standing in front of his works is peace.
Archpriest Oleg Vrona
Rating: 10|Votes: 21
Thanks to the intercessions of St. Nicholas, the church on Vene street in Tallin continues not only to adorn the city, but also continues to warm its people’s souls, ever in need of such warmth in our difficult day and age.
Peter Davydov, Boško Kozarski
Rating: 9.9|Votes: 17
We must pray at Kosovo’s holy sites—there lies our real history and reality, this is our real historical and spiritual education.
Rating: 9.6|Votes: 45
Nun Seraphima faced a grave, unsolvable problem: how to fulfill her filial duty without leaving the monastery. The only way out seems obvious for everyone—to leave the monastery to take care of her ailing, elderly mother.
Peter Davydov, Olga Gagushicheva
Rating: 9.6|Votes: 26
This talk is about how Olga Gagushicheva, who had been baptized yet was absolutely unenlightened, became a Krishna worshipper and practicing astrologer, why she returned to her paternal home and Christ, and what came of it.
Rating: 9.7|Votes: 27
Youth was considered to be the main drawback of the new priest. “It would have been better to wait for a couple of years than to ordain him now!” the parishioners said. “He should grow up, mature and become more serious! He is still too young!
Peter Davydov, William Brumfield
Rating: 9.4|Votes: 37
“I firmly believe that familiarity with Prokudin-Gorsky’s photographs (not just a superficial glance) would be a great help to all who want to get to know Russia at least a little better and more sincerely—better than television, blogs, and newspapers. Bear in mind that nostalgia for the “good old days” should motivate us to work for the good of Russia and pray for it instead of plunging us into deep despondency.”
Peter Davydov, Goran Velickovic
Rating: 9.9|Votes: 20
If you look at the map, you see that Lake Kubenskoye is rather small, but it turns out that it is seventy kilometers long! And just imagine: there is a tiny islet in the middle of the lake, and there is a monastery on the islet, and the Divine Liturgy is being celebrated in it! Peace and quiet, light, waves, a “thoughtful” cat is roaming about, campfire, while you are praying!
Rating: 9.7|Votes: 7
Which Paschal festivities or services have particularly remained in your memory, and what does Pascha mean to you? We posed these questions to Orthodox clergymen and other believers.
Peter Davydov, Abbess Evphalia (Lebedeva)
Rating: 9.6|Votes: 27
Abbess Evphalia (Lebedeva), who labored for more than twenty years over the restoration of the Resurrection Monastery in Goritsy in the Vologda Province, shares her thoughts about why people become monastics, discusses the saving quality of the ability not to answer injustices with anger, the advantage of peacocks and the ignorance of Germans, and recalls the recent history of Russia—the Russia of martyrs.
Peter Davydov, Priest Pavel Chidemyan
Rating: 9|Votes: 28
Bishop Mitrophan (Badanin) of Severomorsk and Umba (the far Northeast of Russia) talks with two young men, one a priest and the other an editorial writer, about the meaning of the podvig of the New Martyrs and confessors of Russia for us who live today, about the process of canonization of this great host of saints, and whether we live up to the great name of “Christian”.
Rating: 10|Votes: 53
“How can you pray to God but hate other peoples? War with them, kill them? Take away their homes, rape them, rob them, desecrate their churches? I looked at all this and—do you understand? a protest arose in my soul.
They asked me if I would go to Sura, in Archangelsk Province, in the Far North. I replied, “I won’t just go there—I’ll walk there!” And I’ll admit that throughout the whole time I’ve been here, never once—not one hour, not one minute—have I regretted that I ended up here.
Peter Davydov, Igumen Daniel (Irbits)
Rating: 9.9|Votes: 12
Igumen Daniel (Irbits), Abbot of the Monastery of St. George in Götschendorf (Germany), analyzes the characteristics of Christian pilgrimage, and when it has a good effect and when a harmful effect on the human soul.
Rating: 9.4|Votes: 54
The nuns of the St. Prohor Pcinjski Convent, situated in the south of Serbia a few miles from the Macedonian border, told us this story.
Rating: 10|Votes: 7
If you ever find yourself in Germany during your travels across Central Europe, you can visit the Monastery of the Greatmartyr George the Victorious, situated in the eastern part of the country near the Polish border, in the village of Götschendorf.
Peter Davydov, Priest Alexy Novikov
Rating: 10|Votes: 6
Wherever there are people, there is protest. We always protest everywhere: at school, at work, in the kitchen, the government, during travel, in the hospital, when we are both young and old. We protest against our relatives, neighbors, bosses, presidents, emperors, patriarchs, bishops, summer and winter, rain and drought, the traffic light when it’s red, and yes, that’s right, even when it’s green.
Priest Roman Vityuk
Rating: 7.8|Votes: 8
Priest Roman Vityuk speaks about why residents of Russia’s backwoods pray for the Chinese, whether we should be afraid of China or display a good Christian interest in it, why in the Chinese version of the prayer “Our Father” the word “bread” is replaced with “rice”, and what kind of people we should be in order to have success in our Orthodox mission to China.
Priest Alexander Azarenkov, Peter Davydov
The main goal of the events is to develop and strengthen, primarily in children, values that are seemingly obvious and understandable to everyone, for without such things as politeness, mercy, faithfulness and respect for elders, our life would turn into hell.
Rating: 10|Votes: 2
And now we, Orthodox Albanians, are travelling with the mission to Kosovo, meeting with Kosovars and trying to convince them of the fact that Orthodoxy exists for all nations, that Orthodoxy is as natural for Kosovars and Albanians as it is for Serbs and other nationalities, and that if we had been with Christ we would not have been bogged down with all these troubles.
Peter Davydov, Zurab Mikhailovich Chavchavadze
Rating: 8.2|Votes: 19
The thesis that the Russian Revolution perhaps “freed the country from an unviable social order with all it defects” reminds me of the joke about the guillotine being an effective cure for a headache.
Rating: 8.8|Votes: 13
The arrival of thousands of refugees, migrants and settlers from Africa and Asia to “the Old World” is already being interpreted by many Europeans as a catastrophe, a curse, and a real challenge not only to the culture, economy, and the Christian faith of the continent (which is still alive, though is becoming very weak), but, therefore, to the very existence of the continent and its native inhabitants. What should Europe do not to be afraid?
Rating: 10|Votes: 15
There was a miracle there: At the time we were under fire old Grandfather Pero was in the house. The old caretaker of the vineyard lingered—he didn’t try to flee anywhere. A Tomahawk missile made a direct hit: the whole house was turned into ruins in a second. When the dust settled, there was old Pero standing there looking around. Later our soldiers asked him, “Grampy Pero, how are you still alive?!”
Peter Davydov, Archpriest Alexei Sorokin
Rating: 10|Votes: 1
Seeing himself on the path of salvation as infirm, weak, and sinful, man asks that Holy Spirit God has given to His Church not leave us, that it would strengthen us, heal us of our infirmities and spiritual passions. This is what is said in the kneeling prayers.
“If that Chavchavadze again gives you any sweet rolls, children, bear in mind that he is only doing it to drag you into church! But you, the young pioneers of Vologda, say to him: ‘We may be your classmates, but we do not speak to those who are not pioneers!’...”
