Rating: 10|Votes: 1

Sunday After the Exaltation of the Cross: On Denial of Self

So, we ask ourselves, “What does the power of the cross mean for me today, personally?

Rating: 1|Votes: 1

On Psalm 50

Fr. John Whiteford

Is Psalm 50 a Messianic psalm? Why does the psalm culminate in animal sacrifice? How should we incorporate this psalm in our daily prayers? Fr. John Whiteford talks about one of the most often-read psalms.

Rating: 7|Votes: 11

God Gives Prayer to Him Who Prays: Selected Sayings of St. Hilarion of Optina

St. Hilarion of Optina

In the pure writings of the Holy Fathers, we see that he who desires to cleanse his heart of the passions must call on the Lord for help—this is so. We cannot say the Jesus Prayer without our thoughts being plundered. With beginners, God does not demand undistract­ed prayer: it is acquired with much time and labor. As the writings of the Holy Fathers say: "God gives prayer to him who prays,” thus we must neverthe­less continue to pray, orally, and with the mind.

Rating: 7,5|Votes: 8

Our spiritual state determines our lives

Professor Alexei Osipov answers readers’ questions

Professor Alexei Osipov

Many people send letters to Pravoslavie.ru addressed to Professor Alexei Iliych Osipov. After choosing those more frequently asked, these question were posed to Prof. Osipov—on doubts about the faith, about how to discern God’s will, how to give alms, why the Orthodox are patient in deprivations, and whether there is justice on this earth.

Rating: 10|Votes: 2

The Slow Work of Grace

Fr. Stephen Freeman

We live in a culture of fast food, and tend to want grace to operate on the same speed track. Some versions of Christianity make grace as “quick” as walking the aisle. This, of course, is misleading.