Hierodeacon Theophan (Bortnikov)
Rating: 10|Votes: 13
Today is the tenth anniversary of the repose of Archimandrite John (Krestiankin). To commemorate him we present an unusual testimony to his zeal and Christian love—a sort of apophatic approach to the biography of a saintly man. It comes from reports written by the Pskov plenipotentiary for religious affairs A. I. Luzin, whose job it was during the atheist Communist period to watch Fr. John’s every move and report back on his “crimes”.
Archpriest Pavel Gumerov
Rating: 6,2|Votes: 5
Not long ago I heard about an incident that once shook America and became known far beyond the borders of the United States. This story took place in 2004 in a small town in Colorado. This episode inspired me to turn once again to the theme of anger and our struggle with it.
Archimandrite Irenei (Steenberg)
Rating: 8|Votes: 4
This study considers the question of 'free will' in the Christology of St Maximus, and in particular the soteriological implications of his various discussions.
Fr. Ted Bobosh
The purpose of fasting is to help "stir the pot" which is our heart—to help bring to the surface what really is within each of us. We can then confront the passions and sins in us or bring out the holiness that God has endowed us with.
To fast is God’s commandment (Gen 2:16-17). According to St Basil the Great, fasting is as old as humanity itself; it was prescribed in Paradise (On Fasting, 1,3). It is a great spiritual endeavour and the foremost expression of the Orthodox ascetic ideal.