Procession of the Honorable Wood of the Cross

The Preaching of the Cross

A homily on the commemoration of the Procession of the Cross and the Seven Maccabean Martyrs with their mother Solomonia and the priest Eleazar.

Fr. Seraphim Holland

Brothers and sisters, today is the Procession of the Cross which we celebrate on the first of August, and also the holy Maccabean martyrs with their teacher Eleazar and their mother Solomonia. St. Paul has two famous phrases that are in one of the epistles we read today—a very misunderstood phrase. Let’s talk about what it really means.

Rating: 10|Votes: 5

Holy Hieromartyr Benjamin of Petrograd and Those With Him

Commemorated July 31/August 14

Today the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of one of the early stars in the pleiades of new martyrs and confessors of the Communist yoke, Metropolitan Benjamin (Kazansky) of Petrograd and Gdovsk, together with Archimandrite Sergei, Yuri, and John.

Rating: 7,9|Votes: 7

Venerable Neot of Cornwall

Commemorated: July 31/August 13

Dmitry Lapa

St. Neot lived in the ninth century. He was of noble birth. Neot began life as a soldier but after some time he resolved to give up a military career and dedicate his life to the service of God and prayer.

Rating: 10|Votes: 1

Exhortation on the Prayer Rule

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)

Before His Passion at the cost of which the salvation of the human race had to be bought the Lord went to pray in the secluded Garden of Gethsemane. There the God-Man kneeled down and prayed; and being in agony, He prayed so earnestly that His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down on the ground.