Rating: 9,7|Votes: 3
The main religion in Yakutia is Orthodox Christianity, and the feasts of Christmas—the Nativity of Christ, and Theophany, when the Lord’s Baptism is celebrated, are very special in this land that boasts some of the coldest waters in the world. Photographer Marina Yurchenko captured the special mood of Orthodox Yakutia’s winter feasts in 2010.
Rating: 7,6|Votes: 41
As our Greek friends explained to us, very many people now know of Fr. Seraphim in Greece. Furthermore, the Russian Seraphim has become so dear to the hearts of simple believers that they take him to be their own Greek saint, and the less educated might even say that Sarov is somewhere in Greece. Nevertheless, it was not clear what made this particular church venerate him so, especially since it was located in “the boondocks”.
Hieromartyr Thaddeus (Uspensky)
Rating: 6,8|Votes: 5
“The Lord of all endures circumcision, and He circumcises man’s sins, for He is good.” This is the meaning of today’s Church feast. The Circumcision was established by God and commanded through Abraham to all the chosen people of the Jews. It was a sign of entering into the Covenant with God, the seal of the promise to be always in Obedience to Him from childhood, to be faithful to Him unto the shedding of blood.
Rating: 8|Votes: 4
On January, eight days after the Holy Nativity of our Lord, we celebrate His Circumcision, one of the Feasts of the Lord, on which—in accordance with Hebrew tradition—He received the name "Jesus": "And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the Child, His name was called Jesus, which was so named of the Angel before He was conceived in the womb" (St. Luke 2:21).
Rating: 10|Votes: 2
"Here at the monastery, we are often tempted to complain about conditions not being exactly what we want them to be," explains Fr. Alexander. "It’s very easy for us to think that, in order for us to be saved, in order for us to have a successful monastic or spiritual life, or Christian life in general, we need the right conditions to live in, the right church to pray in, the right financial stability, the right order to our lives and our prayer. However, oftentimes these conditions are not present, much like today when we as Orthodox Christians are a minority in America.
