Deacon Giorgi Maximov
Metropolitan Amvrossios of Kalavryta and Aighialeia writes, “We are particularly shocked by the fact that the Constantinople Patriarchate has thus left poor Fr. Ephraim, their own man, to his fate, and does not allow others to sympathize with his calamity either. That is, he denies the members of the universal Orthodox community, which includes the Russians, the opportunity to apply the Gospel words… to rejoice with them that rejoice, and weep with them that weep (cf. Rom. 12:15).
Olga Vasilieva
Rating: 8.2|Votes: 9
The year of the "Great Purge" and the following year 1938 were the hardest for the clergy and laymen—200 000 repressed and 100 000 executed. Each second priest was shot. But the Orthodox Church put up a strong resistance to the totalitarian regime. And if it comes to glorifying all Russian martyrs of the 20th century, the Russian Orthodox Church will become the Church of the Russian New Martyrs.
Nun Cornelia (Rees)
Rating: 7.5|Votes: 4
The late fifteenth, early sixteenth centuries saw a conflict arise in Russia that had some parallels to events and movements in Western Christianity of the time. As the Spanish Inquisition was in full swing against insincere converts to Christianity, and the dissolution of monastery property had already successfully killed Catholic monasticism in some northern European countries, the existential question of “to have or not to have” was reaching like an aftershock the comparatively sheltered religious life of Orthodox Russia.
Anton Leontiev, Pavel Illarionov
Currently in Russia a movement has ensued to acquaint people there with the ascetical labors of their brothers in the faith. It is entitled, “From Nativity to Resurrection”, and includes representatives from Orthodox Churches and organizations of Greece, Cyprus, Russia, and the Greek diaspora of Kazakhstan—places where the memory of those who suffered for their faith under Ottoman rule is kept alive.
Howard Huws
Rating: 10|Votes: 3
The Lord made Wales a hilly land facing the prevailing Atlantic winds, thus blessing it with abundant rain and fresh waters. Our country is equally saturated with a rich inheritance of Christian belief and practice, so one should not be surprised to learn that holy wells are numerous and prominent features of the geographical and spiritual landscape. Even a strict definition of the term “holy well” allows there to be several hundred here, and diligent research is bringing even more to light once dismissed as objects of superstition, they are now the subject of increasing interest.
