Ask About The Orthodox Faith @orthodox_church Channel on Telegram

Ask About The Orthodox Faith

@orthodox_church

".. grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" 2 Pet 3:18.
Basic rules: No links. Stick to the real Orthodoxy; sectarian and heterdox materials are not allowed.

Ask About The Orthodox Faith (English)

Are you curious about the Orthodox faith and looking for a place to ask questions and learn more? Look no further than the Telegram channel 'Ask About The Orthodox Faith' managed by '@orthodox_church'. This channel is dedicated to providing a space for individuals to inquire about the teachings and traditions of the Orthodox Church. In line with the verse from 2 Peter 3:18, the channel aims to help followers grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. With a focus on authentic Orthodox beliefs, the channel maintains basic rules such as no links and the exclusion of sectarian and heterodox materials. Whether you are a lifelong member of the Orthodox Church seeking to deepen your understanding or someone new to the faith seeking guidance, 'Ask About The Orthodox Faith' is the perfect platform to engage with like-minded individuals and learn from knowledgeable resources. Join the channel today to connect with a community passionate about sharing the beauty and wisdom of Orthodox Christianity.

Ask About The Orthodox Faith

19 Feb, 06:33

☦️🌟 Providentially, I had experience of knowing rather many priests in Orthodox countries, the most characteristic feature of them was authenticity. Real Orthodox priests are neither perfect nor allknowing professors. But they have that special sign of grace, received in the ordination. Hard to describe in one sentence.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

18 Feb, 19:01

“...The knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through faith.
 
For just as Eve was led astray by the word of an angel, so that she fled from God when she had transgressed His word; so did Mary, by an angelic communication, receive the glad tidings that she should sustain God, being obedient to His word. And if the former did disobey God, yet the latter was persuaded to be obedient to God, in order that the Virgin Mary might become the patroness of the virgin Eve.

And thus, as the human race fell into bondage to death by means of a virgin, so is it rescued by a virgin; virginal disobedience having been balanced in the opposite scale by virginal obedience.”

Saint Irenaeus of Lyon
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

18 Feb, 17:01

"When you are praying, watch over yourself so that not only your outward man prays, but your inward one also. Though you be sinful beyond measure, still pray. Do not heed the devil’s provocation, craftiness, and despair, but overcome and conquer his wiles. Remember the abyss of the Saviour’s mercy and love to mankind. The devil will represent the Lord’s fact to you as terrible and unmerciful, rejecting your prayer and repentance; but remember the Saviour’s own words, full of every hope and boldness for us: Him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out’; andCome unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden’ – with sins and iniquities, and wiles and calumnies of the devil – and I will give you rest.'”
Saint John of Kronstadt
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

18 Feb, 15:22

Just as a close relationship between two people is impossible when one gives all, but the other in only interested in exchanging Christmas cards, a life with God is impossible when He gives us all of Himself, but we are only interested in giving Him a few minutes of recitations each day. Prayer is not what is written on a page in a book, but that which is written in our hearts.
Fr Sergei Sveshnikov
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

18 Feb, 14:04

🌟☦️ "I am the light for world", the new frescoes consecrated in the Russian Cathedral in Madrid. According to the Holy Fathers light symbolizes humility.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

18 Feb, 13:31

“When having thoughts of self-praise, we must look at our sins and remember that without the help of God we can do nothing good and beneficial, we have only sins and infirmities.”
Saint Hilarion of Optina

an Orthodox Christian is God-centered, not self-centered. When we look at God, not at our own “achievements” we understand how unworthy and weak we are without Him. But we also see that this is a path to the eternal joy, not a swift-passing moment of self-content.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

18 Feb, 11:58

☦️🌟 For the first time the message about Orthodoxy was brought to Thailand by Russian sailors in the middle of 19th century, now there are already cathedrals and monasteries in that land.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

18 Feb, 11:02

"Patient endurance kills the despair that kills the soul; it teaches the soul to take comfort and not to grow listless in the face of its many battles and afflictions.”
Saint Peter of Damaskos
Patience virtue is listed by Saint Paul lists as one of the “fruits of the Spirit” (Gal 5.22).To be patient means to suffer and endure. It means hope in God, put up with people and circumstances, “growing gradually in the grace of God through the daily effort to keep His commandments and to accomplish His will”.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

18 Feb, 09:01

A habit to be watchful to yourself makes you closer to God.
“In case of a fall of some kind in deed, word, or thought, you should immediately repent and, acknowledging your infirmity, humble yourself and force yourself to see your sins, but not your corrections. From exam ining his sins, a person comes to humility and acquires a heart that is broken and humble, which God does not despise.”
Saint Hilarion of Optina
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

18 Feb, 05:13

Orthodox volunteers typically wear green — it's the liturgical color of the Holy Trinity, it symbolizes life.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

17 Feb, 20:30

☦️🕯️The Lord has forgiven sinners seventy times seven and more, but beyond that, if sinners remain sinners, will the Lord save them against their will? He will not, for that is not the principle of the salvation of men. The principle of salvation is consent🕯️☦️

♰ Prologue of Ohrid ♰
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

17 Feb, 18:01

"Virtue is nothing without the trial of temptation, for there is no conflict without an enemy, no victory without strife."
Saint Leo the Great

What does it mean? It means we can’t be sure that we are good at some virtue if we never had a chance to defeat a temptation. It means we should be very watchful not to fall into a sin, being relax and sure that we have a certain virtue.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

17 Feb, 16:09

... Orthodoxy is not like one of these currents, systems of thought; it is not simply one among many. And that is why some might think, especially the newly converted will say, "Why haven't I heard of Orthodoxy before, why isn't it on television? Why can't I hear it? Why aren't there radio programs and newspaper articles and everything like that?"
Blessed memory Fr Seraphim Rose
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

17 Feb, 15:59

shown to me. In an instant I realized that I was living wrong, doing wrong, everything was wrong. My first thought is to go back and fix it. Because I realized how to live my life. But I couldn't do anything. I didn't have a body. And my soul felt the same as when I had a body. So you're a living being, but without a body.
And then there was the most terrible thing that can happen in human life — God showed me hell. I went to hell at once. I do not really remember the procedure of getting there, but it was terrible.
I found myself in some space all alone. A huge space in which you're infinitely alone. You become a micron, a nothingness. You're a pain that's unbearable. You remain alive, but you experience such pain and horror that no words can describe. Total despair. It's scary for me to even remember and talk about it. How long did it last? It was an eternity. An unbearable eternity.
I only later learned that one of the translations of the word "hell" is " alone." So hell is a place where there is no God.
Suddenly I turn around and see a huge silver angel with a sword in his hand. He approaches me, reaches out his hand, and as if to pull me out...
I woke up in the emergency room. I think it wasn't even the doctors who saved me, but it was meant to be. God brought me back for something.
It's just that before I was stabbed, I proved to a man that there is no God. I was so smart, so well-read, so literate. I studied psychology, all kinds of Hindu practices.
An acquaintance came to visit me and told me that he believed, and I proved that there is no God. And after some time I started a series of events. The Lord warned me, sent signals, there were "bells". But I persisted, and He had to reformat me, rewire me. I came back from that world as a believer. ..."
MEMORY ETERNAL
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

17 Feb, 15:58

☦️ Afterlife experience of Fr. Anatoly, rector of St. Basil's Church in Saint Petersburg, narrated by him earlier ☦️
"I was stabbed eleven times. I lost a lot of blood, crawled on the asphalt to the ambulance, which happened to be nearby. I crawled and lost consciousness.
I died on the operating table. My soul left my body. From outside I saw people leaning over my body and trying to do something. Only my body was on the operating table. My soul, that is my essence with all my feelings and thoughts, began to rise and go up through the walls and ceiling.
And everything began to move away from me and even the earth, I even saw the planet from the side. And at this time, while I was moving away, my whole life was /continued/
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

17 Feb, 15:31

Fr. Anatoliy Pershin tragically died in a car accident. MEMORY ETERNAL!
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

17 Feb, 14:42

☦️🌟 One of the best known Elders of our time, Elder Jonah of Odessa. He is known in particular for foretelling about the present situation, I did not study that aspect, but his Life is very beneficial. A classic ascetic and hesychast, the Eastern way.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

17 Feb, 13:02

True faith is recognized by its fruit.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Mt.7, 21-23)
“With what hope will you pray to God when you yourself do not hear the prayers of people like yourself? How will you ask along with the others in church, “Grant this O Lord!” when you yourself do not give anything to the poor, although you are able to give?
With what lips will you say, “Hear me O Lord,” when you yourself do not hear the poor man; or more precisely, Christ Himself in that poor man, crying out to you?
With what hope will you stretch forth your hands to your Creator when you turn away another just like you, with outstretched hands? “
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

17 Feb, 12:24

🌟☦️🙏 Iconographic school of Novgorod the Great. This 15th century image has unique history, it has been recently found hidden in the undercroft of the lost church.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

16 Feb, 04:12

☦️🌟🙏 Metropolitan Tikhon built a magnificent Byzantine compound in the ancient city of Chersonesus. In the picture the creature symbolizes two natures of Christ, and you can see the Christogram.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

15 Feb, 14:51

"Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial" (1 Cor 10:23). The Church blessed/established many Orthodox sobriety societies. A number of Saints explained why sobriety is more proper for the Christian than use of alcohol, though the latter is permissible.
Photo: one of the societies, at the Church of St. Nicholas.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

15 Feb, 14:28

Jesus Christ made an objection when somebody called Him "good", this place of the Scripture (Mk. 10:18) is not very clear. The Holy Fathers explained it. That young man thought of Christ as of certain good teacher. But in reality only God is good. And the Savior tried to bring that mans mind to the understanding with Whom he was speaking.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

15 Feb, 14:24

It's necessary to "walk before God" (Gen 5:21) to be in Covenant with God.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

15 Feb, 14:15

🌟☦️ Notice this sequence: the soul begins to praise the Lord, and from this the spirit becomes cheerful and begins to rejoice. This applies to every person when he begins to pray or praise God.
St. Varsonufiy of Optina
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

15 Feb, 14:00

How must we look upon the gifts of intellect, feeling and freedom?
With the intellect we must learn to know God in the works of His creation, revelation, providence, and in the destinies of men;
with the heart we must feel God's love, His most heavenly peace, the sweetness of His love, we must love our neighbour, sympathise with him in joy and in sorrow, in health and in sickness, in poverty and in wealth, in distinction and in low estate (humiliation);
we must use freedom, as a means, as an instrument for doing as much good as possible, and for perfecting ourselves in every virtue, so as to render unto God fruits a hundredfold.

From the Excerpts from the diary of St. John of Kronstadt on Providence and the Will of God
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

15 Feb, 12:01

With all my strength I pray God for you, that He may send into your hearts that fire, which our Lord Jesus Christ has come to send on the earth (Luke xii. 49), that you may have power to govern rightly your intentions and senses and to distinguish good from evil.
from Directions of St. Anthony the Great
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

15 Feb, 10:01

“The Feast of the Meeting of the Lord is among the most ancient feasts of the Christian Church. 
Before Christ was born, righteous men and women lived by faith in the promised Messiah, and awaited His coming. The Righteous Simeon and the Prophetess Anna, the last righteous people of the Old Testament, were deemed worthy to meet the Savior in the Temple.”

Saint Theophan the Recluse teaches , that we are also called to taste the blessedness of the Meeting of the Lord, “for all are called to have and carry the Lord in themselves, and to disappear in Him with all the powers of their spirit….They were blessed who saw it; we shall be blessed who have not seen, but believed…”.

We achieve it through constant repentance, walking in the presence of the Lord by attending Divine Liturgy and studying the Holy Scripture, and ceaseless prayer.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

15 Feb, 08:02

Remember that nothing must be done in spiritual life without repentance. No matter what anyone endeavors to seek, let the beginning of it be repentance.
Just as a house cannot be built without a foundation, nor a field be sown or planted without first being cleared, so also without repentance we cannot begin our spiritual search; anything begun without repentance was begun in vain.
Thus, first of all, repent—that is, weep over everything bad that you have done, and resolve to do only what is pleasing to God. This will be like turning your gaze and your whole body towards the path of meeting the Lord, and taking the initial step upon that path.
Saint Theophan the Recluse
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

14 Feb, 18:04

Fasting is universal temperance, prayer is universal communication with God; the former defends from the outside, whereas the latter from within directs a fiery weapon against the enemies. The demons can sense a faster and man of prayer from a distance, and they run far away from him so as avoid a painful blow.
Saint Theophan the Recluse
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

14 Feb, 16:04

“Imitate not the example of coldness towards God, which is everywhere apparent in the world, but rather the example of the zeal of Jesus Christ and the saints, about which Christian history relates so much that is edifying. Imitate not the example of pagan life, which is so often apparent in the world, but the example of good behavior, modesty, sense of shame, temperance, and decency by which were distinguished the saints, or the true Christians, who constantly lived not by the rules of the world, but by the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Metropolitan Gregory (Postnikov) of St. Petersburg

The world says you should take everything from life, to try it all. But it’s just a trap. It doesn’t suggest you to try good things first. Rather it calls for everything that deceives you and destroys your life in the end. It shows the sin as something sweet and nice, hiding what’s inside in fact.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

14 Feb, 14:04

“Orthodoxy is life. If we dont live Orthodoxy, we simply are not Orthodox, no matter what formal beliefs we might hold.”
Fr. Seraphim Rose

The core of Orthodox life is repentance, worship, prayer, fasting, willing to make our best to live everyday life in accordance with the Scripture and guidance of Holy Church Fathers.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

14 Feb, 12:04

While standing in church attend diligently to the reading and singing. This gives birth to compunction, true prayer, heartfelt singing and thanksgiving.
Avoid, then, standing bodily in church while wandering outside the church in mind, and standing bodily before God while wandering about in spirit in worldly affairs, lest that saying be applied to you, "his people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me" (Mt. 15:8).
While standing bodily in church, then, stand with heart and spirit as you stand before God.

When you look upon the icons of the saints, call to mind that One is the Creator that created them and you, and that His purpose was the same for them as it is for you, that is, to save both them and you. They are glorified, and before you lies the same glory, only imitate their lives and you shall be saved.

St. Tikhon of Zadonsk
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

14 Feb, 10:02

"When a priest takes out the particles from the prosphora for the repose of the departed and after he receives Holy Communion, he says, "O Lord, by Thy most pure Blood forgive the sins of all those commemorated today! As you see, this is the most perfect prayer and the greatest sacrifice that we can offer up for our loved ones who have departed to God."
Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica

Note, that we are talking here about baptised members. That is why it is very important to talk with our close once about faith, Truth, and meaning of Sacraments.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

14 Feb, 08:42

☦️ In the ancient north-Russian region of Pskov, where St. Vladimir the Great was born. This remarkable stone was installed before Constantinople joined RCC (at the Unia of Florence).
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

14 Feb, 08:29

☦️ One of the ancient Slavic fortresses, Izborsk. 200 mi from Saint Petersburg, God willing will narrate about its remarkable church.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

14 Feb, 07:54

So called Stone town in Ural mountains. St. Stefan of Great Perm, a Russian bishop, was the first enlightener of the region. That northern land, inhabited by Finno-Ugric people, had strong tradition of witchcraft, St. Stefan had to work a great miracle, entering fire without harm for him, to defeat their chief sorcerer.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

13 Feb, 19:17

☦️🕯️"Why does our soul, although yearning to please God, keep falling into the snares of lust and sin? Don't we see how the habit of yielding to temptations enslaves us, making us live like prisoners of our own passions? The person who is overcome by lust feels a heavy burden in his heart: although his face is cheerful before people, and his words seem pious, inside him, rebuke and disgust give him no peace.

This state is the work of the enemy, who binds the soul with the chains of sinful habit, making it believe it can no longer escape. But isn't God more powerful than any chain? Let us not be deceived by this illusion! With tears of repentance, with persistent prayer, and with humility, the soul can be liberated. Let us flee from hypocrisy and cleanse our inner self, for only then will we find true peace and joy before the Lord."🕯️☦️

♰ Saint Ephrem the Syrian ♰
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

13 Feb, 18:02

“God guides all by the action of His grace. Therefore do not be lazy or lose heart, but call to God day and night to entreat God the Father in His loving-kindness to send you help from above to teach you what to do. Do not give sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids (Ps. cxxxi. 4) in your zeal to bring yourself to God as a pure offering, in order to see Him; for without holiness no one can see God, as the Apostle says (Heb. xii. 14). (Epistle 5.)”

from Directions of St. Anthony the Great
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

13 Feb, 16:01

We talk about repentance a lot in Orthodoxy. It is essential part of Christian life. Will you put any good food into a dirty vessel? What will happen with such food? The same is with our soul.
“Inner struggle should be concentrated on repentance and on everything which promotes that penitent state. When the soul is clean, God’s grace will then enter by itself—if the Lord Himself so wills”
Abbot Nikon Vorobiev
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

19 Jan, 18:38

Why then is this day called Theophany? Because Christ made Himself known to all—not then when He was born—but then when He was baptised. Until this time He was not known to the people. And that the people did not know Him, Who He was, listen about this to John the Baptist, who says: Amidst you standeth, Him Whom ye know not of (Jn.1:26). And is it surprising that others did not know Him, when even the Baptist did not know Him until that day? And I—said he—knew Him not: but He that did send me to baptise with water, about This One did tell unto me: over Him that shalt see the Spirit descending and abiding upon Him, This One it is Who baptiseth in the Holy Spirit (Jn.1:33).

—St. John Chrysostom



🎥Valaam Monastery
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

19 Jan, 17:42

In Serbia the Theophany is also beloved feast day. As in other Orthodox countries, Southern Slavs have their own traditions that may seem extraordinary to those in northern climes.

Christ is appeared,” Belgrade pronounces the traditional Serbian greeting, and it echoes throughout the country. “Truly He is appeared"
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

19 Jan, 17:06

“There is a belief that if you immerse yourself in a font, you will wash away all your sins. I hasten to disappoint you,” says Fr. Bogdan Polevoi of the Joy of All Who Sorrow podvoriye of the Holy Trinity-Zelenesk Monastery, “but this is absolutely not true. If you led an indecent life for a whole year, allowing yourself anything, and then decide that if you come and plunge on January 18 or 19, you will be clean, pure, and wonderful—this is a mistaken belief,” he stated in a press conference with Interfax-Religion.

It is a widespread custom in Russia to plunge three times into freezing bodies of water, often in Cross-shaped holes, or in pools set up throughout the cities on the feast of the Theophany—the Lord’s Baptism, on January 18 and 19. Fr. Bogdan is urging all participants to remember and perceive the sacred meaning of the act, without which it becomes “nothing more than some kind of sport or extreme procedure.”

The Church has no official position on Theophany bathing as an ecclesiastical custom Fr. Bogdan reminds. Rather it is a good and pious folk custom which arose relatively recently.


🎥Moscow, January 19, 2025. The Feast of the Epiphany. After the Liturgy. My own nephew Rodion. The Russian tradition.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

19 Jan, 16:07

What do we Orthodox Christians mean when we speak about joy? Is it a good feeling or an upbeat mood?

In the Gospel of St. John 15:11, Jesus Christ spoke to his disciples then, and is speaking to us today: “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”
The words that Christ spoke to his disciples are about his immeasurable love for us; the communion into which he invites us to have with Him, the Father and the Holy Spirit; the invitation to abide in His love and to share this love with others. If we indeed fulfill these words, we will have joy, which is not a good feeling or an upbeat mood. It is living in communion with God; it is the presence of the Holy Spirit in one’s heart and soul. It is knowing that we are in God’s arms; that we share in the love of the Holy Trinity; it is knowing that we are God’s children and that his love toward us is steadfast. The Christian joy is Jesus Christ our Savior: “then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.” (Luke 2:10)


My dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Congratulations on the feast of the Epiphany!

🎥Our little joyful performance on Epiphany Eve in Russian style, January 18, 2025. Saratov
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

19 Jan, 16:02

It is not possible to be a Christian just within oneself. Church life is essential part of true Christian life.
“In order that a Christian should lead a Christian life, and that the life of the spirit should not be completely extinguished in him, both private prayer and public prayer are necessary for him; it is also indispensable that he should attend Divine service in the temple with faith, understanding and zeal...”
St. John of Kronstadt
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

19 Jan, 15:57

🌟☦️ The number of domes in the Orthodox architecture is symbolical, and this cathedral is remarkable in this aspect. It has 7 domes, and in the Bible it's a very special number, symbolizing holiness. Seven sacraments, Seven Ecumenical Councils, seven levels in heaven, seven virtues, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2-3) and more.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

19 Jan, 15:52

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Gal. 3:27)

Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God… Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (Jn. 3:3, 5)

According to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration,
and renewing of the Holy Ghost (Titus 3:5).


🎥Video postcard from the brethren of the Solovetsky Monastery, 2025
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

19 Jan, 14:01

Nothing in the Orthodox Church is vain. Every little thing is called to worship God and remind us about His presence and glory.
“But the adornment of holy objects raises our souls to God, and is therefore not only sinless, but holy and edifying, as also sacred singing, the fragrance of incense, the magnificence and splendour of the ornaments of the temple and all its vessels. All these, being destined to serve to the glory of God and to arouse pious feelings, are not sinful, but holy.”
St. John of Kronstadt
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

19 Jan, 13:47

☦️🕯️THE JORDAN RIVER , WHERE OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST STARTED HIS MISSION☦️

In the rich tapestry of Orthodox Christianity, the Feast of Theophany (Epiphany) stands out, particularly for its commemoration of the baptism of Jesus Christ. This moment in the Jordan River signifies far more than a mere ritual. It marks the beginning of Christ’s public ministry and the divine approval of His mission on Earth.
♰ ♰ ♰
Photo :His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III presides over the Feast of Theophany in the Jordan River.
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

19 Jan, 12:02

As Christians we are called to righteousness. If we are honest with ourselves we understand that it is pretty hard to live even one day without sin. In the Orthodox Church we have a Sacrament of Confession that helps us to restore what has been damaged by sin.
“Let us not wait to be convicted by others, let us be our own examiners. An important medicine for evil is Confession, and care to avoid stumbling.”
St. Gregory the Theologian
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

19 Jan, 09:01

It is hard for many people to put spiritual life first and trust God. It takes courage at first. But it is essential question we all should decide in this life and make choice.
“Man feels that he is eternal, but since this feeling is corrupted by his deceptive reason and by his corrupted and false conscience, he tends to think of his life on earth as something that will go on for ever. On the basis of his beguiling, false, and destructive feelings, man devotes himself exclusively to cares and labors devoted to establishing himself on earth. He forgets that he is but a passing pilgrim here, and that his enduring abode will be either heaven or hell. If he misuses for temporal gains the time given to him for repentance and for gaining a blessed eternity, he will be unable to get another span of time for a second chance.”
St. Ignatius Brianchaninov
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

18 Jan, 18:02

When we say that we can’t help anybody/we can’t be a missionary/etc , it is not true. There is plenty of ways to help others.
“No one can say, "I am poor and hence I have no means of giving alms." For even if you cannot give as the rich gave their gifts into the temple treasury, give two farthings as the poor widow did, and from you God will consider it a greater gift than the gifts of the rich. And if you do not have as much as two farthings? You can take pity on the sick and give alms by ministering to them. And if you cannot do even this? You can comfort your brother by your words. "A good word is better than the best of gifts."
Saint Dorotheos of Gaza
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Ask About The Orthodox Faith

18 Jan, 18:02

Death is not the end. It’s the beginning. And it is our choice beginning of what it will be.
“One who seeks God and His truth will find God and a new life—in its conception here on earth, and in its fullness after death. An egoist, who seeks only pleasure in this world, will find the devil, and after death—because he is of one soul with him—will enter the devil’s realm, hell, in the company of consummate egoists and evildoers. Our future destiny lies in our own hands...”
Abbot Nikon Vorobiev
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18 Jan, 17:14

☦️Apolytikion: (First Tone)

Lord, when You were baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest. For the voice of the Father gave witness to You, calling You Beloved; and the Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed the certainty of His words. Glory to You, Christ our God, who appeared and enlightened the world.

☦️Kontakion: (Fourth Tone)

Today You appeared to the world, and Your light, O Lord, has left its mark upon us as in fuller understanding we sing to You: “You came, You were made manifest, the unapproachable light.”
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18 Jan, 17:04

☦️🕯️EPIPHANY (THEOPHANY) OF OUR LORD, JESUS CHRIST 🕯️☦️

The word Theophany means “Revelation of God;” Theophany therefore marks the revelation of the Trinitarian nature of God when Jesus was baptized. Those who witnessed heard the Father’s voice from Heaven, saw the Spirit descending upon Jesus, and could see Jesus in the flesh, whom God confirmed to be His Son with His voice.

Theophany, sometimes called Epiphany, is upon us (Богоявление in Russian, Θεοφάνεια in Greek). The sixth(19th) of January is the official date that the baptism of Christ is celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is not to be confused with the Western holiday also called Epiphany which is a celebration of the magi presenting the baby Christ with their gifts.
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18 Jan, 16:39

☦️🕯️“But concerning baptism, thus baptize ye: having first recited all these precepts, baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in running water; but if thou hast not running water, baptize in some other water, and if thou canst not baptize in cold, in warm water; but if thou hast neither, pour water three times on the head, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

But before the baptism, let him who baptizeth and him who is baptized fast previously, and any others who may be able. And thou shalt command him who is baptized to fast one or two days before.”🕯️☦️

♰ The Didache (Teaching of the Twelve), Chapter 7 ♰
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18 Jan, 09:44

Sport activities are perfectly compatible with Christianity when fulfilled with correct mindset. In the screenshot the Orthodox young man is finishing the two time world champion from a certain strong islamic country. The sportsmen manifested sincere amicable attitude before and after the fight.
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17 Jan, 20:32

☦️🕯️There is no profit in studying doctrines unless the life of one’s soul is acceptable and conforms to God’s will. The cause of all evils
is delusion, self-deception and ignorance of God.🕯️☦️

♰ St. Anthony the Great ♰
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17 Jan, 18:05

“As in offering physical help, in offering spiritual help we must also follow a special rule mainly: before helping others we should heed the needs of people that God's Providence has closely bound us with, such as our children, relatives, friends, benefac¬tors, employees. He who strives to instruct, correct and awaken the conscience in strangers while his own children or employees run out of control and fall into sins and error, does not fulfill the commandment of love for his neighbor.” Metropolitan Gregory (Postnikov) of St. Petersburg
Of course it doesn’t meant that we should force and press our close ones. However we are the main example of faith they can see with their own eyes, so we are obliged to serve them with love and fulfill our responsibilities honestly.
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17 Jan, 16:05

Only God gives peace that helps to ho through anything no matter what. And from the very beginning Christians showed it with their own example.
“The Lord has given the Holy Spirit upon the earth, and in whomsoever He dwells, that one feels paradise within himself. You might say: why hasn’t this happened to me? Because you have not given yourself over to the will of God, but you live according to yourself. Look at the one who loves his own will. He never has peace in himself and is always displeased with something. But whoever has given himself over to God’s will perfectly has pure prayer. His soul loves the Lord, and everything is acceptable and good to him.”
St. Silouan the Athonite
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11 Jan, 19:38

🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼
Russian version of the Christmas Song
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11 Jan, 19:36

Christ is Born! Let Us Glorify Him in Song!

Serbian version of the beautiful Christmas song
🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀

Along these lines, we sing in the festal hymn:

You appeared to the world today, and Your light, O Lord, has left its mark upon us.


We must share this light with the darkness of the world, working together with the Spirit of God in the redemption of creation through Christ our Lord. This Lord entered our world in the humility of a child born to die—being wrapped as an infant in burial cloths, as depicted in the Nativity icon—by his own death triumphed over death itself.
Ultimately, then, the meaning of both the Nativity of Christ and the entirety of the 12 Days of Christmas is the receiving and giving of Christ, who is truly the gift and the giver, the one who is received and distributed.
In the Eucharistic mystery, we imitate the Mother of God in our sharing Christ with the world. We imitate Stephen in our being a true witness or martyr for Christ, to a world that would seek to be Herod. We imitate a life of true repentance as with David, and a life of simple, prayerful obedience like the elderly Joseph. We imitate the Theophany of Christ with our own manifestation of his light in the darkness. And we reflect the unity of the three Persons of the Trinity with our unity, communion, and mutual love as the Church.
In other words, we receive the uncreated light of the Christ-child on Nativity, and are prepared to share that light with the world by the end of the 12 Days of Christmas.

Fervently celebrate the commemorations and feasts of this glorious time of the year; not only for your own sake, but especially for the sake of the world.
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11 Jan, 18:43

His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije offered the children an encouraging word on faith in God:
I’m happiest when we gather, especially when we gather in the Church of St. Sava. I’m happiest when I’m with you, because from you I, and all adults, can and should learn what it means to love God and everyone around us, first of all our parents, our brothers, sisters and our friends. We learn love from you, and together with you we all know that God loves us all, and especially you, children. And whenever you’re sad and in a bad mood in any way, when you have the impression that those around you don’t understand you, you know very well that God not only understands you but also truly loves you; and not just any God, but the God Who became a child, Who was born in a cave to assure you that troubles, difficulties, anger, and dissatisfaction are only moments in which we have the opportunity to feel that we are never alone and that God is always with us. God is especially with you and that is why our joy is great, because when we’re with you, we know that through you God is with us adults as well. I wish you all a Merry Christmas. May the Lord bless you all to hear His word and to overcome every trouble with prayer, faith in God, and love. Cheers! May the Lord bless you all! The peace of God—Christ is born!


Belgrade, January 5, 2023
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11 Jan, 17:37

In times past, God, without body and form, could in no way be represented.  But now, since God has appeared in flesh and lived among men, I can depict that which is visible of God.  I do not venerate the matter, but I venerate the Creator of matter, who became matter for me, who condescended to live in matter, and who, through matter, accomplished my salvation; and I do not cease to respect the matter through which my salvation is accomplished.


+ St. John of Damascus



🎥 Icon painter KrЕstina Andreevna V.
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11 Jan, 17:29

ADVICE FOR THE NEW YEAR

"Let your demeanor, your dress, your walking, your sitting down, the nature of your food, the quality of your being, your house and what it contains, aim at simplicity. And let your speech, your singing, your manner with your neighbor, let these things also be in accord with humility rather than with vanity. In your words let there be no empty pretense, in your singing no excess sweetness, in conversation be not ponderous or overbearing. In everything refrain from seeking to appear important. Be a help to your friends, kind to the ones with whom you live, gentle to your servant, patient with those who are troublesome, loving towards the lowly, comforting those in trouble, visiting those in affliction, never despising anyone, gracious in friendship, cheerful in answering others, courteous, approachable to everyone, never speaking your own praises, nor getting others to speak of them, never taking part in unbecoming conversations, and concealing where you may whatever gifts you possess."

♰ St. Basil the Great ♰
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11 Jan, 17:29

☦️🕯️ADVICE FOR THE NEW YEAR🕯️☦️

"Do those things approved by God. For days come wicked and good, not trom their own nature; for a day differs nothing from another day, but from our zeal and sluggishness. If you perform righteousness, then the day becomes good to you; if you perform sin, then it will be evil and full of retribution. If you contemplate these things, and are so disposed, you will consider the whole year favorable, performing prayers and charity every day; but if you are careless of virtue for yourself, and you entrust the contentment of your soul to beginnings of months and numbers ot days, you will be desolate of everything good unto yourself.”

♰ St. John Chrysostom ♰

♰ ♰ ♰
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11 Jan, 17:26

🍓f a person has not found God or is not looking for Him, he is unhappy, his soul grieves and finds no rest. People often don’t understand what the reason is: “Why can’t I calm down, why am I being drawn from one place to another, and I’m always dissatisfied? I come here and I don’t feel well here, and it seems to me that I’ll feel better there. I went there and didn’t feel well there either, and it seems to me that I’ll feel better here…” Thus, the lack of God’s grace in one’s soul makes one restless. Scripture says: “There is no rest in my bones because of my sin” (Psalm 38:3). In order to find peace, one should join the Source of Peace. This Source is God.
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11 Jan, 17:04

From the Councels of the Holy Elders of Optina.

"Strive to pay more attention to yourself and not analyze the affairs, actions and appeals made to you by others. If you find no love in them, it is because you yourself have no love within you." - Holy Elder St. Leo
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11 Jan, 17:02

☦️🕯️“For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.”🕯️☦️

♰ Psalms 90 :11♰
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11 Jan, 16:50

☦️🕯️“The Lord loves all people, but He loves those who seek Him even more. To his chosen ones the Lord gives such great grace that they forsake the whole earth, the whole world, and their souls burn with desire that all people might be saved and see the glory of the Lord.”🕯️☦️

♰ St. Silouan the Athonite ♰
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11 Jan, 16:45

☦️🕯️But the careless man had better stay away from my stories, for otherwise he may fall into despair, throw away the little he has achieved, and prove to be like that man of whom it was said: “From the man who has no eagerness, even that which he seems to have will be taken away” (cf. Matt. 25:29). It is impossible for those of us who have fallen into the sink of iniquity ever to be drawn out of it unless we also plumb the depths of the humility shown by the penitent.🕯️☦️

♰ St. John Climacus ♰
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11 Jan, 16:38

☦️🕯️Through perfect wisdom and spiritual understanding, may you reach the fullest knowledge of God’s will. So you will be able to lead the kind of life which the Lord expects of you, a life acceptable to him in all its aspects; showing the results in all the good actions you do and increasing your knowledge of God. You will have in you the strength, based on his own glorious power, never to give in, but to bear anything joyfully.🕯️☦️

♰ Colossians 1:9-11 ♰
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11 Jan, 15:01

From conversations with saint Elder Paisios of Mount Athos:
- Geronda, we often say that God will give us strength during difficult times.
- God will give strength to a humble person who has a pure heart, who has good intentions. If God sees a truly good will and humility, He will give great strength. In other words, it will depend upon the will of the person for God to give strength
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11 Jan, 14:47

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
Christ is Born! Let Us Glorify Him in Song!


Russian version of Christmas Carols
🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Svyatki—Christmastide: History and Folk Traditions

What to do during Svyatki

The faithful were instructed to sing of the Nativity and glorify God Who sent Jesus Christ to earth, and attend church services—after all, you won’t spend the whole festive season at the dinner table! Every respectable Christian was expected to attend at least one service during the Christmas season. During this season people would dispense alms among the poor, give presents to children, and help infirm old people more often than during the rest of the year.

Christmas carol-singing is one of the most common customs of the festive season. It is done on the first three days of Christmas (including Christmas Eve, but often beginning from early in the morning of January 7), the first day of the “Old New Year” (from late in the evening of January 13 through January 14), and the Eve of the Lord’s Baptism. (January 19)

Carol-singing includes the performance of good-natured songs—carols (kolyadki in Russian)—in praise of the Savior’s Birth. As a rule, carolers (mostly children) would practice house-to-house singing in small groups. They could wear costumes of all kinds: various animals or beggars. They would sing songs of congratulations and demand treats after their performances. They would also thank the masters of houses for presents by songs.

Not infrequently during their rounds they would perform another festive ritual—“Christoslavlenie” (Russian caroling with the Christmas star). It symbolized the coming of the Magi who heralded the Birth of Jesus Christ. “Russian carolers” (mostly children or young people) would walk in groups of up to fifteen persons in each. By tradition they praised Christ on the first or second day of Christmas. The main attribute of the procession was a small man-made star—a symbol of the star of Bethlehem. “Slavil’shchiki” (Russian carolers) would greet the masters of households with songs, and they in return would give the guests cakes, ring-shaped rolls, spice cakes, or coins.
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11 Jan, 14:01

Christ is Born! Let Us Glorify Him in Song!


We continue to publish Christmas songs. Again, a wonderful video and a Christmas song from our Macedonian brothers and sisters
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11 Jan, 13:55

“A strange and wonderful mystery do I see: the cave is heaven; the Virgin, the throne of the cherubim; the manger a room, in which Christ, the God whom nothing can contain, is laid. Him do we praise and magnify.” (Irmos of the ninth ode of the matins service for Nativity)



🎥 Moscow, 2025
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11 Jan, 13:46

Christ is born! Glorify him!
Let the heavenly fires burn silently and let them fearfully gaze upon a humble corner of the universe, upon the black earth, and upon the most precious part of that corner—the grotto that is giving birth to God.


– St. Nikolai Velimirovic, Prayers by the Lake 49




🎥 Simferopol. Crimea (Russia)
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11 Jan, 13:21

A miracle in an Orthodox church in Yakutia (Russia).

The images of icons radiate warmth.
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11 Jan, 13:05

Every women who bears a child always exults in the joy of the birth, as well as in the joy of having a living mind, heart, and soul within their womb. We must realize that within the Holy Orthodox Church and its teachings there is a clear direction against abortion. This teaching is not something new in the Eastern Orthodox Church, as it evident that in the first three centuries of the early Church, the Orthodox holy Fathers spoke frequently against abortion.

The Holy Rachel wept unceasingly when King Herod had ordered his soldiers in both Bethlehem and Judea to have all the children massacred, from the newly born up to the age of two years old. Ever since this appalling, unlawful act of the massacre of the 14,000 Holy Innocent Infants, it seems that the loving Holy Rachel has not stopped weeping to this very hour, as we continue to see abortions being performed in countries around the world, often with the approval of local governments. The Orthodox Church cries out against this act of abortion. But is it not true that our ears remain often remain closed as we are afraid of the truth? We are allowing death to happen, murder, before our eyes! Death of an innocent child!

The weeping for all martyred children by Rachel has not ceased today! It seems that this holy mother and woman continues to weep! Every time we hear about another abortion Rachel weeps again!

Let us—I humbly cry to you—commemorate this day of prayer of the Massacre of the 14,000 Holy Innocent Infants, in Bethlehem, and Judea and reflect on this day spiritually in God-loving prayer, that we are opposed to these acts of abortion continuing in every place where life exists. And at the same time let us humbly weep, with Rachel, for all the innocent precious children who have been aborted. Let us piously and humbly help the Holy Rachel as she weeps for these innocent children, and at the same time realize that within the womb of the mother there is a precious spark of life that can bring us everlasting joy! Joy in Christ, and joy for us all! Speak to any father or mother who has just had a child, and see how joyful in their eyes and hearts is this precious child!

Lord, have mercy and blessings for all newly born children!
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11 Jan, 13:05

The Massacre of 14,000 Holy Innocent Infants, In Bethlehem and its Borders
The Memory Of Which The Holy Church Celebrates On December 29/January 11


Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremias the prophet, saying,
'In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted because they are not!
(Mt. 2:17-18; Jer. 31:15)
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09 Jan, 18:37

☦️🕯️THE FLIGHT OF THE THEOTOKOS INTO EGYPT WITH CHRIST 🕯️☦️

Both great prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah, prophesied that the Lord would come to Egypt and that His presence would shake the pagan temples and destroy the idols. Isaiah wrote: "Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at His presence"
(Isaiah 19:1, cf. Jeremiah 43:12-13).
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09 Jan, 18:05

“But one must always keep in mind also that it is impossible for thoughts always to be good (and from such thoughts are usually produced words and deeds which are similar to them), unless first Christ the Lord has come to dwell in the mind, for which we should struggle as far as we have strength– that is, so that Christ the Lord should come to dwell in our mind.”
St. Symeon the New Theologian
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09 Jan, 16:19

Conversion to the true Faith is the greatest event in the human life. It's the beginning of the way to heaven.
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09 Jan, 16:12

🔥 Holy Angels are depicted with a sword because they are powerful and formidable.
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09 Jan, 16:00

It takes more courage and strength to ask forgiveness than to hurt, to get humble than to dispute. God urges us to be strong. “..willing obedience is an action which shows more courage and strength of spirit than subjugating great kings and ruling over them...”
"Unseen Warfare"
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09 Jan, 12:08

Soon after that, yet another unusual event happened in the life of Fr. Nectarios. Long before the event described at the Lord’s Sepulcher, an elderly Russian bishop came and prayed so long and late there, that Fr. Nectarios invited him to rest in his cell. He gave the bishop his bed, and intended to rest on the trestle bed in the corner. But the elder-bishop did not close his eyes all night, only “pulled his prayer rope”, sitting in the armchair. Fr. Nectarios felt uncomfortable going to sleep, and so he also prayed all night with his prayer rope. Well, a couple of days after the appearance of St. Seraphim and the custodian’s subsequent repentance, Fr. Nectarios suddenly received a package from that same bishop. As it turned out, the elder-bishop had reposed in the Lord, and bequeathed the monk-custodian nothing other than a piece of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov.
Fr. Nectarios’s compunction and gratefulness knew no bounds. What mercy the saint has shown him, how quickly he had forgiven him, and how wondrously blessed him! Then and there he made a vow, that at the end of his service at the Lord’s Sepulcher, after he returns to Greece, he would build a church in honor of St. Seraphim. He built the grave-covering by the wall so that after his death he could be buried on the other side of that wall, outside the church, but next to the Saint!

For the sake of truth, today Greece sends missiles to hit Russia, it's from the news.
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09 Jan, 12:08

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”.
Soon a priest showed up and answered the visitors’ question, that this church was dedicated to St. Seraphim. Why and how this happened is a whole story, which he graciously offered to tell them over a cup of tea.
The story turned out to be quite extraordinary, even miraculous. Fr. Nectarios, as the church’s rector was named, once labored in obedience as a simple monk at the Lord’s Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It was his duty to arrange the schedule of services and molebens amongst the different Orthodox jurisdictions, as well as for the heterodox. There was a specific time set aside there for the Russian nuns of the Jerusalem convent who came there to chant and read akathists.
Well, one day it seemed to Fr. Nectarios that the time allotted to them was too long. So he decided to shorten it by nearly half. The nuns’ tearful pleading had no effect on the self-assured administrator. “The decision’s been made; kindly follow it— otherwise you will lose your right to pray here at all.”
The cell where Fr. Nectarios rested at night was located on the second floor of the church building itself. That night, no one remained in the church to pray, and all the doors were locked. Suddenly, a light rapping at the door of his room was heard. Fr. Nectarios was extremely amazed. Who could it be? At the second knock, he opened the door. He was not frightened, but he was puzzled. Perhaps someone had remained in the church by accident.
Before him stood an unfamiliar, gray-haired old man, who pointed a threatening finger at Fr. Nectarios and said, “Do not dare to offend my daughters!” It was said in perfect Greek, but the custodian could not make out what these words were referring to. After repeating them, the elder disappeared into the darkness of the church.
Walking around the church one more time, Fr. Nectarios did not find anyone, and went back to his cell to rest. In the morning he was almost sure that it had been just a dream. But when the Russian nuns came to the church and after setting up their little icons began to pray, the monk’s heart constricted from reverent fear. On one of the icons was depicted the very elder who had appeared to him the night before. The voice again sounded in the custodian’s ears as from someone present, saying: “Do not dare to offend my daughters!”
Falling down in prostration before the icon and kissing it reverently, Fr. Nectarios found out from the nuns the name of the saint about whom he previously knew nothing, and gave them back their time for prayer at the Lord’s Sepulcher.
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09 Jan, 12:08

🌟 Greek Miracles of St. Seraphim of Sarov 🌟
This story was told to us by a pious Greek Orthodox family who lives in England, but often visits its homeland. On one of their visits to the holy places of Greece, they were travelling on the Cassandra peninsula and stopped along the way at and unknown church. They went inside. It was an ordinary Greek church, but what surprised these visitors was the unusual veneration of St. Seraphim of Sarov, which could be seen from the church’s interior. Besides the usual large icon of the saint, there was also by the wall an original looking reliquary with an icon — an epitaphion (symbolical burial shroud), depicting the reposed God-pleaser, St. Seraphim.
As our Greek friends explained to us, very many people now know of Fr. Seraphim in Greece.
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09 Jan, 11:02

St Hesychios The Priest shares his experience of walking through temptations to spiritual wisdom.
“This is the path of true spiritual wisdom. In great watchfulness and fervent desire travel along it with the Jesus Prayer, with humility and concentration, keeping the lips of both the senses and the intellect silent, self-controlled in food and drink and in all things of a seductive nature; travel along it with a mind trained in understanding, and with God's help it will teach you things you had not hoped for; it will give you knowledge, enlightenment and instruction of a kind to which your intellect was impervious while you were still walking in the murk of passions and dark deeds, sunk in forgetfulness and in the confusion of chaos.”
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09 Jan, 10:22

☦️🌟 Orthodox Iceland www.orthodox.is/
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09 Jan, 09:05

In his letters to spiritual children Abbot Nikon emphasizes the significance of hope.
“Under no circumstances should you become despondent or lose hope; this is worse than any sin. Such states lead one to spiritual death and even suicide. “There is no sin that cannot be forgiven, except the sin which is not repented of.”
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08 Jan, 19:55

Christ is Born! Let Us Glorify Him in Song!


Gagauz version of Christmas Carols


Gagauz people are unique because they have preserved the Orthodox faith, though they are Turkic-speaking. The Turkic-speaking Christians—the Gagauz people—were under especially strong pressure from Ottoman Turks, because they spoke Turkic—the language so familiar to them. This is a Balkan dialect of Turkish.

The Autonomous Unit of Gagauzia is in the southern part of Moldova. Gagauz people also live in the south of the Ukraine and the adjacent area of the Budjak (Bucak) Steppe. The word “Budjak” means “a corner” in Tatar.
So Gagauzia is situated in the lower part of former Bessarabia in what is now the Republic of Moldova.

—It means that Gagauz lived there back in 1812 when Bessarabia was transferred to Russia?

—Yes, they have always lived there. But at one time Mongol and Tatar tribes came to live there, for example—the Nogai Horde. And when they left, the local Gagauz were joined by Gagauz from Turkey, from the Northern Black Sea region, Bulgaria.

Archpriest Dimitry Kioroglo

—Fr. Dimitry, Slavonic was the state language for Moldavian principalities. What were its effects on the Gagauz mentality and cultural code?

—The tradition of the Slavonic language on our territory is many hundreds of years old. And you should not think that the situation was different in Romania or Moldova. As is generally known, in the Middle Ages our Moldavian tsars and princes wrote in Cyrillic and knew Slavonic. The Liturgies were based on Slavonic services. And, of course, there was also a local Moldavian component. Such was the power of influence of the liturgical language based on Cyrillic and Slavonic texts!

P. S. Gagauz people speak Russian perfectly.

🎥 Holy Dormition church of the village of Tomai. Gagauzia
January 7, 2025
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08 Jan, 18:51

—What are some of your brightest memories about the Feast of the Nativity of Christ?

—The very atmosphere of the holiday always brings spiritual joy. When a person is with the Lord, then he is thankful to God for everything. “All the glory of the daughter of the King is within” (Ps. 44:14). St. Athanasios the Great explains that this psalm verse is talking about virtuousness, the inner, spiritual beauty of the Church. The very service, by the way, is experienced differently in childhood and adulthood. Even the words of the troparion you experience quite differently as a child. It’s different now as an adult.

Schema-Archimandrite Iliy (Nozdrin)


🎥 Christmas Night in
the Transfiguration Cathedral (Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral) of Tver, 2025
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08 Jan, 15:43

🙏 Metal frame / cover for the icon is called riza (dress).
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08 Jan, 13:24

🔥☦️⚡️ Sinai. In the ancient time God descended there on the holy mountain, with terrible fire and trumpet sound. But this should give us a hint that the future Day of Wrath for the sinful world will be incomparably more terrible.
Work out your salvation with fear and trembling... (Phil 2:12)
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08 Jan, 08:33

Sarov. Few know that there is a cave system under the Monastery.
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08 Jan, 07:29

This event, prophesied in the Scripture, will happen. Like everything else truly prophesied. It's necessary to prepare ourselves. Every hour must be used for preparation.
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07 Jan, 21:31

Christmas greetings

Vladimir Putin congratulated all Orthodox Christians and all Russians celebrating Christmas.

January 7, 2025 

The message reads, in part:

“This bright, much-awaited holiday is dear to millions of people all over the world. It gives believers joy and hope and inspires good thoughts, deeds and actions. During the Christmas season we clearly feel with all our heart how important for us are parental, family traditions that are being handed down from generation to generation.
I should say that the Russian Orthodox Church and other Christian denominations in Russia play a tremendous creative role in uniting the people and in preserving our historical memory and unique cultural and spiritual heritage. Religious organisations make a meaningful contribution to strengthening the institution of the family, to educating young people and to affirming in society such intransient moral ideals and values as caring for one's neighbour, mercy and compassion, and support for those in need of help and attention. This multifaceted and much needed work deserves most profound recognition.
I wish Orthodox Christians and all Russian citizens celebrating Christmas good health and wellbeing.”
* * *
On Christmas night the President attended a service held in the Church of Great-Martyr Saint George the Victorious on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow.
Participants in the special military operation, volunteers and their families, with whom Vladimir Putin had met earlier as part of various Year of the Family events, attended the service together with the President.
Later in the night, the President arrived to the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour to present his best wishes for the holiday to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia. At the request of Vladimir Putin, the Patriarch personally consecrated cross pendants to be delivered to commanders of force groupings performing particularly important missions in the zone of the special military operation.
422
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07 Jan, 21:08

Where is the peace on earth that the angels proclaimed? Where is the peace brought to earth by the God-man? Where is the peace proclaimed by the Gospels and the Apostles' preaching that reached to the ends of the earth, to all nations and kings? It is not in the world, for the whole world lieth in wickedness, said the Apostle (1 Jn. 5:19).
This is the mystery sung by the angels: with the coming of the Son of God on the earth, peace began to reign at first in the small, chosen flock—His Church, in the Apostles whom He often taught this peace, and later in the whole kingdom of grace, His Church, which spread throughout the world.
Yes, brothers, a whole kingdom of God's world is established by the Lord—a kingdom which is eternal, universal, and orderly; with laws, rules, and sacraments; with an order of services, guidelines for life and inter-personal relationships. This kingdom is the holy, Orthodox, Apostolic Church, where there ever abides peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father.

True, the Church of God on earth was always under the cross, always persecuted, and hated. But nevertheless, it always possessed an inner grace-filled peace—even during the cruelest persecutions, for God has always been and always will be in it, delivering it from all calamity according to His word that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Mt. 16:18).
Therefore, every truly believing person who keeps Christ's commandments, every truly repentant sinner has the peace of Christ within himself, and no external troubles of this world can destroy it—if only that person does not will to step once more upon the path of iniquity and sin.
Therefore, if earthly kingdoms and civil societies in general wish to attain and establish the peace brought to earth by the King of righteousness, peace, and love—our Lord Jesus Christ, then they should be closely united with the kingdom of the Lord, or His holy Church on earth; they should submit themselves to the commandments of Jesus Christ and the rules of His Church. Should these commandments be broken, they should quickly straighten themselves out, after a sincere admission of their mistakes and iniquity. Members of a state that confesses the Christian faith should be kind, honest, and sincerely dedicated members of the Church. Disruption of this union between the Church and state, that is, its citizens, neglect of faith, the commandments, and the Gospels give birth to unbelief and all social disorder and vice, cause moral or political impotence in that society, and deprive it of the blessing of heaven.

Russia as a great nation was always closely tied with the Church; and only within this union was it able to grow, strengthen, and ascend to the heights of its might and glory. May God grant that this union of the state and the Church—this kingdom of peace—always continue! Then Russia will be a kingdom of peace, and God's blessing will be upon it. Then no sedition will be frightening, because it will not find a place to settle in.
May our Lord Christ reign in our hearts, and may peace and blessing reign with Him! Amen.


+ St. John of Kronstadt

🎥 Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra, January 7, 2025
362
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07 Jan, 20:28

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
Christ is Born! Let Us Glorify Him in Song!

Christmas Caroling Traditions in Orthodox lands


Christmas is the most honoured and loved holiday for Georgians. Traditionally, on the eve of Christmas, which is marked on January 7, most believers head to church at midnight to meet Christmas. After returning from church, Georgians light candles inside their homes and sit down to celebrate with more delicacies.

In the morning, all citizens of Tbilisi wait for the festive Alilo procession in which clergymen pass along the streets of the city carrying icons, crosses and flags and praising the birth of Christ in song.
Children dressed in white usually lead the procession, symbolizing angels on foot. As the ceremony proceeds, the participants collect donations and gifts to be given to orphanages and people in need.

Alongside the well-known Christmas (Fir) Tree, Georgians also have their own traditional decoration, made from nut wood twigs with long white fluffy shavings, called a Chichilaki.
The curly shavings, which the master removes moving upwards from the bottom, are called basila, in honor of St. Vasily’s beard, the patron saint of animals and harbinger of new happiness.


🎥 Trio Mandili - Alilo - Georgian Christmas Carol

On January 7, Christmas is celebrated by the Russian, Georgian, Jerusalemite, Polish and Serbian Orthodox churches, the Athos monasteries in Greece and the Old Believers
323
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07 Jan, 18:10

Truly, God has been born as Man, on earth! Why? – “That we might live through Him” (I John 4: 9).
. To comprehend death is to comprehend life - all of the height and depth, the boundless eternity, of life. This is something accomplished only by the All-man-loving Lord, Who in His immeasurable love becomes man, while ever remaining God Incarnate, God-Man in the world of man.
Human life acquires its eternal meaning, its purpose, as Divine-life, life in God. Outside of God, life is absurd and utter nonsense, filled to overflowing with offense and bitterness. Only in God, o man, does your life find its sole rational, logical meaning.

- Saint Ven. St. Justin (Popovic)
96
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07 Jan, 17:57

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺
Christ is Born! Let Us Glorify Him in Song!

Christmas Caroling Traditions in Orthodox lands


The two weeks between the feast of the Nativity of Christ and His Theophany have in Orthodox lands always been a time spent glorifying Christ in families and communities. With this spilling over of joy in the birth of our Savior came the tradition of walking from house to house singing carols, to bring the grace and peace of Christ’s Nativity to those around us. In Slavic lands this is called “Kolyadki”, and in Greece they are called “Kalanta”.


This is a wonderful time especially for children, since the most traditional songs are also very simple and easy to sing. The children sing outside their neighbors’ houses, and the adults express their gratitude and love for them by putting sweets or coins in their hands and purses.


🎥 Christmas song of our Serbian brothers and sisters.

Bozic Bozic blagi dan -Божић Божић благи дан

In Serbia, adults and children sing together of the “Bright day of the Lord” with their traditional Christmas bread in hand. Notice how in both the Ukrainian and Serbian tradition, (as also in some Russian regions) the carolers throw wheat to their listeners as a wish for prosperity, and as a symbol of Christ, the “Bread of Life”.

On January 7, Christmas is celebrated by the Russian, Georgian, Jerusalemite, Polish and Serbian Orthodox churches, the Athos monasteries in Greece and the Old Believers
119
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07 Jan, 15:00

He always encourages people to follow the path of spiritual and moral transformation which is attained through fulfilling the Gospel commandments, through the voluntary cooperation between the human person and God, through the participating action of His grace, sent down in the sacraments of the Church.

And if in our relationships with people, in our everyday affairs and concerns we learn to be guided by the divine ordinances, then many things will change both within and around us. Life will acquire true meaning and be filled with real joy and happiness.

Let us then be worthy of the Christian name and calling. Let us tread our path through life with steadfast faith and unwavering hope in help from above, joyfully welcoming every new day and every new opportunity to perform good works, showing love for our neighbours and giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for all things (Eph. 5.20), to Whom belong all glory, honour and worship unto the ages of ages. Amen.
I congratulate all of you, my beloved, on the Nativity of Christ!

 +KIRILL
PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA

The Nativity of Chris

2025
Moscow
164
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07 Jan, 15:00

Mindful of this, let us, as the Apostle Paul says, strive to acquire within ourselves love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5.22-23) along with other gifts of the Holy Spirit. Let us do everything possible to remain Christians not only in name but in our way of life, in how we treat our relatives and friends, our colleagues and co-workers, and every human being who is in need of our help and sympathy, compassion and support.

Every day, and even more so on this great feast, we are called to pray ardently for the peace of the whole world, for the welfare of the holy Churches of God, for the sick, for the suffering, for captives and for their salvation. These petitions are of great significance today, for the powers of evil which desire warfare and division have risen up in arms against Orthodoxy. They sow enmity and hatred, exploiting any means to implement their cunning designs. Yet we believe and hope that the power of God will put to shame all the powerless boldness of demons and their henchmen. Thus it was many times in our history, and so it shall be now. The centuries-old experience of the Church assures us of that.

I express my special gratitude to all those who, carrying out their pastoral ministry in the territory of Ukraine, remain faithful to canonical Orthodoxy even at the risk of their life and health, who fearlessly tread the path of confessing Christ, who endure vilification and affliction for Christ and for the Church. May the Lord help these courageous defenders and champions of the Truth in their hardships and may He count their sufferings as righteousness.

All this notwithstanding, we are united in spirit. We are one, for we have emerged from one baptismal font. We are one, for together we manifest the fullness of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. We are one, for we are linked by the indissoluble bonds of love in Christ. We are one, for inviolable are the words of Christ, Who said: I am with you always, until the end of the age (Mt. 28.20). That is why we Christians have nothing and no one to fear, as Saint Paul reminds us in his exhortation: If God is for us, who is against us? (Rom. 8.31). Inspired by this promise, we live and create, we struggle and vanquish in the name of the Lord, for as the Holy Apostle Peter says, there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved (Acts 4.12). There has not been, there is not, nor shall there ever be, as the Church testifies.

Since the coming of the Lord into the world and to this day, all those who believe in Him are given the opportunity to be children of the Heavenly Father, for, as Saint Paul says, now we are no longer strangers and aliens, but also members of the household of God (Eph. 2.19). This means that we are all His children, and that in Him and through Him we become closer and dearer to one other.

In the divine services and sacraments of the Church, which serves as the meeting point between the human person and the Maker, the veil of eternity is drawn aside for us and here, on earth, we receive a foretaste of the coming fullness of life when, according to the Holy Scripture, God will be all in all (1 Cor. 15.28), when no one and nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God (Rom. 8.39), from the joy of communion with Him, when God will wipe every tear, and death will be no more, … for the first things have passed away (Rev. 21.4).

In proclaiming to people the glad tidings of the Saviour’s coming into the world, the Church, like a loving mother, exhorts everyone to believe in Christ and live according to His covenant so that we may become inheritors of eternal blessedness. Truly, the Lord has come to earth so that He may raise us up to heaven.
138
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07 Jan, 14:57

Christmas Message by His Holiness Patriarch KIRILL of Moscow and All Russia to the Archpastors, Pastors, Deacons, Monastics and All the Faithful Children of the Russian Orthodox Church

Your Graces the archpastors, all-honourable presbyters and deacons,

God-loving monks and nuns, dear brothers and sisters,

Offering praise to God glorified in the Trinity and sharing with all of you the joy of this feast, I convey to you, the Orthodox children of our Church living in Russia and other countries of the Moscow Patriarchate’s pastoral responsibility, my heartfelt greetings on the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, which is the celebration of the Maker’s incarnate love for His creation, the fulfillment of the promise of the Son of God’s coming into the world and the hope for salvation and life eternal.

A great and most glorious wonder is wrought today: A Virgin giveth birth, yet her womb suffereth no corruption! The Word is incarnate, yet is not separated from the Father! Angels give glory in company with shepherds; and with them we cry out: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men! (Sticheron of the Feast). With these words the Church bears witness to the mysterious event which occurred more than two thousand years ago in the cave in Bethlehem and altered the entire further course of world history. It is with a sense of amazement and awe that we incline the knees of our hearts before this mystery of the Divine plan for salvation, incomprehensible to human mind. It is with gratitude that we accept this sacrificial gift of the Maker and Provider, for it pleased Him to do so for our sake, and confess His grace, proclaim His mercy, conceal not His gracious deeds (cf.: the Great Blessing of Water).

What then are we, twenty-first century Christians, to do in order to become partakers of this truly precious act of God’s loving-kindness and to be counted worthy of His kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world (Mt. 25.34)?

All we can and must do is respond in kind to His love. And this means to believe and fully trust God, to observe the Gospel commandments, to depart from evil and do good (Ps. 34.14), to be, as the Saviour calls us to, the light of the world and the salt of the earth (Mt. 5. 13-14).

Endowed with free will and the inalienable right to choose, any person may accept Christ or reject Him, be on the side of light or plunge into the darkness of sin, live in accord with their conscience or according to the elemental spirits of the universe (Col. 2.8), through good works create paradise within their hearts or, by contrast, in doing evil experience already here on earth the torments of hell. In other words, each of us is called to joy and the fullness of life or, put simply, to happiness. And happiness (it is vital to realize and understand) is impossible without God, for He is the fount of life and all good things. He is the Maker and Provider, He is the loving Father, our caring Helper and Protector. Having free will, we can choose life and attain the likeness of God, but we are also free to choose for ourselves a different, godless and graceless way of life that leads to perdition.

For this reason the Lord, Who created us, nonetheless does not save us without our participation. It is in the harnessing of the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect (Rom. 12.2) with the human will, albeit imperfect yet striving towards the good, that we have the pledge of a successful journey through our earthly life. Life everlasting for every one of us, ultimately, is the continuation of that spiritual condition which characterized us in our earthly life.
304
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07 Jan, 13:43

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
Orthodox liturgical practice has undergone significant development over its 2000-year history. There were times in Orthodox history in which differing practices could be found occurring simultaneously in various parts of the Byzantine Empire. Over time some of these practices disappeared, some were changed, and some came to predominate over other variations. Christmas is one season that has undergone change through the centuries. The Nativity Fast itself underwent change and development.



🎥Byzantine choir of the Nikolo-Malitsky Monastery "Axion Estin"

Russia, 2025
166
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07 Jan, 12:50

Such ecclesiastic cups are used for zapivka after Communion. But sometimes for holy water like here.
168
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07 Jan, 12:43

🌟☦️🙏 Today the Virgin gives birth to the Transcendent One, And the earth offers a cave to the Unapproachable One! Angels with shepherds glorify Him! The wise men journey with a star! Since for our sake the Eternal God was born as a Little Child!
166
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07 Jan, 12:35

This action of Dioscorus did not meet with approval even among his former adherents. Thus, Archbishop Juvenal of Jerusalem was in no hurry to join Dioscorus, and Anatolius of Constantinople openly sided with St. Leo, signing his Tomos long before the opening of the Council of Chalcedon.
At the IV Ecumenical Council the case of Dioscorus was considered at the 1st and 3rd sessions (October 8 and 13). He was accused of abuse of power at the “robber” Council, unjust condemnation of St. Flavian. However, he stubbornly defended himself and denied his guilt. At the beginning of the 1st session, Dioscorus immediately stated that he acted in Ephesus by order of the emperor together with Juvenal, Archbishop of Jerusalem, and Falassius, Bishop of Caesarea (ACO. T. 2. Vol. 1/1. P. 74; DVS. T. 2. P. 74). He explained the deposition of Flavian by the fact that he “recognized two natures after the union”, with which Dioscorus could not agree.
He asserted: “I have the testimony of the holy fathers, Athanasius, Gregory, Cyril, in many places, that we must not recognize two natures after the union, but one incarnate nature of the Word. If I am to be ejected, it is with the fathers. I defend the dogmas of the fathers, I do not deviate from them in anything” (Ibid. P. 117; Ibid. P. 107). At the end of the session, when the circumstances of the violence against the participants of the “robber” Council (“beating of bishops”, as described by Blessed Theodoret, Ep. 113) became clear, Dioscorus and 5 of his accomplices were arrested. The final trial of Dioscorus took place at the 3rd session. In addition to the former charges, others were brought against him. Complaints were filed by 3 Alexandrian clerics - deacons Theodore and Ischirion, St. Athanasius and layman Sophronius about the harassment of Dioscorus, he was also accused of disobedience to the emperor (ACO. T. 2. Vol. 1/2. P. 17; Ibid. P. 256). However, Dioscorus did not appear at this meeting and after 3 times unsuccessful invitations was condemned for disobedience to the Council (so motivated the reason for the condemnation of Dioscorus most of the participants of the Council of Chalcedon, including Anatolius of Constantinople). The Roman legates accused Dioscorus of more serious crimes, among which were the excommunication of St. Leo the Great, the acceptance of Eutychius into communion, and non-canonical actions in Ephesus (Ibid. P. 28; Ibid. P. 267). Dioscorus was exiled to Gangra, where he died 3 years later.
157
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07 Jan, 12:35

🌟☦️ How the heresy of Dioscorus was defeated. History of the Ecumenical Councils ☦️🌟

Dioscorus arrived at the Council quite early, accompanied by 19 bishops. Even before the opening of the Council, he proclaimed the excommunication of St. Leo the Great for deviation into the Nestorian heresy, which Dioscorus saw in the papal Tomos to St. Flavian on the faith, which was never read at the “robber” Council.
141
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07 Jan, 12:26

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺
Great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh (I Tim. 3:16)

BEHOLD a new and wondrous mystery.
My ears resound to the Shepherd’s song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn. The Angels sing. The Archangels blend their voice in harmony. The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise. The Seraphim exalt His glory. All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven. He Who is above, now for our redemption dwells here below; and he that was lowly is by divine mercy raised.
Bethlehem this day resembles heaven; hearing from the stars the singing of angelic voices; and in place of the sun, enfolds within itself on every side, the Sun of justice. And ask not how: for where God wills, the order of nature yields. For He willed; He had the power; He descended; He redeemed; all things yielded in obedience to God. This day He Who is, is Born; and He Who is, becomes what He was not. For when He was God, He became man; yet not departing from the Godhead that is His. Nor yet by any loss of divinity became He man, nor through increase became He God from man; but being the Word He became flesh, His nature, because of impassability, remaining unchanged.
And so the kings have come, and they have seen the heavenly King that has come upon the earth, not bringing with Him Angels, nor Archangels, nor Thrones, nor Dominations, nor Powers, nor Principalities, but, treading a new and solitary path, He has come forth from a spotless womb.


+ St. John Chrysostom
🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺


🎥Church of the Savior on Blood / Saint Petersburg
149
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07 Jan, 11:58

The Saints had strong communication with their Guardian Angels, as it can be seen from many events. That should be true for every faithful. But sin separates.

O Angel of God, my Holy Guardian, safeguard my life in the fear of Christ the God, set my mind on the right path, and strengthen my soul in the love of God. Guide me that I may receive a great mercy from Christ the God.
167
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07 Jan, 11:48

"In your patience win your souls" (Lk 21:19).
The craftsman makes the icon more beautiful by scratching and polishing it with a tool. The same way we should not be afraid of some sufferings, it's the way of salvation.
172
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07 Jan, 11:23

☦️🌟⚡️ The metal text in this panikadilo is the Creed in Church Slavonic.
182
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07 Jan, 11:11

🌟☦️ A number of ancient icons returned to Russia. The project of destruction of the Orthodox country is much about money.
200
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07 Jan, 09:05

Christ is Born!
As for you: live in Him, live in God-Man, and you will be healed of all deaths, sins, passions, and of every work of the devil. Let your life become Divine-life. In that, o man, as soon as you become a member of the Church, a member of the Divine-human Body of Christ, rests all of the Mystery of Heaven on earth: And how does one live in the Church of Christ? Live by the Holy Mysteries and the Holy Virtues.
This is why the Feast of the Nativity is preceded by a Fast. Fasting is the first among the virtues, and is always accompanied by prayer.

Saint St. Justin (Popovic)
232
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07 Jan, 07:01

God’s Incarnation is the greatest, most staggering, and most providential event to have occurred either on earth or in Heaven, for in [the Incarnation] the miracle of miracles is accomplished.
If, to date, the greatest miracle had been the creation of the world out of nothing, God’s Incarnation as Man surely surpasses it as a miracle. If in the creation of the world, God’s words were transformed into matter, in the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, God Himself took on a body and became matter, became flesh. Thus God’s Incarnation became providential for each individual, for each creature throughout all Creation.
Saint St. Justin (Popovic)
281
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07 Jan, 01:51

What the Orthodox city should look like, according to the art. int.
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04 Jan, 22:16

🌹Let the heavenly fires silently burn, and
let them fearfully gaze
upon a humble corner of the universe,
upon the black earth, and
upon the most precious part of that corner:
the grotto giving birth to God.🌹

♰ St Nikolai Velimirovic ♰
142
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04 Jan, 21:59

☦️Adam’s ancient bonds are broken.
☦️Paradise is opened to us.
☦️The serpent is cast down.
Long ago our first mother was deceived by him.
☦️Now he sees a woman become mother of the Creator.
☦️Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom
and knowledge of God!
141
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04 Jan, 20:19

Queues in New Chersonesos (Crimea): museum and temple complex has updated the record of daily attendance.


On January 2, 2025, in just one holiday, 27,000 people crossed the doors of the complex, which became a new record for daily attendance.
174
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04 Jan, 20:11

Nikolai Shirokiy has angels living in his house. They are comfortably located on the ledge in a large bright room, in the kitchen they are sitting on a shelf with tea and coffee, as well as in the workshop ... And in the workshop angels are just everywhere. Here, among the machines, chisels and hammers, the smell of wax and linseed oil, angels are born from wooden blanks.
171
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04 Jan, 19:41

🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍
Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks (1 Thess. 5:16-18). This joy allows us to take joy from the feast already in this life, in expectation of the bliss of the life to come. By the by, even Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said, “He who does not believe in an afterlife is dead for this life.” And he who lives for the sake of the life eternal will have joy both in this life and in the life to come! But if someone is unhappy throughout his life here (is tormented by envy, anger, etc.), then he will find relief neither in this life nor in afterlife. We are very sorry for such people…


🎥 Solovetsky Monastery waiting for a miracle
187
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03 Jan, 21:14

So it was decided: they would go to Judea, to the country where their own fate was to intersect with that of all mankind.

Their gifts—gold, frankincense and myrrh—will prove to be a recognition of the greatness of the One Who came into the world to change it forever.

They walked through the desert. This was their agony—but also their blessing. And every step, every doubt, every effort was not in vain, because they were going to where the Truth was revealed in the form of a Babe.

To be continued…

Hieromonk Madai (Maamdi)
379
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03 Jan, 21:13

The Median Magi, priests of fire worship, servants of Ahura Mazda, sages, stargazers... made a long journey to Bethlehem, not yet knowing that they would consequently abandon Zoroastrianism and their longstanding beliefs. Thirty-five years later, they were executed in the main square of Ecbatana, the capital of great Media. Both then and now, their descendants—representatives of the Iranian peoples, the Kurds—came and are coming to Christ. Here the story of the three Magi is retold by one of the Kurds converted to Christianity, Hieromonk Madai (Maamdi).

In those distant times, when the world was wrapped in the mist of ignorance, and in the East, in Media, in the very land where heaven and earth joined in boundless expanses and majestic years, there lived Magi, priests of fire worship, servants of Ahura Mazda. Their name was known in all corners of the earth, from the ancient cities of Parthia to the wide plains of Hellas, where fire shone—a symbol of purity, strength and wisdom.
Three of these Magicians, Melchior, Kaspar and Balthazar, were, like many of their kin, passionate explorers of the heavens. They studied the stars, followed their movements, analyzed every moment of their appearance, because they believed that in their light one could find the keys to great truths, the keys to the fate of mankind. Centuries passed before they came to the conclusion that the stars could be not only luminaries in the night sky, but also signs—signs of the will of the universe, sent by Ahura Mazda himself.

That night, when the Star of Nativity, which had not yet appeared on the horizon, began its journey, it was unlike other stars. It was bright, unusual, and its radiance was so dazzling that all three Magicians who were watching the sky looked up at the same time, simultaneously feeling something more than just a physical phenomenon. It was not just a luminary, not just a star. It was a sign. And they understood its meaning immediately.
Melchior, the eldest, was silent at first, but his aged eyes, long accustomed to searching for a secret meaning in every movement of the heavens, now could not tear themselves away from this bright point in the night sky. He knew it was no accident. “It’s not just a star,” he thought, “it’s an omen. But a sign of what?” And in his heart there flashed an intuition.

From time immemorial, the Jewish prophets had been revealing to the Median Magi the secret of an ancient prophecy which spoke of the coming of the King of Judah, the great King. He was supposed to bring light to the world, and all nations would submit to Him. Expectation of this great event was a part of their knowledge, their ancient faith. Kaspar, Melchior’s student and rival, was the first to break the silence.
“That’s it, Melchior. This is the star about which Zarathustra spoke,” he said with a tremor in his voice, feeling without a doubt that he was witnessing the fulfillment of the prophecy.

He recalled the ancient legends of how Saoshyant, the Savior of mankind, would come, and that he would be marked not only by royal greatness, but by a special light, a light that defies human laws. Balthazar, the youngest and perhaps the bravest of the Magi, was not going to wait.
He knew that the moment had come, although fear remained in his soul. “So He’s already here,” he said. “So this Babe of Whom the prophets spoke has been born. This is He, and we cannot turn away from this path. We must go to Him. We must be the first to bring our gifts to this King, for He is the Savior.”

And thus, under the radiance of this unusual star, the Magi felt called by something great, unimaginable. In the hearts of these servants of fire, the servants of the ancient faith, there burned not material fire, but an inner flame of aspiration, and it was this inner flame that led them forward. This was no blind worship. It was the realization that they, as sages, as Magi, should follow this light, because it was leading them to the Truth.
309
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03 Jan, 20:51

☦️🕯️Man was created in God’s image and likeness, but when Jesus saw him fallen through sin, He bowed the heavens and came down, dwelling in a Virgin’s womb,
without forsaking His divinity. Adam, once corrupted, was remade. He cried out: Glory to Thine appearing,
O my Redeemer and my God!🕯️☦️
280
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03 Jan, 19:26

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺
Bethlehem, adorn your homes,
For Christmas draws near.


“At the Christmas service, each of us will receive what we have prepared. We eat the dish that we have cooked. We sleep in the bed we have made. We reap what we have sown. By God's great love, a person is given exactly what he is ready for. The Lord always grants us what we desire. What we expect, we reap. Each one receives according to the readiness of his heart. One receives God, another receives the church hymns, a third receives the meaning of certain sacred texts, and a fourth—the Kingdom of Heaven," writes Archimandrite Aimilianos (Vafidis).

Prepare O Bethlehem, the Lord is already drawing nigh!
🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

🎥 Evening of the Solovetsky Monastery
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03 Jan, 19:10

🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍
The Christmas trees have arrived! Preparing for the holiday.



🎥 Moscow Sretensky Monastery.
276
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02 Jan, 16:02

What differs a Christian from other people is that , a Christian distinguishes sin and sinner. At least we should all work towards it. “Hate enmity, and not the man; extirpate hatred of him, which is extirpated by love, and patience. Think of him not as thine enemy, but contemplate that he is thy brother, God's creation, a man, created according to God's image, redeemed by the Blood of the Son of God, called to the same eternal blessedness. Instigated by the devil, and not by himself, he persecutes thee. And lay thou the blame on this enemy. Reason not about what he does to thee, but reason about what is needful for thee to do with him, and what the law of Christ commands, and how to be reconciled to him. Pray to Him, Who commanded us to love our enemies that He give thee the spirit of love and meekness to vanquish innate malice.” Saint Tichon of Zadonsk
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02 Jan, 15:26

🌟 Miracles of St. John of Kronstadt in our time: healing of the boy from a brain tumor and more https://orthochristian.com/165971.html
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02 Jan, 15:15

☦️🕯️If the grace of God doesn't enlighten man, though you say many words, they won't be beneficial . The person listens to you for a moment, but soon after returns to that which holds him captive. If, however, grace works immediately , together with your words, then a change is effected at that moment, corresponding to the person's predisposition. And from that moment on, his life is changed. This happens with those who haven't hardened their hearing and conscience. On the contrary, if you speak day and night to those who hear about the good, but who disobey and remain in their evil desires, even if you give them all the wisdom of the Fathers, do miracles before their eyes , turn the flow of the Nile upon them, there's no way they will benefit in the slightest. They want, however, to come here to my hut to speak, so as to pass their time because of their listlessness. For this reason I close my door and I, at least, am able to benefit from silence and from prayer.🕯️☦️

♰ Elder Joseph the Hesychast ♰
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02 Jan, 15:05

☦️🕯️To be anxious on one’s own account
exposes one as a lover of self; but to be anxious and work for the sake of the commandments is praiseworthy and shows the disposition of a love of Christ.🕯️☦️

♰ St Basil the Great (+379) ♰
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02 Jan, 14:51

☦️🕯️Thy Nativity, O Christ our God, hath shined the light of knowledge upon the world; for thereby they that worshipped the stars were instructed by a star to worship Thee, the Sun of Righteousness, and to know Thee, the Dayspring from on high. O Lord, glory be to Thee.

Today, the Virgin bears Him who is transcendent, and the earth presents the cave to Him who is beyond reach. Angels, along with shepherds glorify Him. The Magi make their way to Him by a star. For a new child has been born for us, the God before all ages.🕯️☦️
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02 Jan, 14:47

Some time after the meeting Vatican returned the Kazan Icon to the place of finding, Kazan.
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02 Jan, 14:26

Mindful Catholics convert to Orthodoxy, it's a mass phenomenon. More important, such TOWERING FIGURES, like this ex-RC theologian, do that. Schema-Archimandrite Gabriel is one of the very few real hermits of our time. And he explained, that conversion to Orthodoxy is merely RETURNING TO THE ROOTS for RCs, returning to the original Christianity: https://pravoslavie.ru/65138.html
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02 Jan, 14:03

Borderline between pure pious joy and pride is very thin. We should never let our guard down ourselves. “Avoid praise, but do not be ashamed of reproach. Rejoice when you perform the virtues, but do not become exalted, lest, arriving at the pier, you suffer a shipwreck.” - St. Nilus of Sinai
119
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02 Jan, 14:02

From where it's clear that the RC is heretical? From the Scripture first of all, it shows irrefutably that the RC idolization of a certain Bishop is nonsensical. The RCC claims a certain mythical ultimate link between one of the Bishops (the pope is, in ecclesiastic terms, a Bishop, there are only three ranks) and Apostle Peter - and they cannot prove it. BUT even if it was true, Peter was only one of the two chief Apostles, it's strongly shown in the Scripture. Apostle Paul OPENLY REPROACHED PETER, AND CORRECTED HIM, THIS ALONE SHOWS ABSOLUTE POINTLESSNESS of the RC storytelling.

Photo: the pope is bowing down to the antichristian icon with Christ removed.
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02 Jan, 13:01

☦️🙏 Christ has TWO NATURES. If He had one nature, than He COULD NOT REDEEM the humanity: only a real Man, not a hybrid, could be counted as the redeeming Sacrifice by the Father. Those who believe in Christ having one hybrid nature, reject His Sacrifice and the Redemption.
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02 Jan, 12:26

🌟☦️🔥 The Sign of the Cross is a mystery. The Cross is the glory of Angels and wound of demons, strength of the Martyrs and guardian of the universe.
164
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02 Jan, 12:20

☦️ Orthodoxy is the most autist-friendly Church, there was a question. The others are mostly with heretical fixation on the intellect which makes those people 'out'. The Orthodox Church is heart-centered, not mind-centered, such children and people easily find place in that holy Ark of salvation.
303
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02 Jan, 12:04

St. Symeon the New Theologian elaborates the meaning of the meekness: “The only thing a truly meek man cannot bear is the transgression of God's commandments in any man whatsoever. But even then he weeps for them that transgress these commandments and sin, and he does so as sincerely, as if he himself had sinned.”
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02 Jan, 11:26

Aurora borealis above the church this New Year night, central Russia. A rare phenomenon.
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02 Jan, 10:59

“It is impossible to surmount the great if one does not conquer the insignificant.” - St. Isaac of Syria
Small things indeed can have very significant impact on our life. That is why they are so dangerous.
214
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01 Jan, 19:03

Saint Elder Paisios of Mount Athos gives hope to those who fears of judging in the Church: “The way of the Church is love; this differs from the manner of the legalists. The Church sees everything with forbearance and seeks to help each person, no matter what he may have done, no matter how sinful he may be.”
329
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01 Jan, 18:05

☦️🌟 Few people know, that in the Sarov Monastery, when St. Seraphim came to it and before, were many holy Elders. God willing will narrate about some of them. They came mostly from the region which is currently occupied, St. Seraphim was born there himself too, it was a southern, well populated region with developed culture. St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, a great hierarch and hesychast, had spiritual correspondence with some of them.
292
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01 Jan, 17:36

🌟🔥 By faith is acquired knowledge of God, and without faith it is impossible to know Him without faith. For what kind of mentalizing will convince us, for example, of the Resurrection?... By what thinking can the birth of God the Word be comprehended? On faith the fellowship of suffering also depends. If we had not believed, we would not have we would not suffer; if we did not believe that, having suffered with Christ, we would also reign with Him. reign with Him, we would not suffer.
St. John Chrysostom
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01 Jan, 17:23

People sometimes ask about the Orthodox view of prosperity, to put it simple, it's different from the Prosperity Gospel of Protestants.
265
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01 Jan, 17:03

Meekness is not selective. Christ tells us in His Beatitudes to be meek not only with those who are part of the family or good to you. He says “blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the Earth”.
Saint John Chrysostom reminds us to “be not meek with one and insolent with others; be meek with everyone, whether he be friend or foe, a great man or a little.”
259
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30 Dec, 18:02

☦️🌟🙏 Icon of the Royal Passion-bearers in the background. That unique family showed a whole number of types of holiness. They were murdered as members of the family of Orthodox Christian rulers, but in addition to the martyrdom they were innocent and loving.
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30 Dec, 18:01

...the spiritual man knows by experience the blessedness of the virtuous soul, and foretastes future blessedness in his heart.
St. John of Kronstadt
97
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30 Dec, 16:38

Demons fear the Holy Cross and the sign of the Cross, but not magically. There is a striking story in the Life of St. Sisoy, exposing falsity of the mechanical belief (a similar event is describing in the Scripture). What they fear ultimately, it is holy obedience accompanied with pure Orthodox faith. Obedience is humility, it's the only thing which satan cannot stand.
154
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30 Dec, 16:01

In the Scripture we read about Jesus visit to the house of Mary, Martha and Lazar. St. Ephraim the Syrian teaches us not to judge but take the best from this story.
“Blessed is he who with all reverence, like Mary, remains at the Lord's feet (in prayer), and, like Martha, hastens to receive the Lord and Savior (with good works).”
St. Ephraim the Syrian

We are so happy to have wonderful examples of faith in the Saints. All we need is to follow their well-trodden path.
163
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30 Dec, 14:00

“...you think that Christ is very far away from you in heaven, and that there is a Devil somewhere, but not in any way near and around you, and though you hear that he is evil, you think his wickedness does not concern you; but when you grow older and enter upon the devout life, when you serve God with a pure conscience, then you will experience in your heart the difference between the easy yoke of the Saviour and the heavy burden of Satan, who pitilessly injures us.”
St. John of Kronstadt

These days celebrating holidays, wrapping gifts and cooking delicious food people often forget about the main reason and Person of the day. Christ is not far away, He is waiting for us right here. And the best gift from us to Him is our faith, prayer and thirst for righteousness, His day should not just be a holiday, but also a Holy day.
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30 Dec, 12:41

☦️If God is for us, who can be against us.☦️

♰ Romans 8:31♰
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30 Dec, 12:30

Saint Panteleimon, he truly helps. One of the best known Saints of all time and the best known healer for sure. Some recent testimonies of his miracles: https://orthochristian.com/114980.html
203
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30 Dec, 12:12

Recently we saw the first anti-Christian olympic games. And, as the media report, their gold has already rotten. But it's just the first sign, the fire of Gehenna awaits everybody associated with Sodom.
330
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30 Dec, 12:02

...the more resolutely, the more constantly, your heart is turned towards God and His saints the more it will be enlightened, purified, and vivified.

St. John of Kronstadt
203
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30 Dec, 11:52

☦️🙏 The classic Life of St. Ambrose of Optina is a printed book, by the link there's only a certain short online text. It's interesting that that best Life was written by Archimandrite Agapit who suffered from some kind of mental issue. There was a question about that. Taking all the Orthodox means that author peacefully ended his life in Christ. https://pravoslavie.ru/42293.html
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30 Dec, 11:21

☦️ Metropolitan Konstantin, the ROC Exarch, fulfills chrismation in Equatorial Guinea. Many years!
203
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30 Dec, 09:56

☦️🕯️“For Your goodness, O Christ, You came to deliver us, who do not have boldness before You because of deeds of righteousness, but solely because of Your love for mankind, O Lord; for this reason, we ask for forgiveness as a gift, through the prayers of Your Mother.”🕯️☦️

♰ The Canons of the Mother of God ♰
224
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30 Dec, 09:01

We should never cease to pray for others.

“..A prayer from the heart has more power than a thousand words, especially for someone who won’t listen.”
Saint Elder Paisios of Mount Athos
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29 Dec, 18:02

The still free West is very far from real Christianity and the future of the world may well be determined by what will happen in Russia…If Russia succumbs, the world may well be lost, but if Russia emerges renewed and spiritually strengthened from the red cocoon, then the world may be saved.

The Struggle for World Power, George Knupffer, London 1958


🎥 Emperor Nicholas II: The Last Orthodox Tsar of Russia in Nizhny Novgorod. May 17, 1913, the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty and the laying of the monument to Minin and Pozharsky
332
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29 Dec, 18:00

📜☦️🌟 THE CHURCH WROTE THE SCRIPTURE. Sometimes a question about "authority" is asked, but that term is more secular. It's juridic. But the Christian theology is not juridic. The Holy Spirit, God Himself, inspires the Church, no external authority can be imagined.
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29 Dec, 17:45

Going to Confession, it's necessary to spot even small passions.
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29 Dec, 17:41

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
St. Justin Popovic wrote: "What are Christians? Christians are Christ-bearers, and, by virtue of this, they are bearers and possessors of eternal life.... The Saints are the most perfect Christians, for they have been sanctified to the highest degree with the podvigs of holy faith in the risen and eternally living Christ, and no death has power over them. Their life is entirely Christ's life; and their thought is entirely Christ's thought; and their perception is Christ's perception. All that they have is first Christ's and then theirs.... In them is nothing of themselves but rather wholly and in everything the Lord Christ."

The Saints live in Christ, but Christ also lives in them through His Divine Energies, His Grace. And where Christ is, there is the Father and the Holy Spirit also. Christ says, Abide in Me, and I in you; and elsewhere He says, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him (John 15:4; 14:23).
Thus, St. Justin makes bold to say that the Lives of the Saints not only bear witness to the Life in Christ: they may even be said to be the continuation of the Life of Christ on earth. "The Lives of the Saints," says St. Justin, "are nothing else but the life of the Lord Christ, repeated in every Saint to a greater or lesser degree in this or that form. More precisely, it is the life of the Lord Christ continued through the Saints, the life of the incarnate God the Logos, the God-man Jesus Christ Who became man."

This is an amazing thing that St. Justin is saying: when we read the Lives of the Saints, we are reading the Life of our Lord Jesus Christ. This in itself should be enough to convince us of the importance of filling our souls with the Lives of the Saints.
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29 Dec, 17:20

🌟☦️🙏 The Church teaches that Christ atoned for humanity sins, He "paid the debt of our freedom" (St. Ephraim the Syrian). But not only: "Christ has accomplished the work of salvation in its fullness. He redeemed us: He gave us new strength, revived us.... And as God brought new, graceful powers into the world." (Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky)
231
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29 Dec, 17:06

What is the heresy which was the background cause of the present schism, and Bartholomew's role it, there was a question.
"In 2003 Patriarch Bartholomew suddenly demanded that the Greek Orthodox Church transfer to his control thirty-six dioceses in the so-called “new territories” of Greece - at least regarding the appointment of bishops to these cathedras. The Synod of the Greek Church refused to submit, and its primate at that time, Archbishop Chrystodoulos of Athens, said that submitting to that demand would discredit the very fact of the Greek Orthodox Church’s autocephaly. After n.. https://orthochristian.com/118982.html
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29 Dec, 16:21

Volumes have been written on spiritual membership, but this topic still attracts the interest of the laity and clergy. Not every ordained priest can be a spiritual father, but spiritual guidance is essential to being a good shepherd of one’s flock. A priest can be a good mentor for some but not others, and not every Christian is an obedient spiritual child.
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27 Dec, 15:18

⚡️ The Russian Church removed the Metropolitan who was the main source of neo-Origenism of our time.
Deniers of toll-houses and defenders of universalism got a good message.
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27 Dec, 15:00

During the service it's necessary to try to "keep the mind" not in the intellect but deeper, in the heart. It's supercomplex topic, not for writing explanation.
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27 Dec, 14:20

A good priest, Fr. Evgeny, was forcibly moblized by the west-serving cannibalic regime of so called ukraine. Lord have mercy.
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27 Dec, 14:11

☦️🌟🙏 The faithful still have to repair many churches, damaged by godless ones, installed by the heretics. Building temples to the Most High is an important task. In Russia it has always been done on folk donations. People put their two cents, those who can more, did that with zeal.
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27 Dec, 13:08

☦️🌟 Angels have bodies, but ethereal, not flesh ☦️
Angels and the soul are called incorporeal, as not having our flesh, are called spirit, as beings of subtlety, completely different from the objects that make up the material world. St. Ignatius Brianchaninov
St. Basil the Great calls their nature 'fire' and says "that's why they are limited by place". There is a western theory about complete spirituality of Angels, and it's a heretical idea.
121
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27 Dec, 13:00

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Purity of heart means someone free from unworthy, self-centered, sinful thoughts, interests and intentions. Nothing is on the way to see the pure light of God for pure heart. This is something we should strive for. Often through many difficulties and struggles with worldly things and temptations, through learning abstinence and constant prayer, reading Scriptures and Church Fathers, being the party of Divine Services and Sacraments.

"The kingdom of heaven is called spiritual contemplation, for this is what it is," says St. Isaac the Syrian. "It is not found through the activity of thought, but can be tasted by grace. Until a man cleanses himself he is in no state even to hear of the Kingdom, for no one can acquire it through teaching," only through purity of heart. God gives pure thoughts to those who live pure lives.
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27 Dec, 11:00

“As soon as you turn away – however slightly – from God, and no longer place your trust in Him, things go awry; for then the Lord withdraws, as though saying: ‘You have put your trust in something else – very well, rely on that instead.’ And whatever it may be it proves utterly worthless.”
Saint Theophan the Recluse
This is what exactly going on with humanity, and each of us in particular. So no surprise about what we see happening in the world.
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27 Dec, 10:16

☦️ Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky on the intercession of the Angels on toll-houses ☦️
We are made glad by the special closeness to us of our Guardian Angels. They are meek, they rejoice over us, and they also grieve over our falls. We are filled with hope in them, in the state we will be in when our soul is separated from the body, when we must enter into a new life: will it be light or in darkness, in joy or in sorrow? Therefore, every day we pray to our angels for the present day: "Deliver us from every cunning of the opposing enemy." In special canons of repentance we entreat them not to depart from us now nor after our death: "I see thee with my spiritual gaze, thou who remainest with me, my fellow converser, Holy Angel, watching over, accompanying and remaining with me and ever offering to me what is for salvation." "When my humble soul shall be loosed from my body, may thou cover it, O my instructor, with thy bright and most sacred wings."
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27 Dec, 09:50

☦️🙏 "In an age of apostasy, the Russian Orthodox Church brings to the world the good tidings of her faithful love for Christ. Now, when the eschatological acceleration of time is observable, she, by preserving the ecclesiastical Julian Calendar, which has been sanctified by the ages, is herself an example of a reverent attitude toward God-given time. The fact that the Gregorian Calendar has become the calendar of practically in all of the countries of the world, still does not speak of its infallibility and desirability. "God is not in might, but in right," said the holy, right-believing Great-Prince Alexander Nevsky.
At the present time, a return in the ..." http://orthodox.cn/calendar/lperepiolkina/index_en.html
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27 Dec, 08:00

We should keep simple heart along with knowledge and experience in faith, be watchful not to let pride grab our heart.

Living simply means not judging. Do not judge anyone. For example, here comes Elikonida. She passed by, and that is all. This is what thinking simply means. Otherwise, at seeing Elikonida passing by, you could think about her bad side: she is such and such, her character is thus and so. That is not simple.
St. Ambrose of Optina

“If you would be simple-hearted like the Apostles, would not conceal your human shortcomings, would not pretend to be especially pious, if you would walk free from hypocrisy, then that is the path. While it is easy, not everyone can find it or understand it. This path is the shortest way to salvation and attracts the grace of God. Unpretentiousness, guilelessness, frankness of soul – this is what is pleasing to the Lord, Who is lowly of heart. Except ye become like children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of God (Matt. 18:13).”
St. Leonid of Optina
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26 Dec, 20:52

☦️🕯️What I see around me would drive me insane, if I did not know that no matter what happens, God will have the final word.🕯️☦️

♰ St. Paisios ♰
280
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26 Dec, 20:22

☦️🕯️FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THERE IS NO SALVATION FOR THE WORLD AND THEIR SALVATION, EXCEPT THROUGH JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF🕯️☦️

A Soul Without Jesus Christ

St. Macarius warns that souls without Christ are abandoned and vulnerable to corruption, much like Jerusalem was abandoned to its enemies when God was displeased with the Jews. Such souls become barren, consumed by vices and passions, and are left spiritually desolate. Christ, like a farmer preparing land, came to restore humanity, using His body and the cross to cleanse the soul of sin, removing evil influences and wickedness. By cultivating the soul with His sacrifice, He transforms it into a fertile ground for spiritual growth, where it can bear good fruit for God.
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26 Dec, 19:53

Maaloula is famed as being one of the last three villages in the world where Aramaic - the language of Jesus Christ - is still spoken.

Under Assad, Christians and other religious minorities were allowed to openly practice their faith.


In these terrible times, we must not forget to pray to the Theotokos with tears for the people of Syria, just as Orthodox Christians before us prayed in times of danger.
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26 Dec, 19:03

Syrians, despite the deadly threat posed by the armed militants who have seized the country, are taking to the streets of Damascus, demonstrating their willingness to defend their faith and chanting "raise the Cross higher."

“We remain beside our people because this is our pastoral mission. We must support them in every kind of need, especially spiritual. We will continue even our prayers and services in our churches as much as we can, of course, to leave our trials in God’s hands. We will continue the path to the Cross like Christ until the Resurrection.”...


+ His Eminence Metropolitan Ephraim of Aleppo of the Antiochian Orthodox Church
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26 Dec, 18:22

☦️🕯️He Who was begotten before the morning star by the Father without a mother is incarnate of you today on earth without a father.
Therefore, a star announces the glad tidings to the Magi, while Angels and shepherds sing of your undefiled child-bearing, O you who are full of grace.🕯️☦️
272
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26 Dec, 17:09

☦️ Orthodox crosses in Turkiye. Recently the archaeologists found a tomb of a Russian colonel.
370
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26 Dec, 16:01

If we try to understand some things with our human mind within known limits, we will never understand anything. God is greater than the limits that are available to us for now.
“There are a great many mysteries in nature which my mind cannot grasp, although they have concrete forms, yet they exist, with their mysteries. So also, in this Sacrament of the life-giving Body and Blood, it is a mystery for me, how the bread and wine are made into the Body and Blood of the Lord Himself—but the mystery of the Body and Blood really exists, although it is incomprehensible to me.”
St. John of Kronstadt
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26 Dec, 14:34

🌟☦️ A great man of God of apostolic scale, St. John the Wonderworker, revived so called Western rite in the originally Orthodox regions of the Old Europe. Rites are not dogmatic and cause no division. Many Western Fathers, who worked prior to the split of the West, had enlightened minds and left edifying soteriological instructions.
289
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26 Dec, 14:05

🌟☦️ A beautiful Orthodox Cross in the Sisterhood of St. Elizaveta the New Martyr.
282
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26 Dec, 13:33

☦️🕯️The Feast of the Lord’s Nativity must embrace us spiritually through the work of cleansing the heart, but not through a repentance marked by sadness and fear, but through a repentance of joy, by which you feel that you too are one of the magi or among the shepherds; that is, to feel that you too, personally, in the night of sin within the sky of your heart, are illuminated by the wandering star of the prayer of Jesus, which prepares you for the Eucharistic coming, through the Body and Blood, of the Messiah – Christ, the One much proclaimed by the prophets – who transforms your heart from a beastly manger full of hay into a dwelling full of light from the Light of Jesus, the ‘Light of the world’ (Jn. 8:12), ‘who came into the world to save sinners’ (Saint John Chrysostom), and ‘to bring light to those in darkness’ ( Prophet Isaiah).”🕯️☦️
288
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21 Nov, 16:00

St. Maximos the Confessor explains the frequent question about praying with other denominations, etc.:

“I write these things not wishing to cause distress to the heretics or to rejoice in their ill-treatment — God forbid; but, rather, rejoicing and being gladdened at their return. For what is more pleasing to the Faithful than to see the scattered children of God gathered again as one? Neither do I exhort you to place harshness above the love of men. May I not be so mad!
⚡️ I beseech you to do and to carry out good to all men with care and assiduity, becoming all things to all men, as the need of each is shown to you; I want and pray you to be wholly harsh and implacable with the heretics only in regard to cooperating with them or in any way whatever supporting their deranged belief. For I reckon it hatred towards man and a departure from Divine love to lend support to error, so that those previously seized by it might be even more greatly corrupted.”
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21 Nov, 14:01

Many faithful sacrificed their lives leaving us a great example of faith. When we undergo any kind of disrespect or difficulties we should remember that it meant to be. World will never full accept Christ and His disciples.
“When you suffer some dishonor from men, recognize at once the glory that will be given you by God. Then you will not be saddened or upset by the dishonor; and when you receive the glory you will remain steadfast and innocent.”
- St. Mark the Ascetic
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21 Nov, 12:16

☦️🙏 The prayer rule of St. Seraphim of Sarov is tremendously beneficial.
https://stjohndc.org/en/orthodoxy-foundation/lessons/prayer-rule-st-seraphim-sarov
207
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21 Nov, 11:18

☦️🌟 This inscription (Megiddo, Israel), about 1800 years old, says that Jesus Christ is God.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner
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21 Nov, 11:00

“All the teachers of the Church, all the Councils, and all the Divine Scriptures, exhort us to flee those who uphold other doctrines and to separate from communion with them.”
— St. Mark of Ephesus, Confession of Faith
Our responsibility is to keep sound teaching that was handed over to us. With faith and love, as Apostle Paul writes.
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21 Nov, 09:02

“The person who loves God cannot help loving every man as himself, even though he is grieved by the passions of those who are not yet purified. But when they amend their lives, his delight is indescribable and knows no bounds.”
- St. Maximos the Confessor, Four Hundred Texts on Love
This is what we should strive for in our spiritual everyday life.
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21 Nov, 04:24

🌟🔥 Celebration of holy Archangel Michael and the Heavenly Hosts is fulfilled today, and the date is deeply symbolical. The 9th month (according to the ancient tradition, counted from March) and day 8. The 9 stands for the 9 ranks of Angels. The 8th day symbolizes the future age, the Kingdom of God.
Holy Archangel Michael with all the Heavenly Hosts, pray for us!
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20 Nov, 22:01

☦️🕯️Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak. Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled, and my soul is troubled greatly; but Thou, O Lord, how long?
Turn to me again, O Lord, deliver my soul; save me for Thy mercy's sake.🕯️☦️

♰ Psalm 6 ♰
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20 Nov, 20:57

Rachmaninoff: The All-Night Vigil


No. 3, “Blessed Is the Man,” presents Psalm verses interspersed with triple “alleluias,” which increase in fullness and range as the movement progresses. 
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20 Nov, 20:52

Rachmaninoff: The All-Night Vigil


No. 2, “Bless the Lord, O My Soul,” features a pure, melodic chant, alternating between the alto soloist and the chorus. Rachmaninoff uses the device of humming—not a part of the Orthodox musical tradition—to create additional texture and to give continuity to the sound.
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20 Nov, 20:35

Rachmaninoff: The All-Night Vigil

The choir opens with the invitation to prayer, No. 1, “Come, Let Us Worship.” 
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20 Nov, 20:03

The “Our Father” prayer is of special significance, because Jesus Christ Himself gave it to us. It begins with the words: “Our Father, Who art in the heavens.” This prayer is comprehensive in character: in it is concentrated, as it were, everything that man needs both for earthly life and for the salvation of his soul. The Lord gave it to us so that we would know what we should pray for and what to ask of God.

When we pronounce “Our Father,” this means that we are not praying in isolation, as individuals, each one of which has his own Father, but as members of a single human family, a single Church, a single Body of Christ. In other words, by calling God our Father, we thereby imply that all other people are our brethren. Moreover, when Christ teaches us in prayer to turn to God as “Our Father,” He places Himself as it were on the same level with us. St. Symeon the New Theologian said that through faith in Christ we become Christ’s brethren, because we share with Him a common Father: our Heavenly Father.
As for the words, “Who art in the heavens,” they do not indicate the physical heavens, but that God lives in a completely different dimension than us, that He is absolutely transcended to us. But through prayer, through the Church, we have the opportunity to join in this other world.
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20 Nov, 19:37

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺
Because the church has no analogues, in preceding, contemporary, or later architecture of Rus' and Byzantine cultural tradition in general, the sources that inspired Barma and Postnik are disputed. Eugene Viollet-le-Duc rejected European roots for the cathedral; according to him, its corbel arches were Byzantine, and ultimately Asian. A modern "Asian" hypothesis considers the cathedral a recreation of Qolsharif Mosque, which was destroyed by Russian troops after the siege of Kazan.
Nineteenth-century Russian writers, starting with Ivan Zabelin, emphasized the influence of the vernacular wooden churches of the Russian North; their motifs made their ways into masonry, particularly the votive churches that did not need to house substantial congregations. David Watkin also wrote of a blend of Russian and Byzantine roots, calling the cathedral "the climax" of Russian vernacular wooden architecture.

The church acquired its present-day vivid colors in several stages from the 1680s to 1848. Russian attitude towards color in the 17th century changed in favor of bright colors; icon and mural art experienced an explosive growth in the number of available paints, dyes and their combinations. The original color scheme, missing these innovations, was far less challenging. It followed the depiction of the Heavenly City in the Book of Revelation:
"And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold."
The 25 seats from the biblical reference are alluded to in the building's structure, with the addition of eight small onion domes around the central tent, four around the western side church and four elsewhere. This arrangement survived through most of the 17th century. The walls of the church mixed bare red brickwork or painted imitation of bricks with white ornaments, in roughly equal proportion. The domes, covered with tin, were uniformly gilded, creating an overall bright but fairly traditional combination of white, red and golden colors. Moderate use of green and blue ceramic inserts provided a touch of rainbow as prescribed by the Bible.
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19 Nov, 05:56

☦️🌟 Jesus Christ said "So you too, when you've done everything you are commanded, say, 'We are unworthy slaves. We have done only what we were supposed to do'". (Lk 17:10), and, fulfilling the commandment, the holy Apostles called themselves slaves of God (δοῦλος). The context, concrete details ("For ye are bought with a price" 1 Cor 6:20 and so on) make it impossible another interpretation. The original Hebrew word, עֶבֶד, also means slave. There have been many attempts of
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19 Nov, 02:24

In the rural church.
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18 Nov, 22:52

☦️🕯️THE BEAUTY OF ORTHODOXY🕯️☦️
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18 Nov, 20:12

🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍
We don't save the temples, but the temples save us...

This church is located in the forest. A caring group of Russian people is restoring the temple on their own after many years of oblivion.

🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

Divine love in man is a Godlike state that embraces the whole person; this feeling does not divide people into friends and enemies, into insiders and outsiders, into believers and non-believers. This is a state where there is no room for egoism. In this regard, the Lord said: That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his son to rise on the evil and on the good and sendeth rain of the just and on the unjust. (Mt. 5: 45). It does not even seem right to call this love happiness, for it surpasses all human feelings. Happiness in our understanding is something closer to earth; it is only a shadow of what reveals itself in man (not to man, but inside man), as he comes into communion with God. The Apostle Paul wrote, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him (I Cor. 2:9). Christ said, The kingdom of God is within you (Lk. 17:21). This is where the precious box containing the treasure of happiness is hidden! It is not to be looked for in riches, nor in glory or high position—it is to be found in the purity of the heart capable of being in God and with God—Who is Love.
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18 Nov, 18:01

There is an example that a sin often looks like a sweet candy, and only later it turns out that a blade is hidden inside of this candy.
“All our attention must be centered on the parable of the Prodigal Son. We all see ourselves in it as in a mirror. In a few words the Lord, the knower of hearts, has shown in the person of one man how the deceptive sweetness of sin separates us from the truly sweet life according to God. He knows how the burden of sin on the soul and body, experienced by us, impels us by the action of divine grace to return, and how it actually does turn many again to God, to a virtuous life.”
- St. John of Kronstadt
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18 Nov, 16:01

It’s very easy to grow pride and vanity and even not notice it. That is why we should be very watchful to ourselves, never neglect the Confession and prepare for the Confession with meticulous attention to detail. It is said in the Scriptures that pride goes before a fall.
“When pride retreats from a man, humility begins to dwell in him, and the more pride is diminished, so much more does humility grow. The one gives way to the other as to its opposite. Darkness departs and light appears. Pride is darkness, but humility is light.”
— St. Tikhon of Zadonsk
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18 Nov, 14:59

☦️🙏 O Christ our God, uplifted on the Cross by Тhine own will, bestow Тhy mercy upon the new people of Тhy name; and in Тhy might make glad the Orthodox, granting to them victory over all adversaries. May they have as an ally Тhine invincible weapon of peace.
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18 Nov, 14:00

There is a big difference between pointing out someone’s fault (in the way we are taught to do in Matthew 18:15) and judgment. We are not authorized to judge.
“To judge sins is the business of one who is sinless, but who is sinless except God? Who ever thinks about the multitude of his own sins in his heart never wants to make the sins of others a topic of conversation. To judge a man who has gone astray is a sign of pride, and God resists the proud. On the other hand, one who every hour prepares himself to give answer for his own sins will not quickly lift up his head to examine the mistakes of others.”
— St. Gennadius of Constantinople
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18 Nov, 13:10

☦️🕯️ IT IS BETTER FOR ME TO DIE FOR THE SAKE OF JESUS CHRIST🕯️☦️
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18 Nov, 12:59

☦️🕯️For your concentration in general, and especially in prayer, and for the strengthening of your soul, it is necessary to read the New Testament and the books of the Holy Fathers, which help to understand it.🕯️☦️

♰ Saint Paisios of Mount Athos ♰
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18 Nov, 12:43

🌟 Presence of the heavenly hosts in Orthodox churches is a fact, testified by many. St. Seraphim of Sarov saw holy Angels all the time there, as it's known from his Life.
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18 Nov, 11:11

☦️🕯️“I have been amazed that some are utterly in doubt as to whether or not the Holy Virgin is able to be called the Mother of God. For if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, how should the Holy Virgin who bore him not be the Mother of God?”🕯️☦️

♰ St. Cyril of Alexandria ♰
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18 Nov, 10:00

Some people say they are afraid and ashamed to go and confess their sins because they can be judged. But it doesn’t happen. The Confession is called to heal and restore us, not accuse and condemn. And this is a really powerful instrument of supporting us in our spiritual life.
“The sick one who is acquainted with his sickness is easily to be cured; and he who confesses is pain is near to health. Many are the pains of the hard heart; and when the sick one resists the physician, his torments will be augmented.”
- St. Isaac the Syrian
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18 Nov, 08:35

🌟☦️ Crimea reminds the Holy Land, in particular it's the reason why OT people wanted to settle there, there was a project in the past century. This very location, I was blessed to be and confirm it looks like in the photo.
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18 Nov, 08:00

One of the most dangerous delusions is that once you get baptized you are saved. In the Orthodox Church we know that it’s only the start of a long journey. Spiritual work should be in process up to the very last breath.
“. . .One must clean the royal house from every impurity and adorn it with every beauty, then the king may enter into it. In a similar way one must first cleanse the earth of the heart and uproot the weeds of sin and the passionate deeds and soften it with sorrows and the narrow way of life, sow in it the seed of virtue, water it with lamentation and tears, and only then does the fruit of dispassion and eternal life grow. For the Holy Spirit does not dwell in a man until he has been cleansed from passions of the soul and body.” - St. Paisius Velichkovsky
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18 Nov, 04:37

The humble monk in the left is Elder Job (Gumerov), a missionary and confessor. The Sretensky Monastery.
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17 Nov, 22:22

☦️🕯️Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your ground courageously. And assuredly, the angel who guards you will honour your patience.🕯️☦️

♰ St. John Climacos ♰
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17 Nov, 21:02

Our fathers can do everything!😉🥰
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02 Nov, 11:59

The Liturgy in Orthodox Church is not just a service where you stand/learn/listen/watch/pray. Even the word “liturgy” means common work or common action. It cannot be replaced by anything. And it cannot be compared to anything. It is “the living experience of God’s eternal kingdom through communion with the same Christ Who is present in his people by the Holy Spirit.”
“The Liturgy is the supper, the table of God’s love to mankind. Around the Lamb of God upon the holy disc all are at this time assembled —the living and the dead, saints and sinners, the Church triumphant and the Church militant.”
St. John of Kronstadt
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02 Nov, 09:59

There is one wonderfully simple secret of peaceful heart.
“In all your works, either at home or at the place of your I service, do not forget that all your strength, your light and your success are in Christ and His Cross; therefore, do not fail to call upon the Lord before beginning any work, saying: Jesus, help me!”
St. John of Kronstadt
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02 Nov, 07:59

“Do not give way to laziness.. . . Do not neglect your small prayer rule. Make it a rule to turn to the Lord or the Virgin Mary at least once every hour with prayer for forgiveness and assistance. If you find the strength and opportunity to do this more often, so much the better.” - Abbot Nikon Vorobiev
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01 Nov, 22:30

☦️🕯️Prayer offered to God in truth is imperishable. Now and then we may forget what we have prayed about but God preserves our prayer for ever. On the Day of Judgment all the good that we have done during our lives will stand at our side, to our glory. And vice versa: the bad, if unrepented, will condemn and cast us into outer darkness. Repentance can obliterate the effects of sin. By Divine power life may be restored in all its plenitude - not, however, by unilateral intervention on God's part but always and only in accord with us. God does nothing with man without man’s cooperation.🕯️☦️

♰ Saint Sophrony ♰
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01 Nov, 22:19

⚡NO🦅🎃🦅👻 🦇🎃HALLOWEEN🎃🦇👻🦅 IN THE EASTERN ORTHODOX CHURCH, ONLY ♰ JESUS CHRIST♰ IS OUR GOAL ⚡

REASONS TO AVOID "HALLOWEEN"

Halloween’s focus on death, ghosts, and the supernatural can conflict with Christian values, which emphasize the celebration of life, light, and goodness over darkness and death.

While often just in fun, dressing up as demons, witches, or monsters can trivialize or even glorify evil.

Celebrating Halloween without awareness of its deeper meaning may inadvertently desensitize people, especially children, to concepts of good and evil, fostering a casual attitude toward things.

ALTERNATIVE "HOLYWEEN"

Christians celebrate by hosting “All Saints’ Day” parties where children dress up as saints or positive historical figures. Many communities hold fall festivals or “harvest nights” with wholesome games, activities, and treats, celebrating the season without darker themes.
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01 Nov, 18:29

St. John of Kronstadt explains that not only clergy and monks ought to know the faith well.

“Christians ought to perseveringly study their religion; they ought to read the Gospel more frequently, to study the Divine Service, to fulfil the commandments and the rules of the Church; to read the writings of the Holy Fathers, religious publications, in order to become imbued with the spirit of Christianity, and to live in a Christian manner. Such should be your occupations and recreations.” - St. John of Kronstadt

Our faith is also our responsibility. We are responsible to preserve, keep and hand it down to other generations uncorrupted, as well as to share it in a right way with people around.
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01 Nov, 16:59

Through Baptism we are mystically born into spiritual life and receive God’s support in struggles with sin and temtpations throughout one's way to the Heaven.
“Before holy baptism, grace encourages the soul towards good from the outside, while Satan lurks in its depths, trying to block all the intellect's ways of approach to the divine. But from the moment that we are reborn through baptism, the demon is outside, grace is within. Thus, whereas before baptism error ruled the soul, after baptism truth rules it.” - St Diadochos of Photiki
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01 Nov, 15:59

From conversations with saint elder Paisios of Mount Athos

- Geronda, I have difficulties in my struggle.
- Do you ask for help from Jesus Christ or are you struggling alone? Have you told Christ o f your weakness? You don’t humble yourself, you don’t ask Christ for help and then you say, “I have difficulties in my struggle.” When one is humble and asks for help from Christ, He helps. Often man makes an egotistical effort and this is why he gets no help.
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01 Nov, 15:15

🌟 The Healer icon of the Mother of God
From Your holy icon, O Lady Theotokos, / Salvation and healing is granted abundantly to all those who come to You with love and faith; / Visit also my infirmity and show mercy to my soul, O Good One, / And heal my body by Your grace.
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01 Nov, 14:40

☦️ The Orthodox "canon table" symbolizes prayers of the Church for the departed and the living.
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01 Nov, 12:59

How reading of the lives of the Saints can help us?
1) the Saints are our examples.
St. Basil the Great gives this analogy:
"Just as painters, in working from models, constantly gaze at their exemplar and thus strive to transfer the expression of the original to their own artistry, so too he who is eager to make himself perfect in all kinds of virtue must gaze upon the Lives of the Saints as upon statues, so to speak, that move and act, and must make their excellence his own by imitation."
2) we look to the Saints as our heavenly friends, brothers and sisters in the Faith. For us they are not dead, as there is no death in Christ.
How we show our reverence to them? We sing their troparia, we venerate their icons, we perform services to them, ask for their intercession.

The more we read the lives of the Saints, the more we discover little by little those Saints whom our hearts go out to. They will become our close ones, whom we resort to most of all and try to use their attitude to faith as a role model.
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01 Nov, 11:26

four years of his life in Irkutsk became for him truly a way of the cross. His selfless struggle against the complete domination of Lamaism almost cost him his life. The assassin sent by the lamas was captured at the very time when he had already broken into the cell of the reverend.
Much attention was paid by the saint to the enlightenment of the small peoples of Russia with the light of the Gospel doctrine. The saint founded churches in the north of Kamchatka, in the northeastern part of the Irkutsk diocese, and along the Aldan River, on the road from Yakutsk to Okhotsk. He often surveyed the vast diocese, was on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Arctic Sea, and within North America, where the famous apostle of Siberia, the priest Ioann Veniaminov, later St. Innocent, was then laboring. Traveling in Siberia and along the shores of the Pacific Ocean, St. Meletius often communicated with the population who professed Lamaism. The saint meekly persuaded the pagans: Tungus, Buryats, Kamchadals, as well as the inhabitants of the Kuril and Aleutian Islands, to abandon their delusions and explained the Gospel truths.
St. Meletiy, pray for us!
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01 Nov, 11:26

🙏☦️ St. Meletiy of Kharkov, one of the strongest Russian missionaries and preachers ☦️🙏
Being still a relatively young hierarch, in 1831 St. Meletius was transferred to the Irkutsk cathedra, with elevation to the rank of archbishop. The
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01 Nov, 10:08

The most ancient ancestor of St. Nicholas Romanov was Eglimarus I.
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27 Oct, 20:00

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
Most Christian husbands have little idea of what this kind of love means. In the world, "love" usually refers to physical love or sentimental, romantic love. This has nothing to do with the Christian concept of love. Just recall Christ's words to His followers: Greater love hath no man than that he lay down his life for his friend. Love, then, from the Christian standpoint, means sacrifice, and self-denial. A husband must take as much care, concern, thoughtfulness, attention, regard and precautions for his wife as Christ takes for the Church.

Orthodox Christianity is a way of life, not merely something we do on Sunday mornings and quickly forget when we leave church. A way of life is a whole coming together of habits and attitudes, ideas and actions: a style of life, a way to live. For us Orthodox, Christianity is our daily bread. Like a fish in water, we must swim in our Faith. As followers of Christ, we take our whole direction from Christ and His Church, and not from the standards of today’s world. This seems clearest when we visit a monastery, where the environment, the atmosphere, the focus of life – everything is clearly and deliberately Orthodox.
Most of us Orthodox Christians do not live in monasteries; we are married; we have homes, children, jobs. Among many married Orthodox there exists the mistaken idea that their following Christ does not require the same dedication required of the Orthodox monastic. But of course all Christians, whether monastic or not, are equally called by Christ to repentance and eternal salvation. There are no “classes” of Orthodox Christians – all are equal and all are expected to be followers of Christ, regardless of their position in the Church.
It is, however, very difficult for us non-monastic Christians to live an Orthodox life-style from day to day and year to year because we are constantly exposed to and live within a society that is not only not Christian but even at times, and increasingly, hostile to Orthodox Christian beliefs.   But this should not discourage us, for Christ Himself understood this situation when He said: Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; be wise as serpents and innocent as doves (Matt. 10:16).

A tremendous bastion of strength for Orthodox lay people in our circumstances is marriage and family life, a state that has been blessed by God for the salvation of each individual member of the family. In order fully to understand this, we must look at the doctrinal foundations of marriage found in Scripture and Sacred Tradition – which are the on-going conscience of the Church.
🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼

🎥An excerpt from the movie "Stone Flower" based on the tales of Pavel Bazhov (Malachite box). Engagement in the Russian style.
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27 Oct, 19:41

🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼
And when a young man is thinking of marriage, one of the first things he considers is "What kind of a mother will she be to my children?" He wants a wife who will help him to bring up their children to be God-fearing, pious Orthodox Christians, who will serve the Church, obey God's commandments and listen to the teachings of the holy fathers. He wants to know if this young woman would be that kind of mother. What kind of answer to his question is he getting from the young woman who openly puts aside the customs of her fathers and the teachings of the Church? By behaving in this manner, what kind of opinion of herself is she forming in his mind? If a young woman does not obey the laws of the church herself, what are the chances that her children will? And if she does not respect the teachings of the church and the writings of the holy fathers, how can her children be expected to respect them, or their parents?
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27 Oct, 19:03

«Здесь вы были нашими врагами, но мы, честно, ожидаем обратного… Что всем бы нам вместе, да против кого-то другого… Вот так вот – историческая параллель перевернулась… Надеюсь, вы нас простите – мы вас прощаем…» – Русский Воин над телами погибших украинцев.
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27 Oct, 18:54

The “Our Father” prayer is of special significance, because Jesus Christ Himself gave it to us.

Temptation is a test that is either sent to us from God, or comes from the devil, but is allowed by God. Every temptation for us is a kind of endurance test. And sometimes we pass this test, and sometimes we don’t. When we ask God: “And lead us not into temptation,” we are as it were saying to God: “Do not send us a test beyond our strength; send us the kind that we can deal with, so that the trials and tribulations that You send will not crush us or kill our faith.”

Christian life is an ascetic struggle [podvig], and we should relate to it responsibly; we should earn the right to say the Lord’s Prayer.
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27 Oct, 18:23

Field temples are extremely necessary for fighters. Here a soldier can pray in silence, turning to the Lord. Ask for the most important and painful thing. This is a great joy for the fighters.



🎥 The regimental priest🇷🇺
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27 Oct, 17:55

"Judas" (1885)




Ilya Yefimovich Repin -
Russian painter, teacher, professor, full member of the Imperial Academy of Arts.
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27 Oct, 17:51

☦️⚡️ The consequence of the unchurching of life is the loss of meaning. As prayers are silenced, as monasteries are closed or emptied, as everyday life is desanctified, and as “the salt lost its saltiness," poverty and misery come into all spheres of life. As the prophet Isaiah says, from people who have sinned, from people who have ceased to serve the Lord, will be taken away “the brave warrior, the judge, the prophet, and the seer, and the old man, the centurion, and the nobleman, and the wise artist, and the one skilled in the word” (Isaiah 3:2-3). To such men (we read further) shall be given young men to be rulers and children to rule over them.
Our whole life is an illustration of how the threatening and gloomy prophecies are fulfilled.
But it is not noticeable and not clear: faith is needed to recognize what is predicted. And if there is no faith, the lawbreaker will die as it was foretold. Only without realizing anything he will die in anger and bewilderment.
Archpriest Andrei Tkachev
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27 Oct, 17:17

🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼
The path to familial happiness lies through life’s struggles and working on ourselves for the good of those dearest to us. Every passing year in the family teaches us to thank God for everything, even for the sorrows and failures, for the labors born and the effort spent. I want to continue to live in my chosen direction, thinking more of my loved ones and their needs and less about myself and mine. And moreover, I want to help people, if not in deed, then at least in word, saturated with experience and compassion for man. After all, we are Christians, and this is what the Gospel teaches us.
🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼

Archpriest Andrei Ovchinnikov
🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼
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27 Oct, 17:03

🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼
The Church is one because God is one, and because Christ and the Holy Spirit are one. There can only be one Church and not many. And this one Church, because its unity depends on God, Christ, and the Spirit, may never be broken. Thus, according to Orthodox doctrine, the Church is indivisible; men may be in it or out of it, but they may not divide it.
According to Orthodox teaching, the unity of the Church is man’s free unity in the truth and love of God. Such unity is not brought about or established by any human authority or juridical power, but by God alone. To the extent that men are in the truth and love of God, they are members of His Church.
Orthodox Christians believe that in the historical Orthodox Church there exists the full possibility of participating totally in the Church of God, and that only sins and false human choices (heresies) put men outside of this unity. In non-Orthodox Christian groups the Orthodox claim that there are certain formal obstacles, varying in different groups, which, if accepted and followed by men, will prevent their perfect unity with God and will thus destroy the genuine unity of the Church (e.g., the papacy in the Roman Church).
Within the unity of the Church man is what he is created to be and can grow for eternity in divine life in communion with God through Christ in the Holy Spirit. The unity of the Church is not broken by time or space and is not limited merely to those alive upon the earth. The unity of the Church is the unity of the Blessed Trinity and of all of those who live with God: the holy angels, the righteous dead, and those who live upon the earth according to the commandments of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.


🎥 Valaam Monastery
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27 Oct, 16:09

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own" (1 Cor. 6:19).

+ St. Paul the Apostle



You have made me and laid Your hand upon me; Your knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great, and I cannot attain to it. Psalm 138[139]: 5–6


🎥 Igor Moiseyev State Academic Ensemble 
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27 Oct, 15:35

🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼
By His Word and His Holy Spirit, God “fills all in all” (Eph 1.10, 23).


A musical pause.


🎥 The performance of Monk Abel of the Valaam Monastery
209
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

27 Oct, 14:26

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord … As the Church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be subject to their own husbands in everything. (Eph. 5:22, 24)
🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺
234
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

27 Oct, 14:14

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸
"The world lies in a state of spiritual deception and manifests an affinity for those in the same state. But it despises and rejects those who serve Truth…"


+ St. Ignatius Brianchaninov


🎥 Donskoy Monastery
245
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

26 Oct, 23:11

☦️🕯️"There is nothing better than peace in Christ, for it brings victory over all the evil spirits on earth and in the air. When peace dwells in a man's heart it enables him to contemplate the grace of the Holy Spirit from within. He who dwells in peace collects spiritual gifts as it were with a scoop, and he sheds the light of knowledge on others. All our thoughts, all our desires, all our efforts, and all our actions should make us say constantly with the Church: "O Lord, give us peace!" When a man lives in peace, God reveals mysteries to him.."🕯️☦️

♰ St. Seraphim of Sarov ♰
338
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26 Oct, 22:58

☦️🕯️The spiritual father only shows the way, like a signpost, but we have to traverse it ourselves. If the spiritual father shows the way and the disciple doesn't move himself, then he won't get anywhere, and will rot near the signpost. 🕯️☦️

♰ St. Nikon of Optina ♰
273
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

26 Oct, 17:02

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺
When the Lord came to Nazareth, he did not find faith there [Mt. 13:53-58].  His outer, visible simplicity covered from the Nazarenes His inner invisible glory and divinity.
Doesn’t the same thing happen with any faithful Christian?  The principles of the Christian faith are very simple in appearance, but for an inquisitive mind they present a comprehensive, coherent system, completely beyond the abilities of any created intellect.  Modern arrogance, unimpressed by Christian simplicity, turns away from it and begins constructing an edifice of knowledge on its own, seemingly impressive edifice and a great vantage point.  In fact, however, it can build only a house of cards, with nothing but apparitions seen from the rooftop.
But no one cares, to be sure.  The arrogant mob is ready to cast down headlong from the edge of the hill anyone who dares to argue against its folly, yet the truth, safely passing through their midst  [Lk. 4:29-30], goes on to those who would listen to its message.



+ St. Theophan the Recluse
310
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

26 Oct, 16:39

🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍
If the priest is the type of Christ, women are the type of the Mother of God. The Mother of God is the most powerful intercessor among mortals. The ministry of women is maternal: intercession, loving service, education, and so forth. Mothers are not inferior to fathers. But mothers are not fathers. Men and women are created absolutely equal but different. To confuse one with the other is to deny the creative intention of God.
🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

📸 Russian women's national costume. Kokoshnik "shishak" is a festive headdress of a married woman in the Toropetsky district of Pskov province
286
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

26 Oct, 14:59

There are also spiritual illnesses. In this case spirit , soul and body can suffer. Spiritual illness is being under sinful passions (like pride, vanity, gluttony, and all others). It happens when sin overtakes a person so much that it becomes passion.
To fight it we need to be vigilant for what is going on in our mind, soul , feelings , examine ourselves. We should be aware as apostle Paul that “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.” Vigilance, prayer, repentance, fasting help people to get over sinful passions.
287
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

26 Oct, 14:36

🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼
"Knowing the Saviour and thus acquiring eternal blessedness is man's primary happiness on earth, and his only treasure..,"


+ ST. IGNATIUS BRIANCHANINOV



🎥 Celebration of the memory of St. Nicholas in the village of Dmitrovskoye (Russia)
August 11, 2024.
259
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

26 Oct, 13:52

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺
The Kryashens are an ethnoconfessional group of Tatars from the Volga and Ural regions, professing Orthodoxy. They live compactly, mainly in Tatarstan, in small numbers in Bashkortostan, Udmurtia, Chelyabinsk region, as well as Samara and Kirov regions (regions of Russia).
Despite the fact that modern ethnology mainly considers them as part of the Tatar people, some of the Kryashens consider themselves a separate people.

Kryashen people keep the ancient traditions of their ancestors, combining their Turkic roots and Orthodox culture. During the long parallel development of national holidays, customs and religions, Christianity has become an integral part of the Kryashen spiritual life - this confirms the special significance of Orthodox religious holidays. Also, ethnic-cultural characteristics and the celebration of traditional holidays are of great importance for Kryashens.


📸 Russia / The Russian Empire
263
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

25 Oct, 21:04

☦️🕯️ The Lord loves us so much that He suffered for us on the Cross; and His suffering was so great that we can't comprehend it. In the same way our spiritual pastors suffer for us, although we often don't see their suffering. The greater the love of the pastor, the greater his suffering; and we, the sheep, should understand this, and love and honor our pastors.🕯️☦️

♰St. Silouan the Athonite ♰
94
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

25 Oct, 18:14

☦️🙏 The Holy Tradition is the first and the most important form of preservation of the sacred knowledge. The Scripture is a gift of God which we love so much but it does not have 'authority', because the meaning appears only in the moment of interpretation. The holy tradition of the Orthodox Church is a tradition of the Holy Spirit. Not human.
181
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

25 Oct, 14:08

We all love peace, calm and comfort, in the good sense. But divine providence often sends us bitter things and dark periods; it should be remembered that our faith is especially tested and manifested in temptations. Such situations should be met with good mood, remembering that, if taken the right way, they are extremely helpful spiritually.
405
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

25 Oct, 12:26

☦️🌟 Officially a masterpiece of world architecture, of tented-roof style (one of the earliest examples), the Ascension Church is situated in the southern-center part of the Orthodox capital. Historically the place was a residence of the father of Peter the Great.
245
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

25 Oct, 09:59

“Lying down on your bed, repent, and upon rising repent; as one link in a chain holds another, so in your life one sigh follows another. Thus you spend days, months, and years.”
St Ignatius (Brianchaninov)
From “Harbor for Our Hope: On Acquiring Peace Amidst Suffering”
260
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

25 Oct, 09:25

Hierarchs of the canonical MP Orthodox Estonian Church rejected the offer to join Constantinople's schismatics, officially today. Bartholomew keeps pushing his Jesuit project, the weak one will bent down, while the devout servants of Christ will stay with Him.
Lord have mercy.
357
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

25 Oct, 07:59

“Many confess, but few repent. We should always understand that Confession and repentance should be combined.
Through the Sacraments, we commune with God in a mystical way. And God sees hearts. Sacrament is not some kind of magic ritual where you just list your sins and get forgiveness. If we want forgiveness we should repent and want to change.
The sacrament is called to unite us with God, and it cannot happen if we don’t let it ourselves. Repentance is not just sorrow and feeling guilty, but it is a wish to change, strive to obtain virtues, and desire to unite with Christ. It starts deeply in the heart and is fulfilled in the Sacrament of Confession.
272
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

25 Oct, 07:54

🌟 Chalice and discos (in the hands of the Bishop) are important elements of liturgical service.
238
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

24 Oct, 21:26

☦️🕯️"The leaf that you needlessly ripped off the tree is green. This is not a sin, but you still regret it for some reason, for once the heart has learned to love, it pities every creature. Man is a great creation. If you see a man who is lost and dying, then cry and pray for him if you can, or, if you cannot, then at least sigh for him before God. The soul that does so is loved by God for it becomes like Him."🕯️☦️

♰ Saint Silouan the Athonite ♰
425
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

24 Oct, 21:14

☦️🕯️"But nothing causes such exceeding grief as when anyone, lying under the captivity of sin, calls to mind from where he has fallen, because he turned aside to carnal and earthly things, instead of directing his mind in the beautiful ways of the knowledge of God. So you find Adam concealing himself, when he knew that God was present and wishing to be hidden when called by God with that voice which wounded the soul of him yourself? Why are you concealed? Why do you avoid Him Whom you once longed to see? A guilty conscience is so burdensome that it punishes itself without a judge, and wishes for covering, and yet is bare before God."🕯️☦️

♰ St. Ambrose ♰
277
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

24 Oct, 20:27

☦🙏 Our brother David, an Israeli soldier, died in Gaza.
With all the Saints give rest, O Christ, to thy servant where sorrow and pain are no more; neither sighing, but life everlasting.
281
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

24 Oct, 17:57

🙏☦️ The city was originally a Tatar settlement, and Tatars were Muslims. The Ascension Cathedral in the photo. It's very close to the place where St. Elijah of Murom was born.
287
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

24 Oct, 17:46

☦️ "Orthodox is just Christianity, only tougher". Some say that, but actually the original Christianity was not soft of comfortable either. So, "Orthodoxy is Christianity, exactly what it should be, not weaker".
292
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

24 Oct, 17:37

⚡️ Fleeing from the region where St. Seraphim of Sarov was born, Ukrainian nazis put a rigged with explosives the door of the Lady Of the Sign Church.
266
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

24 Oct, 16:59

“Your Lord is Love: love Him and in Him all men, as His children in Christ.
Your Lord is a fire: do not let your heart be cold, but burn with faith and love.
Your Lord is light: do not walk in darkness of mind, without reasoning or understanding, or without faith.
Your Lord is a God of mercy and bountifulness: be also a source of mercy and bountifulness to your neighbours.
If you will be such, you will find Salvation yourself with everlasting glory.”
- Saint John of Kronstadt
283
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

24 Oct, 16:48

☦️🌟 From the Catechism. There was a question.
256
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

24 Oct, 15:02

☦️🌟 The Orthodox Christian Mission started in 33 AD. But its significance does not belong to the past; it's rather increasing now. Orthodox Christianity is the fastest growing religion in many countries.
291
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

24 Oct, 14:53

🌟☦️🙏 Churches of the Urals. The last one is in the village where a great Saints, Simeon of Verkhoturiye, lived. St. Simeon was a 'simple' lay person but pleased God tremendously, lived as an acetic and God started working many miracles after his repose.
283
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

20 Oct, 20:30

Bartholomew's Ukrainian Orthodox seize the Cathedral, one more video proof.
131
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

20 Oct, 15:08

☦️🙏 This ancient temple is Grushevka, Crimea, traces back to the very first centuries of Christianity. That's why the Church of the Lady of the Sign Icon looks so modest and simple.
235
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

20 Oct, 00:44

🙏🌟 Monastery of Sts. Martha and Maria. Southern region of the Ural Mountain system.
330
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

19 Oct, 17:59

No matter how far we put ourselves from God, He is always here to listen and take us under His care.
“It is a fact that the Eternal God listens to us – corruptible as we are – more than we listen to Him.” - Saint Nikolai Velimirovich
366
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

19 Oct, 16:11

🙏 Metalwork on neck Crosses looks very authentically in the iconographical aspect.
347
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

19 Oct, 14:59

It happens that people talk about shame as an excuse why they don't go the Church or Confession. They say that they are too sinful/or they are ashamed to tell their sins during Confession. Saint John Chrysostom explains why this is wrong and dangerous.
“Pay attention carefully. After the sin comes the shame; courage follows repentance. Did you pay attention to what I said? Satan upsets the order; he gives the courage to sin and the shame to repentance.”
329
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

19 Oct, 13:18

☦️ Under Golgotha it's not just Adam's skull. It's we, the humanity, we are dead — being saved by God due to the sacrifice of Christ.
329
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

19 Oct, 10:59

“Christ is the artist, tenderly wiping away all the grime of sin that disfigures the human face and restoring God’s Image to its full beauty.” - Saint Gregory of Nyssa
In the 1st chapter of the Genesis we read that man was created in God's image, after His likeness.
Church Fathers explain the image of God as the rational and spiritual nature of the human person, our free will and self-determination, the human person's immortality, his dominant position in the world and his striving towards good, our ability to create.
They say it had been originally fixed by God in us, and the likeness is to be attained throughout life by getting virtues. St Gregory of Nyssa says, 'the limit of a life of virtues is the assimilation of God'.
348
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

19 Oct, 09:29

☦️🌟 Holiness is evident from the photo. The light phenomenon is not artificial. From the recent travel of the ROC Exarch.
350
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

18 Oct, 21:51

☦️🕯️“A good example is better than a thousand sermons."🕯️☦️

♰St John Chrysostom ♰
407
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

18 Oct, 17:59

We know from our dogmatic theology that God is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent. It means that He is everywhere (like air, only He is not limited at all), He knows everything and He is powerful over everything.
At first it can be difficult to understand such things, but it comes with spiritual growth. And to grow spiritually we need to be part of Church life, read and learn, pray and trust God and His Church.

“It is easier to measure the entire sea with a tiny cup than to grasp the ineffable greatness of God with the human mind.”
Saint Basil the Great
419
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

18 Oct, 17:11

Some say (have read today) "what is important it's whether the Church feeds the poor, visits the sick, the rest is not...". With respect, no. The TRUTH is what's important, along with love. Love without truth is incompatible with the religion of Jesus Who is the Truth (John 14:6).
334
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

18 Oct, 17:01

☦️ The expedition of the Academy of Sciences found helmets and a number of other artifacts near the Monastery of Savva of Storozhevsk. It confirms what is known about the historical city. In 1606 a Polish-Lithuanian detachment committed a robbery attack on the monastery of Storozhevsky Sava, about which the chronicle reads as follows: "They ruined the monastery... and the monastery villages, took the monastery treasury money and horses and all monastery supplies and bread, and robbed the Hegumen Isaiah and his brethren and burned them with fire”.
Then the troops of False Dmitry the Second and Polish King Vladislav walked through the Zvenigorod lands with fire and sword."
311
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

18 Oct, 16:26

🙏🌟☦️ Fr. Dmitry and the special diocesan team have completed yet another humanitarian mission from Crimea to the affected regions in the north.
327
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

18 Oct, 14:59

Icons have a great sense in Orthodox Church. It is simply ignorant to say that Orthodox pray to icons. Of course not. Icons represent all good and heavenly. Icons are means of teaching, reminding, expression of faith. We venerate Saints and worship God, and icons help us to remember why....
--
“When you look upon the Icon of the Mother of God, with her Eternal Infant, marvel how most truly the Godhead was united with human nature, glorify the goodness and omnipotence of God, and, recognising your own dignity as man, live worthily of the high calling to which you are called in Christ – that is, the calling of a child of God and an heir to eternal bliss.”
Saint John of Kronstadt
327
Ask About The Orthodox Faith

18 Oct, 14:37

☦️🕯️Humility collects the soul into a single point by the power of silence. A truly humble man has no desire to be known or admired
by others, but wishes to plunge from himself into himself, to become nothing, as if he had never been born. When he is completely hidden to himself in himself, he is completely with God.🕯️☦️

♰ St. Isaac the Syrian ♰
303

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