Is it permissible to visit cafeterias, cafés, or restaurants? Should one pray openly before and after meals and make the sign of the cross?

Strictly speaking, Church rules contain prohibitions against eating in taverns. However, it’s important to understand that taverns in ancient times, when these rules were formulated, were not merely “places of public dining.” They were associated with questionable individuals and unrighteous activities. For clergy, there is a strict prohibition against eating in taverns, except in cases…

Every Christian is called to bring the light of Christ’s teaching into the world. How can an ordinary, everyday Christian fulfill this in the modern world?

Indeed, the Lord Jesus Christ said to His disciples: “Ye are the light of the world.” Clearly, this applies not only to the apostles but to all Christians. In the Epistle to the Ephesians, St. Paul writes to all Christians: “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as…

Not Peace, But a Sword! On the Warfare of the Orthodox Church of Christ Since Ancient Times as a Condition of Its Life

Christian Life as Struggle A.V. Muravyev Christianity, from its very beginning, is revealed as a struggle. In a prefigurative way, the Old Testament prophet and king David repeatedly speaks of God’s struggle against enemies and of divine aid in battling foes: “Judge, O Lord, them that harm me; fight against them that fight against me”…

On the Combination of Spiritual Service and Secular Concerns

The question of the relationship between the spiritual and the secular has always been relevant in the Christian world, and to this day, debate continues about whether it is acceptable for a clergyman to engage in worldly concerns, to hold occupations outside of Church service, or to possess secular education and skills enabling work beyond…

What does the Gospel phrase “The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force” mean?

What kind of effort is being referred to? And why must it be achieved through effort rather than an easy, pleasant, carefree life? When reading and interpreting this phrase, it is essential to remember that the Lord spoke these words while conversing with the people about John the Baptist. He first asked the Jews listening…

Standing in Prayer

After completing the seven prostrations of the seven-bow beginning one should stand in a designated place, where it is proper to remain for the entire service. “Then,” instructs the book The Son of the Church, “make a bow at the waist to those standing near you, quietly saying: ‘Forgive me, fathers and brethren’” (Chapter 35)….

Lives of the Saints: Why Do People Stop Reading Them?

In ancient times, reading the Lives of the Saints was one of the favorite activities of all layers of the Russian people. The readers were interested not only in historical facts from the lives of Christian ascetics but also in the profound instructive and moral-ethical meaning. Today, the Lives of the Saints have taken a…

On Nachotnichestvo

A nachotnik is a man well-versed in sacred texts. Every Christian ought to be a nachotnik— that is, one who knows his confession, is capable of defending his belief, and therefore must be well-read, first of all in the Holy Scriptures, and then in all other ecclesiastical writings.— Fyodor Yefimovich Melnikov “Sanctify the Lord God…