July 6, 7533
We have now come to a very important and intriguing topic: the miracles of Christ. These miracles should not be a cause of doubt for anyone, for they were performed by the Lord Himself. And they were many. As the Apostle John the Theologian says, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the…
Earthly life is given to us to prepare for eternal life, to learn to love God and our neighbor. A Christian must both live and die “to the glory of God,” as the apostle Paul writes (Romans 14:8). Until their final days, a Christian should remain united with Christ—not merely by being a “good person,”…
B.P. Kutuzov “The Lord is King, He is clothed with beauty…” (Ps. 92:1). “Thou coverest Thyself with light as with a garment…” (Ps. 103:2). Why Clothing Is Needed Clothing is appearance—it is the outward look, external representation, external information about a thing, its visible self-expression. It is what we see. The Creator fashioned a beautiful…
In the world around us today, unfortunately, much is determined by money or at least heavily influenced by it. Awareness of this fact prompts various church figures to seek out explanations for the current order of things—sometimes quite extravagant or even cynical (I refer to the statements of Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev of the Russian Orthodox…
In everyday life, a Christian outwardly differs little from the average person. Worship, however, is another matter entirely. Among Orthodox Old Believers, there is a pious ancient custom of wearing special clothing for prayer in church. In essence, this is the attire that was commonly worn in everyday life in ancient Rus’: a kaftan or Russian kosovorotka —worn untucked…
In Orthodoxy, there is no strict dichotomy between the soul and the body, nor any teaching that all physical things are sinful and corrupt, with the soul’s ultimate goal being to escape the “filthy” body. Orthodox Christianity teaches that the body and soul together form a single human being and that Christians living on earth,…
The Apostle Paul says: “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful.”\(1 Corinthians 6:12) Thus, we should view the restrictions mentioned not as a denial or violation of the freedom Christ has called us to, but as the Church’s guidance to help us on the path to salvation in Christ. Our…
I would recommend first and foremost reading the Holy Scripture, but always with the commentaries of the Holy Fathers, to avoid straying into self-willed interpretations of its passages, as Protestants and other non-Orthodox often do. It is very beneficial to read the works of St. John Chrysostom, who presents Orthodox teachings about God, the incarnation…
Judging by your question, it seems that you (the author of the question) have recently joined the Orthodox Old Believer Church. This is evident from your use of the term “edinovertsy” to refer to Old Believers, which is not customary among us (this term is typically used by clergy and parishioners of the Moscow Patriarchate…
Indeed, secular people typically celebrate their birthdays by gathering guests for feasting, often with alcohol, music, dancing, and other inevitable attributes of worldly parties. Such people are entirely unfamiliar with the concept of name days or the day of their angel. It is worth noting that about a hundred years ago or more, things were different….