Latest Articles – The Old Believers

Homily 1 on Lazarus of the Four Days. -Isichiy of Jerusalem

-Ven. Isichiy (Hesychios) of Jerusalem. Behold, once again Lazarus offers us today a splendid banquet—a feast where everything is wondrous, rich in color and radiant, everything truly bears a divine generosity and a certain royal majesty. For it is the Father who lays the table, the Son who pours the wine, the Spirit who anoints…
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Lazarus Saturday

On the eve of the celebration of the Lord Jesus Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem, the Church commemorates the resurrection of Lazarus, since this miracle, according to the Gospel of John, took place just before the Lord entered the Holy City. The Evangelist tells us little about Lazarus: that the Lord loved him, calling him “our…
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The Sacred Thread of the Church’s Lessons in the Weeks Leading to Great Lent. -Bp. Mikhail (Semyonov)

I. The Publican and the Pharisee Old Believers have a much deeper understanding of their divine services, their order, than adherents of other confessions. Old Believers diligently (though relatively speaking), seriously, and attentively preserve the ancient order, remaining faithful to the Ustav (Typikon) and traditions of the past. Here, there is no question of the…
Read more: The Sacred Thread of the Church’s Lessons in the Weeks Leading to Great Lent. -Bp. Mikhail (Semyonov)
The Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian. -Bp. Mikhail (Semyonov)

By Bishop Mikhail (Semyonov) “O Lord and Master of my life, drive away from me the spirit of despondency, negligence, avarice, and idle talk…” There is hardly a prayer (after the Lord’s Prayer) that moves the soul more than the Lenten prayer of St. Ephraim. But how strange, it seems, are its petitions. To ask…
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On the Holy Forty Days (Great Fast). -Abba Dorotheos

By Abba Dorotheos It is written in the Law that God commanded the sons of Israel to give a tithe each year from all that they acquired, and by doing so, they received a blessing upon all their works. Knowing this, the holy Apostles established and handed down to us, for our aid and as…
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On the Calculation of the Days of Great Lent

Great Lent is called the Forty Days — the Holy Quadragesima. However, if you look at the calendar, it becomes clear that from the first day of Great Lent until Pascha there are seven weeks, that is, 49 calendar days. How, then, is the Forty Days calculated? 6 × 7 – 2 = 40Properly speaking,…
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Golden-mouth. Homily 58. Saturday of the Sixth Week.

On the Saturday of the Sixth Week of Lent, on the Resurrection of Christ’s Friend Lazarus: a Homily by John Chrysostom. Behold, this is the radiant forerunner of the triumph of Christ’s Resurrection. Behold, the remembrance of Lazarus shines forth, revealing the wonders of Christ. The image of Lazarus’ four-day resurrection bears the fruit of…
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Golden-mouth. Homily 57. Friday of the Sixth Week.

On the Friday of the Sixth Week of Lent: A teaching by John Chrysostom on Repentance, and on How Sins Are Forgiven. Therefore, considering this, let us never despise anyone, and never, when we sin, fall into despair, nor let us become sluggish in returning once again. Rather, when we sin, let us offer contrite…
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Golden-mouth. Homily 56. Thursday of the Sixth Week.

On Thursday of the Sixth Week of Lent — Parables from the Prophetic Sayings, with Interpretation. Proverbs. Chapter 9: Wisdom hath builded her house… Interpretation.“Wisdom” is Christ, and the “house” is the Holy Mother of God. She hath hewn out her seven pillars. Interpretation.The “seven pillars” are the seven Ecumenical Councils. She hath killed her…
Read more: Golden-mouth. Homily 56. Thursday of the Sixth Week.
Golden-mouth. Homily 55. Wednesday of the Sixth Week.

On the same day [Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Lent] — The Prophecy of Isaiah, interpreted concerning those who set tables for idols. [Isaiah, ch. 65] Thus saith the Lord: “As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for…
Read more: Golden-mouth. Homily 55. Wednesday of the Sixth Week.