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Holy Silence
Read more: Holy Silence-Bishop Mikhail (Semyonov_ There is a holy silence. But there is an even holier Christian blessed silence. The ability to guard one’s lips from sin, to respect the gift of speech. The word is a great gift from heaven. “What power the word has,” writes St. John Chrysostom, “an almighty power: all things were made…
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The Tale of the Beard
Read more: The Tale of the BeardNothing in the human body has sparked such heated debates, divisions, and even bloodshed as the beard. Take, for example, the hand. No one demanded that hands be cut off every infant, no one wrote multi-volume treatises defending hands, no one taxed hands, and no one saw in hands a sign of the righteousness or…
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Old Believers of the Strictest Rules
Read more: Old Believers of the Strictest RulesKnorre B., Iserov A. I. The Last of the Mohicans It is hard to imagine, but some of the strictest branches of Old Believerism still survive today. Among them are the Filippovtsy, an Old Believer sect that emerged among the priestless Old Believers in the early 18th century. The sect was founded by a musketeer…
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Features of Old Russian Liturgical Rites.
Read more: Features of Old Russian Liturgical Rites.By Igumen Kirill (Sakharov). (Edinoverie) These are the old rites, that is, pre-reform, pre-Nikon rites. For three years now, after the conclusion of the Councils at Rogozhskoye, meetings with students and young clerics on canonical and liturgical matters have been held at the Theological School. These meetings are led by Fr. Vadim Korovin (until recently,…
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Terror!
Read more: Terror!By Bishop Innokenty (Usov) What if all people knew about every thought, word, and deed you have ever conceived or performed? What shame, fear, and suffering you would have to endure! The mere thought of this is unsettling and dreadful. Yet, inevitably, there will come a time when all our deeds and words, all our…
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Whoever Smokes Tobacco is Worse than Dogs
Read more: Whoever Smokes Tobacco is Worse than DogsBy Gleb Chistyakov “Кто курит табак, тот хуже собак” “Whoever smokes tobacco, is worse than dogs” The fight against tobacco smoking and its devastating health consequences, which has unfolded in recent decades in the USA, Europe, and more recently in Russia, actually has much deeper roots in our country. Impartial evidence from historical sources indicates…
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On the Judgment of God
Read more: On the Judgment of GodBy Wanderer Margarita Dear benefactors, when we gather for such assemblies, we pursue one goal—to listen to the holy scriptures. Why do we listen to the holy scriptures? To know God’s law and His will. However, knowing the law is not enough for salvation, as the Apostle Paul says: “It is not the hearers of…
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On the Fear of God
Read more: On the Fear of GodBy Wanderer Margarita Desiring to offer you a soul-benefiting discourse, I must say that I do this not because I am confident in my own knowledge or strength, but only because you have asked me to, and I rely on the mercy of God. For the Lord Himself said, “Open your mouth, and I will…
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Transfiguration of the Lord
Read more: Transfiguration of the Lord“Together with the Word, let us now ascend the lofty mountain of the Transfiguration, casting off the material and dark garments of worldly life and clothing ourselves in those woven from above, shining with the rays of rational virtues,” calls St. Andrew of Crete to the faithful on this great feast day. “And it is…
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Transfiguration into Holiness – Bp. Mikhail Semyonov
Read more: Transfiguration into Holiness – Bp. Mikhail SemyonovBy the Example of the Holy One Who Called You, Be Holy Yourselves (1 Peter 1:15). Are the lessons of this day meant for us? Be holy. Be transformed into the “image of Christ.” Change your sinful life to one modeled after the One who called us—Christ. Exchange the dirty, stained garments of the soul…