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Nikonianism – Pavel de Rico
Read more: Nikonianism – Pavel de RicoThe heresy of Nikonianism lies in its departure from the historical Orthodox faith that had been continuously upheld in Russia. Everything else stemmed from this event. Following the infamous “Great Moscow Council of 1666,” which anathematized historical Russian Orthodoxy, a separate existence began for the schismatic hierarchy of the Russian Church and part of its…
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Homily on the 10th Sunday After Pentecost. -Met. Andrian (Chetvergov)
Read more: Homily on the 10th Sunday After Pentecost. -Met. Andrian (Chetvergov)“‘If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you,’” thus the Lord teaches us in today’s Gospel (Matthew 17:20). St. John Chrysostom explains this thought as follows: “Speaking of miraculous faith, He (the…
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Church Councils of 1666–1667 as a Watershed in Russian History – by K. Kozhurin
Read more: Church Councils of 1666–1667 as a Watershed in Russian History – by K. Kozhurin“And a heavy darkness… then covered Russia.”— Andrey Denisov, Funeral Oration for Peter Prokopyev Ты была ХристоваДо шездесят шестова… (You were Christ’sUntil sixty-six…)— Old Believer spiritual verse, “On the Nikonians” Long before the onset of Nikon’s “ventures” in Russia, when nothing seemed to foreshadow the impending catastrophe that would befall the Russian Church, the first…
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What is Malaksa?
Read more: What is Malaksa?As is known, Old Believers refer to the “nominal” finger arrangement used by Nikonite priests during blessings as “Malaksa.” This practice is named after Nikola Malaksa, a native of the city of Nafplion on the Peloponnese peninsula. Nikola was born after 1573 and received his education in Constantinople. Following the Turkish conquest of the region…
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August 1 – The Origin of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross
Read more: August 1 – The Origin of the Precious and Life-Giving CrossThe name of this feast can be confusing for modern people, who might think it refers to the origin of the wooden pieces of the Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. Church interpreters of Scripture and theologians have long viewed a passage from the Book of Isaiah as a prophecy about the Lord’s Cross:…
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The Beginning of the Church Schism in Russia – Kozhurin
Read more: The Beginning of the Church Schism in Russia – KozhurinAt the start of the 21st century, no one disputes that the church schism of the mid-17th century was one of the most tragic and bloody chapters in Russian history. The church reformation, initiated 350 years ago by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Patriarch Nikon, not only split the Russian Church but also divided Russian history…
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July 24 – Veneration of Pre-Schism Russian Saints is Weakly Practiced in Old Belief. -Protopriest Andrey Marchenko
Read more: July 24 – Veneration of Pre-Schism Russian Saints is Weakly Practiced in Old Belief. -Protopriest Andrey MarchenkoThis year, according to the civil calendar, marks 1,000 years since the martyric death of the holy passion-bearers Princes Boris and Gleb. A thousand years is an immense span of time that erases both the bad and the good from memory. However, there are enduring values over which time should have no power—at least, it…
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Why We Showed No Interest – Protopriest Andrey Marchenko
Read more: Why We Showed No Interest – Protopriest Andrey Marchenko“May the Lord bring together those who are divided, so that in love for one another we may confess and glorify with one mouth and one heart the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity.”(From the Acts of the New Ritualist Council of 1971) A few years ago, I asked…
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Do Old Believers and New Ritualists Believe in the Same God? -Gleb Chistyakov
Read more: Do Old Believers and New Ritualists Believe in the Same God? -Gleb ChistyakovThe question of faith—whom to believe in, how to pray correctly, and how to glorify God—was one of the central issues following the schism in the Russian Church in the 17th century. While the ritual differences between Old Believers and New Ritualists have been thoroughly studied in both polemical and scholarly literature, questions of dogmatic…
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Homily for the 7th Sunday after Pentecost
Read more: Homily for the 7th Sunday after PentecostDear brothers and sisters! What a precious treasure is sincere, warm, heartfelt prayer to the Lord. In it, we bring to the Lord our sorrows, our gratitude, and our requests. The Lord, in response to sincere prayer offered with faith and repentance, sends us His countless blessings and miracles, testifying to His power and might….