-
The Absolution Certificate
Read more: The Absolution CertificateIf men sin against you, even seventy times seven, forgive them, that they may be forgiven on earth and in heaven.(Prayer at the Burial) One of the ancient Russian funeral customs is the placing of an absolution certificate into the hand of the deceased. After the farewell, the priest quietly reads aloud the written prayer of absolution…
-
The “Singing-Off” (Funeral Service)
Read more: The “Singing-Off” (Funeral Service)“We believe in the resurrection, but as for those who do not believe—woe unto them, for they have been grievously deceived.”(Prayers at the Burial) The aim of the funeral rite is to warm the soul, separated from the body, with prayer; to comfort the grieving loved ones with the hope of a just reward for…
-
A Few Words on Burial
Read more: A Few Words on BurialIn churches we often witness a sorrowful scene. Relatives come to arrange the burial of an Orthodox Old Believer. And the first, entirely reasonable question from the standpoint of a believer—“Who was the spiritual father of the deceased?”—throws them into confusion. The second question, “When was the last time he went to confession?” prompts them…
-
Ancestral Saturdays
Read more: Ancestral SaturdaysThe Church prays for the departed every week, on each Saturday. Saturday is the seventh day of creation, on which the Lord rested from His works and appointed it as a day of rest from worldly cares and for prayer, as the God-seer Moses wrote in the Old Testament Law. Christians, understanding the Mosaic Law…
-
The Church: The Meaning of Her Being and the Necessity of Life within Her. By Bishop Mikhail (Semyonov)
Read more: The Church: The Meaning of Her Being and the Necessity of Life within Her. By Bishop Mikhail (Semyonov)It is impossible to be saved outside the Church (naturally, we mean the Orthodox and true Church). This truth is so firmly rooted in the Old Believer consciousness that we need not prove its validity. The “patristic” testimonies concerning the essential truth of the Church for salvation are known to all of us. Therefore, in…
-
The Church of Christ Temporarily Without a Bishop. By Innokenty (Usov)
Read more: The Church of Christ Temporarily Without a Bishop. By Innokenty (Usov)Preface A profoundly sorrowful event transpired within the Church of Christ from 1653 to 1667. During this period, a great schism occurred in the Russian Orthodox Church, which split into two opposing and hostile factions. Until this time, almost the entire Russian nation upheld the same Orthodox faith, the same church traditions, the same rites,…
-
Prostrations as a Remedy for Stiff-neckedness. By V.V. Buzhinsky
Read more: Prostrations as a Remedy for Stiff-neckedness. By V.V. Buzhinsky“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.” (Rev. 11:1) “And though the Spirit is one, yet the gifts are not equal,for the recipients of the Spirit are not equal;Such is the…
-
On Old Believer Missionary Work. -M.A. Dzubenko
Read more: On Old Believer Missionary Work. -M.A. DzubenkoThe word “missionary” sounds offensive and threatening to Old Believers. For centuries, persecutions from the dominant church unfolded precisely under the banner of “missionary activity.” Yet this should not overshadow one of the chief commandments of Jesus Christ, addressed to the Apostles and to all of us: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name…
-
Why is it necessary to attend church? Why is personal prayer at home not enough? Why are services so long and held so often (sometimes several times a week)?
Read more: Why is it necessary to attend church? Why is personal prayer at home not enough? Why are services so long and held so often (sometimes several times a week)?The Lord Jesus Christ once said: “Verily I say unto you, If two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in…
-
What advice can be given to an adult who wants to join Christ’s Church and receive true baptism, but whose close relatives oppose it, accuse them of fanaticism, and try to pull them out of the Christian community as if it were a sect?
Read more: What advice can be given to an adult who wants to join Christ’s Church and receive true baptism, but whose close relatives oppose it, accuse them of fanaticism, and try to pull them out of the Christian community as if it were a sect?A person who has decided to follow Christ and become a true Christian needs to carefully read the Gospel and understand that hostility from relatives and close ones toward any true Christian’s faith is not unusual. Our Lord Jesus Christ told His disciples: “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own:…