February 22, 7534
To Ivan, the first servant, a new son among the children of the Church, from which all are born through the font of holy baptism—in it you too desired to be baptized with holy baptism, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. On the fact that the…
Anonymous lecture on the words “A strong soul amid temptations” (St. Ephrem the Syrian, Discourse 105). When I was in prison, I constantly had to move among worldly people with a psychology foreign to me: I was surrounded by people with different worldviews, people of other faiths—Nikonians, Baptists, Jews, Muslims, or outright unbelievers. The mood…
An Essay on History and the Contemporary Situation By Valeriy Selishchev Illustrations by Anastasia Rumyantseva Repent, ye people, repent, pray to God with tears. And with heartfelt sobbing altogether. For the Antichrist sits upon the throne— This is the cunning seven-headed serpent. He has spewed forth his bitter fury. Throughout all the earth, throughout the…
By Iakov Bogatenko In recent times, a rather strange and deeply regrettable phenomenon has been observed among the urban Old Believer community, particularly in central Russia, such as in large cities, not to mention the capitals. Old Believer youth, and recently even mature Old Believers (with very rare exceptions), seem to be avoiding the use…
-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…
Nothing 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…
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…
By 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…
By 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…
By 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…