February 20, 7534
If a family is a small church, then a Christian community is a larger family. Therefore, every Christian must have a spiritual father with whom they can discuss their problems, seek answers to pressing questions, and so on. Without necessity, a spiritual father should not be changed. One should not arbitrarily go to confession with…
By George Neminuschy About fifteen years ago, I ended up in the hospital. It happens! Not the most pleasant thing, of course, but sometimes it proves to be instructive — in a spiritual sense, naturally. You come into what one might call a “state institution,” with your belongings, a spoon and a cup, and other…
What does the common phrase “The Lord visited someone” mean? How should we understand such situations, draw the right conclusions, and avoid the necessity for such occurrences? The phrase “The Lord visited” or “the visitation of the Lord” is used in Holy Scripture to refer both to blessings and to punishments. For instance, regarding Hannah,…
What does the common phrase “we crucify Christ with our sins” mean? How can this be understood if Christ was crucified once, long before our time? When the Lord Jesus Christ began His public ministry, St. John the Forerunner, who was calling people to repentance and baptizing them in the Jordan, pointed to Christ and…
According to Christian doctrine, everything that exists, apart from God Himself, is God’s creation. All that exists has its cause in God and is therefore intimately connected with Him. Unfortunately, rational beings do not always understand this; yet, even if creation does not acknowledge it, it was, is, and will always remain a manifestation of…
To address this, we must first ask: Why did God create humanity? God had no need to create humans. God is the Holy Trinity, and He does not experience loneliness or lack. He created humanity out of the abundance of His love. Like a loving parent, God desires love in return from the beings He created. However,…
By Bishop Mikhail (Semyonov) The Old Believers are most frequently accused of “ritualism,” that is, of stubbornly venerating rituals even more than dogma. Their reverence for ritual is often regarded as little less than idolatry. But is ritual really something insignificant, of little importance in the order of spiritual life? We have already written briefly…
By I.A. Kirillov The journal Church has already noted the sorrowful phenomenon of the younger generation of Old Believers growing indifferent to their native rites and customs. This phenomenon is undoubtedly lamentable, yet entirely understandable in our times, especially among students. From all sides, at every crossroads, this youth is loudly bombarded with talk of all manner…
“Such is the grace of the Spirit — it makes those of one mind to be of equal honor.”— St. Gregory the Theologian\ “For all Christian kingdoms shall come to an end and be gathered into one Russian kingdom for the sake of Orthodoxy.”— Dimitry the Interpreter, Tale of the White Klobuk In recent times, certain…
Bishop Mikhail (Semyonov) We have spoken about the Person of Christ, about the radiance of His countenance. But it is well known that, for Christians, the center of Christ’s life is found in His death. The center of Christianity is the Cross and Redemption. It is not merely the God-Man with the purest teaching whom…