March 3, 7534
In ancient times, reading the Lives of the Saints was one of the favorite activities of all layers of the Russian people. The readers were interested not only in historical facts from the lives of Christian ascetics but also in the profound instructive and moral-ethical meaning. Today, the Lives of the Saints have taken a…
A nachotnik is a man well-versed in sacred texts. Every Christian ought to be a nachotnik— that is, one who knows his confession, is capable of defending his belief, and therefore must be well-read, first of all in the Holy Scriptures, and then in all other ecclesiastical writings.— Fyodor Yefimovich Melnikov “Sanctify the Lord God…
In the fourth chapter of the Gospel according to John, we are given an example of how, from living water—the Holy Ghost, the incorruptible seed—the words of the Lord, a new spiritual man is born. The Lord converses with the Samaritan woman at the well. “Give Me to drink,” He says to the woman. “How…
The literature of Ancient Rus’ is divided into translated and original works. Translated literature appeared in Kievan Rus’ with the adoption of Christianity and had Byzantine and South Slavic (Bulgarian) origins. First and foremost, this included the biblical books of the Old and New Testaments, apocrypha, lives of the saints (hagiographic literature), religiously infused historical…
For centuries, it remained a persecuted body of literature. On the one hand, this meant that its authors were not subject to state censorship and therefore enjoyed a high degree of creative freedom; on the other hand, it also meant they had to pay a very high price for the ability to write in accordance…
There is perhaps no more useful invention that holds within it one of the spiritual treasures of humanity—knowledge. A book must not be regarded as a mere vessel of information. A thoughtful book is far more to a person than the volume of information measured in printed sheets, number of pages, or physical thickness; a…
The most frequently read books of the Bible in the Church are the Psalter and the Gospel. It can be said that various excerpts from the Psalter constitute the lion’s share of all Orthodox services. Moreover, according to the Ustav, if a Christian cannot attend church services for some reason, they can pray in place…
“What dangers might a person face during the catechumenate period or immediately after baptism? Sometimes, especially during the process of becoming churched, a person sees or experiences “scary things” from demons. How can this be explained, and how can one protect themselves from such attacks?” The venerable Abba Dorotheus, in his book Spiritual Instructions, writes that…
This article provides a brief overview of the writings of the main religious polemicists of Synodal theology regarding the form of the sign of the cross. Let us begin with the former Patriarch Nikon. Patriarch Nikon is one of the most controversial figures in the history of the Russian Church. The wide range of opinions,…
The sign of the Cross is a gesture made with the fingers of the hand arranged in a specific way. According to apostolic tradition, to make the sign of the Cross one must join together three fingers of the right hand—the thumb, ring finger, and little finger—as a sign of faith in the Holy Trinity….