January 11, 2023 Was John the Baptist a Member of the Qumran Community? The similarities between what we know about John the Baptist and the activities of the Qumran community beg the question: Was there not a…
December 30, 2022 Genealogy of Christ: What Are the Mysteries Behind the List of 42 Names This list of more than forty names includes both righteous and sinners. What were these people famous for? Why would a modern Christian want…
December 16, 2022 Prayer Rule of the Most Holy Theotokos: When and How to Read It? What is the rule of the Theotokos? How and when to use it? Do I need to take a priest’s blessing to read these…
December 1, 2022 Nativity Fast: Why Fast More than the Early Christians? On November 28, we entered the Nativity Fast. Although it is somewhat less strict and less intense than Great Lent, its duration is the…
November 17, 2022 How I Stopped Reading the Gospel and What I Got Out of It – A Priest’s Story In the early days of my monastic career at the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow, there was a period when I stopped reading the Gospel….
November 7, 2022 Unexpected Effect of Prayers for the Dead: a Funny Incident in a Student Dormitory Sometimes, life tells us amazing stories, showing an excellent sense of humor. I have been reminded of this more than once or twice. When…
November 3, 2022 Is Following God’s Will The Same As Drifting Along The Current? To be honest, I was somewhat confused by the way the question was put. At the same time, its logic is generally understood. God…
October 23, 2022 How Is Satan, the Prince of This World? And Why Are These Biblical Lines Misunderstood? In the Gospel, the Lord calls Satan the prince of this world. We hear this formula so often that we tend to misunderstand its…
October 19, 2022 Gifts from the Mother of God: 2 Stories of Miracles from Saint Paisios of the Holy Mountain Elder Paisios shared this story. “It was the Dormition Fast. The liturgy was over, and my elder sent me on an obedience. I was…
October 14, 2022 3 Parables: Sons, Fathers and the Kingdom of God I heard from someone this story about an old widow from Uzic who died thirty years ago. She was rich but insatiably greedy. She…
October 14, 2022 Why Do Some of Christ’s Parables Involve Business? Several parables of Christ use examples from trade and commerce We heard one of them recently in our gospel reading on 2 October, the…
October 14, 2022 The Bright Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God The bright feast of the Protection of the Mother of God! It is a witness to us of the great glory with which the…
