May 30, 2020 Why Do Only Monks Become Bishops? The tradition of ordaining representatives of monastic clergy as bishops is not inherent in the Church at all. The evidence of this is provided…
May 29, 2020 It’s Not Always Possible to Judge Others by Yourself It happens that pious people who please God with various deeds are confused when they see people who are also pious, but who, in…
May 29, 2020 A True Friend or What Must Remain on this Side of the Grave? Saint Barlaam says in one of his parables, “One man had three friends. He loved the first two especially, and was ready to sacrifice…
May 28, 2020 The Ascension: a Beginning, Not an Ending If one read the four Gospels as if they were four separate biographies of Jesus, one might be forgiven for thinking that the Ascension…
May 27, 2020 Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker’s Commemoration Day In truth you were revealed to your flock as a rule of faith, / an image of humility and a teacher of abstinence; /…
May 27, 2020 The Pleasures: Which Are Blameworthy and Which Are Innocent? “Pleasures” are those things which give pleasure (ηδονή) and sweeten our lives. They are dual, like our human nature. As we possess a body…
May 26, 2020 Whom and Why Did Christ Actually Drive Out of the Temple? Some people use the Gospel story about Christ expelling merchants from the Jerusalem temple to substantiate the thesis that a believer has the right…
May 26, 2020 Did Jesus Prophesy the Near End of the World? Jesus is sometimes said to have claimed that the world was coming to an end during the lifetime of His generation and therefore He…
May 25, 2020 Does an Icon Painter Have to Be a Believer? According to the dictionary, icon painting is a type of art. However, this is a very special kind of art, and its definition is…
May 25, 2020 Can the Gospel of the Blind Man be Used to Support Belief in Reincarnation? Question: We can look at the story about the blind man in the Gospel of St. John as yet another testimony to the existence…
May 24, 2020 Would You Rather Be Blind? The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John 9:1-38 If you were given the choice between having your physical sight or having…
May 24, 2020 15 Quotations of St. Barsanuphius of Optina 1. Eternal torment and eternal bliss are not things that only come from the outside. They are primarily found within man himself. The Kingdom…
