February 13, 2022 What Is Secret Monasticism? The Soviet persecution against the Russian Church in the 20th century was like a return to early Christianity. Churches and monasteries were closed, faith…
February 11, 2022 Psalter: Why Read It at Home and How to Read it Right? The Psalter is the only Old Testament book, fully included in the rubrics of the Orthodox Church. It is older than the Lord’s prayer…
February 9, 2022 History of the Altar Barrier and Iconostasis Altar barriers have been known since the very first centuries of Christianity. However, the Russian iconostasis did not acquire its present form (a high…
February 6, 2022 “Does the Bible Encourage Unfair Treatment of Foreigners?” Answering a Question about One “Strange” Commandment Q: The Bible says, “On loans to a foreigner you may charge interest, but on loans to another Israelite you may not charge interest,…
February 5, 2022 The Sign of the Cross in Ancient Church Tertullian clearly writes about the significance of the sign of the cross in the life of the ancient Christians, “At every forward step and…
February 4, 2022 Storing and Using Holy Water and Prosphora at Home. How To Do It Reverently? Holy water and prosphora are gifts that strengthen us on our life path to God. However, their grace-filled properties are manifested only when a…
February 2, 2022 Anointing with Oil in Antiquity and in the Christian Church The anointing with oil (primarily as a remedy for bodily ailments) has been widespread among the peoples of the Middle East since ancient times….
January 31, 2022 Where Do New Souls Come From? The Bible describes the creation of only one person’s soul, and this is the soul of Adam. The Holy Scriptures contain no exact data…
January 23, 2022 Monastic Headdress: Klobuk Klobuk (Turk kalpak – hat) is the everyday headdress of monastics and bishops, also used for celebrating certain divine services. Klobuk’s equivalents in the…
January 18, 2022 Degrees of Acceptance of Theological Statements by the Church The church historian V. Bolotov proposed a system with 4 stages of acceptance of a particular theological idea or statement by the entire Church,…
January 14, 2022 The Evolution of the Church Censer The tradition of burning incense in church during worship, adopted from the times of the Old Testament, has been carefully preserved by the Orthodox…
January 12, 2022 Altar Server’s Ministry: Antiquity, Modernity and Existing Controversies The ministry of the altar server has gone through several stages of development. The word ponomar, used in reference to altar servers in the…
