Monasticism | The Catalog of Good Deeds https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:47:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1 https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/cropped-favicon-32x32.png Monasticism | The Catalog of Good Deeds https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog 32 32 160050777 St John of the Ladder and the Order of the Heart https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2026/03/st-john-of-the-ladder-and-the-order-of-the-heart https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2026/03/st-john-of-the-ladder-and-the-order-of-the-heart#respond Tue, 24 Mar 2026 20:01:16 +0000 https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/?p=41930 Ladder Great Lent

What the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent Reveals to Us On the fourth Sunday of Great Lent, the Orthodox Church commemorates Saint John of...

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]]> https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2026/03/st-john-of-the-ladder-and-the-order-of-the-heart/feed 0 41930 The Trap of Perfection. St. Nectarios on Pride Disguised as Repentance https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2026/02/the-trap-of-perfection-st-nectarios-on-pride-disguised-as-repentance https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2026/02/the-trap-of-perfection-st-nectarios-on-pride-disguised-as-repentance#comments Tue, 24 Feb 2026 13:37:57 +0000 https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/?p=41890 st Nectarios on egoism and Pride

We often mistake repentance for self-punishment. St Nectarios of Aegina shows why despair over our sins can be a sign not of humility, but...

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]]> https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2026/02/the-trap-of-perfection-st-nectarios-on-pride-disguised-as-repentance/feed 6 41890 Saint Sergius of Radonezh: Architect of Russian Spirituality https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2025/10/saint-sergius-of-radonezh-architect-of-russian-spirituality https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2025/10/saint-sergius-of-radonezh-architect-of-russian-spirituality#comments Tue, 07 Oct 2025 13:44:28 +0000 https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/?p=41698 The Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra

On 8 October (25 September), the Church commemorates the repose of Saint Sergius, Abbot of Radonezh, wonderworker of all Rus’. His veneration reaches back...

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]]> https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2025/10/saint-sergius-of-radonezh-architect-of-russian-spirituality/feed 1 41698 A Vessel of Grace: Elder Charalampbos of Mount Athos https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2025/05/elder-charalampios-of-mount-athos https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2025/05/elder-charalampios-of-mount-athos#respond Tue, 20 May 2025 10:33:34 +0000 https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/?p=41570 Elder Charalampios

What is the most powerful way to teach others a life pleasing to God? By example. This is how the spirit of eldership has...

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]]> https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2025/05/elder-charalampios-of-mount-athos/feed 0 41570 Why Do Monastics Receive New Names in Tonsure, and Who Gets to Choose Them? https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2022/06/the-origins-of-the-practice-of-giving-monks-new-names https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2022/06/the-origins-of-the-practice-of-giving-monks-new-names#respond Fri, 10 Jun 2022 10:12:55 +0000 https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/?p=38412

In the Orthodox Church, taking monastic tonsure means changing one’s name. For example, Saint Seraphim of Sarov bore the name Bartholomew before he became...

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]]> https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2022/06/the-origins-of-the-practice-of-giving-monks-new-names/feed 0 38412 The History of Monastic Vows https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2021/12/the-history-of-monastic-vows https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2021/12/the-history-of-monastic-vows#respond Sun, 26 Dec 2021 18:16:05 +0000 https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/?p=37095

The basic principles of monastic life were formed in the early New Testament era, but monasticism as an institution did not appear until the...

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]]> https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2021/12/the-history-of-monastic-vows/feed 0 37095 The Beginnings of Monasticism https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2021/10/the-beginnings-of-monasticism https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2021/10/the-beginnings-of-monasticism#respond Fri, 29 Oct 2021 13:05:29 +0000 https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/?p=36486

As you know, the early Christians were in constant expectation of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, which defined their spirit to...

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]]> https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2021/10/the-beginnings-of-monasticism/feed 0 36486 Monastic Tonsure: Second Baptism, or the Marriage of the Soul to Christ https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2021/04/monastic-tonsure-second-baptism-or-the-marriage-of-the-soul-to-christ https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2021/04/monastic-tonsure-second-baptism-or-the-marriage-of-the-soul-to-christ#respond Mon, 26 Apr 2021 13:21:12 +0000 https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/?p=34743

Speaking of the holy sacraments, I want to say something about the sacrament of tonsure. Is monastic tonsure a sacrament? Of course it’s a...

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]]> https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2021/04/monastic-tonsure-second-baptism-or-the-marriage-of-the-soul-to-christ/feed 0 34743 The Future Elder Simeon of Kafsokalivia Instantly Quit Smoking and Drinking as He Stepped into a Kaliva on Mount Athos https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2021/02/the-future-elder-simeon-of-kafsokalivia-instantly-quit-smoking-and-drinking-as-he-stepped-into-a-kaliva-on-mount-athos https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2021/02/the-future-elder-simeon-of-kafsokalivia-instantly-quit-smoking-and-drinking-as-he-stepped-into-a-kaliva-on-mount-athos#respond Wed, 24 Feb 2021 20:00:44 +0000 https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/?p=33961

The elder Simeon of Kafsokalivia was from the city of Larissa. His worldly occupation was a gendarme. When he came to the Holy Mountain...

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]]> https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2021/02/the-future-elder-simeon-of-kafsokalivia-instantly-quit-smoking-and-drinking-as-he-stepped-into-a-kaliva-on-mount-athos/feed 0 33961 Communication Technologies — Some Thoughts for Monastics https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2020/11/communication-technologies-some-thoughts-for-monastics https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2020/11/communication-technologies-some-thoughts-for-monastics#respond Thu, 05 Nov 2020 13:41:32 +0000 https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/?p=32374

Mobile phones and gadgets should not be used at church to avoid bringing others into temptation I have come to the conclusion that mobile...

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