May 31, 2019 Stop Saying “Glory to God for All Things!”: a Personal Story of a Hardened Atheist A testimony offered by Hieromonk Synesios: “A few years ago, I was the parish priest of St. Vasileios church (Piraeus) and was called to…
May 29, 2019 Russian Orthodox Philosopher on Why All Believers Are Monks in Fact An excerpt from The Light Shineth in the Darkness by the Russian Orthodox Philosopher S. L. Frank: “A number of monastic orders have…
May 28, 2019 “I Used to Think that Russia Sucks and that It Is Too Backward”: American on His Life in Moscow, Baptism, and Russian Hospitality Matthew decided to leave the US when he was 18. He didn’t have any objective reasons for his decision, “I just couldn’t see my…
May 20, 2019 Need for Monasticism: What Makes People Think of Becoming a Monk? Over the past thirty-five years, I have lost count at the number of lay people who have voiced interest in monasticism. Many have told…
May 16, 2019 “When the Elder Told Me I’d Become a Monk, I Thought: What a Nightmare!” Archimandrite Ephraim, the Superior (Abbot) of Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos, speaks about the special quality of the spiritual life on the Holy…
May 8, 2019 Nun Irina (Helman): “Worshipping God Means Serving Your Neighbour” When someone asked an elder what the difference between lay people and monks is, the elder replied, “First: Monks don’t marry.” It doesn’t sound…
May 6, 2019 How Can We Possibly Love Everyone? We are instructed by Christ to love our neighbors as ourselves, and even to love our enemies. There are always individuals who come into…
April 21, 2019 Involuntary Faster: a Personal Story about God’s Providence This story happened to a son of a good friend of mine. She is still shocked by the clear evidence of God’s Providence in…
April 18, 2019 “St. Patrick’s Day Begins with Prayer, Not a Can of Guinness”: A Russian Priest on His Ministry in Ireland Archpriest George Zavershinsky has spent almost two decades as a priest in Western Europe, namely in Ireland and Scotland. His spiritual father had suggested that…
April 12, 2019 Gagarin and the Lavra Valentin Vassilyevich Petrov, a retired colonel, a professor at the Center of Cosmonaut Training, and a friend of Yury Gagarin, recalls their trip to…
April 11, 2019 “Horoscope for a Bishop” or Why People Are Disappointed When a Priest Can’t Foretell God’s Will It is quite normal for a believer to try to find out God’s will concerning himself and his life. The problem is how to…
April 4, 2019 “It’s Never Too Late”: a Nun’s Story about How our Parents Come to God Sometimes This story happened to my father, Eugene Ivanovich, in July 2014. My dad is 82. He grew up in a village and he is…
