January 25, 2021 Everlasting Destruction Question: “The text of the King James Version for 2 Thessalonians 1:9 is: “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of…
January 20, 2021 Why Is It Necessary to Be Turning West and East during Baptism? Along with willingly renouncing Satan, a person being baptized is expected to freely unite with God. This is why after the baptismal candidate or…
January 17, 2021 The Value of Gratitude: How Can We Repay the Lord for All His Good? The Utmost Price The one thing that each of us can repay the Lord with is our humility, for its value in the eyes…
January 12, 2021 Why Do Members of the Clergy Wear a Beard? If you asked a person in the street to describe an Orthodox priest, they would almost certainly mention the beard, even though they might…
January 5, 2021 Is It All Right Not to Say the Prayer Rule, but to Listen to It instead? I cannot hear, Lord! How praying with the earphones is different from praying without Many years ago, when I was a student of at…
January 3, 2021 What Is the “Apocrypha”? Question: “What do the terms “apocrypha” and “deuterocanonical” mean, and how does the Orthodox Church view them?” Answer: The question of the Biblical canon…
December 29, 2020 Is It a Sin to Be Celebrating New Year? When I was a seminarian, the Orthodox youth was seriously occupied by the topic of New Year’s celebration. We were sharing with one another…
December 27, 2020 What Are the Typical Psalms* and Why Are They Sung during Liturgy? The word “antiphon”, translated from Greek, means “responding with sound to sound”, that is, alternate singing. Such a manner of singing, used since the…
December 15, 2020 What if Confession Does Not Bring Relief? On the one hand, the feeling of relief after confession seems self-evident. On the other hand, taking it for granted is based rather on…
December 13, 2020 Why Did Jacob Wrestle with an Angel? To understand this passage, you have understand the story of Jacob and Esau from the beginning (which begins at Genesis 25:19). They were twins, and…
December 12, 2020 How to Conquer the Passion of Smoking No one can say that the passion for smoking is innately present in the human body. Everyone knows that this passion is extrinsic. But nevertheless every…
December 8, 2020 Fasting in the Fast Lane: Is It Okay to Watch TV Series during the Fast? Well, off the top of my head, I was going to ignore this question since the answer seemed self-apparent. But let us try…
