April 7, 2020 One-day Churches of Russia. Why Did They Build Them During Epidemics? Once there were a considerable number of them in Russia. The very name “one-day” (russian – obydenny) sounds quite unusual. And indeed, these are…
March 28, 2020 The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts The Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is an undeniable gem of the Lenten services of the Orthodox Church. One cannot understand the spirit…
March 27, 2020 “Oh, that church is so retro” or Why We Need a Church Which Refuses to Move with the Times A number of years ago I was chatting with a co-worker at my secular job and she asked me to what church I belonged….
March 25, 2020 A Few Words about the Image of the Cross The Week of the Cross. Today I tried to count how many images of the cross I met in a certain area of the…
March 21, 2020 Fun Facts about the Liturgy of the Apostle James Many Orthodox are aware of the existence of a special order of worship called the Divine Liturgy of the Holy Apostle James the Brother…
March 17, 2020 St. Gregory Palamas: Traditionalist or Innovator? St. Gregory Palamas (1296-1359), archbishop of Thessaloniki (1347-1359), was and is a controversial figure. His experience and teachings of the Uncreated energies of God was…
March 16, 2020 The Icon – Iconoclasm, the Seventh Council, and after that In the year 767 Stephen of Constantinople saw soldiers trampling an icon. He objected and was told it was ok – it was only a…
March 13, 2020 Prayer Lord Have Mercy: History and Use in Worship Lord have mercy is probably the most frequently used phrase in the Orthodox worship practice. Whenever a person enters a church – in the…
March 6, 2020 What Are Agrapha? The Greek word Ἄγραφα (lit. “unwritten”) are utterances attributed to the Lord but not recorded by the evangelists in any of the Gospels. The…
February 28, 2020 Disciplina Arcani You may sometimes hear that in the times of the Primitive Church there was a secret doctrine that was not available to all members….
February 25, 2020 Where Does the Practice of Processions in Times of Public Disasters Come From? Whenever we face any public calamity, such as drought, or flood, or hail, which devastates our fields by God’s permission; or fires, or mudslides,…
February 22, 2020 Proskomedia Particles The first part of the Liturgy is called Proskomedia (Greek: προσκομιδή – bringing). During this preliminary part of the Eucharist, clerics prepare bread and…
