Orthodoxy for all

The Holy Martyr Theodore lived during the reigns of Emperors Maximian (286-305) and Maximinus (308-313), and resided in the metropolis of Amasea, which is an eminent city of Cappadocia off the coast of the Black Sea, and was from the village of Houmialos. At the time therefore when the Saint was numbered among the soldiers called the Tiron (Tiro means armed soldier, or rather was a newly enlisted recruit), when he was under the regimental command of Vriga, then he confessed that Christ was the true God, and that the idols of the Greeks were lifeless statues, the work of men's hands. Wherefore he was brought before his commander, and he gave Theodore some time and a deadline to think things over. Then the Saint did a great virtuous action, for he took an idol of Rhea, the mother of the gods, which played the Greeks for fools, and he threw it into the fire and burned it. Thus he was arrested and confessed that it was he who burned the idol. First he was hung up and scraped, then he w...

As the author sited the Gospel words: You are witnesses to this... This is very true, the apostles are the real witnesses of Christ the incarnate God, They listened to His teachings, saw His miracles,His betrayal,Death and Ressurection and His appearences during the 40 days.Also on the 50th day during Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended on them in the form of flames.So they had experiencial knowledge of God, This helped them greatly during their mission to spread the Gospel, This was the reason why they had such boldness to proclaim the truth in front of rulers and a mass of pagan people. They were ready to even give up their lives and endure the worst possible tortures. Such was the zeal they had.

Question: - Father, if God knows everything, then why confess? After all, He sees everything in my heart...

In Palestine, near the city of Caesarea there is a mountain called the "Place of the Ark." Many hermits labored there, among them the blessed and praiseworthy monk, filled with divine grace—Saint Martinian. From a young age, he loved God and began to lead a monastic life. The handsome Martinian, at eighteen years of age, left the city and his relatives, renounced worldly vanity, and came to this mountain for a life of silence and solitude. Living like incorporeal angels, he remained here for 25 years. For his virtuous life, he was deemed worthy to receive from God the gift of healing ailments and diseases. Many, through his holy prayers, were healed of various ailments; many, possessed by evil spirits, came to him on the mountain and were freed from the wiles of the evil one. God performed many other miracles through the prayers of His saint. Day by day, Martinian became increasingly successful in his ascetic endeavors; the fame of his virtuous life spread far beyond the bord...

  Let me be different God, I don't mind. Satan's strategy is simple: Make sin seem normal and righteousness strange. The closer you are to God, the stranger you are to people. Don't fall for that. If your heart is not grounded in the truth, you will be carried away by everything that is popular. Compromise always distances you from Christ. God did not create you to fit in. He chose you to stand out. You are not strange for walking in obedience - you are walking in wisdom. If the path you are taking seems easy to you, if everyone greets and praises you... it is probably not the narrow path. The Lord's path has always been a challenge to the culture. He gave his life for it, and His followers paid the same price. Your obedience to God is more important than the world's opinion. The Lord Jesus was perfect, they still hated him. Stop seeking validation from a world that crucified its Creator. God’s approval is worth more than the applause of the whole world. I don’t car...

1. Start your day with prayer. When you wake up in the morning, the first thing you do is turn to God with gratitude. Prayer isn't just a duty, but an opportunity to establish inner peace before starting a new day. Even a short prayer will set the right mood and provide spiritual support. 2. Treat every person with love and respect. Whenever you meet people—whether colleagues, family, or random passersby—remember that each of them is created in the image and likeness of God. Showing patience, respect, and compassion is a daily way of fulfilling the commandment to love one's neighbor.

  The time of Lent is a time of special attention to the struggle with one's passions. It is given as a reminder of what a Christian must do in his personal life. He must turn his attention inward, to his soul, and pay attention to himself with the goal of eradicating his sinful, passionate desires and feelings and, in their place, cultivating and instilling virtuous desires and feelings of the soul, turning to God for help. One must devote one's attention to this inner work , especially during Lent. And then, when the fast ends, one should not abandon it, but continue it throughout one's life.

All-Merciful and Long-Suffering Lord, I now enter upon holy Lent to cleanse my soul from the bonds of sin and draw closer to You. Do not reject me, a sinner, but grant me the strength and wisdom to walk this path with repentance, humility, and love. Cleanse my heart from judgment, pride, and vanity. Grant me true fasting—not only physical abstinence, but also abstinence from evil thoughts, words, and deeds. May my fast not be hypocritical, but pleasing to You, O God! Enlighten my mind with the light of Your truth, so that my prayer is not empty, but becomes a living communion with You. Fill my soul with love for my neighbors, so that by forgiving and humbling myself, I may inherit Your grace. Help me remember eternity, not to become attached to earthly things, but to seek first Your Kingdom. May this fast be a step toward purity, peace, and joy in You, Lord, for You are the Light and the Truth, and to You be glory forever and ever. Amen.

During the reign of the impious Roman Emperor Severus , with the spread of the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, the worship of demons began to decline and idolatry itself ceased. At this time, in the city of Magnesia , lived the holy Bishop Charalampus. He guided people on the path to salvation and taught them the word of God. He said: "My Emperor Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit, sent apostles and prophets so that people, enlightened by their holy preaching, would steadfastly follow the path of truth. Your Emperor Severus, however, forces people through cruel torments to offer sacrifices to soulless idols and thereby consigns their souls to eternal death." Jesus Christ, my King, through the prophets and apostles, has given us the words of heavenly life—and through this preaching, our enemy is cast out, the serpent is trampled, unbelief is transformed into faith, demonic teaching perishes, and all enemy power falls in its cruel fall. Therefore, it is better to believe the wo...

  1. St Martyr Nikephoros ☦️ In the great city of Syrian Antioch, there lived a certain priest named Sapricius and a simple citizen named Nicephorus. They loved each other so much and were so close that some considered them brothers. After many years of such friendship, the devil, who hated everything good, became envious of them and sowed such weeds of enmity in them that they did not even want to meet each other on the road: so they hated each other; and as much as love and friendship had previously reigned between them, so much later, through the action of Satan, hatred and enmity boiled up between them.

  Blessed Forgiveness Sunday and approaching Great Lent to all brothers and sisters! May God forgive us all! Forgive me and I also forgive you!

"Lord Jesus Christ our God, the true and living path, who deigned to wander into Egypt with your supposed father Joseph and your Most Pure Virgin Mother, and who journeyed to Emmaus with Luke and Cleopas! We humbly pray to you, Most Holy Master, that you now also, with your grace, accompany these servants of yours (names) , and, as with your servant Tobias, send them a guardian angel and guide, who would preserve and deliver them from every evil danger, from visible and invisible enemies, guide them to the fulfillment of your commandments, accompany them in well-being and good health, and bring them back safe and sound. And grant them to successfully fulfill their good intentions for your pleasing and for your glory. For it is in Your power to have mercy and save us, and we send up glory to You with Your Beginningless Father and with Your Most Holy, All-Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen." Source: https://azbyka.ru/.../Feofan.../trebni...

  I remember a contemporary Elder on Mount Athos whom I once asked:  — How can we become humble? And he told me this: — When we accuse ourselves.

  "The Pope is a divine man and a human God. Therefore, no one can judge him or about him. The Pope has divine authority, and his authority is unlimited. He can do on earth the same thing as God can do in heaven. What the Pope does is the same as what God has done. His commandments must be fulfilled as the commandments of God. Only God alone is like the Pope; the Pope commands heavenly and earthly things. The Pope is in the world what God is in the world, or what the soul is in the body. The authority of the Pope is higher than any created authority, for it in some way extends to things in heaven, earth, and the underworld, so that the words of Scripture may be justified in him: 'You have put all things under his foot.' Everything is given over to the power and will of the Pope, and no one and nothing can resist him. If the Pope were to drag millions of people into hell with him, none of them would have the right to ask him: 'Holy Father, why are you doing this?'

“The true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth: for the Father seeks such as these, who will worship him” ( John 4:23 ). Beloved brethren! We have now heard in the Gospel that true servants of the true God worship Him in Spirit and Truth, that God seeks , that is, desires, such worshipers. If God desires such worshipers, then it is clear that only such worshipers and servants He accepts, only such worshipers and servants are pleasing to Him. This teaching was proclaimed to us by the Son of God Himself. We believe the teaching of Christ! With all love, we accept the all-holy teaching of Christ! To follow Him faithfully, let us consider what it means to worship God the Father in Spirit and Truth.

  The Japanese seem to be showing an inclination toward Orthodoxy. They dislike, and such a sophisticated and inquisitive people cannot dislike, the oppression of Catholicism, which, while preaching Christianity, does not allow the teachings of Christ to be read in the original, thereby arousing mistrust and doubt about the authenticity of what is preached. The Japanese attitude toward Catholicism is quite characteristically expressed by the following circumstance: Catholic missionaries, try as they might, were unable to establish their own seminary in Japan. No sooner had they gathered students, surrounded them with strict rules, and seemingly the most reliable barriers to contact with the outside world, than a ray of light would quickly penetrate the school, and the students would scatter. So, finally, the missionaries conceived the idea of ​​founding a Japanese seminary in China, in Fuchau, where they send their young proselytes as soon as possible after winning them, and from w...

A sermon by St. Nicholas of Japan at the Council of the Japanese Church in July 1887 Holy Scripture says, "Son, when you come to serve the Lord God, prepare your soul for temptation. Prepare your heart and be patient. And do not be hasty in time of adversity. Cleave to Him and do not turn aside, that you may grow up in your latter end" ( Sirach 2:1-3 ). All of us here, of course, have come to serve God and thus know well that serving God means forcing ourselves to work. But we also know that this service also contains great joy. For the all-seeing God not only sees those who serve Him but also helps them, and the merciful One loves them. However, the path of serving God is filled with dangers and stumbling blocks, weaknesses and falls, and therefore Holy Scripture teaches us that if you want to serve the Lord God, then prepare your soul for temptations.

Equal-to-the-Apostles Nicholas (Kasatkin) , the founder and first hierarch of the Japanese Church, is a prominent Russian missionary of the 20th century. Having died in 1912, he was canonized sixty years after his death (March 31, 1970). This selfless missionary devoted his entire life and energy to preaching the Gospel and sowing the Word of God in the Land of the Rising Sun, and his apostolic labors bore rich fruit. Naganawa Mitsuo writes: "He left behind a cathedral, eight temples, 175 churches, 276 parishes, and raised one bishop, 34 priests, eight deacons, and 115 preachers. The total number of Orthodox believers reached 34,110…" Archpriest I. Vostorgov , who visited Japan, wrote: "No one in Japan, after the Emperor, enjoyed such renown. In the Japanese capital, there was no need to ask where the Russian Orthodox mission was; it was enough to say the word 'Nikolai,' and literally every rickshaw driver immediately knew where to take a mission guest. The Ortho...

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! I congratulate you all on the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord! This is the day when we celebrate the meeting of two Covenants: the Old Covenant, made with the people of Israel, and the New Covenant, made with the Universal Church, now including all nations. We must ponder the words of prophecy proclaimed by the ancient elder Symeon, taking the Creator of the Universe in his arms: "Now let Your servant depart in peace, O Master, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel." (By word — according to promise. By revelation — for enlightenment. By Gentiles — the nations.)

  Saint Brigid, Abbess of Kildare Commemorated on February 1/14 Dmitry Lapa Icon of St. Bridget of Kildare (taken from "Come and See Icons") Saint Brigid (Brigida, Bridget), Ireland's most revered saint, lived in the second half of the 5th and early 6th centuries. She was born between 450 and 454 and died between 523 and 527. Her name means "light bearer" (other variations include "strength," "virtue," and "exalted"). The saint truly lived up to her name with the light of her virtuous life. She is often called the "Irish Mary"  [1]  and the "pillar of Ireland," and is venerated on the "Emerald Isle" alongside Saints Patrick and Columba. The figure of this great saint quickly became surrounded by legends, making Brigid not only the greatest Christian ascetic of the Irish land, but also one of the most popular figures in Irish folklore. Soon after St. Brigid's death, and again in the late Middle Ages,...

  ETERNAL MEMORY Sermon for Meatfare Saturday of Souls By Igumen Tihon Today the Church pronounces words we have heard many times—and yet they are never familiar: "Eternal Memory." We pronounce them quietly, sometimes with tears, sometimes with an inner emptiness. But if you think about it, we are not asking that God not forget the deceased. God does not forget—forgetfulness is ours, not His. The memory of God is not a recollection of the past; the memory of God is life. To be in the memory of God means to be alive in Him.

  Our Orthodox Church is a Garden where flowers with an unfading fragrance grow. Among these spiritual flowers are the Three Holy Hierarchs whose memory we celebrate today: Saint Basil the Great, Saint Gregory the Theologian, and Saint John Chrysostom. These saints were great fighters for the faith. Remember that our earthly life is a time of spiritual warfare, a battlefield... The Three Ecumenical Teachers are a model for us all. * * * Their era, like any other, was riddled with sins, vices, passions, crimes, temptations, errors, and all manner of heresies... but they did not succumb. They confronted all these challenges, waging an unwavering struggle. And thus became an example for those who defend the Christian faith.

Introduction There seems to be no question more pressing and vital, more urgent and pressing, than the question of raising children. Indeed, it is the key to family happiness, the foundation of social well-being, the strength of nations, the beauty and happiness of life—but, strange as it may seem, it is also the potential source of the great misfortunes that darken a person's life. That is how great and important this question is. Despite all this, no issue has always been treated by society with such inattention and disdain as the issue of education. Modern intelligentsia are endlessly interested in and debated about forms of government, the foundations of social life, various philosophical and literary movements—but not about family and raising children. This is partly explained by the fact that the task of education is discreet and modest, yet it requires serious work, dedication, and even heroism. Modern man, however, is willing to accept and reconcile himself to anything, but...

  Those brave warriors who are more worthy of respect than others are those who have the custom of fighting the enemy not in a general formation, but who rush at the enemy individually. Although the Lord allows them to fall temporarily many times, lest they become overweening, He never completely abandons them without His grace-filled help, but restores them and makes them invincible. One such brave warrior of Christ, Blessed Nikita, gained particular fame after St. Isaac the Recluse. The praiseworthy Polycarp, citing St. Simon, reports the following about him.

  1. A true Christian is one who, during his Baptism, sincerely confessed before God and the Angels that he has renounced the devil and all his satanic works and vowed to serve Christ the Lord, fulfilling all His holy commandments, and thus was granted the ability to mysteriously receive the hidden grace of God and to sense it in the spirit, that is, to recognize in the spirit that he has received it. As soon as one receives grace, he immediately turns away from carnal desires, begins to hate worldly lusts, and by the grace of God becomes invulnerable to them and dead to them; therefore, he fulfills the divine commandments of Christ with all joy and zeal, and his soul no longer desires any carnal pleasures, or acquisitions, or honor and glory, as if he were outside the body and outside the world, as the Lord says: " Ye are not of the world " ( John 15:19 ). Being thus united with the grace of the All-Holy Spirit, he always rejoices and sings: But I will rejoice in the Lord, I...

  1 The head and beginning of all virtues is, as far as possible, unceasing prayer to our Lord Jesus Christ, or, as the expression adopted for brevity is called, the Jesus Prayer; of it the Apostle says: "Pray without ceasing" ( 1 Thessalonians 5:17 ). That is, we must always call upon the name of God, whether we talk, or sit, or walk, or work, or eat , or do anything else. For at all times and in every place it is fitting to call upon the name of God. For thus the temptations of the enemy are destroyed, writes Chrysostom. "Beat the warriors," says St. John Climacus, "with the name of Jesus, and you will not find a stronger weapon than this either in heaven or on earth." Prayer is the drive away of sorrow and despondency, the growth of meekness and freedom from anger, the offering of joy and thanksgiving; and countless blessings are acquired through prayer.

During the reign of Emperor Alexius Comnenus, who reigned from 1081 to 1118, a controversy arose in Constantinople, dividing men enlightened in matters of faith and zealous in the acquisition of virtues into three camps. The debate centered on three saints and outstanding Fathers of the Church: Basil the Great , Gregory the Theologian , and John Chrysostom . Some favored St. Basil over the other two, as he was able to explain the mysteries of nature like no other and was elevated by virtue to angelic heights. His supporters argued that there was nothing base or earthly about him; he was the organizer of monasticism, the leader of the entire Church in the struggle against heresies, and a strict and demanding pastor regarding moral purity. Therefore, they concluded, St. Basil stood above St. John Chrysostom, who was more inclined to forgive sinners. The other party, on the contrary, defended Chrysostom, countering that the renowned bishop of Constantinople, no less than St. Basil, was co...

  On the fight against the main sins of man according to the teachings of the Orthodox Church

  Saint John Chrysostom, a luminary of the world, a teacher of the universe, a pillar and support of the Church, and a preacher of repentance, hailed from Syrian Antioch and was born around 347. His parents, Secundus and Anthusa, belonged to the best of Antioch's society and professed the Christian faith. Secundus was a military commander and held an honorable position; however, he could not influence his son's upbringing, as he died while John was still a young child. Therefore, all care for John's upbringing fell to his mother, the pious Anthusa. Having lost her husband at a very young age (she was then about twenty years old), she did not wish to remarry, but devoted herself entirely to her son's upbringing. It was from her that the young John received his first lessons in Christian truths and piety.

  Today the Orthodox Church remembers the parable of the prodigal son and his older envious self-righteous brother. The first homily will be dedicated to the prodigal son and the second to his envious brother:

The following text is a story of an orthodox christian Sergei Nilus  (1862-1929)  who was born orthodox but later in his youth apostasized but by the intercession of St Sergius of Radonezh an incident on the horse and also the miraculous healing by St John of Kronstadt he returned to the faith. Sergei Nilus was the publisher of the Dialogue between Motovilov and St Seraphim of Sarov on the Acquistion of the Holy Spirit. The first text is his autobiography and the second text is his full biography written by Vladimir Moss.

  Blessed Elena Afanasyevna Dertyeva came from the noble Dertyev family. Her father was an official serving in Arzams. Her parents raised Elena in the fear of God and provided her with a home education befitting her rank. From childhood, she expressed a desire to dedicate herself to the monastic life, but despite her gentle and meek nature, beloved by all, her parents would have none of it. When she was 14 or 15 years old, Father Nazarius, an ascetic of the Sarov Hermitage and the abbot and restorer of the renowned Valaam Monastery, visited her father's house while passing through Arzamas. Elena revealed her desire to him, and he tried to persuade her parents not to oppose their daughter's intention, but they refused. Then, choosing a time when she was alone with Father Nazarius, Elena asked him what she should do. The elder told her, "Be a fool for Christ's sake, cover your mind with madness; this way you will be saved and please God." Elena accepted this advice ...

Metropolitan Vladimir, in the world Basil Nikiforovich Bogoyavlensky, was born on January 1, 1848 in the village of Malaya Morshka in the Morshansky uyezd of Tambov province. His father, Nicephorus, was a priest who later himself suffered a martyr's death. He received his primary education in the theological schools of Tambov diocese. Unpretentiousness which bordered on timidity, complemented by eagerness and diligence in schoolwork, were the most distinctive characteristics of the child and future metropolitan. In a book dedicated to the memory of the late Metropolitan Anthony Vadkovsky, who was formerly from the same district as Metropolitan Vladimir, there appears the following story about an incident in the latter's childhood. Once Basil Bogoyavlensky's father went with him to the home of Alexander Vasilyevich Vadkovsky, the future Metropolitan Anthony. When he saw A.V. Vadkovsky's older brothers, who were theologians, Basil Bogoyavlensky was so frightened by these ...

The birthplace of Saint Gregory the Theologian was the Second, or Southern, Cappadocia, the city of Nazianzus , after which it is called Nazianzus. His parents were noble and honorable people: his father, also named Gregory, and his mother, Nonna. But his father was previously an unbeliever, descended from unbelieving parents: a pagan father and a Jewish mother. In his faith, he followed both, adhering to both pagan error and Jewish unbelief. This is the essence of the so-called Hypsistarian false teaching . Saint Gregory's mother, Blessed Nonna, was descended from Christian parents and was herself a devout Christian. From early childhood, she was raised in piety and perfectly instructed in the fear of God, which is the beginning of all wisdom. By God's design, she was united in marriage to her unbelieving husband, so that he too might be brought to the holy faith: "For the unbelieving husband is sanctified ," according to the Apostle, "by the believing wife...

This Pandora's box has recently been opened as the feminist agenda tries to force itself into Orthodoxy. The call for the reinstitution of the ordination of women as deaconesses is making itself heard. Sadly, some clergy, even a few prominent bishops, are joining in favor of this "craze", perhaps because they are afraid of being labeled as misogynist by the vocal minority of women demanding "their place in the altar." Throughout the history of the Church, monastics have always stood forward in warning of oncoming disaster and/or in defense of the purity of the faith; one only need to look at the iconoclastic controversy to see this clearly, for it was the monastics who were in the forefront in defense of icons. Although the circulation of The Veil is not as wide as publications by a number of modernist/"progressive"/radical/liberal Orthodox groups in this country, we still hope that this article will urge those who hold firm to the traditions of the Fa...

  Blessed Xenia of Petersburg (c. 1720–1803), a young widow, chose the feat of foolishness for Christ's sake to pray for the soul of her husband, who had suddenly died. Having given away her property, she wore his clothes, claiming that "Xenia had died." She lived in poverty, praying at night in the fields, refusing alms (except for kopecks—"a tsar on horseback"). She became renowned for her clairvoyance, miracles (predictions, healings), and secret assistance in the construction of the Smolensk Church (she carried bricks at night). She carried out this feat for 45 years. She is buried in the Smolensk Cemetery, where her chapel is a place of veneration and healing. She was canonized in 1988.

  Link of the pdf of the full text:   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_7ksI4aE-muajhfSLUiu5oMn1RkUsj-B/view?usp=sharing

Once at the end of a hot summer’s day a wanderer with a pack on his back and a staff in his hand appeared in the small village of Alexandrovka, Kurgan uyezd, in the Altai mountains of Siberia. He went up to the gates of the house of Theodore Arkatov and stopped, fixing his eyes on a three-year-old child who was playing in the sand. For a long time he looked at him, and then when the mistress of the house came out he asked for a bed for the night. It was the year 1906.