Top 5 Blog Posts of the Previous Week

5. When Someone is Waiting for You...

When I entered the nurse’s room, I was asked sympathetically, “What is wrong with your mood today?” I was surprised to receive so much attention. I tried to comfort myself and answered, “Thank You! Everything is fine”, as at that moment I was going to open the door which led to the world, where all my personal problems would melt like the last year snow…READ FULL STORY

4. The Icon of the Mother of God "The Unexpected Joy"

In the writings of St. Dimitrius of Rostov there is an instructive narrative about a certain sinner who unexpectedly experienced the joy of repentance before an icon of the Mother of God. This event became so beloved of the Russian people that an icon was drawn depicting it, which came to be known as “The Unexpected Joy.” The icon shows a sinner standing on his knees, praying before an icon of the Theotokos and cleansing his soul through penitence…READ FULL STORY

3. The Orthodox Christian Marriage

Orthodox Christianity is a way of life, not merely something we do on Sunday mornings and quickly forget when we leave church. A way of life is a whole coming together of habits and attitudes, ideas and actions: a style of life, a way to live. For us Orthodox, Christianity is our daily bread. Like a fish in water, we must swim in our Faith. As followers of Christ, we take our whole direction from Christ and His Church, and not from the standards of today's world. This seems clearest when we visit a monastery, where the environment, the atmosphere, the focus of life - everything is clearly and deliberately Orthodox…READ FULL ARTICLE

2. What is Success?

There was a rich man whose land produced abundantly. In fact, he was so wealthy, that he decided to take early retirement. He said to himself, "Soul, you have done so well; you have enough for many, many years to come. Therefore, take it easy - relax, eat, drink and be merry." What do we think, when we hear about such a man? Obviously, many of us would think, he is a very successful person. When we hear about his life, and about his opportunity to retire early, with comfort and abundance, many of us would envy his life. We would call him a success. And yet, in today's Gospel lesson, God calls such a person a "fool!"…READ FULL ARTICLE

1. The Tradition of Long Hair and Beards

Anyone looking at photographs and portraits of clergy in Greece, Russia, Rumania, and other Orthodox countries taken in the early twentieth century will notice that almost without exception both the monastic and married clergy, priests and deacons, wore untrimmed beards and hair. Only after the First World War do we observe a new, modern look, cropped hair and beardless clergy…READ FULL ARTICLE