August 23, 2019 170 0 Russian Calvary This week is marked by the memory of the saints of the Solovki. First we celebrated the memory of the translation of the relics…
June 19, 2019 1134 1 Do Clerical Dress and Monastic Habits Really Matter? I am a great fan of the BBC series “Call the Midwife”, which features a group of Anglican sisters working among the poor in…
May 29, 2019 438 0 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 20, 2019 609 0 What Happened on Mount Athos in 1910 – 1971 The Synaxis of all Russian saints who lived on Mount Athos is celebrated in the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery on Mt. Athos on May 7/20. That…
May 20, 2019 406 0 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 842 0 “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…
April 17, 2019 258 0 The Role Monasticism Play in the Life of the Church You are not alone in asking that question. In a world where everything that is done has to have a “purpose” monasticism seems, on…
April 10, 2019 1316 0 Rassophore Monk and Stavrophore Monk: What is the Difference? According to one tradition (e.g., the one observed in Kiev Caves Lavra), there are several degrees of monasticism. First, a novice becomes a Rassophore…
April 4, 2019 546 6 “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…
March 20, 2019 509 0 Human Fates in St. Elisabeth Convent: Nun Vera (Gordienko), Part II Another Planet “It was extremely difficult for me to adapt to life in the Convent in all its aspects at first,” Nun Vera continues….