Everyday Saints is a book of anecdotes and stories that describe the life and teachings of Orthodox elders in Russia during the late communist era. The tales are both edifying…
Browsing Category Faith
Hugs Are Dangerous
[God] forbids adultery, and all irregular and unclean carnal lust, and likewise all that may tend to excite unlawful desires… —The Holy Standards It is extremely unsafe to hug a…
If God Exists, Why Do Bad Things Happen?
Atheists commonly ask why bad things happen if we were created by God. If God is all good, shouldn’t we exist in Paradise right now, never encountering suffering for even…
The Best Book For Orthodox Christian Converts
At the time I got baptized, Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works was recommended by the priest who baptized me. Written by Father Damascene, the current abbot of the…
The Dream Team Is Praying For You
So you’ve chosen to live in the eternal Kingdom of God and commune with Him for all eternity. Congratulations, you’ve made a wise decision. You’re ready to live a life…
Prayer Is The Highest Activity Of Man
Saint Sophrony is a modern saint (glorified in 2019) who was born in Russia, eventually moving to Mount Athos to become a monk. He was the spiritual child of ascetic…
A Foretaste Of My Deathbed
Last fall I came down with a flu-like illness while staying at a monastery. It lasted for two weeks. It turned out to be the worst acute illness I’ve ever…
Are You On The Path To Salvation?
The Path To Salvation, written by Russian Saint Theophan The Recluse, elaborates how grace, sin, and salvation work within a soul. Since the way I came to the Church is…
Faithmaxing
The world is falling away. The center cannot hold. Everyone can feel it in their bones, even those who are far from God and participate wholeheartedly in the Antichrist system…
The Saint Of The Prisons
The Saint Of The Prisons by Monk Moise chronicles the lives of devout Orthodox Christians who were imprisoned during Romanian communism, including Valeriu Gafencu, who is commonly seen as a…
The Field Of Spiritual Warfare
Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov is a Russian saint who lived in the 19th century, close enough to our times to see the beginnings of society’s great apostasy from Christ. His birth…
Christian Life Is Futile Without The Church
I don’t usually do a review of tracts, but I so enjoyed Christianity Or The Church? by Archbishop Ilarion of the Russian Orthodox Church that I wanted to share my…
16 Types Of Thoughts That Assault Me While Praying
A common problem for Orthodox Christians is being attacked by worldly thoughts while praying. I’m no exception. Due to my overactive imagination, my thoughts stray during prayer, and rarely does…
What Christians Outside Of The Orthodox Church Believe
The word “heterodox” is a term that the Orthodox use for the non-Orthodox. Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy by Father Andrew Stephen Damick reviews all the major Christian denominations, and even some…
How To React When Relatives Attack Your Conversion To Orthodoxy
There are three assumptions I can make about you if you’re deciding to convert to the Orthodox Church. First, I assume that your family is not Orthodox. Second, I assume…
