Rev. Gregory Jensen
No one comes to the Church except by the prompting of God and because of an experience, however obscure, of His great mercy. It is our great privilege—mine as well as yours—to help people discern the presence of God in their lives. It is our calling as Orthodox Christians first to help people understand the faith that God has planted in their hearts.
Nikita Filatov, Lyubov Vasilievna Rodionova
Rating: 9,9|Votes: 17
Twenty years ago a martyric death for the faith claimed a soldier of the Russian border guards, Evgeny Rodionov: he was killed on May 23, 1996 by militants near the village of Bamut in Chechnya for refusing to remove his cross and convert to Islam. And before that he endured a long captivity and cruel tortures … On the anniversary of the murder of Evgeny the Warrior, remembering him and his mother’s search for her son, we spoke with her about responsibility, the indifference of the local politicians, military honor, and remembrances of him.
Fr. Ted Bobosh
As we hear the Gospel proclaimed, we are to think not just about past history, but about who am I in this Gospel lesson? Am I the paralytic before the encounter with Christ, full of self-pity and always wanting someone else to help me? Or am I the healed person capable of coming back and helping others? Am I the invisible helper who works quietly and silently behind the scenes for thirty eight years, helping even one someone else to survive?
Anna Erakhtina
Rating: 10|Votes: 4
When contemplating how they should oppose enemies of the Church, Orthodox Christians often recall St. Nicholas, who slapped Arius in the face. Several Russian Orthodox clergymen talk with us about the saint’s “intolerant” deed.
Rating: 5,9|Votes: 9
What is the spiritual knowledge which the Church wishes to plant in each of our hearts by means of the Paschal light shining through today’s Gospel reading? Well, after all this is not so complicated. The Scriptures always reveal to us both our own souls on the one hand, and the glory and mercy of God on the other.