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The prototype of the Moscow myrrh-streaming icon of the Tsar-Martyr was painted in 1996 in California, by the icon painter Pavel Tikhomirov, commissioned by representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.
God, who gives the sinners and the righteous their dues, is not someone who lies in waiting to punish a wrongdoer after the fact. What gives us fear and trembling is the hurting wound of not responding to the love that He had given to us.
As we pray for our dead, we remember that all the living will enter eternal life in their time. We also realise how vain and fragile our earthly lives are, how finite are our worldly comforts and wealth, how small are many of our daily concerns.
On February 15th, the Orthodox will celebrate one of the most joyful feasts of the entire liturgical year - the Meeting (Presentation) of our Lord. This ancient celebration gives a lot of hope and light and inspires us to keep going.
A mother of many recounts how her family brings prayer into daily meals, how fasting becomes a joyful challenge rather than a burden, and what unexpected gifts the Lord sends in return.
A sermon on how Saint Seraphim of Sarov embodied the Christian calling to acquire the Holy Spirit through love and forgiveness — and why his example still guides believers on their path today.
Through revolution, bereavement and exile, those who knew her remembered stillness. Here is the witness of a saint whose love deepened as the darkness drew near.
Artists from Saint Elisabeth Convent speak candidly about the prayer, tears, and unexpected spiritual encounters they experienced while laying a mosaic of the Royal Passion-Bearers in the very room of their death.
A richly detailed account of how one of Russia's most beloved icons journeyed from Jerusalem to Constantinople and finally to Tikhvin, where it continues to pour forth miracles.
