The closer we approach God, the more it hurts inside. Every real step towards God tears a person apart. The Lord does not want us to become attached to time, space, or any particular values. He wants us to be free.
Birthday: 04.08.1956
Name Day: December 13 ( Apostle Andrew the First-Called)
Chirotony Dates: 04/07/1992; 11/14/1992
We all sincerely desire to be saved. Otherwise, we would not be here. Coming to church out of habit, listening to chants, saying some good words and smiling at one another may be beneficial for our mind, but not for our spirit. In reality, we come here because we are preparing for death. The time will come for each of us to ascend his own Golgotha. We should not be afraid however, because we are Christians...
Birthday: 04.17.1964
Name Day: October 8 (Reverend Sergius of Radonezh)
Chirotony Dates: 12/30/1995; 08/28/1996;
The Church has a simple recipe for all of life's emergencies: cling to the Lord in prayer, Communion, and everything that unites a person with Him. Then, our sorrows and misfortunes recede, and our problems are solved. However, doing so takes effort, and renunciation of one's ego and pride, because the enemy is trying to sow anger, resentment and hostility in our hearts.
Birthday: 07.07.1965
Name Day: December 13 (Apostle Andrew the First-Called)
Chirotony Dates: 05/28/1998; 06/06/1998
The Lord is always looking for ways not to punish or defeat a person, but to save each one of us.
Birthday: 10.23.1957
Name Day: December 6 (The Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky)
Chirotony Dates: 03/15/2000; 04/23/2000
In our time, enduring ourselves with all our so-called character traits is probably the greatest act of faith. [This act is necessary] for the Lord to blot out all of these "rough spots" bringing to light the pure gold of the soul that He created, and that is now covered with a crust...
Birthday: 02.14.1950
Name Day: March 22 (Holy Martyr Valery)
Chirotony Dates: 05/23/2001; 11/25/2001
Holiness is not some unattainable height. Holiness is when God begins to act in a sinful person, in spite of all his human talents, or perhaps his infirmities. At this point, it is no longer a personal achievement, but God's grace.
Birthday: 10.27.1974
Name Day: October 8 (Reverend Sergius of Radonezh)
Chirotony Dates: 02/10/2002; 06/16/2013
What does it mean to repent to the Lord for our sins? It means changing our lives by following Christ.
Birthday: 08.07.1979
Name Day: October 8 (Reverend Sergius of Radonezh)
Chirotony Dates: 11/05/2009; 06/20/2010
In any of our trials and difficulties, we must not forget that the church is always open, and that we can come here, be comforted, pray, ask God for forgiveness and achieve the very purpose of our coming into this world—the union with Christ.
Birthday: 08.29.1973
Name Day: November 23 (Apostle Rodion)
Chirotony Dates: 11/28/2011; 02/25/2012
There are words in the Gospel that speak of the simplicity that we must achieve to be able to draw close to God, so that He can lay His hand on us, as if we were children with simple, innocent thoughts and feelings.
Birthday: 09.21.1968
Name Day: November 2 (Great Martyr Artemy)
Chirotony Dates: 12/14/2009; 03/15/2015
I have come to realize that this world has its own ways, none of which has anything in store for me in regard to the salvation of my soul. At the same time, I was moved by the gospel parable of the talents. It really touched my heart, and kept me awake at night. I was thinking, 'What if I am hiding my God-given talent in the sand instead of answering His call? What account will I give for this?' When I was 27, these thoughts led me to enter the seminary.
Birthday: 08.10.1986
Name Day: October 8 (Reverend Sergius of Radonezh)
Chirotony Dates: 07/29/2016; 01/01/2017
Any knowledge that man discovers through science is a gift of God to people, proclaiming His presence in this world.
Birthday: 07.14.1980
Name Day: October 3 (Blessed Prince Oleg Bryansky)
Chirotony Dates: 07/19/2020; 11/07/2020
Birthday: 11.14.1973
Name Day: October 3 (Blessed Prince Oleg Bryansky)
Chirotony Dates: 10/22/2005
Birthday: 07.19.1972
Name Day: August 6 (Blessed Prince Boris)
Chirotony Dates: 06/02/2012
I have come to realize that this world has its own ways, none of which has anything in store for me in regard to the salvation of my soul. At the same time, I was moved by the gospel parable of the talents. It really touched my heart, and kept me awake at night. I was thinking, 'What if I am hiding my God-given talent in the sand instead of answering His call? What account will I give for this?' When I was 27, these thoughts led me to enter the seminary.
Igor Kobzev was one out of many struck by the Coronavirus epidemic. The doctors who treated him call his recovery a miracle. Igor shared with us his first-person account about his struggle with the illness, the power of prayer and God's intercession.
Nun Rebecca is a Brazilian who lives at St Elisabeth Convent. She decided to share with us a recipe for a rather extraordinary dish - Brazilian-style fried fish with pineapple. Variations of this dish can be found in a few other national cuisines.
The mystery of the Holy Spirit transforms a harlot into a saint, a robber into a righteous man. But the Holy Spirit will not descend on someone who judges because, by judging, we condemn ourselves to an eternity in a place that we would all…
The feast of the Pentecost takes a special place in the life of our Convent's farmstead for disadvantaged women. We hope that very soon the music of multiple bells will remind about the joy promised to everyone who loves God.
Some 30 disadvantaged women living at our farmstead are working hard to find healing to their souls and reunite with God. We have launched a fundraising effort to procure 7 bells for the farmstead’s church, and are inviting you to pitch in.
Alexander Vikovitsky had to abandon his career in sport because of a severe injury, and his life took a sharp turn for the worse. He was falling rapidly into an abyss. We interviewed Brother Alexander about his work at the farmstead, his faith.
Let the Christians rejoice, even though few people want to talk about the joy and are preoccupied instead by the troubles and misfortunes of the world. Christ has overcome this world, and we are going His way to the Kingdom of Heaven.
When in difficulty, but we think that it is beyond our control and the result of our bad luck. It never occurs to us to look into our hearts and seek to re-establish our unity with God. By reuniting with God and sensing His closeness, we can…
Vitaly Lubetsky is the producer of the Convent's culinary channel on YouTube called "Monastic Recipes". The channel has won popularity among our Russian-speaking audiences. We talked to Vitaly about its mission.
A doctor, nun Maria (Litvinova) advises people on how to stay healthy and how to respond to disease. The topic of our interview with her today is Christian attitude to health, and how it may be relevant in today's world.
Paskha is a delicious dish that is made out of cottage cheese and served on Easter day. This Paskha recipe includes boiled condensed milk which gives it a sweet caramel taste. This is an easy to follow recipe with only 8 ingredients.
Some of us might say, "If Christ came to Belarus, we would not shout to crucify Him; we would listen to Him.” We would be wrong. Few of us today will be willing to be servants to the King of Heaven and follow him through the end.
