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On November 1, we will celebrate the 157th anniversary of the Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth, our convent's heavenly patroness.
Saint Elisabeth whole life was an ascent to sainthood. As we celebrate her birthday on 1 November, we review ten highlights in her advancement to heavenly glory.
The courage of the Holy Royal Martyrs, their mercy, steadfast faith and readiness to entrust their fate to the Lord softened the hearts of many and showed the way of the Lord to the generations to come.
When the Pharisees met Christ, one of them asked, "Who is He?" "Son of Joseph," replied another. We like to believe that we know it all. We like to be confident and unshaken in our decisions and to be convincing to ourselves and others.
In the words of St. Paisios of the Holy Mountain, recently glorified by the Church, “The one who takes experiences human gladness, while the one who gives embraces Divine joy”.
On the feast day of the Holy Royal Martyr, Grand Duchess Elisabeth, we asked our nuns, sisters of mercy and those who worked in our Convent to share their personal stories of how they came to know Saint Elisabeth.
Simple events in the biography of Father Sophrony point to the universal, all-embracing nature of his personality. On Easter in 1924, he experienced a vision of the Uncreated Light, a Divine visitation bestowed, perhaps, only on a few people…
The people who do not know God will live different lives, which may even be quite exciting and filled with all sorts of pleasures. Their life journeys, however, will have the same endpoint – being buried in a grave and falling into oblivion.
To grow up spiritually is to develop the habit of spiritual life. You start small but practise every day. We all took the Holy Communion today. To remain with Christ, we must all take communion at every Liturgy.
We theorise, philosophise, or find comfort in psychology, only to find ourselves entrapped more deeply in our sins and infirmities. If only we were humble enough to cry out to the Lord, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
To quote Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, if you wish to help someone else, you must descend into the Hades of their soul - this you can only do in peace when there is not a trace of condemnation in your heart.
When a person starts to justify himself, he starts to overanalyze. He begins to think something to himself, he gets confused about nothing. Simplicity is when a person seeks what is most important.
Sometimes we dream, make plans, strive for our goals, but when you meet God everything changes. It would seem that the circumstances are all the same, people are all the same, but everything is different - a new countdown begins ...
When we go to Church and trust our Lord, we have no reason to complain. So let us live as Christians and thank the Lord in our prayers.
In our time, we need these examples of love, devotion and loyalty more than we ever did in our history. Our world is desperately short of these virtues.
On the Easter day of 1982, two monks and spiritual children of Elder Paisios came to Elder John’s cell to sing the Paschal troparion together. Father John told them this story about celebrating Easter in the cell of Elder Paisios.
Most of us are not prepared to hear the truth about ourselves. Crack the truth to someone who is not ready for it, and you will only make them feel bitter. Christians should be wise and think hard before taking action.
During the period of Great Lent we cry for our sins and for ourselves, because at this time it is more or less typical of our nature. However it is much more difficult to overcome our sin-corrupted nature and find the strength to rejoice.
The Lazarus Saturday is a very joyful day for Orthodox Christians which shows us the triumphal miracle of Christ. It falls on the same day our dear Abbess Euphrosinia celebrates her birthday - April 24th.
During his interactions with parishioners Archpriest Andrey Lemeshonok sometimes tells stories from his life, sharing his personal spiritual experience. We have gathered seven such stories, told by Fr. Andrey in different years.
