From Archimandrite Epiphanios Theodoropoulos Editor's Note: Many times, an opinion is proffered which states that celibate monastics cannot offer advice on marital relations. Among the saints of the Church, no one teaches this and many teach the opposite. Elder Epiphanios in Greece gives a defense in support of the wise counseling holy and celibate clerics have on family matters and his spiritual children (who authored the book about him) give an anecdote about how this usual

Parish is Dedicated to Ss. Païsius the Athonite & Cleopa of Romania With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of the United States , a new Orthodox parish has been founded in San Tan Valley, Arizona (covering nearby Queen Creek and Coolidge areas, as well). Elder Cleopa, with pilgrims from Romania, visited Elder Païsius at his cell in Kapsala, Mt. Athos, in 1977. The present Patriarch of Romania, Daniel, is standing directly

Saint Nikolai (Velimirovich) of Zhicha (Serbia) You ask me, O man of God, where did today’s crisis come from and what does it mean? Who am I to be asked about such a great thing? “You should only speak when what you have to say is better than silence,” says St. Gregory the Theologian. And even though I believe that silence would be better right now, I will give you my opinion on it for the sake of my love for you. Crisis is a Greek word, and it means judgment. In the Holy Scr

From Appearances and Miracles of the Virgin Mary : Available now at Uncut Mountain Press ! Once, the monk Anthimus of Dionysiou Monastery visited a newly tonsured monk, who had fallen ill, in the monastery’s hospital. To console him, he recounted a personal experience: My brother, set your hope in our Panagia, the great physician and protectress of monks. Listen to an adventure of mine, so you may marvel at her mighty protection. When I was your age, twenty-five years old and

Editor's Note: St. Maximus the Confessor wrote a biography of Mary, the Theotokos. Publication details can be found at the bottom of the post. Today, we provide an excerpt in the context of the Annunciation, where, shortly after the Archangel Gabriel's salutation and conversation, Mary travels to see her cousin Elizabeth, whose praise of Mary and the embryonic Jesus Christ is theologically assessed by St. Maximus. As we approach the feast, may we discern this most profound ev

by St. Nil Sorsky (+1508) St. Nil Sorsky Let us reflect, brethren, upon the second coming of Christ, upon our resurrection, and the last judgment. Then, by the words of the Lord, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming

From Miracles and Revelations During the Divine Liturgy : Available now at Uncut Mountain Press ! Hieromonk Joachim Spetsieris (1858-1943) narrates the following experiences from his time at the monastery of St. Sabbas in Jerusalem: “On the fourth Sunday of Great Lent in 1888, Hieromonk Germanos was celebrating the liturgy in the katholikon. He was a model of a true monk, simple, innocent, guileless, gentle, and humble. “After the Great Entrance, when he came out to the roya

Editor's Note: The following is a first English translation of an excerpt from Romanity  by Protopresbyter John Romanides. Many contemporary Greek saints emphasize the virtue of philotimo (St. Paisios the Athonite was well known for emphasizing it). Fr. John Romanides gives a comprehensive look at this virtue as it related to many aspects of one's life for the traditional Roman citizen and the struggle for that ethos today. A very valuable analysis! Protopresbyter John Roman

From Miracles and Revelations During the Divine Liturgy : Available now at Uncut Mountain Press ! During the Great Lent of 1958, a priest visited the blessed Father Charalambos Vasilopoulos (+1982) in his cell at dawn. “Please come with me,” he says to him, “to the Saint Paul clinic, to hear the confession of and give communion to a sick man. I want him to get well for his relatives, who live far from the Church. Their minds are on money. No one is interested. Only the patien