Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov, in his well-known book Everyday Saints and Other Stories , recorded an experience involving Elder John Krestiankin (+2006) in Russia which confirms the words of St. Kosmas and St. Basil below. Such stories reveal the necessity for a full and complete Orthodox baptismal service for the salvation of one's soul from the tyranny of Satan. “At that time I was serving in the Donskoy Monastery. I was approached by a man of about

Editor's Note: This is a Kontakion of St. Romanus concerning the Feast of Theophany and the Baptism of Christ has St. Romanus presenting us with a dialogue between Christ and the Holy Forerunner. During that conversation, St. Romanus—with his Spirit-filled hymnology—gives us a look into both the “Mysterion” of Christ’s Baptism and the incomprehensible Word Himself—Who “became flesh and tabernacled amongst us” [John 1:14]! The annotations which guide one's reading of these ko

Read the two-part introduction to the "Pearls from the Pedalion" series here . From The Orthodox Ethos: Canon 31 of the Holy Apostles calls for the deposition of priests and excommunication of laymen who condemn their bishop and wrongly depart from him. In footnote 44 of the Rudder, St. Nikodemos elaborates on the seriousness of the sin of schism as being worse than heresy. Canon 31 of the Holy Apostles If any Priest, condemning his own bishop, draws people aside, and sets

St. Symeon the New Theologian 1) To Retain in the Mind What is Read in Divine Scripture is the Action of the Power of God. Unless a learner retains in his mind and remembers what he is taught, he gets no benefit whatever from his learning. A literate person who reads, but who does not understand what he reads, is the same as one who is illiterate. A person who reads and understands, if he cannot retain in his mind what he has read and understood, gets no benefit whatever f

In case you missed it: This year, Fr. Peter Heers presents the meaning of Christmas being about the Incarnation. Last year, Fr. Peter dispels many of the myths surrounding the feast of Christmas, to reorient our view back to Christ, and have a deeper appreciation for the meaning of the holiday. Here are the recordings for your benefit. Share them among your friends and family! Christmas: The Implication of the Incarnation Recorded December 23, 2025 ( link ) Dispelling Christm

"My dear ones, there are Canon of our Church that forbid joint prayer with heretics. Of course, those who support joint prayer talk about love. Yes, but love, as the New Testament points out must be in Truth... and Truth means Orthodoxy... Why is it not permitted to have joint prayer? Because this prayer is not in Truth... I will remind you of what I have told you countless times: ecumenism is deceitful and it progresses in stages. Its first step is to achieve the [false] uni

Editor's Note: Around the time St. John ascended to the throne of Constantinople, it was becoming known that our Lord's birth did indeed occur on the 25th of December. It was known in the West, based on evidence they had available. However, many places celebrated it on January 6th. When news of Rome's evidence reached the East, the East quickly and across the churches settled the celebration of the Nativity on December 25th also. For more information, see Saint John's homily

Father John S. Romanides Editor's Note: This is a paper of Fr. John Romanides that has not been digitized before. It is helpful in conversations with the heterodox. It regards the presence and activity of Christ in the Old Testament, in the contexts of St. Augustine's speculations on the matter. A paper delivered at the Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission Eighth Meeting, Limasol, Cyprus, 1-8 August 1995. Metropolitans of the Church of Greece assume that Latins and Protestants

Short Reflection on the Conception of the Theotokos Editor's Note: Today is the Conception of the Theotokos, and Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos (+ September 30, 2015) has a short but fantastic reflection on this feast. Fr. Symeon was a lecturer, preacher, and confessor in the Metropolis of Thessaloniki, Greece. His spiritual lectures often draw on his study of psychology. He founded one men's monastery, Monastery of the Holy Trinity, and one women's monastery, Monastery of