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Excerpt from the book:

“…a Knight of unblemished Russian dignity and honor … the Grand Duke completely accepted the sacrificial task of carrying out the heavy duties and responsibilities of representation, and even more: the leadership of the thousand-year-old Dynasty of the Russian Imperial House, who are the historical descendants of the Byzantine Empire: the founders of Christian culture.”

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“Along the way, in varying ways and attitudes, the citizenry of Saint Petersburg witnessed … the presence in their midst of Him who might in happier days have been their Tsar. Some disregarded what was happening before them, eager to carry on their work of the day oblivious to anything beyond the desperate search for food and sustenance, the drab drudgery of Lenin’s Promethean hubris. Others stopped to watch in curious and inquiring silence. Still more smiled and waved enthusiastically to the Imperial Family, while a smaller …

monastery musings

Saint Spyridon notes from Gerontissa Theonymphe on Corfu

Hello to all of you, those who attend the blessed  Queen of All Skete, and to those who follow the Site prepared by the Skete. Special greetings to the hard-working Mother Superior, Mother Andrea, Evlogeite! 

As you know, Corfu is blessed as the honored owner of the Holy relics of Saint Spyridon, a long story going back many years. The relics are preserved in the enormous Church called the Ayio, in the center of town. Throughout the day the clerics open the protective doors and allow people to venerate the Saint’s

holy relics, whole, intact, lying in a massive silver casket, over which hang numerous candilia [vigil lamps]. Nearby is the right arm of the Saint in a separate Holy Relic box having come more recently to the island. All this time the clerics read names submitted, for health, enlightenment, and …

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The Borders of Ukraine

      Ukraine is a land with vast expanses of wheat and sunflower fields stretching farther than the eye can see; attention to beauty in the smallest of details; hard-working people who are cordial in their hospitality; and so much more that makes it a truly special place.

By God’s grace and through the generosity of Georgiy Belchenko of blessed memory (+2021) and his wife, I was blessed to experience Ukraine with Mother Theodora (in schema Amphilochia, +2015), before the present turmoil.

The one thing that struck us both were the magnificent borders painted on church arches.  Mother Theodora, an iconographer, noted that Orthodox church architecture, which often incorporates graceful arches into its design, led to an entire artistic discipline that would enable the arches to be harmoniously united …

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Saint Spyridon is quick to hear

A Story from The Optina Garden

The Optina Garden is a beautiful book written by Nina Pavlova, a spiritual daughter of Archimandrite Adrian (Kirsanov). Nina also authored Red Pascha, the account of the three Optina monks murdered by satanists in 1993.

Nina was so captivated with Optina that she purchased a house near the outskirts of the Monastery. Daily she visited with the Elders and monks, which provided her with a privileged connection to the Elders. She kept detailed and valuable notes on events, characters, and dreams. Due to the assistance she provided the Monastery, she was trusted by the elders and with the spiritual guidance they provided her, she received a serious theological education.

Written in Russian, the text was translated into Greek by Father George Konispoliatis. Gerontissa Theonymphe of the Παναγιοπουλα Μετοχι (Panagiopoula Μετochi) in Corfu, Greece, found particularly interesting an …

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Schema-Archimandrite John (Lewis, +2007)

      All his life, Schema-Archimandrite John was of tenuous health. From childhood he suffered with serious asthma. In his adult years, he developed COPD, diabetes, kidney cancer, fistula and many other afflictions. He attributed much of this to having been born on May 6/19, the feast of the Holy Prophet Job, and he patiently accepted it as God’s will. Every time he rose up out of a chair and pain shot through his body he said, “Glory to Thee O God, glory to Thee.” To his spiritual children, this was a motivation to continue in their own struggles, having this example of long-suffering and continued faithfulness to the Lord.

      During Holy Week of 2001, he was hospitalized with pneumonia. Whenever he was in the hospital, the caregivers became frustrated as he would not sleep but two hours in any 24-hour period. He would call …

monastery musings

monastery musings

The Life of Our Venerable Father, Saint Varsonofy of Kherson

Imprisoned 25 times by Communists, Christ Himself appeared to the Saint to strengthen him. After his repose in 1954, a moleben at his grave cured two men of alcoholism.

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The Theotokos: the Border of the Created upon the Uncreated

by

Fr. Constantine Desrosiers

Today I am faced with a truly daunting task. I propose to discuss in an intellectual and scholarly theological manner the All-Holy Theotokos, the Ever-Virgin Mary. Not even the greatest of the ascetics dared to do what I propose and I do ask forgiveness of the Mother of God for my presumption and beg Her to see the innocence of that motivates me.

At the heart of the veneration of the All-Holy Theotokos is the mystery of our salvation, the lynchpin of which is the very incarnation of the divine logos. This must also represent for any objective and candid seeker after Divine Truth the essential characteristic that distinguishes Christianity from all other religions in the world. We are faced today with many religions which fairly claim to be monotheistic, such as Islam and …

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A Contemporary Account of Saint Nicholas in China

Ο Άγιος Νικόλαος στην Κίνα

From Δεικτες Πορειας, a collection of sermons and writings by Meletios, Metropolitan of Nikopoleos (+2012), published by the Holy Monastery of Prophet Elias, 2019, Preveza, Greece. This passage he had translated from Russian into Greek.

Translated for the Queen of All Skete into English by Gerontissa Theonymphe, Παναγιοπουλα Μετοχι (Panagiopoula Μετochi), Corfu, Greece

There beside the Pasing River in China are the ruins of a church which was dedicated to Saint Nicholas. According to tradition the church was built by the Chinese, who also officiated there. Every year on the 6^th of December, there is a large celebration continuing until today. How can this be when the Chinese are not Christians? Only a very few Chinese are Christians, yet they show such respect to Saint Nicholas.

Tradition has it that years …

monastery musings

Recently, as I was praying about what inspirational words I could pass on to you, I called to mind +Hieromonk David (Pierce) of blessed memory.  When Father David was diagnosed with a glioblastoma brain tumor, his life changed instantly.  Following his first surgery, I visited Father David, and he venerated the holy relics that I had brought with me.  He had a strong faith, was unshaken, and his eyes were fixed on eternity.  We began talking about his prognosis, which led into a discussion about contemporary issues facing Orthodox Christians in an increasingly secular society where much is being done to remove “God” from its midst.  The result of that visit was an article we co-authored on how the mind of an Orthodox Christian person should react when facing difficult circumstances. 

Father David reposed in 2014, and we never published that article.  Because of the healing nature of the …