St Elisabeth Convent. Orthodox Life And Chants

THE HEALING OF THE PARALYTIC AND THE LONELIBESS OF MODERN MAN
by Fr. George Calciu
***
Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
(John 5:2-4)
***
What is most dramatic throughout this entire Gospel reading is the loneliness of the sick man. Did you hear it? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me (Jn. 5:7). The most tragic state a person can be in is loneliness, total isolation.

St. Cyprian of Carthage says that, “Each person falls in isolation, but we are saved in the community of the Church.” To be alone means to fall, to perish. Being alone means not thinking about anyone other than yourself, because you are overwhelmed by the surge of suffering in which you are being suffocated. You are depressed by the futility of life. This is because a life lived in loneliness, if you do not have God with you, is a futile, wasted life. Life lost its meaning back in that very moment when you became alone.

That sick man did not even have any family member or friend who would take him up when the water was stirred and throw him in, so that he would be healed. How many times do we find ourselves in a situation like that! How often are we lonely and sick, and we have no one to help us be healed, no one to deliver us from our suffering! Or perhaps in our loneliness and suffering we do not find anyone we can communicate with; or as the German saying goes, pain when shared becomes half as bad, but pain unshared is twice as hard.

That is how it was with this man. But Christ with great mercy asked him, “Do you want to be healed?”

We will see proof of this later, when the Savior meets him in the church and says, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee (Jn. 5:14).

What also touches us and others is that in the very minute that Jesus healed the man who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight whole years, instead of rejoicing that a man had regained his health, the scribes and Pharisees are angry, and say, “Why are you walking, why are you carrying your bed on the Sabbath?”

They didn’t say, “It’s great that you’ve been healed! Yes, go and thank God!” No, they were only interested in the formality of the law, which stated that it was forbidden to work on the Sabbath. They sacrificed a human being for the sake of observing this law.

And they asked him, “Who healed you?”

At first the healed man did not know how to answer them. But when Jesus met him in the church, he went to the Jews and said, “There, it was Jesus who healed me!”

This was not a denunciation to set the Jews after Jesus. This was the desire to announce for everyone to hear, “This Man helped me! He healed me! He was near me in my troubles!” We have to say it when someone has helped us. We have to testify to a miracle. Not in order to boast, but because we have been delivered from loneliness, sickness, and suffering! I have to say who helped me, who led me to the faith, who delivered me from sins and the cursedness of my heart—a priest, a believer, a friend… I have to say, “He saved me!” That’s how it was with this paralytic.

Beloved faithful! Modern society is isolating us more and more. The governments—not only the communist, but all governments—are more and more trying to isolate us, to make us more lonely, so that we would be less and less bonded with each other, so that we would not associate with each other, because all governments are trying to become totalitarian in order to control us. It is much harder to control tight communities of people than isolated individuals, and therefore governments are trying to isolate us.

The communists did this through force. The Westerners do not do this by force, they simply pronounce you unique, they say that you have rights, and you are independent. And this is so that you would become isolated, that you would not be attached to your parents, would not obey them if you are a child, so that you would not be in submission to anyone—after all, you are a free being.

Freedom falsely understood is rebellion against God; it is nihilism. That is how we have gotten to where we have gotten, to all of these crimes that are raging in the world. There are so many cities where fourteen-year-old children have murdered their teachers, friends, and parents. The human bond has been broken with the people next to us, with whom we live. Heartfelt relationships have been broken between me and my brother, me and my parents, between parents and children, between friends. We are becoming more and more alone in this exaggerated individualism, at the foundation of which lies the demonization of society.

Let us try to be united. Let us try to remain united by faith and love one with another, with Jesus Christ. Let us abide in unity in the Church, because the Church is the only positive social union. All other unions are leading us to self-destruction. They are all aiming to destroy the human being, to turn it into an instrument, an ordinary cog in this complicated mechanism of human society.

3 days ago | [YT] | 1,317

St Elisabeth Convent. Orthodox Life And Chants

🕊️ A PRAYER FOR YOU | Let Us Pray for Your Loved Ones
Christ is Risen! ☀️
At St. Elisabeth Convent, prayer is the heart of our life. Every day, we lift up the needs of the world before the Lord — in the Divine Liturgy, in the singing of akathists, in the reading of the Psalter, and in the quiet prayers of our sisters and brothers.
We invite you to entrust to us the names of those you hold in your heart. Whether for the living or the departed, for the sick or the struggling — we will remember them before God.

📝 Prayer Options Available:
Divine Liturgy (Proskomedia) — Names are commemorated during the preparation of the Holy Gifts and at the Liturgy.

Molieben (Moleben) — A supplication service for health, healing, or thanksgiving.

Akathist — A standing hymn of praise to Christ, the Theotokos, or a saint.

Sorokoust (Forty-Day Commemoration) — Forty consecutive Liturgies. This is a powerful prayer for the newly departed or for those in special need.

Six-Month / One-Year Commemoration — Extended prayer for the living or the departed over a long period.

Commemoration during the Psalter — The reading of the Psalms with the remembrance of names. This is a tradition of unceasing prayer.

You may submit names for:

✅ Health and well-being of the living
✅ Repose of the departed
✅ Any personal intention known to God alone

📜 Send your prayer requests here

👉 obitel-minsk.org/prayer-request-youtube

Every name you send will be written in our commemoration books. You will be remembered not once, but repeatedly — in the daily cycle of prayer that never ceases in our monastery. You become part of our spiritual family, and we carry you before the Lord.

6 days ago (edited) | [YT] | 826

St Elisabeth Convent. Orthodox Life And Chants

THE COURAGE TO FOLLOW CHRIST
Fr. James Guirguis
In today’s gospel passage we recognize and celebrate the virtues of the Myrrh bearing women. They are known for their dedication and service and these are truly important attributes that everyone can learn from and imitate. But what is not thought about often is the exceeding strength and courage required of them.

While the disciples huddled together for fear of the Jews, these dedicated women risk everything that they have including their lives as they make their way towards the tomb of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the hopes of showing their love and devotion to Him by anointing His body. Were they afraid at what the Roman soldiers might think? Were they afraid that they might be handed to the authorities and labeled as sympathizers of the rebel named Jesus? Whatever fear they once had vanished at the thought of their dear teacher and master.

We are living in a world that wants us to be afraid as Christians. We are commanded to be silent in the face of godless teaching and godless, immoral laws, rules and regulations. Don’t speak out about homosexuality, don’t speak out about the transgender movement. More importantly, don’t live according to your Christian principles or you will be silenced and punished. If you are living what is termed an “alternative lifestyle” it is expected that everyone in society should simply and quietly accept your “alternative” reality as the new normal.

We are encouraged to keep our beliefs to ourselves but in Christianity, and in Orthodox Christianity more specifically, we realize that our beliefs cannot be hidden from the world because our faith, our beliefs and our actions make for one unified whole. If you are an individual who owns a bakery and you choose not to bake a cake for someone because you do not approve of their lifestyle, that is your choice because men were created to be free and given freedom from their Creator and not by the power of the government. When someone punishes or threatens to punish you because you choose not to bake a cake or choose not to participate or be an accessory to immorality, that is not simply a violation of your constitutional right to exercise your religion as you see fit, it is a violation of the freedom granted to humanity by God Himself.

I think that it is no stretch to say that we are becoming quite like the 11 disciples who quietly hid for fear of what the authorities would do to them. We are afraid to stand for the teachings of Jesus Christ. Some Christians go so far as to say “we show the love of Jesus by accepting people where they are.” Accept them and love them Yes. Absolutely. God’s love for all people is boundless. But God does not love all our behaviors and choices. The love of Jesus was demonstrated through many avenues including teaching and sometimes even harsh correction! In Orthodox theology it is not a stretch to also say that even the Judgment of God is an act of His love since God is love and He cannot be anything that is contrary to His essence. But as we study the scriptures and the New Testament we come to realize that God’s love often looks quite different than what we imagine in our minds.

We say that we live in the light of the resurrection and yet we are all put to shame by the myrrh bearing women. Dedication and love of Jesus Christ trumped everything else for them. Are we as courageous as these women? Are we dedicated to Christ? Are we prepared to lose everything including jobs, careers, and social standing to stand up for Christ and His teachings? Let us not be put to shame but inspired by the devotion and adoration that these saintly women offered when they had nothing else to offer to their beloved Lord.

The myrrh bearing women deserve to be commended and celebrated because they demonstrated faith and a warrior-like courage and determination when they did not yet know about Christ’s resurrection from the dead. How much more faith should we be demonstrating daily since we are equipped with the full knowledge of the truth of His glorious resurrection? We have thousands of examples of how one ought to live and stand up for the truth. Our Church is filled with the stories and the icons of saintly men and women who gave up everything in their extreme love for Jesus Christ. In so many of the lives of the Holy martyrs we see men and women, and sometimes even children who openly declare war on their godless society through their faith and commitment to Jesus Christ. I am convinced that God is calling each of you to be warrior-like in your zeal for the truth and your love for Christ and His teachings. As St. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:15 we have to be ready to “speak the truth in love”.

So we rejoice with the myrrh bearing women and we stand in awe and wonder and trembling and astonishment at the news that is brought before us…..Christ is Risen and fear must be put to death. Our whole reality must be enlivened, sanctified and enlightened by this glorious news. Christ Is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!

1 week ago | [YT] | 763

St Elisabeth Convent. Orthodox Life And Chants

ON THE SHATTERING OF HUMAN HOPES
by Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov)
Sermon on the Third Sunday of Pascha, the Myrrh-bearing Women
Christ is Risen!
The worst thing that can happen in our lives is the loss of Christian hope. Not only hope, but specifically Christian hope. What can be worse than this? Hope… It was the expectation, the pledge of meaning, and the yearning for a happy future. Hope gave one the strength to live. It bore the foretaste of joy. And then—it all fell apart. Just a moment goes by and you understand that all has been irreparably lost. There can be no greater catastrophe in a person’s life.

Today, as we remember that deep dawn, when several women timidly, secretively neared the grave of their Teacher, we involuntarily feel their joyless, sorrowful state—the state of people whose hope has been shattered.

They came while it was still dark to the grave in order to anoint the buried body of their Teacher with aromatic oils according to the ancient tradition of their forefathers. They wanted to pay Him their last respects. Yes, for them the Lord Jesus Christ was just a Teacher. Beloved, incomparable to any mortals, but just the same a Teacher, Who to their great sorrow had not been able to bring His beautiful promises to pass.

The woe and hidden thoughts, the bitter disappointment of all the disciples was with pain of heart expressed by the apostles Luke and Cleopas on that same day, in the evening on the road to Emmaus, when having met the risen Savior, they did not recognize Him. They spoke sadly of Christ: “They killed Him, and before that they tortured Him terribly and mocked Him! But we had hoped that it was Him, Who would restore the kingdom of Israel!” (cf. Lk. 24:13–21).

Just like Luke and Cleopas, like all the disciples, the Myrrh-bearers hoped in Jesus’s promise to them of a Kingdom of happiness and well-being, love and justice. And where is it? Their Teacher was horribly mocked and killed. All around the orphaned disciples, the darkness only thickened. Evil ever more brazenly triumphed on earth.

An earthly kingdom of goodness and justice is an eternal illusion that always takes people in. Until the end of time, daydreams about it will intoxicate us. But the fruits of these alluring and charming daydreams are truly horrible. When the Son of God came to earth to bring His creation into the true Kingdom of Heaven, mankind responded to Him with Golgotha. He brought mankind tidings that a Kingdom not of this world has come to the world. People took this to be no more than an earthly form of existence that their minds could apprehend.

Both the disciples and the Myrrh-bearers, as a part of humanity, bore within themselves the general fatal illness of alienation from God. But if in the leaders of the Old Testament people alienation evolved into diabolical hatred and deicide, in the disciples of Christ this illness manifested itself in their hereditary human spiritual blindness and helpless insensitivity, which they strove with all their hearts to overcome. But this took time—and more importantly, the work of God’s grace.

Only mankind transfigured by Christ—and in Christ—is capable of entering into the Kingdom of Heaven, ineffable and unfathomable to this world. What do we, also spiritually blind, suffering from illusions about ourselves, from pride and vanity, need in order to come closer to this Kingdom?

We are taught what to do by today’s instructors—the Myrrh-bearers who came to the little cave, the final refuge of our Lord Jesus Christ. With horror the women were preparing themselves to see the desecrated body of their Teacher. But they found something totally unexpected.

The mind of man does not know, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, says the apostle Paul, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him (1 Cor. 2:9)! Instead of the tormented corruptible remains of their Teacher in a stone cave they found tidings of the resurrected Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Before them stood an inhabitant of a divine world that had remained faithful to the Lord—an angel—and pronounced these simple and great words: “You seek the crucified Nazarene. He is not here. He is risen! (cf. Lk. 24:6).

The angel announced the same thing that the Lord Jesus Christ had said many times to His disciples. You would think they would rejoice! But what was their human reaction? They ran away in horror and fear, not understanding and perplexed! They trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid (Mk. 16:8).

We look at the Myrrh-bearers and recognize ourselves.

Human thoughts are as far from divine thoughts as the heavens are from the earth, says the prophet Isaiah (cf. Is. 55:8–9). Our boldest hopes and dreams about human happiness, about our own selves, about our close ones, and about the future are all at best naiveté in comparison with what the Lord has prepared for us. We can compare this with a small child to whom his father is preparing something wonderful, a great life’s arena. But not able to appreciate or even understand any part of his father’s plan, the little child is immersed only in his cherished, beloved dreams: “My father will do everything for me! I’ll have a lot of toys, and sweets, and candy!” What the father is preparing for his children is unfathomable to the weak and fragile mind of a child.

What brought the Myrrh-bearer to their Teacher’s tomb? To the final earthly resting place of the One Who did not justify their hopes? To the Teacher Who promised them so much, but could not fulfill these promises? Love for the Savior brought them there. It is this love, the only thing that is greater than our yearning, that is, our hope, greater than all our reasoning, which binds us with God.

This very love for Christ does not put the hearts of the faithful to shame! It is no accident that the Myrrh-bearing Women were the first out of all mankind to hear the tidings of the Resurrection.

What haven’t people tried to convince us about God, Christ, and the Church over all that time since Christ’s Resurrection and to the present day! One hundred years ago they started destroying our Orthodox country, and they nearly destroyed it completely. There remained only a handful of “ignorant” believers and “pitiful” priests, who did not even dare raise their heads. But within these “ignorant and pitiful” people—from the point of view of this world—burned love and adoration for their Great Teacher. They loved Him as did the Myrrh-bearers and apostles, who lost their faith and hope but then found them again.

And we, brothers and sisters, shall remember the Myrrh-bearing Women not only today, but also during the most complicated times in our lives, when hopes are shattered, when it seems that no one will help us, when the worst possible thing happens, which, in the words of St. Job the Much Suffering, makes our souls tremble. Then we shall remember these remarkable women. Retaining love in their hearts for God, they received infinitely more than what they hoped for, both for themselves and for all their loved ones both living and dead.

Such is our Lord. He leads fallen human existence; He leads each one of us through trials that make us steadfast in faith, truth, and spiritual freedom. But He does not allow anything to happen beyond our strength. He knows, like a loving father, when the time has come to put our sinful human hopes and weak, fragile dreams to shame. And He knows when we have become ready for the revelation of true, divine love, so that we might see the infinite abundance of what God has prepared for all those who love Him.
Amen.

1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 1,067

St Elisabeth Convent. Orthodox Life And Chants

FIVE RULES OF PASCHAL JOY
by Irina Sechina
It is disappointing that after all the labors of Great Lent, Paschal joy, having barely given comfort to our souls, quickly vanishes. We sadly eat our shish kebab and despondently watch our TV series—we are finally allowed to do that. But maybe our sorrow is not about this?
JOY DOES NOT DEPEND ON THE FEAST.
It is a common occurrence when we, like other sinful people, immediately after Pascha return to the habits that we gave up for the time of Great Lent. Father Konstantin believes that spiritual “backsliding” of this kind is in the order of things.
“Through this the Lord shows us our weaknesses, so that we might learn humility. Many good virtues in us are poisoned by pride. This happens to each of us when as a person gets proud of his spiritual accomplishments.”
True, it is disappointing that we tend to quickly and to no purpose squander all that we gained over Great Lent. But we are disappointed not because we lose something good and precious but because we thought that we were able to preserve all this, that we would be good forever. It seemed we had enough strength to do it.
“According to St. Theophan the Recluse, if a humble person commits some minor sin, it does not surprise him. But if an arrogant person commits a sin, it comes as quite a surprise.”
And the latter may lose heart. In Fr. Konstantin’s view, the Lord teaches us in this way, and our main task is to reconcile ourselves to it. Then peace and joy will reign in our souls, and it will not depend on feasts or daily life.
“The life of every single person is in the hands of God. Each one of us. In order to feel it with all our hearts we need to commit our own selves into the hands of God, so that our only desire is to do the will of the Almighty. And the Lord also leaves something in us for training, in order to comfort us when we are meek and to humble us when we are arrogant.”
JOY DOES NOT TOLERATE PRIDE.
In Fr. Konstantin’s opinion, our pride mingles with all aspects of our life, which are poisoned by it; thus, our spiritual joy as well as genuine repentance are transient. “We are unable to rejoice in God because we always rejoice in ourselves as well. We say, ‘I am so good, I have prayed so perfectly, the experience of Gospel events touch me so deeply—I truly grieve for Christ’s Passions, I truly rejoice at Pascha…’ Thus, joy cannot abide long in our souls, which are like vessels full of holes.”
St. Seraphim of Sarov heartily greeted everybody with the words: “Christ Is Risen!” He always witnessed to the Resurrection of Christ, and not only on Pascha, but all year round, because he sincerely believed and felt that Paschal joy accompanies us at all times.
Most of us do not feel Pascha that way—and that is normal. It is not necessary to artificially engender the feeling of joy. “In order to avoid disillusionment we should admit that we are not like St. Seraphim of Sarov and are unable to greet all with the words, ‘Christ Is Risen!’ with all our hearts,” Fr. Konstantin says.
“Now many write about joy. They say, ‘Why are modern Christians so gloomy if Christ called upon everybody to have joy.’ I think that to propagandize joy is absolutely incorrect. We come to church in order to pray and receive the Holy Body and Blood of Christ—our Church unity is based precisely on these things, not on emotions. This is what the Church is like.
“Calling forth some emotions is a dangerous mistake. These emotions will be false. Many Church Fathers even counsel us to conceal from others the gift of abundant spiritual joy (if God should grant it to you).”
JOY DOES NOT SEEK FOR ITSELF.
As a matter of fact, the Church gives us all that is needed for natural, not artificial, joy.
Even if we just go to church on Holy Week or Bright Week, we will certainly find the right spirit there.
Many people read the Gospel, so even if it is hard for them to concentrate, they will still find it easy to understand the meaning of Church hymns and chants.
Our relationship with God is much deeper than our emotions.
Fr. Konstantin gives an example: “A mother of many children is tired. She grows faint from exhaustion and all she wants to do is sleep. But it does not mean that she no longer loves her children at the moment or loves them less than when she is nursing them or smiling at them.
“We know that many saints had different [spiritual] states. The podvigs (ascetic labors) of some saints were seen by everybody, while others did not perform any special outward spiritual labors, yet they achieved perfection and were glorified by God. One striking example is St. Dositheus. Outwardly he did not exceed any of the brethren in ascetic labors. Nobody noticed that he was performing the great labor of obedience. He cut off his own will for the sake of God’s will.”
JOY CANNOT BE EARNED.
As is generally known, after the midnight Paschal service everybody breaks his fast. There is the cracking of eggshells, the smell of sausage, joyful hugs and toasts… At last! And shish kebabs in the country-houses, premieres at cinemas, rock music in our earphones instead of the “boring” classical music are ahead of us. And so, there is an impression that we regard Church life as our “obligation”, and Great Lent—as a prolonged mining shift.
So when the feast comes, our “interval between the shifts” comes with it: We take our hard hats off, wash the coal dust from our faces, and hurry to the fields to drink and make merry until the next shift… Meanwhile, the time of fasting, the opportunity to pray at the Liturgy, to receive Communion and all that happens at the Church are God’s great gifts of to us, and not our duties to Him.
Fr. Konstantin holds that we must be happy with these gifts and thank God even for several hours of Paschal joy:
“During the period of the Fast, God loosens the fetters of passions with which we are bound. The Fast is a gift of the Church, a gift to all of us. And Paschal joy after Great Lent is another gift and evidence of the reality of Divine grace—so that when Paschal joy is taken away from us (and it will inevitably be taken away), we might remember it, remember that it is really possible to rejoice in the Resurrection of Christ.”
JOY LIVES BY HOPE.
Our feelings are short-lived and weak, they deceive us. We have tasted a little Paschal joy, but after two movies and three evening parties our joy disappears and it is replaced with sorrow at our own weakness. How can we keep our balance? How can we not feel despondent, and at the same time, not indulge ourselves in our humility: “I am so weak, O Lord, there is no getting away from it. I admit that I am not St. Seraphim of Sarov, so let me go and watch the next TV series!”
Fr. Konstantin is of the opinion that humility is not enough—repentance is also needed. “Not only must we be conscious of our inability to refrain from watching entertainment shows, but we must also repent of it instead of giving way to despair. Imagine an inmate of a Nazi concentration camp who has joined an insurgent committee and is now preparing for an uprising. But while the revolt is being organized, he continues working at the fascists’ factories! Of course he is not particularly enthusiastic about it, but he does it with the hope that the uprising is underway, and that with the help of the allied army it will succeed.
“In our case, with the help of God we are freed from passions. So not only should we accept ourselves as we are, but we should also pray to God and ask Him to strengthen us in this struggle. ‘I have frittered away time throughout the week, have watched various rubbish on TV, have not thought about God, so I have lost the joy of the Resurrection of Christ. But I believe in Him, I believe that the Lord will reform me—however painful it may be for me to accept this—and will awaken my heart to love and joy’.”

1 week ago | [YT] | 672

St Elisabeth Convent. Orthodox Life And Chants

HOW TO SHARE THE JOY OF PASCHA WITH OTHERS
by Igumen Nektary (Morozov)
LIGHT AND WARMTH
Indeed, joy must always be shared, for if we’re called to share things representing our critical material needs, then all the more must we share with others that which is vastly more important—the spiritual joy which we experience. Although, I will make a qualification: of course, it is possible to share only that which you have. Therefore, to be truly able to give something useful to others to comfort their hearts, the joy of the Risen Christ must fill our own hearts—at least to some degree.
Much here depends on the path a man has tread during Great Lent, preparing to meet Pascha. If we only abstain from food, go to the services and pray a little more, and live a little more soberly and intently, but we don’t have a deep inner experience of all that precedes Pascha, no sense of our own imperfection, sins, infirmities, and no understanding of what Pascha is—it is not just a remembrance of some past triumph of life over death, but a triumph in which every one of us participates, because, in having defeated death, Christ has again opened the path to the eternal Heavenly Kingdom for all of us—then it will be difficult to experience the true joy of Pascha. If Great Lent became for someone the next step in his spiritual development, then, undoubtedly, he will pass the Paschal period not just as a time of relaxation from fasting, but as a time of celebrating the victory of light over darkness, life over death, and righteousness over sin. When it is received and experienced spiritually, then we want to share this spiritual exaltation. And then, even if those with whom we celebrated the feast and shared a meal are not very churchy, or maybe even barely believers, all the same, we probably will be able to share with them the light, and warmth, and joy filling our hearts, at least to some degree. And at the same time, we will be able to preserve ourselves from some excessive dispersion and distraction which can accompany the festal meal, and which can destroy that tiny bit that was built up in us during the fast.
How is this sharing of joy with others expressed? Precisely our inner content will tell us how our communication with others should be framed. The analogy is very simple: We all well know how difficult it can be with people inwardly ravaged or downcast with some bitterness and regret about how they have led their lives, and, conversely, how easy and joyful it is with those people who are full of light and warmth. If we become such by Bright Week, then the question will not arise within us of how to share our condition, or how to manifest and show it. It will simply flow out of us.
Is it worth it to start up a conversation with others about the feast of Pascha itself? Words are, after all, an instrument, and, as any other instrument, must be used as intended. After all, we’re not going to try to prepare food with a hammer, or a nail to blend with a food processor. Thus, words should not be used lightly. If we want to talk with people about Christ and about faith, then, of course, we must choose the time and circumstances for such a conversation, and the concrete words in which to vest our thoughts. In saying a word on Christ to those who are not ready, we thereby devalue it.
TO VISIT THOSE WHO UNDERSTAND?
Would it be correct if your family does not want to celebrate Pascha, for example, to spend the day not with them, but with churched people—perhaps with parishioners from your church? There is no single prescription for all situations. To leave your family and separate yourselves from them, especially on religious grounds, I think, is not worth it. Because if one person in the family goes to church, but another or two or three don’t go, as a rule, they will feel like the believing member of the family segregates himself from them and lives his own life—and it’s not necessary to aggravate this feeling in any situation. On the contrary, we should constantly try to curtail and heal any divisions that arise. If we can give something spiritual, we will give it, and if not, then why should we deprive our loved ones of participating in some material joys? Yes, right now they cannot understand Who Christ is and what the Resurrection of Christ is, but a covered table and the smiling face of a loved one they can understand. And I think it is quite possible to share this with them, and necessary. It is the most important thing.
You will go to church and meet with those who understand you at the services or at some activity in the life of the parish, but it seems to me that looking to spend festal days outside of home too is a kind of escape—it’s totally wrong. Family, in the end, is your sphere of responsibility. You give answer for these people, because you have already come to God, and, at least in this sense, you are older than them. Therefore, answer for this and be with them.
TIME FOR GOOD FOR GOOD WORKS
It is totally natural to share your joy, both material and, if possible, spiritual, in the Paschal season, with those who are lacking something essential in their lives and in need of attention and engagement. But there are many more of them than we can reach. Therefore, for example, the recipients of our charitable deeds at Sts. Peter and Paul Church, where I am the rector, are those social institutions that we’ve already developed some kind of relationship with, or those who happen to be within sight.
Of great help in this is the aid provided us by the “Julienne” food chain famous in Saratov: for a number of years already before Pascha they donate quite a large number of kulichi of their own making. And thanks to this we have the chance to give them out in a few Saratov hospitals, including the children’s ward of the hematology clinic, the psychiatry clinic at Altynai Mountain, and the Center for social and labor rehabilitation for people without a specific residence or occupation. For us, this opportunity is truly joyful.
But just to spend time distributing kulichi and some gifts is not enough, and therefore, when possible, we send a special missionary group of volunteers and choir members to these wards, to talk about the feast and gladden the ear and heart of those they’re visiting. This is just the most basic way to share your Paschal joy. The exact means of Paschal greetings depends, as a rule, on the abilities of whoever is doing it. In one church they put together some theatrical productions, and in another a concert, and in another they make handicrafts.
If they don’t have such activities at some parish for this or that reason, but one of the parishioners has the desire and concrete ideas, then, of course, you can speak with the rector and come forward with such an initiative. After all, the priest is so immersed in the daily cares and needs of the parish, the burden of which he has no one to share with sometimes, that many good ideas and desires that come to his mind go unrealized—again, there’s simply no one to implement them. If people appear, ready to do something, then the ideas and the strength to implement then will appear too.
Of course, it’s necessary to form a circle of people to take up such tasks, but sometimes the rector of the church turns to his parishioners, and none of them have the desire to help, or, conversely, the people respond, but when it comes down to it, the priest has to do everything himself.
Unfortunately, today, all such charitable acts from us are quite defective. If we had the necessary material and organizational-technical base, as the Catholic church has, for example, we could develop whole programs and implement them systematically. But our possibilities are quite modest, and we can act only to the extent of our capabilities. If there wasn’t such a limited number of people in Saratov like the head of “Julienne,” but dozens and hundreds, then, undoubtedly, we would be able to cover a much larger number of elderly, and children, and sick. After all, there’s plenty of wealthy people in Saratov, but very few willing to take part in something, unfortunately. Experience shows that out of a hundred people who our volunteers turn to for help, one or two respond. And this is probably one of Saratov’s main problems. Our other problems—roads, and some kind of domestic disorder—pale in comparison with indifference.
You don’t even have to call those who want to help. People offer help on their own, and not only just before Pascha, but on the eve of other feasts too.
Really, anyone can become a volunteer independently. If you see, for example, a lonely grandma or grandpa living near you, or someone who for other reasons has little joy in his life, then go see them and greet them with the joy of Pascha—it’s a very good thing to do. Yes, some will be glad and thankful, some will not open the door, and some might even cook something for you—it’s impossible to predict. And don’t forget, if you’re going to share your joy, and you’re treated with suspicion or your attempts are not accepted, don’t immediately lose this joy. And never, in any situation, allow any kind of conflict, so this good deed does not become a bad one.

1 week ago | [YT] | 650

St Elisabeth Convent. Orthodox Life And Chants

HOMILY ON THOMAS SUNDAY
by St. Alexei Mechev
After the forty days of Great Lent we enter into a new forty-day period, but of an absolutely different nature. Then we mourned over our sins and confessed our weaknesses, humbling ourselves with fasting and abstinence. In everything we were as ones guilty, begging for mercy and the remission of sins.
The new forty-day period, beginning with the radiant Resurrection of Jesus Christ, has put us in this new bright state of a Christian freed from condemnation, resurrected for the new holy life, and confident in the everlasting blessedness granted to him in eternity.
There we saw a model for us in our Lord: How, entering into the work of saving the human race, He spent forty days in the strictest fasting, in solitary prayer, and in the struggle against the invisible enemy.
Here we see the same Lord appearing to His disciples for forty days, but we see Him glorified, victorious, and triumphant over all enemies. These repeated appearances of the Lord to His disciples after His Resurrection are so comforting to us. All of them testify to the Lord’s very great love for those who believe in Him.
Here is the first assurance of the Lord’s favor to Christians: Once arisen, He appeared only to His own, only to His closest disciples, only to those who believed in Him. It would seem: Why would the Lord not appear again in Jerusalem before His cunning enemies—the high priests, the scribes and Pharisees? What confusion, shame and defeat He would have brought them before the people, before those whom they had taught to be against the Lord!
This is how we think, brethren, because of our vanity and lust for power. We love to see our enemies put to shame; we boast of our victory over our adversaries. We are the ones who take pleasure in trampling beneath our feet those who meant to do us evil.
But our Lord is full of love. He spares His enemies, allows them to realize their guilt and crime, and come to Him of their own free will.
Would it have been any use if He had appeared in glory to His foes? For a moment they would probably have been astounded; but then what?
If the Lord's disciples did not meet Him with faith right away, but out of joy took Him as a dream, a ghost, an apparition of a spirit, then all the more His adversaries, blinded by passions and malice, would have met Him with doubt, unbelief and a new surge of anger and hatred.
And even if they were converted, would it have been for long?
We see among ourselves that even thinking people do not want to recognize the obvious truth, but stubbornly reject it out of pride and the desire to glorify themselves.
No, the Lord appeared to those who although stricken with sorrow for His death and having apparently lost faith in His Resurrection, in one minute when He was among them, when He was still sitting with them, said His wonderful words familiar to them, even ate and drank with them and showed them His wounds—in one minute this sadness, this doubt was transformed into joy, into surety, and into such affection, that for His sake they were ready to go to the square, endure suffering and accept a painful death. And look how varied the Lord’s appearances were! He first appeared to the myrrh-bearing women to reward them for the courage with which they had been with Him till His last breath; then He appeared to Peter, who had renounced Him three times, to encourage him and return to him the rank of apostle; then He appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, so that two witnesses could better reassure the apostles; and finally, when all the apostles were prepared, were in tremulous expectation and already languishing with impatience, He stood among them to bless them for the great work that awaited them after His Ascension. He appeared to all believers to assure them of His Divinity.
The Lord showed a new assurance of love for Christians, demonstrating by His appearances His care for all the needs of His disciples. The Lord appeared both to all the disciples, and to one or two separately. This means that the Lord cares about both the whole Church and every individual believer.
The Lord did not appear once or twice, but many times. This means that in whatever state and circumstances we may be, He is always with us. By His appearances the Lord always brought some joy, help or consolation. Mary Magdalene stands at the Lord’s tomb weeping, and He suddenly appears behind her to console the grieving woman. Two disciples are going to Emmaus, bewildered and pouring out their spiritual sorrows and broken hopes, and the Lord appears to them to dispel their doubts. Now the apostles have locked their doors, while Thomas refuses to believe until he touches Christ’s wounds. And the Lord satisfies them all.
Isn’t this comforting for us Christians too? Christ promised to be with us forever. Why then should we be afraid?

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 1,217

St Elisabeth Convent. Orthodox Life And Chants

RADONITSA 🙏 A Day of Paschal Joy for the Departed
On the Tuesday following Thomas Sunday (the second week after Pascha), the Orthodox Church celebrates Radonitsa — a day set apart for the commemoration of the departed.
Unlike the sorrowful memorial services held during Great Lent, Radonitsa is filled with the joy of the Resurrection. The hymns of this day proclaim that death has been conquered, and even those who have fallen asleep share in the victory of Christ.
WHY IS THIS DAY DIFFERENT?
On Radonitsa, we bring the Paschal greeting to our departed loved ones: "Christ is Risen!" We visit their graves not with mourning, but with hope — because the same Lord who rose from the dead will also raise all who have died in faith.
The name "Radonitsa" comes from the Slavic word radost — meaning joy. This is not a day of weeping, but of joyful intercession. We pray for the departed because we believe that they are alive in Christ, and that our prayers unite us across the boundary of death.

📝 Prayer Requests for Radonitsa
If you have loved ones who have fallen asleep in the Lord, we invite you to send us their names. The sisters of St. Elisabeth Convent will remember them at the Divine Liturgy on Radonitsa, lifting them up before the Risen Christ.
You may also submit names for the living — those who are ill, struggling, or in need of prayer.

➤ Submit your prayer requests here
👉 obitel-minsk.org/prayer-request-youtube

(Donations are appreciated but never required.)

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 298

St Elisabeth Convent. Orthodox Life And Chants

THE TRUE TEMPLE
A Homily for Bright Friday
by Archpriest Alexander Shargunov

***
After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days. And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said (Jn. 2:12-22).
***
We remember these events at the beginning of the Lord’s ministry and on the eve of His passion on the Cross. Christ became angry and admonished the Temple merchants with the help of a whip. He wants us to learn to have such deep reverence for our stone churches as for the Church made of living stones, which is the mystical Body of Christ. The indignation of the Lord is nowhere else manifested with such force. There are among us those “preachers of love” who say that no anger is acceptable in the Church, and they are even offended by the Lord’s actions. But Christ, we see, overturns the tables, scatters the coins, and drives the merchants out of the Temple together with their livestock, as an impurity. “Where are you, you mercantile souls? This is not a market, not a house of trade!”
Why does the Lord show such zeal for the Temple? Is it really to protect its beauty? This Temple, just rebuilt by Herod, was large and magnificent. 600 priests and 300 Levites participated in the services during the high holidays. In the center of the square, amongst many courtyards, one of which was accessible to Gentiles, was found the sanctuary. It consisted of two rooms: the Holy Place, where only priests could go, and where were the incense offerings, the golden seven-branched candlestick, and a table for the showbread, and further, divided by a double veil, was the Holy of Holies. In the first Temple, built by Solomon, the Ark of the Covenant was kept here, with the tablets of the Law, delivered by God to Moses. The Ark disappeared with the destruction of the Temple in 587 BC, but the Holy of Holies remained the sacred place of the presence of God. Only the high priest had the right to enter there once a year—on the feast prophesying of atonement. This is why the Lord becomes angry! The ringing of money in the Temple, near the Holy of Holies, was an affront to the greatness of God. Christ tell us not to fear to assert our right to protect the sacred objects of the Church. “Here you must imitate Me,” He as if addresses us. “A church is My Father’s house, and I will not allow anyone to turn it into a den of thieves.”
How many strokes of the Lord’s whip would be proper for those who ravaged and desecrated our churches, turning them into clubs, cafes, storage centers, public toilets—into houses of their trades?! Truly they have received blows from the Lord in full measure. How full a measure they and those who today publicly mock our sacred objects will receive.
The Lord reminds us how dangerous is every impiety. From it is gradually created an atmosphere of wickedness—such that, according to Scripture, “the man of lawlessness” will be able to sit in the Temple, representing himself as God. The Lord permitted there to be the cleansing firestorm of 1917, destroying our churches, to give us time for repentance. But how little we learned! If only every one of us could say, following the Lord, the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up (Ps. 69:9).
Where there is no reverence for churches, there can be no true relationship with the Church of God. But the Temple, of which the Jews were so proud, is only a stone temple, and what’s more—built by a pagan desiring to entice this haughty people. “Destroy it,” says the Lord (and this will happen under Emperor Titus in the year 70 AD). “Its value is relative, for the genuine temple is that which I will raise up on the third day.” Even the disciples didn’t understand the Lord’s words then, because He spoke of His Body, which was to rise again on the third day.
The Lord says that the true temple, worthy of unending reverence, is the humanity of Christ, which became the ark of His Divinity. The Word became flesh, and His body is the true Holy of Holies of the Temple. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily (Col. 2:9). The Body of Christ, which we receive in the Eucharist and which is present in the tabernacles on the altars of our churches, should fill us with the fear of God and unending awe. And conversely, any irreverence or simply indifference in the face of this great mystery should evoke a holy anger in the heart of a Christian, incomparably more righteous than against the wickedness in the Jerusalem Temple.
The new temple, worthy of veneration, is not just the human nature of Christ, but the whole people of God, grafted onto Him and nourished by the Divine life radiating from Him to every member of His mystical Body. The whole Church, the Body of Christ is the new temple, of which churches of stone are but a pale image. It is composed of all baptized people seeking life according to the will of God. Despite the imperfections, sins, and infirmities of its children, the Church—the abiding of God among men—is the sign of His presence in the world. It was not created by holy men, but was created to make men holy, because its Creator is God, Who became one of us through the Most Pure Virgin.
On the feast of the Lord’s Pascha, rejoicing in that miracle that the Church performs in the world, let us take care for our inner purification, to be her children in truth. Throughout all of Bright Week we hear, “As many as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ.”1 Every Christian is a temple of God. The body of every baptized child is a receptacle of the presence of Christ. Christ is born in every newly-baptized babe. With what reverence should our children, and we with them, ascend to God, bearing in our bodies the living presence of the resurrected Christ, received in Baptism. The day is coming when our bodies, these temples of the Holy Spirit, will return to the earth. The time is coming when the earthly Church, with its priesthood and sacraments, will cease to exist, having fulfilled its mission. There will be no more Divine Eucharist. Our world will be destroyed, and all the marvelous churches will become nothing. But in the heavenly and eternal city there will remain but one temple, which is God Himself. We will be lead into it as children of God, and our lives will be unending communion of the joy of the Resurrected Christ.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 494

St Elisabeth Convent. Orthodox Life And Chants

BRIGHT WEEK: A MEETING WITH ETERNITY
by Vladimir Basenkov
No man hath seen God at any time (Jn. 1:18). How can we see Paradise then? Indeed, our problem is that spiritually we are like blind and deaf people, who suffer from two severe disabilities at the same time. But no one has taken away from us the ability to feel. A blind person cannot see someone else, and a deaf person cannot hear the words he utters. But both will clearly feel the touch of their neighbor. Likewise, without seeing or hearing God in the literal sense, we can clearly feel His touch. At Pascha He stands so close to us that it is impossible not to notice His presence.
When we feel good, or, on the contrary, not very good in someone's company, we are used to comparing our feelings with the atmosphere: whether it is pleasant or oppressive. It seems no one touches us physically, but our spiritual essence seems to have been stroked or bothered. The Paschal atmosphere is a feeling of grace flowing in the air. The grace that came after the law of Moses, about which St. John the Theologian writes. The season of Great Lent, in a sense, was for us the time of the fulfillment of the law and certain prescriptions. And on Paschal night—or even earlier, already on Holy Saturday—we felt an incredible surge of a whole palette of feelings that we can’t even find proper words to describe them right away, but they are so vividly experienced by the soul that it’s impossible to doubt them.
We are unable to see or hear the other spiritual realm in which God dwells and which we are accustomed to calling the Kingdom of Heaven. But we can feel the breath of the wind of eternity, expressed in the grace-filled spirit of the Paschal days. Do you know the joy of the feast, which suddenly seems to cover all the problems that disturbed your heart? At Pascha God gives us an amazing opportunity to experience the atmosphere of the Heavenly Kingdom. After all, by and large, we seek happiness in life as a state, and not the possession of some external objects. Being self-deluded, we seek to acquire these only for the sake of obtaining some satisfaction, which we mistakenly take for happiness. And on Bright Week we receive from the Lord a clear description of the atmosphere in which we will be in the place that mankind calls Paradise. True, sometimes we understand this word as something diametrically opposite.

We should use these holy days to reassess our personal priorities. This is the Kingdom in which Christians are called to live. After all, we want to live with this Paschal joy in our hearts so that it would not go anywhere and would not be overshadowed by anything, don’t we? Well, this is why faith was given to us, so that through it we would draw near to God, to true happiness—not for a short period, as happens here on earth—but forever. It is not without reason that many say that Bright Week is a week which is like one day. Because this day belongs to eternity. The Day of the Lord, which opens the door to the Heavenly Kingdom for us, a light breeze of light, joy, peace, hope and love which each one of us can clearly feel in our hearts. This is what you really want to live for.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 701