The Holy Great Martyr Barbara lived and suffered during the reign of the emperor Maximian (305-311). Her father, Dioskoros, was a rich pagan, a prominent citizen in Ilioupolis in Syria. After the death of his wife, he devoted himself to the upbringing of his only daughter. Dioskoros seems to have been a dedicated pagan and he built a tower for [...] Read more

It is very, very difficult indeed for infinite and eternal life to make its way into the human soul—so narrow—and even into the narrower human body. Held behind bars, the inhabitants of this earth suspiciously stand their ground against anything coming from without. Cast into this prison of time and space they are unable—from atavism or perhaps [...] Read more

On November 30th, the Orthodox Church celebrates Saint Andrew the First Called Apostle of our Lord. Saint Andrew is the Patron Saint of Romania. Andrew the Apostle was one of Christ’s twelve disciples. He came from Bethsaida, a town located on the western bank of Lake Tiberias. He worked in the family business run by his father, Jonah, which was [...] Read more

It seems thousands of years removed from us, but it was not so very long ago that life was marked out by religious feasts. Although everyone went to church, not everyone, of course, knew the exact contents of each celebration. For many, perhaps even the majority, the feast was above all an opportunity to get a good sleep, eat well, drink and [...] Read more

Saint Paisius Velichkovsky was born in Poltava in Little Russia on December 21, 1722, and was the eleventh of twelve children. His father John was a priest, who named him Peter at his Baptism, in honor of Saint Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow, on whose Feast he was born. After the children’s father died, their mother Irene raised them in piety. [...] Read more

The rules of abstinence prescribed by the Church to follow during the Christmas Fast are similar to those prescribed during the Apostles’ Fast. It is clear that during the Fast we must abstain from meat and dairy products. Besides that, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays of the Nativity Fast consumption of fish, oil and wine is prohibited. On the [...] Read more

Saint Nectarios of Aegina (1 October 1846 – 8 November 1920), Greek: Άγιος Νεκτάριος Αιγίνης, Metropolitan of Pentapolis and Wonderworker of Aegina, was officially recognized as a Saint by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1961. His Feast Day is celebrated every year on 9 November. Anastasios Kephalas, later Nectarios, was born on 1 [...] Read more

This glorious and wonderworking saint was born in Thessalonica of noble and devout parents. Implored of God by childless parents, Demetrius was their only son, and so was raised and educated with great care. Demetrius’s father was a commander in Thessalonica. When his father died, Emperor Maximian appointed Demetrius as commander in his place. As [...] Read more

October 14 Our venerable Mother Paraskeva the New lived as a monastic in the 11th century. She is beloved in Romania as Parascheva and in Serbia and Macedonia as Petka. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition there are three different saints known as St. Parascheva. The first one was born in Rome, in the 2nd century, and is considered a healer and a [...] Read more

Tuesday, October 02, 2018 CLEVELAND, OH – The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America convened its ninth annual meeting today in Cleveland, Ohio. The day began with a celebration of the Divine Liturgy at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Parma, Ohio. His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Geron of America, Chairman [...] Read more