Orthodox and church holidays and fasts
Today is an Orthodox church holiday: * Great Martyr Euphemia the All-Praised (memory of the miracle by which Orthodoxy was established, 451). * Equal to the Apostles Grand Duchess Olga of Russia, in holy baptism Helena (969) and other saints whose names we remember on this day... Tomorrow:
* Martyrs Proclus and Hilary (c. 98-117).
* St. Michael Malein (962) and other saints whose names we remember on this day... Holidays are expected: 07/26/2021
- * Cathedral of the Archangel Gabriel.
* St. Stephen Savvait (794) and other saints whose names we remember on this day... 07.27.2021
- * Apostle Aquila of the 70 (I) and other saints whose names we remember on this day...
07.28.2021
- * Martyrs of Kirik and Julitta, his mother (c. 305). *** Equal to the Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, in holy baptism Vasily, Baptist of Rus' (1015) and other saints whose names we remember on this day...
All Orthodox and church holidays and fasts...
Orthodox Saints of God
The holy saints of God show special love and mercy to those who honor their holy memory.
It seems to many that the saints are far from us. But they are far from those who have withdrawn themselves, and very close to those who keep the commandments of Christ and have the grace of the Holy Spirit.
The holy saints in their earthly life turned to God for help in healing their ailments, sorrows and deliverance from temptations, asking God that even after death He would honor them with the gift of helping people in various cases of life.
The saints have reached the Heavenly Kingdom and there they see the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ; but by the Holy Spirit they also see the suffering of people on earth. Many holy saints of God received special grace from God, and He deigned them to be intercessors before Him for deliverance from our sorrows and bodily ailments, in which they themselves were tempted.
The saints rejoice at our repentance and mourn when people leave God and become like foolish cattle. They feel sorry that people live on earth, not knowing that if they loved each other, then there would be freedom from sin on earth: and where there is no sin, there is joy and gladness from the Holy Spirit, so that, wherever you look, everything sweet, and the soul wonders why it feels so good, and praises God. The saints hear our prayers and have the power from God to help us. The entire Christian race knows about this. We must remember: in order for a prayer to be heard, one should pray to the holy saints of God with faith in the power of their intercession before God, in words coming from the heart.
In our prayers we turn to the Lord God, to His Most Pure Mother - our Intercessor and Helper, to the holy Angels and holy people - the saints of God, because for their sake the Lord God is more likely to hear us sinners, our prayers. The Saints have different names: prophets, apostles, martyrs, saints, saints, unmercenaries, blessed, righteous, confessors. more>>
The Lord says: “When you light a candle, you do not put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it gives light to everyone in the house. So let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:15-16). Saints are bright stars that show us the way to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Let us treasure the closeness of the holy saints of God to God and turn to them for help, remembering that they love us and care about our salvation. It is good to pray to the holy saints of God on those days when the Church celebrates their memory.
«Holy Saints of God, pray to God for us!»
Saints: life, memory, suffering...
History and origin of the saints
One of the oldest monasteries, Optina Pustyn, appeared in ancient times far from any habitation near the border with Poland, on the Zhizdra River. Father Abraham is considered the founder and architect of the monastery. In the 19th century, the Optina elders were engaged in activities that included caring for the poor, orphans, and receiving pilgrims. The monks of Optina Pustyn were distinguished from others by the introduction of eldership in the monastery. Thanks to this, the welfare and structure of the monastery were strengthened.
Of the last elders canonized, they note:
- Hieroschemamonk Leo;
- Hieroschemamonk Macarius;
- Schema-Archimandrite Moses;
- Hieroschemamonk Ambrose;
- Hieroschemamonk Joseph;
- Schema-Archimandrite Barsanuphius;
- Hieromonk Anatoly;
- Hieromonk Nektarios.
Since 1839, in the desert they have been publishing spiritual books in Slavic and Russian translation. Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy and Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky received creative impulse from the Optina elders. Elder Ambrose extended his influence to people seeking to find meaning and hope in life, despite the changes in the consciousness of the Russian people.
Pilgrims are drawn to the Optina Hermitage to find peace of mind and be cleansed of sins. That is why there is such a high interest in the teachings of the holy elders.
Orthodox prayers and icons of the Mother of God and saints
The word “icon” comes from the Greek language and means “image”, “image”. The image of the icon is consecrated with holy water and special prayers, through this consecration the grace of the Holy Spirit is imparted to the icon, and the icon is already revered by us as holy. According to the Orthodox dogma of icon veneration, approved by the VII Ecumenical Council, “the honor given to an icon relates to its prototype, and the one who worships the icon worships the hypostasis of the person depicted on it.” The Council especially emphasizes that we give veneration to icons, and not the worship that is due to God alone. “The icon mysteriously contains within itself the presence of the one whom it depicts, and this presence is the closer, more grace-filled and stronger, the more the icon corresponds to the church canon.”
All Icons of the Mother of God and Saints
Prayer in the Christian life. What is prayer? About prayer
Prayer is the most important part of the spiritual life of every believer. Through prayer, a person turns to God, asks him and asks for forgiveness from him. In other words, prayer is nothing more than a person’s way of talking with God. About prayer...
The basis of the life of an Orthodox Christian is fasting and prayer. Prayer, said Saint Philaret of Moscow, “is a conversation between the soul and God.” And just as in a conversation it is impossible to listen to one side all the time, so in prayer it is useful to sometimes stop and listen to the Lord’s answer to our prayer.
Prayer does not require a specific time, place, circumstance or form. It can be verbose - long, and laconic - short. The prayer can be said at any time of the day or night, and anywhere. A person can pray under all circumstances of his life: when he is sick or healthy, when he is happy or sad, when he succeeds or fails, when he is in the company of his enemies or in the circle of his friends, when he is abandoned by everyone, or when he in the midst of your beloved family. But God’s temple serves as a special place of prayer. On Sundays, as well as on weekdays, if time permits, we should go to church to pray, where our brothers and sisters in Christ - Christians - gather to pray together, all together. This kind of prayer is called church prayer.
Every Orthodox Christian must pray daily, morning and evening, before and after eating food, before starting and at the end of any task (for example: before teaching and after teaching, etc.).
In the morning we pray to thank God for preserving us last night, to ask for His Fatherly blessing and help for the day that has begun.
In the evening, before going to bed, we also thank the Lord for a successful day and ask him to keep us during the night.
Before and after meals we pray to thank God for His gifts and ask Him to bless and sanctify the food.
In order for the work to be done successfully and safely, we must also, first of all, ask God for blessings and help for the upcoming work, and upon completion, thank God.
Unfortunately, many people forget about the necessity and importance of prayer, and resort to it only in cases of feeling hopeless. However, even in these cases, as practice shows, God does not forget about the person and gives him his love and support. But not a single prayer will bring anything good to a person if he simply reads it without thinking about what is said. Therefore, it is extremely important, when turning to the Creator in prayer, to truly feel every word.
God is the best of interlocutors; he will always hear a person and help him. You should not be embarrassed to talk to God even about the most secret things that are in your soul. The main thing is to do it with true faith in God.
“True prayer does not consist in words and saying them, but true prayer consists “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). When we pray to God, we must stand before Him not only in body, but also in spirit; and say prayer not only with your lips, but also with your mind and heart; and not only bow our heads and knees, but also our hearts before Him; and raise our intelligent eyes to Him with humility. For all prayer must come from the heart; and what the tongue says, the mind and heart must say.” Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.
And no matter what happens during the day, everything happens according to the will of God; all, without exception, are circumstances in which the Lord wished to place you, so that you could be His presence, His love, His compassion. His creative mind, His courage... And, besides, whenever you encounter this or that situation, you are the one whom God put there to carry out the ministry of a Christian, to be a part of the Body of Christ and the action of God. If you do this, you will easily see that sometimes you will have to turn to God and say: “Lord, enlighten my mind, strengthen and direct my will, give me a fiery heart, help me!” At other times you will be able to say, “Oh my God, thank you!”
In the Christian catechism, that is, in the instruction on the Christian faith, it is said about prayer this way: “Prayer is the offering of the mind and heart to God and is a person’s reverent word to God.” Prayer has extraordinary power. “Prayer not only defeats the laws of nature, not only is it an insurmountable shield against visible and invisible enemies, but it even holds back the hand of the Almighty God Himself, raised to defeat sinners,” writes Saint Demetrius of Rostov.
In the New Testament, prayer is a living connection between the children of God and their infinitely good Father, with His Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit. The grace of the Kingdom is “the unity of the entire Holy Trinity with the entire spirit.” Thus, prayer life is a constant and natural presence in the presence of the Trisagion of God and in communion with Him. Such vital communion is always possible because through baptism our being has become one with Christ. Prayer is Christian because it is communion with Christ and grows in the Church, which is His Body. Its dimensions are the dimensions of Christ's love.
“Prayer is not telling God our needs. Prayer is the condition under which Divine power can contact our spirit and act in us. God is omniscient and knows us better than we know ourselves.” Archimandrite Rafail (Karelin) (XX century).
Cathedral of the Venerable Optina Elders
The Kozelskaya Vvedenskaya Optina Hermitage was founded in the 14th century, according to legend, by the repentant ataman of the robbers Opta, in schema Macarius. She became famous in the 19th century. as the most important spiritual center of Orthodox Russia - a whole host of elders-hieroschemamonks, among them Leo († 1841), Macarius († 1860), Moses († 1862), Anthony († 1865), Hilarion († 1873), Ambrose († 1891) , Anatoly († 1894), Isaac I († 1894), Joseph († 1911), Barsanuphius († 1913), Anatoly the Younger († 1922), Nektary († 1928), Nikon Spanish. († 1931) and Isaac Sschmch. († 1936).
They are famous for various spiritual exploits. Some through abstinence and fasting, others through humility and mercy, others through prophetic gifts and healings. But all of them were united by a great fatherly love for their people, which healed souls and directed them to repentance and revival. They provided their gracious help to many Russian people, performing prophetic service for all layers of the Russian people - from peasants to the highest nobility. The powerful flow of people to the Optina ascetics did not dry up, into which famous writers and philosophers poured in - N.V. Gogol, I.V. Kireevsky, F.M. Dostoevsky, K.N. Leontyev, V.S. Soloviev et al.
Let us note that the elder ministry flourished in Optina on the basis laid by St. Paisiy Velichkovsky, who labored on Mount Athos and then in Moldova. In addition, the translation and publishing activities he had begun continued in Optina Pustyn.
It is clear that Optina Pustyn, which attracted masses of people, was one of the first to be closed after the revolution (by decree of the Council of People's Commissars of January 23, 1918); the final abolition and eviction of monks began with the closure of the Kazan Cathedral on August 6, 1923. Little has survived to our day. days from its former greatness...
But the monastery was also among the first to be returned to the Russian Orthodox Church - on November 17, 1987. Since then, the Optina elders have been glorified. And in heaven they pray to God for the salvation of the Russian people with the same spiritual strength with which they served them during earthly life.
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Below are several teachings of the Optina fathers in response to letters received from all over the country.
“I once told Father,” writes the spiritual daughter of St. Ambrose , - about one family, that I feel very sorry for all of them - they do not believe in anything, neither in God, nor in the future life; It’s a pity precisely because they, perhaps, are not to blame for this themselves - they were brought up in such unbelief, or there were other reasons. “Father shook his head and said angrily: “There is no excuse for atheists. After all, the Gospel is preached to everyone, absolutely everyone, even to the pagans; finally, by nature, we are all from birth endowed with the feeling of knowing God; therefore, it is their own fault. You ask whether it is possible to pray for such people. Of course, you can pray for everyone "...".
St. Elder Macarius of Optina instructed:
“All Orthodox Christians are obliged to live according to the commandments of Christ, and nothing can justify them before God for failure to fulfill them... The commandments are given to us from God in order to heal with them our passions and the sins that arise from them... The love of God consists in fulfilling the commandments of God, and not in , what do you think - in the admiration of the mind...
Spiritual alms are greater than material ones: whoever does not give to his neighbor while using it himself is stingy and not merciful...
About church prayer, know that it is higher than your home prayer: for it ascends from a whole council of people, among whom, perhaps, there are many of the purest prayers, from humble hearts offered to God, which He accepts, like a fragrant censer, with which yours , although weak and insignificant, are accepted...”
And about the fate of Russia, Rev. Anatoly (Potapov) Optinsky foresaw in February 1917, on the eve of the revolution: “There will be a storm, and the Russian ship will be broken. Yes, it will happen, but people also save themselves on chips and debris.” Further, “a miracle of God will be revealed, yes. And all the chips and fragments, by the will of God and His power, will gather and unite, and the ship will be recreated in its beauty and will go its way, intended by God. So it will be, a miracle obvious to everyone.”
Holy Fathers on Prayer
“Prayer is a great weapon, an unfailing treasure, wealth that never runs out, a serene haven, a foundation of peace; prayer is the root, source and mother of countless blessings and is more powerful than royal power.” St. John Chrysostom.
“Prayer in its rank is higher than alms.” St. Isaac the Syrian.
“Prayer is the emergence in our hearts of one after another reverent feelings towards God.” St. Feofan, the Recluse of Vyshensky.
“During prayer, let our speech and supplication be combined with decorum, calmness and modesty. Let us think about the fact that we stand before the face of God and that we must please the eyes of God both by the position of the body and the sound of the voice.” Sschmch. Cyprian of Carthage.
“You must abstain from marital affairs in order to engage in prayer; to abstain from worries about wealth, from the desire for earthly glory, from the enjoyment of pleasures, from envy and every evil deed against our neighbor, so that when our soul is in silence and not disturbed by any passion, in it, as in a mirror, God’s purity and uncloudedness will be insight." St. Basil the Great.
“When starting a prayer, leave yourself, your wife, your children, part with the earth, pass through heaven, leave every creature visible and invisible, and begin by praising Him who created everything, and when you praise Him, do not wander your mind here and there, do not talk about fabulous things. pagan, but choose words from the Holy Scriptures.” St. Basil the Great.
“Every place and every time is convenient for us to pray.” St. John Chrysostom.
Orthodox prayers to the holy saints. Holy saints of God.
Orthodox prayers for those in need for various needs and infirmities.
Prayer of the Optina Elders for every day read the text
Prayer of the last Optina elders
- Lord, let me meet with peace of mind everything that the coming day will bring me.
- Let me completely surrender to Your Holy will.
- For every hour of this day, instruct and support me in everything.
- Whatever news I receive during the day, teach me to accept it with a calm soul and a firm conviction that everything is Your Holy will.
- In all my words and deeds, guide my thoughts and feelings.
- In all unforeseen cases, do not let me forget that everything was sent down by You.
- Teach me to act directly and wisely with each member of my family, without confusing or upsetting anyone.
- Lord, give me strength to endure the fatigue of the coming day and all the events during the day.
- Guide my will and teach me to pray, believe, hope, endure, forgive and love.
- Amen.
What a Christian Should Remember
There are words of Holy Scripture and prayers that it is advisable to know by heart.
1. The Lord's Prayer “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4). 2. The main commandments of the Old Testament (Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18). 3. The main gospel commandments (Matt. 5, 3-12; Matt. 5, 21-48; Matt. 6, 1; Matt. 6, 3; Matt. 6, 6; Matt. 6, 14-21; Matt. 6, 24-25; Matthew 7, 1-5; Matthew 23, 8-12; John 13, 34). 4.Symbol of Faith. 5. Morning prayers and evening prayers according to a short prayer book. 6. The number and meaning of the sacraments.
The sacraments must not be mixed with rituals. A ritual is any outward sign of reverence that expresses our faith. A sacrament is a sacred act during which the Church calls on the Holy Spirit, and His grace descends on the believers. There are seven such sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Communion (Eucharist), Repentance (Confession), Marriage (Wedding), Blessing of Anointing (Unction), Priesthood (Ordination) ...
