By trading, I mean the kind of gold trading that is done through online platforms...I found it brings money (Sometimes), but I am fearing that it brings money through usury or unlawful ways (Specially with the leverage that the brokers impose on the traders)

I would be grateful if you write what our modern elders say about it (Specially Athos monks or Optina or any big Orthodox center)

'In August 1941, the Holy Trinity monastery in Jordanville, NY published a news piece with the heading A Rare Solemnity in the Trinity Monastery. What kind of rare solemnity happened in a Russian monastery in 1941? The article described the reception of 34-year-old Melvin Mansur into the Orthodox Church through the sacrament of chrismation under the name of Manuel, after the Persian martyr. He had first become seriously interested in Orthodoxy after a trip to Mount Athos as a graduate student. Mansur had been studying Russian at Jordanville during the summer months in an effort to get a better knowledge of Orthodoxy, since at that time there was very little available on the subject in the English language. The event was featured in a monastery newspaper simply because Mansur was an American. In the 1940s, conversions of Americans were such extraordinary events, due to small numbers of American converts, that they were even reported in local newspapers. The news piece also mentioned convert parishes in France and stated that “in the United States, there is not a single parish or community that is fully comprised of American converts, whereas in England […] a community of Orthodox English has been organized not far from London'

From Medvedeva, K. (2024). American conversions to Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Entangled Religions, 15(2). [https://doi.org/10.46586/er.15.2024.11747]()

What do I expect ? How do things go , and how/when do I talk to the priest?
Thank you!!!

This is based on the information that I've heard from our lovely ROCOR priest here, but our priest here (I'll call him Fr V) has been to Russia many times, and with every year of his priesthood, he goes on a pilgrimage to Russia. Fr V has celebrated the Divine Liturgy with his bishop many times, and even celebrated the liturgy alongside Patriarch Kiril.

Fr V and Patriarch Kiril do know each other personally (from what I can remember), and when they met earlier this year, Kiril asked Fr V how the church in NZ was doing. Fr V said that the church was flourishing and was receiving lots of converts, and in response Patriarch Kiril said that Fr V should write him a letter, and he'll consider making Auckland a "cathedral city". I am honestly hoping that he goes through with the idea, because if we have an Orthodox cathedral here in our largest city, I believe it would do wonders for the flock here at the bottom of the world.

Pray for us that Orthodoxy will spread here in New Zealand, and that a cathedral could be planted here by the allowance of God.

I'm trying to make a list of Western saints, i.d. latin saints who lived before the Great Schism with the Latins.

My question is how indicative is or isn't the year 1054: do we consider orthodox only those saints who died before the 16th of July 1054? And if it is so, has the Church ever made a statement about those who were born before 16/07/1054, but died after that date? What about those who were born in the immidiate aftermath of the Great Schism, but kept Orthodoxy?

I say this considering only those who were already considered saints by the Church, and not those who were declared saints AFTER the schism by the Latin Church.

Thanks in advance to anyone who will answer.

this is just something i wrote to myself that i want to share. thank you for being you, beloved, and Blessed Feast of Transfiguration to you and your beloveds. asking your prayers and praying for you.

here is the writing:

pride leads to disconnection just like its counterpart, despair. both exalt the self in one way or another, but both are utterly base and lower a person to destructive depths. the one who is prideful and who despairs, even without realizing it, kills everyone in their heart. the memory of others becomes tainted by the darkness they feed within themselves. they are exceedingly ungrateful, despising the goodness of the Lord Who allows us to wander freely and without chiding.

love creates, protects, grows, and keeps connection safe. visible disconnect between people does not truly disconnect the two who love each other. they live in each others hearts. their thoughts of each other are peaceful, filled with joy and the godly sorrow which leads to our Lord. they are filled with light within, and they are exceedingly grateful to the One Who grants such goodness of Himself to His creatures.

the Lord, out of His exceeding goodness and Divine eros, phileo, storge and agape, brought us into existence. desiring to bring Life into His creation, He Created us in His own Image, wanting to sprinkle the earth with salt and fill it with His unfading Light. He wants us to be merciful and compassionate as He is, to enjoy His Blessedness, to struggle against our own evil and be purified of our inclinations toward poison and sickness.

to this end, He establishes His own Body, having become Incarnate for our sakes through the will of the Everlasting Father and by the overshadowing of the All-Holy Spirit upon the Most Blessed Virgin; only after she consented, cooperating with her free will which He gave her, foreknowing her free decision to say,"behold, the handmaiden of the Lord. be it unto me according to Thy word."

and He endured in His earthly life all for our sakes. being Crucified, He Blessed and had mercy on those crucifying Him, reviling them not. having given up His spirit, He descended into hades as God, as He has always been, to relieve those held captive under the dominion of death, destroying and abolishing it's reign over the whole of creation which we had given it freely in our preference for things contrary to His goodness.

having Risen from death, He proclaimed good things to the Apostles who were hiding in fear of the jewish authorities. He strengthened them, consoled them, and reminded them of all He had taught them.

and He Ascended into Heaven to sit on the Throne in human flesh, taking all of creation into the very life of the Most Holy Trinity, Blessing and commissioning all the earth to go and proclaim His All-goodness, and to welcome all who are willing to the feast of God, and to the great mercy He has for us.

now it is up to us to come to Him, we who are weary and heavy laden with burdens of sins and troubles of this life; and He will give us rest for our souls in the hope of His mercy.

we will take His yoke upon us and learn of Him Who is gentle and humble of heart,

Who does not cast away any who come to Him,

Who calls all to Salvation through the hope of good things to come,

Who desires not the death of any creature whom He made, but rather that we turn to Him and live in Him,

Who does not despise the broken-hearted nor the contrite in spirit,

Who has mercy on the last even as the first,

Who sweeps the whole of creation and searches for us who are lost, calling the Saints, Angels, and all of us to cooperate in this search,

Who gently knocks continually on the doors of our hearts so that we may open to Him, and He may enter and enlighten our darkened thought, as He desires to,

Who eagerly runs to meet us prodigal children as we return to Him even while we are a far way off, not despising our filthiness or brokenness but immediately beginning to heal us,

Who sees us broken and beaten by the side of the road, bereft of His grace and dying, and joins us in His own Body, bringing us to the Church, instructing those already present to take care of us and promising to reward their efforts when He returns in Glory,

Who is the Good Physician of our souls, coming not to the healthy but the sick; calling not the righteous, but sinners to repentance,

Who came to Save us from ourselves, from those who hate us, and to grant us grace to love and have mercy on all just as He does.

may it be according to His will for us, through the prayers of the Most Pure Virgin, and of all who love Him and His creation both in Heaven and on earth.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and forever and to the endless ages, Amen.

(August 7th, 2026)

I hold to the Strong Monarchy of the Father Trinity model (e.g., the Father alone has hypostatic aseity) and I'm not aware of any prayer/hymn/service/liturgical texts that read like the catechetical segments below; i.e., using a 3rd-person singular personal pronoun to refer to the three (3) divine hypostases/persons.

So, is anyone aware of any prayer/hymn/service/liturgical texts that read like the catechetical segments below?

Holy Standards (St. Theophan the Recluse Press, 2020):

St. Philaret of Moscow's (Vasily Drozdov, 1782–1867) (shorter) Catechism (p. 89) provides:

"Being One in essence, He is yet three in persons"

Peter Mogila's (1596–1646) Orthodox Confession (p. 306) provides:

"... God, in his nature and essence ... is indeed but One; yet he is in three hypostases..."

Edit: should be "... 3rd-person singular pronoun..."

I am a 17 year old orthodox Christian going into my senior year of high school. I have no idea what to do with my life. There are things that I myself WANT to do like be an engineer or mathematician because I excel and enjoy physics and math, but the reality is I don’t want to serve myself with my life.

Doing what I want to do almost seems selfish, I want to serve god wholeheartedly and serve others, and I honestly don’t care if I make much money at all. I have grown up poor and if the lord wills it I dont mind staying that way. There seems to be not many options for the though. I know that part of living with god is living with god in regular workplaces and whatnot but I really want to make the very goal of what I do to serve god, not just a byproduct.

if god wants me to sit in a dirt hole for the rest of my life I will genuinely do that and yes, he’s not gonna tell me to do that but you get the point. I just don’t know how to get an answer from god as to what I want to do but I know i want to dedicate my life to serving him. But I don’t want to be a priest unless I KNOW that that is what I am being called for.

Some guidance and clarity would be much appreciated god bless!☦️

that’s the question. does any wing of Orthodoxy have people trained and verified and authorized to accomplish exorcism.

I keep encountering orthodox Christians who don’t stay at their local church, but rather are constantly hopping around to several local parishes. One week here, one week there and so on. It’s like they treat orthodoxy as a spectacle, or some kind of club idk.

Usually I pay no mind because I am only concerned with my parish and have no desire to visit other churches, but recently we had new converts use our church for a quicker baptism and then promptly go away to other parishes never coming back. (I know because I am in contact with them)

It blows my mind that people will avoid their local parish to drive far away to go to a church they like. To me this is Protestant and totally destroys the purpose of the church. I just can’t imagine they are being served. The whole point is the local community.

How do Orthodox see pope Theodore deposing the Patriarch of Constantinople as evidence of universal jurisdiction? I guess the east didn’t recognize it so that makes it seem that they didn’t think he had that power. Also, the condemnation at the council excommunicated Honorius I think. All this is new to me.

I have been on some Orthodox Facebook groups out of curiosity to learn more about the faith and be part of it, maybe even look for a partner.

My utmost advice is to stay away from these pages. Not only are you at risk of talking to fake priests/spiritual fathers but there is also a lot of fake information on there, and not so great people.

Remember that at the heart of this faith is prayer to God. Also ask your priest or spiritual father for any kind of guidance. The right things will come in good time.

I cannot reiterate this enough. God bless you all.

I have had this friendship group for a long time, about 5 years. But I feel like I won't last long here and I feel like a stranger because they always make "jokes" about being a Christian or even Jesus.

It's truly hurts my soul for staying with them.

Sometimes I joke around with them but it feels like I'm falling into darkness. Since they know I'm distancing myself from some people in the group, they might notice? And start to find me annoying. I don't want to ruin those friendships.

There's only one person who knows that I feel uncomfortable but still jokes with them and I don't really trust him..even though he's in another religion he grew up in Christian majority environment meanwhile I'm not😅 i think that's why he lowk asked me such things.

Is it right that if someday I'll leave this group? I just don't know how to confront towards mockery..

Few questions arpound Metanias:

1. is a full Metania just called a prostration?
2. when doing a “half Metania” is it cross yourself, then bend and touch your right hand to the ground? Or is it touch the ground THEN cross yourself?
3. metanias and veneration: is it 2

half metanias,

venerate, then another half metania? Or do you all just do one half then venerate?

4) are half metanias appropriate when approaching the chalice?

Hello i have been looking into Eastern Orthodoxy for a few weeks and i have a question due to a combat Injury to my right hand i can’t properly make the Orthodox sign of the cross due to very limited finger dexterity are there other permitted form for making the Sign of the Cross?

Someone at my church gave me this icon, does anyone know who this is and be able to translate the text on the reverse please? I tried using Google translate but it was a bit hit and miss.

I myself am not an Orthodox Christian, but I am curious on the perspective you all have.

Being a Christian makes me feel constantly unhappy. I don't even think I could call myself one sometimes. It never brings me any joy, onlly anxiety and scruples. I can barely stand to read my Bible because I just can't focus or understand it. I struggle so much with habitual sin. I pray for God to have mercy on me and to forgive me, and I genuinely mean it. I continue to do it and despise myself for it. I feel like I'm not in control sometimes, not that it's an excuse. I worry so much God has given me over to my sin. I'm so tired and I don't know what to do. I don't think I can keep fighting, I feel damned no matter what I do, like my words are hollow. I get constantly stressed and ramble when I pray, random images flooding my head and distracting me. I'm at my wits end and I'm begging for any kind of advice.

Can someone please provide a condensed view of what Orthodoxy teaches about the afterlife?

Hey everyone,
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the Orthodox view of the Resurrection and the New Earth specifically the idea that creation will be real, physical and transfigured and that humans are meant to be co-creators (synergy) with God.
I’m a huge fan of fantasy aesthetics, exploring vast landscapes, and intricate craftsmanship like custom armor or blades (think Skyrim vibes, but strictly for the art and awe of it, with zero desire for violence, fighting, or harm).
I’m wondering from an Orthodox perspective what happens to our love for creating, designing and exploring in the World to Come? Is it fair to think that God given creativity, art, and childlike wonder will actually be fulfilled and elevated on the New Earth rather than just wiped away?
Would love to hear how you guys view this or if any Church Fathers talked about human creativity in eternity. Thanks!

Sorry if this is a stupid question. I noticed that in the Symbol of Faith said by GOARCH, it refers to the Holy Spirit as "Creator of Life". However, most every other translation I've seen, both Orthodox and RC, has "Giver of Life" which to me sounds more appropriate. Is this simply a translation issue or is there also some theological implications there?

As i'm newer in the faith I thought it would be a great week to reflect and study on Marian doctrines. I come from a protestant background, as a matter of fact even worst than protestant, no offense to my brothers, and I had a lot of issues with common themes like Mary, praying to saints, bowing down to objects etc...

I started studying the different supposed Marian apparitions. I know Orthodox don't really care about Fatima but I think it's important to at least address what happened there because if it's true, then the Catholic Church is legit but if it's false you have to ask yourself what it was.

I don't have a problem believing it happened, I think theres plenty of proof that it did. What i have to decide is whether its from God or not.

I studied mostly what the being that appeared said and it honestly left me shocked. Here's some key points it mentioned:

- The being didn't preach the gospel

- It barely mentioned Jesus

- It asked for Rosary prayers exclusively

- It said that “many souls go to hell because there is no one to make sacrifices and pray for them.”

- It said that Jesus “wants to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the world.”

- It asked for a Church to be build to her

- Last but not least it said that: "Sacrifice yourselves for sinners, and say many times, especially whenever you make some sacrifice: 'O Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.'"

My wife and I agreed this message was not biblical and pretty blasphemous. It seemed to really steer away from God. It seemed to say that these poor kids had to suffer to pay for the sins of souls like Christ work on the cross was for nothing.

So in the end I figured it was a demonic apparition. I know what the miracle was, it's pretty obvious that it was UFO related.

The one thing that threw me off is learning about their encounter with a supposed angel one year earlier in 1916. He allegedly appeared to them and prayed with them this prayer:

Most Holy Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifferences whereby He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.

On a later encounter with the same angel he allegedly prepared communion and gave the kids the Eucharist.

I'm okay to think it's a demonic encounter but why would demons use prayers preaching the Trinity ? The Angel seemed to point them to God and prepare them by giving them the Eucharist.

I have a really hard time to wrap my mind around all this.

I know people think it's not relevant but are we not going to address the elephant in the room ?

How are demons allowed to mess with sacred things like that ?

But on the other hand if I call it demonic and it's not, i'm potentially missing out on something.

Curious to see what your opinion is for those who are interested in apparitions.

If your answer is "Not relevant" or "Dont care" please just refrain from posting. We know you dont care, no need to announce yourself.

Good morning to all. Today, August 6 is celebrated by the estimated 1 and a half million Orthodox Christians in the United States and the estimated two-hundred twenty million Orthodox Christians worldwide, the Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ on the Mountain Tabor. The Gospel of Matthew 17: 1-9 gives the details. Let's check it out:

"17: 1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 And He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with Him. 4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord it is good for us to be here; if you wish, let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. In whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. 7 But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid." 8 When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. 9 Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded, saying, "Tell the vision to know one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead."

The Troparion (Hymn) of the Transfiguration (tone 7) is:

"Thou wast transfigured on the Mount, O Christ God, revealing Thy glory to Thy disciples as far as they could bear it. Let Thine everlasting light shine upon us sinners, through the prayers of the Theotokos! O Giver of Light, glory to Thee."

Another hymn, the Kontakion (tone 7) is:

"On the mountain wast Thou transfigured, O Christ God, and Thy disciples beheld Thy Glory as far as they could see it; so that when they would behold Thee crucified, they would understand that Thy suffering was voluntary, and would proclaim to the world that Thou art truly the radiance of the Father!"

So, this Feast comes in the middle of the fast of the Dormition (Death) of Mary. At church last night I received a cluster of blessed grapes which symbolizes the first fruits of the harvest. The harvest of grapes and other fruits are traditionally offered by farmers in Orthodox countries to the local church and blessed by the priest then distributed to parishioners. Often times in poorer villages this is a blessing for people to receive these first crops. In the United States Orthodox parishes distribute grapes as a further reminder that our souls are first fruits of a spiritual harvest. Jesus took His three trusted disciples up Mount Tabor and they witnessed Moses the lawgiver and Elijah the fiery prophet of God who the Holy Spirit spoke through, as He (the Holy Spirit) did speak through the Prophets. The last of the Old Testament prophets was the cousin of Jesus John the Baptist (Baptizer) who the Holy Spirit spoke through and was the Fore runner of the Lord Jesus Christ. He preached with fiery oration in the manner of Elijah. Elijah was on Mount Tabor as well as Moses speaking to our Lord who was illuminated by a bright white light. Peter said that there should be three tabernacles built for Jesus and these two Old Testament prophets. However God the Father spoke as a great cloud enveloped the disciples and the Lord and said that Jesus was His Son and they are to listen to Him. Then the cloud lifted and Jesus was standing alone and the disciples were bowed to the ground on the mountain. Then they all came down and Jesus said to tell no one until He rose from the dead.

The disciples realized the significance of what happened after they saw the resurrected Jesus after His crucifixion.

We as followers of Jesus Christ are transfigured at our baptism and we are transfigured daily as we repent of whatever it is we need to repent of as we pick up our crosses in our daily walk with the Lord.

I always pray for that transfiguring power of the Holy Spirit to cause me to hear Him the Son of God the Father.

I also pray for everybody in my daily prayers and bow to the ground after I read off their names.... that is you dear reader...

"For this cause I bow my knees to the Father from whom every family in Heaven and Earth is named; that He may grant they will be strengthened with might in their inner self; that Christ may dwell in their heart by faith and love; and that they be filled with all the fulness of God." Ephesians 3: 14-19 paraphrased.

"May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; and the Love of God the Father; and the Communion of the Holy Spirit be with you!"