THE GREAT ABBOT of the Pskov Caves Monastery Father Alipius used to describe himself as follows: "I am a Soviet archimandrite." And he would eagerly confirm this statement in word and deed. At the beginning of the 1960s various members of a provincial Party commission visited the monastery with one goal-to figure out some way to close down our monastery. As they inspected the monastery, they saw pilgrims fixing the hedges and the flower beds, and immediately complained to Father Alipius: "How is it that these people are working here illegally?
Category: Saints
The dying nun who became worried about her eternal destiny
In September 1999, our beloved sister Mother Anasimon (consecrated as a nun in 1970) was in the last stages of her illness. She was suffering from cancer, but continued to live a life of thankfulness and total surrender to her Saviour. In the course of the last year of her life, she underwent four consecutive operations. They were followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy in order to remove the tumours from her body, a process that entailed great pain.
The secret to St Nektarios’ holiness
A nun who was at the monastery of St. Nektarios, when St. Nektarios fell asleep and countless of miracles started happening with the Grace of the Holy Spirit and through the prayer and the intercession of St. Nektarios, was thinking and saying: “What did that man, our elder, do? He was not a great ascetic just like the ascetics of the desert. He did not do long fastings, he did not do long all-night vigils, he did not do long prayers.
The BEST online English account of the life of St Pishoy Kamel
For all of you, who personally knew Fr. Pishoy, you must agree that human words fail to describe this great father. For in describing him, we are describing the mighty work of the Holy Spirit in a human being, who allowed himself to be an instrument in God’s Hands to be fully utilized for service and for the growth of God’s Kingdom. How can one describe the work of the Holy Spirit?! Any words used will not do him justice, but it is a minor effort to show how the Cross had a pivotal effect on his life and how he wanted it to be effective in our lives. The Cross certainly played a distinctive role in his life. By human standards, his life on this earth was short. But what he did in his few years was magnificent by the power of the Cross. We shall look at how the Cross played a vital role in Abouna Pishoy’s personal life, in his service, and during his illness.
Testimonials about Metropolitan Abraham of Jerusalem
> "If I could say, His Grace Anba Domadious was treating him as an asisstant bishop although he was only a servant." (HG Anba Theodosious - Bishop of Central Giza) > "God had us fear him. We were not afraid of him to keep us from serving or had us stay home, no. We feared… Continue reading Testimonials about Metropolitan Abraham of Jerusalem
St Augustine of Hippo: a truth seeker and timeless model of profound repentance
On this day also of the year 146 of the martyrs (430 AD.) St. Augustine, bishop of Hippo (Modern day Annaba, NE of Algeria), departed. This saint was born in the city of Thagaste (Modern day Souk Ahras, NE of Algeria) in the year 354 AD to a pagan father called Patricius and a devout… Continue reading St Augustine of Hippo: a truth seeker and timeless model of profound repentance
A detailed account of the martyrdom of the child martyr – St Abanoub
On this day, Apip 24th (July 31st), we celebrate the martyrdom of Saint Abanoub, the child martyr. Saint Abanoub was only twelve years old when he was martyred by the Roman ruler. On July 31 our Church celebrates his death, as the day of his birth into eternal life.
No one could oppose him!
“None of those who opposed him had any success,” once commented the late Pope Shenouda III. The consequences for those who dared conspire against Kyrillos were often severe; as a “holy man,” it was as though, many claimed, God himself were protecting him. Their unfortunate accounts are littered throughout the sources.
An Englishman’s account of when he met St. Abraam of Fayoum
There is a man in Egypt whose name is unknown to the ruling class, and who is yet the most talked of and the most deeply venerated man in all the valley of the Nile. Although he is a Christian bishop he is just as much a saint of heaven to the Moslem as to the Christian; and the Christians who join in the daily crowd that seek his spiritual help and blessing number Copts and Greeks and Romans— the latter being by no means confined even to natives of Egypt.
St Didymus the blind: author, ascetic, theologian, dean & polymath
On this day also of the year 398 A.D (13th June, 6th Paone), the Coptic Orthodox Church commemorates the departure of St Didymus the Blind - a wonderful model of holy perseverance and discipline. He was the dean of the Theological School of Alexandria. He was born in the city of Alexandria in the year… Continue reading St Didymus the blind: author, ascetic, theologian, dean & polymath
The Art of Orthodoxy 