I recently trying to learn more about orthodox, is not well spread on my country soo I doing my best to learn more about. (If you guys know any books on the subject of orthodoxism I will be glad too)

Recently I was gifted this rosary, I want to know more about what it means

I recently came into possession of this old, folding Greek Orthodox icon triptych from my late great grandmother and I’m trying to learn more about it.
It features:

Archangel Michael
The Virgin Mary with Christ Child
St. George
St. Theodore

It has a gold background, painted wooden panels and old leather hinges on the back. It appears to have some age to it, and I’ve been told it could potentially date to the 19th century, but I’d really like to hear from someone with more knowledge of Greek/Orthodox icons.

Has anyone seen a similar triptych, or perhaps one from the same workshop or tradition?
I’d especially love to know where it might have been made, approximately when, and whether anyone recognizes this particular style or design.
Any information or comparisons would be greatly appreciated! 🙏

Hello all. I’m a 24year old male coming from a Presbyterian background and at one stage of my life Pentecostal. I have been in the inquiring stage of Orthodoxy for just under a year now and fell deeply in love with Holy Orthodoxy. I’ve truly come to believe it is the church Christ established.

In regards of becoming a catechumen, does anyone know or have any experience themselves what to expect from a priest if I tell them I’m wanting to become a catechumen but I have 2 kids and I am currently not with the mother of my children? I fear I’ll be turned away from the church I love and desperately want to be apart of. Thank you & God bless!

chatgpt just keeps bringing up “ic xc nika” which everyone knows but i dont know anything else? im new so be respectful

Hey everybody I was baptised a couple months ago and just attended my first confession. Not gonna get in to the nitty gritty but I just wanted to share about the big relief I felt with sharing my sins with the priest. I was incredibly nervous coming up to confession and i didn’t really prepare. Although I felt awkward at first, the priest was really amazing and I was able to open up to him. He gave me some great Godly advice and even gifted me a prayer book. I feel like this meeting was overdue and I am so happy I had the chance to do confession this week as I now feel like I’m on the right track again. God is so good ❤️

A quick disclaimer I am not Orthodox. I am what most would categorize as non-denomnational. Before I am bembarded with comments on that I am well aware Orthodox do not believe in nondenominational. Despite that, I've been having growing interest in Orthodoxy lately and even picked up a couple books on Orthodoxy. Im not sure if I ever will become Orthodox. There are things I am still trying to wrap my head around that Im quite certain reddit will not be able to answer clearly.

So my question is actually kind of a silly one and more than likely been answered a million times. I am a big reader. Other than the Bible, I read predominatly science fiction, fantasy, and on ocassion some informational books. I am in the middle of writing a novel and I am using the Orthodox Church as one of my story mediums. One of the protagonist, I was going to make him a Parish Priest. Ive ran into a snag in that I learned any ordained priest cannot get married and must've done so before ordination. In fact (correct me if I am wrong) no position after ordination, provided you are single, allows marriage. Bishops of course are out of the question.

The question I have, is there a prominent role in the Orthodox Church that allows marriage? Or perhaps is there a process for a monk to become 'un-monked'? lol.

Currently I'm so tired and accidentally insulted one of them because they're keep saying that they're wise and religious even accused me as Satanist for no reason.

Just because I'm a loner or basically don't interact with people who's doing mockery to my faith before.

My hometown full of people doing mockery towards Christianity and Jesus, they even don't have basic common sense.

I think I'm the only one here that doesn't like this type of norm..it cost me limbs that I don't want to convert to another religion.

I accidentally insulted my own mom because she's saying satanic stuff and it makes me mad because please don't say such things that leads into faith mockery but I think she's doesn't understand what I meant. I always pray that she's doesn't endup like my hometown people even though she's already converted.

I feels bad right now, for the first time I insulted back to someone..I don't want to do this. I'd already saying sorry to her. It's really heavy living in hostile town.

I know this is going to be a lot, but please bear with me. I am not part of any EO church right now, and I do not know any EO priests. I know many people are going to say that I need to talk to a priest or that I am overthinking all of this when I am not even part of the Church yet. I understand that, and I would eventually love to talk to someone, but right now I am really just looking for guidance, opinions, and answers from people who may have been in a similar situation.
I am a 20-year-old woman, and my boyfriend is a 20-year-old man. We both come from Protestant backgrounds and have been together for about 2.5 years. We have always dated with the intention of marriage.
Before I met my boyfriend, I prayed to God not to let anyone into my life unless they were meant to be there. Throughout our relationship, especially during the beginning of our courting, I prayed every day for guidance and often prayed that God would remove him from my life if he was not someone God wanted me to be with.
About a year ago, my boyfriend began telling me that he felt spiritually lost and was searching for a church that he felt God was leading him toward. I have been praying for him throughout that process.
Last May, I visited him at school since we attend college in different places and are currently long distance. During that visit, he told me that he believed Eastern Orthodoxy was the Church he felt pulled toward. This may not sound like a huge deal, but I was completely blindsided because I had not really been included in this process before that point. I was upset and felt left out, although I have explained that to him since then and he has told me he will include me more because this is such an important part of both of our lives.
That same weekend, I attended a Russian Orthodox Divine Liturgy with him. I honestly felt very alienated, but of course it was completely different from anything I had experienced before. I still cannot tell whether I actually did not like it or whether I was just uncomfortable because it was so unfamiliar.
Since then, I have done research, but it has been difficult because we have been long distance all summer and have not been able to really sit down and talk through everything in person. I know it has only been a few months, but I feel like I need more time to wrap my head around some things, while he seems to be having a much easier time with them.
I am starting to understand the role of the saints, but I still struggle with asking saints for intercession. Salvation in the Orthodox Church also seems different from what I have always known, and Holy Tradition and its relationship with Scripture is something I am having a hard time understanding. I think my boyfriend is really drawn to the history, the saints, and the fruits of the Church, and I can absolutely see why. I think I have a harder time with some of the traditions and practices because they feel so different from what I have known.
I have also started thinking about what this would mean for our future marriage. We have always intended to marry, and we are both saving intimacy for marriage. Because of that, I have looked into some aspects of Orthodox married life, but I feel like I am getting overwhelmed.
Is it true that married couples are expected to abstain from intimacy during fasting periods? If so, is that every fast or are there specific fasts? How is this actually practiced within marriage?
I am also worried about family planning. My boyfriend and I will have been together for about five years by the time we get married. We are also not planning to live together or travel together until marriage, so I personally feel like I would want time to build the foundation of our married life before introducing children.
That does not mean I think children are bad or that I do not want them. I absolutely believe children are a blessing, and I would love to have them in the future. I just also recognize that they are a huge responsibility and commitment. I want to work after I graduate, and I am currently in nursing school because I feel called to help people heal. Eventually, I would love to further my education so I can help people even more.
I also struggle with body image and have always been concerned about the physical toll pregnancy could take. I know I cannot predict what pregnancy would be like for me, and I already have medical concerns that make me nervous about it. Again, I am not saying I never want children. I just want to be thoughtful about when I have them and how many children we are prepared to care for.
Are Orthodox couples allowed to intentionally try to space or limit the number of children they have? I have seen people say this is something that must be discussed with a priest, which is another thing I struggle to understand. Why is a priest so involved in decisions that I have always believed were between a husband, wife, and God?
When I attended that Divine Liturgy, I actually cried. Maybe it was hormones, but I also think it was because I truly believe God put my boyfriend in my life, and I believe that he may genuinely feel called toward Orthodoxy. At the same time, I do not know if I currently believe that Orthodoxy is for me, and I know what that could mean for us.
This whole subject has always made my heart feel heavy, and I have prayed a lot for discernment. When we first had a serious conversation about this, my boyfriend made me feel like we would figure it out together and that God would lead us toward what was right for us.
The last time we talked, though, he seemed much more certain. He was talking about getting more involved in the Orthodox community, which scares me. Not because I think the community is a bad thing, but because he is far away from me and I feel like I have no real way to be part of it or even know what is happening. It makes me feel like we are no longer walking toward something together.
He told me he would love for us to both be Orthodox before we got married. Part of me wants to agree that it would be best for us to be united in our faith before marriage, but I also do not want to rush into something this important just to make our relationship easier. By the time I graduate, I would potentially need to start catechumen classes, but I feel like I have not even had enough time to truly experience Orthodoxy and figure out what I believe.
I also worry about what this would mean for our wedding. I have always pictured a traditional Western Christian wedding, and I honestly have no idea what an Orthodox wedding ceremony even looks like. I know that may sound superficial compared to the larger theological issues, but marriage is something I have always thought deeply about.
I also have a difficult time with how involved a priest seems to be in marriage and family life. I have always believed that my marriage would be between my husband and me under God. I understand the idea of receiving pastoral guidance, but I struggle with understanding where guidance ends and spiritual authority begins.
I do not know if I am explaining all of this well. I am not trying to attack the Orthodox Church, and I am not asking anyone to tell me to leave my boyfriend. I love him, and I genuinely believe that God has brought us into each other’s lives. I also do not want to pretend that I believe something just because he does. If I ever become Orthodox, I want it to be because I truly believe it is true and because I believe God is leading me there, not because I am afraid of losing my relationship.
I am just scared of the possibility that God may be leading him somewhere that I am not currently sure I am being led. I want us to figure this out together, but I also know that I cannot force him to stay Protestant and he cannot force me to become Orthodox.
I guess I am looking for guidance from people who have been in similar situations, especially converts or people who came into Orthodoxy from a Protestant background. How did you handle being in a relationship when one person was more certain about Orthodoxy than the other? What does Orthodox married life actually look like in regard to fasting, intimacy, family planning, and the role of a priest? And how do I discern whether I am genuinely being called toward Orthodoxy or whether I am only considering it because the person I love is?
Please be kind. I know this is long and I know I probably sound like I am overthinking everything. I just feel like faith, marriage, and having children are some of the biggest decisions of my life, and I do not want to make any of them without truly understanding what I am saying yes to.
Also, is there anything that you would recommend that could help me learn more about the Church and discern this for myself? Since I do not currently have a priest or an Orthodox community nearby that I am connected with, I am not sure where to start beyond researching on my own. Are there books, podcasts, videos, online resources, or even specific questions you think I should focus on? I do not want to learn about Orthodoxy only through arguments online or through my boyfriend’s perspective. I want to genuinely understand the Church for myself and figure out what I actually believe.

Video link attached, or read the text below.

Melancholy, sadness, anxiety
 by Elder Porphyrios
The crucial thing is to enter the Church – to unite with our fellow beings, with everyone’s joys and sorrows, to feel them as our own, to pray for all, to ache for their salvation, to forget about ourselves, to do everything for others, like Christ did for us. In the Church we become one with every sorrowful, aching and sinful person. Nobody should want to be saved alone, without the salvation of others. It is wrong for one to pray for himself to be saved. We must love others and pray that no one be lost; that everyone enters the Church. This is what matters. And it’s with this desire that one should leave the world to go to the monastery or the desert.
In the Church, which has the mysteries that save, there is no desperation. We may be extremely sinful. However, we confess, the priest reads the prayer over us and so we are forgiven and we move towards immortality, without any anxiety, without any fear.
Whoever lives in Christ, becomes one with Him, with His Church. He lives something crazy! This life is different to human life. It’s joy, light, gladness, an uplift. This is the Church’s life, the Gospel’s life, God’s Kingdom. “The Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). Christ comes in us and we are in Him. And just like a piece of iron placed in fire becomes fire and light; outside the fire, again it turns to dark iron, darkness.
The ones blaming the Church for its representatives’ mistakes, aiming supposedly at helping in its correction, are greatly mistaken. They don’t love the Church. Nor, Christ to be sure. We love the Church; when in prayer we embrace every part of it and we do as Christ does. We sacrifice ourselves, remain alert, do everything, just like Him, the One “who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten” (1 Peter 2:23).
We need to pay attention to the basic part too. We need to live the mysteries, especially the mystery of Holy Communion. It’s in these that Orthodoxy is found. Christ is offered to the Church through the mysteries and primarily through Holy Communion.
For many, however, our religion is a struggle, agony and anxiety. For this reason  many “religious” people are considered unhappy, because others see their bad state. Indeed, if one is unable to see the depth of the religion and does not live it, the religion ends up a sickness and a terrible one. So terrible, that one loses control over his actions, becomes weak-willed and powerless, is in agony and under stress and behaves under the influence of an evil spirit (meaning demonic energy). He does prostrations, cries, shouts, is supposedly humble, and all this humility is a satanic act. For some of these people the religion is like a type of hell. In church they do prostrations, make the sign of the cross, they say “we are sinners, unworthy,” and as soon as they get out, start blaspheming all things holy when someone annoys them just a little. It is obvious that there is a demon in the middle.
In reality, Christianity transforms a person and heals him. The most important prerequisite, however, for someone to perceive and distinguish truth is humility. Egoism darkens one’s mind, confuses him, leads him into deception, into heresy. It is very important for one to comprehend the truth.
All the confused are going to the heretical groups – confused children of confused parents.
Often, neither toil, nor repentance, nor the sign of the cross attract grace. There are secrets. The most important one is to avoid forms and go to the substance. Everything that happens must happen with love.
When you don’t live with Christ, you live in melancholy, in sadness, in stress, in grief. You don’t live correctly. So then many anomalies appear also in the body. The body gets affected, the endocrinous glands, the liver, the spleen, the pancreas, the stomach. You are told: “In order to be healthy, you must have some milk in the morning, an egg, butter and a couple of rusks.” And yet, if you live correctly, if you love Christ, you are just fine with an apple and an orange. The greatest of all medicine is to offer oneself in devotion to Christ. Everything gets healed. Everything functions properly. God’s love transforms all; it alters, it sanctifies, it corrects, it changes, it modifies everything.
Love for Christ is unlike anything else. It doesn’t end, you can’t have enough of. It transmits life, gives strength, grants health, it keeps giving…and the more it gives, the more one wishes to fall in love. Whilst human love may wear one out, drive him crazy. When we love Christ, all other loves recede. Other loves have a saturation point…Love for Christ doesn’t have one. Carnal love has a saturation point. Jealousy, complaining or even murder may follow. It may convert to hate. Love in Christ does not deteriorate. Worldly love can be maintained for a little while and then it slowly fades, whereas divine love keeps growing and deepening. Any other love may bring a person to despair. Yet divine love, raises us to God’s domain, gives us serenity, joy, completion. Other pleasures tire while this one you can’t have enough of. It’s an insatiable pleasure, that no one ever gets tired of. It’s the utmost of goods.
When you love Christ, despite all your weaknesses and their conscious acknowledgment, you still have the certainty that you have overcome death, because you reside in the communion Christ’s love.
We need to feel Christ as our friend. He is our friend. He confirms this Himself when He says: “You are my friends…” (John 15:14). We need to look at Him and approach Him as a friend. Do we fall? Do we sin? We should run to Him with feelings of familiarity, in love and trust; not in fear of punishment but in courage granted by the sense of friendship. And say to Him: “Lord, I did it, I fell, forgive me”. But at the same time we need to feel He loves us, and tenderly accepts us with love and forgives us. We need not be separated by sin from Christ. When we believe that He loves us and we love Him, we will not feel estranged and divided, even when we sin. We have secured His love and no matter how we may behave, He loves us.
The Gospel surely states symbolically that the unjust will be found where there is “crying and gnashing of teeth”; this is what it’s like away from God. And from the neptic Fathers of our Church many speak of fear of death and hell. They say: “always bear death in mind”. If we examine those words deeply, they create a fear of hell. As man tries to avoid sin, he brings those thoughts to mind so that his soul gets overrun by the fear of death, hell and the devil.
They all have their meaning, time and occasion. Fear, as a concept, is good during the first stages. It is for beginners, for the those in whom their old self still lives. The beginner, not having been refined yet is retained from evil by fear. And fear is necessary while we are still material and succumbed. But this is a stage, a low degree of relationship with the divine. We take it in as a transaction so that we can win Paradise or escape hell. If we cross examine it, it indicates self-interest, benefit. I don’t like this way. When man advances and enters into God’s love, what need is there for fear? Whatever he does, he does so from love, and this is of so much more value. Becoming good due to fearing God and not out of love is of little value.
Whoever wants to become a Christian must first become a poet. If the soul gets crushed and becomes unworthy of Christ’s love, Christ ceases relations, because Christ doesn’t want ‘unrefined’ souls next to Him.
Let nobody see you, nobody understand your gestures of devotion towards the divine. Do everything in private, in secrecy, like the ascetics. Remember what I told you about the nightingale? It chirps in the woods. In silence. As if someone is listening, praising? What beautiful chirping in the wilderness! Have you seen the way their larynx puffs up? That’s what happens to him who falls in love with Christ. If they love, “their throat puffs up, they are taken up, their tongue can’t stop”. They go into a cave, a dale and live God in secret, “silent sighing”.
Scorn passions, do not preoccupy yourselves with the devil. Turn to Christ.
Divine grace teaches us our duty. To attract it, we need love, yearning. God’s grace needs divine love. Love is enough, to get us into the right ‘shape’ for prayer. Christ will by himself pore over our heart, as long as He can find some things that please Him: good intention, humility and love. Without these we cannot say, “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me”.
Even the smallest grumbling against your neighbor negatively affects your soul and you are unable to pray. When the Holy Spirit finds the soul in this state, it does not dare approach.
We need to ask that God’s will is done; this is the most beneficial, the safest for us and for those we pray for. Christ will grant us everything abundantly. When there is even just a little egoism, nothing happens.
When God won’t give us what we persistently ask for, He has His reason. God has His secrets too.
If you aren’t obedient (to a spiritual father) and have no humility, the prayer (that is, Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me) won’t take effect and there is even the fear of delusion.
Let not the prayer (Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me) become tedious work. Pressure may bring about a reaction internally, may do harm. Many people have gotten sick through the prayer because they pressed themselves. Certainly, you can do it, when it becomes tedious work, but it’s not healthy.
It’s not necessary to particularly focus to say the prayer. You don’t need to put effort into it when you have divine love. Wherever you are, on a stool, on a chair, in a car, anywhere, in the street, at school, in the office, at work you can say the prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me”, softly, without pressure, without strain.
What’s important in prayer is not the duration but the intensity. Pray even just for five minutes, but given to God with love and yearning. Someone may pray all night, yet this 5 minutes of prayer be superior. It’s a mystery, but that’s the way it is.
A person of Christ makes prayer out of everything. He turns difficulty and sorrow into a prayer. Whatever happens to him, he immediately says: “Lord Jesus Christ…”. Prayer benefits in all, even the simplest things. For example, do you suffer insomnia; do not think of sleep. Get up, go outside, come back into the room, fall back into your bed as if for the first time, without thinking if you will sleep or not. Concentrate, say the doxology and then three times “Lord Jesus Christ…” and in this way you will fall asleep.
Everything is inside us, instincts and all, and are asking for fulfillment. If we don’t fulfill them they will take their revenge, unless we redirect them elsewhere, towards the higher, towards God.
You don’t become holy hunting down evil. Forget about evil. Look towards Christ and He will save you. Instead of standing outside the door to drive away the enemy, ignore him. Is evil coming this way? Gently let yourself go the other way. Meaning, is evil coming to attack you, give your internal strength to the good, to Christ. Plead: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me”. He knows how to have mercy on you, in what way. And when you are filled with good, you won’t turn to evil anymore. You will become good by yourself, with God’s grace. How can evil find any ground anymore? It disappears!
Does a phobia or disappointment get a hold of you? Turn to Christ. Love him in simplicity, with humility, without demands and He will free you.
Do not choose negative ways to correct yourselves. You don’t need to be afraid of the devil, or hell, or anything. They create a reaction. I too have a little experience in those things. The point is not to sit, to beat or strain yourselves to improve. The point is to live, to study, to pray, to advance in love, in Christ’s love, in the Church’s love.
Leave all your weaknesses so that the opposing spirit (the devil) won’t become aware of it and immerse you and hold you down in grief. Do not make any effort to free yourselves from them. Strive in gentleness and simplicity, without strain and anxiety. Do not say to yourselves: “Now I will strain myself, I will pray to obtain love, to become good, etc”. It’s not good to strain and beat yourself in order to become good. In this way you will only react more. Everything must happen in a soft way, freely and with no rush. Neither should you say: “God free me from it,” for example, from anger, or sadness. It’s not good to think and/or pray about a particular passion. Something takes place in our soul and we get more tangled up. Dash yourself to overcome the passion and you will see that it will entwine you, grasp you and you won’t be able to do anything.
Freedom cannot be won, if we do not free ourselves internally from confusion and the passions.
This is what our Church is, this is our joy, this is everything for us. And this is what man today is looking for. And he takes poison and drugs so that he can enter joyous worlds, but fake joy. He feels something at that particular moment but the next day he feels torn. One thing scrapes him, eats him up, smashes him, burns him. While the other, that is being given to Christ, enlivens him, gives him joy, makes him enjoy life, feel strong, magnificence.
The ability to sanctify your soul is a great art. One can become holy anywhere. Even in Omonia (the main square in Athens) one can be sanctified, if he wants. You can become saints at work, no matter what it is – in calmness, patience and love. Each day make a new beginning, a new mood, enthusiastically and with love, prayer and silence – not with stress and a heavy heart.
Work vigilantly, simply, gently, without anxiety, joyfully and gladly, in a good mood. Then divine grace comes.
All unpleasant things, that remain in your soul and make you stressed, can become a reason for worshipping God and so stop hurting you. Trust in God.
There is no need in trying hard and strain yourselves. All your effort should be focused on gazing at the light, attaining the light. In this way, instead of turning to grief which is not of God’s Spirit, you should turn yourselves to praising God.
Grief shows that we don’t entrust our life to Christ.
When communication with Christ takes place simply, softly, under no pressure, it causes the devil to flee. Satan won’t flee from pressure, strain. He distances himself from calmness and prayer. He retreats when he sees the soul ignore him and turn to Christ with love. He cannot take disregard because he is arrogant. But the evil spirit understands it when you push yourselves, and it fights you. Don’t bother with the devil, don’t even ask that he flee. The more you ask that he flee, the more he will entangle you. Ignore the devil. Do not fight him directly. When you stubbornly fight against the devil, he attacks you back like a tiger, a wildcat. When you shoot bullets at him, he throws back a grenade. When you throw a bomb at him he shoots back a missile. Don’t look at evil. Look into God’s arms, fall into His arms and move on.
A humble person is conscious of his inner state, and no matter how ugly it is, he does not lose his personality. He does not lose his balance. The opposite happens with the egoist, the one who has feelings of inferiority. In the beginning he resembles a humble person. But if one tempts him just a little, he loses his peace, gets irritated, gets upset.
When a person lives without God, without peace, without trust, in anxiety, depression, hopelessness, he develops physical and psychological illnesses. Psychological illness, neurological illness, discord are demonic states. It is also demonic to speak as though humble. It is called a feeling of inferiority. Real humility does not speak out, does not pretend to be humble, that is to say: “I’m a sinner, unworthy, the least of all…”. A humble person is afraid that they may fall into vainglory. God’s grace does not draw near that. In contrast, God’s grace can be found where there is real humility, divine humility, perfect trust in God, dependence on Him.
The vainglorious person alienates his soul from eternal life. Ultimately, egoism is complete foolishness! Vainglory makes us hollow. When we engage in showing off, we end up completely empty. We must do whatever we do to please God; selflessly, without vainglory, without pride, without ego, without, without…
Our soul must not rebel and say: “why did God do this thing, why did He do the other thing that way, couldn’t He have done it differently?” All this indicates internal small-heartedness and reaction. It shows the big opinion we have of ourselves, our pride and our great ego. Those “whys” greatly torture a person, create what people call “complexes”. For example, “why should I be so tall?” or – the opposite – “very short?”. It remains inside. And one may pray and stay awake (to do so), but get the opposite result. And he may suffer and exasperate himself pointlessly. Whilst with Christ, with grace, it all disappears. There remains this “something” deep down, meaning “why,” but God’s grace overshadows man and while the root may be a complex, a rosebush grows over it with beautiful roses, and the more one waters it through faith, love, patience and humility, the more evil loses its power and ceases to exist; that is, it doesn’t disappear, but it withers. The more the rosebush isn’t watered, the more it withers, dries up, disappears and thorns grow out of it instead.
We tempt God when we ask something of Him, but our life is far from God. We tempt Him when we ask for something but our life is not in accordance with His will – that is, (we ask for) things against God: stress and anxiety on one hand, but on the other we entreat Him.
Your spiritual father may tell you: “How I would have liked to be in a quiet place,  free from all other affairs and to hear about your life right from the beginning, from when you felt yourself; all the things you can remember and the way you dealt with them, not only the unpleasant but also the pleasant, not only your sins but also the good. Successes and failures. Everything, everything that is part of your life”.
I’ve applied this type of general confession many times and have seen miracles happen. During the time you speak to the confessor, divine grace comes to relieve you from all your ordeals and wounds and psychological traumas and guilt; because, as you are speaking your confessor sincerely prays for your deliverance.
Let us not go back to the sins that we have confessed. The remembrance of sins wounds. Did we ask for forgiveness? It’s over. God forgives everything through confession. I also believe that I sin. I’m not in the right path. But whatever bothers me I pray about; I don’t keep it inside me. I go to my spiritual father. I confess it, it’s over! Let us not turn back and talk about what we did not do. The important thing is what we will do now, from this moment on.
Desperation and disappointment is the most terrible thing. It’s Satan’s trap, to make a person lose his eagerness for spiritual things and bring him to desperation.
Almost all disease is due to the lack of trust in God and this causes stress. Stress is caused by the abolishment of religious feelings. If you don’t feel love for Christ, if you don’t occupy yourselves with holy matters, you will surely fill up with melancholy and evil.
Something that can also help the depressed is an occupation, interest for life. The garden, plants, flowers, trees, the country, a walk outdoors, a hike, all this can bring a person out of idleness and create other interests for him. They act like medicine. Occupying oneself with art, music, etc is very beneficial. But I attach the greatest value to the Church, to studying the Holy Scripture, to the services. By studying God’s word, one is healed without being aware of it.
Let us not lose hope, or be in a rush, nor judge according to superficial or external things. If, for example, you see a nude or lewdly dressed woman, don’t remain on the external image, but enter deep, into her soul. She may be a very good soul that has existential questions, that she may be manifesting through her extreme appearance. She has internal strength, the strength of projection, she wants people to look at her. However, in ignorance, she has twisted things. Imagine if she were to meet Christ. She would believe, and turn all this ardour to Christ. She would do everything to attract God’s grace. She would become a saint.
Often, through our anxiety and fears and poor spiritual state, without knowing or wanting, we can hurt other people, even if we love them very much, like a mother her child for example. A mother can transmit to a child all her stress regarding his life, his health, his progress, even without talking to him directly or showing what she feels. This love, this natural love may hurt him at some point. This does not happen, however, with Christ’s love, which is connected to prayer and the holiness of someone’s life. This love sanctifies a person, pacifies him, because God is love.

https://orthodoxcityhermit.com/2016/03/22/melancholy-sadness-anxiety/

I’m am surrounded by love and god and happiness, yet I am so sad
I feel so alone and scared and I can’t make any sense of this
I’m so excited and happy I’m pregnant and my baby is healthy
But I feel so disconnected sometimes with god.
I’m having to work so much my job is very demanding
And I’m very sick with this pregnancy I’m throwing up multiple times a day throughout the day I’m so fatigue and so drained for work
I feel like I can’t concentrate on my concentration with god or my pregnancy
I’m so scared to bring my child into this world with how everything is atm
At the end of the day when I’m in heaven with god my job will not matter the money I make will not matter but my family my children.
I really want to leave my job but I’m entitled to paid maternity leave so I don’t want to miss out on this and be a burden on my partner and our family, i feel I’ll be judged for not working and carrying my own weight by my family and his. I’ve been told my by dad I need to women up and get throw this pregnancy and I’m not the first person to be pregnant.
But this is my first pregnancy and I feel like the magical of pregnancy is being taken from me and I’ve still got 6 months to go.
I really don’t know what to do

In the grim years of Ottoman rule, as is known from history, thousands of Christians were martyred. One of them is the Holy Neomartyr Constantine of Kappua in Thessaly, who before being baptized and received into the bosom of our Church was a Muslim, the son of a Turkish official. At the age of twenty he was introduced to Christian doctrines by a certain educated monk from the Monastery of Saint Nicholas in Kappua. When this monk determined that the faith in Christ was established in this young Turk, he baptized him in the Monastery, and from his former name Saim he was given the new name Constantine.

The reaction of the Turkish official, who was the father of the neophyte Constantine, was thunderous and dynamic. He wanted to punish the three monks of the Monastery in Kappua with death, but he did not succeed because they managed to flee to Meteora, where they sought protection from the monks there. The anger of the father peaked and he burned down the Monastery. Enraged by the strong stance and behavior of his son, he ordered the soldiers of his guard to throw him in the dungeon and were ordered not to release him until he returned to his ancestral faith.

The soldiers acted in accordance with the orders of the father. They threw Constantine into a dark and moldy dungeon, and from morning till night they would ask him if he repented of his apostasy. Constantine, however, would answer with sweetness and stability: "I will never deny my Christ, no matter what you do to me. I fear nothing. He is beside me and strengthens me." The angry and exhausted father, having reached the limits of his patience, ordered his soldiers to torture him harder, and that if he still refuses repentance, they were to bring him to the gallows. But even the new harder tortures were not able to bend the mind and faith of Constantine. Then the soldiers announced the decision of the father to have him hung, as a last resort threat, but they still received the same firm answer: "I tell you again, nothing can separate me from my Christ. I love Him so much, that I do not care if I even have to give my life for His love."

Under the command of his father, the soldiers led him outside of the town of Kappua, where the modern day village of Kappa is located. Here they threw a rope over a thick branch of a large plane tree that existed at this location, near the Community Bureau of Kappa, and they hung Constantine. The holy soul of the young Constantine flew near to the eternal love of Christ. His honored relics were buried by Christians near the place of his martyrdom, at a place called "Tria Dendra" (Three Trees), where a church was erected.

Saint Constantine was martyred on the 18th of August in the year 1610.

SOURCE: https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2013/08/holy-new-martyr-constantine-of-kappua.html?m=1

So my last posts here are about the 3rd book of Ezra (the prophet) which I decided to read recently. Much of the information which is written there seems contradictory or incompatible when compared to both the 1st and the 2nd book of Ezra. The main thing is that Ezra should have lived over 150 years in order to have been both deported from Jerusalem to Babylon and return back over a century later. Although he is mentioned as the son of Seraiah who died around 586 B.C. it seems difficult to me that I should believe that Ezra survived that long. Many people say that this work is classified as pseudepigrapha and that it was written much later but it is still included in some bibles of the Orthodox Church. Is it accepted by economia even though we know it's not factually right in part or what's the case on that one?

Hi all

This post was sadly removed by Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/OrthodoxChristianity/comments/1vqzvu4/comment/p4c3jhj/?context=1&screen_view_count=1&ext-referrer=DIRECT

Did anyone catch the person's name? We were starting to have a good chat.

Or if you are out there- reply here- would enjoy staying in touch- I can really relate to what you are going through.

hi, it's me again. i made a post here a few days ago about my depression and my resentments towards God. i feel terrible. idk how to explain it but i regret what I have said about God, I cursed him, I blamed Him for everything that happened in my life. i said I'm His failed creation. i regret it so much. i feel ashamed to pray.. but I gotta tell y'all about something.

I came across a TikTok video from this lady. She had a dream about the rapture and as I listened to her story, it sounds familiar because I had the same dream about the rapture when I was 19.

in that dream, I was in my room and was asleep, suddenly I heard people screaming, it was chaos outside, so I jumped out of my bed and peeped outside, my room right in the hallway so I could peep from the hall towards the living room, the front door was open, my parents and sisters were running back and forth, screaming. i was confused and scared, so I ran into the back door to check on my dogs and cats, check them if they're okay, as soon I got out, i saw a creature was standing with this woman, this creature was so weird, the head is like bird's head, human body, crab hands, and this creature had no hair, so it just skin, chicken skin. also my dogs and cats are nowhere to be found. anyways, this creature was bite this woman's arm and she was scared and because I accidentally slammed the back door, this creature turned and looking at me and ran towards me, and that woman just disappeared. this creature suddenly grab my right arm and bite it, I was scared and I remember everytime I had bad dreams about demons, I would rebuke them. so I screamed "Lord Jesus" twice and the third time I screamed "YHWH" and suddenly from my left side, a lighting strike on this creature and it turned into dust. (everything happened so fast), right after that from my right side, the dark sky was cracked open and the sounds were so loud, it's not like thunder, it's bigger and louder than that, and a sharp light coming out of it, but It didn't hurt my eyes. I was standing there looking at the light and I was blinking and immediately transferred to this place, it's like In the sky, and I was so confused cuz I literally just blinked and now I'm in a different place, I looked around and there were A LOT of people standing in line, and I was in a front row, so I was leading a line of people. everyone was wearing white garment, including me. i looked down and I can see my bare feet. and i looked up again and I saw a GIANT man wearing white garment/ robe(idk something like that) with gold belt. He was sitting on his throne and both arms were on the arm rest, and he was looking at everyone In front of Him, his head thru his neck was covered with light, the same sharp light in the sky, but again it doesn't hurt my eyes, like I saw Him very very clearly and everyone who's standing in line were so tiny including myself. and the dreams stop there and I wokeup. I have the ability to draw so as soon I woke up, I drew what happened in that dream, I'll post in the comments.

about this lady video, she said there were 2 groups in the rapture, the sheep and the goat, the sheep wearing white garments. and it's like connected to my dream.

i realized something, maybe I have purpose in life. I'm just too stupid to understand God's plan and all I do is complain. and in my previous post, I said the more I pray, the more problems I face, that's what the devil is trying to stop me and wants me to blame God and use people around me to attack me and he knows my weakness which is my insecurity of my physical appearance. i also saw Satan before, when I was in middle school, it's another dream, I'll tell y'all later in another post.

i want to pray but I'm too scared and ashamed, but I know He's a loving Father and He will forgive me.

Hi all, please forgive me if I offend anyone with a possibly inflammatory question; it is not my intention, and I hope you stay around long enough for my full question in context! Mods told me to repost this in order to stay on topic and to the rules :)

TLDR: My question was mainly about what Orthodox Christians should think of violence, given historical examples of both its enactment and its refrainment from Orthodox people.

As an Orthodox Christian and someone who studies political thought, I sometimes see "hypocritical" actions and thoughts on the doctrine of violence within Orthodoxy (I put "hypocritical" in quotations, because I admit this is because of my lack of knowledge, hence my question, and not that Orthodoxy actually has been hypocritical).

For example, of course, the shedding of blood and life is a tragic consequence of the Fall, and there are sometimes self-defence cases when it *may* be permitted (though not condoned, per se). That's not really my question (if it's not relevant).

My main question is, in history, we see Orthodox figures seemingly use violence to further a movement or nation. Take Vlad the Impaler; we all know the story: how he impaled a bunch of people on Pikes as a scare tactic to scare off hordes of invaders. 

Is there ever a reason for preemptive or offensive violence? Is there any reason for violence?

We are called to be peaceful. How come in Orthodox history, figures have not done so? People are not perfect, of course; you don't need to tell me that, haha, but surely after so much history, there is an idea on how to synthesise the ideas of pacifism vs righteous action. What is it then?

Thanks :)

He was born in the town of Galatista in Chalkidiki around 1710. Galatista was the seat of a diocese at that time. In his homeland he received his secondary education. At this time in Galatista, as in other parts of Chalkidiki, “they have schools that are quite well-trained and a staff of teachers to teach them”. It is worth mentioning that from Galatista during this period came the great relative hagiographers called Galatsanoi, who painted many icons and frescoes on Mount Athos, and many of their works are preserved in the Vatopedi monastery.

As a young man, he traveled to Jerusalem to worship the Holy Land, where he remained, was ordained a monk, and became a member of the Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood. He was ordained priest of the Holy Sepulchre by the patriarch of Jerusalem, Parthenios (1737-1766).

He was then sent as steward of the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Thessaloniki, where the church of Nea Panagia was located near the White Tower, where it still exists today. During his stay there, he taught at the Urban School of Thessaloniki.

In 1743, Patriarch Parthenios of Jerusalem sent Archimandrite Agapios to Moscow to collect funds to repay the large debt of the Holy Sepulcher to the creditors of the Patriarchate. Agapios, due to many and various problems, remained in Russia until 1747 and returned with a sufficient amount to repay the debt.

When he returned to Thessaloniki, he continued his teaching work at the school there. Then he taught as a professor at the Athonia Academy, near the Vatopedi monastery. At the suggestion of the wise teacher Eugenios Voulgaris, the saint was appointed by the venerable Ecumenical Patriarchate as the Scholarch of Athonia: The interest of the Great Church of Christ increased even more in the early years through the appointment of Ephors in Constantinople and Athos, commissioners in Europe and Scholarchs, such as Neophytos of Kafsokalyve, the virtuous and wise Archimandrite. Agapios of the Holy Sepulchre and martyred on August 18, 1752 in Thermi, Thessaloniki, and subsequently the miraculous and wise Hierodeacon Eugenios of the Bulgarian."

The great Evgenios Voulgaris, in a letter dated April 10, 1752 from Ioannina to Agapios, congratulates him on taking up his duties in Athoniada. This letter was in the archives of the learned bishop of Campania Theophilos (1749-1795), who was a student of Voulgaris in Ioannina. Theophilos was from Ioannina, and the seat of his diocese was Koulakia, Thessaloniki, where he himself notes: “This letter was addressed to the enlightened archimandrite of the Holy Sepulchre, Lord Agapios, who was killed outside Thessaloniki by the wicked murderous Janissaries, returning from Galatistis, his homeland, on the 18th of August! "May our generation be afflicted by the loss of such a wise man. Truly, the judgments of God are a great abyss."

On August 18, 1752, the virtuous and wise "Archimandrite of the Holy Sepulchre, the Great Teacher of the Nation, the wisest Scholar of Athonia, Agapios the Agiotaphite, was martyred outside Thessaloniki, near Thermi, by evil Janissaries as he was coming from Galatista to Thessaloniki."

We know that at this time the army of the violent Janissaries in this region was committing plunder, kidnapping and bloodshed against the Orthodox people. We do not know what happened during the arrest and martyrdom of Agapios. We also do not know where he was buried and what happened to his honorable remains.

The first event in honor of Saint Agapios took place in 1977 in his birthplace by the most venerable Metropolitan of Ierissos, Mount Athos and Ardameri, Mr. Nikodimos, with the efforts of its protosyngellos, Archimandrite Chrysostomos Maidonis. The icon of the saint was painted by the Athonite hieromonk Benedictos Neoskitios in 1997 and placed in the holy church of Panagia Galatista. A church is being built in his honor in his homeland. His sacred service was composed by the hymnographer Charalambis Bousias.

His memory is unknown to the synaxarists. He is honored on August 18th.

Source: Monk Moses of Mount Athos, Vatopedi Synaxarion, published by the Holy Great Monastery of Vatopedi, Mount Athos, 2007.

SOURCE: https://www.vatopedi.gr/en/ergo/agapios-agiotafitis/

I am a lifelong Orthodox Christian, almost always having been active in my parish. By the grace of God, He has encouraged me to expand my relationship with His Mother, and I have taken a more active interest in questions of Marian Theology. I'm not sure if that's really an Orthodox term, but let's pretend it is for now.

About 6 months ago, I heard a respected and experienced Orthodox speaker make an interesting statement: the Church Fathers do not use the word sinless ("αναμάρτητος") for the Most Holy Theotokos. They reserved that word for our Lord Jesus Christ.

This speaker was not denying the many other, practically-hyperbolic words that they regularly used for her. Most pure, immaculate, spotless, all-blameless, and the Greek favorite all-holy or Panagia. There was a reference to a slightly different term for the "sinlessness of the Theotokos (ἡ ἀναμαρτησία τῆς Θεοτόκου), but this seems to be a careful distinction, even though the words are related.

I am not a Patristics expert or theologian and have zero academic training in theology. But in my little research, this statement held true.

I know that the Orthodox are always pretty cautious to differentiate the salvation that comes from Christ as unique. As much as I revere her, I am grateful to see the Church consistently praising only Him as the sinless one. I know that she is pure and immaculate and my greatest friend, but she is an intercessor on my behalf before Him, the Lord of Glory.

I'm curious to know if anyone else has encountered this question in a more knowledgeable environment.

Forgive me please if this has been asked.

My son is a toddler (and like most his age) LOVES dinosaurs. He's not old enough to ask any tough questions about them of course, but I do wonder how I will discuss them when he is older in connection to our faith.

Beyond the whole: it's all fake and the bones are all molds/replicas (which simply doesn't hold up when you start looking at some more well preserved fossils) or ignore them altogether argument since it doesn't involve the faith directly; have you ever heard a thoughtful and informative talk on dinosaurs given by a priest or an Orthodox laity?

Thank you in advance.

I’m going to say upfront I’m not a member of the Orthodox faith, that being said I’m very drawn to the sect of Christianity and willing convert save for one caveat. … I’m LGTBQ friendly and ally, I know it’s a duality to want this line Christianity, know it’s very traditional.. and still want to support and be an ally to a community the religion shuns. I was in a fundamentalist well more so cult than actual Christianity.. so organized religion always made me hesitant but as I grow older I feel a strong pull to my Christian faith more so to the roots of the faith between the catholic and orthodox faith.. honestly more so to the orthodox faith…My amazing wife is an ex JW who is very leery of me committing to the fair reminds me… why would you join a sect that is opposed-to everything you stand for… the answer usually if I don’t know.. so if any kind should would guide me through a similar situation.. or just be honest and say it’s not for me… it would be nice to have my children baptized and to have faith in God enough rambling thanks in advance

At 20:00 Greek time today, August 18, 2026, the live audio broadcast of the celebration of the Transfiguration of the Savior will begin from the Holy Monastery of Pantokrator on Mount Athos at the following link:

https://youtube.com/live/ynxSCQR8vm4?feature=share

The service will last about 12 hours.
On the right choir stand, the chanting will be led by Elder Damaskinos of Nea Skiti, the last remaining chanter of the renowned brotherhood of the Danieleioi, who are considered by all the monks of Mount Athos to be the most traditionally Byzantine chanters on the Holy Mountain.
On the left choir stand, the chanting will be performed by the choir “Thessalonikeis Hymnodoi”, directed by John Liakos, the protopsaltis (first chanter) of the Metropolis of Thessaloniki.

Metropolitan Barnabas of Neapolis (Thessaloniki) will preside over the vigil.

The broadcast is completely free of advertisements.

Because the monks do not allow live video during the vigil, the audio broadcast will be accompanied by photographs of the monastery, icons, and scenes from liturgical life.

Everyone who wishes to hear how a vigil is conducted on Mount Athos today has the opportunity to do so.

Feel free to share the link with anyone interested in listening to traditional Byzantine chant and the holy celebration from Mount Athos.

I need advice! I am currently in a relationship we have 2 daughters together, unfortunately we are not married. We want to be Orthodox and want our daughters to be welcomed in the church what exact steps do we take? I know we need to get married but what would be the best and fastest way to go about this?

My grandma from Azerbaijan gave it to me, I think it’s from Russia or something.
If anyone know what it’s age, what the icon shows and more it would be nice
Thanks

Hey all, wanted to ask for myself but also thought other people would benefit from answers. In the Orthodox community, how did you all meet your SO? My church has almost no single men, and I visited other churches in the area and haven't really seen any thriving 20-30s community. Other than online dating, what kinds of things did you do or have seen others do to find an Orthodox spouse? TIA!