“'Pray for us!' is the message that comes from the people from the USA to the Greek Orthodox Christians. 'Orthodox Christians hold your faith!' With these words ends the interview of Archimandrite Damascene, abbot of St. Herman’s of Alaska monastery in California, in this last part." Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | …
Category: Spirituality
A Hermit’s Cell in the Russian North
"There is nothing here, at the Cell – no golden domes, no beautiful lakes, no trees to shelter and soothe. Bare earth, bare sea, bare sky – the skeleton of God’s creation, the naked bones against which all else seem un-necesary details..." When I stumbled onto this blog post by Fr Seraphim Aldea it reminded …
Abbot Damascene Interview: Video 4 of 6
Abbot Damascene of St. Herman of Alaska Monastery, Platina CA, in this part of his interview to Pemptousia, talks about the worth of social media to the lives of modern Christian, highlighting at the same time their spiritual dangers. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 September …
Books for Monastic Seekers: ‘The Arena’
A classic manual on the Christian spiritual life, by Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov, this is the second in this series of posts. See post 1 here. The Arena: Guidelines for Spiritual and Monastic Life By Ignatius (Brianchaninov) Translated by Lazarus (Moore) Foreword by Kallistos (Ware); Holy Trinity Publications, Jordanville NY. From the publisher's description: This is one …
Children and Monasticism: Ideas for Summer reading (and pilgrimages!)
Children love pilgrimages to Orthodox Christian monasteries, as any Orthodox parent who has taken their kids to one can tell you. These books help reveal why. Maybe it's the total simplicity, beauty and peacefulness of the surroundings, or perhaps it is because the nuns or monks themselves have a child-like quality about them which allows …
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The North American Thebaid 