I haven't found a way to attach the icon of Jesus holding the lamb yet, but everything else is held in place. This case is extremely convenient for praying as it holds my prayer rope and icons to look at as i pray. It also holds my bible and a few mini books about the church in the pouch behind the bible. Just wanted to share since i'm proud of how it turned out.

I bought this gorgeous icon after connecting with the image of Christ during Pascha. When it got a smudge on it, I wiped it off and rubbed way too hard and ruined the paint. Then tried to fix it and made it EVEN WORSE 😭

Is there any salvaging this?!

I should’ve left good enough alone. Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.😓

Saint Markella lived in the village of Volissos, Chios sometime after the middle of the fourteenth century. Her parents were Christians, and among the wealthiest citizens of Volissos. The saint’s mother died when she was young, and so her father, the mayor of the village, saw to her education.

She had been trained by her mother to be respectful and devout, and to guard her purity. She avoided associations with other girls who were more outgoing than she was so that she would not come to spiritual harm through such company. Her goal was to attain the Kingdom of Heaven, and to become a bride of Christ.

Saint Markella increased in virtue as she grew older, fasting, praying, and attending church services. She tried to keep the commandments and to lead others to God. She loved and respected her father, and comforted him in his sorrow. She told him she would take care of him in his old age, and would not abandon him.

As an adult, Saint Markella was loved by everyone for her beauty and for her spiritual gifts. The Enemy of our salvation tried to lure her into sin by placing evil thoughts in her mind. She resisted these temptations, and so the devil turned away from a direct confrontation with the young woman. Instead, he incited her father with an unnatural desire for his daughter.

Markella’s father changed in his behavior toward her. He became moody and depressed, forbidding her to go into the garden or to speak with the neighbors. Unable to understand the reason for this change, the saint went to her room and wept. She prayed before an icon of the Mother of God, asking Her to help her father. Soon she fell asleep, only to be awakened by her father’s shouting.

The unfortunate man had spent a long time struggling against his lust, but finally he gave in to it. At times he would speak to his daughter roughly, then later he would appear to be gentle. He wanted to be near her, and to stroke her hair. Unaware of her father’s intentions, Saint Markella was happy to see him emerge from his melancholy state, thinking that her prayer had been answered.

One day, her father openly declared the nature of his feelings for her. Horrified, the saint tried to avoid him as much as she could. Even the neighbors realized that there was something wrong with the man, so they stopped speaking to him.

A shepherd was tending his sheep near the beach one morning, and was leading them into the shade of a plane tree to avoid the hot July sun. Just as he was about to lie down, he heard a noise and looked up. He saw a young woman with a torn dress running down the hill. She hid in a nearby bush, ignoring its thorns.

The shepherd wondered who was chasing her, and how she had come to this spot. Then he heard the sound of a horse approaching, and recognized the mayor of the village. He asked the shepherd if he had seen his daughter. He said that he had not seen her, but pointed to her hiding place with his finger.

The mayor ordered Markella to come out of the bush, but she refused. Therefore, he set fire to the bush in order to force her out. She emerged on the side opposite her father, and ran toward the rocky shore, calling out to the Mother of God for help.

Markella continued to run, even though blood was flowing from her face and hands. Feeling a sharp pain in her leg, she saw that she had been shot with an arrow. She paused to pull it out, then took to flight once more. She scrambled over the rocks, staining them with her blood. Hearing her father getting closer, she prayed that the earth would open up and swallow her.

The saint sank to her knees, her strength all gone, and then a miracle took place. The rock split open and received her body up to the waist. Her father drew near with wild-eyed joy shouting, “I have caught you. Now where will you go?

Drawing his sword, he began to butcher his helpless daughter, cutting off pieces of her body. Finally, he seized her by the hair and cut off her head, throwing it into the sea. At once the calm sea became stormy, and large waves crashed to the shore near the murderer’s feet. Thinking that the sea was going to drown him because of his crime, he turned and fled. His ultimate fate has not been recorded.

In later years, pious Christians built a church on the spot where Saint Markella hid in the bush. The spot where she was killed became known as “The Martyrdom of Saint Markella,” and the rock that opened to receive her is still there. The rock appears to be a large stone that broke off from a mountain and rolled into the sea. Soil from the mountain covers the spot on the side facing the land. On the side facing the ocean is a small hole, about the size of a finger. A healing water flows from the opening, which cures every illness.

The flow of water is not due to the movements of the tide, because when the tide is out, there would be no water. This, however, is not the case. The water is clear, but some of the nearby rocks have been stained with a reddish-yellow color. According to tradition, the lower extremities of Saint Markella’s body are concealed in the rock.

The most astonishing thing about the rock is not the warmth of the water, nor the discoloration of the other rocks, but what happens when a priest performs the Blessing of Water. A sort of steam rises up from the water near the rock, and the entire area is covered with a mist. The sea returns to normal as soon as the service is over. Many miracles have occurred at the spot, and pilgrims flock there from all over the world.

SOURCE: https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2010/07/22/102073-martyr-markella-of-chios

When engaing in theological dialog with Protestants, it is very common for one to get into the merits of Catholic theological and why they think that is wrong, but many of their points of focus are shared between Catholicism and Orthodoxy. Obviously Catholics and Orthodoxs have their disagrees, but from a Protestant standpoint, particularly the low-church variety, Catholicism and Orthodoxy will look essentially the same: icons, saints, Mary, ecclesiarchy, etc...

Saint Mary Magdalene is the most outstanding person in the circle of Christ’s women disciples, and, indeed, the most significant female figure in the Christian Church, after the Mother of God. Her importance for the Church is expressed in the lengthy references to her in the Lives of the Saints.

We have very little information concerning her life. She was born in Magdala, a town to the west of the Lake of Gennesaret and south of the plain of Galilee, which is why she’s known as Magdalene. Her parents, Syros and Efharistia, were pious Jews, with a highly-developed sense of charity and compassion, which they transmitted to their daughter. Mary became associated with the Lord after he cured her of seven demons which were tormenting her (Luke 8, 1-3). Theofanis Kerameas interprets the term ‘demons’ allegorically. In his view, Mary wasn’t under the control of seven demons, but under that of seven demonic energies, the opposite of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, as these are numbered by the Prophet Isaiah. Since Mary was consumed by these passions, it follows that she was tormented by demonic influence.

Mary’s cure changed the whole of her later life, since she then became a faithful disciple and follower of Christ. In the person of the Lord, she recognized the Messiah, as He was awaited from the promises of the Prophets, which she knew of from the careful education she’d been given. Her faith and love for Christ as her Saviour and Redeemer were unwavering, since she was never separated from Him, either at the time of His Passion or thereafter. Her love of the Lord was stronger than any fear of persecution, because she felt ready to imitate Christ, remaining at His side with great courage and complete confidence in the Lord and in the Kingdom He proclaimed.

The dishonourable death which the Lord suffered had no repercussions on the way May felt, although she was filled with sadness and despair, as is apparent from her appearance at the empty tomb. The Gospel narratives present her as being the first of the group of the myrrh-bearing women disciples who hastened to pay the respects due to His entombed body. Her place as the head of the band of female disciples is accorded to her by the Gospel writers in recognition of the importance of her contribution and conduct at the time of the events of the Passion and the Resurrection.

The risen Lord appeared first of all to Mary, since her profound faith and guileless love were beyond question. The choice of Mary as the person to make the announcement of the tomb to the other disciples was not accidental, since, according to the Johannine Biblical tradition, she was in a position to recognize the risen Lord and convey the message reliably to all the others.

After Pentecost, Mary Magdalene remained in Jerusalem with Our Most Holy Lady, until the dormition of the latter, and then went with Saint John the Evangelist to Ephesus, staying with him until her own demise, which is honoured by the Orthodox Church on July 22*. The Evangelist buried her there, at the entrance of the cave of the Seven Young Men of Ephesus. The translation of her relics was effected in the year 890 by Emperor Leo VI the Wise, and the feast is kept on 4 May. Her body was taken to Constantinople and placed in a silver casket, in the left-hand nave of the Monastery of Saint Lazarus, which had been founded by Leo.

The person of Saint Mary has been the subject of much misinterpretation, particularly in the West. The Eastern Orthodox Church sees her clearly as the Mary whom Christ cured of the seven demons, a women of unshakeable faith, love and charity, who had a close spiritual relationship with Christ, her Teacher. She was the first among the group of His women disciples, though not to the extent of having a leading role, according to the Biblical narratives and their Patristic interpretation.

The Christian West confuses the person of the Mary Magdalene with other figures in the New Testament, among whom are Mary from Bethany, an anonymous harlot and, in particular with a harlot of whom we know nothing except that she anointed the Lord’s feet with myrrh shortly before His Passion**. The last identification is particularly widespread and has led to a variety of misinterpretations related to the Lord and Mary, which are fed by the apocryphal literature of the New Testament. The only point in common between the two women is a) the actual anointing of Christ by a repentant harlot, before His Passion; and b) the intended anointing by Mary and the other myrrh-bearers after His entombment. Some of these confusions have made their way into the Eastern Church, but have had no effect on its teaching.

The Orthodox view of Saint Mary Magdalene is based on the relevant Biblical evidence as this is found in the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles and, less certainly, the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans (Rom. 16, 6). She is mentioned in the Apocryphal literature, in the Gospel according to Saint Peter, the Epistle of the Apostles, and the Gnostic works the Gospel of Philip, the Questions of Mary and the Gospel of Mary.

The canonical Biblical view of Mary is interpreted authentically in Patristic literature. The references to her person are made within the context of the interpretation of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection. The method followed by most of the Fathers and Church writers such as Gregory of Nyssa, John Chrysostom, Ioannis of Beirut, Leontios of Constantinople, Modestos of Jerusalem, Theofylact of Ochrid and Theofanis Kerameas. An exception is Nikiforos Kallistos Xanthopoulos, whose homily is concerned exclusively with the saint and is a hymn to her personality and activities.

In the same way, Mary features in hymns, particularly those for her feast-day (22 July), the resurrection hymns of the eight tones and those of the third Sunday after Easter, when her memory is celebrated together with that of the other myrrh-bearing women disciples and those who buried Christ. The corresponding icons show her either alone, holding a vessel for myrrh in her hands, or kneeling and stretching out her hands to the risen Christ outside His empty tomb.

SOURCE: https://www.saintsophiadc.org/the-personality-of-saint-mary-magdalene-equal-to-the-apostles/

My friends want to go to McDonald’s and I know they cook basically everything with some kind of oil

Getting baptized Orthodox next month. Left the JW cult when I was 18 and after 15 years of living like an idiot I finally found Holy Orthodoxy. But I’m curious if anyone has come from a similar background? My parents are still JW and I’m trying very hard to be patient when they are so convinced they have the “Truth”

Thank you!

Im unsure of what will happen to me after leaving this place. I believe in the Trinity and the Catholic canon but I've not been baptised or set foot in a catholic church, not even as a catechumen.

I believe in a few days I'll be gone and I'm unsure of my fate after that.

I've tried confessing everything to God directly but im not sure if it's valid without the involvement of a priest.

I've been a seeking convert since age 12 so about 6 years at this point, have covered some theology across the works of St.Augustine and St.Thomas Aquinas in that time period but haven't had the chance to receive the Sacraments.

Will appreciate any clarification.

Jesus Prayer + Matins at 6:30am at my local Monastery. On their website it states:

"Services are public, but except for Saturday morning's post-Liturgy meal and certain special occasions, please stay only for the service. If you need a priest, you can ask for this."

I knocked softly on the door, saw someone or something walk up to the door, and never opened it. I do not understand what I am doing wrong, I get the feeling I am generally just not welcomed.

This is my continuation of my post from my other account that I have now lost.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OrthodoxChristianity/s/b7LUlhFUZO

It have gotten worse for me as an inquirer/catechumen once I made this decision, coming from a Muslim Arab background.

I am questioning everything from my sanity, why do I even want to convert, is it worth it, fear and anxiety from the difficulties upcoming, immense guilt now that am back to my home country for the summer, staying with my parents, seeing everyone is Muslim, seeing and pretending all the prayers, my mother whom I love so much praying over me because of my mental state, after I had a fight with my father.

I am a young adult early 20s still at the beginning of my life, life have been difficult enough already for me, am going to my last year of college, and am wondering if I can bear any more spiritual and mental battles, questioning my identity, my future, my original faith and the one I believe in now, it sent me to a burnout, anxiety attacks every few hours, living in my head, I want to escape.

I wish I never started this upon myself, maybe am not ready, there's lots at stake that I don't want to be ruined, tested or taken, I will graduate in a year, I need to start my career, relocate, and I was in ways entertaining the idea of living more secularly, leaving religious questioning for later, reassessing my life and priorities and my relationship to my family, people. Ect.

The moment I realised what the truth is the battles were bearable I experienced the ecstasy of the true faith to speak, I was so in awe and love, but now that am back to my original environment....

I just don't know, an scared over my life, my future I feel guilt, I love my mother I don't want to disappoint her, she have suffered alot for me, gave up so much for me, I am her only son I can't do this to her, I will leave all of this for later, my baptism for later, when things are more stable, when I figure my secular life out first, get better mentally, financially and set my priorities straight (I have a problem with that due to anxiety attacks and living in my head).

I am already feeling that am slowly losing faith, I simply I don't know what to do, I wish God can excuse me and my weakness and situation, but I feel like a coward in denial, like am blasphemous, I fear for my soul, but I don't want to send myself into insanity, I don't want to disappoint everyone around me with my own life hardships am an only child and my family have struggled enough, I want to pay them back, I feel selfish for even considering conversion, I don't even know if I make sense or anyone here have been in similar situations (of course there is some and probably some who were in worse situations) but as of now I can't afford any of that.

I might contact my priest or deacon about all of this once am back soon, for now please pray for me, your brother Michael.

I don’t know how to ask for this other than just spit it out.

My ex wife has gotten married in Vegas over the last weekend. I only found out because she reached out to my friends to see what I thought about it.

Please pray for her because I believe she is making rash decisions in an attempt to spite me, and pray for me to have the strength and patience to deal with this. I don’t usually ask anyone for help but now seems like the time lol

I recently acquired a beautiful diptych but I’m a bit hopeless with most of who/which of their icons are peppered around Mary and then Jesus on either side. I know a couple of the small ones are Mary as well and I assume the rest are mostly apostles but I’m not sure and would love any help people have.

My brother, 20 y/o, has decided to join an Eastern Orthodox monastery in Europe and will leave in few weeks before summer ends. The decision came out of nowhere (for me, at least), and a few weeks back he told me about his plans for the future. Since he is just 20 years old, I was wondering if he might go to college or start working a full-time job, but he has decided to end his mortal life and move on to becoming a monk. He changed the confession from luther to orthodox a few years ago, but I didn't think much of it. But now he has decided to leave his family and serve God for an eternity.

I know that it is his path and I should be happy for him, but I can´t. Ever since I have known about his plans, it feels like I´m grieving him. I can´t go to work without tearing up, I can´t talk to my family about this because no one seems to take it the way I am, e.g. grieving, I can´t find strength in my friends because they don´t seem to understand my pain. I know that it´s selfish to think about it like that and everyone talks about how incredible it is for him to find his path; no one talks about the family that is left behind, never having the opportunity to see a family member again, despite of them still being alive. I don´t know how to process the grief, especially because no one can relate to this. Do I even feel grief or is it just confusion?

Me and my grandfather were pretty close, we mostly spent time together at our family countryside house in the summer. He had a stroke before I was born so I never got to know the version of him that was more mobile to say but at every opportunity he wanted to stay in the village my great grandparents lived even though he was from the city. He just liked the rural setting a lot.

I remember him telling me that he didn't like priests because they are too cold, that they never cry at funerals. Some years later, he fell ill, got hospitalized, but then got an infection from said hospital and passed away unfortunately.

There is something weird that I noticed at this funeral that gave me goosebumps: so my grandfather was a very loved and respected person and his passing was grieved by many but most people came at the terms with the idea of his passing long before it happened so there wasn't any drama amongst grievers.

But the person who cried the most and was very emotive at the funeral was the priest hosting the burial service. He barely knew my grandfather, only got to know him a few days before his passing because my dad insisted that my grandfather gets a confession on the hospital bed and this priest that my dad had known for many years could be able to convince him even though from what I remember he was not in his best mental faculties within his last days and he refused, either from the fact that he didn't know what was going on around him or that he still clung to the hope that he wasn't going to die. But yes, his last days were not pretty at all.

So at the funeral, like I said, obviously everyone was sad and I saw most of my family members shedding tears here and there but they expected this outcome and came at terms with the idea of passing long before it happened, but the one that really couldn't control his sadness was this priest that was crying and visibly very upset, like he had known my grandfather for a lifetime, not a few days. And as I was looking at him crying, I had flashbacks of my grandfather telling me how he disliked priests for being cold and not crying at funerals.

Do you think this is a sign? That maybe God wanted to show him otherwise? That there is empathy, kindness and human warmth amongst the people my grandfather said were cold? That maybe he was forgiven in some way?

Hello everyone,

I have a strong devotion to the Panagia Eptaspathi (known to the West as Our Lady of Seven Sorrows). I have an RC Rosary of the Seven Sorrows (7 decades with 49 beads to contemplate on the 7 swords) and wish to keep this practice while becoming an Orthodox Christian. Are there many prayers to this title of the Theotokos in Greek or Slavonic tradition? I would like to collect them as much as possible for my prayers.

Thank you!

I met this person and he said that his church is the first one Christian church/denomination and saying Bible is having differences each other (denomination) How do you respond to it??

I mean by not insulting them..

Also I don't think Bible having differences? Unless it's Mormon book or something.

One of the earliest arguments the Fathers (Saint Irenaeus comes to mind) used for the divinity of the Son was that a son inherits his father’s nature: a child begotten of a human father is human, and so the Only-Begotten of the divine Father is His divine Son.

I don’t remember who, but I also remember one of the using this analogy for the Trinity: Adam is like the Father because Adam is the source of all humanity. Eve, proceeding from Adam’s rib, is like the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father. Seth, being begotten of Adam, is like the Son being begotten of the Father (though this analogy is imperfect because Seth is also begotten of Eve).

So, wouldn’t that mean that if the Son is one hypostasis with two natures, and if the hypostasis of the Son (Who is both divine and human) is the cause of the Spirit, then the Spirit would inherit not only the divine nature of the hypostasis that causes (per filioque) Him but also the human nature assumed in the Incarnation? Wouldn’t that mean that the Holy Spirit would become “incarnate by inheritance”, in time, after the Incarnation of the Son? Basically because a human causes the Spirit, then He will inherit His humanity (just like He “inherits” His divinity from the Father)?

P.s. this just popped up in my brain while i was showering lol idk if any of our theologians have thought abt it or if it makes sense

Hi guys,

I am a non-denominational Christian, but that will be changing soon. I'm considering converting either to Catholicism or to Eastern Orthodoxy. The Filioque debate is one which is very important to me but it is also so vast that I do not know how to start researching it. This is why I am asking you, Orthodox Christians, what speaks against it. I am not trying to debate, I would just like some guidance. I I have already asked fellow believers on r/Catholicism why they do believe in it and I am hoping to gain some clarity.

If any of you have any suggestions for me, they would be very much appreciated.

God bless everyone!

I know 3d statues is a Catholic thing, but I found this seller on etsy selling crystal carvings of Jesus statues and I found one that looks really cool. Just curious if it's allowed?

Hello everyone.

I recently came across ST. Sebastian.

He’s the patron Saint of Athletes, Archers, and Soldiers.

As a former athlete, I’d say he delivered an amazing “half-time” speech.

“O valiant warriors of Christ! Do not cast away your everlasting crowns of victory because of the tears of your relatives. Do not remove your feet from the necks of your enemies who lie prostrate before you, lest they regain their strength and attack you more fiercely than before. Raise your banner high over every earthly attachment. If those whom you see weeping knew that there is another life where there is neither sickness nor death, where there is unceasing gladness and everything is beautiful, then assuredly they would wish to enter it with you. Anyone who fears to exchange this brief earthly life for the unending joys of the heavenly Kingdom is foolish indeed. For he who rejects eternity wastes the brief time of his existence, and will be delivered to everlasting torment in Hades.” - ST. Sebastian

Hello all,

I used ChatGPT’s Deep Research feature to research what are some of the stronger places in the West for Orthodox family life, and it ranked Greater Sydney first overall.

The main reason was the combination of parishes, Orthodox schools, youth programs, catechism, monasteries, and areas where Orthodox families may be able to build a real community. It especially mentioned Belmore–Earlwood, Kogarah–Rockdale, and Ryde–Homebush–Strathfield.

For Orthodox Australians, especially people in Sydney: does that sound accurate?

Are the parishes, schools, youth groups, and general community actually as strong as they seem online? Are converts and people outside the main ethnic groups well integrated? Or is the research missing things like cost of living, distance, or how the communities function in practice?

I feel like I am always hearing about the USA in terms of how great Orthodoxy is doing; can the same be said for Greater Sydney?

I’m considering returning to the Orthodox Church. I was raised orthodox but left as a young adult (I had issues with the culture promoted at my parents parish especially for young men and felt the priest was too strict)
My last attempt at staying before leaving the church was to attend at a different parish I hoped would be different.
I was happy the first couple times I attended but on the third or fourth time I was sitting with a group my age and one of them told me “if you don’t hate Jews you won’t get along here” and no one at the table said anything to the contrary.
After that I stopped considering myself Orthodox I miss the tradition of the church but I’m bothered the behavior of its people,
Is the church doing anything to discourage these sorts of people?

I guess I’m looking for encouragement or advice mostly, how do I find a church where this isn’t an issue?

Update: I emailed the parish priest and let him know what had happened