Slovyansk, Donetsk Province, Ukraine, March 31, 2025 Photo: rbk.ru Ukrainian courts have extended the detention of His Eminence Metropolitan Arseny of Svyatogorsk of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church yet again. With this latest extension, through the end of May, Met. Arseny, who is also the abbot of the Holy Dormition-Svyatogorsk Lavra, will be in…
Athens, March 31, 2025 Photo: orthodoxwitness.org At its session earlier this month, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece unanimously accepted the proposal to canonize a beloved 20th-century married saint. The request to canonize Papa-Demetrios Gagastathis was submitted by Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Trikki, Gardiki, and Pyli. Having been accepted by the Greek Synod, it…
Repentance is our reconciliation with God —St. John Climacus Lent is a time of repentance—a time when our stony hearts should be transformed by the power of God from insensible to sensitive, from cold and hardened to warm and open—open to others and to God Himself. Lent is a time of renewal, when as…
Self-portrait, by Y.A. Orlov. 2018. Oil on canvas. 110×80 cm. From the author’s private collection The Russian Academy of Fine Arts recently featured an exhibition of work by Yuri Orlov, People’s Artist of the Russian Federation. His art is defined by a desire to portray the realities of contemporary life with both precision and depth—yet…
This article could be jokingly entitled, “A Friend Among Strangers, a Stranger Among Friends, or a Tale about How an Orthodox Woman Was Looking for a Church Among Mosques.” My trip to the capital of the mountains and the heart of the Caucasus has found a special place in my heart, leaving many unforgettable impressions…
