Spirituality

Holy healers celebrated in July (I)

In the month of July, the Orthodox calendar features numerous healing saints, among whom Saint Panteleimon and Saints Cosmas and Damian stand out as some of the most renowned unmercenary physicians. This is the most extensive selection yet in the series of articles on holy healers, aligning with the themes of the 2024 Commemorative and…

Jul 9, 2024Aurelian Iftimiu

July, a Month of Women Saints in the Orthodox Calendar: Their lives show how much Christian women can achieve

Men and women are equal in Christ and equally called to holiness. Traditionally, the Romanian Orthodox Church honours Christian women on the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women. Still, during a patronal feast of the Romanian community in Turkey, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew suggested that July could also be designated as a Month of Holy Women. Month…

Jul 3, 2024Aurelian Iftimiu

OCA Metropolitan Tikhon visits Putna Monastery: An occasion for spiritual strengthening and reflection on monastic life

His Beatitude Tikhon, Archbishop of Washington and Metropolitan of All America and Canada (Orthodox Church in America), visited Putna Monastery on June 4-5, 2024. Archim. Melchisedec Velnic, the abbot of the Romanian monastery, and the fathers welcomed him with honours on Tuesday. They led him into the monastery church, where the abbot briefly presented the…

Jun 6, 2024Ștefana Totorcea

Can a Christian be depressed? If resumed to gratitude and humility, the world would not suffer: Bishop Nectarie of Brittany

“It would be wonderful if suffering itself brought us closer to God. When we see things from this perspective, we do not despair and discourage ourselves,” said Bishop Nectarie of Brittany, Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Western Europe, on Sunday. The Gospel passage about the Healing of the Paralytic at Bethesda teaches us “to…

May 27, 2024Aurelian Iftimiu

Profile of a Holy Healer: More is known about the miracles of St. Therapon than about his life

The life of the Cypriot saint celebrated by Orthodox Christians on May 14 is almost unknown, yet his miraculous deeds far exceed the existing biographical records. Many of those who prayed with faith before his relics received healing from God for paralysis, cancer, bleeding, blindness, tuberculosis, and more. Saint Therapon is known as a great…

May 14, 2024Aurelian Iftimiu

10 holy healers celebrated in May

We continue the monthly presentation of heavenly physicians while commemorating the Lord’s Resurrection. Ten saintly persons who exhibited humility while bearing their cross and triumphed over human frailties have been selected as saints to whom faithful turn for solace and healing when confronted with adversity. St Matrona the Blind – May 2 Saint Matrona was…

May 8, 2024Aurelian Iftimiu

Lent, an opportunity for inner retreat: Let us withdraw from the informational uproar, Bishop Macarie urges

In a message published on the first day of Lent, His Grace Bishop Macarie of Northern Europe called Great Lent “a blessed opportunity for inner retreat from our daily distractions and wanderings.” The Romanian bishop explained what fasting is and why we fast. “Fasting is restoring our connection with ourselves, our neighbour and God. Fasting…

Mar 20, 2024Aurelian Iftimiu

9 holy healers celebrated in March

We continue to feature each month’s holy healers, with nine saints celebrated in March. The lives of some of them are less known to believers in Romania, so this month is a good opportunity to learn about saints who enjoy special reverence in other countries such as the United Kingdom or Greece. Saint David of…

Mar 12, 2024Aurelian Iftimiu

8 holy healers celebrated in February

This year is an excellent opportunity to dwell on the lives of saints who received the gift of healing from God. If we got acquainted with eight holy healers in January, February concentrates many of them from its very first days. We have chosen to present 8 of the most evident healers with saintly lives…

Feb 14, 2024Raluca-Emanuela Ene

Take a virtual tour of Ukraine’s oldest monastery: Kyiv Pechersk Lavra

Online visits are now possible to the Monastery of the Caves (Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra), the oldest Orthodox monastery in Ukraine. The initiative, under the supervision of the city of Kyiv, seeks to publicise the expansive 26-hectare monastery complex. The virtual tour encompasses several notable landmarks, including the Great Belfry, the “Ascension of the Lord” Cathedral, the “Saints Anthony and…

Jan 18, 2024Aurelian Iftimiu

8 holy healers celebrated in January

All the saints in the calendar of the Orthodox Church are models and intercessors to God for Christians and help them find solutions to the problems they encounter. Certain saints stand out for their help in healing physical and spiritual illnesses. In 2024, a year designated by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church…

Jan 11, 2024basilica.ro