Source: Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry (OCPM) New York, NY — The over 1,300 people in prison served by Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry are used to receiving spiritual “blessings” in the mail, but February is a special month. February is the only time everyone receives an icon sprinkled with holy water. “Prepare and quiet yourself,” the Blessing of the Cells service pamphlet begins. “Set up your icons, and place the icon card of the Baptism of Christ in a prominent position.” The icon cards we send have all been blessed at the service of Holy Theophany. The sacramental blessing is ready…
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Source: Orthodox Times The use of Church symbols in the Russian struggle to conquer Ukraine continues. This time, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and Russian National Guard leader Viktor Zolotov pinned their hopes on a “quick” victory over the Ukrainians in an image of the Virgin Mary, which the Patriarch presented to Zolotov during the service. “We believe this image will protect the Russian army and bring our victory faster,” the top military official told Patriarch Kirill at the Church of the Savior in Moscow. As he noted, “things are not going as fast as we would like”. The commander justified…
Source: Eastern American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church During this pandemic, as we collectively experience the global outbreak and exponential spread of the coronavirus, the Venerable Nikephoros the Leper appeared to someone in Greece and told him: “Tell the people not to be afraid of the virus. And, in the event that someone gets infected, tell them to pray to me and I will help them.” Rendered at the hands of iconographer, Archimandrite Evsevije (Meandzija), a Serbian post-graduate student at the Theological Faculty of the University of Athens, this new icon for our times, represents the Theotokos and St.…
Source: Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia – Eastern American Diocese Originally published in December 2017 An icon of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos containing a piece of the omophorion of the Mother of God is visiting the churches and monasteries of the Eastern American Diocese. Bringing the icon from Moscow is the general director of the Russian National Creative Workshop “Art-Project,” LLC, and director of the International Foundation for Mutual Development & Strengthening of Spiritual Unity and the Religious & Historical Values of Russian Orthodoxy in the Homeland & Abroad “Under the Protection of the Theotokos,” Eugene (Evgeny)…