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The 12 Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church
Above all these is Pascha (Easter),
the Resurrection of Christ

Icon of the 12 Great Feasts with Pascha • Nativity of Mary
• Presentation of Mary in the Temple
• Annunciation
• Christmas
• Presentation of Jesus/
Meeting of the Lord
• Baptism of the Lord/Theophany
• Transfiguration
• Palm Sunday
• Ascension
• Pentecost
• Dormition/Assumption of Mary
• Finding of the Cross by St Helena

Click here for icons of all 12 feasts

Fasts
• Most Wednesdays and Fridays of the year
• Nativity Fast/Christmas Lent (Advent)
• Great Lent (before Pascha/Easter)
• SS. Peter & Paul Fast
(a short fast in early summer)
• Dormition Fast/Assumption Lent

About Orthodoxy
What Is Orthodoxy?
By Fr Theodore Pulcini, an Orthodox priest — a good introduction
Sayings of the Desert Fathers
Heading for the Light
Some Orthodox quotations on the way to deification
Five Stages of Contemplative Prayer
By Archimandrite Hierotheos (Vlachos)
Prayer Without Ceasing
Excerpt from The Way of a Pilgrim, the 19th-century anonymous Russian classic ‘book that changed my life’
The Mystery of Salvation Revealed Through Ceaseless Prayer
Excerpt from The Pilgrim Continues His Way, the sequel to The Way of a Pilgrim, passed on to me from a reader of this site
Древлеправославие
Этот сайт посвящен истории Древлеправославия (Старообрядчества)/Old Believer site in Russian
Download the Bible in Slavonic (PDF format)
Download the New Testament in Russian
On the Ascetic Struggle of Living in the World
A sermon from Metropolitan Laurus of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR)
Catechism by St Innocent of Alaska
An online book

Zhertvennik

Above: The priest (right) and deacon at the proskomedia, preparing the bread before the Divine Liturgy (Mass).

WORSHIP
The Byzantine Rite
Jordanville Prayer Book Online
The gold standard of Russian Orthodox prayer books in English
The Liturgy of St James
Not the usual service in the Orthodox Church but an ancient one
How to Pray the Hours at Home
A Simplified Version of the Hours for Home Use
An ingenious reformed version by Fr Deacon Lance Weakland
A Place to Pray the Hours
An icon corner: shrine of Our Lady of Kazan’
A Virtual Place to Pray
Sample Orthodox prayer online!
The General Menaion
An online book: Book of Services Common to the Festivals of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Holy Virgin and of Different Orders of Saints. Russian usage, all in English. For the very curious and those who need these texts to do services in church.
360° Panoramic View Inside a Greek Orthodox Church
St Luke’s, Aradhippou, Cyprus
University of Kansas Russian Orthodoxy Page
Inaccurate in its description of the Schism, but it has an excellent tour of a Russian Orthodox church and an outline of the Divine Liturgy
Daily Psalter Readings
From Protection of the Mother of God Russian Orthodox Church (Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia — ROCOR), Rochester, N.Y. A guide to reading the whole Book of Psalms in one week, like Orthodox monks and nuns do.
The Eight Russian Tones
In Russian: See how similar, and different, Slavonic (the liturgical language) is to the Russian vernacular
ΠΡΟΟΙΜΙΑΚΗ — ΠΡΩΙΝΗ ΠΡΟΣΕΥΧΗ
Daily Orthodox prayers in Greek
Byzantine Rite Liturgical Vestments and Bishop’s Attire

Fr Nicholas, hegumen, Holy Resurrection Monastery, California MONASTICISM
Celibacy in Eastern Christianity
By Fr Maximos (Davies), a Byzantine Catholic monk
Mount Athos
Greece
An introduction to an historic centre of Orthodox monasticism
Holy Trinity Monastery
Jordanville, N.Y., USA
A famous example of traditional Russian Orthodox monasticism in the US and the world
St Herman of Alaska Brotherhood
Platina, California, USA
Co-founded by Frs Seraphim (Rose) and Herman (Podmoshensky)
Monastery of the Transfiguration
Ellwood City, Pa., USA
Convent under the Romanian branch of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA)
New Skete
Cambridge, N.Y., USA
Considered ‘liberal’ (a very relative term) by Orthodox standards, these OCA monks, formerly Franciscans, keep a very austere liturgical life that actually seems to reflect the legitimate Roman Catholic liturgical renewal before Vatican II. They are more famous for breeding and raising Alsatian/German shepherd dogs, having published several books on this.
Below: A Russian Orthodox priest hears a confession.
A Russian Orthodox priest hears a confession Holy Resurrection Monastery
Newberry Springs, California, USA
The Orthodox monastic tradition is slowly reviving among Byzantine Catholics. Here is a more detailed site about this community.
Chevetogne
A pioneering Belgian Benedictine community of Roman Catholics who use both the Roman and Byzantine rites
Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Monks of Mt Tabor, Redwood Valley, California, USA
Founded by Archimandrite Boniface (Luykx), a Belgian who actually co-wrote Vatican II’s liturgy document, but later moved to the Ukrainian Catholic Church in reaction to the disaster that happened after that council.
Black-and-White Art Photos of Coptic Monks in Egypt
and Orthodox Monks on Mount Athos
By Michael McClellan of Inner Light Productions — help support the monks by buying prints of his photos

PROLIFE
Orthodox Christians for Life
Oklahoma Orthodox Christians for Life
Zoe for Life Online
Правда об аборте

Eastern Orthodoxy on
Birth Control

I’m afraid many modern Eastern Orthodox have let the side down on this, teaching something less than the unchanged Catholic faith.

Orthodox abstain from sex the night before going to Communion and during all fasting periods like Lent and most Wednesdays and Fridays of the year. It has been explained to me that there are actually more days in the year when one is not allowed to have sex than there are days when one may. So if a couple are ‘living an Orthodox lifestyle’ there is no perceived need for artificial birth control, nor is there a desire to use it. Of course, mature married people see children as a blessing and not a curse. The faith says you can plan your family — not ‘have as many kids as you can, regardless’ — but there are legitimate and illegitimate ways of doing so. I think both faithful Roman Catholics and authentic Orthodox can agree on that. (Greek-American politicians who vote proabortion or work on the staff of proabortion Presidents are not authentic Orthodox.)

Refuting the modern Orthodox argument for contraception (more)

The Stephanos Project

ROMAN CATHOLIC/ORTHODOX DIALOGUE
My Q&A on Roman Catholic/Orthodox Differences
Popes Who Are Orthodox Saints
By David Brown
A Catholic View of Orthodoxy
By Fr Aidan Nichols
Another Catholic View of Orthodoxy
By Archimandrite Serge (Keleher)
A Word to the Orthodox
By Metropolitan Joseph (Slipyj)
A Critique of Post-Schism Eastern Orthodoxy
By John McAlpine
An Orthodox Priest Writes on Church Union
By Fr Alexander Webster
Orthodoxy and Catholicism
A comprehensive and impartial guide to issues and materials
Metropolitan Peter (Mohyla)
On the difference between true and false union
Western Christianity: Heretical or Not?
A friendly dialogue


GENERAL ORTHODOX INFORMATION
Wikipedia entry on Orthodoxy
OrthodoxWiki
Guide to Eastern Christian Churches
By Fr Ron Roberson — an awesome resource
Orthodox Christian Information Center
Comprehensive site for Eastern Orthodox information
The Orthodox Church
By Stephen Hayes, a South African convert
Who Is ‘Orthodox’?
The proliferation of churches out there that use the word can make it hard to know
Митрополит Лавр Portraits of the Patriarchs
Here are the heads of the Churches of the Orthodox communion, from the site of the Orthodox Research Institute — the only one missing is Metropolitan Laurus of ROCOR (in communion with the Church of Serbia), shown at right
Dictionary of Orthodox Terminology
Orthodox Confession of Faith
A catechism by Metropolitan Peter (Mohyla)
OrthodoxTV
Orthodox Internet TV and radio
Orthodox Christianity Today
News articles from an Orthodox worldview, compiled and updated by Fr Hans Jacobse
Photo Album: A Year Among the Orthodox in Constantinople, Halki and Mount Athos, 1958-1959
By the Revd John Gill, a retired Episcopal (Anglican) clergyman from New York


Famous Ones I Have Seen

What is an icon?


Our Lady of the Sign (Kursk Root)

Our Lady of the Sign (Kursk Root)
This wonder-working icon from mediæval Russia is a treasure of ROCOR — she is never left alone, even in church.

The Mother of God of Pochaev

Our Lady of Pochaev
I got to venerate this icon from the western Ukraine in 2002, when she made her first-ever trip outside the Russias and was brought to St Tikhon’s Monastery (OCA).

St Nicholas

Myrrh-Streaming Icon
of St Nicholas
This paper icon now mounted on wood originally didn’t pass inspection by the monks who printed it, was given away and ended up at St George’s Russian Orthodox Church in Michigan City, Indiana, where it began dripping oil.

St Anne, Jesus’ grandmother

St Anne
I’ve seen this one, in Philadelphia, several times: a priest had it painted in 1998 and on the 9th May 2004 it started dripping oil, which around November that year began streaming from the eyes like tears.

Pages Orthodoxes La Transfiguration
In French: prayers, articles and information. ‘Une ressource bien fournie de documents et d’images sur l’Orthodoxie, l’Église orthodoxe, la vie liturgique et la spiritualité orthodoxe.’
Christian Orthodox Publications: fatheralexander.org
Amazing resource with catechetical and liturgical texts in English, на русском языке, en español and em português.
Orthodox England
By Fr Andrew Phillips

HUMOUR & COMMENTARY
Top Ten Signs You Might Be Russian Orthodox
No place on earth is perfect: laughs and complaints about Orthodox life in practice
Nick Theodorakis’ Orthodox Humor Page
Did he see my page first? I like the kid stories.
‘I Really Like Their Hats’
Fr John Dresko remembers Fr Alexander Schmemann and reflects on many Americans’ ignorance and misconceptions of the Orthodox, including a very silly ‘Seinfeld’ episode
The Onion Dome
‘Moskau’
Deine Seele ist so groß! This cheery German disco song from 1979 became an Internet hit 25 years later
An American Patriarchate
The way of the future?



20th-century Orthodox writers
20th-century Orthodox writers: Fr Alexander Men’,
Mother Maria Skobtsova, Fr Lev Gillet
(‘A Monk of the Eastern Church’)
and Fr Alexander Schmemann

The Jesus Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

In Slavonic:

Господи Иисусе Христе, сыне Божий, помилуй мя грешнаго (грешную).

In Arabic:

.يا رب يسوع المسيح ابن اللّه الحيّ إرحمني أنا الخاطئ

From Samer al-Batal
 

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NOTE: This page is not an official Eastern Orthodox one nor part of an Eastern Orthodox site but rather is intended to accurately explain this tradition, promote its flourishing, defend it from well-meant latinisations and destructive modernisations, and present it as a priceless treasure in itself, an option for the faithful and a working model for liturgical and Christian-lifestyle restoration, for the good of souls, to the whole Church Catholic and the larger world.

Конец и Богу слава: The end, and to God be the glory.