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The Archbishop and Mr Liu St John Maximovitch (1896-1966) is a recently canonized Saint of our Church, who served as Archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church variously in Shanghai, Paris and San Francisco. A remarkable incident which occurred during St John's time in San Francisco testifies to several aspects of his holiness: his spiritual boldness based on absolute faith, his ability to overcome the bounds of space and time by spiritual sight, and the power of his prayer which beyond all doubt worked miracles. A certain Mr Liu was involved in a car accident in San Francisco in 1963 and [...]

The prayer to the Holy Spirit commences as follows: ‘Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, who is present everywhere and fills all things…’, showing that truth penetrates everything and is present everywhere at all times and in all places. But what is truth? When Pilate asked Jesus this very question just before the crucifixion, Jesus replied with a resounding silence, as if to show that He is the Way the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). Rationally, truth may be thought of as a philosophy or some factual proof or statement. However truth cannot be something which changes under [...]

Diamonds on the Bosphorus By Aliki Kafetzopoulou Published by St Herman Press, 2011. ‘Diamonds on the Bosphorus’ is an historical novel incorporating both fictional and non-fictional characters. The story is set in Constantinople, 400 AD, when Empress Eudoxia was persecuting St John Chrysostom. In the story, there are two followers of St John, Juliana and Nicephorus, aged around 16. They live a simple life practicing the teachings of St John. However towards the end of the novel, there is a big-twist in the storyline, which has a huge impact on their lives, displaying their great love for God. Much inspiration [...]

The Unexpected Encounter Can you describe the emotion in the depths of your heart when you meet a person very dear to you, whom you had not seen for a long time, so as to be regarded as lost? Your face sparkles as you meet, your eyes fill with tears and your lips can only utter a few simple words! Such meetings are not so rare. But unique are some meetings which took place 2000 years ago. The first took place in a garden on the outskirts of Jerusalem, when Mary Magdalene stood outside the empty tomb of Jesus crying. [...]

Church of the Resurrection The Church of the Resurrection in the old city of Jerusalem is undoubtedly the most significant shrine of the Christian Faith. This is because under its roof is the original place of Christ’s Crucifixion, Burial and Resurrection. The building is an enormous edifice which incorporates many structures. Its interior is made up of chapels, shrines, basements, storerooms, living quarters, staircases, courtyards, balconies and corridors. Every space is covered with a different roof, some with Byzantine and others with Gothic domes. The internal architecture is a representation of the many influences over the centuries and can be [...]