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Hymn to the Theotokos   Προστασία τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἀκαταίσχυντε, μεσιτεία, πρὸς τὸν Ποιητὴν ἀμετάθετε, μὴ παρίδῃς, ἁμαρτωλῶν δεήσεων φωνάς, ἀλλὰ πρόφθασον, ὡς ἀγαθή, εἰς τὴν βοήθειαν ἡμῶν, τῶν πιστῶς κραυγαζόντων σοι· Τάχυνον εἰς πρεσβείαν, καὶ σπεῦσον εἰς ἱκεσίαν, ἡ προστατεύουσα ἀεί, Θεοτόκε, τῶν τιμώντων σε. Protection of Christians that can never be put to shame, steadfast intercession to the Creator, we sinners beg you, do not overlook the voices of our prayers. But O good Lady, we implore you, quickly come unto our aid, we who are crying out to you with faith. Hurry to intercession, and hasten to supplication, [...]

St Luke of Simferopol, the Doctor (1877-1961)   There are often many striking similarities between saints separated by decades or even centuries. St Luke the Evangelist, for instance, was mirrored by St Luke of Simferopol, who similarly was an artist, doctor and evangelist. Born Valentin Felixovich Voino-Yasenetsky on 14 April 1877, he received an excellent secular education at the Kiev Academy of Fine Arts in drawing and subsequently at the University of Kiev in Medicine. He was married and had four children, but his wife, Anna, died at a young age. The event which defined his life was the Bolshevik [...]

Vision of Isaiah   The 6th chapter of the Prophecy of Isaiah contains the remarkable account of the prophet’s vision of God’s throne and the heavenly court. While Isaiah was in the Temple, he saw the Lord in all His glory, “sitting upon a high and exalted throne,” surrounded by the six-winged seraphim who cried out “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3). Falling to the ground, Isaiah confessed his unworthiness, saying, “Woe is me…for being a man, and having unclean lips … I saw the King, the Lord [...]

A truly devout woman   Her life had begun in tragic circumstances even when she was in her mother’s womb. In the late 1940s her father had died prematurely in his island village in the north east of Greece. He had left behind a young, grieving widow who already had in her care a few older children. As she was growing up, Yasemi may have felt the absence of her father, but she also had the sense that she and her family were being protected by Panagia, the Mother of God. No matter what happened, later in her life, this [...]

On the Prayer of Jesus by Ignatius Brianchaninov. Published by Nicolas-Hays, Inc. 2006   The words of the Jesus prayer are familiar to all pious Orthodox Christians: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner. St Ignatius Brianchaninov was a 19th century Russian Orthodox bishop. He begins his work by placing the Jesus prayer firmly within the tradition and teaching of the gospels. He recalls multiple examples from Holy Scriptures to show that the prayer has scriptural origins; that it is not conceived by monastics of later centuries. The main idea conveyed in his work is [...]