I ask for prayers to "remove ailments."

In order to be healed of an illness, it is necessary that the Sacrament of Unction be performed on you, in other words, Extreme Unction. In special prayers, the priest asks that not only the body, but also the soul be healed, since the cause of many diseases of the body is the illnesses of the soul – sins. In addition, the Holy Fathers advise that before going to a doctor, one should repent of one's sins, that is, confess and receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Prayers for health, performed on your order in the church, are also very helpful. It helps some a lot when they ask to pray for them in monasteries, ordering commemorations for health for a long time: for a month, for six months or for a year. But if all the methods you have taken do not help, then the illness should be treated as a cleansing remedy for sins, as a cross.

Tell me, please, which saint should we turn to, so that there would be peace in the soul and happiness would finally come to our house and my son's desire to have a two-room apartment would come true?

There is no magic in the church. When we want to receive something from the Lord or from the saints, we must not only pray to them, but also build our lives according to the commandments of the Lord. "The prayer of the righteous can do much," it is said in the Scriptures, and vice versa: "God does not hear sinners," because they do not want to hear Him. Through the Gospel, the Lord addresses all of us with a request that we be kind, loving, humble, etc., but we often do not want to hear about this, but we ourselves ask Him to help us. And it also happens that we need the Lord only in difficult moments; He fulfills our requests, and we even forget to thank Him, and turn to Him again only when sorrows befall us again; and in the days of peace and happiness, it is as if we do not need Him. You can ask for the fulfillment of your desires to many saints, to the Mother of God, to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, but for this you would like to get acquainted with the Gospel, where our doctrine is set forth, with the lives of the saints, who after reading about them become close to you, and you turn to them with a warm, heartfelt prayer from the bottom of your heart.

Please explain what an icon is? Can any image of a saint be an icon? Which icons should be placed in the holy corner and how many?

Translated from Greek, an icon means an "image" or image of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Mother of God and the saints. In ancient times, icons were painted by icon painters, many of whom were monks. The paints were diluted with holy water. Before starting to paint the icon, the iconographer prayed a lot and fasted. Therefore, many ancient icons were miraculous. At present, due to the great need for icons, as well as due to the high cost of icons painted by artists, the church allows lithographic depiction. It must be said that no matter how the icons are made, they must be treated with reverence. It is better to buy icons in monasteries or churches, since stores often sell non-Orthodox images of saints. In church, purchased icons are usually consecrated; If the origin of the image is unknown, it must be consecrated in the church. If you have doubts about the image you have purchased or given to you, you need to contact the nearest church and consult a priest. In the house, believers usually strive to have the following icons in their holy corner: the Savior, the Mother of God, St. Nicholas, the saint after whom you are named, as well as the saints you especially revere. In quantitative terms, no one limits you. You can have as many icons as your heart desires. If the image has fallen into disrepair (the face is not visible, the painting field is greatly lost, and it is impossible to restore this image, especially if it is a photographic or lithographic image), then it must be burned in the church oven.

What does the expression "trampling down death by death" mean?

This expresses the fact that the Savior Jesus Christ, by His death on the Cross, destroyed the death with which mankind in the person of Adam was punished for the Fall. On the Cross, the Savior delivered mankind "from sin, curse, and death." And if physical death still has power over humanity, then spiritual death has been defeated by the Resurrection of Jesus.

"He that believeth in Me hath eternal life," says the Gospel (John 6:47). It is no accident that these words are placed in the troparion of Pascha – the Bright Resurrection of Christ, because this event is the main truth of Christianity. The Holy Apostle Paul wrote that "if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is in vain, and our faith is also in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:14).