Among the ancient Hebrews, the use of the concept of brother does not necessarily imply blood relations. The Prophet David calls King Saul's eldest son Jonathan brother: "How the mighty have fallen in battle! Jonathan is slain on thy heights. I grieve for you, my brother Jonathan; You were very dear to me!" (2 Samuel 1:25-26). In reality, David was married to his sister Michal.

The betrothed Joseph, as the husband of the Virgin Mary, adopted Jesus. Therefore, Joseph's blood children are called His brothers.

Is it true that a Christian is accompanied by two guardian angels?

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov)  

Some spiritual experiences, indeed, convince us that a person is accompanied by two Angels during his lifetime, one of them is a Guardian Angel. Both Angels appear at the moment of death. A disciple of St. Macarius of Alexandria (+ 395) relates: "When we were walking through the wilderness, I saw two angels accompanying St. Macarius, one on the right side, the other on the left." In the Life of St. Basil the New (10th century, March 26), St. Theodora's experience of passing through the aerial toll-houses is described. She said: "When I was completely exhausted, I saw two angels of God approaching me in the form of handsome young men; their faces were bright, their eyes looked with love, the hair on their heads was white as snow, and glittered like gold; the robes were like the light of lightning, and on the chest they were girded crosswise with golden belts." St. Gregory of Tours describes an incident in the life of the Gallic bishop of the sixth century, St. Salvius: "Once, exhausted by a severe fever, breathing heavily, he was lying on a bed. And then suddenly the cell, illuminated by a bright light, shook, and he, raising his hands to the mountain, gave thanks and gave up his spirit. The monks, weeping with his mother, carry out the body of the deceased, wash him with water, dress him in a shroud, put him on a funeral stretcher and spend the whole night singing psalms and weeping. But when morning came, and when everything was ready for the solemn burial, the body on the funeral stretcher began to move. And then the cheeks turned pink, the husband, awakening as if from a deep sleep, woke up, opened his eyes, raised his hands and said: "O Merciful Lord, why did you make me return to this gloomy place of earthly abode? Your mercy in heaven would be better for me than a miserable life in this world." To the brethren, amazed and asking what such a miracle could mean, he answered nothing. But getting up from the funeral stretcher and not feeling the pain from which he suffered, he spent three days without food or drink. But on the third day, calling the monks and his mother, he said: "Hearken, most dear brothers, and understand that what you see in this world is nothing, but, as the prophet Solomon says: "Everything is vanity." And blessed is he who can walk in the world in such a way as to be vouchsafed to behold the glory of God in heaven." And as he said this, he began to hesitate whether to continue or remain silent. He was silent, but, perplexed by the requests of the brethren that he should tell about what he had seen, [finally] said: "Four days ago, when the cell shook and you saw me lifeless, two angels picked me up and lifted me up high into the heavens, so that it seemed to me that not only this miserable earth, but even the sun and moon, clouds and stars, were under my feet. Then I was led through a gate brighter than this light into a dwelling in which the floor shone like gold and silver; the light there was inexpressible, the expanse indescribable. The dwelling was filled with so many people of both sexes that it was absolutely impossible to grasp the crowd either in width or in length. And when the angels who walked in front made their way for us among the closed ranks, we came to the place that we had already beheld from afar. Above it hung a cloud lighter than any light, there was no sun, moon, or stars to be seen, but the cloud shone with its own brilliance much more than all these luminaries, and from it came a voice, "like the sound of many waters." There, even I, a sinner, was humbly greeted by men dressed in priestly and secular garb. As my companions told me, they were martyrs and confessors, whom we deeply revere here on earth. And when I got up where I was commanded, I was enveloped in such a sweet aroma and I was so satiated with this sweetness that I still do not want to eat or drink. And I heard a voice saying, "Let this one return to the world, for our churches have need of him." And I heard a voice; but I could not at all see the one who spoke" (St. Gregory of Tours, History of the Franks, VII, 1).

At the end of the 19th century in Russia there was an experience of the soul staying outside the body for many hours. The author K. Uexkul also speaks of the two Angels: "So, what happened to me next? The doctors left the ward, both paramedics stood and talked about the vicissitudes of my illness and death, and the old nurse, turning to the icon, crossed herself and loudly expressed the usual wish to me in such cases:

"Well, may he rest in peace, eternal peace. . . ."

And no sooner had she uttered these words than two angels appeared beside me; in one of them for some reason I recognized my Guardian Angel, and the other was unknown to me" (An Incredible for Many, but True Incident, Ch.17).

Who wrote the Bible? Where did it come from?

Priest Athanasius Gumerov, a monk of Sretensky Monastery  

The Bible consists of the holy books of the Old and New Testaments. These texts were written by divinely inspired writers under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They contain divine revelations about God, the world, and our salvation. The authors of the biblical texts were holy people – prophets and apostles. Through them, God gradually (as mankind matured) revealed truths. The greatest of them is about the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. He is the spiritual heart of the Bible. His incarnation, death on the cross for our sins and Resurrection are the main events of all human history. The Old Testament books contain prophecies about this, and the Holy Gospel and other New Testament texts tell about their fulfillment.

The books of the Old Testament as canonical sacred texts were collected into a single corpus in the middle of the fifth century B.C. by the holy righteous men: Ezra, Nehemiah, Malachi, and others.

The Bible is given to all mankind. Its reading should begin with the Gospel, and then turn to the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles. Only after understanding the New Testament books, one should proceed to the Old Testament books. Then the meaning of prophecies, types and symbols will be understood. In order to receive the Word of God undistortedly, it is useful to turn to the interpretations of the Holy Fathers or researchers who rely on their heritage.

Why in Est. In Acts 6:1, the name of the Lord is not in square brackets as usual?