The beauty lies in the fact that man chooses the Kingdom of God, His love, voluntarily, although there are many temptations around. Everything that is done by force is devoid of true joy and happiness. My name is Nelly. I know that there is such a holy great martyr Neonilla. Am I right to seek the protection of this saint? If so, how should I address her, what prayer should I read? I don't even have an image of her.

Yes, indeed, according to tradition, those who bear the name Nelly turn to the Holy Martyr Neonilla. Unfortunately, there are no special prayers to many saints, but there are general prayers to martyrs, martyresses, venerables, etc. Please tell me everything about the "Cathedral of the Mother of God".

The "Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos" takes place on the second day of the feast of the Nativity of Christ. She was the Cause of the greatest event, the Incarnation of the Son of God. And so a multitude of people "gather" in Her honor to glorify Her. Hence the "council". I was reading the Bible and came across that God's name is Jehovah. Why don't you remember him?

Why is it that only God or Lord is called everywhere, and the name is not remembered? And is there any religion that remembers the name of God, or not? Jehovah, or Yahweh—Elohim (Gods)—in the plural, as a particularly revered God. Interpreters point out that the plural is used due to the fact that this name means the Holy Trinity.

There is a sect that is associated with the name of Jehovah. Followers of this sect call themselves "Jehovah's Witnesses." Their doctrine in the idea of the imminence of the end of the world is similar to that of the Adventists. But unlike the Adventists, the Jehovah's Witnesses deny the consubstantiality of the Trinity and worship mainly God the Father, whom they call by the name of Jehovah and portray as a vengeful autocrat, merciless to all except the Jehovah's Witnesses.

They represent Christ as something like an Archangel, etc. Who do you mean by the Mother of God? If Mary, then She, as far as I know, gave birth to Jesus Christ, but not God. As I understood when I read the Bible, Jehovah and Jesus Christ are two separate persons. There was such a heresy in the fifth century, which, like you, denied the Divinity of Jesus Christ and called the Mother of God the Mother of Christ.

At the Fourth Ecumenical Council in 431, this heresy was condemned. But this heresy, like the heresy of Arius, is revived from time to time in all kinds of sects, in particular in the sect of Jehovah's Witnesses. Indeed, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, according to the teaching of the Orthodox Church, are of one essence in nature, but differ in Persons. From the Gospel, if you read it carefully, you would learn how Jesus Christ said that He and the Father are one (see Jn. 10: 30).

In general, the entire Gospel of John bears witness to Jesus, the Father, and to the Holy Spirit as the Trinity, One in Essence and Indivisible. On what date in June is Ivan Kupala Day celebrated and on what other days of the year is the same name honored? Ivan Kupala is the common name of the Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John. He is commemorated several times a year: January 7, February 24, March 25, June 24, August 29, September 23, October 12 (dates are given according to the old style). I was born on November 10.

Not so long ago I found out that this is the day of Paraskeva Friday. And I don't really know anything about Paraskeva Pyatnitsa. And I really want to know everything about her. You can learn more about the life of the holy martyr Paraskeva from the life of this saint, which is placed in the "Lives of the Saints" on October 28 (old style)[1]. Here we can only give brief information. St. Paraskeva the Great Martyr (

Paraskeva in Greek means Friday) was born during the reign of Emperor Diocletian, a persecutor of Christians. She lost her parents early. Having come of age, Paraskeva began to preach Christianity not only in words, but also in deeds. She began to distribute the property left by her parents to the poor, the needy, i.e. she acted according to the precepts of the Gospel.

All this could not fail to attract the attention of the adherents of the repressed paganism. They seized her, threw her into prison and began to turn her away from Christ by all available means. They persuaded her, tortured her, but everything was useless, on the contrary, many, seeing her fearlessness, converted to Christianity. Then it was decided to cut off her head. How to represent God? In heaven, in yourself or in some other way? "No way.

Acquire the habit of standing in the conviction that God is everywhere and, consequently, in you sees all your innermost secrets, and in this conviction behave yourself reverently before the invisible God, without any of His imaginations. But pray that God Himself will teach you this," teaches St. Theophan the Recluse[2]. What is reverence for God?

Our reverence, teaches St. Theophan the Recluse, should be commensurate not with the capacity or smallness of what we do, but with the face of God, to Whom it belongs. Whether someone censes, or reads, or sings, or does anything else, as long as he does it carelessly, he is subject to judgment on those who do the work of God with negligence. Likewise, of those present in the Church, if anyone stands or makes prostrations, or lights a candle, if he does it carelessly, the same number sins and is subject to the same judgment[3].

What are the visible pledges of our general resurrection? The visible pledges of our general resurrection are the remains of the righteous of God. They serve for the faithful as a visible pledge of the general resurrection of all, and for the weak they serve as a support of faith in moments of its hesitation. Therefore, with faith and hope, kiss the holy relics of the saints of God, as visible pledges of the general liberation of you and all creation from work, death and corruption!