The Solovetsky Archipelago is less than 200 miles from the North Circle. To the North-East of the main Solovetsky island, silent and beaten by rabid winds, is Anzer – the isle of the Solovets hermits. Here, on a small peninsula, … Read more

Happy Feast Day, everyone! This is a brief note, to wish all of you the strength and the faith to open up to God’s presence in our lives, so we may be transformed into the holy beings He has called … Read more

People are so beautiful it hurts. We all have this beauty in us, this otherworldly potential to be so much more than what we settle for. At times, this awareness is the only thing that makes sense of this senseless … Read more

At the end of it all, what have I achieved?… After this week in a tent, alone to face God and myself, what have I learn? The first thing that comes to heart is that I’ve learnt how close to … Read more

1.5 million men, women and children were massacred during the Armenian genocide at the beginning of the twentieth century. A horrid start to a horrid century. Yesterday I wrote about the effects of pilgrimages to other countries. I forgot to … Read more

Pilgrimages are like crossing a desert. They can be painful if taken seriously, and can even be dangerous. They are painful because they crack the shield of one’s comfortable certainty that things can only be done one way. In truth, … Read more

These last days I’m visiting two wonderful countries – Georgia and Armenia – hoping that Christ would allow me to pray in some of their holy places. This will be a brief post. I just want to note how much … Read more

As time goes by and the fire of the first week of Lent gradually dies out, things concerning our life in the world regain their strength and take over our days once again, while things concerning our life in Christ … Read more

Staring into the Grand Canyon, looking straight into that extraordinary beauty, it becomes perfectly clear that there is absolutely nothing we can possibly add to God’s creation. In these rare, blessed moments, it is obvious to one’s heart that we … Read more

This is a difficult post for me to write – I don’t really know how to approach this, and I’m sure the topic will return many times from now on in my talks. I feel God has offered me a … Read more