by Mikhail Markhasev | Aug 16, 2021 | From Thief to Belief, Mikhail, Orthodox Feasts, Prisoner Submissions
The Church’s new year arrives right after the commemoration of the Beheading of the Forerunner on August 29. Summer ends with the harvest of a godly seed that testifies to the truth of the Gospel, sealing its witness with the blood of the righteous. Fruit of...
by Mikhail Markhasev | Sep 13, 2019 | From Thief to Belief, Prisoner Submissions
If the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent points us to the peak of the love of God, as we ascend the Divine Ladder as presented by St. John Climacus, then the Fifth Sunday of Lent, which commemorates St. Mary of Egypt, leads us to understand her embodiment within the pit of...
by Mikhail Markhasev | Feb 7, 2019 | From Thief to Belief, Prisoner Submissions
It’s been said that God performs no miracle until all human resources have been exhausted. Both church history and our own lives are filled with examples of God’s strength made perfect in our weakness (2Cor. 12:9), and when His providential care produces...
by Mikhail Markhasev | Apr 9, 2018 | From Thief to Belief, Prisoner Submissions
Finally, Pascha! Finally, after the strenuous weeks of our spiritual struggle, after our feeble efforts and frequent ups and downs of this blessed season, we breathe a sigh of relief, and crowned with the quiet inner joy of the Risen Redeemer, we are looking forward...
by Mikhail Markhasev | Mar 1, 2018 | Featured, From Thief to Belief
I heard they’re fighting over Charles Manson’s cold, dead body. There’s great interest in this lifeless relic of recent history—a judge will decide who will wheel away Manson’s frigid corpse. But the real story is what happened to Charlie’s soul, as he skidded toward...