Abba Macarius and the thief

Once Abba Macarius found a thief in his cell loading the elder's belongings onto a donkey standing outside. Without revealing that he was the owner of those things, the saint quietly began helping the man tie the bundles onto the animal. When everything was ready, he let the thief go in peace and said to himself:

“We brought nothing into this world, and it is clear that we can take nothing out of it. Blessed be the Lord in all things!”

Man before the forces of nature

​A solitary figure on the shore seems insignificant before the immense power of the sea, yet it is he who stands before the Creator.

The mysteries of Golgotha in the light of archaeology

The veil of centuries obscures what really happened in the fourth century. Archaeology and ancient texts shed light on the true history of one of Christianity’s greatest sacred sites.

Zaporozhian Cossacks defend the persecuted faith

The story of how Cossacks drew their sabers to defend abused priests – while sometimes causing violent disturbances inside churches themselves.

A forgery at the foundation of Mohyla Academy

For centuries, historians have repeated an appealing story about a wealthy benefactor’s generous gift. Archival documents, however, paint a very different picture of what happened.

Theology of worn-out shoes

A painting of a pair of old shoes in a Dutch museum preserves the memory of an ordinary working person and a life of hard labor.

Everyday life and labors of the Lavra brotherhood

We are accustomed to seeing the Pechersk Monastery as it appears on picture-perfect postcards. Archival records from the 19th century take us back to the down-to-earth realities of monastic life.