Month: February 2015

Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (Candlemas, Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, Meeting of the Lord), part I/VIII. Стрэчаньне Гасподняе (Грамніцы), частка І/VIII. Candlemas, celebrated in Western churches on or about February 2 and in old-style Orthodox churches on February 15, is unusual in that it has both a Christic and a Marian… Continue reading Photos of the Day for February 28, 2015

Anointing with holy oil (part II), Azdamichy 2015.  Мірапамазаньне (частка II), Аздамічы 2015 г. Orthodox Christianity provides for anointing with holy oil not just as the sacrament of extreme unction or at the time of baptism, but also for those who seek God’s forgiveness or His curing of their physical or spiritual illness.  In the… Continue reading Photos of the Day for February 27, 2015

Anointing with holy oil (part I), Azdamichy 2015.  Мірапамазаньне (частка І), Аздамічы 2015 г. Orthodox Christianity provides for anointing with holy oil not just as the sacrament of extreme unction or at the time of baptism, but also for those who seek God’s forgiveness or His curing of their physical or spiritual illness.  In the… Continue reading Photos of the Day for February 26, 2015

Belarus in Faces (part CXLV):  parishioners of Tsjerablichy at Sunday service, Tsjerablichy 2015. The consecration of Tsjerablichy’s Orthodox church of the Resurrection in 2014 has made it much easier for many parishioners to attend Sunday services.  Previously parishioners from Tsjerablichy walked or rode their bicycles three or four kilometers to the church in the neighboring… Continue reading Photos of the Day for February 25, 2015

Smallholder farming in Polesia (part III):  cornucopia for the city. Tsjerablichy 2012. Just as under the Soviet regime, a direct connection to the land through relatives or close friends is vital.  Fresh produce, meat and eggs from smallholders, and from city dwellers who farm plots around their weekend cottages, provides an important source of nourishment… Continue reading Photo of the Day for February 24, 2015

Smallholder farming in Polesia (part II):  preparing the ground.  Сапраўднае палескае фермерства (частка II):  студзеньская падрыхтоўка да сяўбы.  Цераблічы 2015 г. In the same universal way of farmers, smallholders in Belarus never stop working their holdings.  Carefully-spaced piles of manure and the frames of hothouses (in which families grow cucumbers and other produce for export… Continue reading Photo of the Day for February 23, 2015

Smallholder farming in Polesia (part I):  cabbage patch.  Сапраўднае палескае фермерства (частка І):  капуста. Only stubble shows in January, but this smallholder family’s reverent tending of its plot in the central Pripet (Prypjats’) area of Belarus can produce bountiful crops. Tsjerablichy, January 2015.  Цераблічы ў студзені 2015 г. Same plot, Tsjerablichy, August 2014.  Гэтыя ж… Continue reading Photos of the Day for February 22, 2015

Celebration of Jelisjej’s baptism (part 8/8), Tsjerablichy 2015.  Сьвяткаваньне хрышчэньня Елісея (частка 8/8), Цераблічы 2015 г. Deepest appreciation to Ivan and Ljudmila Pjetrusjevich for inviting me to attend and to photograph their son Jelisjej’s baptism.  God bless them and their family.  Вялікі дзякуй спадару Івану й спадарыні Людміле за запрашэньне здымаць хрышчэньне Елісея.  Шчасьця й… Continue reading Photos of the Day for February 21, 2015

Baptism of Jelisjej (part 7/8), Tsjerablichy 2015.  Хрышчэньне Елісея (частка 7/8), Цераблічы 2015 г. Jelisjej’s mother Ljuda, who by Orthodox custom has waited outside the nave during the baptism, carries him home after the ceremony, Tsjerablichy 2015.  Дахаты пасьля хрышчэньня Елісея, Цераблічы 2015 г.

In reverent memory of the Heavenly Hundred, murdered February 20, 2014 in Kyiv for their belief in Ukrainian liberty and dignity.  They died as much for American freedom as for their own. 20 лютого. День пам’яті Героїв Небесної Сотні.  Скільки за вашу, стільки за нашу свободу.