OCHRID

The Prologue from Ochrid, Faithfully in English

Your Daily Orthodox Companion

The first faithful, uncensored, and freely available translation of St. Nikolai Velimirović's masterwork.

Even if Christ had clothed Himself in the most beautiful body, such as only He could fashion for Himself, what would that bodily beauty have been compared to the immortal beauty of His Divinity?— St. Nikolai

Faithful·Free·Daily

Today's Prologue

Five meditations for every day of the year — a saint's life, a hymn, a reflection, a contemplation, and a homily.

Lives of the Saints

VENERABLE MOSES THE BLACK

After six years of terrible toil, Saint Isidore miraculously healed Moses of impure thoughts, fantasies and dreams inflicted upon him by demons. In old age he was ordained a priest, founded his own monastery with seventy-five disciples, and lived seventy-five years in this life.

Hymn of Praise

Blessed is he whom God shows mercy! The mercy of God is rejoicing, Rejoicing in both worlds. Moses the Black, like a prodigal son,

Prologue from Ochrid · Prologue from Ochrid ·

St. Nikolai Velimirović · Bishop of Ochrid and Žiča · St. Nikolai Velimirović

Reflection

A true Christian avoids human praise; not only avoids it but has a genuine fear of it. Saint Sabbas of Pskov left even his abbacy, his monastery, and his good brethren, and fled to a desolate region solely to escape the praise of men.

Homily

He who is the greatest beauty of earth is barely a shadow of the beauty of heaven. The prophet Daniel was a young and handsome man, but when the angel of God stood before him, then, as he himself says: there remained no strength in me, and my countenance was changed.

— St. Nikolai Velimirović

This Translation

The standard English edition is under copyright and contains documented censorship. This one does not.

01

Every word preserved

Translated directly from the original Serbian. No omissions, no ideological edits, and no revision of meaning.

02

Free to use and share

Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Copy it, print it, distribute it to your parish. No permission needed.

03

Updated daily

Calendar context, Scripture readings, and fasting information alongside the Prologue text.

Support This Work

Today you read about VENERABLE MOSES THE BLACK. Over 600 hours of translation made that possible.

Every contribution helps preserve St. Nikolai's unaltered words for the next generation.

St. Nikolai

From today’s Homily

Even if Christ had clothed Himself in the most beautiful body, such as only He could fashion for Himself, what would that bodily beauty have been compared to the immortal beauty of His Divinity?