Soviet time priests were heroes. Archpriest Valerian Krechetov (photo), his father told him and his brother: if you gonna become a priest, prepare for prison. Fr. Valerian knew it's real, and decided to graduate from the forest institute — he knew that he could be sent to Siberia.

“Christ is the artist, tenderly wiping away all the grime of sin that disfigures the human face and restoring God’s Image to its full beauty.” - Saint Gregory of Nyssa
In the 1st chapter of the Genesis we read that man was created in God's image, after His likeness.
Church Fathers explain the image of God as the rational and spiritual nature of the human person, as as our free will and self-determination, the human person's immortality, his dominant position in the world and his striving towards good, our ability to create.
Church Fathers explain also it had been originally fixed by God in us, and the likeness is to be attained throughout life by getting virtues. St Gregory of Nyssa says, 'the limit of a life of virtues is the assimilation of God'.

🌟☦️🙏 The role of Angels in our lives is underestimated by most people. The icon in in the picture is one of the classic types, the holy Archangels hold a small icon of the Incarnated Son of God.

We know from our dogmatic theology that God is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent. It means that He is everywhere (like air, only He is not limited at all), He knows everything and He is powerful over everything.
At first it can be difficult to understand such things, but it comes with spiritual growth. And to grow spiritually we need to be part of Church life, read and learn, pray and trust God and His Church.

“It is easier to measure the entire sea with a tiny cup than to grasp the ineffable greatness of God with the human mind.”
Saint Basil the Great

It happens that people talk about shame as an excuse why they don't go the Church or Confession. They say that they are too sinful/or they are ashamed to tell their sins during Confession. Saint John Chrysostom explains why this is wrong and dangerous.
“Pay attention carefully. After the sin comes the shame; courage follows repentance. Did you pay attention to what I said? Satan upsets the order; he gives the courage to sin and the shame to repentance.”

☦️ Truly blessed and zealous for life and for surpassing joy are those who through fervent faith and virtuous conduct receive consciously and experientially the knowledge of the celestial mysteries of the Spirit and whose citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). Clearly they excel all other men; for who among the powerful or the wise or the prudent could ascend to heaven while still on earth, and perform spiritual works there and have sight of the beauty of the Spirit'? Such a person may appear poor, utterly poor, may be regarded as nothing and be totally unrecognized by his neighbors; but falling on his face before the Lord he rises to heaven under the guidance of the Spirit and with assurance of soul, delighting in his mind with its wonders, occupying himself there, living there, having his citizenship there, as St Paul puts it. For he says: 'Our citizenship is in heaven' (Phil. 3:20)...
St Makarios the Great

No matter how far we put ourselves from God, He is always here to listen and take us under His care.
“It is a fact that the Eternal God listens to us – corruptible as we are – more than we listen to Him.” - Saint Nikolai Velimirovich

In times of peaceful relationships do not recall what was said by a brother when there was bad feeling between you, even if offensive things were said to your face, or to another person about you and you subsequently heard of them. Otherwise you will harbor thoughts of rancor and revert to your destructive hatred of your brother.
St. Maximos the Confessor

There are situations when scilence with prayer works better than thousands of words.

“The Lord shows us that we ought not to answer those who ask a question with malicious intent (cf. Mt. 21:23-27). For He Himself did not reply to those Jews who questioned Him with cunning, although He was not at a loss for an answer.”
— St. Theophylact, Explanation of the Gospel of St. Matthew

Read the Scripture with the Holy Fathers

☦️🕯️"My children, prayer and humility are the all-powerful weapons which we must keep continuously in our hands with sleepless attentiveness, because these, with God's help, will give us the victory against the demons."🕯️☦️

♰ Saint Ephraim of Arizona ♰

⚡️ Shame always produces fear (blessed memory Archpriest Sergey Muratov). After the Fall the first people felt shame, and also from that time fear became inseparable from human nature.