One of the greatest blessings of being a priest is meeting people who have just become interested in the Church. It is energizing to hear the questions and to walk alongside someone discovering the faith for the first time or returning to it after years but with new eyes. Even greater perhaps is meeting someone […]
Five Years Later: Why Charlottesville Matters
“Oh my God, have you seen what is happening in Charlottesville? Turn on the news now” I got this text from a fellow pastor the night before the infamous “Unite the Right” Rally in Charlottesville, VA. The one that would result in a violent clash and ultimately the death of Heather Heyer after a white […]
Never Forget: The Importance of Names
“…Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king…” On the Sunday before Nativity in the Orthodox Church we read St. Matthew’s account of the genealogy of Jesus. Beginning with Abraham the lineage is recounted… […]
Body of Death: A Quarantine Reflection
On December 5th, the Eve of the Feast of Saint Nicholas, I fell ill quickly. Three days later I found out it was COVID-19. Despite my best efforts to mask, distance and limit being out the virus found me. At the time of writing this I am now two days feeling pretty good – Day […]
BLM and The Cross
“During the Ferguson disturbances, near St. Louis, MO, a young Black Orthodox man told me that he would like to be involved in the Black Lives Matter movement, to which I replied, “By all means, do it right away, but you must take my direction in this matter. I want you and your friends to […]
No Repentance No Peace
(Originally offered as the opening speech for the “March for Peace and Equality” May 30, 2020, Crawfordsville, Indiana) George Floyd Ahmaud Arbery Dreasjon Reed Breonna Taylor We know these names because we read about them in the news. Some of them we heard or saw their murder. Four people with unrepeatable lives, families, friends, […]
Revisiting Mediocrity: The Secular, The Sacred and The Artist’s Soul
This essay originally appeared in the journal “Wonder” Vol. 2 No. 5. 2011 About fifteen years ago (I can’t recall if it was from the suggestion of a friend, my wife, a pastor, or a review in one the Christian art/music magazines I read at the time), I picked up and read Frank Schaeffer’s book […]
Jesus, Erika, and ICE
It was still dark the morning that ICE agents knocked on Erika Fierro’s door. Her two young children were still asleep. Her husband, Jesus, had already left for work at his construction job. Jesus was not coming back today. This was the first information the shadowy figures at the door gave to a groggy mother […]
Do you know this Jew?
Dimitri Klepinin was an Orthodox priest, a Russian emigre in Paris. The 35 year old husband and father of two went to aid a remarkable and dynamic nun, Maria Skobtsova in her work among the poor, outcast, and marginalized in the city. On June 14, 1940, this ‘flock’ of homeless people, poor families, mentally ill, […]
Mental Illness, Stigma, and My Dad
Twelve years ago my father died of pancreatic cancer. I got to spend many evenings with him in the month before he died. In the last week of my dad’s life, he shared with me one of his greatest fears. It’s probably one that most fathers, if they are good fathers, fear at the end […]
Saved Together 