Some years ago, a Catholic friend was preparing to enter the Orthodox Church and, not long before his chrismation, he sent me an email saying, “But would I be wrong to separate myself from Peter?” Exasperated, I wrote back, “We have Peter too!” He is a saint in both churches!…
Tommy My husband, Fr. Gregory, had been planning a short trip to our home town, Charleston SC, to visit his mother, Mary (almost 100 years old), and brother, Tommy, who was battling cancer. Everything was arranged for him to drive down there Monday and return Thursday, but then he came…
An emailer wrote saying he felt he wasn’t good at intercessory prayer. My reply: I’m with you about intercessory prayer. I think I don’t know how to do it very well. I have a long list of names I bring before God every night, and a shorter list when I…
[October 19, 2023] Today is the feast of St. Varus, an Egyptian Christian martyr of the early 300’s. Orthodox Christians ask him to pray for our loved ones who have died, who had not come to Christian faith. A Christian woman, St. Cleopatra, recovered his body and buried it near…
A few years ago, my husband and I asked an Orthodox woodworker to make coffins for us (sorry, he has since retired). They’re beautiful, with the angelic Trisagion Prayer, “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal,” lettered all the way around. Whenever I go in the basement, I pass by these…
2005; Regneration Quarterly, Washington Times Death to the World High in a Russian Orthodox monastery in the California mountains, Father Damascene and Father John had a problem. They wanted to place an ad in Maximum Rock and Roll, “the most hardcore” of all the punk magazines, but were having trouble…
My assistant, Eudora Mathewes (granddaughter), came across this Facebook post I’d written in April 2017, and thought I should put it on the blog here. The occasion was that Hank Hanegraaff had just been chrismated, and there was much misunderstanding in the Protestant press about what Orthodoxy is, and what…
Every year there is a buzz of controversy among Orthodox Christians about Halloween. It’s my observation that it largely arises between American converts, who grew up thinking Halloween is fun and harmless, and Orthodox who grew up elsewhere thinking it obviously dangerous and possibly demonic. As in many things, I…
When you accuse someone of being judgmental, you’re doing the same thing. Practice at all times compassion for those you disagree with. Try to understand their reasoning, which is different from yours. Perhaps they have had life experiences that you have not had. Never distort what they are saying in…
I got an email from someone asked me why we Orthodox “pray” to the saints. This is a question I hear a lot, and from a Protestant point of view it’s a reasonable one. Here’s my reply: I think your hesitation is the single biggest concern that Protestants have about…
