Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Is the Bible "above" the Church? A Chat with Moses
·
I recently engaged in a sort of thought experiment about what it would be like for someone who believes that the Bible is “above” the people who actually produced it to have a chat with the earliest name associated with the production of the Scriptures. Here’s the result: “Moses, Genesis is above you.” “Um, I wrote it.” “But it is above you.” “Yeah, well,…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Unifying the Orthodox Church in America
·
I’ve got a new piece published today at First Things, where I discuss the problems and solutions of Orthodox Christian unity in America. Here’s an excerpt: Are you Greek?” This is the question I get asked the most when I tell someone that I am an Orthodox Christian. At first, this question rankled, because I am not Greek. (I am, among other things, Lithuanian.)…
Nearly Orthodox
Ruminating: All the day
·
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
I've got a new book (and other news)
·
If by some minor miracle you haven’t yet heard, I’ve got a new book out, An Introduction to God: Encountering the Divine in Orthodox Christianity, with a foreword graciously provided by my friend Jonathan Jackson. (It also includes a sneak preview of his forthcoming book, The Mystery of Art.) You can listen to an interview I did with Bobby Maddex about the book, read…
Nearly Orthodox
A bit of ink, a bit of space...
·
Nearly Orthodox
Remembering
·
This week I celebrate two years as a full on Orthodox Christian. I also celebrate the feast of my namesake, Theodora of Vasta on September 11th. I had intended to spend some time in a rambling tumble of words about remembering and about being named and then I got word that an old friend of mine was killed in a car crash. And everything stopped. All my worries from this past week,…
Nearly Orthodox
Combat Boots and a Headscarf
·
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Eulogy for My Mother
·
This eulogy was written for my mother’s funeral on August 29, 2014. A few months before, she was diagnosed with a Class 4 glioblastoma (brain cancer) which ultimately claimed her life. A somewhat shorter version of this text was delivered at the funeral service. Funeral Service of Sandy Damick, August 29, 2014 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick Colorado Springs, Colorado In the name of…
Nearly Orthodox
Nearly Orthodox: Book Review
·
Really nice review of Nearly Orthodox from my favorite Orthogals!
Nearly Orthodox
Nearly Orthodox: Prone to Wander, pt 2
·
Excerpt from Nearly Orthodox: on being a modern woman in an ancient tradition When the homeless woman with the beautiful smile passed my car at the stoplight the first day on the way to school, Henry asked if I would give her money. It had been a long time since the thought had even crossed my mind. I had gotten into the habit of looking away; to ease my conscience, I’d pray…
Nearly Orthodox
Under(pins)
·
Whenever a new social media outlet opens up I give it a look. Nine times out of ten I will join it and then half the time I ignore it for a good long while until I figure out what it’s “for.” Facebook is a neighborhood with winding conversations taking place over the fence between our cyber yards and sometimes across the alley behind the house. Facebook is more or less static…
Nearly Orthodox
Greasy lips and thin mints
·
When I write posts like this in the morning they will most likely start with some kind of commentary on coffee. I like my morning coffee. I have no shame in admitting that. I also have no shame in admitting that I like that really awful non dairy creamer you find in the refrigerated section very near the real dairy items like milk and sour cream. When I told someone I judge…
Nearly Orthodox
The magical mystery tour!
·
Nearly Orthodox
Share the love...
·
Nearly Orthodox
Nearly Orthodox: Prone to Wander
·
Excerpt from Nearly Orthodox: On being a modern woman in an ancient tradition When I was a kid and we’d lose things, we’d chant, “Tony, Tony look around, something’s lost and can’t be found,” in the hope that St. Anthony, patron saint of lost things, would shine a magical beam of light on the missing object. When what was missing was inside of us and we felt desperate and alone, we’d pray…
Nearly Orthodox
Nearly Orthodox, the movie!
·
My son, Henry asked me last week when I told him my book was coming out soon if I thought it would be made into a movie and I laughed. I guess it’s not completely crazy but it is fairly crazy-ish. In any case, no, it’s not a movie. That was a deliberate attempt to entice you to read the post, I admit it. Sorry. But because the countdown in on for the…
Nearly Orthodox
Typica...
·
It’s on my calendar, as are most of the services offered each day at my church. I somehow was able to link my iCal account with Google one day, really, by chance because most of the time I’m a little hopeless with things like that. Google is kind enough to send me nice little reminders about the services, unfortunately they come at odd moments and usually I’m driving or parenting or panicking,…
Nearly Orthodox
Book release....Nearly Orthodox!
·
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Death and the Saints
·
Sunday of All Saints, June 15, 2014 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Death and the afterlife are topics which are often on the minds of clergy, but they were especially on my mind this past week, as we not only experienced the death of one of…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
The Pentecostal Fountain
·
Note: An audio recording of this sermon is also available via Ancient Faith Radio. Sunday of Pentecost, June 8, 2014 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. We come now to the “last day of the feast,” the fiftieth day from Pascha, the day of Pentecost. On this…
Nearly Orthodox
Air dancers
·
It has a name and it’s an awesome name. I was wondering about it for weeks, having driven by the same wind-whipped inflatable character near the car wash on Western Avenue. Its arms were outstretched, its wide smile and bright eyes popping out with each cycling of air through its slender body; collapsing and filling over and over. It got my attention. That is its only job. So I went online to…
Nearly Orthodox
The answer to gun violence...
·
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Facing Antioch: Hopes for the Antiochian Archdiocese Nominating Convention and Beyond
·
We in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America come now to a historic moment, one that has not been seen for nearly half a century. That may sound a bit melodramatic, especially considering that we are really only a small community, both when compared with the rest of our country and especially when compared with the Orthodox world in general. But it…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Coming this Fall: Ancient Faith Blogs
·
Ancient Faith Ministries, the people who bring you Ancient Faith Radio and Ancient Faith Publishing (formerly Conciliar Press) have officially announced a new project for this Fall: Ancient Faith Blogs. The beans being spilled: If you’re like me, you follow several Orthodox blogs, but you don’t have the time or inclination to look into other such blogs that may or may not share the…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Spiritual Renewal and the Healing of the Blind
·
Sunday of the Blind Man, May 25, 2014 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Christ is risen! On this sixth and final Sunday during the forty days we celebrate Christ’s resurrection, we begin to contemplate the completion of this celebration with the account from John’s Gospel of…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Becoming a Bridge: Christ and the Woman at the Well
·
Note: An audio recording of this sermon is also available via Ancient Faith Radio. Sunday of the Samaritan Woman, May 18, 2014 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Christ is risen! Today on this fifth Sunday of the great feast of all feasts, Holy Pascha, we meditate…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
"We speak one language: Antiochian": More Thoughts on the Future of the Antiochian Archdiocese and Orthodoxy in America
·
If you’ve done any reading from modern Orthodox saints, you know that there is a certain tone among the holy elders of Greece, another from Russia and so forth. Each culture enculturates the Gospel in its own authentic way and speaks of the truth of Jesus Christ with its own voice. One of the things which makes the particular Antiochian voice distinct—although it is…
