Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
"We speak one language: Antiochian": More Thoughts on the Future of the Antiochian Archdiocese and Orthodoxy in America
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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…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Light from Antioch: The Future of the Antiochian Archdiocese and Orthodoxy in America
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Notes: The following is a personal reflection and represents only my own views. This piece is also available as an audio recording via Ancient Faith Radio. This past Friday, I had the blessing along with other clergy of the Diocese of Charleston and Oakland and also the Diocese of Washington and New York to meet with His Eminence, Metropolitan Silouan (Moussi) of Argentina in…
Nearly Orthodox
the fasting, the feast, the fire
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There is so much to Pascha in the Orthodox tradition. It’s a rich bounty of Liturgies, opportunities to connect, to pray, to wait, to watch, to breathe deep. Each service has its own particular draw, its own voice with which to speak. None speaks to me at this point in my journey as well as the midnight office. This is to be expected I suppose. It’s the most visible and tangible offering…
Nearly Orthodox
Good Friday: this floating space
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I’m suspended here, in this floating space just before Pascha, in the air, in the water, it’s hard to explain. Before I have coffee in the morning there’s that groggy brain poking through, telling me I have to get up, get going, get things done but I’m not really listening. It’s automatic now, this waking up at 6am whether I need to be up or not. And so I get up, stretch…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Raising Authentically Christian Children: Good News and Bad News
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My friend Seraphim Danckaert published an article today on the O&H site that I think every Christian (Orthodox or not) should read: Losing our Religion: On “Retaining” Young People in the Orthodox Church. Why? Almost every kind of church throughout America is losing kids. So read it first before reading the rest of this. Okay, done? First, some bad news: If you’re counting on…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Ten (Possibly) Surprising Facts about Fred Phelps
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Besides being a heretical hate-monger who pushed the envelope of the definition of constitutionally protected speech, Fred Phelps, the late leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, had a number of perhaps surprising facets to his life. Here are ten of them, all culled from the Wikipedia article dedicated to him. 1. In the ’60s and ’70s, Phelps was a notable civil rights lawyer in…
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The problem with poetry...
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Nearly Orthodox
Godparenting...
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I have four god-daughters- one Orthodox and three non-Orthodox. The non-Orthodox god-daughters are my niece, the daughter of my bestie, Paula and the daughter of my bestie, Dina. Jennifer, Agatha and Meg are lovely, intelligent and creative as they enter into their preteen and teenage years respectively. I’m incredibly proud of them and I’m thankful I’ve had the chance to walk alongside with their parents and watch them grow. When our kids…
Nearly Orthodox
A Lenten Classic
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Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Returning to the Paradise I've Never Seen
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Sunday of Forgiveness, March 2, 2014 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Today is called the Sunday of Forgiveness, most especially because of the service that we will celebrate here this evening, Forgiveness Vespers, when all of us will ask each other to forgive what we have…
Nearly Orthodox
forgiveness...
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For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. -Matthew 6:14-15 In the Orthodox tradition Lent begins like wading into water. We spend time transitioning from where we’ve been to where we want to go. We spend a week preparing to remove meat from our diet, offering prayer and awareness and…
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Bigger than...
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Miles is a whirlwind, a hurricane human. In our small dining room I coach him constantly to lower his voice. I assure him he can still make his point, still get the floor with all of us sitting there. In the dining room he sits in the back corner of the long table, the table that takes up most of the space. It fills the room. He tilts his chair back, throwing…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
The Gift of the Cross
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He could not have known. In the joy only a 21-month-old is capable of at successfully worming his way into papa’s inner sanctum, he began to explore its secrets and soon made his way to that low table that had so many wonderful things lying on it. Amid the prayerbooks, candles and even a brass hand censer was a ceramic Celtic standing cross papa…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
12 Reasons Why I Became and/or Remain an Orthodox Christian
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Lists like this are usually so much clickbait, I know, but I thought it was nevertheless worthwhile to compile a list of most of the reasons why I became and/or remain an Orthodox Christian. Some of these things were not really on my radar when I became Orthodox in 1998, but they are part of the reason why I genuinely do love belonging to…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Meeting the Lord
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Meeting of the Lord in the Temple, February 2, 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 arrive now at the fortieth day from our Lord’s birth, when His mother and foster father Joseph bring Him to the Temple in Jerusalem to fulfill what was written in…
Nearly Orthodox
In love...
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What I know about the state of things happening in the world is lacking. It’s easy to be consumed with the daily antics of politics and culture in the United States. We can be a little self-centered. That’s to be expected, I guess. We are, in effect, the teenager of the world powers. We’re teenagers with nuclear weapons. It is only after I set foot on the path of Orthodoxy that I…
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Memory eternal...
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Nearly Orthodox
Native...
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After we had reached safety, we then learned that the island was called Malta. The natives showed us unusual kindness. Since it had begun to rain and was cold, they kindled a fire and welcomed all of us around it. Acts 28:1-2 I will never be a native to the Orthodox Church. I will, I hope, become as familiar with the tradition and the customs and I hope become as beloved to…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
The Beginning of Baptism
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Sunday after Theophany, January 12, 2014 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick A recording of this sermon can be heard via Ancient Faith Radio. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Today is the Sunday after the Great Feast of Theophany, and even though the feast is now past, we are still within the…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Why I Love (True) Religion Because I Love Jesus, Redux
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This coming Sunday, Jan. 12, will be the two year anniversary of the post that has inexplicably (to me) probably been the most-read thing I’ve ever written. It’s always somewhat odd to me to note the things that get the most hits. They’re almost invariably stuff that’s more off-the-cuff than much-deliberated (like this silly post of coffee and theology jokes). (Kind of depressing, really.)…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
A Tolkien-Shaped Mind
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I do not know how aware most folks are of what books shape their basic imaginations—the formation that to a large part determines what brings them delight, what strikes them as worth attention, what gives them a vocabulary for the world. For me, there are really two sources that give me that shape—the Bible and the fiction works of J. R. R. Tolkien. This…
Nearly Orthodox
starting new...
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O my Hope, pour into my heart the inebriation that consists in the hope of you. O Jesus Christ, the resurrection and light of all worlds, place upon my soul’s head the crown of knowledge of you; open before me all of a sudden the door of mercies, cause the rays of your grace to shine out in my heart. -St Isaac of Syria What better way to start a new year…
Nearly Orthodox
new year's eve...
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Nearly Orthodox
Day Thirty-six: Hats
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Whether it’s worn for comfort… or warmth… style… or sheer delight… Hats offer something to us, something we did not have moments before they found our head. I draw connections, it’s something I do all day long, while I drive or cook or clean or play Angry Birds on my phone. Today, I’m not going to do that. I’m just going to leave it here with the pictures and the initial thought…
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Day Thirty-Four: Log Cabins
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This is where I’ll be lucky enough to spend the holidays- Lyric Springs in Franklin, TN. At the height of the housing market back in 2005, we sold our Chicago bungalow and made a move to middle Tennessee. We left the dirty, crowded, noisy city in favor of mild winters and lots of space. Our log home was not quite finished. The builder had started the project years earlier, hoping that he’d…
Nearly Orthodox
Day Thirty-Three: Nog, Grog and Glog
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Eggnog is one holiday tradition I always regret almost immediately after partaking every single time. As the viscous, rum spiked drink is handed to me, I’ll remember with some dim recollection the previous year and yet each time I bypass that soggy memory and I take that drink. The first sip is delicious, because it’s like drinking rum spiked melted ice cream and I really like ice cream (and rum.) By the…
Nearly Orthodox
Day Thirty-Two: Blogger's Choice
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Two years ago, I broke my middle son’s heart on Christmas day. It was an accident, a rookie mistake. He was 9 years old at the time and a savvy fellow, using words larger than his life span should allow. At the same time his most prized gift this Christmas was a joke hand buzzer. He shouted with joy, I mean, shouted and I mean JOY when he opened it. It cost…
