Blog — Page 38 of 65 — Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

“We had the one, and we lost him”: Fr. Matthew Baker’s Significance in Orthodoxy

March 11, 2015March 11, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

Several times now I have been asked by folks who were not at Fr. Matthew Baker’s funeral this past Saturday to write something about it. I have to admit that I do not really want to. I am a bit exhausted. But I will at least mention that it was beautiful—not merely in an aesthetic sense, though of course it was, with the roughly…

“God will make him a saint for you”: On Rigidity

March 10, 2015March 10, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

I spent the day yesterday at St. Tikhon’s with some of my fellow clergy from the Lehigh Valley Orthodox Clergy Brotherhood, and we shared a beautiful day of brotherhood as guests of the monastery. In one of our conversations, one of the priests was relating time he had spent with a holy elder in Greece (who is still living, though not in good health),…

Preaching and the Bond of Love

March 9, 2015March 9, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

I am on a day trip today to St. Tikhon’s with the Lehigh Valley Orthodox Clergy Brotherhood, so I don’t have much time to write this morning, but I wanted to write a few thoughts here about something that I have thought of off and on. I once had the experience where I gave the same talk twice within a week to two different…

Lenten Evangelism #6: St. Gregory Palamas and the Paralytic

March 8, 2015March 5, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas, March 8, 2015 Rev. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. On this second Sunday of the Great Fast, we celebrate St. Gregory Palamas, that 14th century ascetic and archbishop whose contributions to Orthodox theology and life were so profound that he not only…

Today, We Bury a Friend

March 7, 2015March 7, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

The Lord said to those Jews which had come to him: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice…

The Church is Love: More on the Legacy of Fr. Matthew Baker

March 6, 2015March 8, 2015 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

It’s been astounding over the past few days to watch the fundraising campaign for Fr. Matthew Baker’s widow Presbytera Katherine and their six children raise so much in such a short time. (And if you are able to give, please do. That may look like a lot, but the Bakers will be dealing with a loss of income that will affect them for many…

Remembering Matthew: On the Death of a Man, by Fr. Joseph Lucas

March 4, 2015March 1, 2018 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

I was sent this remembrance today of Fr. Matthew Baker from Fr. Joseph Lucas, another priest-scholar and friend of Fr. Matthew. These words resonate with me, as well. Manhood was something that Fr. Matthew talked about a good bit in his private conversations with friends, and it was something that he helped other men to build. Fr. Joseph is a priest of the Orthodox…

Fr. Matthew Baker: Priesthood and Sacrifice (Homily for Sunday of the Holy Cross)

March 3, 2015April 3, 2020 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

I committed to blogging every day for 40 days this Lent, but I have to admit that I don’t feel like writing about almost anything right now except trying somehow to keep my friend Fr. Matthew in my immediate memory, as if that somehow holds off the reality of his shocking departure from this earthly life. (For more on Fr. Matthew and also for…