Author: Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

The Very Rev. Archpriest Andrew Stephen Damick is Chief Content Officer of Ancient Faith Ministries, former pastor (2009-2020) of St. Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church of Emmaus, Pennsylvania, and author of The Lord of Spirits, Arise, O God, Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy, Bearing God and An Introduction to God. He is co-host of the following podcasts: The Lord of Spirits (with Fr. Stephen De Young), The Areopagus (with Michael Landsman), and Amon Sûl (with Richard Rohlin). He is also host of The Orthodox Pilgrim, Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy, Orthodox Engagement, and Roads from Emmaus. With Richard Rohlin he is collaborating on the major documentary series The Wolf and the Cross. You can follow him on YouTube, Facebook, Telegram and Instagram.

Bending Toward Bethlehem

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Sunday before the Nativity / Eve of the Nativity, December 24, 2023 Hebrews 11:9-10, 32-40; Matthew 1:1-15 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. All things bend now toward Bethlehem. From Nazareth, the righteous Joseph, the betrothed of the Virgin, comes to Bethlehem, the city of David his forefather, at the summons of…

St. Ignatius on the Nativity: Abolition of Death, Re-creation of the World

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Five days before the Nativity of Christ, the Orthodox Church celebrates the great hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer of Antioch. As he was traveling to Rome to be torn apart by lions, he wrote six epistles to Christians who met with him along the way, as well as an additional one sent ahead to the Roman Christians. Among these epistles is one sent to the…

Should Orthodox Christians Talk to False Teachers?

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
I understand that some people believe that one should simply never, ever even talk to people who say things that are false, that doing so constitutes endorsement of their teachings, and they believe that this is the Orthodox way. But as someone who knows Church history pretty well, I know that that is not the Orthodox way. Indeed, some of the most prominent moments…

The Transfiguration on Eden

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Holy Transfiguration of Christ, August 6, 2023 II Peter 1:10-19; Matthew 17:1-9 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Today we behold the restoration of Eden. Today we see the door of Paradise standing open, and we gaze within, seeing there the Kingdom of God. Today we behold the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ.…

I am faithful to one God, the Father Almighty

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
We’ve mentioned a number of times on the Lord of Spirits podcast that usually where you see faith or believe in the Bible it is better translated “faithfulness” or “be faithful to.” Many verses of the Scriptures become much clearer when read this way, e.g., “For by grace you have been saved through faithfulness” (Eph. 2:8a). The many references to “increasing” faith also make…

NEW RELEASE: The Wolf and the Cross

· Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
I am ecstatic — yes, actually ecstatic — to announce the release of the first episode of my new documentary podcast series The Wolf and the Cross: An Orthodox Christian Pilgrimage in Lithuania, which I am creating along with my friend and collaborator Richard Rohlin. In August 2022 we made a pilgrimage to the Baltic country of Lithuania, and in this documentary we’ll be…