Sword in the Fire

In studying the Gospel of John, I stumbled upon a wonderful story of the Apostle John as an old man, and in memory of his repose today in the city of Ephesus the retelling seems appropriate. John unlike many of the apostles seemed to have never married, being tasked with the care of the Virgin Mary.  Upon her repose, he left Jerusalem and traveled into Asia Minor, where he became the overseer of the churches there making his residence in the city of Ephesus.  During this time, he was exiled and tortured, but eventually made his way back to his beloved city as an old man. John's life was inflamed by the love of God, and the story below demonstrates the zeal and passion that love had upon his life. 6. “Listen to a tale, which is not a mere tale, but a narrative concerning John the apostle, which has been handed down and treasured up in memory. For when, after the tyrant’s death, he returned from the isle of Patmos to Ephesus, he went away upon their inv...

Recently I won a book. I rarely win anything, so this was particularly exciting. Thomas Nelson via Twitter had a drawing for a new book on St. Patrick. I entered and won. To turn a favor for something free, I want to offer up a very positive review.   First of all, this is a very readable book.  Author Jonathan Rogers creates a compelling historical survey of the times in which St. Patrick was born.  Patrick was born in Roman Britain around 385 AD.  He lived on the edge of two eras.  Roman culture and rule in Britain was beginning to deteriorate, and the "barbarian" populations that would come to dominate were beginning to filter into the country.  He was born to this population of Roman nobility, then suddenly as a young man he was kidnapped by Irish raiders to be sold as a slave in Ireland.   Eventually, he would escape his captors only to return when he was prodded by the voice of God to bring the faith of Christ to his former slave-...

Orthodoxy has done a poor job reaching out to the African American community in this country. On the other hand, Islam has made significant inroads into a community that has a rich spiritual tradition. Islam often sells itself to African American as the religion with African roots. Christianity is the slave masters religion. This is blatantly false. Before Christianity made its way to Northern Europe, it had already penetrated Africa. Christianity has much deeper roots in Africa than many moderns understand. Black saints abound in Orthodoxy and the early church. One such saint is St. Moses the Black. This one saint is the inspiration for the life of a contemporary African American Orthodox priest with a most interesting testimony. Excitingly, a movie is being made on the life of this wonderful man with a message toward African American and all Americans to return to their religious roots. Below is a link to the site detailing Fr. Moses Barry and the making of the film: http://go...

I love history, and when it relates to the Church and her saints it is even better. Here's a link I found about an article in the Orthodox journal " Road to Emmaus " about St. Andrew the first-called. The author spent several years researching all the local traditions regarding visits by St. Andrew. He then compiled and harmonized them into a full chronology of his missionary journeys. It is truly amazing. Andrew took serious Jesus command to preach to the "ends of the earth". I always assumed St. John was the last of the apostles to die because he was the only one who died of natural causes. Yet, this author maintains that St. Andrew actually died several years letter as martyr by the Roman authorities. He estimates that Andrew was 85-95 yrs old. See below and read how he brought the Gospel from Ethiopia to Scandinavia. Check out this link: St. Andrew St. Andrew's feast day is June 30th. Troparion - Tone 4 First-enthroned of the apo...

Yes, St. Valentine was real!! He was an early Christian martyr in the 3rd century. He was of the category of saints called "Holy Unmercenaries". Basically this means a physician saint who took no payment for services. He became friends with a Roman jailer and his blind daughter. He prayed for the daughter and tried healing her with various ointments, but to no avail. They picked flowers together and became fast friends. During one of the persecutions, Valentine was arrested. While in jail, the jailer heard of his imprisionment, and came to him. Valentine wrote a short letter to the jailer's daughter and the jailer promised to deliver it. The daughter opened the letter and one of the flowers they had picked fell out. The father read her the letter and all it said was "From your Valentine". The girl then miraculously regained her sight. In the Orthodox church we celebrate St. Valentine's memory on July 6. Here is a link to a wonderful icon of the ...