The Christian Education Department of the Antiochian Orthodox Diocese has made the Book of Exodus the focus of our Sunday School year 2025-26 and the summer’s Bible Bowl. Brainstorming ideas of teaching the Teen SOYO class, my partner advisor, Philip Riske, brought up “The Life of Moses” by St. Gregory of Nyssa as a good … More Rethinking Exodus: A Forgotten Pursuit of Virtue?
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations …” Matthew 28:19 This was the great commission Jesus Christ gave to the eleven disciples after His resurrection. Likewise, the 120 men and women followers who received the gift of languages in the upper room on Pentecost (Acts 1:15, 2:1-4), in particular the 70 (Luke 10:1) obeyed … More St. Simon the Zealot: Universal Origins of Orthodox Christianity
Originally posted on St. Djan Darada Fellowship:
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love you.” Jesus said…
The black image of Jesus Christ is not new. AME Bishop Henry McNeal Turner declared that “God is a Negro” not long after the Civil War. The fathers of black liberation theology such as James Cone and Giraud Willmore led many preachers to cast away the popular Nordic/European paintings of Christ and paint brown skinned … More Beyond Black Jesus: Seeking the Universal Depth of Early Christianity
Back in 2010, a young seminarian spoke at the Ancient Faith & Afro-American Christianity Conference in Aniston, Alabama. These were a few of his words: “And in many ways, if the Lord wills I know that if I have a ministry, it will be in many ways the fruit of the Brotherhood of St. Moses … More FSMB 2022 Conference Reflections: Baptized In God’s Time and Way
Usually when we think of African-American Christian leaders who spoke and acted out against injustice, a number of Civil Rights era figures come to mind; MLK (of course), Fannie Lou Hammer and the like. Or, if we want to talk about self-help leaders in our community, Elijah Muhammad and Marcus Garvey come to mind. Yet, … More Of Desert Fathers & Maroons: Congolese Christian Experience
The deities and religious thought of Egypt and Nubia also prepared the way for the Christian faith to come into Africa. The region’s polytheist faiths had high expectations that were to be embodied by the pharaohs and embraced by all. The sun god, Ra, was the source of all good things. A king was to … More How Christianity Came to Africa: Foundation of Nile Valley Gods
Desert Fathers Dispatch 