Saint Mary of Egypt will be honored twice this month. Her feast day is April 1st and on the fifth Sunday of Great Lent as she is an example of repentance and God’s mercy on those who turn to Him. Those unfamiliar with her story can listen to this great Ancient Faith Radio episode. Mark … More Saints of Africa: April
We will enter Great Lent this month. Among the Saints of Africa are great monastics who’s works appear in the Sayings of the Desert Fathers and the Philokalia. We also commemorate John Climacus who lived on the Sinai Peninsula and wrote the epic Ladder of Divine Ascent. The great fast isn’t just about what foods … More Saints of Africa: March
February is African-American History Month. We also celebrate St. Valentine’s Day on the 14th. As time marches on, we said “farewell” to Henry Aaron and “congratulations” to Kamala Harris. God is blessing us to break barriers and make great achievements in this earthly kingdom. Christians aim for a greater kingdom than sports trophies and public … More Saints of Africa: February
I have to thank the Black Empowerment Group of Chesapeake Virginia for allowing me to speak via Zoom today. January 1st is the final day of Kwanzaa, which focuses on Faith. It is also the feast day of St. Basil the Great, the patron of my parish. One of the three major Cappadocian fathers, Basil … More Living an African-American Orthodox Christian Life: Essential Reading
Last year, I challenged myself to look up and post articles listing Orthodox Christian saints from the African continent. I did this each week in my “Dispatch from the Desert” post. Some were native Africans and had varied amounts of melanin in their skin. Some were from the Middle East and Eastern Europe who spent … More Saints of Africa: January
One thing that keeps black people from inquiring about and becoming catechist of the Orthodox Church is a lack of music that we are familiar with. Growing up Baptist, we never heard of Byzantine or Slavonic tones. I was working a summer job when I met someone from the Greek Orthodox Church and it was … More Living an African-American Orthodox Christian Life: Maintaining Our Musical Heritage
African Saints (from the Prologue of Ohrid) December 17 Patermuthius, Coprius, and Alexander (361-363) Patermuthius and Coprius were monks who were martyred. Alexander was a soldier who was also killed for the faith in Egypt. December 19 Elias, Probus, and Ares (308) Egyptian Christians who were martyred in Cilicia. December 24 Eugenia and those with … More Dispatch from the Desert: December 16th thru 31st
Dispatch from the Desert: December 7th thru 15th African Saints (from the Prologue of Ohrid) December 8 Patapius (7th century) He was raised by pious parents in the Egyptian city of Thebes. Patapius first tried to flee worldly vanity in the wilderness areas of his homeland. But, he fled to a hut in Constantinople when … More Dispatch from the Desert: December 7th thru 15th
African Saints (from the Prologue of Ohrid) November 30 Frumentius (370) He and his brother, Edesius, were traveling withe Meropius to India from Tyre. The ship was wrecked in a storm off the coast of Ethiopia. The Ethiopians killed everyone on the boat except these two brothers who, in time, served in the imperial court. … More Dispatch from the Desert: November 30th thru December 6th
African Saints (from the Prologue of Ohrid) November 23 Ischyrion (5th century) a hermit in the Sketis desert and Bishop in Egypt. This may be the Ischyrion with one lesson in the Sayings of the Desert Fathers November 24 Katherine (310) She was the daughter of a king who lived in Alexandria and was known … More Dispatch from the Desert: November 23rd thru 29th
Desert Fathers Dispatch 