It has been said among African-Americans that if you don’t know your past, you don’t know your future. If this proverb is true, then the black church is doomed to fail as we don’t have much of a clue of who our ancient heroes are. Most of us belong to churches that were founded in … More Dispatch from the Desert: Raising Awareness of Ancient African Saints
African Saints (from the Prolouge of Ohrid) Basil the Great (Jan. 1) 330-379 AD, Although not an African, this Cappedocian is listed among the Sayings of the Desert Fathers as he spent time in Egypt. He patterned his life after the monastics and was known for his generosity as well as his theological contributions … More Dispatch From The Desert: December 30th, 2019 to January 5th, 2020
OBSERVING THE FEAST DAYS OF THE AFRICAN SAINTS Why observe the African Saints? Every Christian community and nation celebrates its ancient heroes of the faith. St. Patrick among the Irish, St. Vladimir of the Russians, even the Alaskan Native St. Peter the Aleutian; all of these peoples embrace their ancient fathers and mothers of the … More African Saints & Feast Days
The goal of our profession is the kingdom of God. Its immediate purpose, however, is purity of heart, for without this we cannot reach our goal. We should therefore always have this purpose in mind … St. Moses from St. John Cassian’s On the Holy Fathers of Sketis (Philokalia vol. I) For anyone that thinks … More St. Moses: The Immediate Purpose of the Christian
I just started reading “On the Prayer of Jesus” by St. Ignatius Brianchaninov. I got hooked on the work of this 19th century bishop after reading “The Arena” during Great Lent. Aside from his wise instruction to monastics which are applicable to us in the regular world, Brianchaninov frequently referred back to several African fathers … More The Jesus Prayer: A Blood-bond
Many thanks again to the St. Andrews Orthodox Church in Ashland for their warm hospitality. Thanks also to the members of the Trinity Baptist Church in West Point (my former congregation) for their attendance. It is my prayer that we will continue to continue to dialogue with one another and evangelize based on our holy … More A Day of Bridge Building
I have wanted to speak on the subject for a couple of years now. Thanks to Father Adam Sexton, I have been given the opportunity to explain how there is material for African-Americans and the Orthodox Church to reach out to one another. I intend to post video of the presentation. If not, I will … More Building The Bridge: Martin Luther King Day Speaking Engagement
Desert Fathers Dispatch 