“Go sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.” from The Sayings of the Desert Fathers Asking for a word of salvation from a monk or nun was a common practice in early Christianity. Some pilgrims visited monastics with deep sincerity striving for a teaching to overcome habitual sins or discover God’s … More Lessons of St. Moses: Go to Your Room
Imagine a man who has been the Pastor of a Protestant denomination for over 15 years secretly studying Orthodox Christianity and practicing a prayer rule. He’s highly regarded by the community and peers in the ministry for his character and teaching and preaching ability. Yet he comes to a point where he can no longer … More Lessons of St. Moses: Embracing Humility
In every story of Moses, we see him ready to make the change from being a bandit to a monastic. It took time and effort to become one of the most notorious criminals of his time. He would also go through a strenuous process to gain the spiritual wisdom and saintly example that would be … More Lessons of St. Moses: Seize the Time
“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
I was born not long before Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination. Despite the riots in Detroit and Watts, there seemed to be a hope that human brotherhood and the beloved society would end racism and racial injustice. Somewhere between April 4th, 1968 and the mass incarceration of low level black drug offenders in the Regan, … More Seeking a Greater Restoration
It never fails to amaze me how many conscious and woke brothers and sisters overlook African Christian Saints. It isn’t hard to find memes about the glories of the golden eras of Pharaonic Egypt on social media. Many African-Americans have had an affinity for various branches of Islam. There is a growing Hebrew Israelite identity … More Living an Orthodox African-American Christian Life: Embracing Our Saints
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
Every mainstream should have an antithesis. This is not to be combative or dismissive to the denomination that left. Had it not been for the African-American Baptist Church, I probably would have never been born, much less born again. I think the black church of the various denominations and non-denominations are able to lead souls … More Alternative Christianity: Orthodoxy and the Mainstream Church
The following is a collection of notes I wrote to present to my former congregation and colleagues concerning my desire to form a bridge between African American Baptist and Orthodox Christians. I still believe strongly that such a bridge is very necessary for the sake of black Christians to grow deeper in the faith. Now, … More A Case for Orthodoxy in the African American Church
Desert Fathers Dispatch 