Short Reads This Month| Public Orthodoxy
Between the sensational extremes of an Ecumenical Patriarch appearing in the White House in Washington, DC to be greeted by the United States President and an Orthodox abbot appearing in the criminal courts of Athens, Greece to respond to allegations of corruption, few will have noticed the recent passing of Archimandrite Vasileios of Mount Athos... The post Archimandrite Vasileios (1936–2025): A Silent Revolutionary appeared first on Public Orthodoxy.| Public Orthodoxy
Panagiotis Thomas writes[1] in a time marked by violence, racism, fanaticism, and intolerance, choosing to stand beside “the weak, the powerless, the marginalized of our world.” His work raises the fundamental question of existential affirmation in the face of the Other—the alien, the ugly, the suffering. Thomas seeks the ontological foundation for sensitivity and the... The post An Impossible Resurrection appeared first on Public Orthodoxy.| Public Orthodoxy
The “Holy Canons” are a defining element of Orthodox confessional identity. All tomoi of autocephaly issued by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the 19th century insist on that the newly established autocephalous national church should be governed in accordance with the Holy Canons, and similar provisions are found in the relevant laws of the countries where... The post What Does it Mean to Uphold the Holy Canons? appeared first on Public Orthodoxy.| Public Orthodoxy
Last fall, a post by Paul Gavrilyuk on Facebook highly resonated with my own burning thoughts on the same issue. Gavrilyuk wrote, “Russia’s war crimes have two main aims: to crush the spirit of Ukrainians and to erase Ukrainian identity. It strikes me that our present discussion of Orthodox nationalism, as valuable as it is,...| Public Orthodoxy
Some time ago, in March 2025, the Georgian Apostolic Orthodox Church in North America (GAOCNA) imposed disciplinary action on three members of its monastic clergy (two abbots and an abbess) in Maryland and Oklahoma. This should hardly have come as a shock, because the Georgian Church—both the national church in America and its ancient patriarchate... The post Monastic Sanctions and Musical Thrones appeared first on Public Orthodoxy.| Public Orthodoxy
Without us, what would the earth be,Nameless, nonexistent, desolate.Without us, what would the sky be,Shapes without light and without a voice,to name them, without eternity.And what would God be,A thing without name and without glow.What flesh would He take to appearwithout flesh on earth,What face without the human face,Without human clothing and shape.What a beating... The post In Memory of Chrysostomos Stamoulis (August 2, 1964 – August 18, 2025) appeared first on Public Orthodoxy.| Public Orthodoxy
Each year the feast day of St. Phanourios is celebrated on August 27 by Orthodox Christians. Although St. Phanourios is believed to have lived in the Roman Empire, there is no early evidence for devotion to this saint. Rather, devotion to St. Phanourios can only be securely traced to the mid-14th or mid-15th century when... The post Dealmaking or Gift Giving? On St. Phanourios and Phanouropita Cakes appeared first on Public Orthodoxy.| Public Orthodoxy
My recent essay on “LGBTQ+ Experience and Orthodox Tradition” provoked a strident response from Dr. Edith Humphrey, Professor Emerita of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. While I disagree with the main point of her critique—that the Church has nothing to learn from the experience of LGBTQ+ people—I am grateful for her extensive engagement with...| Public Orthodoxy
Read part one, two, and three of this four-part series. Having completed—albeit somewhat elliptically—my “itinerary” of the argument of That All Shall Be Saved, I have reserved the final installment of my report for a last, brief, bitter, even somewhat petulant and self-pitying complaint about some of the more belligerent readings the book has inspired. Perhaps...| Public Orthodoxy
In a moment of unprecedented closings and cancellations, how should the Orthodox Church and her members faithfully navigate the risks and complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic? For many Orthodox jurisdictions and individuals, the pandemic is an opportunity to show a panicked world the extraordinary steadiness of the Orthodox faith and of those who uphold it. One...| Public Orthodoxy
The Orthodox Church is generally not opposed to scientific knowledge and scientific endeavors. In fact, many early theologians and saints of the Church (including St. Basil and Ss. Cosmas and Damian) considered themselves to be scientists exploring nature and using nature’s pharmaceuticals to treat disease. When the Orthodox Church finds itself opposing science, it should...| Public Orthodoxy
This essay is part of a series stemming from the ongoing research project “Contemporary Eastern Orthodox Identity and the Challenges of Pluralism and Sexual Diversity in a Secular Age,” which is a joint venture by scholars from Fordham University’s Orthodox Christian Studies Center and the University of Exeter, funded by the British Council, Friends of...| Public Orthodoxy
In the 21st century, the Georgian Orthodox Church faces a growing internal challenge: fundamentalism, which risks alienating younger generations. As the Church increasingly resists change, many young people find themselves disconnected from an institution that feels out of step with modern life and evolving views of faith. This rift goes beyond theological disagreements and touches... The post Fundamentalism in the Georgian Orthodox Church and Generational Estrangement appeared first on Publi...| Public Orthodoxy
What can time travel stories teach us about ourselves, the world, and our relationship to God?| Public Orthodoxy
Nestled on a hillside in the occupied West Bank, the village of Taybeh is a place of deep spiritual and historical significance. It is the last fully Christian town in Palestine, a rare sanctuary of quiet endurance amid a region marked by turmoil. Taybeh’s name appears in the Gospel of John as Ephraim, the place...| Public Orthodoxy
It has never been simple to discern the balance between new experience and received tradition. The process is messy, involves lots of questions, debate, pushback, dead-ends, wrong turns and periods of grey when the final outcome is not at all clear. And it is often slow—though not always. In my comments I’ll focus on this...| Public Orthodoxy
Short Reads on July 2025| Public Orthodoxy
“There have been two major types of ‘corruption.’ First, a great number of cases, primarily political, were removed from the jurisdiction of the courts and submitted to special forms of investigation and trial. Secondly, the independence of the judges was progressively curtailed, and the courts were placed in an ever more dependent position. The government...| Public Orthodoxy