This post begins a series on covid, which has been the main focus of my reading in retirement. Many things I’ll say in this series I’ve said before on Facebook or in emails to friends. Here, I’ll spend more time … Continue reading
The following was written recently for Parish Life, the monthly newsletter of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist Russian Orthodox Church in Washington, D.C. A parishioner posed the question; I was asked to provide an answer. QUESTION: How should we … Continue reading
I am pleased to announce a new edition of A Crown of Life, now available at the new low price of $19.95 for paperback and $4.99 for ebook. The book was written decades ago but is now more relevant than ever. … Continue reading
For many people, the fact that the Orthodox Church once had deaconesses, somewhere at sometime, is enough to justify having them again. After all, they say, we Orthodox believe in tradition, and deaconesses are part of the tradition. Are they … Continue reading
Remarks by Protodeacon Brian Patrick Mitchell At the St. Phoebe Center Conference on “Renewing the Male and Female Diaconate” Irvine, California October 7, 2017 Thanks, Helen [Theodoropoulos], for the introduction, and thanks also to AnnMarie Mecera and everyone else at … Continue reading
It surprises me that many of my usually reasonable friends are so eager to bomb Syria over the recent gas attack and are perplexed by the unwillingness of others to “hold Syria accountable.” I have to remind myself that few … Continue reading
The textbooks say the Byzantine Empire was a theocratic autocracy uniting church and state under an all-powerful emperor believed by the Byzantines to be God’s viceroy and vicar. Nonsense, says Anthony Kaldellis, professor of classics at Ohio State University. The … Continue reading
More and more often, one hears one’s friends on the Right describe themselves as “anarchists.” “Christian anarchist,” says one. “Tory anarchist,” says another. “Anarcho-capitalist,” say quite a few. But the most daring increasingly call themselves “anarcho-monarchists”—inspired, I suspect, by J.R.R. … Continue reading
Most Americans, even most American Christians, celebrate Christmas much more than Easter, yet it is only Easter—Pascha—that makes sense of Christmas. The birth of Christ is only something to celebrate if you know the rest of the story. Consider the … Continue reading
Conflict makes people uncomfortable, so in mixed company, people watch what they say. Instead of speaking their minds on controversial issues, they trim their opinions to fit those around them—sometimes out of charity, sometimes out of prudence, but often out … Continue reading
