A long time in coming and worth the wait! Advance word: “What a book! As I devoured…Greece’s Dostoevsky: The Theological Vision of Alexandros Papadiamandis…I realized that I was ‘dog-earing’ the entire manuscript! Thank you for introducing me to Alexandros Papadiamandis, to his world and to the characters who populated that world…” 
— Bishop BASIL
, Antiochian Archdiocese of North America “Dr. Keselopoulos’s work on Papadiamandis is a truly masterful presentation of the Orthodox ethos, and of the spiritual freedom engendered by... Read more

The first week of October found me in Mecca — Orthodox Mecca, that is: Pennsylvania. Pictured, above, the beautiful Holy Cross Church – Williamsport. Fr Dan Kovalak has labored long in this vineyard, even building (literally) the church building back in the 70s. About 60 people turned out on a blustery wet Monday night for my presentation, The Way of Christ Is Easy, We Just Make It Hard. Some excerpts from that presentation available here. Formerly in the Houston area... Read more

Iconographer Dmitry Shkolnik is in Houston for the next few weeks to install images in the dome of St Joseph Church. These pictures, snapped with my cell phone, do no justice to the images as (especially as they are laid out on the floor awaiting assignment). New meaning to “How many angels can dance on …” The four Evangelists look ready. The head of the Christ Pantocrator. The Mother of God. A measuring tape shows the scope of the chief... Read more

This is the final post, 6th in a series (one, two, three, four, five), of my recent trip to Syria – September 13-18, 2011. You can listen to the Orthodixie Podcast about the trip by clicking HERE. Our final full day in Syria, Saturday, September 17th, began with a visit to the Umayyad Mosque, also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus (formerly the Basilica of Saint John the Baptist). Unlike my visit last year — HERE — this time,... Read more

August 31st was a long day at the church office, from 7 AM through Evening Liturgy for Church New Year; the work day’s start to finish: about 15 hours. I’m getting older and I have a couch in my office. No-brainer; I took a nap. I awoke around 2:30 PM Central Time, just 10 minutes before my cell alarm was set to pester me. I didn’t recognize the Area Code displayed on the Blackberry. I won’t recount whole the conversation.... Read more

I promise: I’ll get to my visit with the President of Syria; but first, the final post of some other stuff. I was part of a delegation that traveled to Syria September 13 – 18th on a fact finding mission, especially regarding the 3 million Christians in that country. Parts One, Two, Three, Four. Another one of those traditional homes converted to a nice restaurant. In the Jewish quarter, a Synagogue. Here, Fr Pat prayed, I believe, Psalm 8 (in... Read more

As mentioned earlier (here, one, two, three), I was part of a delegation that traveled to Syria September 13 – 18th on a fact finding mission, especially regarding the 3 million Christians in that country. Yes, we met with the President, the Grand Mufti, Abbesses and Sheiks (but more on that later). Here’s some more touristy stuff … Remember those traditional homes mentioned in previous posts (one, two, three)? Well, this one has been converted into a magnificent hotel: The... Read more

As mentioned earlier (here, one, two), I was part of a delegation that traveled to Syria September 13 – 18th on a fact finding mission, especially regarding the 3 million Christians in that country. Yes, we met with the President and the Grand Mufti (but more on that later). Here’s some more touristy stuff … While walking around Old Damascus, we descended from street level into the small shop of a woodworker. Can you guess what he was crafting? Beautiful... Read more

There once was a small town, somewhere in Middle America, with a restaurant, hardware store, law office and bank found at the crossroads of Main Street and Vine. It was a busy intersection, that part of town, and every day there passed by these businesses, and the people of the town, a man with a sign which read: It’s the End of the World. A curious thing about this town, however, was that there was another man, another sign carrier,... Read more

As I mentioned here & here, I was part of a delegation that traveled to Syria September 13 – 18th on a fact finding mission, especially regarding the 3 million Christians in that country. Yes, we met with the President (but more on that later). First, a little touristy stuff … Day one in Damascus, Thursday 9/15, we headed toward the Eastern Gate — and the Street Called Straight — and into Old Town. Fr John Winfrey was the one... Read more