Public Orthodoxy

Borders, Epstein, and the Gospel Many—too many—Christian leaders today are leading with a concern for the border. Sermons, statements, and social-media pronouncements fixate on immigration, national security, and demographic anxiety....

publicorthodoxy.org/2026/03/09/b... (6/6)

#AuthorLife #BiblicalNationalism #BookRecommendation #BorderEthics #ChristianEthics #ChurchAndSociety #CurrentEvents #EpsteinFiles #FaithAndPolitics #FrJonathanTobias #GospelTruth #Justice #MoralClarity #MustRead #Nationalism #OrthodoxChurch #PoliticalTheology #PublicOrthodoxy #SacramentalVision

This is a necessary read for anyone navigating faith and politics in a fractured time.

Read the full article at PublicOrthodoxy.org. (4/6)

He teaches Orthodox spirituality and writes on the moral demands of the Gospel in public life. His work challenges us to see where we have substituted nationalism for faithfulness.

"The Gospel does not permit us to lead with borders while whispering or ignoring cruelty." (3/6)

He contends that a fixation on borders allows preachers to speak about "order" while ignoring cruelty in enforcement and staying silent on the depravity exposed by the Epstein files.

Fr. Jonathan is a priest, writer, and seminary lecturer based in North Carolina. (2/6)

Is the Church speaking with moral clarity, or has it traded the Gospel for talking points?

In a powerful new essay on PublicOrthodoxy, Fr. Jonathan Tobias argues that many Christian leaders are failing a moral test. (1/6)

Transgender Experience and the Theological Limits of “Gnosticism” Bryce Rich responds to the charge that transgender experience marks a return of the heresy of "Gnosticism."

publicorthodoxy.org/2024/06/21/t... (8/8)

#AcademicTheology #ByzantineHistory #ChristianIdentity #ChurchAndSociety #Creed #Docetism #DrBryceRich #Dualism #EarlyChurch #EcumenicalCouncils #FordhamPress #GenderEssentialism #Gnosticism #Heresy #HistoricalTheology #Incarnation #LGBTQChristian #OrthodoxChristianity #ParisSchool #Patristics (7/8)

If you care about nuanced dialogue, the Orthodox tradition, or understanding the limits of polemical comparisons, this is a must-read.

Read the full article via PublicOrthodoxy.org. (6/8)

They do not deny creation’s goodness or claim a secret, elite gnōsis. Comparing gender dysphoria to the Docetic denial of Christ’s flesh is, as she states, a "category error."

This piece is a masterclass in why historical theology matters for contemporary compassion. (5/8)

As he points out, when we confess the Creed, we affirm God as "maker of heaven and earth" and the reality of Christ's Incarnation—refutations of ancient dualism, not modern identity.

His key argument? Orthodox transgender people and their supporters are not Sethians. (4/8)

Dr. Rich, who holds a PhD in Theology from the University of Chicago and is the author of Gender Essentialism and Orthodoxy: Beyond Male and Female (Fordham University Press), reminds us that the bar for declaring something "heresy" is—and must remain—very high. (3/8)

With the precision of a trained historian, he dismantles this argument by returning to the sources—distinguishing the actual, ancient groups (like the Sethians and Valentinians) from the modern, often misapplied category of "Gnosticism." (2/8)

Over one year ago, Dr. Bryce Rich published a vital & incisive piece of theological clarity.

His article "Transgender Experience and the Limits of 'Gnosticism'" for PublicOrthodoxy (June 2024), Dr. Rich responds to claims that contemporary transgender identities are a form of "reborn heresy." (1/8)

Bishop Seraphim, Walking in Front of the Presence When I told my wife, Prof. Olga Meerson, that Bishop Seraphim had died, she said: “Our Seraphim flew away from us.” The phrase felt immediately right. It captured both the way he moved among us during...

publicorthodoxy.org/2026/03/05/b... (7/7)

#BishopSeraphim #ChristTheSaviorNYC #DivinePresence #EmmausRoad #Faith #GoodSamaritan #HolyFoolishness #InMemoriam #InterfaithDialogue #JonFosse #JapaneseOrthodoxy #Ministry #Missionary #NewYorkCity #OCA #OrthodoxChristianity #Prayer #PublicOrthodoxy #SaintVladimirsSeminary #Spirituality (6/7)

Read the full reflection on a life of holy foolishness and divine longing at PublicOrthodoxy.org. (5/7)

Fr. Michael, Rector of Christ the Savior Church in NYC and author of The Trinity of Love in Modern Russian Theology, paints a portrait of a man whose physical awkwardness belied his swift and generous spirit. "The body passes, but the spirit remains," Seraphim often echoed. (4/7)

Whether feeding a sick rabbi in a hospital or finding holiness in Buddhist culture and Irish literature, he lived by a simple rule: attend to the person before you. (3/7)

Fr. Michael describes him as a seraph among humans, always longing for the Divine Presence he so clearly saw.

From his early days as a missionary in Japan to his later years as a "bishop outside the walls" (extra muros), Bishop Seraphim sought God in unexpected places. (2/7)

"Our Seraphim flew away from us."

In a moving tribute for Public Orthodoxy, the Very Rev. Dr. Michael Meerson remembers his friend of nearly fifty years, Bishop Seraphim (Sigrist)—a man who truly lived with his "head in heaven" while his feet walked the earth. (1/7)

On Eschatological Thinking and Informed Imagination: Reflections on Sean J. McGrath’s Political Eschatology “]…[I depart before the moon gathers its silverand returns it to the Lord of the heavens.I leap my great leap.Like every night, I fall like heavy light,and run like an earthquake toward the purple sea...

publicorthodoxy.org/good-reads/p... (8/8)

#Apocalypse #Berdyaev #Christianity #Contemplation #DepthPsychology #Disenchantment #Divine #Eschatology #FadiAbuDeeb #Faith #Future #Hope #Imagination #Kierkegaard #Literature #Modernity #NewCreation #OrthodoxChristianity #Personhood #Philosophy #Poetry #PoliticalEschatology #Prophetic (7/8)

Dive into the full article and let your imagination be informed. (6/8)

Abu Deeb argues for a faith that holds both profound pessimism about the state of the world and an unshakeable optimism that every small act of love matters. It is about trusting that God's secret garden is about to show its hidden door, even when familiar answers fail us. (5/8)

It is about cultivating an informed imagination, a way of living that anticipates divine breakthrough and radical newness beyond both rigid traditionalism and empty progressivism. (4/8)

What if true faith isn't about holding tighter to old forms, but about making an existential leap into the unknown?

He introduces the concept of "eschatological thinking." This isn't about waiting for the end of the world. (3/8)

Abu Deeb, a PhD candidate and lecturer who specializes in religious philosophy and has published multiple poetry books, engages with Sean J. McGrath's “Political Eschatology” to explore a profound question. (2/8)

“I leap my great leap.”

This stunning line from a poem by Fadi Abu Deeb opens his latest reflection for Public Orthodoxy. It is an invitation to move beyond comfort zones and into the depths of faith. (1/8)

Trump and the EPA: An Era of Fear and Silence A plea from Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis to Present Donald Trump to practice self-restraint for the sake of creation care.

publicorthodoxy.org/2026/02/24/t... (6/6)