Fr. Geoff’s Blog

Even the very best choices in life come with temptations. Temptations to take things to excess, or to approach things with the wrong motives. Visiting a monastery is no exception. While monasteries are holy places and visiting them can prove a great blessing, it can come with temptations.  

Frederica Matthewes-Green reflects on how new converts to Orthodoxy can sometimes be overzealous. While discovering the truth of Orthodoxy is exciting, we need to learn a gracious balance when dealing with our friends, family, workmates and others with whom we have contact. Now let's hear from Frederica.  

Rusticus, the prefect of Rome, glared at Justin and asked, “What teachings do you hold?” The 65-year-old man quickly replied, “I have tried to learn from all teachings, but I came to adopt the true teachings, which are those of the Christians.”1 Upon further examination, Justin confessed to holding meetings in the house of a man named Martinus in Rome. Rusticus demanded that Justin and those with him offer sacrifice, but they boldly refused. The prefect then commanded them beaten with rods and beheaded.

Efforts to redefine Christian practice and teachings in the last few hundred years have been fuelled by an apparent boredom with presentation of doctrine. Yet the reality is that Christianity answers the most central needs and longings of mankind.   Dorothy Sayers Dorothy Sayers (1893 – 1957) was a well-known British author, playwright, and scholar, who had a knack for unmasking misperceptions of the faith. She graduated from Oxford University in 1915, among one of the first groups of women to graduate.