"Let The Children Come"

Why We Must Become Like Children to Embrace the Orthodox Way

Something spontaneous happened last Sunday. After Divine Liturgy and coffee hour, some of my children were playing in the St. Thekla house (which holds our church library and rooms for our homeschool coop as well as Church School). In the dedicated ‘play area,’ my wife saw my daughter crawl to the children’s icon corner and give Jesus a kiss. My wife later showed me the photo since I was not with them (I was at the playground talking with a Protestant trying to discern between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism). My heart was deeply moved in the simplicity of this photo.

“Beholding Faces”

We adults who did not grow up Orthodox may have initially found it strange or weird that people were greeting icons of our Lord, the Theotokos, the angels, and the saints. with a kiss. In worse cases, we may have even thought of it as an act of idolatry. Yet young children are different, because there is something very simple about love and faces. A newborn baby stares at the face of her mother when nursing. A tearful child searches for the face of his parent when he scrapes his knee. A man locks eyes with the face of his bride when she walks down the aisle. A disciple beholds the Face of our Lord when he attempts to walk on water. In many ways, a whole person is summed up in their face.

Of course, there are all sorts of apologetic arguments we could make for why it is licit to depict Christ and the saints through icons. One could turn to St. John Damascene’s masterful work or you could even purchase Michael Garten’s book on the evidence of icons in the early church, but ultimately love is the answer. Our prayer is that when our daughter becomes 4 years of age… 8 years of age… 16 years of age and beyond, that she will continue to fix her eyes on the Face of our Lord and greet Him with a holy kiss.

Barrel Aged Faith in the Catacombs?

A lady approached me a few weeks ago during coffee hour and stated that she had a fun story to share with me. She had recently returned from Rome and had the opportunity to tour the St. Sebastian catacombs (see above). She noticed that the tour guide was from America and asked where he was from. He stated that he was from Indiana, and she mentioned she was from Indiana as well! (Already notable since we aren’t a very big state). It came up that she was an Orthodox Christian, and he stated that he had been learning more about Orthodoxy lately and listened to an Orthodox podcast. She asked him “which one?” and he stated, “Barrel Aged Faith!” She was so surprised, because it was one of the few podcasts she listens to and that she happened to go to church with me! He then mentioned a few videos where I feature different icons that show up in the various Roman catacombs.

It was exciting to hear of these global (and local) connections being made and that people are exploring our beautiful Orthodox faith at a much deeper level (even underground)!

My Middle Earth Themed 40th Birthday

My family surprised me with a 40th 'Lord of the Rings' Birthday Party! Keebler Elf cookies are my favorite, and so it was fun to see them 'in council.' My wife also made a cheesecake 'eye of Sauron.' The potatoes in the beef stew were delicious along with the dried meats, berries, and cheeses. There were also plenty of little hobbits running around as well as delightful pumpkin ale. I was also joyous that "meat was back on the menu" right after the Dormition Fast!

Photos From my Surprise 40th Birthday (Lord of the Rings Themed)

Coming Up: In Person Interview with Orthodox Iconographer

I am very excited to continue traveling in order to do more ‘close up’ interviews, including an Orthodox iconographer in his own studio. We will be discussing his journey from Evangelicalism to Holy Orthodoxy as well as an inside look at his life. If you want to support paying for my gas to travel to these places and back, then consider becoming a paid subscriber for only $5 a month! If enough people sign up, I can continue to travel for these kind of interviews (which will include Orthodox priests, authors, scholars, and artists). $5 a month also supports the creation of more Orthodox Bible studies and deep dive theology courses. I also greatly appreciate all of you who do support, especially through prayer.

In XC,

Cassian Kyle King

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