Deaconess Maria is one of the kindest, most generous persons I've ever met. We're standing in front of the vestments of St. John Maximovitch which, when he was prevented from coming to the mission in Seoul, he sent in his place, and which are venerated and honored along with wedding crowns of the tsar and tsarina that are likewise here. This is the Cathedral of St. Nicholas the Great in Seoul. … [Read more...]

My wife and I have been married 10 years. We owe this merciful longevity  to the reality of the Faith, to the Angels and the Saints, to the uncreated Energies of The Holy Trinity. It is truly a matter of joy and of martyrdom. May God grant that my wife live long, but I live longer, and spare my wife the grief of waiting. … [Read more...]

Holy Matrimony has two parts: the Betrothal, in which the rings are blessed and exhanged in an inviolable promise, and the Crowning, in which the crowns of joy and martyrdom are placed upon the heads of those joined, who will share the common cup and dance the joy of Isaiah. Marriage, among the Orthodox, is indissoluble and for all eternity, and is for the salvation of husband and wife. … [Read more...]

These stalwart. Our godparents, Sarah and Nektarios are with us, and my wife's friends, Minja (the Ninja), Moonhee (strictly a coincidence), EunKyung, and Sunhwa. … [Read more...]

Sarah is my wife's godmother. She is called Sarah after St. Sarah, who followed her husband St. Abraham out of Ur and into the land that God would give them, because, in the same way, Sarah followed her husband into Holy Orthodoxy. It is fitting she should be my wife's godmother, since my wife made the same journey. Nektarios is named for St. Nektarios the Great, who suffered at the hands of his … [Read more...]

Our Father Confessor, Fr. Ambrosios and other clergy. I remember, that Father tought me of humility, and fasting, and charity to the poor. The novel I'm working on that's set in South Korea is based on what I witnessed when going with him once, as he delivered money to the poor, the widowed, and the orphaned, in an impoverished neighborhood in Mapo. May I learn his humility, his charity, his … [Read more...]

Mother and Sister (KyeongRae) (on the left), Nektarios and other Orthodox. … [Read more...]