American Protestantism has historically been characterized by a strong dynamic of renewal, institutional flexibility, and a plurality of doctrinal expressions. Yet these very characteristics, which once functioned as advantages, appear in the contemporary testimonies of converts as sources of destabilization and spiritual fatigue. From the mid-2010s, and with particular intensity following the COVID-19 pandemic, signs have multiplied of a counter-movement: believers from evangelical, charismatic, Lutheran, and Episcopal communities are turning consciously toward the Orthodox Church.

For those who approach Christ in Holy Communion without pretension, in the vulnerability of repentance, with a heart of faith, crushed and humbled of our illusions of self-sufficiency, the Eucharist is an encounter which sanctifies and spiritualizes us. It is a synergy of personal communion in a sacramental bond pursued over a lifetime as in marriage and monasticism.

In order to find reassurance and comfort in the spiritual treasures of our Orthodox Faith, l invite you to listen to the voice of the Holy Fathers coming to us from the depths of time; the voice of those who understood the transformation of the bread and wine to the Body and Blood of Christ as the greatest miracle occurring on the Earth. They saw it as the Source of Power against the demons, the Bread of Life, the Source of Eternal Life, the Medicine of Immortality, the Antidote against death.

As our two small buses rolled through the arid desert, my mind wondered “where on earth have they come to live?” Then, the oasis appeared suddenly ahead of us transforming the “coldness” of the land to a warm and welcoming embrace; I felt the heartbeat of the monastic prayer rising around me “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner,” and my heart was filled with joy of anticipation: What couldn’t come from five days in an Athonite-style monastery in the desert of Arizona? How will this experience affect us individually and as a group?

It was astonishing as we turned the corner to find ourselves at the feet of these huge boulders — the Meteora (suspended rocks) — rising up from the Thessalian plains. Even more astonishing was the view of red-roofed buildings sitting on top of the boulders. These are monasteries, built hundreds of years ago, where ascetic hermit monks have sought to reach heaven by ascending from the common life of the world around them to a life of continuous prayer, away from the distractions of the world.

It was an adventure to get to the island of Patmos in Greece, but the beauty of the place made me quickly forget the travail. As we disembarked from the Flying Dolphin, the super-fast boat that ferried us across the Dodecanese islands, I could not get my eyes off the medieval castle overlooking the harbor surrounded by whitewashed homes. That is the monastery dedicated to St. John the Evangelist and Theologian