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Look East for Ecumenism

From First Thoughts

About three miles northeast of the Hagia Sophia on the Golden Horn one will find the Phanar, home to the Ecumenical Patriarchate and site of the recent pan-Orthodox assembly, or “Synaxis” of the primates of the Autocephalous Orthodox Churches (not including the Oriental Orthodox). Called . . . . Continue Reading »

Ulf Ekman’s Charismatic Conversion

From Web Exclusives

The founder of one of Sweden’s largest Protestant congregations is converting to Catholicism. This past Sunday Ulf Ekman announced to the Word of Life church he founded that he and his wife would swim the Tiber. Major news even in secular Sweden, the Dagens Nyheter, Sweden’s largest . . . . Continue Reading »

Wrestling with Charles Taylor

From First Thoughts

Although published in 2007, Charles Taylor’s tome A Secular Age continues to generate debate. Last year David Brooks offered a summary of the work while currently Ross Douhat and Damon Linker have reflected on whether or not Taylor’s idea of the late-modern self as . . . . Continue Reading »

Lenten Culture

From First Thoughts

As my wife and I pulled up to a fast-food restaurant one year during Lent, our daughter quickly noticed a sign advertising vegetarian options. Given that she had decided to join the millions of Christians fasting during Lent, she was all too happy to know that market forces were at work . . . . Continue Reading »

Adoption, Image, and God’s Love

From First Thoughts

As a child of adoption I have lived most of my life around those with whom I share no physical characteristics. This was never really an issue for me: My adoptive parents—both of whom are around a foot shorter—gave me all the love any child requires. I have always had a profound sense of . . . . Continue Reading »