On the outskirts of Moscow, there is an Orthodox Christian memorial. The site, known as Butovo, once belonged to a private estate. The Soviets expropriated the land after the revolution and turned it into a firing range. It was there during Stalin’s purges that more than 20,000 “enemies of the . . . . Continue Reading »
Readers of First Thoughts will know by now that Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Silence by Shūsaku Endō was released in select theaters on December 23. The novel warrants the attention it is getting. Set in the 1640s at the end of Japan's “Christian Century” (1549-1639), Silence is a haunting journey through one priest’s struggles to remain faithful in the most challenging of circumstances. Continue Reading »
We were among those mourning a tragic loss. Yet, as we sought to comfort them, we recognized that they were filled with hope because Jesus was still in their midst. Continue Reading »
A week’s worth of commentary on Fr. Jacques Hamel. Continue Reading »
“Today, more than at any other time, our Catholicism must be lived. We have to show to the masses that the only leader who has the right to a full, unlimited authority, and to be our leader, is Jesus Christ.” Continue Reading »
It is hard to mourn together while we have different understandings of death and the sacred. Continue Reading »
When a nun is stopped on the street, it is often so that a person can work out their issues with the Church, not with her. And when Fr. Jacques Hamel is made to kneel and die, it is the Church that is attacked in his body. Continue Reading »
I am deeply saddened by the attack perpetrated against Fr. Jacques Hamel. But I am not surprised by it. Continue Reading »
The target of this revenge was the root of the West, the West’s living source, even when it is unremembered—namely Christianity.
Continue Reading »
An interview with an Iraqi priest. Continue Reading »
Subscribe
Latest Issue
Support First Things
