The Christian and Fantasy Media

By Gene Edward Veith

One of the first explicitly Christian discussions of literature was The Apology for Poetry written in the sixteenth century by the statesman, soldier, man of letters, and devout Protestant, Sir Philip Sidney. He took on the Puritan Stephen Gosson’s charge that poetry — by which he meant creative, imaginative fiction — is a lie, since it recounts things that are not real.

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Oscar Wilde and the Greek New Testament

Oscar Wilde dressed in 19th century Greek costume.

By John Sanidopoulos

Oscar Wilde was sometimes called the "apostle of beauty"; he once said "the Greek text of the Gospels was the most beautiful book in the world."[1]

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Russian Orthodox Group to Finance Russian-themed Films in Hollywood

Tamerlane the Great

August 21, 2014

The Calvert Journal

A group of Russian religious philanthropists have announced plans to finance a number of big budget Hollywood feature films focused on Russia. Andrei Poklonsky, chairman of the Russian Club of Orthodox Philanthropists, told Izvestia that one of the first projects to be funded will be the story from the life of 14th-century Turko-Mongol conqueror Timur, also known as Tamerlane the Great. Australian actor Hugh Jackman is said to be being considered for the lead role.

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Biography of the Hermit and Former Actor Jozef Van den Berg

Jozef [Joseph] Van den Berg (Beers, 22 August 1949 ) is a Dutch puppeteer, playwright and actor, who nowadays lives as a hermit.

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Famous Dutch Actor Turned Orthodox Hermit

The Dutchman actor and puppeteer Jozef van den Berg was born on 22 August 1949, and at the height of his fame he abandoned all (family, friends, money, fame and career) and he became an Orthodox hermit in a hut in the village Neerijnen in the Netherlands. This was after he met Elder Sophrony in Essex, Elder Porphyrios in Athens and Elder Paisios on Mount Athos in the years 1989 and 1990.

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The Panagia and Medicine: The Expectation of a Miracle

Panagia Giatraina

By Alexander Giatzidi, M.D.

For Hellenism, August is the month of the Panagia. According to Greek Christian tradition, the person of the Panagia is closely linked with the expectation of the healing of a person from human pathologies.

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Book Review: "Our Necessary Shadow: The Nature and Meaning of Psychiatry"

Unable to give a satisfactory materialist explanations to free will, consciousness and the immaterial mind, psychiatry has been on a downward spiral in recent years as a science, though it once enjoyed high status among the sciences. Below is a link to a review from the Washington Post of Our Necessary Shadow: The Nature and Meaning of Psychiatry, by Oxford social psychiatrist Tom Burns, which tries to unpack the problems, while defending psychiatry as a legitimate medical specialty:

Book review: ‘Our Necessary Shadow,’ on the nature of psychiatry, by Tom Burns