The Loss of Sons
I was led to the Faith by a priest who had introduced many others to Orthodoxy as well. I began a series of discussions with a friend who hated Christianity, and over time, he began to soften. I introduced him to my priest, and he completed his conversion. He then began conversations with a younger mutual friend and led him to the Faith along with his wife and several children and became a godparent. They are all Orthodox now. I began another series of conversations, and created a reading society, for a man who likewise had great disdain for Christianity. He considered himself an academic, and I introduced him to the patristic writings of the Orthodox Fathers, the historical writings of Fr. John Romanides, and others. He decided to become a catechumen, and I took him to a priest, and that happened. I spoke with his wife also, and they both converted, received Holy Matrimony, and his children have became cradle Orthodox. In short, generations of people could be written as a geneology of movement into the Faith because of my mentor (and those who led him), and myself in my unworthiness. …