About this Ministry
by Matthew Gallatin
The Mission
By the grace of Jesus Christ, I speak, teach, and write to fulfill the small part I have been given in God’s great work: to make all His human children one with each other, and one with Him, in the same way that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one (John 17:21-23).
After forty-five years of sifting through the denominational divisions of evangelical Protestantism, I at last discovered the only place where this divine “unity of the faith” (Ephesians 4:3) exists: Eastern Orthodoxy. Orthodox Christians around the world embrace the beliefs, worship, and spiritual lifestyle of the Apostles and early Christians—a lineage that Eastern believers have preserved without change across two millennia.
From this place of great joy, with the spiritual lifeblood of the Apostles and one hundred generations of holy ancestors running through my veins, living in union with my brothers and sisters and with the Holy Trinity, I look at the world around me. What do I see?
I see non-Christians trying to respond to the inner call of Christ, but who are confused by the various “brands” of Christianity that confront them. I see Christians in the broken world of the Western churches who have come to realize—just as I did—that there is something dreadfully wrong with a tradition that, through critical theology and sola scriptura, reduces the truth about Christ to whatever an individual personally decides that it is. And I see Orthodox Christians who long to better live, understand, and share the ancient treasure of their Apostolic faith.
So, God has given me a three-fold mission:
(1) To introduce non-Christians and Western Christians to Eastern Orthodoxy, and to lovingly (yet without compromise) encourage them to become Orthodox.
(2) To help Orthodox Christians understand their Faith in clear and uncomplicated terms, and to encourage them to participate more deeply in its holy mysteries.
(3) To provide Orthodox believers with a simple and effective strategy for sharing their unique Faith with others.
How This Ministry Operates
I speak, teach, and write with the blessing of my bishop, His Grace Sayidna JOSEPH of the Antiochian Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles and the West. (I also have received the blessing of many other bishops in the United States and Canada.) This ministry operates as a non-profit outreach of my local parish, Holy Myrrhbearers Antiochian Orthodox Christian Mission in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Father Gregory Horton, my priest and spiritual father, oversees my work.
In May, 2007, with the unanimous encouragement of my spiritual counselors, I took a serious step of faith. I resigned my position as a professor of philosophy to devote myself full time to writing, speaking, and teaching. So this work is now my life, and my livelihood. My desire is be available whenever and wherever the gifts that God has given me may be of service to His Holy Church. If a priest, parish, school, or organization prayerfully determines that having me come to speak and teach would be of spiritual value to their community, I want to be there. My heart lies especially with mission parishes and missionary efforts that typically can use help the most, but which have the fewest resources.
This work is funded by honorariums for speaking engagements, sales of books and CDs, and--importantly--the tax-deductible donations of those who have been blessed by this ministry. To arrange a speaking engagement or make an donation, click on the “Become a Partner in this Ministry” link above.
