Matthew Gallatin’s Biography
Matthew Gallatin is the author of Thirsting for God in a Land of Shallow Wells (Conciliar Press, 2002). Audiences around the country have heard him share the story of his journey from evangelical Protestantism into Eastern Orthodoxy. His Pilgrims from Paradise podcast presents teachings on a host of issues relating to Christian belief and practice, and is one of the most popular offerings on Ancient Faith Radio (ancientfaithradio.com). Matthew presents retreats and seminars on many topics: evangelism, liturgical music and iconography, life in the Spirit, discerning the will of God in one’s life, the place of Christian tradition in our modern lives—and more.
For more than fifteen years, Matthew taught philosophy at North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Recently, he left his academic post to write and speak full time. He and his wife Alice currently live in Post Falls, Idaho, along with their daughter Kaci and grandson Zachary. Son Joshua, his wife Tiffani, and their son William live in nearby Coeur d’Alene. All the Gallatins are active members of St. John the Baptist Antiochian Orthodox Church in Post Falls, Idaho—though Matthew and Alice will soon be moving north to Bonners Ferry, Idaho to help in establishing the new Holy Myrrhbearers Antiochian Orthodox mission.
Matthew was born in Petersburg, West Virginia, but spent most of his young life in Pennsylvania. Until he was twelve, his family operated a dairy farm near Bedford. After a series of short moves, they ended up in Fairfield, a small town just outside renowned Gettysburg.
The first word that comes to mind when describing the home in which Matthew grew up is “musical.” His mother, a gifted pianist, played everything from Chopin to boogie-woogie. His father played guitar and sang all the old-time country tunes. But the family’s greatest love was Gospel music. At a young age, all the Gallatin children learned to harmonize. Eventually, the family began performing Southern Gospel music at churches, community events, nursing homes, etc.
Along with a love for Gospel music, Matthew’s parents also inspired in him a thirst for doctrinal truth. His parents were always reading, always listening, always studying. They wanted to discern, from among the many contradictory Christian theologies, what Jesus actually taught. When Matthew was thirteen, his parents’ search led the family into Seventh-day Adventism.
Paradoxically, the commitment to truth that his parents had instilled in him eventually led Matthew to challenge his Adventist faith. At twenty-three, he began an intensive five-year study of his beliefs. One by one, the doctrines he once believed true proved erroneous in the light of scriptural analysis. He and Alice left the Adventist Church.
Over the next few years, the Gallatins moved through a number of evangelical Protestant denominations. Eventually, they became involved with a Calvary Chapel fellowship. In 1983, Matthew was ordained its minister.
His time as a pastor proved to be a great turning point in Matthew’s life. A genuine desire to lead those in his care into truth brought him face to face with serious flaws in the foundations of evangelical Protestant faith—flaws that affect absolutely every denomination. The chief problem when it comes to Christian truth is that Bible-believing churches have so many different versions of it.
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