fbpx
52.5 F
Spokane
Monday, March 18, 2024
HomeCommentaryAskMeet Nick. Bible Enthusiast. Eastern Orthodox. Columnist.

Meet Nick. Bible Enthusiast. Eastern Orthodox. Columnist.

Date:

Related stories

Gov. Inslee Signs Legislation Redefining WA’s Hate Crime Laws

Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation March 13 updating Washington State’s Hate Crime Laws to now include defacement of public property.

Local Baha’is Will Celebrate Naw-Ruz March 19 to Welcome Their New Year

For Baha'is, Naw-Ruz commemorates the spiritual renewal that their faith's teachings brought to humanity from teachers including Zoraster, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad and ultimately Baha’u’llah. The holiday, though, is rooted in various cultures.

Legislature Decides WA Schools Should Include LGBTQ+ History

Washington State Senate Bill 5462 would require the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the state's education agency, to update learning standards to include the histories, perspectives and contributions of LGBTQ+ people.

FāVS Religion News Roundup: March 15

This Roundup features a concert, a DanceFest and Holi celebration, a movie, a musical and a talk about racial justice. It also includes a sober update about how Idaho is losing its OBGYNS.

Poll Shows Slight Dip in U.S. Support for LGBTQ Rights Across Religious Groups

While most Americans continue to broadly support LGBTQ rights, that support may be waning, including among religious Americans, according to a new poll from PRRI.

Meet Nick. Bible Enthusiast. Eastern Orthodox. Columnist.

This giving season we’ve been introducing you to the columnists you read everyday on SpokaneFāVS.com. Their words are making a difference in Spokane, and we hope you’ll be inspired to support our work of building community and bridging divisions by making a gift to FāVS today!

By Matthew Kincanon

As an infant, columnist Nick Damascus was baptized as a Christian into the Eastern Orthodox Church. However, becoming a Christian is a work in progress for him. He said he often wondered if there would be enough evidence to convict anyone of becoming a Christian.

In his spare time, he was attending 10 Bible studies a week, learning, for the most part, what was being taught and what wasn’t.

During one of these Bible studies, someone suggested Damascus should attend one of the Coffee Talks hosted by SpokaneFāVS. He was moved by the diverse and interesting panelists, motivating him to get involved.

After meeting Tracy Simmons and being interviewed by SpokaneFāVS, Damascus said he was encouraged to write about the teachings and traditions of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

When it comes to the Eastern Orthodox Church, Damascus said it is not a religion, but rather a way of life.

“It is not about rules and regulations, but rather guideposts to make choices to improve one’s life by becoming what we were designed to become,” he said. “Christ says I am the Way (to love and serve one another), the Truth (there is only one reality) and the Life (that life source is love).”

Damascus said it’s been a privilege and honor since 2014 to present the teachings of the ancient faith as it was handed down from Christ and the Apostles without any additions, subtractions or alterations.

Among all of the columns he has written for SpokaneFāVS, there is a major recurring theme that appears throughout them. In becoming Orthodox, he said one cannot jump from academic theology and achieve spiritual enlightenment/illumination.

“It’s not about the intellect; it’s about the condition of the heart (in Greek, the nous),” he said.

Damascus said becoming Orthodox is not a conversion, but more of a transformation of self. It’s a journey where one, through their expressions of love, strives to live a moral life in the likeness of Christ.

“Often in this world, it is our autonomous prideful self (perpetuation of the fall) that inhibits us from achieving this state of being,” he said. “It’s not about being right; it is about ‘right being’.”

SpokaneFāVS is important because Damascus said people often feel unfulfilled, unsatisfied and frustrated, searching to find a meaningful faith and place where they feel at home.

“I feel that Spokane Faith & Values offers an environment to explore and potentially find that peace beyond understanding,” he said.

Damascus invites people to submit any topics or questions under the “Ask” heading in the main menu of SpokaneFāVS’s website and click on “Ask an Eastern Orthodox Christian.” 

Will you make a financial gift to FāVS today? Because joining us in building community and bridging divisions is making the Inland Northwest a better place.

Matthew Kincanon
Matthew Kincanon
Matthew Kincanon is a former Digital Content Producer with a journalism and political science degree from Gonzaga University. His journalism experience includes the Gonzaga Bulletin, The Spokesman-Review, Art Chowder magazine and SpokaneFāVS. He said he is excited to be a freelancer at SpokaneFāVS because, as a Spokane native, he wants to learn more about the various religious communities and cultures in his hometown.

Ad

spot_img
spot_img
spot_img
spot_img

2 COMMENTS

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
2 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Ioannis
Ioannis
1 year ago

u greeks are funny, u worship a Jewish god

Nicholas Michael Damascus
Nicholas Michael Damascus
1 year ago
Reply to  Ioannis

We do have a sense of humor. So my question to you is was God Jewish before all of creation?

spot_img
2
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x