What an Orthodox Priest Has to Teach You & Me

Hello Friend,

What comes to your mind when I say the word "priest"?

If you'd have asked me that question a year ago, I would've answered something like, "weird garments, ascetic, and very different from me."

I most certainly would not have answered, "tattooed, a wine and whiskey connoisseur, infectiously high-spirited, and altogether indistinguishable from a cool surfer uncle."

And yet, those are some adjectives that describe my next podcast guest, Archpriest George Gray (a.k.a Father George).

Father George simultaneously possesses immense spiritual wisdom (although he denies it) AND a down-to-earth humanness that shatters any stereotype around what a religious leader can and cannot be.

He’s also just a fun guy. I could not resist interviewing him.

In this episode, we dive into topics like:
- Why he fell in love with church and religion at 12 years old
- What spirituality means and how his definition has changed since he was young
- What “spreading the Gospel” means and how to do it without being obnoxious
- Why the “New Age” (or “salad bar”) approach doesn’t work
- Why raising kids without any religion is a disservice
- The advantage of a spiritual approach towards doing good (as opposed to a secular one)
- The connection between the spiritual crisis and historical ignorance
- All about pilgrimages (and why to take one)
- And much, much more...

I have learned SO much from talking with people like Father George.

As we cover in the episode, I believe there is a spiritual crisis, particularly among youths. I believe this contributes to the general "meaning crisis" and related anxiety/depression that I observe among my peers.

Learning from spiritual elders like Father George is a fantastic way to counteract these feelings of despair.

If there's one thing I've learned, it's that those dedicated to a particular faith are NOT just deluded and irrational, as I was brought up to believe.

Instead, they may know something that I don't and would benefit me greatly. Therefore, it's worth being humble and asking questions.

This is what I attempt to do in this episode.

I am on my own "spiritual journey" and am asking many questions of those who know more than me. In this, I realized that I am likely not the only one who has these questions, so why not record and share it?

Thus, this podcast.

I hope you all enjoy. Please let me know if there is anything that interested you or you'd love to see me explore in future guests.

I want this to be a "communal learning experience" of sorts.

I believe that, fundamentally, we are all on the same journey. Therefore, as much as I can, I'd like to serve as the "communal question-asker" and find answers to questions that nag at the backs of our minds (perhaps unconsciously) as we progress through life.

Or something like that… We’ll see how it goes.

Click here to listen on Apple and here for Spotify.

Until next week!

Take care,
Ryan