St. James Orthodox Christian Church to host symposium on early Christian spirituality, featuring author Frederica Mathewes-Green

St. James Orthodox Christian Church in Fort Collins will host a symposium on Sept. 22 entitled Wisdom from the Ancient Church. The Northern Colorado community is invited to learn about the early church through several presentations featuring Frederica Mathewes-Green, best-selling author and expert in early Christian spirituality.

The all-day free event begins at 9 a.m. and will include the following topics: Icons: Windows into Heaven at 9:30 a.m.; Beauty in Worship at 11 a.m.; The Jesus Prayer at 1:30 p.m.; The Spiritual Life at 3 p.m. and Mary, Mother of Jesus at 4:30 p.m. In addition to Mathewes-Green, Father Mark Haas, pastor of the church, and Subdeacon Joseph Hill will also speak. Complimentary ethnic foods made by parishioners will be available as refreshments. The full schedule may be found at www.stjfc.com.

The educational event will offer a bookstore, with times available for Mathewes-Green to autograph her numerous books on the above topics. Her books include “The Illumined Heart,” “The Open Door,” “Facing East,” “At the Corner of East and Now,” “The Jesus Prayer” and “The Lost Gospel of Mary.” Steeped in prayer and spiritual disciplines of the early church, Mathewes-Green calls Christians of all denominations to recover the ancient treasure that is their heritage.

In addition to her books, Mathewes-Green is a regular contributor to Christianity Today, First Things and other magazines. She has been repeatedly selected for the annual Best Christian Writing award. The multi-faith web magazine Beliefnet.com regularly invites her to present the classic Christian perspective, and her opinion pieces are featured at National Review Online.

Mathewes-Green has been invited to speak on aspects of spirituality at the Smithsonian Institution, Yale Divinity School, the Chautauqua Institution, the Thomas Merton Institute, the American Academy of Religion, and others. She has presented commentaries on National Public Radio and has been interviewed on television from Prime Time Live to PBS, CNN, Fox, and most major news shows; by the New York Times, the Washington Post, and most major newspapers; and by Diane Rehm, Janet Parshall, and many national radio shows.

The day will conclude with a Vespers Service from 6 to 7 p.m. With the setting of the sun, the liturgical day in the Eastern Church begins with a beautiful service of prayer, chanting, psalms and hymns. The church is located at 2610 SE Frontage Road (South of I-25 and Prospect Road).

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