Why Crete survived.
Where the devil says kalinichta
Notes from an island that dislikes simple answers. Frescoes, monasteries, shrubs, dragons, and the rest of the Cretan chaos.
Eastern Orthodoxy, though shaped in the Greek world, thinks about God far more like Israel than like late Latin Europe.
If there is anywhere a nameless yet still pulsating core of Judaism preserved within Eastern Christianity, it is in the liturgy.
Anisaraki, Church of Saint AnnaSep 7, 2025
One of the most iconographically striking churches in Selino.
The prohibition against depicting God is one of those moments when we see how deeply the Christian East grows out of Judaism – and how sharply it diverges from the West.
There is something in the Eastern tradition that immediately evokes the prayer and spiritual experience of the Old Testament: a way of relating to God not poured into personal emotion, but immersed in rhythm, repetition, community, and mystery.
Crete – a History Written in LimeAug 21, 2025
How I read Crete through limewash, frescos, and churches.
The Prophet Elijah and an Unforgettable PanigiriAug 18, 2025
What shook me – and why it wasn’t the earthquake.