Welcome

By, for, and about Orthodox women,
in the service of Christ.

 

OUR VISION

Jaime Rene WOW 1a

 

 

 

“It sounds funny, but I really love going into prison to serve liturgy. It's very peaceful, very quiet. There's a sense that the men who are there at the services have had this opportunity to see themselves very clearly and to repent, and that’s not something we see everyday.”

 

 

Jaime Rene

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this inspiring retreat!

 

Healing Beauty graphic
Janet Augusta icon 1

My icon story started in 1970 on the island of Mykonos, Greece, when my husband and I were on our honeymoon. We were strolling through a maze of narrow cobblestoned lanes lined with whitewashed churches, outdoor cafes, and shops.  We spied it!  There was a triptych (three-paneled)  icon in a shop window. The brilliant gold background almost seemed to glow in the sunlight.  We entered the shop to have a look. On closer inspection, we saw that this icon was very different from the many other icons appearing in the shops of Athens.  Something about this icon called out to us. 

Judith Scott encountering icons graphic

Sensitive content: Please be aware that this story contains themes of miscarriage and loss. 

I wasn’t Orthodox yet when this happened. I’d retired after years of teaching and school leadership, spending quiet time contemplating my next step and discerning a call from God, unsure what that would mean and what it would look like. I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art one afternoon with my adult son to see the exhibition Byzantium: Faith and Power. I wanted to see the beautiful material culture of Eastern Christianity, more for the art than for any spiritual awakening.  

Encountering the Theotokos of the Burning Bush icon

The image struck me with full force as I sat one day at my desktop computer. I was staring at a copy of an icon from St. Catherine’s monastery in Sinai, Egypt. In vivid color, the Theotokos was holding Christ from within a mantle of glowing flames. Known as “The Virgin of the Burning Bush,” or “The Mother of God, Unburnt Bush,” this icon was my first introduction to theology about the Theotokos, while still a fairly new Anglican convert curious about church history.