Father Peter Heers: The Orthodox Ethos

 

I have probably sat down to write this particular article several times, however current events, and other topics within the church have led me to write about other things. Today, that all changes. Today we are going to highlight one of my favorite orthodox priests (outside of my own, Father Simon Thomas is a great man).

I am of course talking about Father Peter Heers. Father Peter is the head of the Orthodox Ethos, and someone I admire and strive to imitate. From his podcasts and lectures we discover the true Orthodox Ethos, how to obtain and it, and how to apply it to our lives. Father Peter’s insight into everyday life and church knowledge is informative and inspirational as well as educational. If you’ve never listened to him I highly recommend finding him on YouTube or Instagram and delving into the vast amounts of content he has produced over the past few years. For those who don’t know much about Father Peter, let’s discuss him and his life and see what we can gain from an understanding of the man behind some of the most important Orthodox content on the internet.

Father Peter Heers, like most of the west was raised outside of the Orthodox Church. However, he discovered Orthodoxy and of course the rest is history…no wait there’s more. Father Peter was raised Anglican, the son of an Anglican priest. Thus he was associated at birth with the Church of England in at least some capacity, seeing as Anglicans are the Church of England. His father and the parish in which his father served converted to Orthodoxy in 1992, so the year I was born.  Father Peter according to sources, then traveled to Mount Athos in 1996 and again in 1998 when he began seminary. Father Peter was ordained and received a bachelors, masters, and doctorate in theology. He has been very active in the Orthodox Church over the last two decades or so, being a parish priest in Greece for a time, and if my sources are correct now is in Arizona. Father Peter has been a lecturer at Jordanville, a very important place for American Orthodox Christians, and has written or translated several titles. As someone who is also interested in Church History, his knowledge of Church History and his fascination with maintaining the spirit of the Ecumenical Councils is something that has drawn me in.  He has five children and if they are half the person that he is, they will be pillars of orthodoxy. 

Father Peter’s lectures on YouTube is what really led me to discovering his knowledge.  From his Orthodox Survival Course which was written by Father Seraphim Rose, as well as his discussion on the New Russian Martyrs are all things I could watch again and again to glean information I missed the first few times of watching. The Orthodox Ecclesiology series is also a wonderful tool for both those inquiring into Orthodoxy and those who have converted like myself. He also sits down and explains modern problems within the church, as well as things that western people might believe are beneficial to them, only to explain why they go against the Orthodox Faith…see his comments on Yoga for that one. He doesn’t even use his own thoughts on topics, always referring to the Saints of the church to back up any claim that he makes. This therefore gives us the ability to see that without the Saints, we as a church would be nothing but filled with people’s opinions rather than the truth.

Father Peter may have his detractors, and those who disagree with him, but they are few. Every person I have ever came across has applauded Father Peter for standing for the truth in a world that is constantly trying to replace the truth with fallacy. Father Peter has defended the church and tried to maintain that we as Orthodox Christians must not falter in our beliefs. Changing the faith for the sake of change or going against thousands of years of tradition has only led to destruction and heresies. We see his love for orthodoxy in every lecture he gives, and his call for those outside the church to change their ways and return to orthodoxy.  Though he will never reach everyone, he has changed my life.  Just as Father Seraphim Rose’s book Orthodoxy and Religion of the Future gave me a perspective that I was never going to consider without having read the book, Father Peter’s way of approaching Orthodoxy was not something I was considering either. I have stated before that I was comfortable in my own little bubble within Orthodoxy and was not particularly concerned with the outside world or how to approach living in the world as an Orthodox Christian. From his lectures and his podcasts, I have changed once again and carry myself with a knowledge that I must proclaim Orthodoxy to the world as the only truth that matters. Pilate once asked, “What is truth?” I can safely answer that question. Truth is Jesus Christ, and Truth is founded in Orthodoxy.

Amen.