Xristos Anesti!!

Orthodox brothers and sisters, it is with a heavy heart that I am posting today to plead with you on behalf of a close personal friend.  He is literally being persecuted in Raleigh, NC on behalf of his Orthodox Christian faith and Greek ethnicity.  This is not an exaggeration, this is real life happening right now.  I’m in shock that I am even having to write this.

A recent court order states that his 7-year old daughter is no longer allowed to even wear her cross and he is not allowed to speak to her in his native tongues, even when it is just the two of them.

He is currently being threatened with jail time on April 24 for refusing to attend therapy sessions with a court appointed psychiatrist in order to “help him remove personal and religious beliefs from his parenting style.”  HOW INSANE IS THIS?????  My stomach is sick at the thought that someone would be willing to destroy someone else’s life, including the life of their own child, for personal gain.

Read the rest here. There is a gofundme account linked in the article to assist with court costs as well. Pray! I myself am familiar with a similar case from more than a decade ago. The woman (a devout Orthodox Christian) almost lost all custody as a result of her trips to a monastery resulting in her mental health being questioned. Lord have mercy.