The installation of a new organ at Prague’s St. Vitus Cathedral is nearing completion, giving the 700-year-old biggest temple in the Czech Republic a proper instrument to accompany religious services and concerts.
Zohran Mamdani’s last name reflects centuries of intercontinental trade, migration and cultural exchange
When Zohran Mamdani announced his candidacy for mayor of New York City, political observers noted his progressive platform and legislative record. But understanding the Democratic candidate’s background requires examining the rich cultural tapestry woven into his very surname: Mamdani.
Review: Christology in Early Christianity
As the Christian Community observes the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea (some more enthusiastically than others), it is helpful to engage with scholars who have a good handle on that period. That is especially true when it comes…
Landor in Babylon — How a Rastafari’s Case against Prison Injustice Could Be Used to Weaponize ‘Religious Liberty’
Last month, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety, a case brought by Damon Landor after officers at the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center forcibly shaved off Landor’s dreadlocks despite his Rastafari commitments.
Amid fragile ceasefire, violence in southern Syria brings Druze communities’ complex cross-border ties to the fore
A fragile ceasefire was put in place in southern Syria on July 19, 2025, after days of violence between Druze militias and Bedouin tribes that drew in government forces and prompted Israeli strikes on the capital, Damascus, as a warning to pull back from Druze areas….
Pope Leo XIV marks 56th anniversary of moon landing with observatory visit, call to Buzz Aldrin
Pope Leo XIV marked the 56th anniversary of man’s arrival on the moon Sunday with a visit to the Vatican astronomical observatory in Castel Gandolfo and a call to astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
If evangelical Christian ‘deconstruction’ becomes a brand, it defeats its purpose
On our podcast “Saved by the City,” launched back in 2021, my co-host Roxanne Stone and I had a lot to say about our evangelical Christian upbringings. We critiqued teachings we had heard growing up about purity and gender, and laughed about…
What It Looks Like When Your Whole Life Becomes A Prayer
My buddy Gary is retired now, but for a number of years, he ran a drive-thru coffee kiosk in the town where I live.
In Immigration Court, Christians Show Up to Fill the Back Benches
Early one June morning in downtown Los Angeles, a group of eight people was learning how to observe immigration hearings.
‘She is the future of our church.’ Winnie Varghese named first woman dean of St. John the Divine.
Born to immigrant Indian parents and raised in Dallas, Varghese first encountered the historic cathedral not in person, but in the pages of her local newspaper. She remembered, as a 12-year-old, reading about a winding procession of camels, elephants and…
Churches, Don’t ‘Accommodate’ Disability. Plan for It.
I didn’t grow up in church. But even as an undiagnosed autistic child raised Hindu in the South, I was aware of church culture. I even knew a few popular hymns. Yet I found the idea of church far more…
These Russian clergy who said ‘no’ to Putin’s war in Ukraine are paying a price
In February 2022, as Russian tanks rolled across the Ukrainian border, a small group of Russian Orthodox Christian clergy did something extraordinary. They published an open letter calling for peace and an immediate ceasefire. Within days, nearly 300 clergy had…