Nun Agapia (Stephanopoulos) and Her Life In Palestine and America

EDITOR’S NOTE (Nick Stamatakis). Mother Agapia Stephanopoulos, whose life journey spans the United States, monastic life in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), and decades of experience living and serving in the Holy, reflects on her path to monasticism, the spiritual and practical distinctions within global Orthodoxy, and what it means to live a contemplative Christian life amid political conflict and social upheaval.

Through personal stories and historical insight, Mother Agapia offers a rare perspective on the daily realities faced by Christians in Palestine and the broader Middle East, including reflections on Gaza’s ancient Christian presence and the Church of St. Porphyrios and the Genocide taking place in Gaza. The discussion also turns inward, examining Orthodoxy in the United States, the challenges and temptations of social media, and Orthodoxy not merely as a religion, but as a comprehensive worldview shaped by tradition, suffering, and hope.