In 2004, I had a major uproar in my life - I found Orthodoxy. Like any good Protestant clergyman, I began reading voraciously. Some of the earliest books that I inhaled were those written by Fr. Peter Gillquist. I read Becoming Orthodox and Coming Home, really finding a common ground with other former Protestant Clergy who were coming to Orthodoxy.
The stories that Fr. Peter told resonated within me. I wasn't alone. Sometimes it felt like it. Those who know me will know that I was in Estonia at the time. We were isolated physically. But God provided encouragement and comfort - often in the form of Fr. Peter's books, which helped me (and others) to navigate uncharted waters (well, uncharted from our perspective anyway).
I met Fr. Peter one time - 2 years ago at the Antiochian House of Studies, where he had come to lecture the St. Stephen's students. He was pretty much exactly what I expected - he loved God, he loved the Orthodox Church, and he loved to help people to find them both. For that, I will be eternally grateful.
Fr. Peter, Memory Eternal!
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