A Package Deal

A FRIEND'S APPETITE FOR LIFE-ALL OF IT

John Garvey October 5, 2009 - 10:51am

As an Orthodox parish priest I've seen lots of deaths. The hardest was the death of a two-year-old. Older people, especially the elderly, were often resigned and even, sometimes in complex ways, looked forward to a moment when, some of them said, they would be reunited with people they loved. There were others who were more agnostic about their expectations, barely holding on to their faith, but not at all despairing. I had become friends with a few, over years of serving the parish. Others...

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Topics: 
Columnists
Death and Dying

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About the Author

John Garvey is an Orthodox priest and columnist for Commonweal. His most recent book is Seeds of the Word: Orthodox Thinking on Other Religions.

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