Phil Dorroll
@phildorroll.bsky.social
Religious Studies professor in South Carolina; research on Islamic and Orthodox Christian theology in Turkish and Arabic; supports 🇺🇦
Today is the Synaxis of the Three Hierarchs, which commemorates three of the greatest pillars of Eastern Orthodox tradition (Sts. Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus and John Chrysostom).
St. Gregory wrote my all time favorite passage in any theological text (trans. Harrison; Or. 38:7 and 45:3)
St. Gregory wrote my all time favorite passage in any theological text (trans. Harrison; Or. 38:7 and 45:3)
January 30, 2026 at 7:40 PM
Today is the Synaxis of the Three Hierarchs, which commemorates three of the greatest pillars of Eastern Orthodox tradition (Sts. Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus and John Chrysostom).
St. Gregory wrote my all time favorite passage in any theological text (trans. Harrison; Or. 38:7 and 45:3)
St. Gregory wrote my all time favorite passage in any theological text (trans. Harrison; Or. 38:7 and 45:3)
Just realized when reading this passage that this profound experience, on the part of both the student and the teacher, is now dead, thanks to ai
January 30, 2026 at 5:42 PM
Just realized when reading this passage that this profound experience, on the part of both the student and the teacher, is now dead, thanks to ai
TIL that an *original* flag used by the Spartan Regiment (the Revolutionary War regiment after which my town is named) will be coming home for good, after being discovered in 2023.
Of the hundreds used during the Revolutionary War, only about two dozen flags survive; and only six from the South.
Of the hundreds used during the Revolutionary War, only about two dozen flags survive; and only six from the South.
January 28, 2026 at 7:29 PM
TIL that an *original* flag used by the Spartan Regiment (the Revolutionary War regiment after which my town is named) will be coming home for good, after being discovered in 2023.
Of the hundreds used during the Revolutionary War, only about two dozen flags survive; and only six from the South.
Of the hundreds used during the Revolutionary War, only about two dozen flags survive; and only six from the South.
CIA 1953/CIA 2026
January 27, 2026 at 3:05 PM
CIA 1953/CIA 2026
Obligatory snow on the magnolia pic
January 25, 2026 at 4:11 PM
Obligatory snow on the magnolia pic
The Islamic term for God’s law for human life- Sharī‘a- ie, rules for worship and ethical treatment of other people, was taken directly from the term in Bedouin Arabic for spring water in the desert. The word originally meant “path to water.” Law is literally God’s saving gift to humanity.
January 24, 2026 at 5:24 AM
The Islamic term for God’s law for human life- Sharī‘a- ie, rules for worship and ethical treatment of other people, was taken directly from the term in Bedouin Arabic for spring water in the desert. The word originally meant “path to water.” Law is literally God’s saving gift to humanity.
“Across disciplines and institutional types, faculty express deep concern about the consequences of widespread use of GenAI…95 percent of respondents believe these tools will increase students’ overreliance on artificial intelligence, with three-quarters saying that impact will be substantial. (1/3)
January 21, 2026 at 2:37 PM
“Across disciplines and institutional types, faculty express deep concern about the consequences of widespread use of GenAI…95 percent of respondents believe these tools will increase students’ overreliance on artificial intelligence, with three-quarters saying that impact will be substantial. (1/3)
Some personal favorites
January 19, 2026 at 9:10 PM
Some personal favorites
Yep! This has been driving me crazy for over a year! I cannot for the life of me understand the contemporary media’s overriding fixation on technique and near total neglect of moral obligation.
January 16, 2026 at 7:51 PM
Yep! This has been driving me crazy for over a year! I cannot for the life of me understand the contemporary media’s overriding fixation on technique and near total neglect of moral obligation.
22 years ago today, one of the most remarkable Orthodox saints of the 20th century was canonized: St. Maria of Paris.
Short bio here: www.acrod.org/orthodox-chr...
Short bio here: www.acrod.org/orthodox-chr...
January 16, 2026 at 1:07 PM
22 years ago today, one of the most remarkable Orthodox saints of the 20th century was canonized: St. Maria of Paris.
Short bio here: www.acrod.org/orthodox-chr...
Short bio here: www.acrod.org/orthodox-chr...
Great read; reminded me of this data from Iran in the early 2000s
January 16, 2026 at 12:02 PM
Great read; reminded me of this data from Iran in the early 2000s
Reading Gregory of Nazianzus in Turkish, as one does
January 16, 2026 at 2:09 AM
Reading Gregory of Nazianzus in Turkish, as one does
Some words I’m trying to remember these days: “Acquire the Spirit of Peace within yourself and a thousand souls around you will be saved.”
-St. Seraphim of Sarov (1754-1833), often depicted with the bear he befriended in the forest where he lived; commemorated today in the Russian church calendar
-St. Seraphim of Sarov (1754-1833), often depicted with the bear he befriended in the forest where he lived; commemorated today in the Russian church calendar
January 15, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Some words I’m trying to remember these days: “Acquire the Spirit of Peace within yourself and a thousand souls around you will be saved.”
-St. Seraphim of Sarov (1754-1833), often depicted with the bear he befriended in the forest where he lived; commemorated today in the Russian church calendar
-St. Seraphim of Sarov (1754-1833), often depicted with the bear he befriended in the forest where he lived; commemorated today in the Russian church calendar
“All particularizing of Truth, whether individually subjective or socially (by nation or sect) subjective, numbs moral faculties, and numbs them equally. It is a large price to pay for one’s smallness.”
January 13, 2026 at 9:24 PM
“All particularizing of Truth, whether individually subjective or socially (by nation or sect) subjective, numbs moral faculties, and numbs them equally. It is a large price to pay for one’s smallness.”
We are, and the proof is that this exact tactic was used by concerned intelligence sources in the UK and US right before Russia invaded Ukraine.
They suddenly started publicizing their internal assessments as a warning, and it’s happening again.
They suddenly started publicizing their internal assessments as a warning, and it’s happening again.
January 11, 2026 at 4:07 AM
We are, and the proof is that this exact tactic was used by concerned intelligence sources in the UK and US right before Russia invaded Ukraine.
They suddenly started publicizing their internal assessments as a warning, and it’s happening again.
They suddenly started publicizing their internal assessments as a warning, and it’s happening again.
250 years ago today Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was first published.
It argued that every person knows deep down that we are equal to each other, that every abuse of power is a sin against our nature and its maker, that it is above all “the pride of kings which throws mankind into confusion.”
It argued that every person knows deep down that we are equal to each other, that every abuse of power is a sin against our nature and its maker, that it is above all “the pride of kings which throws mankind into confusion.”
January 10, 2026 at 4:43 PM
250 years ago today Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was first published.
It argued that every person knows deep down that we are equal to each other, that every abuse of power is a sin against our nature and its maker, that it is above all “the pride of kings which throws mankind into confusion.”
It argued that every person knows deep down that we are equal to each other, that every abuse of power is a sin against our nature and its maker, that it is above all “the pride of kings which throws mankind into confusion.”
This is absolutely fascinating
January 5, 2026 at 10:11 PM
This is absolutely fascinating