This is an excerpt from Chapter 6 in Sinner Saint: A Surprising Primer to the Christian Life (1517 Publishing, 2025). Sinner Saint is available today from 1517 Publishing.
On its journey from Byzantium to Constantinople to Istanbul, this special place helps us understand the broader arc of Christian history, which goes on until Christ's return.
We needn’t fear statistics and studies as palm readings into a certain future. God is God, and his Spirit is alive through his Word.

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Hains offers a novel yet simple contention: Luther is most catholic where he is boldest.
The waiting of Advent isn’t just for Christmas; it’s for God’s reversal of all sin and evil and his renewal of all things.
When and how did the church start this season of anticipation?
Even though All Saints is a day for remembering the dead, it is not a day of mourning.
There is no true life and meaningful community apart from forgiveness.
For as you pick up the Holy Bible, God’s Word to you and for you in Christ, the words of the prophet Isaiah echo in your ears, "The Word of the Lord Endures Forever."
My words are peanuts compared to the porterhouse of God’s Word.
Good, we tend to think, is the absence of evil. But this reversal of the formula can only have disastrous consequences.
The Ichthus is a confession in picture form, a visual sermon of the gospel of Christ crucified.
If you are going to lose your life for the gospel’s sake, you must begin by hearing it.
Gregory is a bridge between the patristic age and the medieval.
Cyril’s fervor for pure explication of the gospel was present throughout his career.