Gregory Farman is a Deacon at Saints Constantine and Helen Church. He and his wife Priscilla have four grown children and six grandchildren. Retired from a career in magazine publishing, Deacon Gregory decided it would be fun to try writing a historical fiction account of his name saint, Saint Gregory of Sinai. He says this about the result:
“Maybe my book is literature, but more likely it is only an amateur effort to put together a story about a person whose life strikes me as important and interesting. My interest in Gregory of Sinai started in 2005, as I prepared for reception into the Orthodox Church. Many fellow converts were putting a lot of thought into the saint name they would be known by at the Eucharist. My spiritual father told me to remember that, as he put it, “Names are given, not chosen. You already have a Christian name, the name your parents gave you.” He told me to embrace my given name and consider emulating one of the Saints Gregory. That left me with dozens of Saints Gregory to choose from. But Gregory of Sinai seemed ready-made. Like me, he spent time as a young man on Cyprus. Like me, he took pleasure in solitude and contemplation. In time I began to understand that my Saint Gregory prays with me always in the heavenly realms.”