Grace Unbound

Bishop Demetrios’s fervent call to rise up and confront the challenge of social unrighteousness is a call to affirm life. – Sister Helen Prejean * CSJ, author of Dead Man Walking *
A compelling account of faith in action. – George Stephanopoulos * co-anchor on Good Morning America, host of ABC’s This Week *
As a founding member of ACT UP, I’ve protested against the AIDS response from mainstream religions, including being arrested inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral. But, even then, I knew that these institutions weren’t monolithic. There were internal struggles to do the right thing. Bishop Demetri’s stirring account of pushing the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Chicago towards a compassionate response during the early years of the crisis proves that AIDS activism came in many forms, full of empathy and inspiration. – Peter Staley * author of Never Silent: ACT UP and My Life in Activism *
Grace Unbound is an excellent, highly personal introduction to social ministry grounded in Christian faith. Bishop Demetrios Kantzavelos of the Greek Orthodox Church recounts how—surprisingly—he became deeply involved in ministry to persons living with AIDS and in opposition to the death penalty. His compelling story is a call for all followers of the risen Christ to rise up on behalf of life in God’s interdependent creation. It is a particular challenge to churches like his own that have, at times, focused inwardly to the detriment of their social engagement. Social ministry, he argues, is not breaking with the tradition of the church, it is reclaiming it….I recommend Grace Unbound highly to anyone interested in the church and its ministries of justice, service, and peace. – Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon * former General Secretary, National Council of Churches *
When people undervalue or undermine—whether by denouncing or dismissing—social and ecumenical activism, I often wonder what principles they claim to honor and uphold. This book is not only about the church’s grace unbound; it is about Christ’s gospel unveiled in the life and ministry of one clergyman. It is about the power of speaking the truth in love and restoring justice in the world—one step, one day, and one person at a time. * Fr. John Chryssavgis, Executive Director, Huffington Ecumenical Institute at Holy Cross School of Theology, USA *

Demetri C. Kantzavelos is a Greek Orthodox bishop, priest, and social activist whose ministry led to the first Orthodox Christian AIDS ministry in the Western Hemisphere and to sustained advocacy that helped abolish the death penalty in Illinois.

Patra McSharry Sevastiades is the author of several books, including The Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

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