Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick on the Nature of Evil
Is evil a metaphysical reality, or is it merely a word we use to describe intentionally destructive behavior or horribly painful outcomes? If evil is real, what is its nature? Can one believe in the existence of evil without having a religious understanding of reality? And if evil does exist, does that mean good must also?
My guest today, a priest in the Orthodox Church, has some informed opinions on these questions. The Very Rev. Archpriest Andrew Stephen Damick is Chief Content Officer of Ancient Faith Ministries, the former pastor (2009-2020) of St. Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church of Emmaus, Pennsylvania, and author or co-author of The Wolf and the Cross (2025), The Lord of Spirits (2023), and several other books, all from Ancient Faith Publishing.
He has been podcasting since 2007 and is co-host of The Lord of Spirits (with Fr. Stephen De Young), The Great Tales (with Richard Rohlin), and host of The Orthodox Pilgrim, Orthodox Engagement, Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy, and Roads from Emmaus, among other presentations.
Fr. Andrew speaks frequently at lectures and retreats both in parishes and in other settings, and his work is well-known throughout the English-speaking Orthodox world not only for his books and podcasts, btu also via documentaries and online video. His work has been translated into Romanian, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Lithuanian, Russian, Swedish, and Vietnamese.
His work has been published in The Washington Times, First Things, The World Magazine, By the Waters (the journal of St. Tikhon’s Seminary), and Orthodox History (the website of the Society for Orthodox Christian History in the Americas), as well as many parish and diocesan newsletters and websites, and he authored three articles for the Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States.