Welcome! Saintbasilbooks.org is the beginnings of the literature ministry of St. Brigid Mission in Brookings, Oregon.

My wife and I plan to transform a shed on our property into an Orthodox Christian bookstore, with icons, incense, and bells in addition to books.

HOSTS: 

Martin and Brooke Becktell — Both Brooke and I enjoy spending time with our kids and studying and gardening when we have the chance.

I currently work part-time as a handyman in addition to my ministry work, although my goal is to do ministry and education full time. I would also like to help start a small private Christian school for my kids to be able to learn and grow alongside local friends here in the Brookings area.

WHAT WE BELIEVE:

We believe in the historic Christian faith as it was delivered to the Apostles and kept through the so called “dark ages” and the following centuries of forgotten history, by men such as St. Basil of Caesarea (330-379), St. John Chrysostom (d. 407), St Patrick of Ireland (d.c. 461), Saint Simeon the Stylite (390-459) and many others. We say rather our “light” comes from this heritage as well as our cherished freedoms.

We believe our freedoms were prayed for before they were fought for. And we believe that now, in spite of the many lives poured out defending our nation and our Christian values, we are losing our freedoms once again to a soulless, technocratic, progressivism making strides against a cynical, weary, conservatism. We believe that only by turning back to the simplicity of Christ can our nation be saved. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (II Cor 3:17).

However, while claiming to speak for Christ, many pastors and priests have lost their spiritual integrity and credibility as they have embraced a partisan posture instead of practical, achievable service to the people of God. As conservatives, what are we conserving? We believe our only hope is to become a praying people again, asking for God’s mercy on our land as we seek to build not merely upon the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution, but upon the cornerstone of Christ and the foundation of the One, Holy, Catholic (meaning universal) and Apostolic Church, which we believe survives today in the Orthodox Church.

One practical thing we would like to discuss is how we can cooperate in raising our children in the “nurture (paideia) and admonition” of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4)—a worthy topic whether you have young children or not.

What does Ephesians 6:4 mean? How can we do it? I dream about how our built environment could enhance our lives and those of our children, such as through creating a small real estate development for Orthodox Christians with a chapel and meeting hall and detached houses with a condominium ownership structure. Religious housing is legal based on the Fair Housing act of 1968. Do you like the idea of our kids being able to walk a short distance to church and classes throughout the week taught by parents? Or perhaps God will first bless us with a location in the center of town with space for a sanctuary and classrooms and a playground. However God leads, we will follow.

ABOUT ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY:

Our profession of faith is mostly unknown to those in America. Though we are in the West, we are in communion with Eastern Orthodox Christians in places such as Serbia, Jerusalem, Russia, and Mount Athos in Greece. Orthodox means, literally, “right teaching.” And the word, “Eastern,” distinguishes us from the western Roman Catholic Church from which we have been separated for nearly 1000 years. Two distinguishing marks of Orthodoxy are that we have mostly married priests and we baptize and commune our children because we believe the “promise” is for us and our children (Acts 2:39) as well as those who join us as adults.

How is a “priest” different than a “pastor?” The word, “priest,” comes from the Greek word “presbyteros,” which means venerable old man. Pastor comes from the latin word of the same spelling meaning “shepherd.” Priests are pastors because they are expected to shepherd their flock of people, so in that sense there is no difference. But one obvious difference that you’ll notice is that a priest spends a lot of the time during the church service facing forward toward the altar at the front of the church with his back to the people as though marching in front of them—leading from the front. This is the posture he assumes when praying to God on behalf of the people.

Many people come to Eastern Orthodoxy when they are about to give up on organized Christianity altogether or already have. It’s often a last chance for those who struggle with finding where they belong among the array of churches in America.

We encourage you, don’t give up on practicing your faith together with other believers! As the scriptures say, continue to “abide in [Jesus] word” (John 8:31). Continue to read and discuss scripture with other believers. Don’t lose heart, but go deeper. As the Apostle Paul said, “Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:23-25).

TOPICS OF DISCUSSION:

What kinds of topics might come up in the course of our discussion? Of course we’ll talk about what the Bible says and what it means and how we know what it means. As Eastern Orthodox Christians, we like to consider what has been believed by all the Church in all places and at all times. Of course this is a tall order and it requires a knowledge of Christian history and tradition and the lives of remarkable Christians whom we call “Saints,” with a capital ‘S.’ Nevertheless, we hope to gain this knowledge little by little. It’s a worthy endeavor and very exciting to learn to recognize the unmistakable character of Christ throughout history.

And, how do we then live based on this knowledge of Christ? We believe “theology is what comes out your fingertips and what comes out your fingertips is your theology.” So we may discuss topics such as:

• Finding meaningful labor: Integrity and witnessing in the workplace.
• How Christ can redeem us from “boring,” misguided, or unethical labor.
• Family relationships.
• Christ-centered education and leadership for our children.
• Gardening and permaculture and living more locally-sustainable lives.
• Loss of species diversity and habitat and other environmental concerns.
• The Biblical offense of racism.
• How we worship.
• How we testify to Christ.
• The place of charity in the Church.
• Whether and how we shall engage in local or national politics.
• Health passports and other restrictions on personal liberty.
• And many other topics.

And we will need to seek to live in accordance with our conclusions. Actions speak louder than words. Practically speaking, our freedom in Christ means the freedom to lead our families and businesses and Christian institutions such as schools making life better in practical ways for ourselves and our children and any who wish to join us in good faith.

HOW WE GOT STARTED:

My wife and I grew up as evangelical Protestants. I did not attend an Eastern Orthodox parish until 2015 when I was 35. As a Protestant I had begun to be earnestly concerned about the accelerating transition to secularism in the United States and the future of my children; and this growing concern eventually led me to be interested in ministry and to ask, what are the true doctrines and practices of the Church which are the historical foundations of Christian ministry?

I never imagined that instead of trying to reconstruct the church from Biblical and historical evidence I would find the answers in an existing church from the East. At just the right moment in my life when I was confused, and considering praying only at home, a friend prevailed upon me to visit St. Herman’s Monastery in Platina, California. Thereafter I also visited a local Orthodox Christian parish and by God’s mysterious grace I was able to worship God freely and joyfully for the first time in a long time. My wife and I were then baptized with our two older children in 2017 at Saint Andrew’s Serbian Orthodox Church in Anderson, California.

In the summer of 2020 during the COVID lockdowns we happened to move to Brookings, Oregon. We were displaced by the upheaval and changes that occurred with the lockdowns and were very thankful to meet a small number of Orthodox Christians here in Brookings.

In March of 2023 our small group became an official mission parish of the Western Rite Communities of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR-WR). ROCOR is the church that started when Russian Orthodox Christians were exiled from Russia during the communist revolution. Read more about our affiliation with this church in this post.

I began to be acquainted with the Western Rite Communities of ROCOR when I visited All Saints Orthodox Church in Lodi, California, pastored by Fr. Elijah Drake. I first visited in June of 2022 and later returned with my family for our youngest daughter to be baptized. Fr. Elijah has been very supportive, as well as Archpriest, Fr. Mark Rowe.

We have also visited with our dear follow Orthodox brethren in nearby Rogue River, Oregon, and Eureka, California, on many occasions and we hope to keep up our friendships with them, as well as with monks and nuns of St. Hermans Monastery and St. Xenia Skeet.

HEALTH CONCERNS:

We believe that if we are gathering in obedience to Jesus in faith, and seeking also to honor him by how we live throughout the week, Jesus can honor that faith by protecting our health and the health of our loved ones. Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:20). So if Jesus tells us to gather, then we believe we should gather, despite the risks, whether they be health-related or simply the risk of encountering disapproval from others. There are times when we have to say, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). If COVID-style lockdowns were to occur again, you would be welcome to wear a mask, but not required.

Bring your concerns whatever they are, concerns about our children and the Earth, about our country and our freedoms, about peace and justice for the world, and about working toward self-sustainability for our own families. And let’s look for creative and practical ways to put our values into action. We believe that true freedom begins with appreciating the miracle of life all around us and the Person who breaths life into existence, Jesus Christ.

WE HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON!!!

A blessed day to you!
– Martin