Harry Potter Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy

Matthew Schmitz | @matthewschmitz – 6/4/13

A new play written by a Russian Orthodox priest depicts Harry Potter discovering he has been baptized and then battling Voldemort with the help of Saint Cyprianus:

Harry rushes to see Dumbledore, who tells him to find “the one who created everything”, as he’s the only power that can stop Voldemort. . . .

Harry is then teleported to an orthodox church where he learns his parents baptised him into Orthodoxy just before they died.

He heads to Jerusalem to see the descent of the Holy Flame with his new friends – Anastas and Agniya, two Orthodox siblings he met along the way.

The final encounter with Voldemort happens in the Holy Land and with the help of Saint Cyprianus, his patron saint, Harry defeats his enemy.

The treatment of magic in the original Harry Potter series was greeted with skepticism by many Christians, both inside and outside Orthodoxy. The Greek Orthodox Church in Thrace said the books “acquaint people with evil, wizardry, the occult and demonology” and Orthodox writer Galina Voznesenskaya charged the books with “pure Satanism.”

More positive Orthodox assessments of Rowling’s creation came from Andrei Kuraev in his 2003 book Harry Potter in the Church and John Granger in Looking for God in Harry Potter. With this new play, Harry Potter is well on his way from satanist to saint.

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