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Grace Unbound
- Narrator
- John Chancer
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Publish Date
- 12 March 2026
- Run Time
- 9 hours 35 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
The first step of any great journey can be the riskiest one of all. It is 1992, and the nation is reeling from the AIDS pandemic. When Fr. Demetri, a newly ordained Chicago-born priest, visits Bob—a man dying from complications due to AIDS, abandoned by his own parish priest out of fear—his life takes an unexpected turn. That single act of compassion sparks a deeper calling to social activism, setting him on a path he never anticipated. Yet nothing prepared the hard-nosed priest for a face-to-face encounter with a convicted murderer years later. Andrew, who is scheduled to be executed in less than three weeks, maintains his innocence regarding the grisly crime. But when the governor of the state—the inmate’s last hope—refuses to show mercy, the priest must again face the true cost of his calling.
In this gripping true story of faith, justice, and redemption, one priest's mission to save a single life becomes a fight to transform an entire system.
Critics Review
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Bishop Demetrios's fervent call to rise up and confront the challenge of social unrighteousness is a call to affirm life.
CSJ, author of Dead Man Walking
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A compelling account of faith in action.
co-anchor on Good Morning America, host of ABC’s This Week
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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.
author of Never Silent: ACT UP and My Life in Activism
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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.
former General Secretary, National Council of Churches
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Bishop Demetrios C. Kantzavelos, Patra McSharry Sevastiades
- Narrator
- John Chancer
- Duration
- 9 hours 35 minutes
- Release Date
- 12 March 2026
- ISBN
- 9798216462187
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Genre
- Christian life and practice, Theology, Social and ethical issues, Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches
Synopsis
Bloomsbury presents Grace Unbound: The Sacred Activism of an Orthodox Bishop by Bishop Demetrios C. Kantzavelos and Patra McSharry Sevastiades, read by John Chancer.The first step of any great journey can be the riskiest one of all. It is 1992, and the nation is reeling from the AIDS pandemic. When Fr. Demetri, a newly ordained Chicago-born priest, visits Bob—a man dying from complications due to AIDS, abandoned by his own parish priest out of fear—his life takes an unexpected turn. That single act of compassion sparks a deeper calling to social activism, setting him on a path he never anticipated. Yet nothing prepared the hard-nosed priest for a face-to-face encounter with a convicted murderer years later. Andrew, who is scheduled to be executed in less than three weeks, maintains his innocence regarding the grisly crime. But when the governor of the state—the inmate’s last hope—refuses to show mercy, the priest must again face the true cost of his calling.In this gripping true story of faith, justice, and redemption, one priest's mission to save a single life becomes a fight to transform an entire system.
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