To be an Orthodox Christian in a modern setting easily breeds a negative view of the surrounding culture. Modernity is antithetical to tradition. But the very persistence of Orthodox Christianity in the modern world is itself a product of grace. Why are we still here? All of this is expressed in St. Luke’s gospel: “For He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil” (6:35). The proof is all around us.

 

- Fr Stephen Freeman ( https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/glory2godforallthings/2023/07/04/grace-and-the-handbasket)