Saint Maria Skobtsova (1891-1945) perhaps grasped the gospel message more vividly than any other figure in contemporary Orthodoxy, in all its revolutionary and provocative dimension. Her theological discourse may seem scandalous, iconoclastic, and revisionist, but we consider this to be because we Orthodox Christians have, in many cases, lost the evangelical criterion for distinguishing the essential from the non-essential and for discerning what is essentially Christian from what merely bears the Christian name.
    The Orthodox Church has often identified with a specific culture of the past and a type of spirituality in its effort to preserve its distinctiveness from the Western Christian tradition. In this way, it defines itself self-referentially based on its tradition and cultural uniqueness, while simultaneously defining itself in opposition to the "Other."
    Saint Maria simply comes to remind us and the Church of its biblical and Christ-centered foundations and references. For this very reason, her theological contribution is invaluable. We just need to listen to her.