Jesus Freak | Tie-Dyed Stained Glass Window Design | Orthodox Cross | 70s Jesus Movement Hippie | Christian Art Poster

The term "Jesus freak" has its origins in the Jesus Movement (or "Jesus People") that was born in California during the late 60s as part of the general hippie counterculture.

The Jesus People were first documented in the Hollywood Free Paper, a periodical founded and published beginning in 1969 by Duane Pederson, who was a leading figure in the movement.

The Jesus People attempted to live out the gospel as best they knew how from the Book of Acts, and in his own personal search for the Way of life of the early Church, Pederson eventually found the apostolic Orthodox Church, and was ordained a priest in the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America in 1991.

Among the churches Fr. Duane assisted as a priest was St Matthews Antiochian Orthodox Church in Torrance, CA.

In 1993, Metropolitan PHILIP asked Fr. Duane to create a national prison ministry under the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, which he ran for more than a decade. In 2005, this ministry was accepted as a pan-Orthodox Agency under SCOBA and renamed the Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry (OCPM).

Even after stepping down as Director of OCPM, Father Duane continued to work in aftercare and correspondence until health trouble caused him to fully retire. In 2012, Father Duane was presented with the Matthew 25:36 Award for his lifetime achievement in prison ministry, and his founding influence is still essential to the current work of OCPM.

He peacefully reposed in the Lord in 2022. This design is my tribute to his memory. May it be eternal. 

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We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.

- 1 Corinthians 4:10

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[We] should zealously seek to emulate the apostles in their dangers and their indignities, not in their honors and glories. For it is the former, not the latter, that the gospel requires.

+ St John Chrysostom