“Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, on the shore of a great sea, there stood a mighty and wonderful city. In that city lived a great and pious king.” This is how many stories that we read to our children at bedtime begin. But this is also how we Orthodox often seem to define our Christian identity, by thinking in terms of “ancient faith,” “eternal tradition,” hagiographic stories written in the style of fairy tales, and, most importantly, by referencing our Christian witness to the times and circumstances of homicidal tyrants and spectacular martyrdoms.