The History and Conception of Doxacon

Doxacon is the brainchild of Rev. Father David G. Subu and Mr. Daniel Silver of Protection of the Holy Mother of God Orthodox Church in Falls Church, VA. Doxacon came about from a conversation that they had together following a podcast on Ancient Faith Radio about zombies. They found it underwhelming. They then listened to another podcast by John Granger on Harry Potter. They were impressed with the scope and quality of the lecture. Jokingly, it was said there needs to be some kind of gathering where Orthodox fans of the science fiction and fantasy genres could discuss their mutual interests in the framework of Orthodox Christianity. Daniel thought nothing of it until Father David mentioned that his wife, Preoteasa Stephanie, loved the idea and wanted to actually move ahead with this gathering. They quickly moved to define Doxacon.  

​Why the name "Doxacon"?

“Doxa-” is from ancient Greek δόξα, from δοκεῖν ("dokein"), "to expect", "to seem", which later was used in spiritual context as “belief” or “truth”.

The suffix “-con” is a shortened term for “convention”. One of the first things that sprung to their minds was that of St. Basil speaking to young men on the right use of Greek literature. In his speech he said of all forms of non-Christian literature:

​“Now, then, altogether after the manner of bees must we use these writings, for the bees do not visit all the flowers without discrimination, nor indeed do they seek to carry away entire those upon which they light, but rather, having taken so much as is adapted to their needs, they let the rest go. So we, if wise, shall take from heathen books whatever benefits us and is allied to the truth, and shall pass over the rest.”

The purpose of Doxacon is to discuss which flowers we should visit and what pollen we should take from them. There is much in the genres of sci-fi and fantasy that is worthy of our attention.  Many sci-fi/fantasy authors drew on ideas based on Christian themes, people, or events. In stories such as “Lord of the Rings”, "Chronicles of Narnia", “Dune”, “Star Wars” and “Star Trek”, the fate of the world --or even the universe, hangs on the actions of individuals. These individuals must stand by their principles and beliefs to save everything!

​With the growing number of Christians embracing Science-Fiction and Fantasy, Doxacon gives us an opportunity to examine the differences between "Fantasy" and "fantasy" and how our Christian faith teaches us to use discernment when watching film, television or reading novels of this genre. The first Doxacon convention was in 2013, and proved to be an event that was fulfilling a much desired opportunity for such discussions! Fans on the west coast, unable to travel east, sponsored their own Doxacon in Seattle, WA in 2014. All regions work together in prayer and support for each event to be unique to their location. We look forward for Doxacon to continue growing in other parts of the United States and abroad to enable Christian fans to come together for a weekend of prayer, dialogue, and geeky fun!

The 2019 Doxacon staff.