Welcome to my blog!
You can call me either Emma or Xenia. Emma is the name that I was given at birth by my mother. Xenia is the name that I was given when I was received into the Orthodox Church, taking Saint Xenia of Saint Petersburg as my Patron Saint. You can read a short article about her life here or watch a short video about her life here. When I receive Holy Communion and when Clergy or some people from Church greet me, they refer to me as Xenia. My family and some of my other friends (including Church ones) call me Emma. So either of these names is fine! I am 29 years old, and I'm from Scotland (currently living in Edinburgh).
I was received into the Orthodox Church on the 27th of September 2025. You can see photos from my Chrismation here. Prior to this, I was a convert to Catholicism, having grown up in an atheist family. You are welcome to ask (respectful!) questions about my faith journey and about Orthodox Christianity. But just be aware that I'm just a simple layperson, I am not clergy nor am I an educator. If a question is beyond my capabilities to answer, I'm happy to redirect you to resources that can help you get the answer you're looking for. I am happy to talk about my faith journey, but I don't intend for this blog to be arguing against Catholicism (or any other denomination or religion).
Prior to this blog, I ran @traumacatholic. Although I typically talk about disability and trauma on this blog less, I am still happy to answer questions or help you find resources when it comes to navigating disabilities, trauma, and the faith. I am not a therapist though, nor am I a substitute for one. I'm just someone with the lived experience of dealing with chronic pain, OCD, and Autism who has also had some very traumatic experiences in my life and the impact that these things have on my day to day life and also my relationship with God. I don't claim to know all the answers, I don't have a perfect response to managing these things, but I do hope that this blog can in some small way help others who've been through similar situations feel less alone.
You are always welcome to send prayer requests to this blog. You do not have to be an Orthodox Christian to ask for prayers. You can belong to another denomination, another faith, or even be someone that's agnostic. You can give as much or as little detail as you like. You can include a name, a nickname, a made up name or an initial to pray for or just simply ask for prayers. No problem is too big or small to pray for, and you're welcome to send prayer requests as often as you'd like.
My blog runs on a queue system, where posts typically go out once every 30 minutes. Sometimes I also schedule posts on top of my typical queue. So please just be aware that just because my blog is posting doesn't mean I'm actually online. Please just be patient and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.


















