Saint Photini, so named in the Orthodox tradition, was an especially blessed woman. You may know her simply as “the woman at the well” from John 4. Her story tends to be remembered for two reasons: her shockingly high number of marriages, and Jesus’ enigmatic statement to her that someday everyone will worship “in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).
This well-known statement about worship raises many deep theological questions. It is tempting to gloss over the rest of Photini’s story to focus only on the question of what type of worship Jesus was talking about. But the full meaning of his statement can only be understood within the context in which it was spoken, within the wider context of John’s Gospel, and within the wider biblical context. When we read the statement in these contexts, I propose that it leads us to acknowledge that God has always required people to worship him with their spirit and in truth, and that this new way of worshipping in spirit…
