Islam Newsroom / Jan. 7, 2024 8:13 AM (EDST)
Former priest Hilarion Heagy talked about his decision, "Reverting to Islam is like coming home".
“After decades”, he says, "Islam is like coming home to my first-born beliefs.”
A prominent Christian priest, Hilarion Heagy is based in California USA. After coming to Islam, he changed his name to Said Abdul Latif.
He was an American priest, highly respected by his peers and followers. He served Christianity as a Russian Orthodox monk, then a convert to Catholic Church of the East. He was a graduate of the Convent of the Holy Resurrection in Wisconsin, then became a Byzatine Catholic priest.
He announced plans for an Eastern Christian monastery in California, before becoming a Muslim. Then he announced in his blog post about coming to Islam, and stated his decision to accept Islam was, "Like coming home."
"After decades of feeling drawn to Islam in varying degrees, I had finally decided to take the plunge. It really does feel like “coming home.” my first-born belief."
"Since before we were even born, we worshipped God alone and submitted to him, according to the Qur’an,” then he posted in his blog, he felt the 'spark of Islam' 20 years ago, but he really accepted Islam when he pronounced his "shahadah" (declaration of faith).
“One simply can’t be a priest and monk publicly, and a Muslim privately", he said.
Abdul Latif, said it was “a return to the East” and return to his “primitive identity”. Then he explained by a quote from Quran:
"And recall when your Lord brought you from the loins of children of Adam, their offspring and they testifyed regarding themselves. (Allah asked them) "Am I not your Lord?" They all replied, 'Yes. You are! We testify." [He cautions], "Now you have not right on Judgment Day, to say, 'We were not aware of this."
ReciteQuran.com/7:172
“It is for this reason converts of Islam often do not speak so much of ‘conversion’ as they speak of a ‘reversion’ to Islam — our primordial faith. A long process of Returning,” he adds.
“The future is uncertain for me. There are always fears when you take a leap in the dark. And yet, I feel such a peace. A joy. A relief. My pull towards Islam over twenty years has finally led me home. Now begins the work of entering deeper into the faith. A deeper learning. A love for the Deen. A love for the Ummah. A love for the Prophet ﷺ,” he added.
"It’s been about a month and a half since I started my trek on the road east from California, yet it already feels like something of a lifetime. After decades of feeling drawn to Islam in varying degrees, I had finally decided to take the plunge. For this to happen, however, a physical move was necessary and in order, as I was living in a Catholic monastery.
One simply can’t be a priest and monk publicly - and a Muslim privately. For the better part of a year, this had been the situation — at least increasingly so in my private thoughts. Now, I had to step out into the unknown. No safety nets. Just trust in God."
