Father Hilarion Heagy, a prominent Eastern Christian priest residing in California, renounced his faith and subsequently converted to Islam.
Who is Heagy Hilarion?
In February 2023, former American Priest and Russian Orthodox monk Hilarion Heagy converted and became a Muslim. He renamed himself Said Abdul Latif.
In 2003, he joined the Antiochian Orthodox Church, but he left in 2007 to join the Eastern Catholic Church. After graduating from the Convent of the Holy Resurrection in St. Nazianz, Wisconsin, he recently revealed plans to establish an Eastern Christian monastery in California.
In a blog post, Said Abdul Latif announced his conversion to Islam, describing it as a “reversion to Islam” and stating that it felt “like coming home.”
“After decades of varying degrees of attraction to Islam, I finally decided to convert. It truly feels like returning home. My earliest conviction. According to the Qur’an, we have worshipped and submitted to God alone since before we were born.
He admitted that he had been exposed to Islam for twenty years, but he claimed to have accepted it at the time.
“One cannot be a priest or monk in public and a Muslim in private,” he continued.
Abdul Latif explained his conversion by referencing the Holy Quran and claiming it was a “return to the East” and a “return to his primitive identity.”
“It is for this reason that converts to Islam frequently speak less of ‘conversion’ and more of’reversion’ to Islam — our original religion. A protracted process of Returning.”
“I face an uncertain future. There are always concerns when taking a leap into the unknown. And yet, I feel such tranquilly. A joy. A relief. Twenty years of my attraction to Islam have finally led me home. Now begins the process of growing in one’s faith. A deeper learning. A devotion to the Deen. A devotion to the Ummah. A devotion to the Prophet , he concluded.
