Tattoo artist, musician and entrepreneur Kat Von D has taken another public step in her evolving spiritual journey, announcing her formal entry into the Orthodox Church while choosing, for now, to stay largely silent about the details.
In a July 2 Instagram post, the 43-year-old mother of one shared that she had become Orthodox this past Pascha (Easter) and spent her recent European tour attending Orthodox liturgies, feast days, and visiting churches in several countries with her young son.
“It brings me joy to share some of the beauty of Orthodoxy within these sacred (and historic) places with you,” she wrote in the caption of a video montage. “Whether you are Orthodox Christian or not.”
Von D, who was baptized as a Christian in 2023 in a widely shared video, said her decision to delay speaking publicly about her conversion came at the advice of her priest.
“Since officially entering the Orthodox Church this last Pascha, many of you have lovingly asked to hear more about why I converted from Protestant to Orthodoxy,” she wrote. “And after speaking about it with Archpriest Father Steven, he strongly (and wisely) encouraged me to refrain from going out and doing any public interviews ... until after at least a year. Which I think is great advice.”
“Regardless, I never want to ‘hide’ where I am, spiritually speaking,” she added. “But am OK in waiting until I am better equipped to represent the Church that I love so much.”
This isn’t Von D’s first time to open up about her faith. In 2022, she posted a video of herself throwing away books on witchcraft and the occult. The following year, she marked 18 years of sobriety and shared a video of her baptism, in which a pastor proclaims, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
The baptism video sparked both encouragement and criticism, she said, particularly from some Christian viewers.
“It was just really sad to see this critical display of judgment from Christians,” Von D, who previously attended Switzerland Baptist Church in Vivay, Indiana, said. “And I don’t understand what would inspire that aside from something that’s more egoic — because that isn’t Christlike.”
“I don’t really feel equipped to be the poster child for Christianity,” she said at the time. “I think that I’m still learning.”
Last year, she also told comedian Theo Von she doesn’t believe there’s a “dress code” for being a Christian.
"It's such an intimate and personal thing, like, my relationship with God is my own," Von D says. "And I've never really felt like I've belonged anywhere. Especially now, I think."
"Being public with my faith puts you into this microscopic, critical tank. So I get criticized from all sides now. I don't care because at the end of the day, my relationship's with God, not you."'
"When someone like me comes into the mix, it's 'Oh wait, this is demonic' — I get called demonic a lot — or like, 'You're serving two masters.' I don't think any of that is accurate. There's no dress code to be a Christian."
In recent months, Von D, whose parents were Seventh-day Adventist missionaries, has quietly continued making changes in her life that reflect her faith.
She has covered tattoos which, she says, no longer align with her beliefs, and used her time abroad to connect with local Orthodox communities. She credited Archdeacon Joseph in Warsaw with helping her map out Orthodox parishes across Europe, enabling her to find “much-needed quiet prayerful moments throughout this tour.”
“One of my favorite parts of this European tour was that I was able to visit different Orthodox parishes throughout every country,” she wrote. “It’s the biggest part of my life that most of the time I keep to myself and loved ones.”
Von D closed her update with a simple prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
