god and spiritual St. John Chrysostom: Practical Guidance on Dealing with Others By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T16:49:58+00:00 St. John Chrysostom's preaching is filled with practical advice on living a Christian life in the world, and in this broadcast we look at four sayings in which he addresses commonplace issues in the Christian's dealings with others: combating envy, overcoming offence, learning to conquer anger with love, and living in unity to the glory of God. Full Article
god and spiritual St. John Chrysostom: Practical Guidance on Dealing with Others By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T16:50:22+00:00 St. John Chrysostom’s preaching is filled with practical advice on living a Christian life in the world, and in this broadcast we look at four sayings in which he addresses commonplace issues in the Christian’s dealings with others: combating envy, overcoming offence, learning to conquer anger with love, and living in unity to the glory of God. Full Article
god and spiritual “God Is There, Where the Understanding Does Not Reach” By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T16:52:00+00:00 In this episode, Fr. Matthew returns to the Life of Moses by St Gregory of Nyssa, and examines a key passage in which the Saint compares the ascent of spiritual life to Moses's ascent of Mt. Sinai. What does it mean to ascend into "darkness," to converse with God "where the understanding does not reach"? And how does Moses's example reveal the way in which all the Fathers and Saints draw the whole Christian family into deeper communion with God? Full Article
god and spiritual From the Bone of Adam: St. Irenaeus on the Creation of Eve By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T16:58:11+00:00 The Genesis account of Eve being created from the rib of Adam has, throughout history, often been interpreted in negative ways. In this week's broadcast, through a brief text by St Irenaeus of Lyons, Fr. Dcn. Matthew examines a patristic vision of this creation grounding the true intimacy and mutual responsibility of the human community, male and female as "helpers" of one another in the work of salvation. Full Article
god and spiritual From the Bone of Adam: St. Irenaeus on the Creation of Eve By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T16:58:25+00:00 The Genesis account of Eve being created from the rib of Adam has, throughout history, often been interpreted in negative ways. In this week’s broadcast, through a brief text by St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Archimandrite Irenei examines a patristic vision of this creation grounding the true intimacy and mutual responsibility of the human community, male and female as ‘helpers’ of one another in the work of salvation. Full Article
god and spiritual The Contours of Christian Love By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:00:39+00:00 Can one call oneself a Christian without love? And what is the nature of the love we are called to show our neighbors? In this week's episode, Fr Matthew examines four patristic passages on love, and asks the question: What is it about Christian love that makes it unique in the world? Full Article
god and spiritual The Contours of Christian Love By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:01:23+00:00 Can one call oneself a Christian without love? And what is the nature of the love we are called to show our neighbors? In this week’s episode, Archimandrite Irenei examines four patristic passages on love, and asks the question: What is it about Christian love that makes it unique in the world? Full Article
god and spiritual Defeating the Slavery of “Bad Habits” By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:02:34+00:00 Among the greatest struggles in the Christian life are the "little things"—the day-to-day "bad habits" by which we continually fall, and which seem to trap us in our sin. Is there a way out? In this week's episode, Fr. Dcn. Matthew examines the Fathers on sin as habits, how these habits enslave us—and most importantly, how we can overcome our shackles and progress toward the Kingdom. Full Article
god and spiritual St. Cyprian on Cain, Abel, and True Self-Sacrifice By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:04:54+00:00 What are we to make of the Genesis account of Cain and Abel? In this broadcast, Fr. Matthew examines a portion of St Cyprian of Carthage's Treatise on the Lord's Prayer that shows forth Abel as the first martyr, the example of true self-sacrifice. And it is a lesson with a practical aim: the quenching of anger and hatred, and the discovery of a life offered more wholly to God. Full Article
god and spiritual St John of the Ladder on Seeking a Suitable Way of Life By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:06:41+00:00 St. John of the Ladder, whom we normally read during Great Lent, is a Father who offers practical guidance to Christian life of every moment. In this week’s broadcast, Archimandrite Irenei explores a series of passages from Step 1 of St John’s Ladder to Paradise, on the specific issue of the universal calling of the Christian life, coupled with the need for each person to seek out a suitable way of life for the spiritual struggle to be exercised. Full Article
god and spiritual St John of the Ladder on Seeking a Suitable Way of Life By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:07:17+00:00 St John of the Ladder, whom we normally read during Great Lent, is a Father who offers practical guidance to Christian life of every moment. In this week's broadcast, Fr Dcn Matthew explores a series of passages from Step 1 of St John's Ladder to Paradise, on the specific issue of the universal calling of the Christian life, coupled with the need for each person to seek out a suitable way of life for the spiritual struggle to be exercised. Full Article
god and spiritual St. John Chrysostom on the Charity of Fasting By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:09:02+00:00 In this week’s broadcast, Archimandrite Irenei offers a reflection on a selection of sayings of St John Chrysostom on the pastoral nature of fasting as an act of charity. In what sense does our fast minister to our neighbor? Full Article
god and spiritual St. John the Dwarf: A Life of All the Virtues By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:10:42+00:00 What has a man whose obedience once caused a barren stick to blossom forth a tree in the desert to tell us today about the life of virtue? Is it possible for man today to partake of all the virtues? In this week’s broadcast, Fr. Matthew examines two sayings of Fr. John the Short of Egypt on the accessibility of all the virtues through the foundation of the love of neighbor. Full Article
god and spiritual St. John the Dwarf: A Life of All the Virtues By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:11:05+00:00 What has a man whose obedience once caused a barren stick to blossom forth a tree in the desert to tell us today about the life of virtue? Is it possible for man today to partake of all the virtues? In this week’s broadcast, Archimandrite Irenei examines two sayings of Fr. John the Short of Egypt on the accessibility of all the virtues through the foundation of the love of neighbor. Full Article
god and spiritual Abba Poemen the Great: On Softening the Hardest of Hearts By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:13:07+00:00 In this week's broadcast, Fr. Dcn. Matthew examines three sayings by Abba Poemen ("The Shepherd") of Egypt on the means by which the hardest heart can be softened by the Lord. Full Article
god and spiritual Abba Poemen the Great: On Softening the Hardest of Hearts By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:13:29+00:00 In this week’s broadcast, Archimandrite Irenei examines three sayings by Abba Poemen ("The Shepherd") of Egypt on the means by which the hardest heart can be softened by the Lord. Full Article
god and spiritual St. Nicholas Cabasilas on the Assurance of the True Body and Blood By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:14:38+00:00 In every age, there is the temptation to doubt the Mysteries of the Church—to question how it is that the faithful should remain secure in believing that Christ makes Himself truly present in Body and Blood at the Holy Table. In this week' episode, Fr. Matthew examines an extended text by Nicholas Cabasilas on the substance of our faith in the Mystical Supper. Full Article
god and spiritual St. Nicholas Cabasilas on the Assurance of the True Body and Blood By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:15:04+00:00 In every age, there is the temptation to doubt the Mysteries of the Church—to question how it is that the faithful should remain secure in believing that Christ makes Himself truly present in Body and Blood at the Holy Table. In this week’s episode, Archimandrite Irenei examines an extended text by Nicholas Cabasilas on the substance of our faith in the Mystical Supper. Full Article
god and spiritual The Coming of the Lord - St. Leo the Great By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:16:19+00:00 Fr. Matthew examines a sermon by St. Leo of Rome, normally read in the season of Pascha, yet which sheds great light on the coming of the Lord, and the pastoral message to be gleaned from the intense theological disputes about Christ's natures that raged in the early Church. Full Article
god and spiritual The Coming of the Lord - St. Leo the Great By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:16:40+00:00 Archimandrite Irenei examines a sermon by St. Leo of Rome, normally read in the season of Pascha, yet which sheds great light on the coming of the Lord, and the pastoral message to be gleaned from the intense theological disputes about Christ’s natures that raged in the early Church. Full Article
god and spiritual Remembering the Mother of God: St. Cyril on the Theotokos and the Incarnation By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:18:12+00:00 In this season of Christ's incarnate coming in the flesh, we take a moment to reflect, through the words of St. Cyril of Alexandria, on the role of the Virgin Theotokos in the nativity of the true God, Jesus Christ. Full Article
god and spiritual Remembering the Mother of God: St. Cyril on the Theotokos and the Incarnation By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:18:42+00:00 In this season of Christ’s incarnate coming in the flesh, we take a moment to reflect, through the words of St. Cyril of Alexandria, on the role of the Virgin Theotokos in the nativity of the true God, Jesus Christ. Full Article
god and spiritual Glory to God Who Has Shown Himself to Us: St. Ephrem and St. John on the Nativity By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:20:52+00:00 In a broadcast for the Feast of the Nativity According to the Flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ, we reflect on two hymns of St. Ephrem the Syrian and a portion of a homily by St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco on the glory of the night of Christ's full revelation. Full Article
god and spiritual Glory to God Who Has Shown Himself to Us: St. Ephrem and St. John on the Nativity By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:21:29+00:00 In a broadcast for the Feast of the Nativity According to the Flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ, we reflect on two hymns of St. Ephrem the Syrian and a portion of a homily by St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco on the glory of the night of Christ’s full revelation. Full Article
god and spiritual The Wonder of the Incarnation - St. Gregory the Theologian By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:22:44+00:00 We conclude the first series of A Word From the Holy Fathers with this fiftieth episode, in which Fr. Matthew examines a poignant reflection on "the wonder of the Incarnation" by St. Gregory of Nazianzus. The broadcast concludes with a small announcement about the conclusion of this series, and advance notice of its return with a new series in a month's time. Full Article
god and spiritual A Friend of God, a Brother and Son of Christ By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:53:00+00:00 Beginning the second series of "A Word From the Holy Fathers," Archimandrite Irenei calls upon the spiritual homilies of St. Makarios the Great, reflecting on the saint’s profound question, "Do you wish to be a friend of God, and a brother and son of Christ?" What does it mean to be God’s "friend," and how should this affect how we see ourselves—and what God requires of us—as Orthodox Christians? Full Article
god and spiritual The River of Jordan Streaming from my Eyes By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:54:17+00:00 This week, Fr. Irenei reflects on one of the "Steps" from St John Klimakos’s Ladder to Paradise, in which the saint considers the life of the Christian and the judgement of others. Have we begun to live the life of repentance? Or does our judgement of our neighbor reveal that we have yet to grasp the true nature of our sin, and make a true beginning of abandoning it in Christ? Full Article
god and spiritual Did You Not Know That You Stood, Speaking to Him? By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:55:20+00:00 Drawn from one of the sayings of the Desert Fathers relating to the life of Abba Ammon, this week’s episode focuses on the question of our attentiveness to God, in the Divine Services as well as in our whole life. Where is our mind—where our heart? Do we not know that we stand in His presence, speaking to Him? Full Article
god and spiritual St John Chrysostom on the Many Blessings of Calling God Father By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:56:15+00:00 In this week’s broadcast, Archimandrite Irenei considers Homily 19 on St. Matthew’s Gospel by St. John Chrysostom, exploring the richness of what calling God "our Father" means for our relationship both to Him and to one another as brethren. Full Article
god and spiritual What We Receive is Not our Own: A Testimony of St Macarius the Great By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:56:58+00:00 In a remarkable text by St. Macarius, the Christian is told that if he sees an arrogant man perform miracles, "even raise the dead," he should not follow. This week, Fr. Irenei explores what this message means for the Orthodox Christian, and how the good works of God are to be stored up secretly in the loving Christian heart. Full Article
god and spiritual From the Angel to St. Anthony: “Do This, and You Will Be Saved” By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:58:01+00:00 This week’s broadcast focuses on an episode from the Life of St. Anthony the Great, in which the saint, seeking solace in his spiritual struggles, receives an angelic testimony to the way of salvation. Has this message something to teach the Christian struggling in the world today? Full Article
god and spiritual St John of Sinai: “Let Us Charge Into the Fight With Joy and Love” By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T17:58:45+00:00 Drawn from a remarkable passage from St. John of the Ladder, Archimandrite Irenei examines the crippling effect of spiritual fear on the life of the Christian, and draws from the saint’s guidance the help towards overcoming it with a trustful love in the power of God. Full Article
god and spiritual The Sacrifice of Human Freedom By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T18:00:26+00:00 Taking up a passage from the writings of St. Theophan the Recluse, Archimandrite Irenei examines the nature of human freedom, not as a thing good in itself, but which is to be sacrificed as a perfect offering to God. Full Article
god and spiritual St Mark the Ascetic: Taking Up the Cross With Joy By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T18:01:02+00:00 This week, Archimandrite Irenei examines a text by St. Mark the Ascetic in which the Christian is enjoined to "give himself entirely to the Cross," undergoing "with joy" the abasement that it brings. Do we live our lives in this way? Can we claim to be what St. Mark terms "true Christians"? Full Article
god and spiritual St. John Chrysostom on the Wonder of the Nativity, Part 1 By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T18:02:47+00:00 Beginning a two-part reflection on the famous Nativity Homily of St. John Chrysostom, this week Archimandrite Irenei examines sections of this most-exalted sermon that deal with the unexpected wonder of our salvation, wrought of the spotless offering of the Virgin. Full Article
god and spiritual St. John Chrysostom on the Wonder of the Nativity, Part 2 By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T18:03:29+00:00 In the second part of his reflection on St. John Chrysostom’s famed Nativity Homily, Fr. Irenei examines the concluding segments of the sermon, in which the Saint draws our hearts into the experience of the One who brought joy into the midst of the earth. Full Article
god and spiritual In the Clash of Destructive Errors, the Truth of the Church Stands Revealed By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T18:05:46+00:00 Focusing on a text by St. Hilary of Poitiers, Fr. Irenei explores the Saint’s conviction that the multitude of heresies and errors surrounding us in the world are not to be feared or to become a cause for despair, for through their very error the Truth of Christ is revealed all the more in the Church. Full Article
god and spiritual Repentance: The Daughter of Hope By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T18:06:29+00:00 In this week’s episode, Archimandrite Irenei explores St. John of the Ladder’s beautiful testimony of repentance as "the daughter of hope and the renunciation of despair." What is the nature of such repentance, and how does it raise up the Christian to "a sure resurrection"? Full Article
god and spiritual The Father who Seeth in Secret Shall Reward Thee Openly By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T18:07:15+00:00 St. John Chrysostom’s 19th homily on St. Matthew’s Gospel account addresses Christ’s promise of open rewards for secret acts—but what does this mean? In this broadcast, we explore the words of St. John on secret acts of virtue being shown forth "in the presence of the whole universe." Full Article
god and spiritual St. Irenaeus: The Church Which Has Been Handed Down to Us By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T18:08:49+00:00 Father Irenei examines two passages from St. Irenaeus of Lyons, which speak of receiving the truth of "the Church that has been handed down to us" from the Holy Apostles, and in which right belief is found without adulteration or error. Full Article
god and spiritual Not Like Other Men . . . By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T18:10:04+00:00 As the pre-Lenten weeks of the Triodion begin, this week’s broadcast explores the themes of the Fathers’ liturgical heritage, taking from the Church’s hymnography the vivid imagery of the Publican and the Pharisee. How do we, ourselves, speak when we stand before God in prayer—and how ought this Sunday cause us to change? Full Article
god and spiritual All to No Purpose Have I Left My True Home By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T18:11:07+00:00 The second of the pre-Lenten Sundays draws our attention to the Prodigal Son and his departure—and return—to his father’s house. In this week’s episode, Archimandrite Irenei examines the Fathers’ testimony to this event, found in the Church’s hymns, and examines the nature of sin as exile in every Christian’s life. Full Article
god and spiritual Rising in Repentance By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-07-02T19:46:19+00:00 This week, Archimandrite Irenei explores two passages - one by St. John of Karpathos and the other by St. Ambrose of Milan - on the nature of the continual falling down and rising up of repentance, examining the question: How is the Christian person to respond to continual failings in his attempts to live a holy life? Full Article
god and spiritual “God Is There, Where the Understanding Does Not Reach” By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-07-02T19:48:14+00:00 In this episode, Archimandrite Irenei returns to the Life of Moses by St Gregory of Nyssa, and examines a key passage in which the Saint compares the ascent of spiritual life to Moses’s ascent of Mt. Sinai. What does it mean to ascend into "darkness," to converse with God "where the understanding does not reach"? And how does Moses’s example reveal the way in which all the Fathers and Saints draw the whole Christian family into deeper communion with God? Full Article
god and spiritual St Athanasius: “What was God to do?” By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-09-18T18:36:49+00:00 Why did God become man? This week's reflection explores St Athanasius's consideration of the Son's incarnation as a response to his probing refrain, in the face of man's sin: "What was God to do?" Full Article
god and spiritual St. John Chrysostom on the Charity of Fasting By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-09-18T21:00:26+00:00 In this week's broadcast, Fr. Dcn. Matthew offers a reflection on a selection of sayings of St John Chrysostom on the pastoral nature of fasting as an act of charity. In what sense does our fast minister to our neighbor? Full Article
god and spiritual Shall We Forgive? The Fathers on Forgiveness as the Gateway to Salvation By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-09-18T21:00:32+00:00 This week, in anticipation of Forgiveness Sunday, Archimandrite Irenei explores a series of patristic texts that deal with the imperative of forgiveness, and the need to forgive as the gateway into the life offered by Christ in the Church. Full Article
god and spiritual Defeating the Slavery of “Bad Habits” By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-12-18T06:38:00+00:00 Among the greatest struggles in the Christian life are the "little things"—the day-to-day "bad habits" by which we continually fall, and which seem to trap us in our sin. Is there a way out? In this week’s episode, Archimandrite Irenei examines the Fathers on sin as habits, how these habits enslave us—and most importantly, how we can overcome our shackles and progress toward the Kingdom. Full Article
god and spiritual St. Cyprian on Cain, Abel, and True Self-Sacrifice By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-12-19T02:37:43+00:00 What are we to make of the Genesis account of Cain and Abel? In this broadcast, Archimandrite Irenei examines a portion of St Cyprian of Carthage’s treatise on the Lord’s prayer that shows forth Abel as the first martyr, the example of true self-sacrifice. And it is a lesson with a practical aim: the quenching of anger and hatred, and the discovery of a life offered more wholly to God. Full Article
god and spiritual Creation and Sacrifice in St. Symeon the New Theologian By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2016-02-10T19:34:05+00:00 Fr Dcn Matthew explores the homilies of St Symeon on man and creation, and in particular the way in which the Christian response to ecological concerns resides in the theology of sacrifice and the participation in divine Communion - including brief remarks from a recent talk by Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia. Full Article