Here the Old Testament readings for Great Vespers and the New Testament readings for Divine Liturgy are used to illuminate the importance of councils and primacy in the holy Church—a Church that is visible and concrete, with a recognizable and divinely-ordained shape, just as our Lord actually took on humanity, and did not simply visit us in an “appearance.” This program is a re-air from July 17, 2015.

We read the stories of the Holy Martyr George (celebrated this Sunday April 23, along with St. Thomas Sunday) in the light of Job, Isaiah and Revelation 12, seeing him as a mirror to our victorious Lord, who cleansed the chaotic waters of all that lurked there, and trampled down death by death.

What is meant by the phrase “He was not tempted by Hades”, and is it the case that Jesus appeared first to the Theotokos? We look to the Scriptural teaching on the despoiling of Hades, to the cultural associations of Hades in the Greek and Roman mind, and to the prophet Isaiah for help in understanding the joy of Holy Saturday’s conquest.

We consider how honoring one another can lead us, in a positive way, to heartfelt humility and maturity in Christ. We are helped by the epistle readings for this Sunday (Titus 3:8-15; Romans 12:6-14), as they are illumined by Numbers 12:3, Isaiah 66:2, and Proverbs 25:27.

Fr. Ted begins a new series on applying the Orthodox faith to the everyday situations in which we find ourselves.

Fr. Ted laments the fact that the traditions of the Church are not passed down to the next generation with enough frequency.

Fr. Ted addresses the concept of remembrance.

Fr. Ted reminds us that we cannot be true Christians if we do not forgive.

Questions evangelicals want to ask the Eastern Orthodox, with Fr. Michael Reagan.

Continuing the discussion with Fr. Michael Reagan, about questions evangelicals have for the Orthodox.

The Orthodox Church is seeing an influx of graduates from Evangelical Christian colleges and universities, exploring traditional forms of historic Christianity. In this program Kevin Allen discusses this trend with two graduates of BIOLA University (Jesse Cone and Michael Unruh) who were recently chrismated.

Join host Kevin Allen in his interview with Ancient Faith Radio founder and Chief Operating Officer of Conciliar Media Ministries, John Maddex, about his fascinating journey to the ancient faith of Orthodoxy after 30 years as a evangelical radio executive and self-professed "classic Evangelical Protestant Christian"!

Dr Bradley Nassif, a “pioneer of Orthodox-Evangelical Dialogue” talks with host Kevin Allen about “where things are” formally and informally between The Orthodox Church and Evangelical Christians. Kevin asks the question: “What is an Evangelical?”

Listen to part 2 of Kevin's interview with Fr. James Early

In this two-part interview, ex-Baptist seminary graduate and missionary to Bosnia, now Orthodox priest, Fr James Early, recounts with Illumined Heart host Kevin Allen the circumstances under which he had to face and eventually reject core Baptist-Evangelical tenets and come to accept the faith handed down once and for all to the Saints. His book is called From Baptist to Byzantium.

What can Evangelicals and Orthodox learn from each other is the subject of the 2nd section of our interview with His Eminence.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to combine the "best" of classic Orthodox Christian spiritual "therapies" (praxis) with modern psychological modalities in therapy? In the first of the new fall line-up, Kevin speaks with Orthodox professor and therapist, Dr. Philip Mamalakis about the ground-breaking work in this area he is pioneering. The web site for Dr. Philip that was mentioned in the interview can be found HERE.

In this encore presentation of The Illumined Heart, hear the story of John Maddex who, along with his wife Tonya, found the Orthodox Church after nearly 40 years in Evangelical Christian radio.

In episode 4, Andrew helps us understand the transformation that takes place when we begin to see iconographically instead of pornographically. The transcript can be accessed HERE.

Fr. Chad Hatfield introduces us to Alla Generalow, the new Director of Liturgical Music at St. Vladimir's.

Dr. Yelena Kolyada speaks at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary on "Musical Instruments of the Bible."

Fr. John McGuckin, professor of church history at Union Seminary, delivers the 2014 Fr. Alexander Schmemann Lecture.

The 36th Annual Father Alexander Schmemann Lecture at St. Vladimir's Seminary proved to be an insightful tribute to Fr. Alexander’s memory. On Wednesday, January 30, 2019, guest lecturer Dr. David Fagerberg, professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame and author of the recently released Liturgy outside Liturgy: The Liturgical Theology of Fr. Alexander Schmemann (Chora Books, 2018), took the audience through a beautiful exploration of what he termed "the house of Schmemann."

St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS), Yonkers, NY, and St. Nersess Armenian Seminary, Armonk, NY, celebrated fifty years of collaboration with a special event Friday, October 11, on SVOTS’ campus. The event included the annual Father John Meyendorff Memorial Lecture, delivered by SVOTS/St. Nersess Alumnus His Grace, Bishop Daniel Findikyan, Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America and President of St. Nersess Seminary.

In the first of a series, Dn. Michael introduces us to the Ecumenical Councils and their importance in Christian history and theology.

Dn. Michael continues his introduction to the Ecumenical Councils and asks the question "Why does truth matter?"

One story of a clinical depression sufferer's progress within the context of a welcoming community.

With many of the autocephalous Churches meeting in Crete this week, some have wondered if this was another "Ecumenical Council" of the Orthodox Church. Fr. Lawrence Farley helps us understand that term.

I sometimes cannot help asking myself three liturgical questions whenever I visit churches which serve the Liturgy in the “classic” pattern I learned in seminary—all of those questions quite rhetorical.

There is today in the Orthodox Church a cult of personality—or, more precisely, of personalities, in the plural. That is, there are a number of men, mostly monastics and wearing the badge of “elder” who have set themselves up as judges and arbiters of Orthodox praxis. Most of the hubbub is over matters of ecumenism. Drawing upon the Fathers (often ripped from their historical context) these men declare that outside the Orthodox Church there is little or no grace and salvation. Accordingly, everyone who comes to Orthodoxy from another Christian confession must—not should, but must—be received by baptism, so that those who were received by chrismation must “correct” this “error” and be again baptized.

We've all heard the saying "paradoxy is Orthodoxy". Fr. Tom discusses the path to salvation found by embracing the paradoxy of life and choosing to bear our cross.

In the third of his Holiness Month series, Fr Thomas encourages us to not only spread the good news of Jesus Christ but to live out the law of Christ. (Matthew 4:18-23) All Saints of North America Sunday, June 18, 2023.

Fr. Christopher takes a lesson from the life of St. Mary of Egypt on what it means to repent.

Fr. Gregory Hallam examines the hymn we sing throughout the Liturgy in commemoration of our Lord's institution of the Holy Eucharist.

Hippocratic pro-life medical professionals are increasingly being pressured to practice their science and art without regard to their personal faith or conscience beliefs.

If you think it is respectable to consider babies, whether born or unborn, to be an inferior stage of human life, you can easily come to think that they have few rights that fully developed persons are bound to respect.

Dr. Albert Rossi reflects on the topic of political correctness and shares his views on a better to be in relationship with one another.

Fr. Philip LeMasters, Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Religion at McMurry University, tries to account for why homosexuality has become the defining issue of our time, arguing that it was the civil rights movement and the sexual revolution that has turned us all into political hedonists.

Fr. Lawrence Farley reminds us that our God is the God who rises above logic and nature and frustrates laws which mere creation finds inflexible.

There is variety in Orthodox theology, but there is no plurality in dogma—and that is where the unity of the Orthodox faith lies. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick explains.

Is Orthodoxy really somehow immune to the liberalism and worldiness that afflicts everyone else in North America? Fr. Lawrence Farley argues, "No!"