It’s finally time for the annual Star Wars PCCH, and the guys are stoked. They discuss relating with the past, the balance between light and darkness, and how great it was to see Luke Skywalker return to the silver screen. Spoilers abound, including this one: No Top 5. Just pure, unadulterated Star Wars.

In this episode, Fr. John Parker interviews Fr. Robert Miclean, pastor of Holy Archangels Mission in Annapolis, MD. Fr Robert is the founding pastor of this new mission, and the founder of Annapolis College Ministry, which is an intentional, discipleship-driven, missionary outreach to three Maryland colleges: the US Naval Academy, St John’s College, and Anne Arundel Community College.

Looking at Hebrews 2:11-18; Luke 1:24-38; and Judges 6:12-15, we think about the poignant salutation of Gabriel, “Rejoice!” and the deep significance of the Theotokos’ response to God’s will for her and for us.

This week we look to the Old Testament readings of Exodus 3 and Jeremiah 32-33 to understand the feast of the Annunciation, the words of Gabriel to holy Mary, and the meeting of the Theotokos with Elizabeth in the hill country of Judah. God’s glory is seen in humble places.

We read Hannah’s sober and joyful canticle (canticle 3), taken from 1 Samuel/1 Kingdoms 2:1–10, and consider what it means for God to “bring low” and to “exalt” us. In this we are helped by St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil and Great, and other sections of the Old Testament.

This week we read the story of Susanna, found either in the prologue of Daniel or Daniel 13 (dependent upon the version used). Susanna is an excellent example of the charms and depth of the Readable Books, adding to doctrine and morals an appreciation for the domestic life and the spunkiness of its heroine, whose story is here analyzed with reference to Daniel 3:17-18, Romans 4, and Psalm 3:1-4.

The Feast of the Annunciation, by Lily Parascheva Rowe, illustrated by Roland J. Ford (St. Stylianos Books)

The Feast of the Annunciation by Lily Parascheva Rowe, illustrated by Roland Ford (St. Stylianos Books, 2012).

"Annunciation of the Theotokos," from Feasts of Christ and the Theotokos and Miracles of the Lord by Spiritual Fragrance Publishing (2012)

"The Annunciation of the Angel to the Righteous Joseph," from Feasts of Christ and the Theotokos and Miracles of the Lord by Spiritual Fragrance Publishing (2012). In honor of this the 500th episode of "Readings from the Under the Grapevine," we are giving away a gift set containing The Miracle of the Red Egg by Elizabeth Crispina Johnson, The Legend of the Cross by Dr. Chrissi Hart, and the CD Pascha: Come Receive the Light by Eikona. For a chance to win, simply write to Dr. Hart at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)/**/ and tell her which "Grapevine" reading you have enjoyed the most, as well as what you love about Pascha. The winner will be announced on April 10, 2015.

Welcoming the Christ Child: Family Readings for the Nativity Lent, "Saints Joachim and Anna and The High Priest Zacharias," by Elissa Bjeletich, illustrated by Jelena Jeftic (Sebastian Press, 2017).

Welcoming the Christ Child: Family Readings for the Nativity Lent, "The Annunciation and Mary Visits Elizabeth," by Elissa Bjeletich, illustrated by Jelena Jeftic (Sebastian Press, 2017).

50. Book 1: The Annunciation from the Twelve Great Feasts for Children by Mother Melania (Conciliar Press, 2003) Book 2: Christina's Favorite Saints by Maria Khoury part one (CDK Publications, 2002). You can read more about Maria Khoury here.

St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary confers an honorary doctorate on Christos Yannaras at its 2010 Fall Academic Convocation.

On November 7, 2014, St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary celebrated its 75th Anniversary with a banquet at the Glen Island Harbor Club in New Rochelle, NY. Guest speakers included Fr. John McGuckin and Bishop Basil. Several surprise announcements were made and can be read about HERE. We've broken the evening into 3 segments. This is part 1.

Part 2 of the 75th Anniversary Gala.

Part 3 of the 75th Anniversary Gala.

Dr. Predrag Matejić, the curator of the Hilandar Collection at Ohio State University, delivers the third annual Fr. John Meyendorff Memorial Lecture. Metropolitan Tikhon of the OCA and Metropolitan Joseph of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese were also given honorary doctor of divinity degrees at the convocation.

The 33rd Annual Schmemann Lecture at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary featured a talk by Archdeacon John Chryssavgis titled "Toward the Great and Holy Council: Retrieving a Culture of Conciliarity and Communion." The seminary also granted two honorary doctorates at the convocation. Archdeacon John received the degree Doctor of Divinity and Charles Ajalat received the degree Doctor of Canon Law.

Bishop Anba Suriel of the Coptic Diocese of Melbourne, Australia, speaks at the annual Lenten retreat at St. Vladimir's Seminary.

Bishop Anba Suriel of the Coptic Diocese of Melbourne, Australia, speaks at the annual Lenten retreat at St. Vladimir's Seminary.

Bishop Anba Suriel of the Coptic Diocese of Melbourne, Australia, speaks at the annual Lenten retreat at St. Vladimir's Seminary.

Bishop Anba Suriel of the Coptic Diocese of Melbourne, Australia, speaks at the annual Lenten retreat at St. Vladimir's Seminary.

Dr. Alice-Mary Talbot presented the 4​th annual Father John Meyendorff Memorial Lectu​re at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary on Friday, September 15​, 2017.​ ​Her presentation, titled, Varieties of Monastic Experience in Byzantium, 800–1453, opened a window into Byzantine monasticism that revealed a culture as rich and diverse as the personalities of the monks and nuns who embraced it.​ She highlighted the many ways one could be a Byzantine monk or nun, and the continuous tensions in Byzantium between the eremitic (solitary living) and coenobitic (community living) forms of monasticism.

On the Feast of the Three Hierarchs Tuesday, January 30, 2017, St. Vladimir's Seminary hosted a marvelous evening program featuring the 35th Annual Father Alexander Schmemann Lecture. Seminary alumnus Dr. Scott Kenworthy presented the Schmemann Lecture, entitled, “St. Tikhon of Moscow (1865–1925) and the Orthodox Church in North America and Revolutionary Russia.” Dr. Kenworthy described St. Tikhon’s pastoral responsibilities both in North America and Russia, and noted how 21st-century Orthodox Christians could benefit from the well-documented spiritual struggles and challenges that the saint experienced. Dr. Kenworthy is Associate Professor of Comparative Religion and Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies at Miami University (Oxford, OH). He is currently writing a new, comprehensive biography of St. Tikhon.

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 Seminary celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA)’s autocephaly Thursday, January 30, 2020. A full-day of events culminated with a passionate, heartfelt 37th Annual Father Alexander Schmemann Memorial Lecture delivered by His Eminence, Archbishop Michael (Dahulich). Hear his lecture, "The Gift of Autocephaly," the Mid-Year Commencement Ceremony, and a final reflection from His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon.

On January 30, 2021, New York Times bestselling author Rod Dreher delivered the 38th Annual Father Alexander Schmemann Memorial Lecture. Dreher’s lecture, “Living in Truth: How the Communist-Era Suffering Church can Prepare Us to be Dissidents,” defined the challenges and explored the gifts the suffering church has for a complacent West. His talk coincided with the publication of A Voice for Our Time: Radio Liberty Talks, Vol. 1, featuring an English translation of Schmemann’s broadcasts into the Soviet Union that began in 1953. This first volume of the two-part series, being published by St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVS) Press, features a foreword by Dreher.

Fr. Evan Armatas welcomes Ancient Faith Spiritual Advisor Fr. Nabil Hanna to guest co-host the show as they tackle questions about the Old Testament, Prophets, trans-gender issues, and more.

Join Orthodoxy Live with Fr. Evan Armatas as he celebrates his 10th Anniversary with special guests and greetings! Orthodoxy Live offers listeners an opportunity to ask pointed questions about the Orthodox Church. Perfect for seekers, converts, and cradle Orthodox Christian alike, this program is your chance to ask the tough questions about the Orthodox faith. Fr. Evan is a great communicator and well versed in all aspects of Orthodox theology.

Dn. Pawel, the prefect of the Lived Theology School Program, highlights connections between the stories of St. Mary of Egypt, the Annunciation, and our own.

Meet Carol Anne, one of the treasures at the Mission. Taken from Walking Humbly: The Holiness of the Poor, by St. John the Compassionate Mission.

Meet Anna, one of the treasures at the Mission. Taken from Walking Humbly: The Holiness of the Poor, by St. John the Compassionate Mission.

Listen to excerpts from this past Sunday's bulletin at St. John the Compassionate Mission, serving the most vulnerable in Toronto.

a dozen surprise new games released to everyone at the same time on a regular schedule #

Aardman Animation worked with Patrick McHale and the original voice cast for an elaborate stop-motion tribute #

The Theotokos stands for the whole biblical way of looking at the relationship between God and His creation as a mystery of LOVE.

Fr. Deacon Emmanuel gives the sermon on the Feast of the Annunciation.

Fr. Gregory Hallam preaches on the Feast of the Annunciation.

Two items in the news lately have captured Wesley's attention.

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.

Examining a passage from the anonymous second-century Epistle to Diognetus, Archimandrite Irenei explores the witness borne by the early Christian community and asks: does it reflect our Christian testimony today?

The International Orthodox Christian Studies program in the United Kingdom is launching a new DVD-based course for parishes to use in evangelism. John Maddex talks with organizer Dr. Christine Mangala Frost about The Way.

Dr. Frank Papatheofanis talks with John Maddex about the newly announced endowed chair established at St. Katherine College in honor of Fr. Peter Gillquist who fell asleep in the Lord on July 1, 2012.

Fr. Constantine Nasr is the retired priest at St. Elijah Antiochian Orthodox Church in Oklahoma City. During his many years there, speakers and conferences were videotaped and he now makes them available on a channel on YouTube.

Bobby Maddex interviews George Matsoukas, the Executive Director of Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL), and Alexei Krindatch, the Research Coordinator of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America, about the upcoming OCL Program Meeting at St. Vladimir's Seminary.