Fr. Tom takes a close look at the psalmody of the Church and its use in Orthodox worship.

Google Alerts is a free service offered by Google that will alert you to new content Google finds on the web that contains keywords you specify. Google Alerts is most commonly recommended as a way to monitor your brand – and your competition's brand – online. But I also use Google Alerts as a way…

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I get a lot of newer, aspiring affiliates on the Sugarrae site and when you've never done affiliate marketing before, all of the terms can get a little confusing. So I created this glossary of affiliate marketing terms to help newer affiliates and bloggers understand the terminology used within the industry. Above the Fold The…

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The priest is often not recognized unless he is on the cross. And in some communities, there’s always one -- or a handful -- that will try to make sure he stays there! (Yet these folks need salvation too.) Fr Joseph unpeels a bit of the Onion Dome.

Fr. John uses Psalm 118, and the life of King David, to discuss the importance of living according to God's will.

Fr. John Whiteford preaches from Ephesians 5:15-16.

What happens when life delivers a blow we were not prepared for? Michael shares the story of how one person reacted and what we can learn from it.

Is there a way of bringing liberal and fundamentalist Christianity together? Fr. Steven thinks the Orthodox Church is the answer.

Fr. Steven believes that practicing and proclaiming the Orthodox faith itself is the answer to our current societal unrest.

Rita describes the benefits of creative almsgiving for both our spiritual and physical well being.

The late Father Thomas Hopko outlines 55 Maxims that provide guidance to aid us in the New Years Resolution of putting Christ first—and as we all well know, this is the most important resolution of all!

What do an exorcism and an earthquake have in common? What about attempted suicide and mud? Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick connects all these together.

Nathan, Maria, and Andrew discuss the topic of almsgiving and answer a listener question in the inaugural On the Waves mailbag segment. Listeners are asked to send in questions to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)/**/!

We hope you return for a fresh episode each week!

Fr. John Oliver explores the four cycles or rhythms that are embedded in nature and in the Church.

What do these three have in common? Listen as Fr. John reflects on the power and beauty of the Psalter.

Fr. Joseph picks up "Santa"—only to discover that this Jolly Ol' Elf is packing heat and on a mission (from God).

In this episode, Fr. Anthony talks with his long-time friend and evangelical co-conspirator about strolling across the Holy Island of Iona, memories and/of music, and the joy of being in Christ. Enjoy the show!

In this interview, Fr. Anthony and Dn Nicholas talk about the rhythms of Lent and how a gentle asceticism may cultivate more lasting changes than the most stringent fasting and an over-packed liturgical calendar. Along the way, Dn Nicholas shares wisdom on how this same general approach builds a lasting and self-propagating harmony (even among tenors who often sing flat). We hope you enjoy this calm and gentle conversation. Enjoy the show!

In this episode, Fr. Anthony talks with Dn. Michael about three ideal types of parish music; choir, kliros, and congregational. They discuss their attributes, what is required to sustain them, and the way each brings glory to God in its own way. Enjoy the show!

Elissa addresses the issue of testing Sunday School students.

Elissa encourages us to engage in spiritual pilgrimages and approach all of life as pilgrims.

A catechumen once asked what he could do to get victory over bad dreams: especially lustful dreams that roused his passions and often led him into temptation. I told him that this is one of those aspects of life in a fallen body that must be resisted and endured. One of the ways Satan seeks to weary and wear out the saints (or those who strive to be holy) is through the constant going astray of our flesh. Our job is to resist and to return our attention to God and to whatever is good, true and beautiful. When we turn our attention to Jesus, then Jesus fights our battles. One of the desert fathers said that trying to confront our own wicked thoughts is like trying to drive off wild dogs by throwing biscuits at them. We end up feeding the very thing we are trying to drive away. But if we turn our attention to Jesus, to the One who saves, to the One who made us and loves us and calls us to Himself, then the barking of the dogs fades away into the background. Then Christ Himself fights our battles, and we return to our natural place as worshipers of God, as those whose minds and hearts are attending to the one thing needful.

Grab a pipe and a cup of coffee and join Steve and Christian as they sit in Christian’s backyard and discuss Pixar’s latest installment, The Good Dinosaur, exploring some of the themes of death and life, fear and love, and of course, how these relate to our life in Christ in the Orthodox Church. WARNING: If you’re as a big a softy as these two, you’re going to need Kleenex. They sure could have used some.

This week, the guys take on the new hit film, Captain Marvel. They discuss how our identity emerges in relationship, how being filled with God’s grace changes us deeply, and how compassion is often the first step toward transformation. They close with their Top 5 Origin Stories.

Our fundamental vocation remains the same: to undergo a change of mind such that we offer ourselves without reservation in obedience to God. As with the Theotokos, Joseph the Betrothed, and James, there is no telling what that will mean for the course of our lives, but saying “yes” in free obedience as we take the steps we have the strength to take today remains the only way to participate personally in the healing of the human person made possible by the birth of Jesus Christ. Let us look to those we commemorate today as brilliant examples of how to do precisely that.

The spiritual disciplines of the Apostles Fast provide us all with opportunities to clarify our spiritual vision and gain the strength to see all the blessings of this life as gifts to be offered to God.

By faith in Christ, we have become the new tenants of the vineyard with an obligation to “give him the fruits in their seasons.” That, of course, is precisely what the original tenants refused to do. Instead of tending the vineyard and offering its fruit to their rightful owner, they wanted everything for themselves and even killed the son of the owner in order to take his inheritance. We must read this passage as a reminder that, in order to be good tenants of the Lord’s vineyard, we must offer ourselves in union with His great Self-Offering on the Cross for the salvation of the world.

Fr. John reflects on a few experiences at Costco, and then about Clemson and Christianity.

The prophet Jeremiah helps us to consider, along with this Sunday’s gospels and epistle, the different ways in which God makes himself intimately known to each of us, and to all of us together, in the Church. (Luke 8:26-39; Gal 1:11-19; Luke 16:19-31; Jeremiah 31:31-34)

We look to Psalm 62 (LXX)/ 63 (Hebrew text) as a model for practicing the presence of God, and are assured that He is always with us, encouraging us to seek His face.

We read this stunning sixth censing prayer of Matins, looking to help from wise Church fathers, and the clarification of multiple passages in the Bible: Psalm 142 (143 MT); Romans 4:8; Philippian 3:12; 2 Samuel/2 Kingdoms 15-18, Rev 20:11, and Luke 21:17-18. God’s mercy towards us is always surprising, and is impressed upon us as we begin the Lord’s Day.

Welcoming the Christ Child: Family Readings for the Nativity Lent, Joseph Interprets Dreams and Joseph and His Family by Elissa Bjeletich, illustrated by Jelena Jeftic (Sebastian Press, 2017) Available from Sebastian Press Welcoming the Christ Child: Family Readings for the Nativity Lent, "Joseph Interprets Dreams and Joseph and His Family," by Elissa Bjeletich, illustrated by Jelena Jeftic (Sebastian Press, 2017).

Keith Thomas Sandberg speaks at a lecture sponsored by the Winnipeg Orthodox Clergy Association after the Vespers of St. Mary of Egypt.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos preaches on the Parable of the Wedding Feast reminding us that we come to the Church for the healing of our souls.

In this edition Kevin and Fr Ted Pulcini talk frankly about Orthodox Christian - Muslim dialogue and how Orthodoxy can best communicate its ineffable Truth to Muslims in a way that will resonate. Fr Ted's recently published booklet is titled Face to Face: A Guide for Orthodox Christians Encountering Muslims.

One of the most important theologians working in the Orthodox Church today, Dr. Elizabeth Theokritoff recently lectured at St. Vladimir's Seminary on theological images describing human personhood and our role in creation.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Sarah interviews Deacon (soon-to-be Priest) Giorgi Lomsadze, a third-year M.Div. student from the Republic of Georgia. Dn Giorgi shares his path beginning with studying medieval Georgian literature in his home country, to bringing his family to New York to undertake a Master of Arts to better understand liturgical theology as a way to further his academic career, and then, through his experience of the liturgical life at seminary, discovering his calling to priestly ministry. Giorgi also shares the joy and beauty of raising a family immersed in the community and chapel life at seminary, talks about his hopes for his future parish assignment, and gives his thoughts on the challenges and benefits of experiencing Orthodoxy online.

Chris Person compiled a list of active forums, grouped by subject area, hosted outside of the major platforms #

the BBS goes read-only on Friday, replaced by Substack comments, and the community is not happy #

Over two millenia there have, of course, been many papal claims, many of which Orthodoxy has always accepted. The claim to be the Patriarch of the West has proved unobjectionable to the East. The claim to be the primate of the Church is also unobjectionable, though this one requires some historical context. It is the claims explicated in detail at the First Vatican Council of 1870 that have proved the sticking point. But let us proceed slowly and carefully.

Fr. Apostolos Hill offers a Lord of the Rings based depiction of the centrality of the Kingdom of Heaven as the context for our lives in Christ, and a clean break from the various "kingdoms" which vie for our loyalties here below.

Fr. Apostolos Hill challenges us with reflections on the Gospel reading of St. Peter's impetuous faith on the Sea of Galilee.

The dramatic story of Peter attempting to walk on the water to come to Jesus is a reminder that God is with us in our problems even if we can't see Him. Fr Thomas teaches us that we're not called to a life without problems, we're called to be faithful through them.

Perhaps it seems capricious and arbitrary of God to deal one way with one situation and remain distant in another; but to demand to know why God does certain things and not others is to demand that He should be answerable to us.

The central importance for the Christian life is almsgiving … helping the poor and those in need.

Our Lord Jesus Christ taught that the basic problems arising from money, possessions and wealth had their roots in the heart and its attachments.