"Saint Andrew came of a family of devout, unlettered peasants. He obtained an education by going to church and, on the death of his parents, became a novice at the Monastery of Galich, in the diocese of Kostroma. The Abbot, who was remarkable for his wisdom, discerned Andrew's spiritual gifts and encouraged him to undertake the unusual and difficult ascesis of Foolishness-for-Christ. Andrew left the monastery to lead a wayfaring life, but often returned to reveal his thoughts and deeds to his starets. On his Elder's death, he settled near the Church of the Resurrection in the town of Totma, where he was completely unknown. He spent the whole night in prayer and during the day begged alms that he forthwith gave to the poor. He went barefoot summer and winter and lived on nothing but bread and water. Every year he made a pilgrimage to the holy places of the region. One day he was accosted by the chief of an outlandish tribe. The man was suffering from an eye complaint and asked Andrew, who was already looked upon as a wonderworker, to cure him. Andrew fled, but the wild man washed his eyes in the snow trodden by the Saint and was healed.   "Worn out by ascesis and privation, Saint Andrew foreknew the day of his decease. He called a priest, confessed and communicated in the holy Mysteries, and not long after he fell asleep in the Lord, a heavenly scent pervading the room where his body lay. Some time later, the Saint appeared to a sick woman as she slept, holding the Gospel for her to venerate and telling her to pray at his tomb. When she awoke, the woman was healed." (Synaxarion)

Chaplain Sarah and Fr. Adrian help us understand the first three of the Six Major Types of Losses, as described in the book "All our Losses, All our Griefs" by Kenneth R. Mitchell and Herbert Anderson, that we and others experience in life.

Chaplain Sarah and Fr. Adrian continue their discussion of the Six Major Types of Losses, as described in the book "All our Losses, All our Griefs" by Kenneth R. Mitchell and Herbert Anderson, by reflecting on types four through six.

In the fourth installment in the 'Who is God?' series, Fr. Andrew explains the doctrine of the Essence-Energies distinction.

Fr. Andrew looks at the conversion story of St. Paul and relates that to how each of us is also called to be a 'chosen vessel' of the Lord.

What are your goals for 2014? Lose weight? Save more? Stop smoking? Get organized? Fr. John would like to remind us of the one goal that surpasses all others.

Recorded live at All Saints Ukrainian Orthodox Church in St Paul, Alberta, Canada. Fr. Joseph confesses that, for him, fasting from food ain't the problem.

Whether in tuxedo or collar, whether playing the role of smart aleck or slow learner, one thing is certain: Stuff happens. Be prepared. Say your prayers . . . and wear clean underwear.

Fr. Michael shares about discernment. "We all have to begin where we are, with the limited ability and grace we have.... If we follow what we know, maybe God will reveal to us some of what we do not know."

We don’t clean ourselves up before we pray—then we would never pray (or we would only pray the prayers of the Pharisees). We come to God in prayer bringing all of our weaknesses with us, even, perhaps glorying in our weaknesses. We glory in our weaknesses because we know that any deliverance we experience, any good that comes from our lives will only be evidence of God’s great love and power to save even the most screwed up, even the chief of sinners. We glory in our weakness because we know that our weakness is only another opportunity for God to reveal His greatness.

Jesus Christ gives us back our true identities, making us into faithful witnesses of His redeeming work.

Being set free from those things which possess us is just the beginning of the process of salvation.

Our favorite sins drive us into the isolation of the wilderness, away from the healing power of Jesus. Once healed, the best witness to the transforming power of Christ is the personal story of those set free.

We do not have to burn incense on the altar of a Roman god in order to show that we are ashamed of the Savior. All that we must do is to refuse to take up our crosses as we serve the false gods of this world. It does not take much spiritual insight to see that worshiping idols is quite common and easily done in our time and place.

Let us become transfigured in holiness as we pray, fast, repent, and give generously to our neighbors as we become living icons of the Savior’s fulfillment of the human person in the likeness of God.

Our songs, processions, and prostrations before our Lord’s Cross are the beginning, not the end, of our discipleship.

If we have received the Lord’s mercy, we must extend that mercy to our neighbors, especially those we are inclined to hate, condemn, or otherwise disregard.

Due to pride, we often crave words and actions from others that distract us from seeing ourselves clearly and instead fuel illusions of self-importance and self- righteousness. When doing so becomes a settled habit, we can easily find ourselves attempting to use religion to serve our egos instead of being focused on offering ourselves to the Lord.

Only we can unite ourselves to Christ in His Great Self-Offering for the salvation of the world.

We must simply keep letting down our nets in obedience to Christ according to the particulars of our lives and circumstances.

If we refuse to deny ourselves even in small ways this Lent, then we will become even more accustomed to serving ourselves instead of God and neighbor.

Like St. Mary of Egypt, let us refuse to let anything keep us from confronting our personal brokenness with brutal honesty as we take up our own crosses in faithfulness to the Savior Who offered up Himself on the Cross for the salvation of the world. He alone is our hope and the Victor over death.

In this episode, Fr. John discusses an important and fateful development in the history of Russian Christendom before modern times, the Possessor Controversy.

Our readings for the eleventh Sunday of Matthew (1 Corinthians 9:1-12, Matthew 18:23-25) happily correspond this year with our remembrance of the Holy Prophet and last of the Judges of Israel, Samuel. Parts of his story in 1 Samuel/Kingdoms 12 and 28, plus words about him in Psalm 98 (LXX)/99 and Sirach 46, help us understand more deeply God’s character of justice and forgiveness, exemplified in the prophet. We, too, are called to this pattern as we respond to the problems of our day, including the social unrest and violence of this week.

This week we consider our reading from Acts 20: 16-18; 28-36, filling in the ten missing verses, and concentrating on the extra “beatitude” from Jesus that we learn from St. Paul as he speaks to the Ephesian elders. We are especially helped by thinking about the journey of Abraham, and what he both received and gave, blessed by God, and becoming a blessing to others.

In this second episode, we consider that selection of verses from Psalms 1-3 which is ordinarily sung in parishes during Great Vespers, and place these in their full context, while looking to 2 Samuel (2 Kingdoms)15-18 and also to select fathers for help in understanding. We see that our life depends upon being in Christ, the only Blessed One, and that even in our times of trial, God is with us, both to rescue and to bless.

In this episode, we enter into Daniel 3:51-90, in which the three youths give voice to the whole of creation, which praises God. We also wonder at the appearance of the glorious Man, who prefigures the humility and love of our Lord, descending to the depths to save us from death and sin ( 1 Peter 3:18-20). Listeners are encouraged to read the entire song, which is prominent in our Paschal liturgy and has been sung for centuries by the Church.

Christ's Resurrection was first witnessed by women. This is a reminder, explains Fr. Ted, that we are one body in Christ.

Fr. Ted reminds us that while we may not know His essence, God is nevertheless with us in a very real and tangible sense.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos encourages us to resist the fear of revealing our weaknesses in order to find healing in Christ.

In this program, Steve and Kevin conduct this fascinating interview with professor and author Dr. David Bradshaw--professor of Philosophy and the Philosophy of Religion at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Bradshaw explains for us the distinction between God’s “Essence and Energies”. Understanding this distinction is the key to a major difference between eastern and western Christianity. You should listen to this two or three times--trust us!

We continue the discussion of essence and energy and give a very broad overview of the influence of the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle on Augustine and Aquinas and how philosophy has influenced the views of God in the West. We also discuss how the East and West's views of God manifest themselves in how we view creation and the human being's relationship to God.

In the sixth and final program on the series on "Relics," Steve and Bill discuss issues that face the Western theological concepts of nature, person, will and their relationships to one another before and after the fall. How one views the nature of God and the human being determines one's view of the meaning of salvation and the impact of "salvation" on the human being in this life. Relics are the evidence of the progressive nature of the human participation in the divine energies of God and a foretaste of the life to come in eternity. In the second half of the program Steve and Bill examine the New Testament and many passages that point us to the concept of "synergy," the working of the human person with God toward the goal of union with God.

After a two-month disappearance, Steve and Bill resurface and finally record part three of the series on "Relics." In this program they discuss the Orthodox view of God and how the creation can literally "participate in God," or, as St. Peter says, be a "partaker of the divine nature." How can the infinite God who says, "You cannot see my face and live," also promise that "the pure in heart shall see God"? The distinction between the essence and energies of God is one of the fundamental dogmas of the Orthodox faith and gives us a vision of our union with God which is ultimately our salvation.

In part four of our discussion of relics, we tackle the nature of God and the nature of the human being and how we can "know" a person. What is the relationship of "nature" to a "person"? What is an "energy"? How are a nature's energies expressed? The proper definition of nature, energy and personhood form the cornerstone for a proper definition of salvation and the goal of our existence in God.

Fr. Chad Hatfield, Chancellor and CEO of St. Vladimir's Seminary, explains the reasoning behind the school's upcoming conference on poverty.

Archpriest Chad Hatfield, the chancellor of St. Vladimir's Seminary, interviews Fr. Lawrence Farley, author of the new St. Vladimir's Seminary Press book Feminism and Tradition: Quiet Reflections on Ordination and Communion, about deaconesses and the true extent of their role in Orthodox Church history. Enter discount code FT20 during checkout to receive a 20% discount on Fr. Farley's book.

Listen to three short reflections about interactions at St. John the Compassionate Mission, reminding us that all lives are worth living.

A community member and Father Nicolaie each reflect on their experience with an aspect of the Gospel story of the young man who was possessed.

all of this year's XOXO talks were stellar, but this is the only one that comes with a newly-launched archive of nearly-lost artwork #