Bobby interviews Fr. Vassilios Papavassiliou, the author of the new Conciliar Press book Meditations for Great Lent: Reflections on the Triodion.

Apple and art house film company A24 are in early development on a film about convicted crypto scammer Sam Bankman-Fried with a script written by Lena Dunham, Variety reported. The project will be based on the Michael Lewis book Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon that many critics found overly deferential to Bankman-Fried. 

The book describes the dizzying rise and equally vertiginous fall of Bankman-Fried and his FTX crypto exchange and Alameda hedge fund. However, it paints the FTX founder as a benevolent prodigy and glosses over the fact that he embezzled billions of dollars from customers and spent it on things like celebrity endorsements, political donations and high-end real-estate purchases.  

FTX was worth billions at its peak, but the exchange eventually collapsed and Bankman-Fried was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Most FTX customers will get their original investments back, plus interest, but that's based on a bitcoin price of around $17,000 — and the current price is nearly five times that.

Basing the film on Lewis's fawning hagiography isn't a promising start. Hopefully, Dunham or other writers will also draw on far better books (like Numbers Go Up by Zeke Faux) that show the dark, scammy side of crypto promoters like Bankman-Fried and the entire industry in general.

Apple Original Films and A24 have announced other collaborations recently, including the Spike Lee and Denzel Washington film High and Low. Other scripted FTX projects are also in the works, including a limited Amazon Prime series from the Russo brothers based on the 2022 FTX collapse. 

Professor David Frost, the Principal of the Institute, explores the theme of Christianity and violence.

Metropolitan Kallistos Ware addressed the topic of "The Church in the Traditional Orthodox Countries" as the first session (out of two) on the larger theme of "Orthodoxy in the 21st Century." The lecture was delivered in Cambridge in the Institute's seminar room during the Community Lecture Day of 22 February 2014.

In his special Christmas episode, Dr. Rossi explores the "night" in both the Nativity story as well as Christ's Passion.

In an often harsh world, a gentle spirit is a reflection of the life of Christ within us.

Dr. Rossi speaks to the current outbreak of public political violence, and our own temptations to violence in various forms and ways.

Dr. Albert Rossi shares his answers to the questions: How can I be disciplined and relaxed? What have I learned from past Lents? And, what is my current attitude towards this current Lent?

Dr. Albert Rossi reflects on the need to communicate with one another and to pray, from the heart, in deep silence.

Dr. Albert Rossi shares with us the impact that seeking silence has had on his life and relationships.

Fr. John Parker is the Chair of the Dept. of Evangelization for the Orthodox Church in America. He wrote this homily to begin Lent based on the Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom.

Fr. Philip reflects on the Eucharistic context of the pastoral response to contemporary challenges in marriage, family, and sexuality.

In her March 14, 2020 blog post, Elissa Bjeletich reflects on this year's Great Lent in light of the COVID-19 virus. Did this virus make for a bad Lent or "a tangible opportunity to curtail our own will in service to others and to learn to rely on God rather than on the material comforts we take for granted"?

Fr. Barnabas Powell - Part 1 of

Fr. Barnabas Powell - Part 2 of 4.

Fr. Barnabas Powell - Part 3 of 4.

Fr. Barnabas Powell - Part 4 of a 4 part series

In his third lecture, Dr. Demetrios Katos addresses the ways in which theology is scientific, why we should never say “mere symbol” in Orthodox thought, what we mean by essence and energies, what we mean by a personal God, and how the Bible and other sources are used in theology.

Our guest is Fr. Martin Ritsi, Executive Director of OCMC, who recently talked by phone with Archbishop Makarios of Kenya. Learn how you can help our Orthodox brothers and sisters by designating a gift to help provide relief. Information is on their web site or you can send a check to: Orthodox Christian Mission Center Re: Kenya Crisis Collection P.O. Box 4319 St. Augustine, FL 32085-4319

Archimandrite Meletios Webber, Abbot of the Monastery of St. John of San Francisco, participates in the Anne and Theodore Phillips Paschal Lecture Series at St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church in Chicago. The title of his talk is "Finding Silence in a Noisy World: The Role of the Monastery in modern day Orthodoxy in America."

Bobby Maddex interviews Andrew Boyd, the Director of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministry with the Orthodox Church in America, about the OCA YouTube Challenge for Orthodox high school and college students.

Bobby Maddex interviews Presvytera Kerry Pappas, the Coordinator for Seminarian and Clergy Couple Care of the Center for Family Care of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, about an upcoming conference on marriage titled "Oneness: Growing and Protecting the Blessed Communion."

Are you dreading Great Lent? Is the Fast a struggle for you every year? Now there's help! Bobby Maddex interviews Cynthia Damaskos and Rita Madden, the individuals behind the new website My Beautiful Lent.

Angela Doll Carlson is the author of the books Garden in the East and Nearly Orthodox, and the host of the podcast The Wilderness Journal.

Bobby Maddex interviews Cynthia Damaskos, CHC, one of the individuals behind the website My Beautiful Lent.

John Maddex interviews Kevin Allen about the new live call-in program coming to Ancient Faith Radio on April 22. Learn about the topics and plans as well as how you can be involved,

"Donald Trump held a rally at Madison Square Garden last night that was so racist it got the New York Times to dust off the actual word 'racist' and use it in a headline." / Welcome to Hell World

A look at the billionaires and businesses getting in line for Trump, who's vowed to punish dissenters. / The Washington Post [+]

Why a longtime LA Times editorial writer resigned after the spiked Harris endorsement: A non-endorsement on Harris's home turf is an un-endorsement. / The Hollywood Reporter

Bird flu tracking among humans couldn't be timed worse, with researchers trying to discern whether someone's "flu-like symptoms" are a cold, Covid, influenza, or actually bird flu. / STAT

The 18th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style, a stalwart of editorial citation, has a hell of a job, landing amid an era of digital misinformation and disinformation. / Los Angeles Review of Books

A video of someone destroying ballots marked for Trump in Bucks County, Pa., is a fake planted by Russia, according to US officials. / NPR

See also: Maricopa County officials are contacting around 20 voters whose mail-in ballots were damaged after someone set a mailbox on fire (but not for political reasons). / The Gazette

In a review of BBQ joints in a small Texas town, a restaurant loses a recommendation over its owner's use of racist language. / Texas Monthly

A USGS model of more than 1,200 groundwater samples shows millions of people in California, Florida, and Massachusetts may be drinking forever chemicals. / Gizmodo

See also: Tesla's engineering headquarters in Palo Alto released some kind of lime-green liquid—purportedly a nonhazardous coolant—into a storm drain. / SFGATE

The US Copyright Office ends a longstanding frustration for fast-food restaurants, granting them the right to repair the soft-serve machines at their locations. / Ars Technica

Related: From 2021, hacking McDonald's always-broken soft-serve machines so restaurants could repair them. / WIRED

When Google Street View data is incorrect, either by accident or intention, hardware store interiors can appear in the middle of the Atlantic. / Futurism

Thirteen years later, a scandal-laden development of Disney-style palaces in Turkey remains unfinished and deteriorating. / The Guardian

Before buying a domain name, check to see if it's haunted—in other words, whether something terrible happened there in the past. / Bryan Braun

View Post →

Fr. Pat explains how the Parable of the Talents is really about the Last Judgment.

Fr. Pat discusses the history of Great Lent and the practice of fasting.

Fr. Pat discusses the three things expected of us during Lent: works of mercy, works of prayer, and works of fasting.

Fr. Pat addresses three aspects of Great Lent.

Fr. Pat considers three aspects of the works that are traditionally associated with the Great Fast: prayer, fasting, and deeds of mercy.

What exactly is the Sunday of Orthodoxy? Is it recognition of an achievement, or is it more than that? Fr. Pat explores the meaning of icons and the Triumph of Orthodoxy. This homily was preached in 2008.

Matthew 25:31-46, the Gospel passage for the Sunday of the Last Judgment, is about the judgment of history, meaning the judgment to which history itself will be subjected. Fr. Pat delivered this homily on February 23, 2020.

The Christian faith is based on an event that took place in a specific place at a specific time in history; God instructs us through history, and we are to be learners. Fr. Pat gave this homily on Christmas Eve several years ago.

Fr. Pat preaches from Matthew 15:21-28, the encounter of Jesus with the Canaanite woman.

Host Kevin Allen talks with Faith McDonnell and Ralph H. Sidway about the rising tide of Christian intolerance and genocide—the intentional killing of people for their Christian faith—and why global Christophobia is rarely covered by Western media or addressed by the United Nations. Faith McDonnell is the Director of Religious Liberty Programs at the Institute for Religion and Democracy and the author of the book Girl Soldier: A Story of Hope for Northern Uganda's Children. Her blog is titled "Juicy Ecumenism." Ralph H. Sidway is the author of Facing Islam and the blog of the same name.

Pray, Forgive, Fast, Give Alms, Don't Judge!

The Lord said we should fast and pray.

The Apostles James and John came with an outrageous question! It's as if they'd learned nothing at all from their time with the Lord. So He sets abouut teaching them again...cas

God gives each of us an immense amount to work with. Our task is to double the amount by trading and taking risks with it, by making use of Grace for the Kingdom of God. The stakes are high.