ny Fasters Anonymous ala Gilligan's Isle By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2022-03-09T22:14:25+00:00 Fr Joseph, struggling toward humility in the first week of the Fast, tells of his first visit to Fasters Anonymous... and their curious theme song. Full Article
ny A Funny Thing, Sex By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2022-03-09T22:18:14+00:00 Fr. Joseph's way of saying, "Pardon me while I slip into something a little more... serious." Full Article
ny Bill Black on the Effects of Dependency on Evangelizing Western Kenya By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2019-01-31T21:56:35+00:00 This conversation with Bill Black, OCMC Missionary to Kenya, was recorded during the International Orthodox Theological Association conference in Iasi, Romania (9-12 January 2019). Bill gave a talk on this subject at the conference and was gracious enough to take time away from the sessions to talk about it for the podcast. Enjoy the show! Full Article
ny His Eminence, Metropolitan Antony on St. Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Seminary in South Bound Brook, NJ By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2019-06-28T19:57:26+00:00 In this episode, Fr. Anthony interviews Met. Antony, the rector of St. Sophia's, about his path to the episcopacy, the primary challenges the Orthodox face in America, and how St. Sophia's trains priests to address those challenges. The culture at St. Sophia's is designed to help reinvigorate the sense of parish as a healthy family, with the priest as that family's spiritual father. He laments the distance that has grown between parishioners and between parishioners and their priests, but says that he has already begun to see the first fruits of St. Sophia's pastoral focus in the form of vibrant church communities led and loved by well-formed priests. Enjoy the show! Full Article
ny Liturgy, Logos, and the Harmony of the Spheres By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2021-12-16T12:41:27+00:00 After sharing three commentaries on the Prologue of St. John, Fr. Anthony talks about the pattern of sound and how it works to perfect us and our community in Christ. This was first shared via Fr. Anthony's "My Fool Head" YouTube livestream on 04 December 2021. The Jonathan Pageau interview he couldn't remember was with Samuel Andreyev; "Patterns and Meaning in Music". Enjoy the show! Full Article
ny Teaching Theophany By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-18T01:42:19+00:00 Elissa offers various ideas for communicating the glorious feast of Theophany to children. Full Article
ny Handing over the Reins with Jenny Stasinopoulos By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2019-06-04T17:33:37+00:00 Elissa interviews Jenny Stasinopoulos, the Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries at the GOA Metropolis of Denver about a big change she made this year at Camp Emmanuel. Perhaps we should all consider innovative ways to empower our kids to take responsibility for their own faith lives! Full Article
ny Of Course There Are Many Inconsistencies By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2016-12-02T04:34:24+00:00 In one of his talks, St. Theophan speaks of the glories of life in a monastery and then he makes a the following statement: “Of course, many inconsistencies occur here, too…” Ah, there’s the rub. There’s the bit that throws us off, “many inconsistencies occur here, too.” And the saint says, “of course,” as though we should have never expected things to be consistent. But we do. We do expect things to be consistent and we are offended when they are not. Full Article
ny Holding Thorny Hands By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2016-12-03T04:56:53+00:00 A couple of weeks ago, a disturbed young man got onto the metro train in Vancouver and began acting erratically and shouting and cursing. As people in the car began moving away from him, one woman did the opposite. A seventy-year old woman moved toward the man and reached out her hand and gently held his hand. She just gently put her hand in his. The man immediately calmed down, and then, sitting on the floor, began to cry. Then after a little while, he got off the train saying only, “Thanks, Grandma.” Full Article
ny Episode 14: Tony Robbins is Not My Guru By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2016-09-07T13:44:56+00:00 Steve and Christian watched the new Tony Robbins documentary on Netflix, I Am Not Your Guru. Tune in as they discuss what Christians can learn from the self-help movement, how people search for meaning, transforming pain and death into new life, and whether summer camp is like a Tony Robbins conference. As always, the guys close with their Top 5, co-starring Yoda. Full Article
ny Episode 109: New Kanye, New Kanye Album By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2019-11-07T14:48:04+00:00 This week the guys discuss Kanye West’s latest release, Jesus is King. They discuss materialism, the importance of honesty in repentance, and the cost of following Christ. They close with their Top 5 Christian Albums. Full Article
ny Epiphany By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-01-10T03:36:56+00:00 We are called to become living epiphanies of God's salvation by offering every dimension of our lives to Christ. Full Article
ny Leave-Taking of Theophany By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2018-01-16T01:51:41+00:00 Fr. Philip LeMasters reflects on the descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus during his baptism and upon His followers as beautiful epiphanies in the world. Full Article
ny Christ's Baptism as an Epiphany of the Salvation of the World By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-07T01:48:05+00:00 At Theophany, we celebrate that no dimension of our life or world is intrinsically profane or cut off from sharing in the holiness of God. All things, physical and spiritual, visible and invisible, are called to participate in the divine glory that our Lord has brought to the world, to become even now signs of the coming fullness of God’s Kingdom. Full Article
ny Homily for the Sunday Before the Theophany (Epiphany) of Christ in the Orthodox Church By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2024-01-22T06:00:01+00:00 Today is the Sunday before the Feast of Theophany (or Epiphany), when we celebrate Christ’s baptism in the river Jordan and the revelation that He is truly the Son of God. His divinity is made manifest and openly displayed at His baptism when the voice of the Father declares, “You are my beloved Son” and the Holy Spirit descends upon Him in the form of a dove. Theophany shows us that Jesus Christ, who was born in the flesh for our salvation at Christmas, is not merely a great religious teacher or moral example. He is truly God—a member of the Holy Trinity– and His salvation permeates His entire creation, including the water of the river Jordan. Through Christ’s and our baptism, we become participants in the holy mystery of our salvation, for He restores to us the robe of light which our first parents lost when they chose pride and self-centeredness over obedience and communion. He enters the Jordan to restore Adam and Eve, and all their children, to the dignity of those who bear the image and likeness of God. Full Article
ny Symphony and Caesaropapism By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-13T01:42:33+00:00 Fr. John discusses the case of Caesaropapism and the symphony when it was actually achieved. Full Article
ny Secular Glory and Spiritual Agony in the Music of the Great Romantics By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2021-10-18T23:05:56+00:00 What was the genius of classical music during its nineteenth-century golden age? According to Fr. John Strickland, it was an effort to rescue Christendom's transformational imperative in an age when secularization threatened to sever earth from heaven. No longer influenced by traditional Christianity, great composers like Beethoven exaggerated earthly passions (especially sexual love) to communicate the West's primordial desire for transcendence. But the emotionalism that resulted threatened to take the floor out from underneath them. This episode concludes by analyzing famous works by Schubert and Berlioz which show how transcendence gave way to descent, and how utopian hopes plunged into irreversible spiritual agony. Full Article
ny When the Romantic Agony Became Personal: The Music of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2021-10-28T22:20:26+00:00 Most Americans know Tchaikovsky as the composer of the delightful dances contained within the Nutcracker Ballet. As Fr. John Strickland shows, however, there is much more to be heard in their melodies, and little that was delightful about the emotionally agonized life behind them. Using selections from a variety of works, he explores how the romantic agony came for Tchaikovsky in his boyhood and thereafter never departed. Special attention is given to an analysis of the famous Sixth Symphony, nicknamed Pathetique. First performed just days before the composer's abrupt death, the work brings the generation of the romantics to a heart-rending and emblematic conclusion. Full Article
ny On Dragons, Water, Light, and the Holy Spirit (Theophany and Its Forefeast) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2016-01-01T12:46:07+00:00 When Thou O Lord was baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest. Dr. Humphrey explores the significance of Theophany on this first day of the New Year. Full Article
ny On Lepers, Foreigners, and Israel (Twelfth Sunday of Luke and St. Anthony) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2016-01-15T13:58:47+00:00 Let’s consider the story of the Samaritan leper in terms of God’s love for his one fold, shepherded by Christ our Lord, and foreshadowed in stories and prophecies about Gentiles in the Old Testament. Jesus recognized the thanksgiving of an outcast and heretic in his day; what, then, ought we to think about the descendants of God’s ancient people, Israel? Full Article
ny “Ringing Out” and “Ringing In”: Leave-Taking of Nativity and Theophany By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2018-01-01T16:25:26+00:00 We look to this week’s readings, 2 Timothy 4:5-8, and Mark 1:1-8 (with the help of the prophecies of Malachi 3:1-5, 4:2-6), as an encouragement to put off the Old Man, and to put on Christ. The conjunction of Nativity with the beginning of our remembrance of Theophany leads us to dwell upon the themes of old and new— of the new covenant by which we have been embraced, of how it fulfils promises of the old covenant, and of how Christ himself is the Alpha as well as the Omega. Full Article
ny Marked by the Light: The Leave-taking of Theophany By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2018-01-12T01:40:55+00:00 This weekend, as we take our leave of this dramatic time of year, we consider readings from several Orthodox jurisdictions, amplified by passages in the Psalter and the Torah. Ephesians 4:7-13, Psalm 67/68:18, Matthew 4:12-17 and John 21:1-14 show us both the global and the intimate, or personal nature, of the Light that has made its mark upon the entire cosmos, and on each one of us. Full Article
ny Lighting Up the Apocalypse 26: Many Waters, Right Worship, and Solemn Words By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2022-03-10T20:27:38+00:00 We read of the joy, warnings, and blessings of God in Rev 14:1-13, helped in our interpretation by St. Andrew of Caesarea, St. Bede, and St. Augustine, as well as three passages from the OT— 2 Kings 6, 2 Sam 11:6-13, Genesis 2:1-3. Because of its imagery, the worship in heaven may seem exclusive; however, all who follow the Lamb are invited to join in the “new song.” Full Article
ny Lighting Up the Apocalypse 34: Open Heaven, the White Rider with Many Names, and the Lake of Fire By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2022-08-18T18:37:06+00:00 In Revelation 19:11-21, the heavens are opened, revealing the mounted Word of God, and His final conquest over evil. We are helped with this exhilarating and disturbing passage by seeing echoes in Psalm 72/71:2, Psalm 44/5:3-5, Isaiah 63:1-3, and listening to the wisdom of ancient commentators. Full Article
ny Saint Anthony and Saint Nicholas By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-11-29T20:52:58+00:00 "Saint Anthony" and "Saint Nicholas" from Saints: Lives and Illuminations, written and illustrated by Ruth Sanderson, read with permission by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2007. Full Article
ny Theophany By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2015-02-08T03:43:29+00:00 "Theophany," from Feasts of Christ and the Theotokos and Miracles of the Lord by Spiritual Fragrance Publishing (2012) Full Article
ny Saint Dionysios of Zakynthos By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-02-10T02:13:46+00:00 "Saint Dionysios of Zakynthos," from The Lives of Our Saints, Illustrated Biographies Book 7 (Spiritual Fragrance Publishing, 2012) Full Article
ny Great Lent Unplugged:The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha - Preface By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-10T22:48:12+00:00 Great Lent Unplugged: The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha, Preface, by Jean Hoefling (Regina Orthodox Press, 2007) Available on Amazon. Full Article
ny Great Lent Unplugged:The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha - Chapter 1 By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-10T22:49:09+00:00 Great Lent Unplugged: The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha, Chapter 1, by Jean Hoefling (Regina Orthodox Press, 2007) Available on Amazon. Full Article
ny Great Lent Unplugged:The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha - Chapter 2 By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-10T22:50:07+00:00 Great Lent Unplugged: The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha, Chapter 2, by Jean Hoefling (Regina Orthodox Press, 2007) Available on Amazon. Full Article
ny Great Lent Unplugged: The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha - Chapter 3 By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-10T22:51:35+00:00 Great Lent Unplugged: The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha, Chapter 3, by Jean Hoefling (Regina Orthodox Press, 2007) Available on Amazon. Full Article
ny Great Lent Unplugged: The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha - Chapter 4 By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-10T22:53:29+00:00 Great Lent Unplugged: The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha, Chapter 4, by Jean Hoefling (Regina Orthodox Press, 2007) Available on Amazon. Full Article
ny Great Lent Unplugged: The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha - Chapter 5 By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-10T22:54:56+00:00 Great Lent Unplugged: The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha, Chapter 5, by Jean Hoefling (Regina Orthodox Press, 2007) Available on Amazon. Full Article
ny Great Lent Unplugged:The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha - Chapter 6 By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-10T23:02:13+00:00 Great Lent Unplugged: The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha, Chapter 6, by Jean Hoefling (Regina Orthodox Press, 2007) Available on Amazon. Full Article
ny Great Lent Unplugged: The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha - Chapter 7 By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-10T23:03:29+00:00 Great Lent Unplugged: The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha, Chapter 7, by Jean Hoefling (Regina Orthodox Press, 2007) Available on Amazon. Full Article
ny Great Lent Unplugged: The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha - Chapter 8 By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-10T23:04:55+00:00 Great Lent Unplugged: The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha, Chapter 8, by Jean Hoefling (Regina Orthodox Press, 2007) Available on Amazon. Full Article
ny Great Lent Unplugged: The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha - Chapter 9 By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-10T23:06:53+00:00 Great Lent Unplugged: The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha, Chapter 9, by Jean Hoefling (Regina Orthodox Press, 2007) Available on Amazon. Full Article
ny Great Lent Unplugged: The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha - Chapter 10 & Conclusion By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-10T23:08:08+00:00 Great Lent Unplugged: The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha, Chapter 10 and Conclusion, by Jean Hoefling (Regina Orthodox Press, 2007) Available on Amazon. Full Article
ny Welcoming the Christ Child: Jacob's Ladder and Joseph & The Coat of Many Colors By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-17T19:29:45+00:00 Welcoming the Christ Child: Family Readings for the Nativity Lent, "Jacob’s Ladder and Joseph & The Coat of Many Colors," by Elissa Bjeletich, illustrated by Jelena Jeftic (Sebastian Press, 2017). Full Article
ny Anthony, the Great By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-17T22:07:16+00:00 Anthony, the Great by John Sarantakis, illustrated by Misha Pjawka (Ancient Faith Publishing, 2019). Full Article
ny The Theophany / The Baptism of Our Lord By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2022-01-01T01:42:45+00:00 39. Book 1: The Theophany of Our Lord from The Twelve Great Feasts for Children by Mother Melania (Conciliar Press, 2002) Book 2: The Baptism of Our Lord, by Euphemia Briere (St. Nectarios Press,1994) Full Article
ny The Other Disciples / Extract from Father Arseny By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2022-01-04T20:44:35+00:00 82. Book 1: "The Other Disciples" from The Bible for Young People by Zoe Kanavas (Narthex Press, 2005) (8.35 mins) Book 2: Extract from Father Arseny 1893-1973: Priest, Prisoner, Spiritual Father, part one, translated by Vera Bouteneff (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1998) (22.10 mins) Full Article
ny Denying Ourselves By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2015-09-30T16:39:52+00:00 Fr. Ted explains that being a real Christian should not be fun. Full Article
ny Many are Baptized, but Few are Orthodox By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2015-10-04T04:16:15+00:00 Fr. Ted explains that the only way to change society is to change our own minds and hearts. Full Article
ny Origins of the Epiphany Feast By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-25T02:08:33+00:00 Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos explains the meaning of the two Great Blessing of the Waters during the Feast of Epiphany or Theophany. Full Article
ny 149: How Many Are We By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2011-01-05T16:34:46+00:00 Illumined Heart host Kevin Allen speaks with the research director of the 2010 US Orthodox Christian Census, Alexei D. Krindatch, about the first definitive census of every Orthodox body in the U.S (including Eastern and Oriental), nationally and by state. Be prepared for some suprises! Full Article
ny The Feast of the Theophany: Salvation of the Cosmos - Part 1 By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-19T22:30:15+00:00 Full Article
ny The Feast of the Theophany: Salvation of the Cosmos - Part 2 By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-05-19T22:34:07+00:00 Full Article
ny Many Cultures - One Faith By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2014-09-14T02:27:14+00:00 Archpriest Michael Oleksa speaks on Orthodox cultures at Orthodox Education Day at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. Full Article
ny St. Vladimir's 2018 Commencement Ceremony By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-07T03:52:33+00:00 The 2018 Commencement at St. Vladimir's Seminary, held May 19, was truly a blessed occasion. In addition to graduating 20 students from the Class of 2018, the seminary also awarded honorary doctorates to three distinguished figures for their contributions to the Orthodox Church: composer Mitered Archpriest Sergei Glagolev, Dr. David Bradshaw, chair of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Kentucky, and Protodeacon Peter Danilchick, seminary trustee emeritus and former ExxonMobile executive. Hear the Commencement Exercises in their entirety, which included remarks from His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon and the Commencement Address from Dr. Bradshaw. Full Article