It seems the future of the Church, the future of the next Great and Holy Council (or the continuation of the one that has already begun) depends mostly on us, the people: the moms and dads, the brothers and sisters, the laity in general and the married priests and simple monastics. We’re the one’s whose holiness or lack thereof determines the holiness of tomorrow’s generation of leaders in the Church.

Jesus called the Apostles to leave everything to follow Him and become fishers of men. And He calls all of us to take up our cross and follow Him right in the midst of our daily lives, making those places of weakness and failure become occasions of beauty and blessing.

It is easy to assume that we have strong faith when it seems like everything is going our way. All too often, that means that we have come to trust in ourselves for following a religion that we imagine will give us what we want. When difficult struggles come, however, the truth about our weak souls is revealed. Then we come to see that real faith in God is not about serving or congratulating ourselves, but something entirely different.

14. Book 1: Alyosha's Apple: A Tale of Old Russia by Alvin Alexsi Currier (Conciliar Press, 1997) Book 2: Basil's Search for Miracles part 12 (chapters 23-24) by Heather Zydek (Conciliar Press, 2007

Fr. Ted explains that the Church provides a foretaste of the Resurrection before we celebrate it because, as Orthodox Christians, we know how this particular story ends.

Fr Ted explains that God is interested in our pursuit of holiness rather than our pursuit of happiness.

Fr. Ted warns us that If we cannot distinguish between happiness and true spiritual joy, then there's a problem in our lives.

Fr. Harry Pappas, priest at Archangel Orthodox Church in Stanford, Connecticut, and an adjunct professor at St. Vladimir's, leads the seminary's second annual Public Lenten Retreat. Titled "Back to Basics: Old Testament and Life," his presentation is divided into three parts, the third of which, "How New Life Appears," can be heard here.

When Jesus came as The Gift to the world as a stranger, He encountered politics, and it was politics that ultimately killed the Gift. In Houston Texas, politics once again kills the Gift of Christmas.

Dn. Mark discusses what happens physically when a loved one approaches a natural death.

Reflections written by Brother Luke.

Today Martha discusses some of her favorite fall things and one of her very favorite saints. The recipe she mentions for Cinnamon Apple Cake can be found HERE. The other web site she mentioned was epicurious.com.

the appeals court ruled that, despite being a nonprofit and no evidence of market harm, its implementation of Controlled Digital Lending isn't fair use #

a technically-playable (but just barely) hack using iOS Shortcuts to download remote screenshots compiled into videos #

The decrees and canons of the Provincial and Ecumenical Councils today often sound odd in our modern ears.

On September 8, the Church sings that the Nativity of the Theotokos has “proclaimed joy to the whole universe”. It is easy enough to sing, but somewhat harder now for us to understand. Why, we may ask, did the birth of a baby girl in around 18 B.C. or so proclaim joy to the whole inhabited world?

Sermon on the Sunday Before the Elevation of the Cross (Galatians 6:11-18; John 3:13-17)

One of the most enduring questions in the minds of people is, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" Christians are certainly not immune from either bad things happening or questioning why. Fr Thomas, using the story of Jesus walking on the water, reminds us that He is the Master Teacher, and can use all struggles to bring us closer to Him. (Mt 14:22-33)

Being a believer in Christ is more than just assenting to doctrines about God. In a stirring homily, Fr Thomas reminds us that it's not "what the gospel means to me" that's important, it's how we apply the true meaning of the gospel in our life that helps us to grow in the likeness of God. (Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost)

Fr. Gregory Hallam reflects on the new liturgical year and three mighty manifestations of the Divine Glory.

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. 

Today Dr. Rossi reflects on a sermon given by a student priest at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary. The topic was the action taken to get the paralytic in front of Jesus.

Dr. Albert Rossi reflects on the inevitability of surprises occurring in our lives and how our mindset directs the way in which we receive them.

Fr. Philip LeMasters discusses the sexualized culture of Hollywood.

How does one attain spiritual wisdom? This week offers reflections grounded in the sayings of St Isaac of Syria, on wisdom approached through humility, prayer in the scriptures, and love of neighbor.

We talk with Alexander Lingas about this new beautiful 2-CD production from Cappella Romana. Also available from Liturgica.

Have you downloaded the new AFR app yet? If so, this little tutorial will help you navigate. If not, get it now in either the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store for Android.

North Korea launches an intercontinental ballistic missile, perhaps looking for attention prior to the US presidential election. / USA Today

The Economist magazine endorses Kamala Harris, saying "being independent and being opinionated" aren't in conflict with each other. / Semafor

Election officials in battleground states are trying—and mostly failing—to fact-check Elon Musk in real time. / CNN

An argument that social scientists don't seem to know how to incorporate the nonlinearity of chaos. / Aeon

Unrelated: Dodgers fans set a Metro bus on fire after their team wins the World Series. / KTLA

Facebook is auto-generating militia group pages. / WIRED

Users report still being able to use Microsoft's controversial AI-powered gender classifier. / 404 Media

Schools are banning Crocs because the shoes are said to be a distraction, and dangerous. / Fortune

Related: How the font Comic Sans became the Crocs of typefaces. / FastCompany

An eating tour of eastern France's choucroute garnie, pretzels, and pork knuckles. / The Financial Times [+]

Diwali and Halloween overlap this year, producing "Diwalloween." / The Washington Post [+]

An annual favorite, a round-up of "mundane" Halloween costumes from Japan. / Spoon & Tamago

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Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick journeys into the hollers of central Appalachia and encounters one of the least-known forms of American Protestant religion, exploring their faith, their music and one of their churches, through the eyes of an Orthodox priest raised in that tradition.

When we are baptized, we are made a child of God, a member of the body of Christ, and a temple of the Holy Spirit.

Fr. Pat shows us how the Roman centurion who comes to Jesus for healing for his servant can be a model to us of how to approach Jesus. The text is Matthew 8:5-13.

Many of us seek wealth, or stuff, or other temporary pleasures. Yet God wants us to seek something more. Christ chose the Cross. What do you choose?

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 If your parish suddenly disappeared, would anyone notice? Are we living out the Gospel in our neighborhoods and communities? Because we believe the same things that the first Christians taught. But do we act like them? Last week, we talked about the importance of prayer. But we can't forget almsgiving in our spiritual practice. We've prepared a FREE downloadable workbook to help you work through how you can better love your neighbor. https://mailchi.mp/goarch/be_be_bee_148 Questions you might be struggling with, that we'll touch on in the video: How do we act like Christians? How do I love my neighbor? How to act like a Christian? What is unchristian like behavior? What are Bible rules to live by? What is social justice in Christianity? What does the Bible say about social justice? What is social justice really mean? Social justice and the Gospel? Why do young adults leave the Church? Why do people quit going to Church?

If we are faithful, does God reward us? Does He promise wealth and blessings? Or is true happiness so much more... Hank Hanegraaff, the Bible Answer Man, joins Steve at the start of Holy Week.

Dr Jeannie Constantinou, Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow, Theology, and Religious Studies, University of San Diego and AFR podcaster (Search The Scriptures), speaks with Kevin about all things biblical, and how the Orthodox Tradition relates to and interprets the Holy Scriptures.

Rather than zapping us, God choses to fix us.

Conversion copywriters follow a simple 3-step process to get the ‘yes’ in email campaigns: First, they dive deep into understanding their audience, figuring out exactly what makes them tick. Then, they craft emails that are not just engaging but hit right at the heart of the reader's needs and desires. Every word is fine-tuned for clarity and impact. Finally, they test and tweak, ensuring the message not only resonates but also drives real action.

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