With the Parable of the Sower, Fr. Andrew connects the need for a seed to fall into the ground and die in order to be fruitful with how we thwart that process with a distorted view of the Church, as expressed by Metropolitan Anthony Bloom.

Addressing alumni and seminarians at St. Tikhon's Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, during the year-opening retreat, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick challenges them to have conversations with the non-Orthodox and not to settle for falling into either polemic or compromise, showing how engagement is instead the traditional Orthodox patristic posture.

So what does it mean "There is no salvation outside of the Church?" Matthew explores that in this week's episode.

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

In this episode, Fr. Anthony and Fr. Hans Jacobse (American Orthodox Institute) lament a culture that denigrates manliness and talk about how priests (and other manly men) can help boys of all ages tame their passions and become the Christian warriors they were called to be. Note: this conversation includes a frank (but not explicit) discussion about pornography.

In this episode, Fr. Anthony talks with priest, professor, and canonist, Fr. Harry Linsinbigler, about his new books (“In Every Church” and “Orthodox Ecclesiology”) and why it’s important to get ecclesiology right. This is the audio of a YouTube livestream interview. The followup interviews on ecclesiology and the coronavirus and ecclesiology and Ukrainian autocephaly are available on YouTube and at OrthoAnalytika.

The Sunday of Orthodoxy offers us an opportunity to discuss with our kids the Orthodox understanding of the materiality of this world and its potential for holiness.

Elissa is teaching middle schoolers this year at Sunday school, and she will be using the film The Butterfly Circus as the grounding image.

Fr. Philip LeMasters explains the significance of the sending of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church.

Fr. John discusses the design, history, and importance of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Fr. Ted connects the forty day blessing of newborn children to the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos explains the meaning of the Gospel reading on the demonized man of Gadarene, calling us to live our lives in the Church rather than in the World.

In this section, Metropolitan Kallistos addresses the question of music adaptation to the culture and modern ears.

The Metropolitan is asked about women's ordination and same sex attraction in this section of the interview.

Fr. Ted Stlylianapolous (PhD), professor emeritus at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Theological Seminary, St Paul scholar and author, speaks with host Kevin Allen about justification, sanctification, the sacraments and new perrspectives on St Paul. Kevin says this is one of his best interviews because it tackles the major issues which divide the patristic and Protestant understandings of the foremost expositor of the Christian faith.

We continue the discussion of the nature of the Church and the self understanding of the Orthodox Church as being the "one true Church". How does this concept fit within the modern concepts of the "mystical" or "invisible Church"? We also discuss the early Christological heresies and how they relate to the modern concepts of the Church.

Dr. Stephen Muse speaks at the St. Vladimir’s Seminary 2011 Orthodox Education Day.

On Friday, September 11, 2015, the Board of Trustees and Faculty of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary bestowed a Doctor of Divinity degree, honoris causa, upon His Holiness Irinej (Gavrilovic), Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovci, and Patriarch of Serbia.

Fr. Apostolos shares about St. Mary of Egypt and other "rascal" saints.

Fr. Apostolos Hill delivers a homily detailing the bridal imagery running through the Divine Liturgy and the Bridegroom Matins services of the week.

Fr. Apostolos speaks about the evangelical imperative of the Apostolicity of the Church.

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Jesus issued a stern warning in the book of Revelation for the church which was lukewarm and apathetic: "I will spit you out of my mouth." Fr Thomas reminds us that every Divine Service we attend at church, we have an opportunity "practice" the unity and care that we're called to manifest every day of the week. (7th Sunday after Pentecost)

The parable of the Good Samaritan is universally known as an encouragement to good works, to serve those who are in need. Fr Thomas reminds us that behind the parable is a deeper meaning which helps us experience the Church as a spiritual hospital.

Bishops and priests are most accountable before God for the state of the church. But Fr Thomas reminds us that all of us share responsibility for our church communities and gives practical advice on how to remain faithful and focused.

Christ crossed over a border to hear the pleas of the Canaanite woman and heal her daughter. But more than a story about a healing, Fr Thomas delivers an important lesson about the makeup of the Church that every parish and every parishioner needs to hear: The Church isn't just for your kind of people.

The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers comes at an important point in the life of Christ, only days before his crucifixion. Jesus reveals the Scribes and Pharisees to be those who rejected the message of the prophets, and now they're going to kill God's Son. Fr Thomas reminds us that, in our own day, those who reject the message and the messengers by choosing the world's lies about God and humanity over the truth we receive in the Church commit the same grave error. (Matthew 21:33-44)

Fr Thomas challenges us to recognize that our task as Christians is not simply to come to church to be fed for our own purposes, but to be sent out to build up the body of Christ.

The societal and moral changes sweeping across the world pose profound challenges to Orthodox Christian believers. Fr Thomas reminds us that we must face these challenges squarely and never compromise what we believe by adopting worldly values.

At the celebration of the feast of All Saints of North America, Fr Thomas shows us the relationship between the holiness demonstrated in the lives of the Saints and our mission as Christians in the world.

Is the Kingdom of God some far away concept of heaven? Dn. Luke shares with us the tools the Church has provided to live as citizens in the Kingdom of God here and now as well as how to joyfully prepare for the fullness of the Kingdom at Christ's second coming.

The appointment of Deacons in the church is the subject of today's sermon by Deacon Emmanuel Kahn.

Fr. Emmanuel and Fr. Gregory team together to celebrate the life of St. James but also to reflect on the growth of St. Aidan's.

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.

On a new episode of Ancient Faith Commentaries, Fr. Lawrence Farley, priest at Saint Herman of Alaska Orthodox Church in Langley, B.C., describes and recounts the history of the Church of the Nativity in the now embattled and besieged town of Bethlehem.

There is variety in Orthodox theology, but there is no plurality in dogma—and that is where the unity of the Orthodox faith lies. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick explains.

Focusing on a text by St. Hilary of Poitiers, Fr. Irenei explores the Saint’s conviction that the multitude of heresies and errors surrounding us in the world are not to be feared or to become a cause for despair, for through their very error the Truth of Christ is revealed all the more in the Church.

Father Irenei examines two passages from St. Irenaeus of Lyons, which speak of receiving the truth of "the Church that has been handed down to us" from the Holy Apostles, and in which right belief is found without adulteration or error.

In his fourth and final lecture, Dr. Demetrios Katos discusses questions such as: In what way might the Eucharist or baptism be a mystery and what does it reveal about God? What are some ways in which we become aware of the Church being more than simply our local community? Finally, what does it mean to be a truly sacramental Church?

Seraphim Danckaert of St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, speaks at the Second Annual Lenten Lecture and Fundraising Reception hosted by the Center for Orthodox Thought and Culture at Eastern University on March 12, 2017.

Bobby Maddex interviews Dr. Andrei Psarev, a professor of Russian Church History and Canon Law and the Director of Undergraduate Studies at Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary, about his daily reflections on the history and theology of the Orthodox Church, now available on Substack: https://andreipsarev.substack.com.

Part two of "Transformation: Same-Sex Attraction Through the Lens of Orthodox Christianity." In part two, we take a deep dive into the theology surrounding same-sex attraction. What do the Scripture, canons, and Fathers have to say about it? Is it sinful to have a same-sex attraction? Archbishop Michael, Dr. Jeannie Constantinou, Fr. Harry Linsinbigler, Dr. Roxanne Louh, and Dr. Edith M. Humphrey are among our panelists. Resource: Christian Faith and Same Sex Attraction by Fr. Thomas Hopko

A great pastor makes for a great church, right? Fr. Pat compares Peter, Paul, and Apollos, and their various ministries to the Corinthian Church.

Fr. Pat explains what the story of the Myrrh-Bearers can teach us about the mission of the Church.

In this homily from the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women, Fr. Pat looks at the characteristics of the memory of the Church—that it is reflective and rationally conscious, it is literary and rhetorical, and it is maternal.

On St. Thomas Sunday Fr. Pat considers the theological meaning of memory, the quality of the event of the Church, and the challenge of that event.

Fr. Pat examines the ten days between Christ's ascension and Pentecost, when the disciples were gathered in the Upper Room.

In this homily from Agape Vespers 2021, Fr. Pat explains how the task of the Church is to share with the world the message of the Cross; not as an abstraction, but as something they can reach out and feel.