In this episode Fr. Anthony and Fr. Harry (UOC-USA Canonist) discuss historical and pastoral variations in taking communion and make a request for charitable discernment when evangelizing (much less judging!) autocephalists in Ukraine. Enjoy the show!

Despite our intention and our ability to justify our words, our witness has been damaged by our response to this crisis. We run the very real risk of strengthening the misperception that Orthodoxy is at odds with science. This episode grew out of the result of several long discussions Fr. Anthony had with believers who had been hurt and driven away by claims that are, in the language they know, illogical and dangerous. Fr. Anthony makes the case that we need to learn the language our audience speaks so that we can teach them the Gospel in way they will understand. You can find the article this episode is based on at orthoanalytika.org. Enjoy the show!

Elissa explains how to use images from existing pre-communion prayers to help children prepare themselves for the Holy Mysteries.

Elissa encourages us to teach our children some prayers to say to themselves while they're standing in line for Communion.

The following is my response to one of my catechumens to the question of why the Orthodox Church practices a closed communion: Basically, Communion creates and defines our community, our being one with one another in Christ—i.e. eating of the one bread and of the one cup. Historically, some people/groups separated themselves from the communion of the Church through heresies or immorality or aligning themselves with a heretical bishop. Therefore, they are not in communion, not part of the one Church—at least as far as we can identify the Church as a concrete divine/human institution (not to be confused with “all who will be saved in heaven,” which only God knows). Anyone can return to communion with the one Church through repentance and Chrismation (or whatever specific rite the bishop decides). We do not have open communion because we don’t want to say people are part of the Church who are not part of the Church—or at least whom we can’t identify as part of the Church. This would be dangerous for them (eating and drinking condemnation to themselves) and dangerous for us (through Communion we become one with one another.

The feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos calls us to live faithfully as those who have put on Christ like a garment in baptism, been filled with the Holy Spirit in chrismation, and become guests at the heavenly banquet in the Eucharist.

In order to follow our Risen Lord into the joy of the resurrection, we must also open our deepest personal struggles and wounds to Him for healing. Our bodies are not evil, but we have all distorted our relationship to them. Instead of pursuing a disembodied spirituality that ignores how God creates and saves us as whole persons, we must embrace the joy of His victory over death by living as those who are in a “one flesh” communion with the Risen Lord in every dimension of our existence.

Today we celebrate the restoration of our true unity in God through the unifying power of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter sent by the risen and ascended Savior Who is seated at the right hand of the Father in heavenly glory.

In this episode Father John explores the way in which the loss of sacramental experience among Calvinists led to the rise of a political ideology that would unintentionally lay the foundation for utopia.

The early nineteenth-century romantics pioneered a new way of seeking personal transformation. Following a century in which deism desecrated the world, separating heaven and earth, they wanted to re-enchant the West. But by ignoring traditional Christianity and looking instead to the "God substitutes" of philosophical idealism, they only succeeded in creating a counterfeit experience of transcendent communion.

Fr. Ted begins a new series on applying the Orthodox faith to the everyday situations in which we find ourselves.

Fr. Ted discusses what it means to partake of the body of Christ.

We live in a world of broken reality, of mere facts that exist without the truth of love and communion. The holy icon draws us into communion. Pornography cuts us off from communion. Transcript is available HERE.

St Theophan tells us that “the four weapons of which we have spoken receive their power from the forces and gifts of grace, obtained for us by the blood of Christ.” And the mystery of holy communion “is Christ’s blood itself, and His flesh itself, in which Christ is Himself present as God.” Find the transcript HERE.

How do I deal with toxic shame that seems to close off the avenue back to God. Read the transcript HERE.

Frederica Mathewes-Green

The mystical change of the gifts of bread an wine into the Body and Blood of Christ in the Epiclesis is followed by a series of pre-communion prayers and hymns - given to continually focus us on the grace and unity of the Holy Spirit, for it is He who has been invited to come down upon us and abide in us. The closing prayer of the Epiclesis, which declares the unity of all saints made righteous by faith, is followed by the Megalynarion - the Magnification of Mary, for it was she who by virtue of her humility and purity and the power of the Holy Spirit provided the world with Christ's Body and Blood - the Incarnation itself. The litanies then lead us to the Lord's Prayer, the extolling of God's Holiness (not ours), and then a final declaration of of our own humility and allegiance before we partake of the Mystery of Mysteries. The now thoroughly inadequate Steve and Bill move through this part of the Divine Liturgy "as usual" - with their familiar, winsome klutziness.

The prayers are said, the clergy have commmuned and we finally come to the people's communion. The Eastern Rite Orthodox communion has no counterpart in Western Christian practice, so we discuss the mechanics of taking communion, the unusual "liturgical spoon", the different ways communion has been served over the centuries, and the minor variations of praxis among Orthodox Churches. The communion ends with several prayers that declare what the Church has been teaching, confessing and praying all through the liturgy: we have found the true faith, worshipping the undivided Trinity. Is this triumphalistic arrogance or something more?

In this final program of the series on the Divine Liturgy we discuss the dismissal prayers after communion. These are more than just a formality as they express the summation of all that we have experienced for the past hour or more: God is the lover of mankind. But the Christian's experience of the Eucharist does not end with the final doxology or the Liturgy. In many parishes there are "post communion prayers" that are read as the people come for the closing blessing and antidoron from the priest. These express in prayer the Orthodox experience of the Eucharist and its meaning to us as we commune and "go forth in peace."

In Part 7 of the series we discuss the "practical application" of the dogma of the Trinity. While all "orthodox" Christian churches affirm the dogma of the Trinity virtually none of them can really tell a believer why it is important to our salvation. If we are created in the image of God, then the Trinity is at the core of our being and defines not only God, but the human being and the nature of our salvation in Christ.

Domingo 24 de Agosto Pd. Nicolás predicó sobre el derecho que cada uno tiene a estar casado. Él refleja sobre las palabras de San Pablo (1 Cor. 9:5) y Pd. Nicolás da tres consejos para todos las parejas quien estan en esta union tan sagrado. 1 Cor. 9:2-12 Sunday August 24 Fr. Nicholas preached about the right everyone has to be married. He reflects on the words of St. Paul (1 Cor. 9:5) and gives three words of advice for all couples in this holy union. 1 Cor. 9:2-12

Reflections written by Fr. Nicolaie for the Sixth Sunday of Luke: the story of the farmer who wanted to build more barns.

The dynamis of Theophany is towards new life and communion. We see this in the community, as God is bringing healing to Jacob, while also opposing the flattening (or "alienation of the spirit") that so often happens in modern culture.

Through Matthew's arrival at the community this week, we learn that communion makes us look for the one that is lost: Through the wounds of the poor, Christ pours out His grace.

I have just read two fascinating pieces about Pope Francis’ recent and controversial document Fiducia Supplicans, which officially allows Roman Catholic priests to bless persons in same-sex relationships, one by an Orthodox and the other by a Roman Catholic.

I remember once when a friend was sharing with me his distress at the liberalism afflicting his Protestant denomination, and the fact that many of their clergy were denying such things as the virgin birth and the divinity of Christ. While murmuring sympathetically, I mentioned that such denials were not the same problem in the Orthodox Church. He then asked me what sort of things we did argue about. When I replied, “Well, things like whether or not a woman can receive Holy Communion while she is menstruating,” he looked at me funny. He didn’t ask, “What planet are you guys on?” but I could tell he was thinking it. Loudly.

The scriptures are replete with examples describing the union between God and His people as a marriage. Fr Tom teaches us that the intimate union God desires to have with us begins with our baptism. It's up to us, however, to keep our garment undefiled in order to worthily partake of the eternal Marriage Supper of the Lamb with His Bride. (Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Beheading of St John the Baptist)

The eternal Word ascends to Heaven in His resurrected body, receiving the glory He had with His Father before the world began. Fr Tom reminds us that Christ does all this so that He can share this heavenly life with us. (Sunday after the Ascension)

Often the Orthodox Church is criticized for practicing what is sometimes called "closed communion," which means only Orthodox Christians are permitted to receive the Eucharist. Using the story of the miracle of feeding the five thousand, Fr Thomas reminds us that God shares his fullness with us in Holy Communion. And since we experience unity with one another at the chalice, the implications are enormous!

The Parable of the Great Banquet is read to prepare us to celebrate the Nativity of Christ. Fr Thomas weaves the epistle and gospel for the Sunday to inspire and direct us toward closer communion with God Himself by accepting the invitation that God gives to us week after week.

In the miraculous feeding of the 5,000, Jesus reveals Himself to the provider of all good things. Fr Thomas teaches us that when we receive communion, we receive the Lord Himself, Who provides the nourishment to live the Christian life.

There is a prevalent view that religion is all about "being a good person" or completing a checklist of commandments. Fr. Tom shows us that the problem isn't the commandments themselves, but rather using them as a means to an end. What we really need is communion - with God and with one another.

Fr Thomas unpacks the Parable of the Wedding Feast and reminds us that union with Christ starts with baptism but continues in keeping our baptismal garment clean through righteous living. (2 Corinthians 1:21-2:4; Matthew 22:1-14) Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Fr. Deacon Emmanuel at the Vesperal Liturgy of Holy Thursday.

On the Feast of the Entry of the Theotokos, Fr. Emmanuel Kahn reflects on the hymns and poetry of the feast.

Dr. John Mark Reynolds explains an Orthodox perspective on closed Communion.

Most of us know about the so-called Great Schism, which tragically divided the Christian Church between East and West in 1054. But there was an earlier division in the 5th century, following the Fourth Ecumenical Council in Chalcedon in 451, which clarified how Jesus is both God and Man. Charges of heresy were brought, anathemas were proclaimed, and communion was broken. Which Churches did not accept the decision of the Council and the subsequent three Councils that followed? Today they are known as the Oriental Orthodox Churches, including the Coptic, Armenian, Syrian, Malankara, Eritrean, and Ethiopian Orthodox Churches. What specifically separates us theologically? Are there reasons to hope that we are closer to these believers than we thought? What efforts have been made to better understand each other in recent decades? On this special edition of Ancient Faith Today Live, Fr. Tom Soroka and John Maddex examine the causes of our division and consider what any path to unity might involve. Panelists include: Bishop (Dr.) Daniel (Findikyan) Dr. Peter Bouteneff Christine Chaillot Dr. David Ford Dr. Emmanuel Gergis Dr. Chad Hatfield Dr. Michael Ibrahim Rev. Dr. Joseph Lucas Dr. Sam Noble Rev Dr. Timothy Thomas

Warren Gatland joins Chris, Ashy and Ugo to discuss his Wales squad and we talk Newcastle

Chris and Ashy head to Jersey to chat to double World Cup winning coach Rassie Erasmus.

Chris and Tom look ahead to the start of the Autumn Nation Series.

Chris, Ashy and Matt Dawson react to New Zealand's dramatic win over England.