Like many Orthodox clergy, I have lost track of the number of times my Protestant brethren have objected to the priestly title (in my case, “Father Lawrence”), citing the Bible which commands that they “call no man ‘Father’”. They are, of course, thinking of our Lord’s words in Matthew 23:9. If I am feeling puckish and mischievous, I sometimes respond with a simple denial, insisting, “No, the Bible doesn’t say that” just to wind them up and make the final riposte more satisfying. It is not particularly sanctified, but it is fun. What is the difference between “call no man ‘father’” and “call no man your father”? The difference is the difference between a title or form of address and a relationship.

Fr. Apostolos speaks about the First Ecumenical Council and the importance of obedience to our spiritual fathers.

Fr. Apostolos Hill shares a tribute to fathers after having buried his father the week before.

Although commonly known as the parable of the prodigal son this story in the gospel today is misnamed. It should rather be called: “the parable of the merciful Father” for the story concentrates all its attention on the compassion of the father.

Fr. Gregory gives a sermon by Fr. Andrew Phillips on the Sunday of the Forefathers.

Fr. Gregory Hallam presents a small selection of the Holy Fathers on the discipline of fasting.

Fr. Gregory Hallam encourages us to look at the parable of the Prodigal Son with fresh eyes and ears.

Dr. Rossi conducts an interview with the Dean of Students at St Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary who gave a talk on this topic to a parish recently.

Dr. Albert Rossi interviews Fr. David Mezynski on the topic of Sobriety and the Desert Fathers. Fr. David is the former Dean of Students at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, and is currently working as a social worker in Rochester, New York.

In our broadcast for the Feast of the Nativity, we hear the words of the Fathers and the liturgical hymns of the Church on the mystery that brings the Son humanly into the world for the life and redemption of His creature.

Celebrating the Holy Resurrection of Christ, our broadcast this Bright Monday looks at the writings of various Holy Fathers on the bright feast of Pascha and its meaning to Christian life.

In this week’s broadcast, Archimandrite Irenei considers Homily 19 on St. Matthew’s Gospel by St. John Chrysostom, exploring the richness of what calling God "our Father" means for our relationship both to Him and to one another as brethren.

St. John Chrysostom’s 19th homily on St. Matthew’s Gospel account addresses Christ’s promise of open rewards for secret acts—but what does this mean? In this broadcast, we explore the words of St. John on secret acts of virtue being shown forth "in the presence of the whole universe."

This week, in anticipation of Forgiveness Sunday, Archimandrite Irenei explores a series of patristic texts that deal with the imperative of forgiveness, and the need to forgive as the gateway into the life offered by Christ in the Church.

Bobby Maddex interviews Eleana Silk, the librarian at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary. In conjunction with the 75th anniversary of St. Vlad’s, Bobby will be conducting a series of interviews with staff and faculty about the history of this venerable school, and what better way to start than with what should be the heart of any academic institution—the library.

Wheaton College, the epicenter of Evangelical Protestantism, has just opened a Center for Early Christian Studies that will immerse students in the fields of Patristics, the Ecumenical Councils, and early Christian literature. This audio documentary, exclusive to AFR, explores the reasons for the sudden Evangelical interest in the Church Fathers, as well as the potential ramifications of this interest.

Fr. Pat discusses the Council of Nicaea, which gave us the Creed in the year 325.

The opening verses of Romans 5 are not about moral improvement; they are about God’s dealings in our lives: as God did with Abraham, He tests us that we might have patience toward Him who "makes all things work together unto good."

The bishops at the Seventh Ecumenical Council reasoned that the legitimacy, indeed, the necessity of icons in the church was an organic inference from the thesis that God became visible in the Man Jesus of Nazareth. Fr. Pat gave this homily on The Sunday of Orthodoxy, 2020.

In this homily from Thanksgiving of 2010, Fr. Pat considers with us God's Covenant with Noah given in Genesis 9.

In this two-hour edition, host Kevin Allen speaks with two early Church scholars—Reformed Christian James R. Payton, Jr. (editor of the newly published A Patristic Treasury: Early Church Wisdom for Today) and Orthodox Christian Bradley Nassif (a leading expert on the relationship between Orthodox and Evangelical Christians)—about the Church Fathers, including who they are, what they taught, and their significance in the Evangelical and Orthodox church traditions.

So how did you spend the day?

Offers have been made for a site which inspired JM Barrie but a timeline for any sale is uncertain.

Neil Crossley from Barnsley forgot his daughter Amy when walking down the aisle

Rebecca Moore, 25, is found guilty of her role in the murder of Sacad Ali in Sheffield on 9 March.

An accident blackspot in Cornwall is closed after a third fatal crash in the last six months.

Michael Hall shares his journey since son's death, Georgia Stone reports.

Five-year-old Saleh Aslam was climbing a radiator which fell on top of him near Watford.

John Stockley never knew the identity of his father - a black GI, stationed in Dorset.

Aim/Purpose: This paper aimed to explore the impact of compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burn-out among the general population during the pandemic. Background: The paper has attempted to explore compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burn-out among the population at large, especially during the pandemic. This area has not been explored as yet. Methodology: A simple random sample of 98 males and 88 females was collected anonymously through a Google form survey. Part A collected demographic data and Part B comprised of 15 statements with 5 each for compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burn-out, adapted from a Compassion Fatigue/Satisfaction Self-Test. ANOVA single factor was employed for the three variables of compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burn-out using a 0.05 significance level. Correlations among the variables were also analyzed. Contribution: The present paper contributes to covering the research gap of investigating the presence of compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burn-out among the population at large comprising the age group of 18 to 60+ and from different professions. Findings: The findings revealed significant differences in the levels of compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burn-out in the population at large during the pandemic. Future Research: The findings can be further strengthened by extending it to a larger sample size across different nations and, specifically, studying gender differences during such adverse pandemic situations.