In part 1 of a 2-part series, Bill presents the empirical data about our current church challenges, how some Christians overcame these issues and built strong church communities, and the 6 primary root cause areas where our parishes are suffering

In Part 2 of this series, Bill provides proven insights, strategies, and solutions from the “Jobs To Be Done” and “Disruptive Innovation” theories developed by Harvard professor Dr. Clayton Christensen. We will also begin to explore an excellent parish assessment that can help diagnose the most critical parish comorbidities and provide solutions

Today, we are experiencing unprecedented challenges in the human resources needs in our parishes and ministries, including shortages of clergy, volunteers, ministry leaders, and staff. Join Bill and Dr. Scott Mondore to explore best practices to improve the engagement and results.

Frederica interviews Daniel Buxhoeveden, an Orthodox scientist who just recently received a Templeton grant to establish an Institute for Science and the Orthodox Church. Please note that Frederica experienced technical difficulties while recording this episode. We apologize in advance for its poor audio quality.

Frederica reads an article by Keith Drury that addresses why people in their fifties and sixties do not worship in a lively manner.

Frederica discusses her new book in which she uses a visit to a fictional parish, St. Felicity, to provide a basic introduction to the Orthodox Church.

Frederica reads the introduction to her new book Welcome to the Orthodox Church: An Introduction to Eastern Christianity, published by Paraclete Press.

Frederica interviews her son, Fr. Stephen Mathewes, about the unification of the Greek and Antiochian Orthodox churches in his community in the Northeast corner of Tennessee.

Audio recording of Frederica reading the Discussion Questions for her new book titled "Welcome to the Orthodox Church."

Frederica shares some special memories from the life of Holy Cross Church.

This week we catch Frederica in her car driving to Washington, D.C., and reflecting on the differences between the Orthodox Church and other Christian churches when it comes to the involvement of men.

Orthodoxy in America is in revival, and that makes it a lively place to be. In other times and places revival has been a temporary state, so it can’t be expected to last forever. At the moment, though, it’s a great time to become Orthodox.

Young people keep leaving the Church, and most of us are very concerned about this. This week, Christian explores this phenomenon through Attachment Theory and suggests that perhaps the Church is losing her young people because she has failed to be there for youth in the way that they need

Fr. Tom couldn't let the Church Year end without looking back on the inspiring feasts during its last month, August.

What does it mean to be a Christian and to live in this world? To answer that question, Fr. Tom examines the ancient New Testament Church.

Fr. Tom looks at the Roman-Byzantine empire of the fourth century.

Fr. Tom examines the fifth through fifteenth centuries.

Fr. Thomas examines the four centuries of Muslim rule over Eastern Orthodox Christians.

Fr. Tom discusses how the Orthodox Church fared in Russia before the revolution.

Fr. Tom looks at the Church in the 20th century, especially in Communist countries.

Fr. Hopko outlines how the Church fared in the 20th century in lands that were not traditionally Orthodox.

Fr. Thomas concludes his series by reflecting on what it means to be a Christian in America today.

September 1 marks the beginning of the Church year and Fr. Tom Hopko is meditating on the meaning of times and seasons in Church life.

Sitting in his study, Fr. Tom reflects on the past 50 years of the Orthodox Church. August marked the 46th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.

Today Fr. Tom talks about the study and communication of the Fathers of the Church according to Archimandrite Vasileios, retired Abbot of the Iviron Monastery on Mt. Athos.

In the second in his series on bishops, Fr. Tom reflects on the New Testament and early Church formulations of the offices and functions of clergy.

What do the Orthodox mean, when in the Creed we confess, "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church"? As we approach the Sunday of Orthodoxy, this is a good time to explore that question with Fr. Thomas Hopko.

From Constantinople we go to the Church in Kiev and Rus from the 10th to the 13th Centuries.

In this episode, you will learn about the relationship between the Church in the Russian lands and the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople in the 14th Century.

Fr. Tom talks about the important 15th century in the lands of Rus at the time of the sacking of Constantinople by the Turks.

The 16th Century was pivotal for the Orthodox Church in Russia which is during the reign of Ivan the Terrible and also the period when the Russian Church was given autocephaly.

In light of the debate in the Roman Catholic Church about divorce and re-marriage, Fr. Tom offers the Orthodox view of this topic as well as an explanation of the fundamental difference in how marriage is viewed in Orthodoxy. We are so happy to have Fr.Tom back recording podcasts. Please continue to pray for him.

In this second episode, Jeannie explores how the Fathers of the Church viewed Scripture and what that should mean to us today when we open the pages of the Bible.

Pres. Jeannie continues her analysis of how we study the Scriptures through the lens of the Fathers.

How does the Orthodox view of the Fathers of the Church differ from the Roman Catholic view? What about St. Augustine? What is his role in the Orthodox Church as it relates to the study of the Bible? These questions and many more are addressed in this week's episode.

Did you know that the word "gossip" originally meant "godparent" and is connected with the word "sibling"? Did you know that gossip and Good News aren't the same? (Go ahead, you can tell me, I won't tell.)

Fr. John shares his homily on Matthew 18:15-20.

Fr. John shares about humbly using our spiritual gifts, from Romans 12:1-13. Please note: "At one point in the sermon I mentioned Arsenius the Athonite, but actually meant to refer to the Elder Paisios, and the book I referred to is http://www.amazon.com/Elder-Paisios-Mount-Athos-Isaac/dp/960897643X"

Fr. John relates St. John's words to the Church of Pergamos, mentioned in Revelation 2:12-17, to us today.

Fr. John shares about how the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord fits in with the Old Testament and today.

Fr. John shares from the Evangelist John's words to the Church of Sardis in the book of the Revelation (3:1-6).

Fr. John talks about the importance of celebrating the feasts of the Church.

Fr. John speaks from Revelation 3:7-13.

Fr. John Whiteford reminds his congregation to turn to the lives of the Russian martyrs for inspiration to stay strong in the faith.

Fr. John Whiteford discusses Israel through the lens of Romans 11:1-5,16-29.

Financial pressures in our Orthodox Churches are very real and often cause great worry and anxiety. As a result, we, both clergy and laity, can lose our focus and get our priorities out of order. Using the terms “Prophet” and “Profit” to symbolize two different mentalities (not suggesting Churches are trying to make a profit in the conventional sense) join Michael as he discusses what our priorities should be and what results proper focus on them would yield.

Fr. Steven Ritter examines the possibilities.