Frederica heads home to Charleston, South Carolina, and visits the Emmanuel AME Church, the site of last week's tragic events.

Frederica calls us to enter into the fast of Great Lent as fully as we can so that we can reap the fruit of repentance and humility.

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

Frederica reviews the movie titled "The Finest Hours."

Frederica reflects upon the book titled Why the Rest Hates the West by Meic Pearse.

Frederica is in Portland this week chatting with Kh. Krista West about the history and significance of Orthodox vestments. Krista makes vestments for clergy and has a web site where you can see her products.

An informal chat with the wives of two priests from Western Rite parishes in the Antiochian Archdiocese.

The Mother of our Lord is often a stumbling block for Protestants who are exploring Orthodoxy. Frederica Mathewes-Green discusses how to disregard medieval excesses, and see how the early Christians saw her.

With the Feast Day of the Beheading of St. John approaching (August 29), Fr. Thomas examines the Prophet, Forerunner and Baptizer, John.

In commemoration of the Feast of his beheading, Fr. Tom continues his discussion of the Prophet, Forerunner and Baptizer, John.

Fr. Thomas Hopko explains how our acts, especially our prayers, are included in God's predestination based on His foreknowledge, and how our free-will actions, particularly our prayers, contribute to God's providence in our lives.

Fr. Tom begins a series of talks on the role of bishops in the Church and their relationships to each other, to the priests, the deacons, and to us. He begins by identifying what is common to all of us in creation. Please also listen to a special encouragement at the very beginning of today's episode.

Fr. Tom responds to some email questions he received after his recent episode entitled "How to Read the Bible." In particular he talks about reading the Old Testament and explains the role of the Septuagint in the Church.

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.

Fr. Tom received a number of emails about his talks on reading the Bible and the various translations. Several listeners asked about the scandalous nature of the Old Testament with stories of murder, slaughter, multiple wives, concubines, etc. So today, Fr. Tom begins a short series of talks to deal with this subject.

What are we to make of the moral behavior of many of the heroes of the Old Testament like David, Solomon, Abraham, Lot, and others? Fr. Tom helps us deal with these figures in the proper way and according to God's ultimate plan.

Fr. Tom looks at the lies and deception that are replete in the Old Testament stories and how God worked with sinful human beings to accomplish His purposes.

In his continuing series on the Bible, Fr. Tom addresses the problem of God's violence against people and the war and violence that is prevalent in general in the Old Testament.

Dr. Constantinou examines the contest between Elijah, the 450 priests of Baal, and the 400 priests of Asherah.

There is a trite answer to the question: How do Orthodox Christians evangelize? Keep the doors open, the lights on, the floors swept, and the priest paid. Fundamentally, this is correct; paying the bills is essential to the life and health of a community, and “come and see” will always be our most effective clarion call. Yet, while existence is paramount, it is not evangelism. In this episode, Fr. Joseph offers some ideas that have proven effective for revitalizing, invigorating, and sustaining a healthy parish—consider it “in-house evangelism.”

Fr Joseph interviews Fr James Guirguis of St. Raphael of Brooklyn/Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. This church is full of children! Fr. James offers a word on the joy of the priesthood, which is truly fruit for thought.

In a move as shocking as reading the lyrics to popular songs in church, Fr. Joseph asks the folks at St Joseph/Houston to pull our their cell phones!

Our circumstances of late have revealed all sorts of warts and ailments, weaknesses, doubts, and fears. What's the best we can do these days? Fr Joseph answers.

Not everyone will agree, but you'll have to listen to figure out why. BTW, is there any good news? Fr Joseph speaks of his recent "work-cation" in the PNW.

In this episode, Fr. Thomas explains the basic vestments worn by the priests and bishops for the Divine Liturgy. This is part 1.

In part 2 of Fr. Tom's comments on the vesting for liturgy, he talks about the importance of dress not only for the clergy but for all of us as we come to church.

Fr. Tom continues his look at the vestments worn by the clergy for the Divine Liturgy. What vestments are appropriate in non-sacramental settings?

As Fr. Tom continues to look at the vestments worn by the clergy for the Divine Liturgy, he today talks about the "girding of strength" as signified by the belt and the cuffs.

Today Fr. Thomas focuses his attention on a part of the vestments that many wonder about. What is the significance of that square or diamond shaped attachment that sometimes hangs above the knee of the bishop or presbyter?

Fr. Tom continues his comments on the vestments worn in the Divine Liturgy. Today he talks about the sacramental significance of the omophorion and epitrachelion.

In the final section on vestments for the Divine Liturgy, Fr. Tom talks about crosses, hats, and crowns.

When the time has come for a priest to be ordained by the Bishop, this is done during the Divine Liturgy. Since Fr. Tom is at the place of the Great Entrance in his reflections on the Divine Liturgy, he takes us through the ordination process.

Fr. John shares a call to action from Ephesians 5:1-14.

On the Sunday of the Blind Man, Fr. John talks about spiritual self-deception from John 9:39-41.

Fr. John shares from Jude 3.

Fr. John Whiteford shares about the importance of scripture, from Psalm 118:129-136.

Fr. John Whiteford preaches from 1 John 3:11-18.

Fr. John Whiteford helps us to understand how to discern between the evil spirits, who seek our destruction, and those who worship the Holy Trinity and desire our good. (1 John 4:1-6)

Fr. John Whiteford preaches on the Sunday of Orthodoxy.

There is a wind farm on I-65 that evokes a sense of longing– for peace, for stillness, for quiet. What does it mean for us, in a busy and loud world, to stay engaged, to seek out that stillness, to harvest this like the wind turbines harvest air?

What does it say about a person who has a collection of barely used daily planners stashed under her bedside table? It is a sign of a disorganized mind and an unwilling spirit, or maybe just never finding the right thing? Angela and fellow author, Katherine Bolger Hyde explore the intricacies of day planner addiction, cabinets from Ikea, and phone alarms ringing at inopportune moments.

The guests invited to the rich man's banquet didn't value their invitation to his dinner as much as they valued other things. In the end, none of the expected elite got to go, but the most unexpecting group were invited and enjoyed the hospitality of the rich man!

When Jesus heals 10 lepers, He opens the door for us to learn a valuable insight into a consistent life in Christ. The two lessons learned from a grateful leper who was also a foreigner is meant for us all.

Today’s blog post will reveal my biggest goal for 2016, nine niche ideas with huge potential and the most effective productivity technique I’ve used over the last few years. Let’s begin by talking about the productivity technique which is often referred to as the Pomodoro Method. If you’ve followed any kind of productivity guide online […]

The post How a Simple Productivity Tool Helped Create the World’s Best Marketing Blog appeared first on ViperChill.

Have you ever felt like you were wrestling or struggling with God, like your life was out of control, the future was unknown or something to be feared, and you were at a loss about what to do? Your prayers seem unanswered and God seems silent. Join Michael as he recounts the story of Jacob and shows how Jacob’s story and his struggle with God is our story.

In celebration of Mother’s Day, join Michael as he explores the language of the Genesis creation stories and what they teach us about the value of women and the feminine and motherly nature of God. He then reflects on the Theotokos and how her life and Christ’s demonstrate the value of women established in Genesis, and how they restore women to the place God intended for them. This podcast is based on a Zoom class Michael gave to a Church community and also includes responses from the question and answer period of the class.

What’s the difference between testing and temptation? How can we discern God’s at work in our lives versus the enemy’s attacks? Why does the Greek in the scriptures use the same word for testing and temptation? Join Michael as he addresses these questions and compares and contrasts testing and temptation.

Join Michael as he shows why restraint is Christ-like and liberating, and the path of ultimate freedom out of the self-inflicted tyranny of our own thoughts and behaviors.

Fr. Seraphim shares about the life of St. Brendan.