On the day after a great Feast we usually honor the servant of the Mystery; today we honor him who baptized the Lord: the blessed Forerunner, "greatest of the Prophets, most noble of those born of women, voice of the Word, herald of Grace, swallow presaging the spiritual spring, torch and beacon of the divine Light, spiritual dawn announcing the Sun of Righteousness, and as terrestrial angel and celestial man, stationed at the border of heaven and earth, uniting the Old and the New Testaments" (Synaxarion).

He was born in Koritza in Albania. His elder brother Theodosius went to the Holy Mountain and in time became abbot of the monastery of Philotheou. A few years later Dionysios followed his brother and became a monk under him at Philotheou. A heavenly light began to appear to Dionysios every night at the same place, some distance from his monastery. Believing that the light was a divine sign that he was to build a monastery, Dionysios left the Holy Mountain to seek the help of his brother (now Metropolitan of Trebizond) and the Emperor Alexios Comnenis. From the Emperor he received both money and a Royal Charter, which is still kept at the Monastery of St John the Forerunner, which Dionysios founded in 1380, and which is often referred to as the Dionysiou Monastery. Later, pirates plundered the monastery, and Dionysius went to Trebizond, where he reposed at the age of seventy-two.

On the Nativity of the Forerunner, Father Andrew reminds us that we are all called to the vocation of the Royal Priesthood, and that vocation is fulfilled through worship.

On this Sunday of the Conception of the Forerunner, Fr. Andrew advises us that before we do anything, we should turn ourselves to God.

Fr. Andrew uses an incident from the life of St. Moses the Black to talk about how we relate to other people's sins.

Fr. Joseph revisits "The Tonight Show" and dreams of hosting, guesting and side-kicking (featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Conan O'Brien, Carnac the Magnorfodox, David of Wales, Red Skelton, "the world's greatest grape catcher" and more)!

Fr Joseph is lost. Perhaps you are, too? Great. Salvation loves company! A 2008 rerun about recalculating. Keep coming back!

A brief history of the coffee hour, with some suggestions about how best to use the time as you sip your morning brew!

In this episode, Fr. Anthony talks with Fr. Theophan Mackey of St. Job of Pochaiv parish in Los Alamos, NM (stjobla.org). He's only been a priest for three years, but he really hit the ground running (glory to God!). In this "live" episode, he shares his experience serving God as a priest (and jack of all trades) in New Mexico. Enjoy the show!

Elissa demonstrates how talking about St. John the Forerunner can be a great way to illustrate and understand the roles of the prophets and the saints all at once.

What do the martyrdom of John the Forerunner and the weakness of Herod have to say to twenty-first century North American Christians? Explore the implications of John’s beheading and St. Paul’s description of the Forerunner, with the help of Psalm 2 and Malachi 4.

This week we read the epistle through the lenses of St. John Chrysostom, St. John Climacus, the book of Genesis and Isaiah’s portrait of the Suffering Servant. Here we are given the hope to continue following our great forerunner Jesus. The gospel reading adds to this the importance of faith, prayer and fasting, as we set our faces towards the cross.

The Nativity and Early Life of St. John the Forerunner, by Lily Parascheva Rowe, illustrated by Roland J Ford (St. Stylianos Books, 2012)

Welcoming the Christ Child: Family Readings for the Nativity Lent, "The Prophet Jonah Runs from God and the Prophet Jonah in Nineveh," by Elissa Bjeletich, illustrated by Jelena Jeftic (Sebastian Press, 2017).

Fr. Ted asks, "Why are we subjected to sicknesses and other problems in life?"

getting it to run DOOM is only a matter of time #

Fr. Gregory Hallam preaches on the Sunday of the Prodigal 2019.

When the Evangelical Orthodox Church came into canonical Orthodoxy 20 years ago, not all parishes were ready. This is the story of one such parish coming along much later in their history. Find out why and what they are up to now.

Bobby Maddex interviews Bruno Capolongo, a full-time artist and convert to Orthodox Christianity who attends All Saints of North America Church in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and specializes in the art of kintsugi. Please see the attachment for an example of kintsugi.

If we don't keep our car's gas tank full, it will stall. Do we keep our spiritual gas tanks full?

Astonished by what she finds out she cannot wait to tell others. So what do we do?

In my life I tend to focus on jumping from point A to point B without wanting to deal with the moment I'm in. Point B means the struggle, challenge, difficulty or trauma is over. That's good, right?

Today, I talk to Darrell Vesterfelt, who is a longtime friend who helped grow ConvertKit in our craziest growth times (from $100,000/mo when he joined to $500,000/mo in just over a year). Darrell is one of the best marketers I know. He is the Founder and former CEO of Good People Digital, the Co-Founder of […]

Google is buying the leftover ad space in the _Chicago Sun-Times_ and filling it with AdWords ads related to the rest of the content. I wonder how they're going to charge advertisers. The domains posted are the real domains, so it can't exactly be pay-per-click.

Watch Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo as he hits an "incredible" drop shot against Great Britain's Jack Draper at the Davis Cup in Manchester.

World number one Judd Trump fails to reach a tournament quarter-final for the first time in 2024 after a last-16 defeat by China's Xu Si in the International Championship in Nanjing.

Leeds Rhinos’ Sporting Director Ian Blease joins the pod to talk goals, pressure & titles

County Tyrone 19-year-old Nick Griggs produces a Parkrun world's best at Victoria Park in Belfast when he clocks 13 minutes and 44 seconds.

Lloyd Martin could not be torn away from music he passed on the route, says his mum Ceri.

Lloyd Martin, who has Down's syndrome, runs the New York Marathon after a record-breaking London run.

Teenager Nick Griggs admits he didn't set out to break the Parkrun world record after achieving the feat in Belfast on Saturday.

John Deery, who is alive due to a series of events and some strangers, is backing a defibrillator campaign.

Ralph Fairhurst was driving twice the speed limit when he struck Kyle Middlemas on Easter Road.

Support Weald Schooling is inviting people to discuss the lack of non-selective secondaries.

Defender Ryan Sweeney says it was "about time" Burton registered a League One victory as they ended a 13-match winless start to the season on Saturday.

Former Shrewsbury Town striker Andy Mangan is a candidate to take over as Salop head coach, reports BBC Radio Shropshire.

Do not "approach or attempt to catch the emu unless you have experience", a charity says.

A Rugby school's lack of parking restrictions outside gates is a hazard for pupils.

Well, the Oscars happened last night, and for the first time in 21 years I didn’t bother to watch. Pretty ironic given how many of these movies I ended up seeing and loving, but that’s neither here nor there. I did watch the video of Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper musically fucking on stage while […]

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