Bobby Maddex is joined by Dn. Andrei Psarev to discuss the upcoming "Links between Times: Conclusions and Perspectives" Conference taking place in Belgrade, Serbia from November 22–26, 2021. The aim of the conference is to make sense of processes connecting the past and present of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. Interested listeners can learn more and register from the conference at the ROCOR Studies website. You can also learn more at the conference Facebook page.

Bobby Maddex is joined by Hollie Benton and Fr. Paul Hodge to discuss the Orthodox Christian Leadership Initiative and its upcoming peer learning & BootCamp sessions for leadership development. Listeners who are interested in joining the upcoming cohorts can learn more and register at the OCLI website.

Nearly four million homes and businesses in the South are without power as Helene makes landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Florida. / Associated Press

Conservative purists may hope a Trump defeat will end Trumpism, but the GOP is likely to remain ruled "by, and for reactionary business interests and social conservatives." / Vox

Regardless of any reduction in emissions, climate change will raise the sea level of Pacific Island nations by at least six inches in the next 30 years. / NASA

See also: The climate has changed many times and in many ways over the past 485 million years, but never as quickly as what's happening right now. / The Washington Post [+]

The Secret Service spent $50,000 on AI and won't say why. / 404 Media

Households in the US can now order more free Covid tests. / USPS

"No billionaires will fund work like this because there's no money in it." The Jet Propulsion Laboratory does amazing things; equally amazing is that JPL even exists. / The Washington Post [+]

With the news that OpenAI is moving to a for-profit model, its stated mission to develop artificial intelligence safely and transparently is no more. / Vox

Why is generative AI being shoehorned into every software product? Because businesses need you to keep paying for a thing, and it's a new thing to pay for. / Where's Your Ed At?

An exoskeleton company's refusal to repair a $20 battery left their customer, a man paralyzed from the waist down, unable to walk. / 404 Media

Using advanced machine learning, researchers were able to solve 100 percent of Google's CAPTCHA challenges. / Decrypt

"A real-world contrarian could not have written the piece: it was completely predictable, littered with complaints about the artist's inflated reputation and dodgy brushwork." AI cannot bring Brian Sewell back to life. / New Statesman

Eighty-five years after a misspelled plaque was installed at Poets' Corner in Westminster, the dots have finally been added to the Brontë sisters' names. / The Guardian

To unlock why Greenland sharks can live 400 years, scientists study its DNA and reveal about twice as many base pairs as in humans. / The New York Times [+]

"It was stupid, immature and amateur to keep going forward when I still had the energy to get back." How a hiker survived a month in the North Cascades without food or shelter. / Cascadia Daily News

Analyzing the evolution of baseball's perfect lineup. / The Pudding

View Post →

June 9 marks the 50th wedding anniversary for Fr. Tom and Matushka Anne Hopko. In this special episode, the 2 of them are interviewed in their home by Frs. John Shimchick and Alexander Garklavs. Together they remember their early years and God's blessing on their lives. May God grant them many years!

Fr. Tom Soroka and John Maddex will dive into the topic of Universalism and speak with Orthodox panelists who fall into one of three categories: Confident Universalists, Hopeful Universalists, and those who say Universalism was condemned as a heresy. We read in Scripture that God is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). But we also read that It is appointed unto man once to die, and after that comes the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). There are those who claim that, since Christ died for all, we can be assured that all will indeed be saved and not face eternal condemnation. This is called “universalism” or “apocatastasis.” Was this teaching condemned by the Church? Who among the Church Fathers embraced universal salvation?

Fr. Pat distinguishes between "official" forgiveness and "personal" forgiveness.

Fr. Pat explains that the mandate to forgive offenses is not something we're disposed to do except by grace.

The man born with the blindness that we all share sees differently and looks different.

Fr. Pat discusses the social structure, the moral imperatives, and the discerning moral light of discipleship.

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you?

Fr. Pat discusses Peter walking on the water.

If we are justified by faith, if we live in the Holy Spirit, and if Christ is our Lord, then what should our lives be like? Fr. Pat looks at Paul's exhortations to the believers at Rome.

Using Luke 8:26-27 as a starting point of his reflections, Fr. Pat encourages us to live our lives with an awareness of death as an important part of our mental composition.

Fr. Pat examines the three steps that St. Paul takes in Romans to illustrate the theme of "receiving one another as Christ receives us."

Second Corinthians has been summarized as “strength made perfect through weakness.” Preaching from 2 Corinthians 4:6-15, Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon looks at three examples from the Old Testament of God’s strength being made perfect through the weakness of His servants.

In Jesus’ circumcision, God’s own flesh is marked by the sign of the covenant; Jesus' circumcision was the ratification and fulfillment of the prophetic dimension of the rite. Fr. Pat discusses three verbs associated with the Hebrew word Berith (covenant).

Fr. Pat expounds upon Paul’s exhortations in Romans 12:6-14.

Most of the sources in Holy Scripture, and most emphatically the Psalms, look upon Israel's time in the desert as a period of unmitigated tragedy. Israel was consistently unfaithful. However, the prophets Hosea and Jeremiah chose to see things differently, which is a source of strength and consolation for us today.

Fr. Pat contrasts the childhood dedication and life of Mary with that of Hannibal.

A meditation on Thanksgiving from Fr. Pat, given in 2008.

Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon discusses Paul’s response to the Gentile converts in Galatia being compelled by Jewish Christian teachers to live according to Jewish customs.

Fr. Pat's homily from Forgiveness Vespers 2012.

Before we start fasting during Great Lent, we start forgiving. Why do we ask forgiveness from everyone, even people we may not know?

Fasting can fatten up our wallets. What should we do with that extra money? And how else can we give?

As Christians, we're called to union with each other and God. Yet we're constantly stuck in divisions, both external and internal. So how are we supposed to achieve true union? The answer is forgiveness: God's invitation to share the same space with Him.

Being a Christian and living the Gospel isn't always easy; in fact, it's usually challenging. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., experienced that as he fought for justice. So did Archbishop Iakovos when, despite opposition, he chose to stand with Reverend King in Selma. Fifty years after the Selma marches, let's look ahead to how we can live with the same spirit of courage and love.

Giving thanks isn't just for Thanksgiving. As Christians, it's an important part of our daily lives. It's the way to see God even in the midst of difficult times, to receive the blessed happiness that only comes when we open ourselves to God's grace.

St. Dionysios of Zakynthos is a powerful example of forgiveness. He shows us how forgiveness can free us to be who God made us to be, rather than trapping us and defining us by our sins and shortcomings.

You probably know what you need to do to grow closer to Christ, but you're having trouble getting started. Here are five ways to jumpstart your spiritual life and start connecting with the Lord today!

We all know forgiveness is a holy and important thing, yet it's easier said than done. When you're having trouble, here are four things to help soften your heart and open the door to forgiveness.

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) Thanksgiving is a time to feel grateful. But that attitude of gratitude can go away as soon as we're done with the turkey. How do we keep it going? Saint Paul tells us to "give thanks in all circumstances." Because real gratitude is more than a feeling. As we see in the Parable of the Rich Fool, it starts with remembering one crucial thing. As always, we've prepared a FREE downloadable workbook to help you act on what you'll learn: mailchi.mp/goarch/bethebee158

“Nothing makes us so like God, as our readiness to forgive the wicked and wrongdoer.” (Saint John Chrysostom) The Greek word for forgiveness means "sharing the same space." At the doorstep to Great Lent, we're given the opportunity to both seek and offer forgiveness. Forgiveness Sunday (especially Forgiveness Vespers) is our chance to overcome resentments and share the same space with both God and neighbor. So that, together, we can journey to salvation and an experience of God's Kingdom. Because right and wrong is about more than what’s right or wrong for you. As always, we've prepared a FREE downloadable workbook to help you act on what you'll learn. https://mailchi.mp/goarch/bethebee168 .

Charles Ajalat joins us to talk about a letter being circulated in Congress that calls for action to be taken by the State Department to secure the release of the two Archbishops being held in Syria. We urge you to call your congressional representative and urge them to sign the Sherman Letter. Find out how to reach your representative HERE.

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.

Kevin interviews Fr. Evan Armatas who will host a brand new call in program starting November 18 and then be heard the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month. This program will offer an "open line" to any question about Orthodoxy and the Bible and then a podcast will be available to download shortly after each program. A few calls came in even on this program to give us a taste of the format.

Guest: Perry C. Robinson, the editor of the popular Orthodox theology blog Energetic Procession, will share his perspectives on the perennial heterodox idea that God will eventually save/liberate everyone and why there is such a vibrant theological conversation on this subject going on within segments of Evangelicalism (Rob Bell).

We are seeing eastern meditation and mind-body practices like hatha yoga, tai chi, qi gong; and mindfulness-based therapy gaining wide credibility and attracting more and more adherents. Whether we as Orthodox should adopt eastern spiritual mind-body practices is a matter of great debate in the Orthodox Church. In this edition of Ancient Faith Today, Kevin discusses with his guest Christopher Kies what “Mindfulness” meditation is in its secular and Buddhist spiritual contexts; the Orthodox Christian correlative approach of Nipsis or Watchfulness; how they differ in goals and approaches; and whether formal Mindfulness meditation practices are appropriate for Orthodox Christians.

Scatter the "seeds" the Lord has provided so you may increase the harvest of your righteousness.

God forgives and so must I!

The problem was thousands of hungry people. The disciples brought them to the Lord in prayer and had their own solution which was: "Send them away!" However, the Lord had other ideas. Matthew 14: 14-22

So what is the Kingdom of heaven like? Do you belong to it? Well, one of the ways you can tell is this: do you forgive others? Do you give up your rights to things? Yes? Yes? Well, that is what the Kingdom of Heaven is like.

The Apostles came to the Lord to ask Him to solve the situation. He turned the problem back on them! Matthew 14: 14 -22