Fr. Stephen De Young concludes the discussion on Ephesians, Chapter 6.

Fr. Stephen De Young introduces the Epistle to the Philippians, before next week's dive into chapter 1.

Fr. Stephen De Young discusses the first chapter of Philippians.

Father Stephen De Young dives into St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians Chapter 2, verses 1-8.

Fr. Stephen De Young continues the discussion on Philippians Chapter 2, verse 9.

Fr. Stephen De Young finishes the discussion of Philippians, Chapter 2.

Fr. Stephen De Young concludes his discussion of the Epistle to the Philippians, by going through chapters 3 and 4.

Fr. Stephen De Young discusses St. Paul's Epistle to Philemon.

When the Bible refers to Jesus as The Prophet, is it saying He is able to predict the future or is it something much deeper?

Jesus is the "Great Shepherd of the Sheep" (Hebrews 13:20) but at the same time the "Lamb that was slain" (Revelation 5:12). Fr. Tom Hopko explores these passages and more on this episode.

We know that Jesus is the Healer of soul and body, and the New Testament is replete with accounts of his miraculous works. But how do we differentiate between Jesus as the Healer and Jesus as the Physician?

This week, the girls take on Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet. They discuss the role of poetry in Scripture, how Christians should understand work as an expression of God’s love, and how generous giving is actually more salvific for the giver than the recipient. They close with the Top 5 Spiritual Books To Read Instead of The Prophet.

Live from New York, it’s PCCH! The guys discuss the epic trilogy, Lord of the Rings. The touch on topics such as friendship, the human obsession with power, and where hope can be found. Fr. Andrew joins the guys for a Q&A;, as well as a special quiz designed just for him.

Fr. Philip calls us to endure suffering in striving for the salvation of our souls as modeled by St. Joseph of Damascus.

We are called to become living epiphanies of God's salvation by offering every dimension of our lives to Christ.

Is pride derailing your spiritual life? The season of Great Lent helps us see our need for repentance and humility.

Fr. Philip LeMasters reflects on the descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus during his baptism and upon His followers as beautiful epiphanies in the world.

Fr. Philip LeMasters calls us to open our lives to the Holy God in humility, following the example of the Publican.

Fr. Philip LeMasters reflects on the important role that Joseph the Betrothed played in the Nativity of Jesus Christ.

At Theophany, we celebrate that no dimension of our life or world is intrinsically profane or cut off from sharing in the holiness of God. All things, physical and spiritual, visible and invisible, are called to participate in the divine glory that our Lord has brought to the world, to become even now signs of the coming fullness of God’s Kingdom.

In preparing for Great Lent this year, we must remain on guard against the temptation of self-exaltation in any form.

St. Photini’s encounter with the Lord was truly transformative. He did not merely give her ideas about religion. He gave her the “Living Water” of the Holy Spirit which made her a participant in eternal life by grace.

We must devote ourselves to prayer, fasting, almsgiving, forgiveness, and other forms of repentance in the weeks ahead if we are to open the depths of our brokenness to the healing of our Lord’s humble, suffering love. That is the only way to become like the tax collector in spiritual clarity, for he was aware only of his sin and need for God’s mercy. We must know the true state of our corruption and weakness as he did, if we are to enter into the joy of the Lord’s resurrection.

Today is the Sunday before the Feast of Theophany (or Epiphany), when we celebrate Christ’s baptism in the river Jordan and the revelation that He is truly the Son of God. His divinity is made manifest and openly displayed at His baptism when the voice of the Father declares, “You are my beloved Son” and the Holy Spirit descends upon Him in the form of a dove. Theophany shows us that Jesus Christ, who was born in the flesh for our salvation at Christmas, is not merely a great religious teacher or moral example. He is truly God—a member of the Holy Trinity– and His salvation permeates His entire creation, including the water of the river Jordan. Through Christ’s and our baptism, we become participants in the holy mystery of our salvation, for He restores to us the robe of light which our first parents lost when they chose pride and self-centeredness over obedience and communion. He enters the Jordan to restore Adam and Eve, and all their children, to the dignity of those who bear the image and likeness of God.

As we continue to celebrate our Lord’s glorious resurrection on the third day and victory over Hades and the tomb, we have to admit that all too often we live as though death still reigned. We do so especially when we obsess about how weak, broken, and vulnerable we are, especially in light of the grave.

Fr. John discusses the case of Caesaropapism and the symphony when it was actually achieved.

Fr. John explores the triumph of Orthodoxy in the year 843 and the way in which it enables the art of Christendom to express the deepest conviction about man's relationship with God and the possibility of communion with Him.

Fr. John introduces the principle of heavenly orientation and then explores actual forms of art, beginning with iconography.

Fr. John discusses the development of Christian hymnography.

After a transition to his new parish assignment, Father John returns to the podcast with a discussion of the atmosphere of catastrophe that hung over the old Christendom of the east as the Muslim Turks advanced on Byzantium, while a defender of traditional Christianity, Saint Mark of Ephesus, prepared to depart for the unionist Council of Florence in the west.

Fr. John introduces the force that kept traditional Christianity on course at a moment of crisis in the east, Hesychasm, and how it maintained Christendom's focus on paradise.

In this episode, Fr. John describes why Saint Gregory's defense of hesychasm against the westernized Barlaam represented a defense not only of Orthodoxy, but of Christendom itself.

In this episode, Fr. John draws upon several scholarly works to show how hesychasm protected eastern Christendom from the forces that had begun to lead the new Christendom of the west away from traditional Christianity.

Fr. John gives an account of the atmosphere in Italy in which Orthodox and Roman Catholic delegates met to discuss the possibility of union in the middle of the fifteenth century. Only one of the Orthodox would refuse to sign the resulting Treaty of Union, Saint Mark of Ephesus.

In this final episode of Reflection 17, Fr. John relates the final catastrophe to befall eastern Christendom during the period, the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453.

Having related the fall of Byzantium to the Turks, Fr. John now begins a reflection on the only remaining Orthodox state in eastern Christendom, Muscovite Russia. In this introductory anecdote he tells of an event in the history of this "Third Rome" that signaled the coming decline of ecclesio-political symphony, and with it the experience of paradise.

In this episode, Fr. John discusses ways in which papal supremacy led to the growing sense of crisis that preceded the Protestant Reformation.

In this, the first episode of the Paradise and Utopia video edition, Father John provides a video lecture from his office in Puget Sound, showing, with the use of powerful, full-color icons such as those of Andrei Rublev, how hesychasm inspired some of the greatest art in the history of eastern Christendom.

In this special edition of Paradise and Utopia, Fr. John Strickland responds to a recent review of the first two volumes of his book series. In it, he notes the failure to consider the books on their own terms. He uses the opportunity to elaborate what he considers a healthy vision of Christian historiography, one that supports what many consider the need for a "re-enchantment" of modern culture.

Fr. John Parker begins a short series showcasing the lives and impact of OCMC missionaries, especially the role of mission work in Africa.

Let’s look to the deep words of God’s yearning found in the prophet Ezekiel in order to understand the compassion of the Great Shepherd of the Sheep, and the actions of our father St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, an appointed shepherd of God’s people.

When Thou O Lord was baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest. Dr. Humphrey explores the significance of Theophany on this first day of the New Year.

The “unnecessary” stories of the three youths (in Daniel 3 and The Song of Azariah) and of St. Joseph, husband of the Theotokos (Matthew 1) are illumined by God’s care for the humble in Deuteronomy 10:14-21.

We consider the humility of Jesus and the Theotokos in the Presentation, as well as the reason why humility is so important, as seen in our readings for Divine Liturgy this Sunday (2 Timothy 3:10-15; Luke 18:10-14), in the light of Hezekiah’s plea before God in 4 Kingdoms 19:9-20 and our Lord’s own pattern in Philippians 2: 5-11.

This Saturday we commemorate the righteous Job, who is seen as an exemplar of intercessory prayer, and steadfastness, in both Old and New Testament. Today we probe his prophetic insight into the complexity of this world and the greatness of our human-loving LORD.

Our readings for the eleventh Sunday of Matthew (1 Corinthians 9:1-12, Matthew 18:23-25) happily correspond this year with our remembrance of the Holy Prophet and last of the Judges of Israel, Samuel. Parts of his story in 1 Samuel/Kingdoms 12 and 28, plus words about him in Psalm 98 (LXX)/99 and Sirach 46, help us understand more deeply God’s character of justice and forgiveness, exemplified in the prophet. We, too, are called to this pattern as we respond to the problems of our day, including the social unrest and violence of this week.

This Sunday, the fourteenth of Luke, we also commemorate the prophet Zephaniah, whose tiny book in the OT speaks eloquently both of the dark state of God’s people, and his aim to bring them into the light (Zephaniah 1:14-17; 3:9-20). Those themes help us to think more concretely, and as a community, concerning the gospel and epistle for today (Ephesians 5:8-19; Luke 18:35-43), where spiritual blindness and sight is also addressed.

We look to this week’s readings, 2 Timothy 4:5-8, and Mark 1:1-8 (with the help of the prophecies of Malachi 3:1-5, 4:2-6), as an encouragement to put off the Old Man, and to put on Christ. The conjunction of Nativity with the beginning of our remembrance of Theophany leads us to dwell upon the themes of old and new— of the new covenant by which we have been embraced, of how it fulfils promises of the old covenant, and of how Christ himself is the Alpha as well as the Omega.

This weekend, as we take our leave of this dramatic time of year, we consider readings from several Orthodox jurisdictions, amplified by passages in the Psalter and the Torah. Ephesians 4:7-13, Psalm 67/68:18, Matthew 4:12-17 and John 21:1-14 show us both the global and the intimate, or personal nature, of the Light that has made its mark upon the entire cosmos, and on each one of us.

This week, as we approach Great Lent, Dr. Edith Humphrey helps us prepare our minds by focusing upon godly humility, as seen in Job, in the model laid out for Timothy by St. Paul, and in the well-known parable of the Publican and the Pharisee.