Fr. Stephen De Young wraps up the book of Romans, covering the last bit of Chapters 15 and 16.

Reunited at last, Christina and Emma bring their own perspective to Wonder Woman. They discuss the characteristics of heroism, how femininity and power are related, and the line between virtue and naïveté. They close with their Top 5 War Films.

Do you understand the Gospel as being good news for all, even for those whom you hate?

The Savior came to heal, bless and sanctify all who bear his image and likeness. Are we living into that healing and blessing?

How do you decided whether you measure up or not? Does shame or blame keep us from opening our souls to the new life offered by our Lord?

The woman suffering from a physical ailment that made her ceremonially unclean is an example for us in how to approach Jesus in humility and faith.

Fr. Philip LeMasters encourages us to follow the example of St. Photini who repented of her sin without excuse in order to find healing.

Both the bleeding woman and Jairus were at the end of their rope. They faced circumstances so dark that they could not imagine how they would be delivered from them. The gravity of their challenges is reflected by how little these characters speak in their encounters with Christ. They did not use many words to show whatever level of faith they had in Him, perhaps because what was at stake was beyond their ability to name.

Our Lord’s ministry violated many of the religious and cultural sensibilities of first-century Palestine in shocking ways. Contrary to all expectations for the Jewish Messiah, He asked for a drink of water from a Samaritan woman with a broken personal history, engaged in an extended spiritual conversation with her, and then spent two days in a Samaritan village. He invited Himself to the home of Zacchaeus, a corrupt tax-collector for the Roman army of occupation. And as we read today, He not only healed the servant of a Roman centurion, but said of this man, “Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” This encounter is truly astounding because the Jews expected a Messiah to defeat the Romans by military force, not to praise the faith of their officers.

Fr. John explores what could be called the catacomb culture of the Church in relation to the Roman Empire.

Fr. John explores how the Church began to address, confront, and challenge the pagan culture of the Roman Empire, particularly during the third century.

Fr. John looks at traditional Christianity's eucharistic rites in order to see how they served to reorient the world toward the kingdom of heaven.

Fr. John delineates the various ways in which Constantine contributed to the Christianization of the Roman state.

In this anecdotal introduction to Reflection 21, Father John relates a remarkable but short-lived revolution in fourteenth-century Rome that served as a sign of what the age of utopia would bring. Listeners who enjoy the music of Richard Wagner will recognize the ill-fated revolutionary's name and understand why the turbulent nineteenth-century composer was attracted to him! And speaking of music, if you are wondering about the new closing sequence, it is a chorus from Mozart's utopian opera The Magic Flute and consists of the following (in translation): "When virtue and justice strew with fame the path of the great, then earth is a realm of heaven, and mortals are like the gods."

What was the genius of classical music during its nineteenth-century golden age? According to Fr. John Strickland, it was an effort to rescue Christendom's transformational imperative in an age when secularization threatened to sever earth from heaven. No longer influenced by traditional Christianity, great composers like Beethoven exaggerated earthly passions (especially sexual love) to communicate the West's primordial desire for transcendence. But the emotionalism that resulted threatened to take the floor out from underneath them. This episode concludes by analyzing famous works by Schubert and Berlioz which show how transcendence gave way to descent, and how utopian hopes plunged into irreversible spiritual agony.

Most Americans know Tchaikovsky as the composer of the delightful dances contained within the Nutcracker Ballet. As Fr. John Strickland shows, however, there is much more to be heard in their melodies, and little that was delightful about the emotionally agonized life behind them. Using selections from a variety of works, he explores how the romantic agony came for Tchaikovsky in his boyhood and thereafter never departed. Special attention is given to an analysis of the famous Sixth Symphony, nicknamed Pathetique. First performed just days before the composer's abrupt death, the work brings the generation of the romantics to a heart-rending and emblematic conclusion.

Fr. John Parker traveled to Romania and sat down with OCMC missionary Floyd Frantz who works with the Church to help people with addictions.

Fr. John shares the story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman, her response, and our response in light of recent statistics about faith and culture.

Dr. Humphrey looks at the Gospel reading for Sunday and reflects on St. Photini as an example of one redeemed by Christ in spite of her background.

This week we look to the Old Testament readings of Exodus 3 and Jeremiah 32-33 to understand the feast of the Annunciation, the words of Gabriel to holy Mary, and the meeting of the Theotokos with Elizabeth in the hill country of Judah. God’s glory is seen in humble places.

This week, we read Revelation 12:1-6, mindful of the its connection with the previous chapter, and with an eye to its inner mystery concerning the Theotokos, our identity, and the victory of Christ. We are helped by attention to Deuteronomy 1:29-33; Psalm 2:7-9, and Daniel 7, along with the various comments of ancient theologians.

Sweet Song: A Story of Saint Romanos the Melodist by Jane G Meyer, illustrated by Dorrie Papdemetriou (Ancient Faith Publishing, 2013)

"Healing of the Woman with an Issue of Blood," from Feasts of Christ and the Theotokos and Miracles of the Lord by Spiritual Fragrance Publishing (2012)

"Jesus Heals a Woman on the Sabbath," from Feasts of Christ and the Theotokos and Miracles of the Lord by Spiritual Fragrance Publishing (2012)

"The Romanov Family," from Royal Saints: A coloring book with stories of saintly royalty throughout the history of Christianity (Draw Near Designs). Saints drawn by Marian Adams. Stories & Borders by Abigail Holt. Layout by Caroline Gann.

130. The Woman and the Wheat by Jane G. Meyer (St. Vladimir Seminary Press, 2009)

176. The Woman and the Wheat by Jane G. Meyer (St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2009).

Fr. Ted Pulcini, ex-Roman Catholic and now Eastern Orthodox priest and long-time Orthodox participant in Orthodox-Catholic ecumenical dialog, discusses the Vatican's recent document on the doctrine on the Church. He and Kevin Allen discuss the timing of its publication, what it really means, what it says about the current and future state of relations between the two oldest branches of Christianity, and what the divisive issues are.

Fr. Chad talks with visiting Romanian theologian Mihail Neamțu about the future of Orthodoxy in America, the treasures of Romanian Orthodoxy and the effects of communism in Eastern Europe. At the end, Fr. Chad recommended the following book: Bearers of the Spirit: Spiritual Fatherhood in Romanian Orthodoxy.

Protestant critics of Orthodoxy fault us for many things, but one of the foremost of their objections is our devotion to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Hostility to Roman Catholicism is built into Protestant DNA, so anything in Orthodoxy that resembles something in Roman Catholicism will be subject to criticism, including such more or less innocuous things like clergy wearing cassocks and calling themselves “Father”. Our Orthodox devotion to Mary (whom we call “the Theotokos”) often heads the list of Protestant objections, since it features so prominently in Roman Catholicism.

All of the words of the Saviour are important, even the words spoken that were strictly rhetorical. One such utterance is found in the story of the sinful woman, told in Luke 7:36f.

In his book Reflections on the Psalms, C. S. Lewis wrote a chapter on praising which began with him saying that “It is possible (and it is to be hoped) that this chapter will be unnecessary for most people”. In the same spirit, I hope that this and subsequent episodes on the topic of predestination will be unnecessary for most people.

Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (Originally given July 27, 2008)

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

The Scriptures and the Fathers have much to say about the Jewish people, and unfortunately, this view has largely been misrepresented. Fr Tom teaches us that the people of God, Israel, will always be those who love and follow the true God. (Fifth Sunday after Pentecost)

The New Testament epistles as well as the Divine Liturgy constantly encourage us to be of one mind because we are members of the Body of Christ and of one another. Fr Tom used today's epistle reading as an opportunity to encourage his parishioners to develop oneness with each other in order to achieve parish goals. (Seventh Sunday after Pentecost)

Dr. Al Rossi interviews Dr. Daniel Hinshaw on the life and spiritual legacy of Fr. Roman Braga. Dr. Daniel Hinshaw is professor of palliative care at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonkers, New York.

Fr. Lawrence Farley investigates the identity of the woman who anointed Christ's feet before his trial and crucifixion.

OCMC missionary Floyd Frantz about his work with addictions in Romania.

We talk with Alexander Lingas about this new beautiful 2-CD production from Cappella Romana. Also available from Liturgica.

Listen to an interview with Bev Cooke about her new book from Conciliar Press: Royal Monastic: Princess Ileana of Romania. This is the true story of a princess who later became Mother Alexandra, the founder of the Holy Transfiguration monastery in Ellwood City, PA.

Bobby Maddex interviews Fr. Lawrence Russell, priest at Church of the Annunciation in Santa Maria, California, about a truly remarkable Orthodox ministry, located in Adwa, Ethiopia, and the even more remarkable woman who started it.

Bobby Maddex interviews Ron Moore, the new owner of two online Orthodox retail outlets—Saint Romanos Records and Fullness of the Faith.

Fr Joseph Huneycutt welcomes you to St Joseph Orthodox Church, Houston, Texas for this Special AFR Christmas presentation: “God is With Us” by the St Romanos Chorale under the direction of Dr William Attra. The St Romanos Chorale takes its name from the Syrian religious poet and hymnographer of the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church, St. Romanos, who is considered to be the greatest of the Byzantine melodist-poets. The Chorale is composed of singers from Orthodox Christian churches in the greater Houston area. The music is sung a cappella in both Byzantine and Slavonic styles, predominantly in English, but also in Greek, Arabic, and Slavonic. The Chorale has presented beautiful Orthodox Christian music to audiences throughout Texas and neighboring states at venues including major colleges and universities. The special Christmas performance you are about to hear was recorded on December 10, 2011, at St Joseph Antiochian Orthodox Church, Houston, Texas.

We interview Fr. Robert Miclean, the Rector of Holy Archangels Orthodox Mission in Annapolis, Maryland, who will soon be leading a pilgrimage to Romania. Among the highlights of this upcoming trip will be the celebration of Holy Ascension in Valea Plopului, Romania, and Holy Pentecost at Putna Monastery in the northern part of Romania, home of the famous "painted monasteries" built by St. Stephen the Great.

Bobby Maddex interviews Fr. Robert Miclean, the Rector of Holy Archangels Orthodox Mission in Annapolis, Maryland, about the pilgrimage he will be leading to Romania in 2019.

Fr. Pat explores the dynamic nature of God's word, what it means to profess the Resurrection, and the contrast between law and gospel.