Listen in on Steve's reflections on learning to love, his marriage and his Valentine's day wish for his wife.

Guest co-host Fr. Patrick Cardine joins Fr. Evan Armatas fielding questions about Orthodoxy and learning about the Western Rite.

Meet Catherine, one of the treasures who is part of the Mission. Taken from Walking Humbly: The Holiness of the Poor, by St. John the Compassionate Mission.

One might say that the beauty of the poor is hard to spot. But one would be wrong... because in truth, beauty is the hospitality of holiness for the human being. And where do we find this hospitality more present than in the body of the poor? Take a look into Christine's joyful and deep blue eyes, to see for yourself.

Both Hector and Mohamed share their wisdom, encouraging each person to use their God-given creativity and humbly open their hearts, in order to build community and open the door to holiness.

Martha describes a program hosted by her local library that accepts food items as payment for library fines in support of a neighborhood food bank.

the course of medication that cures Hepatitis C costs $84,000 at $1,000/pill, but can be produced for only $700 or $0.83/pill #

like curling meets shuffleboard on a tabletop board #

anything out of frame is immediately forgotten, making it very dream-like and surreal to explore #

We regard it as “Scripture”, a holy text, and of course it is. But it is also a personal letter addressed and written to people other than ourselves.

In the Gospel reading Christ even now stands in our midst to speak to our hearts.

Fr. Lawrence Farley comments on the Anaphora, which is a Greek word meaning “offering.”

Imagine my surprise to find that the view that Jesus was not divine was not confined to J.W.’s and Christadelphians. When perusing Facebook (just one of my bad habits) I found a debate televised on Faith Unaltered between Dr. Dale Tuggy (who denied the divinity of Jesus) and Dane Van Eyes (who affirmed it). Apparently cults like the J.W.’s were not the only ones now denying the divinity of Christ. Who knew?

Many people will (hopefully) identify the above quote as coming from the speech of Polonius in Act 1, Scene 3 of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It was part of the fatherly talk he gave to his son Laertes before the boy moved away to university. It is now often quoted as a bit of perennial wisdom for life (it was written by Shakespeare, after all). It is not as often known that it was part of a speech that Shakespeare meant to be recognized as almost meaninglessly platitudinous, a kind of Elizabethan “blah-blah-blah, yada-yada-yada”.

In my last episode, I examined Paul’s words in Romans 9 and their bearing upon the classic Reformed teaching about predestination—i.e. the notion that before the creation of the world God had already chosen some to be saved and some to be damned, and that these choices were based solely upon His sovereign will, and that furthermore, our human choices to accept or reject Christ were simply the outworking of God’s primordial decisions. Those whom He chose to be saved He would draw to Himself so that they would accept Christ, and those whom He had chosen for damnation He would harden so that they would reject Christ. Those teaching this often refer to Paul’s words in Ephesians 1 in support of their views, so we will examine that passage here.

Fr. Apostolos continues his homiletic series on prayer.

Fr. Apostolos responds to another week of blood-letting in America.

Fr. Apostolos introduces a miniseries of sermons about the spiritual depths of Divine Worship and starts by explaining the word leitourgia.

Fr. Apostolos addresses the Sacrament of Kingdom invoked at the opening of the Divine Liturgy followed by a treatment of "Peace" as the precondition for prayer.

This is lesson three in Fr. Apostolos' series on Divine Worship; this installment addressing the historical development of the Small Entrance and the significance of the Readings in view of the centrality of Holy Scripture in the lives of Christian believers.

Fr. Apostolos continues the series on Divine Worship, discussing the beginning of the Synaxis of the Faithful and of the prayers leading up to the Great Entrance.

Fr. Apostolos continues the homily series on Divine Worship, addressing the Sacrament of Offering and the potential that exists to redeem our work-a-day lives through the offering up to God of a portion of our labors, in this case the bread and wine of Holy Communion.

Fr. Apostolos examines John Chapter 6 and the Holy Eucharist in the Epiklesis and how that, unlike our Western counterparts, we Orthodox leave off trying to explain the mysteries to the satisfaction of our intellectual curiosity, content to accept the words of our Lord as plainly stated (and thrice repeated!) in the Gospels. A brief review of the Epiklesis in the liturgy ensues.

Fr. Apostolos concludes the miniseries of sermons about the Divine Liturgy. He encourages the faithful to work through their understanding about the intricacies of the Liturgy in the laboratory of corporate prayer in the Church.

Fr. Apostolos delivers a timely reminder to bear good fruits and tend the garden that we have been given.

Fr. Apostolos Hill shares Sunday's homily for the Holy Cross, at once a message easily understood enough but very challenging to accept.

Fr. Apostolos speaks about Divine Judgement and the pardon offered to all through the blood of Christ.

Fr. Apostolos Hill shares a homily about the Apostles' Fast and the command to share the Gospel.

Sunday before the Nativity of Christ

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

On the last Sunday of preparation before we begin the Great Fast, the Church calls us to offer and receive forgiveness from everyone. Fr Tom reminds us that we are commanded to forgive precisely because this action allows us to participate in and experience the Divine Life of God Himself.

On the Feast of the Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple, Fr Thomas preached a sermon on the significance of the feast for the hundreds gathered to venerate the Myrrh-Gushing Icon of St Anna at Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Ellwood City, PA.

As we begin the pre-Lenten Sunday readings, the parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector reminds us that the only true measure of our holiness is God Himself.

At the celebration of the feast of All Saints of North America, Fr Thomas shows us the relationship between the holiness demonstrated in the lives of the Saints and our mission as Christians in the world.

Fr. Tom unpacks the Epistle reading to show the importance of doctrine for our understanding of Christ, ourselves, the world, and everything.

Fr. Tom greets us on the blessed feast of the Nativity to remind us that only in the light of Christ can we find true fulfillment.

Listen as Fr. Tom discusses what it means to invest in the Kingdom of God

Fr Thomas expounds on the innate connection between belief in Christ and the reception of the Holy Spirit, in whom we are called to be truly holy humans. (John 7:37-52, 8:12) Pentecost Sunday, June 4, 2023.

Over the next two Sundays Fr. Gregory speaks about the acts of two particular Apostles or Enlighteners of England, so that we may have a clearer and deeper appreciation of the enduring characteristics of Orthodox Christian mission for our own day. Two Orthodox saints have been chosen: this week, St. Augustine of Canterbury; and next week, St. Theodore of Canterbury. Both have much to teach us.

Fr. Gregory Hallam draws on St. Augustine for his sermon on the Ascension.

Are we slouched downcast in the belly of the fish or are we striding away from the shore with God’s net in our backpack? Fr. Gregory says the choice is always ours. Let us choose well.

Fr. Emmanuel Kahn says St. Paul sets before us a model—that we should be as “beloved children”—that is children who are deeply loved by their parents and others, because God first loves us before we learn to love Him.

Fr. Christopher is the preacher today and examines the Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord.

Fr. Gregory gives a math lesson in the abundance of God's grace.

Fr. Gregory and Fr. Emmanuel team up to preach on St. Paul's admonishment to "put off the old nature and put on the new nature."