Over Labor Day weekend, Phoenix, Arizona, will host Orthodox young adults from all over who'll gather for fellowship, a service project, and the chance to stretch themselves to better live and EXCLAIM their Orthodox faith. To discuss this great event, and share their own inspiring stories, Bill will interview Judge Steven Counelis and George Anagnostopoulos. These enthusiastic visionaries represent the amazing Young Adult League committee that organized this unique and extraordinary event.

Frederica talks with Crunchy Con author Rod Dreher and his wife, Julie, about practical sustainability.

Doxacon is a gathering of Orthodox Christians with an interest in fantasy, sci-fi, and gaming. This year they asked me to deliver the lay keynote (conference theme: "Making Virtuous Decisions in Fiction"), and I confessed that I don't know much about those popular forms of media. So we compromised. First, I speak about Charles Dickens, and how some non-virtuous personal decisions affected his life and his writing; then my son, Fr. Stephen Mathewes, relates the "virtuous decisions" question to some popular books, movies, and videogames. At the end I came back with a few thoughts about bees. Enjoy!

Fr Joseph interviews rockers Lacey and Josh Sturm. They talk about the struggles and joys of Orthodoxy, song writing, iconography, and the new album "Kenotic Metanoia" (available now).

It feels awful when we break an object we love and it is beyond repair. Yet Christ loves us and tells us we as persons must be broken for Him to “repair” us. He tells us we have no choice and that the alternative to not being broken is to be crushed. What does He mean? Join Michael as he explains Christ’s teaching and what brokenness looks and feels like.

Is spiritual life more difficult in our days than of old? Fr. Steven thinks so, and explains how the threat of the erosion of our personhood is something new.

In 597, a party of forty missionary monks, led by St Augustine of Canterbury (May 28), was sent to Britain by the holy Pope Gregory the Great, to bring the blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ to the English people. Aethelberht, who had been King of Kent for thirty-six years, received the monks favorably, allowed them to preach in his kingdom, and invited them to establish their headquarters in Canterbury, his capital city, which already contained a small, ruined church dedicated to St Martin of Tours in Roman times.   The king himself was converted and received holy Baptism at the hands of St Augustine; a crowd of his subjects followed his example. When St Augustine was consecrated bishop, Aethelberht allowed him to be made Archbishop of Canterbury and gave his own palace to serve as a monastery. The king worked steadily for the conversion of the neighboring kindoms, and in 604 established an episcopal see in London. Unlike some Christian rulers, he refused to see anyone converted forcibly.   Saint Aethelberht reposed in peace in 616, after reigning for fifty-six years. He was buried in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, which he had established. Many miracles were worked at his tomb, where a lamp was kept lit perpetually until the monastery was disbanded by the Protestants in 1538.

In 597, a party of forty missionary monks, led by St Augustine of Canterbury (May 28), was sent to Britain by the holy Pope Gregory the Great, to bring the blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ to the English people. Aethelberht, who had been King of Kent for thirty-six years, received the monks favorably, allowed them to preach in his kingdom, and invited them to establish their headquarters in Canterbury, his capital city, which already contained a small, ruined church dedicated to St Martin of Tours in Roman times.   The king himself was converted and received holy Baptism at the hands of St Augustine; a crowd of his subjects followed his example. When St Augustine was consecrated bishop, Aethelberht allowed him to be made Archbishop of Canterbury and gave his own palace to serve as a monastery. The king worked steadily for the conversion of the neighboring kindoms, and in 604 established an episcopal see in London. Unlike some Christian rulers, he refused to see anyone converted forcibly.   Saint Aethelberht reposed in peace in 616, after reigning for fifty-six years. He was buried in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, which he had established. Many miracles were worked at his tomb, where a lamp was kept lit perpetually until the monastery was disbanded by the Protestants in 1538.

In 597, a party of forty missionary monks, led by St Augustine of Canterbury (May 28), was sent to Britain by the holy Pope Gregory the Great, to bring the blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ to the English people. Aethelberht, who had been King of Kent for thirty-six years, received the monks favorably, allowed them to preach in his kingdom, and invited them to establish their headquarters in Canterbury, his capital city, which already contained a small, ruined church dedicated to St Martin of Tours in Roman times.   The king himself was converted and received holy Baptism at the hands of St Augustine; a crowd of his subjects followed his example. When St Augustine was consecrated bishop, Aethelberht allowed him to be made Archbishop of Canterbury and gave his own palace to serve as a monastery. The king worked steadily for the conversion of the neighboring kindoms, and in 604 established an episcopal see in London. Unlike some Christian rulers, he refused to see anyone converted forcibly.   Saint Aethelberht reposed in peace in 616, after reigning for fifty-six years. He was buried in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, which he had established. Many miracles were worked at his tomb, where a lamp was kept lit perpetually until the monastery was disbanded by the Protestants in 1538.

On this Thomas Sunday, Fr. Andrew reflects on the awakening of Christ from the dead and what it means for us to awaken to the resurrection.

Together, we are connected by the forgiveness we all need.

So, what would it look like if suddenly the country was swept up in the popularity of Orthodoxy. Brace yourself for Fr. Joseph's vision!

Fr Joseph—in his previous life—rolled yards, bent forks, painted water towers, and was, on more than one occasion, killed by his father. (Some of which is actually true.) In the end, hats off to fear!

A long time ago, in a parish far, far away . . . It is a period of church war. Ortho-Nerds, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the Nominal Ecclesiarch. During the struggle, Ortho-Nerd spies managed to steal secret plans to the Ecclesiarch's ultimate weapon, the Death Pew . . . (Also in this episode, Fr Joseph says: geek, dork, loser, dweeb, tetragrammaton, gamer, and emo.)

Fr. Anthony reminds his fellow priests that they need to give up everything for Christ in order to effectively serve and assist their people.

This conversation with Bill Black, OCMC Missionary to Kenya, was recorded during the International Orthodox Theological Association conference in Iasi, Romania (9-12 January 2019). Bill gave a talk on this subject at the conference and was gracious enough to take time away from the sessions to talk about it for the podcast. Enjoy the show!

It is difficult for some of us who were raised on a theology of substitutionary atonement, those of us Protestant converts to holy Orthodoxy, it is difficult for us to accept that our final judgement will involve anything more than the forgiveness of sins. But the Church teaches us otherwise. Parables such as the Rich Man and Lazarus, and the Separation of the Sheep and the Goats play a huge role in the hymnology of the Orthodox Church and in its understanding of what our judgement before God will look like. That is, judgement before God is not merely about forgiveness of sin. But rather, the judgement of the Age to Come is also about comfort and torment; or as Christ puts it in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Father Abraham speaking to the Rich Man who is in torment), “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.”

The girls read Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale, and even Christina loved it. They discuss how each of us is broken, how our response to that brokenness shapes us, and how each of us is called to become holy in a unique way. They close with the Top 5 Women With a Cause.

Steve Christoforou and Christian Gonzalez discuss the new Disney+ series "Obi-Wan Kenobi." They explore the self, sacrifice, and the allure of the Dark Side.

Instead of obsessing over how we measure up, we should simply focus all our energies on finding healing for our passions as we reorient our disordered desires for fulfillment in God. If we persist in doing so and call out for the Lord’s mercy whenever we stumble and fall, we will come to know the joy of those liberated from the tomb, clothed in the divine glory, and finally in our right minds.

As we prepare to receive the Lord in faith at Christmas, we must use our freedom to follow St. Paul’s instruction in today’s epistle reading: “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

People think of religion in many different ways today, but usually not in a way that requires our hearts to be broken.

Today we read the fourth of the six Psalms recited by the priest at the beginning of Matins, Psalm 86 LXX/87 MT. With help from Joshua 2, John 4:14 and 7: 37-39, and Galatians 4:26-7, we unpack this psalm that celebrates the glory of Zion—a city founded by the LORD in the Old Testament, and that points towards an even more glorious heavenly city, to which we are called as citizens.

1. In her inaugural broadcast, Chrissi reads her own composition for younger children - Under the Grapevine: A Miracle by St. Kendeas of Cyprus (Conciliar Press 2006) and for the older children part 1 of The Boy, a Kitchen, and His Cave by Catherine K. Contopoulos (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press 2002).

145. Under the Grapevine: A Miracle by Saint Kendeas of Cyprus by Chrissi Hart (Concilar Press, 2006).

Fr. Ted explains that, because we are hypocrites, we are in danger of losing God's grace.

On the Sunday of All Saints, Fr. Ted distinguishes between the image of God, which is a gift given to all of humanity, and the likeness of God, which must be attained through much effort and prayer.

A Study of the Paralytic in Mark Chapter 2 Sometimes the world appears to be so divided and its people so alienated from one another, that it seems like it would take a miracle to fix it and bring us all together again! And yet, this is exactly what Christ came to do. Likewise, the purpose of the Church, which is His body, is to re-unite in itself the world, which has been pulled apart by sin. Drawing on the healing narratives of the Gospels, the sayings of early Church Father, St. John Chrysostom, and contemporary Orthodox thinker Fr. Alexander Schmemann, Steve and Bill examine the causes of division, and discuss how we are healed, and the fragmented cosmos is put back together again in the person of Christ.

Steve returns to podcasting after five years of silence. He reflects on "the will of God for your life" in light of his recent life events.

Steve discusses his struggle with his recent diagnosis with cancer while caregiving his dying parents. He takes an honest, hard look at the common sayings and spiritual counsels often given to people who are suffering.

Fr. Evan welcomes His Grace Bishop Athanasios of Kenya to join him and even answer some of the listener questions.

Meet Kenneth, one of the treasures at the Mission. Taken from Walking Humbly: The Holiness of the Poor, by St. John the Compassionate Mission.

Martha begins the new year listing a few basics she hopes her children learn before entering adulthood.

The two great commandments of loving God and neighbor are presented by Christ as the focus of all the Law and Prophets. Fr Thomas reminds us that in fulfilling these commands, we grow in God's likeness, accomplishing our original purpose. (15th Sunday after Pentecost/Leavetaking of the Exaltation of the Cross)

On the seventh Sunday of Holy Pascha we recall the words of our Lord to His apostles before His passion, reminding them that what He taught them was given by God Himself. Fr Thomas reminds Orthodox Christians that we must also receive this apostolic teaching and pass it on to new believers without any change or error.

Fr. Gregory gives extracts from St Gregory of Nyssa's orations on the feast of the Nativity of Christ. He intersperses these reflections from contemporary life as the context in which both the promises and the challenges of the gospel are to be worked out by each one of us.

Two sermons today - first Fr. Gregory Hallam followed by Fr. Emmanuel Kahn helping us prepare for the Dormition of the Mother of God.