"This Saint was from Synnada in Phrygia of Asia Minor. In Constantinople he met Saint Theophylact (March 8); the holy Patriarch Tarasius, learning that Michael and Theophylact desired to become monks, sent them to a monastery on the Black Sea. Because of their great virtue, St Tarasius afterwards compelled them to accept consecration, Theophylact as Bishop of Nicomedia, and Michael as Bishop of his native Synnada. Because St Michael fearlessly confessed the veneration of the holy icons, he was banished by the Iconoclast Emperor Leo V the Armenian, who reigned from 813 to 820. After being driven from one place to another, in many hardships and bitter pains, St Michael died in exile." (Great Horologion)

Saints Trophimus and Sabbatius came to Antioch during a great festival of Apollo and Daphne. Sorrowing for the blindness of the people they presented themselves to Atticus, the governor, and announced that they were Christians. Sabbatius was tortured so cruelly that he died in his sufferings; Trophimus was sent to Synnada, where he in turn was tortured, then imprisoned barely alive. An official of that city, Dorymedon, was moved to pity and came to the prison to care for Trophimus. (The Great Horologion says that he was still a pagan at the time, the Prologue that he was a secret Christian). When a pagan festival came, Dorymedon refused to worship the idols and proclaimed himself a Christian. He and Trophimus together were tortured, thrown to wild beasts (who would not touch them), and finally beheaded.

Saints Trophimus and Sabbatius came to Antioch during a great festival of Apollo and Daphne. Sorrowing for the blindness of the people they presented themselves to Atticus, the governor, and announced that they were Christians. Sabbatius was tortured so cruelly that he died in his sufferings; Trophimus was sent to Synnada, where he in turn was tortured, then imprisoned barely alive. An official of that city, Dorymedon, was moved to pity and came to the prison to care for Trophimus. (The Great Horologion says that he was still a pagan at the time, the Prologue that he was a secret Christian). When a pagan festival came, Dorymedon refused to worship the idols and proclaimed himself a Christian. He and Trophimus together were tortured, thrown to wild beasts (who would not touch them), and finally beheaded.

"This Saint was from Synnada in Phrygia of Asia Minor. In Constantinople he met Saint Theophylact (March 8); the holy Patriarch Tarasius, learning that Michael and Theophylact desired to become monks, sent them to a monastery on the Black Sea. Because of their great virtue, St Tarasius afterwards compelled them to accept consecration, Theophylact as Bishop of Nicomedia, and Michael as Bishop of his native Synnada. Because St Michael fearlessly confessed the veneration of the holy icons, he was banished by the Iconoclast Emperor Leo V the Armenian, who reigned from 813 to 820. After being driven from one place to another, in many hardships and bitter pains, St Michael died in exile." (Great Horologion)

Saints Trophimus and Sabbatius came to Antioch during a great festival of Apollo and Daphne. Sorrowing for the blindness of the people they presented themselves to Atticus, the governor, and announced that they were Christians. Sabbatius was tortured so cruelly that he died in his sufferings; Trophimus was sent to Synnada, where he in turn was tortured, then imprisoned barely alive. An official of that city, Dorymedon, was moved to pity and came to the prison to care for Trophimus. (The Great Horologion says that he was still a pagan at the time, the Prologue that he was a secret Christian). When a pagan festival came, Dorymedon refused to worship the idols and proclaimed himself a Christian. He and Trophimus together were tortured, thrown to wild beasts (who would not touch them), and finally beheaded.

Dada was a high Persian official serving in the court of King Shapur II, and secretly a Christian. When he was appointed governor of a province some way from the court, Dada began to worship and proclaim Christ openly. This came to the attention of the King, who sent one of his sons, Gubarlahas, to try and execute him. Dada was condemned and condemned to be thrown into a fiery furnace. But when Dada made the sign of the Cross, the fire went out, amazing the Prince and eventually leading him to convert to Christ.   The outraged King had his son thrown in prison and put to torture. Gubarlahas endured days of hideous torture without complaint and, though he had been subjected to horrible mutilations, emerged from his cell unscathed. This wonder led others, including two more of the King's own children or kin, to embrace Christ. Kazoy, the King's daughter, was allowed to enter into rest as soon as her tortures began. Gubarlahas was miraculously baptised in the midst of further tortures: A voice from on high pronounced the words of baptism, and a shower of water and oil fell on the Martyr. Not long afterward, he perished, along with Dada and Kasdios, one of Gubarlahas' kinsmen who had been convinced of the Truth by the miracles he had seen.

"This Saint was from Synnada in Phrygia of Asia Minor. In Constantinople he met Saint Theophylact (March 8); the holy Patriarch Tarasius, learning that Michael and Theophylact desired to become monks, sent them to a monastery on the Black Sea. Because of their great virtue, St Tarasius afterwards compelled them to accept consecration, Theophylact as Bishop of Nicomedia, and Michael as Bishop of his native Synnada. Because St Michael fearlessly confessed the veneration of the holy icons, he was banished by the Iconoclast Emperor Leo V the Armenian, who reigned from 813 to 820. After being driven from one place to another, in many hardships and bitter pains, St Michael died in exile." (Great Horologion)

Dada was a high Persian official serving in the court of King Shapur II, and secretly a Christian. When he was appointed governor of a province some way from the court, Dada began to worship and proclaim Christ openly. This came to the attention of the King, who sent one of his sons, Gubarlahas, to try and execute him. Dada was condemned and condemned to be thrown into a fiery furnace. But when Dada made the sign of the Cross, the fire went out, amazing the Prince and eventually leading him to convert to Christ.   The outraged King had his son thrown in prison and put to torture. Gubarlahas endured days of hideous torture without complaint and, though he had been subjected to horrible mutilations, emerged from his cell unscathed. This wonder led others, including two more of the King's own children or kin, to embrace Christ. Kazoy, the King's daughter, was allowed to enter into rest as soon as her tortures began. Gubarlahas was miraculously baptised in the midst of further tortures: A voice from on high pronounced the words of baptism, and a shower of water and oil fell on the Martyr. Not long afterward, he perished, along with Dada and Kasdios, one of Gubarlahas' kinsmen who had been convinced of the Truth by the miracles he had seen.

"This Saint was from Synnada in Phrygia of Asia Minor. In Constantinople he met Saint Theophylact (March 8); the holy Patriarch Tarasius, learning that Michael and Theophylact desired to become monks, sent them to a monastery on the Black Sea. Because of their great virtue, St Tarasius afterwards compelled them to accept consecration, Theophylact as Bishop of Nicomedia, and Michael as Bishop of his native Synnada. Because St Michael fearlessly confessed the veneration of the holy icons, he was banished by the Iconoclast Emperor Leo V the Armenian, who reigned from 813 to 820. After being driven from one place to another, in many hardships and bitter pains, St Michael died in exile." (Great Horologion)

Dada was a high Persian official serving in the court of King Shapur II, and secretly a Christian. When he was appointed governor of a province some way from the court, Dada began to worship and proclaim Christ openly. This came to the attention of the King, who sent one of his sons, Gubarlahas, to try and execute him. Dada was condemned and condemned to be thrown into a fiery furnace. But when Dada made the sign of the Cross, the fire went out, amazing the Prince and eventually leading him to convert to Christ.   The outraged King had his son thrown in prison and put to torture. Gubarlahas endured days of hideous torture without complaint and, though he had been subjected to horrible mutilations, emerged from his cell unscathed. This wonder led others, including two more of the King's own children or kin, to embrace Christ. Kazoy, the King's daughter, was allowed to enter into rest as soon as her tortures began. Gubarlahas was miraculously baptised in the midst of further tortures: A voice from on high pronounced the words of baptism, and a shower of water and oil fell on the Martyr. Not long afterward, he perished, along with Dada and Kasdios, one of Gubarlahas' kinsmen who had been convinced of the Truth by the miracles he had seen.

This week's podcast features snippets from "The Newlywed Game" taken from a Couples Retreat at St Joseph Antiochian Orthodox Church in Houston, Texas.

"These days, Orthodox Christianity is becoming known on the highways and byways, even in the hills and the hollers. But let's not get lazy. Let's not squander this opportunity." Fr. Joseph thinks everyone should have the opportunity to hear about -- even come home to -- the True Faith (and click here to visit the SmallTown Heroes he speaks about at their web site).

Join Fr. Anthony in Hartwell, GA as he talks with Professor Adam DeVille (University of Saint Francis, Fort Wayne, IN) about proper and improper ways of framing self-care, why it is so easy to get it wrong, and why it is important to get it right. They also spend quite a bit of time talking about reconciliation and polarization. Dr. DeVille is the author of Everything Hidden Shall Be Revealed: Ridding the Church of Abuses of Sex and Power. He blogs (prolifically and well) at “Eastern Christian Books.” There’s a bit of ironically timed electronic mischief in the middle, but the worst of it has been edited out. This is the audio from Fr. Anthony’s YouTube livestream (12/21/2020). Professor DeVille’s article on this topic is available here.

Steve and Christian explore the new Netflix movie, "The Adam Project." Spoilers ahead! They explore formation, character, and repentance.

Steve and Christian discuss the new Netflix series, "The G Word with Adam Conover." They explore Christian approaches to politics, power, and the Kingdom of God. Leave your comments for the 200th episode at 917-524-7483 (call or text) by July 1, 2022.

We must accept a kind of death in order to become our true selves—one that includes a rejection of legalism and self-justification.

Our favorite sins drive us into the isolation of the wilderness, away from the healing power of Jesus. Once healed, the best witness to the transforming power of Christ is the personal story of those set free.

As members of Christ’s Body, the Church, we reap the blessings of the faithful obedience of Joachim and Anna and of their daughter the Theotokos. We must now use our freedom to take up our own crosses so that we may unite ourselves evermore fully to Christ in His great Self-Offering for the salvation of the world.

May every step of the journey lead us further away from exile and closer to our true home, the Paradise that our Lord has opened to us through His glorious resurrection on the third day.

In this episode, Fr. John Strickland recounts the efforts of three Italian humanists of the quattrocento ("fourteen hundreds") to rescue the dignity of man from the pessimism of Western culture. Departing from traditional Christianity's dignification of man through communion with God, they looked instead to Neoplatonism and there found a model of the fully autonomous human being, Prometheus.

Fr. John reflects on the apostle/missionary—the Gaderene demoniac—as an image of the Resurrection.

With this podcast, we complete our study of the eight resurrectional-dismissal hymns for the Theotokos, reading the Theotokion that we will sing for the feast of St. Gregory the Theologian on January 25th. We are helped in understanding this lyrical hymn by several passages in the NT, but also by returning to Genesis, Deuteronomy, Hosea, and Psalm 138/139. Here we see the wonder of the God who seeks and finds, and calls all of the cosmos to rejoice as He shows His glory.

In this first episode of the series, we consider the Readable Books (aka Deuterocanonical, Apocryphal) in general, and how they are esteemed by Orthodox, and then read the poignant prayer of Azariah (Daniel 3:25-36), seeing it in the light of Genesis 15, Psalm 79, Romans 3:4, and Rev 16:7.

We read the rest of Azariah’s prayer, followed by a short narrative, found in Daniel 3:37-50, with the help of Psalm 50/51 and Ezra (in the OSB, 2 Ezra) 8:71-87. Azariah’s utter honesty and trust in the philanthropic LORD leads to God’s answer—His presence with them in the furnace, as Azariah and his friends offer the fruit of their lips.

In this episode, we enter into Daniel 3:51-90, in which the three youths give voice to the whole of creation, which praises God. We also wonder at the appearance of the glorious Man, who prefigures the humility and love of our Lord, descending to the depths to save us from death and sin ( 1 Peter 3:18-20). Listeners are encouraged to read the entire song, which is prominent in our Paschal liturgy and has been sung for centuries by the Church.

This week we read the story of Susanna, found either in the prologue of Daniel or Daniel 13 (dependent upon the version used). Susanna is an excellent example of the charms and depth of the Readable Books, adding to doctrine and morals an appreciation for the domestic life and the spunkiness of its heroine, whose story is here analyzed with reference to Daniel 3:17-18, Romans 4, and Psalm 3:1-4.

This week we read the three episodes of Bel and the Dragon (found at the end of the book of Daniel), appreciating the story’s ancient pedigree, its humor, and its sharp reminder to worship God alone. We are helped by comparing its words to Jeremiah 50:2 (LXX 27:2), Jeremiah 51:44 (LXX 28:44), Habakkuk 2:4, and 1 Cor 10:19-20.

This week we consider the structure of LXX Esther in general, and hone in on its introductory and concluding vision and Interpretation (,Esther 1:1a-1l; 10:3a-3k) which put the agency of God front and center for us to praise! We are helped by considering parallels and differences with Job 40-41; Daniel 1, 7-8, Luke 1:46-55, Rev. 12, and Psalm 15 LXX/16MT: 5-7.

In this episode, we read Esther 4: 4:17a-x, which contains the remarkable prayers of Mordecai and Esther. We see these in the context of salvation history by reference to Psalm 1, Psalm 150-151, Daniel 3:2-45; 2 Kings/4 Kingdoms 19:14-19, Nehemiah 1:5-11, and the instruction of ancient theologians.

In this episode we read Esther 3:13a-g, 5:1-13 LXX, and 8:12a-I, considering the royal decrees of the king, the dramatic scene where Esther enters his presence without invitation, and the misinformation about the Jewish people which he finally rejects. We are helped in seeing the significance of these fascinating scenes by recourse to Psalm 85/6, Phil 2:5-11, and 1 Timothy 2:1-2

This week we do an overview of the delightful story of Tobit, concentrating on its supporting characters, and stressing God’s unexpected provisions for us on the natural level.

In this second reading of Tobit, we see its connection with Amos 8:10, Daniel 3:51-90, Revelation 21:18-21, and notice how the prophecies and prayers of the book both accompany its action, and speak in times of distress today.

61. Book 1: "Adam and Eve as Outcasts from Paradise" from The Bible for Young People by Zoe Kanavas translated by Rev. Spencer T. Kezios (Narthex Press, 2005) (7.15 mins) Book 2: Ella's Story: The Duchess Who Became a Saint by Maria Tobias, Chapter 7 (Conciliar Press, 2004) (begins at 8:00, duration 15.22 mins)

Domingo 31 de Agosto Pd. Nicolás predicó que Dios agarda cuando nosotros seguimos su voluntad y damos alabanza a Èl. (Salmo 69:30-31) Por eso vamos a celebrar el hecho que Dios agrada en nosotros. Hebreos 9:1-7 Sunday August 24 Fr. Nicholas preached that God is pleased when we follow His will and give praise to Him. (Psalm 69:30-31) Therefor let us celebrate the fact that God is pleased with us. Hebrews 9:1-7

Padre Nicholas predice que no debemos Preocupar sobre nada, además que si Dios abre la puerta para nosotros. Efesios 5:8-19 Fr. Nicholas preaches that we should not be worried about anything, except for if God will open the doors for us. Ephesians 5:8-19

El Padre Nicolás predicó sobre cómo Dios nos sana. Father Nicholas preached on how God heals us.

Steve the Builder is on the road again and spent a week insulating and remodeling the Abbot's cell, a 60 year old building at St. Michael's Monastery in northern New Mexico.

Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost

Is the "right to die" more important than religious liberty?

Dr. Rossi talks with iconographer Khouria Erin Kimmett about the icon most associated with the resurrection.

Dr. Rossi interviews a recent graduate of St Tikhon's on his insightful thesis, Jesus and Adam.

Dr. Albert Rossi asks who we really are in relation to Adam and Eve.

The Genesis account of Eve being created from the rib of Adam has, throughout history, often been interpreted in negative ways. In this week's broadcast, through a brief text by St Irenaeus of Lyons, Fr. Dcn. Matthew examines a patristic vision of this creation grounding the true intimacy and mutual responsibility of the human community, male and female as "helpers" of one another in the work of salvation.

The Genesis account of Eve being created from the rib of Adam has, throughout history, often been interpreted in negative ways. In this week’s broadcast, through a brief text by St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Archimandrite Irenei examines a patristic vision of this creation grounding the true intimacy and mutual responsibility of the human community, male and female as ‘helpers’ of one another in the work of salvation.

Relive the 2008 Wimbledon men’s singles final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.