In this episode Fr. John Strickland discusses various ways in which Christendom's leadership rejected the reformational Christianity that had provoked the wars of Western religion and replaced it with science, philosophy, pietistic Christianity, and a new religion known as deism.

In the nineteenth century, some Christians in America developed radically new visions of God's relationship to man and the cosmos. This "utopian Christianity" produced Unitarianism, Mormonism, and a string of millenarian sects. Father John Strickland concludes the episode with one of the most daring and disturbing examples of American utopianism, the community of Oneida in upstate New York.

In this long-delayed episode (due to work on The Age of Nihilism, available at store.ancientfaith.com/the-age-of-nihilism-christendom-from-the-great-war-to-the-culture-wars), Father John presents the historical origins of liberalism as a modern secular ideology. Atheistic philosophers like Auguste Comte and John Stuart Mill provided the philosophical basis for hope in a secular "kingdom of posterity."

Fr. John Strickland continues his account of the rise of secular ideology with a presentation on the Russian intelligentsia and the case of Karl Marx.

Fr. John Strickland concludes his account of the origins of modern political ideology with the rise of nationalism, a force that not only proved to be a counterfeit to traditional Christianity, but the cause of one of utopian Christendom's greatest tragedies.

Fr John explores a Barna Group study on the state of Christianity in North America and asks how the observations impact us as Orthodox Christians. The study can be found HERE.

Fr. Chad Hatfield, Dean of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary, gave a Lenten retreat at Fr. John Parker's Holy Ascension Orthodox Church. He spoke on Basic Christian Discipleship - Three Proven Methods for Holy Living. This is part 1.

Fr. Chad Hatfield, Dean of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary, gave a Lenten retreat at Fr. John Parker's Holy Ascension Orthodox Church. He spoke on Basic Christian Discipleship - Three Proven Methods for Holy Living. This is part 2.

Fr. Chad Hatfield, Dean of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary, gave a Lenten retreat at Fr. John Parker's Holy Ascension Orthodox Church. He spoke on Basic Christian Discipleship - Three Proven Methods for Holy Living. This is part 3.

Fr. Josiah Trenham speaks about marriage at a parish retreat earlier this month at Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.

Fr. Josiah Trenham speaks about catechism at a clergy retreat for the Carolina Deanery of the Orthodox Church in America.

Fr. John reflects on a few experiences at Costco, and then about Clemson and Christianity.

Fr. Ted encourages us to use this fast not only as a time to tame our passions, but as a time to show compassion to others,

Fr. Ted calls us to the difficult task of taking up our cross and following Jesus daily.

Fr. Ted calls us to a life genuine love for God and compassion towards those in need.

Fr. Ted encourages us to consider the difference between secular-giving to the poor and Christian-giving to the poor, and how we can give the best of ourselves to our brothers and sisters as we follow Jesus Christ.

Fr. Ted reflects upon the recent bombing in a Coptic Orthodox Church in Cairo, Egyptd during the Divine Liturgy.

Fr. Ted gave a presentation at the Romanian Orthodox Youth Assoc. (ROYA) North American Conference held in Beaverton, Ontario, Canada from October 5-7, 2017. In his talk, Fr. Ted explores the current political landscape and how it affects Orthodox youth who attend secular schools where Christianity is subtly oppressed by often ultra-liberal agendas.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos reminds us of Jesus' call to take up our cross and follow Him.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos explains why the Saints are indeed models of the Orthodox Christian faith that we should follow.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos speaks about the most important call for us in this life.

Dr. John Mark Reynolds, Torrey Honors professor at Biola University, talks about Christianity and Culture.

Kevin Allen interviews Peter Jordan, the son of the founder of Fred Jordan Mission, a major Los Angeles skid row ministry, and a recent convert to the Eastern Orthodox Church.

The Orthodox Church is seeing an influx of graduates from Evangelical Christian colleges and universities, exploring traditional forms of historic Christianity. In this program Kevin Allen discusses this trend with two graduates of BIOLA University (Jesse Cone and Michael Unruh) who were recently chrismated.

Ex-member of the hard-core Christian rock band East West (2002 Dove Award Winner!) speaks about the Christian Contemporary Music Industry, the reality of touring life on the road, the spiritual and physical exhaustion that eventually led him to examine his faith and eventually discovery of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

This week Kevin re-conneects after 35 years with his old college dorm neighbor, Conservative Jewish Rabbi Alan J.Iser, about Judaism, the Jewish roots of Orthodox Christianity, and how religious Jews understand the Torah verses what Christians interpret christologically in this frank interview. Rabbi Iser is the spiritual leader of Congregation OR SHALOM in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. 44:05

As many as 30%+ of Iraqi's 4.2 million displaced refugees are Christian. They are being persecuted from all sides of the conflict. Amal Morcos of IOCC recently returned from Syria and Lebanon and reports first hand on what the U.N. calls "the fastest growing refugee crisis in the world."

In this edition Kevin and Fr Ted Pulcini talk frankly about Orthodox Christian - Muslim dialogue and how Orthodoxy can best communicate its ineffable Truth to Muslims in a way that will resonate. Fr Ted's recently published booklet is titled Face to Face: A Guide for Orthodox Christians Encountering Muslims.

Kevin’s guest in this summer encore presentation is Amal Morcos of IOCC who reports on her trip to Syria and Lebanon.

Meet Father Paisius Altschul, the priest of Saint Mary of Egypt Serbian Orthodox Church and the Executive Director of Reconciliation Services/FOCUS Kansas City. Kevin speaks with Father Paisius about his community’s unique ministry of racial reconciliation and ministry to the poor and homeless in the inner city of Kansas City. (USA).

Dr. Christine Mangala was raised in India and brought up a devout Hindu. Her family was close to one of India's leading Hindu gurus and teachers. Now an Orthodox Christian writer and teacher, she and Illumined Heart host Kevin Allen speak about whether various aspects of Hindu Yoga are compatible with Christian faith and practice, or whether Yoga should be shunned entirely.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to combine the "best" of classic Orthodox Christian spiritual "therapies" (praxis) with modern psychological modalities in therapy? In the first of the new fall line-up, Kevin speaks with Orthodox professor and therapist, Dr. Philip Mamalakis about the ground-breaking work in this area he is pioneering. The web site for Dr. Philip that was mentioned in the interview can be found HERE.

Rookie police officer, Orthodox deacon's son and priest's grandson, Joseph (Jobie) Braun speaks with Kevin about his job as a policeman in the infamous Los Angeles "South Central" area (e.g. the movie "Training Day") and how his Orthodox Christianity keeps him grounded.

Fr. Hans Jacobse, editor of Orthodoxy Today and President of The American Orthodox Institute speaks with host Kevin Allen about whether Eastern Orthodox Christians need to engage in the moral and social war that is being waged in our culture. They will also talk about whether "Religious Right" leaning ex-Evangelical converts are taking over the Orthodox churches in America! Buckle your seat belts!

Fr. Chad spoke to the Serbian Clergy Brotherhood last month on the challenges facing our priests in today's culture. We have broken it up into three parts and bring you part 1 today.

Today we bring you part two of Fr. Chad Hatfield's talk at the Serbian Clergy Brotherhood in June on the challenges facing our priests in today's culture.

Here is the third and final part of Fr. Chad's address to the Serbian Clergy about how we should look at the ministry of the priesthood in today's society.

Fr. John Parker, the new chairman of the OCA's Department of Evangelization, describes how his parish, Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, went from having a handful of believers to being a lively and growing body of Christ.

Princeton University's Philip and Beulah Rollins Professor of History Emeritus Dr. Peter Brown presented the 30th Annual Father Alexander Schmemann Memorial Lecture to a standing room only crowd in the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium of the John G. Rangos Family Building at St. Vladimir's Seminary.

The Very Rev. Dr. John H. Erickson, former seminary Dean (2002-2007), speaks at the first annual "Father John Meyendorff Memorial Lecture" at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary on September 15, 2013.

Orthodox Christian Laity hosted an open forum at St. Vlad's on the work of the Episcopal Assembly. Speakers included Alexei Krindatch, Bishop Michael of New York and New Jersey, and Archbishop Nathaniel of the Romanian Episcopate.

This is a lecture from St. Vladimir's Seminary's annual Orthodox Education Day event, held this year on October 1, 2016. The speaker is Dr. Mary B. Cunningham, lecturer in Historical Theology in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Nottingham, England.

Dn. Michael Hyatt begins looking at chapter 2 of Thinking Orthodox by Dr. Jeannie Constantinou. It's called The Distinctiveness of Orthodox Christianity.

In this podcast Steve gives a simple way to get to know someone quickly: take them out for dinner. He discusses how both CEO's of international corporations and the scriptures tell us that how people treat waiters and waitresses says volumes about their personality, ethics and spiritual life.

Dn. Mark Barna concludes his podcast on rediscovering ancient Christian burial customs for the modern world with this 66-minute introduction to his all-day workshop on the topic.

Listen to three short reflections about interactions at St. John the Compassionate Mission, reminding us that all lives are worth living.

Listen to a short reflection about R., whose life has been difficult as he lives for the Truth.

It is easy to misinterpret Christianity as a religion like any other but Fr. Lawrence maintains it is unique.