'Saint Tamara was the only child of King George III. Upon his death in 1184, she became Queen at the age of twenty-four. Despite her youth, she ruled the country with such wisdom and godliness — leading it to unprecedented military triumphs over the neighboring Moslem countries in defence of her kingdom, fostering arts and letters, and zealously strengthening Orthodoxy — that her reign is known as the Golden Age of Georgia. After her coronation, she convoked a local council to correct disorders in church life. When the bishops had assembled from all parts of her kingdom, she, like Saint Constantine at the First Ecumenical Council, honoured them as if she were a commoner, and they Angels of God; exhorting them to establish righteousness and redress abuses, she said in her humility, "Do away with every wickedness, beginning with me, for the prerogative of the throne is in no wise that of making war against God." Saint Tamara called herself "the father of orphans and the judge of widows," and her contemporaries called her "King" instead of "Queen." She herself led her army against the Moslems and fearlessly defeated them; because of the reverence that even the enemies of Georgia had for her, entire mountain tribes renounced Islam and were baptized. She built countless churches and monasteries throughout her kingdom, and was a benefactress also to the Holy Land, Mount Athos, and holy places in Greece and Cyprus. She has always been much beloved by her people, who have memorialized her meekness, wisdom, piety, obedience, and peace-loving nature in innumerable legends, ballads, and songs; the poem written in her honor by Shota Rustaveli, "The Knight of the Panther Skin," is the masterpiece of Georgian literature. The great Queen Tamara departed the earthly kingdom for the heavenly in the year 1212.' (Great Horologion)

He began his life in the cruelest of circumstances: both of his parents were imprisoned for their faith in Christ. First his father, Theodotus, died in prison, then his mother, Rufina, died shortly after his birth, so the infant was left alone in prison beside the bodies of his parents. But an angel appeared to the widow Ammia, telling her to go to the prison and rescue the child. Ammia obtained the city governor's permission to bury the parents and bring the child home. He was called Mamas because he was mute until the age of five and his first word was `Mama'. Despite his late beginning, he showed unusual intelligence and, having been brought up in piety, soon openly proclaimed his Christian faith. When he was only fifteen years old he was arrested and brought before the Emperor Aurelian. The Emperor, perhaps seeking to spare the boy, told him to deny Christ only with his lips, and the State would not concern itself with his heart. Mamas replied `I shall not deny my God and King Jesus Christ either in my heart or with my lips.' He was sent to be tortured, but miraculously escaped and lived in the mountains near Caesarea. There he lived in solitude and prayer and befriended many wild beasts. In time, he was discovered by the persecutors and stabbed to death with a trident by a pagan priest.

On this Sunday of the Samaritan Woman, Fr. Andrew tells us that it is not often we are privy to a conversion in progress.

On this Sunday Fr. Andrew tells the story of a father, mother, baby, foster mother, and 15-year-old, all saints.

On this Sunday of the Good Samaritan, Fr. Andrew discusses the question the lawyer asks Jesus: 'And who is my neighbor?'

On this Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas, Fr. Andrew discusses the on-going debate about how a Christian comes to know God.

On this Sunday of the Samaritan Woman, Fr. Andrew tells us that worshiping in Spirit and Truth is the essence of Orthodox Liturgical life.

On this Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas, Fr. Andrew discusses both the saint and the Gospel reading on the healing of the paralytic in terms of evangelism—moving from what is good to what is better.

Fr. Andrew discusses the parable of the Good Samaritan, showing how an ancient patristic interpretation opens new fields of understanding.

On the feast of St. Joseph of Damascus, Fr. Andrew tells us his story and asks how it pertains to our own stories.

On the feast of St. Martin of Tours, Fr. Andrew uses his story as well as the Gospel of the Good Samaritan to show how what we do and what we give depends a great deal on how we perceive our lives.

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick preaches on the feast of St. Jacob of Hamatoura, who had been forgotten and yet made himself known again, telling what it means that God gives us saints and why He does so.

Fr. Nick and Dr. Roxanne welcome special guest Dr. Philip Mamalakis, author of the popular parenting book "Parenting Toward The Kingdom."

Final lecture on the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

As Fr. Joseph leaves St. George Church and heads west to St. Joseph's, he muses on past "Sons of St. George" and wonders if there really ever was a "Redneck in Ramallah."

Due to a knock on the noggin, Fr. Joseph finds himself fast-forwarding toward Pascha and holding hands with a green elf at midnight in a church where everybody is clothed in their pajamas and the iconostasis has been replaced with ... dirty laundry?

In the last episode, Fr. Joseph encountered a little green church elf, Elton John, Lady GaGa, Archie Bunker, and Buzz Lightyear in pajamas. In this concluding episode, he tries to make sense of it all (with the help of Ol' Scratch).

You ever had a wreck with the bishop in the car? Yeah, well, lemme tell ya before he does: I have!

In this episode, Fr. Anthony begins by talking about the need to build joy into our routines. Then, after a (satirical) commercial break, he calls for Orthodox priests to consider taking on the role of Orthodox shaman as well.

In this episode, Fr. Anthony talks about Great Lent in the Lehigh Valley (PA) and about how the Lenten disciplines - and especially the Prayer of St. Ephraim - can protect and heal us from the damage of war.

Elissa encourages parents and Sunday school teachers to stress the importance of Pascha by sharing in its fullness the story that leads up to Christ's Resurrection.

The girls discuss the poetry of Amanda Gorman, the young poet who read her work at the inauguration and Super Bowl. They discuss themes of light and darkness, the way burdens can be inherited, and a vision of God's Kingdom.

The story of the Good Samaritan calls us to treat everyone as our neighbor through the love of God for the whole world.

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

Fr. Philip calls us to endure suffering in striving for the salvation of our souls as modeled by St. Joseph of Damascus.

How do we break free from the paralysis of our own sin and brokenness? The disciplines of Lent are tools given to us to help us move towards our own salvation.

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?

"Loving our neighbors as ourselves foreshadows the blessedness of the Kingdom where there are no hated foreigners."

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

Fr. Philip LeMasters helps us to understand the deeper meaning of the parable of the Good Samaritan so that we too can live the Gospel with our Neighbor.

The good news of our Lord’s resurrection extends to everyone and the entire world. The Church directs our attention during the Paschal season to how some very different people came to share in the life of our Lord, such as the disciple Thomas, the Myrrh-Bearing Women, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, and the paralyzed man. Today we focus on someone who was different from all of them by worldly standards, for they were Jews and she was a Samaritan. We know her in the Church as the Great Martyr Photini, but in that time and place she would have seemed a very unlikely candidate to become a great evangelist of Christ’s salvation.

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.

We look at the Psalms, the purpose of the Torah for the Hebrew people, and the story of David dancing before the ark to illumine the theme of liberty seen in our readings for this coming Divine Liturgy.

"The Parable of the Good Samaritan" from The Parables of Christ by Spiritual Fragrance Publishing (2012)

"Saint Photini the Samaritan," from The Co-Workers for the Gospel, Illustrated Biographies, Book 5, by Spiritual Fragrance Publishing (2012)

"Saint Tamara, Queen of Georgia," 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.

An Amazing Pilgrimage, from The Adventures of a Little Ringtail Complete Series (2015). Anna Larsen Books. Available from St. Anthony's Monastery Bookstore.

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."

"Mama Maggie" Gobran, a Coptic Christian who has been called the “Mother Teresa of Cairo,” speaks at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary on October 21, 2016.

Padre Nicolás predicó sobre la llamada de Dios y cada uno de nosotros tenemos que sobrevenir el mal para responder a la voz de amor del Señor. (Cor. 6:16-18; 7:1) Fr. Nicholas preached about the call of God and how every one of us need to overcome the evil in the world and respond to the loving voice of the Lord. (Cor. 6:16-18; 7:1)

El Padre Nicolás predicó sobre cómo Dios se preocupa de nosotros. Father Nicholas preached on how God cares for us.

The author of Parenting Toward the Kingdom, Dr. Philip Mamalakis joins Fr. Evan as co-host tackling parenting questions—especially for parents of teens. They also talk about a new resource for parents and teen workers from Faithtree resources.

Fr. Apostolos Hill's homily is centered upon the Gospel reading of the Good Samaritan and the role each of us is called to play in pulling robbed and beaten victims of sin from the ditches of life.

Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost

While the story of the Good Samaritan can inspire us to do good works, Fr Tom reminds us that ultimately the parable points to something much greater: Our salvation. (Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost)

After Jesus taught the crowds about what faithfulness looks like in the Sermon on the Mount, they were amazed. Then a living example of great faith came to Jesus, and He was amazed! Fr Thomas unpacks the important story of the healing of the centurion's servant, and shows us a pattern of faithfulness to emulate.

Like the Good Samaritan, the scriptures give us yet another story about an exemplary Samaritan, among other so-called believers who failed to live up to their calling. Jesus heals ten lepers, but only the Samaritan returns to give thanks. Fr Thomas reminds us that we are continually being healed, and when we fail to give glory and thanks to the One who heals us, He says, "Where are you?"

The famous parable of the Good Samaritan is often relayed as a story about doing good to others. However, Fr Thomas teaches us the background of the story and why the Good Samaritan points directly to Christ as the one who heals us in the Church.

Fr. Tom implores us to understand the parable of the Good Samaritan from a different perspective and ask ourselves, who is the Samaritan? Who is the one left for dead on the road?