Frederica takes us to the door of the Golden Corral where she is about to begin work on her new book. What she observes, however, is an American epidemic.

The poor in many other countries often rely on skills handed down to them by their ancestors. But what about the poor in America?

Today Frederica is in her car on the way to a speaking engagement. While we are thinking about the Dormition of the Theotokos, Frederica reflects on an aspect of our mortality that is very comforting.

Most people experience some fear of death. In this episode, I look first at "fear of the unknown" (exploring scriptures that might apply) and then at "fear of the known." I hope this helps alleviate some fears.

Boundaries are a confusing topic for Christians, often because we feel like we are supposed to be really nice and help everybody with everything. Join Christian this week as he explores the importance of boundaries for establishing Christian relationships as well as the implications of poor boundaries on the health of our relationships.

It's the beginning of another fasting season as we prepare for the Nativity of Christ. This week, Christian explores how our practice of fasting is also a practice at stepping outside of ourselves so that we can live for others.

It is at this point in our Lenten journey that the Church contemplates the instruction of St. John Climacus and his Ladder of Divine Ascent. Fr. Tom takes us step by step through this treasure and makes it practical for us non-monastics!

Fr. Thomas uses the Paschal icon as an opportunity to clear up some misconceptions about Sheol/Hades and Gehenna/Hell.

Fr. Thomas relates the story of the icon not made by hand which is celebrated each August after the Dormition of the Theotokos. Could it actually be the shroud of Turin?

Fr. Thomas examines the life of the prominent Russian Orthodox dissident, writer and Nobel Peace Prize winner, who passed away just last month (Click here to order the "Solzhenitsyn Reader" recommended by Fr. Tom).

Fr. Tom expounds on one of the most difficult passages in the New Testament.

Having just celebrated the Feast of the Angels, Fr. Tom asks - Who are the angels and the demons? Were the demons created evil? Can they repent? Get the answer to these questions and much more in this episode.

Fr. Tom encourages us to remember the place of gratitude and thanksgiving in the Christian life and tells us how we can go deeper and higher into the meaning of gratitude.

Today Fr. Tom talks about theological formulation and explanation in the Orthodox Christian Church.

Fr. Thomas Hopko explains how our acts, especially our prayers, are included in God's predestination based on His foreknowledge, and how our free-will actions, particularly our prayers, contribute to God's providence in our lives.

In response to a listener's question, Fr. Thomas reflects on the phenomenon of suicide. How do we as Christians deal with it?

In this episode on the Darwinian Revolution and the relationship between natural science and Christian theology, Fr. Thomas Hopko reflects on the issue of death.

In the second in his series on bishops, Fr. Tom reflects on the New Testament and early Church formulations of the offices and functions of clergy.

Fr. Thomas looks at the writings of three of the earliest Church Fathers to see the structure of the Church in the second and third centuries.

Fr. Tom looks at the lies and deception that are replete in the Old Testament stories and how God worked with sinful human beings to accomplish His purposes.

As Great Lent approaches, Fr. Tom Hopko provides helpful reading recommendations both from Scripture and from other books. A very helpful book to read during this season is Fr. Tom's own The Lenten Spring.

Many listeners have asked about Fr. Tom's favorite books. In today's episode he identifies them and tells us why. The list includes: The Sayings of the Desert Fathers The Arena - Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov The Art of Prayer - St. Theophan the Recluse St. Silouan the Athonite We Shall See Him As He Is - Elder Sophrony His Life is Mine - Archimandrite Sophrony Christ, Our Way and Our Life - Archimandrite Zachariah The Hidden Man of the Heart Remember Thy First Love - Archimandrite Zachariah The Complete Fenelon Atheist Delusions - David Bentley Hart The Abolition of Man - CS Lewis

On this 10th Anniversary of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, Fr. Tom Hopko looks at the problem of evil and how we are to understand it as Christians.

St. Paul's letter to the Romans is critical to understanding the Gospel of Christ. In this episode, Fr. Thomas gives us a helpful overview of this letter and its central theme.

Fr. Tom continues through the 11th and now into the 12th Century where the Crusades were launched and the spread of Islam increased.

Fr. Thomas gets down to basics with this episode by saying everything the ancient Christian Church believes about the world, society, nature, sex, humanity, and everything else comes down to its view of God and death.

Fr. Thomas often receives email asking him about the Orthodox view of redemption including the topics of God's wrath, the payment of a ransom, punishment, guilt, and salvation. Listen to this episode but also refer to his Names of Jesus series where many of these themes are addressed.

In this second episode, Jeannie explores how the Fathers of the Church viewed Scripture and what that should mean to us today when we open the pages of the Bible.

Pres. Jeannie continues her analysis of how we study the Scriptures through the lens of the Fathers.

How does the Orthodox view of the Fathers of the Church differ from the Roman Catholic view? What about St. Augustine? What is his role in the Orthodox Church as it relates to the study of the Bible? These questions and many more are addressed in this week's episode.

Dr. Constantinou concludes her discussion of Numbers and begins a new study on Deuteronomy.

Dr. Constantinou concludes her discussion of the life of Moses.

I get a lot of newer, aspiring affiliates on the Sugarrae site and when you've never done affiliate marketing before, all of the terms can get a little confusing. So I created this glossary of affiliate marketing terms to help newer affiliates and bloggers understand the terminology used within the industry. Above the Fold The…

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Coming up with good topics for your blog posts can be a struggle, especially after you have been blogging for a while. When I get inspired, blogging is easy for me. When I have to sit down and write like it's homework because I need to publish two posts one week, I often sit there…

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Google Search Console (GSC) can be a helpful tool – providing you use it. This guide isn't meant for advanced users nor is it a comprehensive dive into every feature GSC has. I'm not looking to overwhelm you. Instead, we're going to go over eight simple GSC features that can provide you with actionable tasks…

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I tried several different ways to begin this post, but it seemed only fitting to be as blunt in this announcement as I have been during my entire SEO and affiliate career, thus the title of this entry. It's been an amazing ride In 1998, after my oldest son suffered a massive bilateral stroke, I…

The post Peace Out to My Digital Marketing Career – It’s Been One Hell of a Ride appeared first on Sugarrae.

Fr. Joseph preaches on the comings and goings of Jesus, the disciples, and demons at St Joseph/Houston.

In our efforts to spread the Faith, sometimes we fail; if we die, we bear more fruit! Fr. Joseph speaks at St Nicholas Church, Shreveport, Louisiana.

Fr. John was down in Texas, in Midland at Midfast, speaking about the Cross at Holy Cross Church and what it means to deny one's self.

As we approach the Cave wherein God becomes a Babe, may we, like His mother, be granted the gift of pondering. Fr Joseph in Chicago, 2010.

After his last episode, Fr. Thomas got a thoughtful letter from a listener challenging his remarks on female readers of the Apostolic writings in the Divine Liturgy. In this episode he reads the letter and answers the concerns raised.

Fr. Thomas begins a difficult discussion about the beginning of the Liturgy of the Faithful. Who should stay and who should go? This is sure to generate a lot of conversation!

Fr. Thomas begins today some reflections on the rite of the preparation of the bread and the wine to be offered on the altar in the ritual called the Proskomede.

Fr. Thomas explores the significance of the way the bread is cut and laid on the diskos during the preparation for the eucharist.

Remembering all the Saints. Fr. Tom takes us through his own practice of remembering the "great cloud of witnesses" when preparing the bread and wine for the Eucharist.

Fr. Tom talks about the "star" that is placed over the bread as well as the psalms and prayers that are said when both the chalice and diskos are covered with the cloth.

Today Fr. Tom looks at the differences in the Antiochian tradition in the way the Proskomede is done.

Fr. John shares his homily from the Sunday of St. John Climacus.

Fr. John shares his homily from the Sunday of Family, Love, and Fidelity, a new commemoration just established by the Russian Church.

Fr. John shares his homily on Psalm 110.