Fr. Ted explains that it is possible to be a good person and a bad Christian simultaneously.

Fr. Ted explains that "the gospel" is the message that God came into the world, died for us on the cross, and then rose from the dead.

Fr. Ted discusses the important of confession and the Eucharist. Without them, he argues, we are both dirty and starving.

Fr. Ted argues that we too often neglect the role of the older brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son.

Fr. Ted reminds us of the deep connections between the Old and New Testaments and then shares some of the prophecies that were fulfilled by the healing of the blind man.

Fr. Ted reminds us that it is impossible for us to be Christians without the Holy Spirit.

Fr. Ted explains how the gospel of love is lived out in our lives today and how it was lived out in the past.

Fr. Ted reminds us that we are called to be different from everyone else.

Fr. Ted explains that when we fail to take part in fasting or the sacraments, we create an identity crisis within.

St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church has a new deacon. Listen here to the ordination speech by the newly ordained Dn. John Karvelas.

In the act of giving we free ourselves from our material possessions.

Fr. Ted calls us to know the truth about ourselves through the parable of the Publican and the Pharisee.

This is a recording of a presentation Fr. Ted gave at the annual clergy retreat.

Fr. Ted continues his reflections upon a Lenten hymn and how it applies to the call to show mercy to others during our journey through Great Lent.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos challenges the selfish love of "an eye for an eye" with the selfless love of Christ.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos talks about the importance of looking only at our own sin as we enter into the Triodion in preparation for the Great Fast.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos calls us to take up our cross of suffering and follow Christ during the global pandemic.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos preaches on the death and burial of Christ on Holy Friday.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos reflects on the Gospel reading from the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman.

Questions evangelicals want to ask the Eastern Orthodox, with Fr. Michael Reagan.

Continuing the discussion with Fr. Michael Reagan, about questions evangelicals have for the Orthodox.

Steve and Kevin interview syndicated columnist Rod Dreher about today's Islamic faith. Buckle up!

Kevin Allen interviews Michael Whelton on the characteristics of the New Age movement.

Fr. Ted Pulcini, ex-Roman Catholic and now Eastern Orthodox priest and long-time Orthodox participant in Orthodox-Catholic ecumenical dialog, discusses the Vatican's recent document on the doctrine on the Church. He and Kevin Allen discuss the timing of its publication, what it really means, what it says about the current and future state of relations between the two oldest branches of Christianity, and what the divisive issues are.

Why are 'sub-culture' youth embracing Orthodox Christianity? Find out in this interview with "Death to the World" 'zine editors and converts, John Valadez and Marina Crissman!

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.

Join host Kevin Allen in his interview with Ancient Faith Radio founder and Chief Operating Officer of Conciliar Media Ministries, John Maddex, about his fascinating journey to the ancient faith of Orthodoxy after 30 years as a evangelical radio executive and self-professed "classic Evangelical Protestant Christian"!

Raised by the Hell’s Angel’s motorcycle gang as a youth, John Franklin lived a hell on earth before submitting to Christ and discovering The Orthodox Church while serving a third-term in prison. A story of (continuing) repentance and the grace and mercy of God, this is one you won’t want to miss!

Dr Bradley Nassif, a “pioneer of Orthodox-Evangelical Dialogue” talks with host Kevin Allen about “where things are” formally and informally between The Orthodox Church and Evangelical Christians. Kevin asks the question: “What is an Evangelical?”

Listen to part 2 of Kevin's interview with Fr. James Early

In this two-part interview, ex-Baptist seminary graduate and missionary to Bosnia, now Orthodox priest, Fr James Early, recounts with Illumined Heart host Kevin Allen the circumstances under which he had to face and eventually reject core Baptist-Evangelical tenets and come to accept the faith handed down once and for all to the Saints. His book is called From Baptist to Byzantium.

What can Evangelicals and Orthodox learn from each other is the subject of the 2nd section of our interview with His Eminence.

In this episode, the microphone is turned as AFR General Manager and founder John Maddex interviews host Kevin Allen on the catechism module he developed (with his priest's blessing) specifically for inquirers coming from New Age and Eastern spiritual backgrounds. Is the entrance of New Age and Eastern seekers perhaps a trend the Church needs to prepare for? Are the issues, concerns, and paradigms of these seekers the same as those inquiring from Evangelical backgrounds? Must the catechist know something about New Age and Eastern religions in order to catechize effectively? These are some of the questions that will be addressed in this program. You may download an attachment of the course outline here.

Kevin Allen talks with Fr. Peter Gillquist about the status of Orthodox Evangelism and the Church in America.

Fr. Jim Kordaris, Director of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Department of Outreach and Evangelism, speaks candidly about how the GOA understands “Orthodox evangelism” in America, whether it is committed to growth outside of its ethnic heritage, the role of "Hellenism" in the GOA's evangelistic strategy, and whether he sees the GOA playing a vital role in bringing Orthodoxy to America.

In this encore presentation of The Illumined Heart, hear the story of John Maddex who, along with his wife Tonya, found the Orthodox Church after nearly 40 years in Evangelical Christian radio.

Kevin and his guest, Orthodox journalist Glen Chancy, discuss the "Prosperity Gospel" and the implications of a "Gospel message" tied to material prosperity, especially in light of a failing economy.

After being AWOL for several months, we're actually back in the Basement Catacomb Studio recording new material! In the first of a several part series on "relics," we discuss the universal human behavior of collecting "memorabilia" of significant people, the universal human struggle to define the relationship between the spiritual and material worlds, and the significance of Christian relics based on the Incarnation of Christ and the Orthodox view of salvation.

Hierotheos Vlachos of Nafpaktos said, "The job of the Church is to make relics." The phenomenon of relics is not merely a human sentimental reaction to the past, but it is a real evidence of our salvation in Christ in whom "the fullness of deity dwells bodily" (Colossians 1:19, 2:9). The consequences of the incarnation go beyond a juridical declaration of innocence, they are evidence of the eternal destiny of the human being. In this program Steve and Bill begin to delve into the theology of the Church regarding our union with God in Christ through the Holy Spirit.

We continue the discussion of essence and energy and give a very broad overview of the influence of the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle on Augustine and Aquinas and how philosophy has influenced the views of God in the West. We also discuss how the East and West's views of God manifest themselves in how we view creation and the human being's relationship to God.

After a two-month disappearance, Steve and Bill resurface and finally record part three of the series on "Relics." In this program they discuss the Orthodox view of God and how the creation can literally "participate in God," or, as St. Peter says, be a "partaker of the divine nature." How can the infinite God who says, "You cannot see my face and live," also promise that "the pure in heart shall see God"? The distinction between the essence and energies of God is one of the fundamental dogmas of the Orthodox faith and gives us a vision of our union with God which is ultimately our salvation.

In part four of our discussion of relics, we tackle the nature of God and the nature of the human being and how we can "know" a person. What is the relationship of "nature" to a "person"? What is an "energy"? How are a nature's energies expressed? The proper definition of nature, energy and personhood form the cornerstone for a proper definition of salvation and the goal of our existence in God.

Fr. Chad Hatfield, Chancellor and CEO of St. Vladimir's Seminary, explains the reasoning behind the school's upcoming conference on poverty.

For his last class on Evangelism, Fr. Chad Hatfield, the Chancellor of St. Vladimir’s Seminary, hosted three priests for a panel responding to questions raised by the Seminarians. The three priests were Fr. John Parker from Mt. Pleasant, SC. and Chairman of the Dept of Evangelism of the OCA, Fr. Michael Elias, pastor of St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church, Brooklyn, NY, and Fr. Michael Sorial, pastor of St. Anianas Coptic Orthodox Church, Princeton, NJ. All three are SVOTS grads.

This is a lecture from St. Vladimir's Seminary's annual Orthodox Education Day event, held this year on October 1, 2016. The speakers are the Sisters of All Saints Greek Orthodox Monastery, Long Island, New York.

Rome-based Catholic filmmaker Robert Duncan took part in a special, public screening of his documentary Faces Among Icons on April 29, 2018 at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, followed by a panel discussion about the renewal of Orthodoxy in Russia. Duncan was joined on the panel by Seminary President Archpriest Chad Hatfield and third-year Seminarian Priest Christopher Moore. Hear the panel discussion in its entirety as it addressed issues including ecumenical dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church, the nature of church-state relations in Russia, and how the Orthodox Church there is addressing social concerns in Russian society.

St. Vladimir’s Seminary celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA)’s autocephaly Thursday, January 30, 2020. A full-day of events included three workshops on the topic of autocephaly. In the second, “Autocephaly & Evangelism," Archpriest John Parker, dean of Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, delivered a passionate call to action and reminder that "autocephaly is an inner evangelism in reminding all Orthodox Christians that in Christ Jews and Greeks, Turks and Cretans, Romanians, Latinos, Africans, Asians all find true motherland in the nave and at the chalice."

Saint Vladimir’s Seminary President Fr. Chad Hatfield discusses Orthodox evangelism, drawing from his experience as a missionary in South Africa and Orthodox mission planter in the United States, to an audience at NLA University College in Bergen, Norway. The talk, delivered on December 5, 2019, was organized in part by St. Vladimir's Alumnus Fr. Theodor Svane (’15) and the parish Fr. Theodore serves, Annunciation of the Holy Virgin Mary Orthodox Mission Parish, in Bergen.