Dan interviews Andriana Malhi, the president of the OCF chapter at UC Davis, about how Christ's love saved her life.

Dan and Fr. Brendan discuss exactly what people mean when they say they're "Spiritual but Not Religious," and how to address that without turning into a patronizing nuisance.

Dan interviews Theo Smith, a student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, who belongs to what's called an "area chapter" of OCF.

Part of being a good friend and a Christian person is encouraging others and helping them grow. But how do we do that? What if they don't want to grow? This week, Dan, Tim, and Lia address how to foster that encouraging spirit.

Fr. William George joins Dan as they talk about some of the unique challenges Father William encounters, as a spiritual advisor for the OCF chapter of County College of Morris--giving room for others to work, leading discussions, and maintaining the peace.

Original guilt, immaculate conception, the Filioque, papal authority: Sometimes it can be difficult to explain the differences between Orthodoxy and Catholicism. OCF Student Media Leader Tasya Lysack and Fr. Brendan Pelphrey will be speaking about other Christian denominations for the next few episodes of Orthodox Apologetics, and today they discuss the answers to common questions our peers might ask us about the differences between Orthodoxy and Catholicism.

OCF Student Podcast Assistant Nathan Jekel is joined by Maria McClatchey and Andrew Abboud to discuss St. Matthew's account of Peter walking on the water and what it means for our Christian lives. Also in this episode, Nathan, Maria, and Andrew give a preview of the topics that they will be discussing on the program throughout the remainder of the academic year and ask listeners to send in questions to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)/**/.

"But whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant"- Matthew 20:26 The All-Stars series continues with guest Athena Vlamis, a senior at Kennesaw State University and Georgia District Student Leader for OCF. In this podcast, Tasya and Athena talk about Athena's leadership role in a new Pan-Orthodox initiative, the Connect Conference. The college seniors also discuss servant leadership, using our talents for the glory of God, the role of young adults in the church, the foundation OCF has laid in their lives, the importance of living as an Orthodox in day-to-day life, and more.

Fr. Brendan Pelphrey returns for the second instalment of Orthodox Apologetics for the 2017-2018 school year. In this episode, Fr. Brendan gives an overview of the history of the Protestant churches. He also answers some questions that Protestants may ask Orthodox college students. If you have any questions for Fr. Brendan, please email Tasya at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)/**/.

Nathan, Maria, and Andrew discuss the topic of almsgiving and answer a listener question in the inaugural On the Waves mailbag segment. Listeners are asked to send in questions to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)/**/!

This year, the All-Stars series is highlighting students from all over North America—students from each of OCF's nine regions. For the Northwest regional feature, Tasya speaks with the co-presidents of Boise State University's OCF chapter: Mercedes Huse and Kayla Munkres. Mercedes and Kayla explain how they share the work of the Chapter President, give advice to OCF students in leadership positions in their chapter, and share some of their favourite chapter meeting activities.

"As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." What is belief? Tasya and Fr. Brendan discuss the fact that belief is more than recognizing the historical existence of Jesus Christ and His resurrection—the Church Fathers explain to us that it means that we try to be like Him.

February's All-Stars feature is Quinn Marquardt, the OCF Mountain Student Leader. Tasya and Quinn discuss how taking a leap of faith and getting involved with OCF--both at the chapter level and by joining the Student Leadership Board--has transformed their college experience.

Nathan, Maria, and Andrew discuss the relationship between science and our Orthodox Christian faith.

Tasya interviews Rachel Sierra and Naim Mekdessi—two students who have been active throughout their college years in OCF's South Region. The three college seniors discuss dealing with chapter elections, what it means to be District Leaders and chapter presidents, how they handle discouragement in OCF work, and more.

A special episode of Healthy Minds Healthy Souls Radio Show entitled "The Opioid Crisis: What You Need to Know" with guests Fr. Anthony Salzman, Chris Thrasher, and Rev. Dr. Von Wrighten. Join us for a practical and in-depth discussion on the growing opioid crisis.

Fr. John Oliver considers the motivating forces behind Zacchaeus' movement up the tree and towards Jesus.

Emerging from a long hiatus, Fr Joseph comes out of the closet (!) and runs into a bus full of bullies.

A sermon on the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women reveals shocking news!

In this episode, Fr. Anthony thinks back over the his first ten years as a priest, focusing on the roles perseverance, good role models/mentors, and a healthy marriage have had in redeeming his time as a "baby priest."

A priest friend of mine likes to say, "We may not have many, but we have them all!" In this episode, I describe some the of the things that make it hard for priests and laity to see eye-to-eye and try to make the case that it really is okay not to like everything about your priests or parishes in order to love, serve, and support them. (Please note that I am NOT defending pathological or abusive parishioners and priests; we deal with those rare situations in other episodes). Enjoy the show!

GGWB gave its time in this episode over to its sponsor: Anaxios Gifts! From the Tin-Foil Skufia to a book of feel-good homilies to the "Beards of Love" charity, Anaxios has it all! Tired of acrimonious debates about patriarchal show downs? So were we, so we went double-dog silly on this one. Operators are standing by; enjoy the show!

Elissa describes the "Psalter group" and its purpose during Great Lent.

Elissa discusses Orthodox marriage and parenting, focusing particularly on how both involve dying to self.

Great Lent is a preparation for the ultimate Pascha—for the end of time and Christ's return.

Many holy fathers and mothers of the Church have pointed out that spiritual words are like powerful medicine. If taken inappropriately, what was designed to heal ends up causing harm.

"Those in the monastic life have spiritual fathers and mothers to help them in obtaining humility. We in the world have the very life in the world itself to humble us. "

Is there a difference between men and women in regard to theosis? Short answer: No. Long answer: Every human being is unique. Gender is part of that uniqueness.

Grab a pipe and a cup of coffee and join Steve and Christian as they sit in Christian’s backyard and discuss Pixar’s latest installment, The Good Dinosaur, exploring some of the themes of death and life, fear and love, and of course, how these relate to our life in Christ in the Orthodox Church. WARNING: If you’re as a big a softy as these two, you’re going to need Kleenex. They sure could have used some.

On Thomas Sunday, we are reminded that Christ rose victoriously with his wounds and that we too may bring our bodily limitations and challenges into the redeeming light of the risen Christ.

How can we find joy and healing for our souls as image bearers of God?

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.

Fr. Philip LeMasters recounts the Christmas story that is for all humanity.

We are certainly in a spiritually rich time of year in the life of the Church. Having begun the fast in preparation for the Dormition of the Theotokos, we are now also anticipating the Transfiguration of the Lord, when Peter, James, and John beheld His divine glory on Mount Tabor. As with all the feasts of the Church, the point is not simply to remember what happened long ago, but instead to participate personally in the eternal truth made manifest in these celebrations. And that means nothing less than being transfigured ourselves by our Lord’s gracious divine energies as we come to share more fully in His restoration and fulfillment of the human person as a living icon of God.

In this special edition of Paradise and Utopia, Fr. John Strickland responds to a recent review of the first two volumes of his book series. In it, he notes the failure to consider the books on their own terms. He uses the opportunity to elaborate what he considers a healthy vision of Christian historiography, one that supports what many consider the need for a "re-enchantment" of modern culture.

In this second half of his response to a recent review of his books, Fr. John Strickland discusses his use of scholarly sources (The Age of Division required more than three hundred and fifty of them). He also reflects on how criticisms of his sources and his arguments may have been provoked by the unconventional way in which he tells the story of Christendom.

Fr. John Parker speaks on the rule of St. Benedict, and how it caries over into the role of the parish priest in his community.

Dr. Humphrey explores the meaning of “Memory eternal”, beginning with the idea of God remembering, and then going on to discuss what it means to remember “the least” who will be first—those whose names we may not know, but who have turned in costly faith towards the Lord.

Edith Humphrey takes us to Isaiah 8:13-18 and Psalm 107:23-31 for insight into St. Paul’s teaching on the people of God as the Temple, and Jesus’ rescue of the faltering apostle Peter on the water. Christ our God is the foundation of the Temple and the foundation of our faith, and issues an astonishing call—that we become signs in this age, showing forth His nature!

The story of the “little man” Zacchaeus (Luke 19:10) is illuminated as we consider a psalm concerning the “sons of Abraham” (1 Chronicles 16:7-14) and the vision of the victorious “Son of Man” (Dan. 7:12-14; 17-18) who came to rescue those who were lost. 1 Timothy 4:8-15 then encourages the entire Christian community (not simply those who are leaders) to grow in godliness, representing the Lord to those who are around us.

This week we concentrate upon the epistle reading, where St. Paul mentions (as he does elsewhere), God’s armor for our use in life. This imagery may be difficult for a contemporary audience, but it is found many places in Scripture, and cannot be dismissed. We consider the “active” and “passive” weapons wielded by our Lord Jesus, and commended to us, by means of other NT readings, Isaiah, and the book of Wisdom. (2 Corinthians 6:1-10; Isaiah 59:15-17; Wisdom 5:17-20; Isaiah 11:3-5)

We consider the physicality of Matthew 17:1-13, 2 Corinthians 4:6 and 2 Peter 1:19-21 in the light of the experiences of Moses (Exodus 24 and 34), Elijah (1 Kings 19) Daniel (Dan 10:5-10) and the prophecy of Malachi 4. The transformation which comes in seeing and hearing God affects the whole of who we are!

This Sunday, the fourteenth of Luke, we also commemorate the prophet Zephaniah, whose tiny book in the OT speaks eloquently both of the dark state of God’s people, and his aim to bring them into the light (Zephaniah 1:14-17; 3:9-20). Those themes help us to think more concretely, and as a community, concerning the gospel and epistle for today (Ephesians 5:8-19; Luke 18:35-43), where spiritual blindness and sight is also addressed.

We reflect back upon the Psalm “By the Waters of Babylon,” heard by many of us in the past three weeks, as a preparation for Great Lent. Its troublesome final verse is read with the help of other portions of Scripture, St. John Chrysostom, Cassiodorus and others, so that we can understand why the psalm retains a valuable place in our worship together.

This week we read the epistle through the lenses of St. John Chrysostom, St. John Climacus, the book of Genesis and Isaiah’s portrait of the Suffering Servant. Here we are given the hope to continue following our great forerunner Jesus. The gospel reading adds to this the importance of faith, prayer and fasting, as we set our faces towards the cross.

Remembering the apostles, we consider Jesus’ words from Matt 9:13 concerning God’s mercy, and the Resurrection hymns in the fourth tone, in the light of 1 Cor 1:26-31, Hosea 6:6-7, Genesis 3:1-5, and Wisdom 2:23-24.

We are helped to reflect upon that mysterious tour of Christ (from the heavens, to the grave, and back to glory) described in the Tone 8’s Resurrectional Hymns by looking to Psalm 67/68:17-19, Ephesians 4:7-11, John 20:19-31, and 1 Corinthians 3:9-17.

This week we meditate upon the resurrectional hymns in tone three, rejoicing in our solidarity with the righteous of the Old Testament. God’s ancient people saw His mighty arm outstretched for them, understood themselves to be the first-born of the LORD, and were vouchsafed glimpses of the great release from Hades. We look especially to Deuteronomy, Isaiah and Wisdom for these insights.

This week’s troparion (apolytikion) and kontakion in tone five range from the foundational to the ineffable, as they focus on the nature of the God-Man. We are helped in understanding them by considering Psalm 117 LXX (118 Hebrew) and the consequences of the fall in Genesis 3.

Fr. Ted discusses the spiritual importance of icons, citing the Seventh Ecumenical Council.