While Orthodox Christians understand the place of the homily in the hierarchy of our Divine Liturgy, St. Paul was clear on the importance of homilies and sermons in 2nd Timothy 4:1: “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ…: Preach the Word! …Convince, rebuke, exhort….” On this episode, Bill Marianes and Fr. Barnabas Powell talk about the importance of effective preaching.

How did 2020 change or affect your life? What did you learn? How did you cope? These are just a few of the many questions that Bill fields on the first episode of Stewardship Calling of the new year.

Our unwillingness to have productive difficult conversations and deal with conflict is at the root of so many issues in our churches, ministries, and lives. This week on Stewardship Calling, Bill and his guest Dr. Mitch Owen will tackle these critical issues. Dr. Owen is the creator of the Elusive Leadership Model for high-performance teams. He is also professionally certified and administers many assessment instruments for professional development, executive coaching, management training, team effectiveness and organization development. Dr. Owen has decades of experience addressing conflict in non-profit organizations, helping them become more effective and collegial, and guiding their leaders to perform at higher levels of excellence. He and Bill explore how and why these issues arise, and we will share specific and helpful strategies and solutions to these challenges. Listen for Part 2 on May 5, 2021.

Part 1: The Journey Through Life In Search Of Calling – Fr. George L. Livanos

Over Labor Day weekend, Phoenix, Arizona, will host Orthodox young adults from all over who'll gather for fellowship, a service project, and the chance to stretch themselves to better live and EXCLAIM their Orthodox faith. To discuss this great event, and share their own inspiring stories, Bill will interview Judge Steven Counelis and George Anagnostopoulos. These enthusiastic visionaries represent the amazing Young Adult League committee that organized this unique and extraordinary event.

In part 1 of a 2-part series, Bill presents the empirical data about our current church challenges, how some Christians overcame these issues and built strong church communities, and the 6 primary root cause areas where our parishes are suffering

This week, Bill speaks with Matushka Trudi Richter and Presvytera Dianthe Livanos about how we continue to live our Stewardship Callings after our loved ones pass on to the kingdom eternal. If you or someone you love is seriously ill, or if you have experienced the death of a loved one, and you are wondering why and how you will carry on, then this conversation is for you. This is a three part program and part one features the interview with Mat. Trudi Richter.

For over a century, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese has brought people closer to Christ as it survived depressions, wars, social upheavals, natural and man-made disasters, and societal pressures and issues that could not have been imagined by the faithful in Christ’s time. Join Bill Marianes as he broadcasts LIVE from the Marriott Marquis in New York, New York from the 46th Biennial Greek Orthodox Clergy-Laity Congress and Centennial Celebration. He'll feature live interviews with a fascinating array of distinguished guests to acknowledge contributions of the brave and faithful pioneers who preceded us and to look forward to the next 100 years of Orthodoxy in America and beyond

Doctors know the tests to administer to assess our personal health. Financial planners know how to assess our financial health. However, our parishes lack similar empirical and validated tools to help them. After over 20 years of working with over 500 Orthodox Christian parishes and completing strategic plans that cover over 26% of Orthodox Christians in the U.S., the Orthodox Ministry Services (OMS) team has developed the Effective Parish Assessment (EPA). The EPA is a reliable and easy way for you to assess your parish’s health and effectiveness in the 6 Pillars and 30 Building Blocks of operational excellence. OMS is providing the Effective Parish Assessment Program for free to selected Cohort Effective Parishes with the support of Leadership 100 and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. Tune in to these TWO programs and find out if your parish is eligible, and how you can apply, to participate in this dynamic free and helpful parish improvement program. We also welcome your calls and questions. If your parish is an innovator with Clergy and Lay Leaders committed to operational excellence and the best possible parish health and effectiveness, these programs are for you. Join my fellow OMS Team members as over 2 programs we describe in more detail the 6 Pillars, 30 Building Blocks, the Effective Parish Assessment Program, and how it can benefit your parish.

Every church does some things well and struggles with others. Join Bill Marianes, Fr. Ted Barbas, Dr. Don Khouri, Panos Coufos and Alex Cooley to discuss the process and results from the first-ever parish strategic planning retreat.

Orthodoxy has declined from 20% of global Christians in 1910 to 12% in 2010. We are not yet making Orthodox "disciples of all nations" to the degree our Lord instructed us. Why? Some answers can be found in the latest leadership, innovation, and change management best practices and research.

This is the first part of a talk Frederica gave on the influence of the sexual revolution in the movies. We have broken it up into three sections and next time will be part 2. The talk was delivered at the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute in Ottawa. They recently held a conference that they called "The Sheptytsky Institute Study Days."

On the 7th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America, Frederica reflects on the role of God's judgment and repentance.

Will September 11, 2001, become just another date that children have to memorize? If so, does it really matter?

Will September 11, 2001, become just another date that children have to memorize? If so, does it really matter?

Part one of a three-part series based upon the book titled, The Gift of Pain, by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey.

Frederica reads "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. Part 1 of 5

Frederica is in the car today with two friends and struck up a conversation with one of them about her trip to Rome. They had so much to talk about, it is divided into two parts with part 1 today and part 2 next week.

Doxacon is a gathering of Orthodox Christians with an interest in fantasy, sci-fi, and gaming. This year they asked me to deliver the lay keynote (conference theme: "Making Virtuous Decisions in Fiction"), and I confessed that I don't know much about those popular forms of media. So we compromised. First, I speak about Charles Dickens, and how some non-virtuous personal decisions affected his life and his writing; then my son, Fr. Stephen Mathewes, relates the "virtuous decisions" question to some popular books, movies, and videogames. At the end I came back with a few thoughts about bees. Enjoy!

Frederica Mathewes-Green explores, in three parts, her experience as a beekeeper. She mispronounces “propolis” every time!

Father Tom discusses Psalm 137, which is included in a special way during the Matins Service for the three Sundays leading up to Great Lent.

The week before Pascha begins with the Bridegroom Matins. Christ is the Bridegroom and we are the Bride, joined in perfect unity through His crucifixion.

Fr. Thomas begins a four-part series on naming God and the language and words we use in the process.

What does it mean to be a Christian and to live in this world? To answer that question, Fr. Tom examines the ancient New Testament Church.

With the Feast Day of the Beheading of St. John approaching (August 29), Fr. Thomas examines the Prophet, Forerunner and Baptizer, John.

What is the relationship between the concepts of natural selection and Christian theology? Fr. Tom begins a series of reflections on Charles Darwin and what he has learned in his research may surprise you!

In his continuing series on Charles Darwin and Christianity, Fr. Tom begins a reflection on the creation story as told in Genesis.

Part 4 of the teachings from Genesis as a section in the larger series on Darwin and Christianity.

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.

How do you describe the distinction between human beings and animals? Is it the soul or is it something else altogether?

Fr. Tom continues his series on Darwin and Christianity with some musings on God and Creation.

What are some of the misunderstandings and misgivings about miracles, and how does that relate to natural science and Christian theology?

As Fr. Tom gets close to the end of his series on Darwin and Christianity, he reflects on the terms and concepts of nature and super-nature.

This is the next-to-last episode in the Darwin series.

In this final installment in his Darwin and Christianity series, Fr. Tom Hopko compares the task and method of natural science with the task and method of Christian theology.

Fr. Tom begins a series of talks on the role of bishops in the Church and their relationships to each other, to the priests, the deacons, and to us. He begins by identifying what is common to all of us in creation. Please also listen to a special encouragement at the very beginning of today's episode.

Fr. Tom received a number of emails about his talks on reading the Bible and the various translations. Several listeners asked about the scandalous nature of the Old Testament with stories of murder, slaughter, multiple wives, concubines, etc. So today, Fr. Tom begins a short series of talks to deal with this subject.

In Part 10 of his series on Bishops, Fr. Thomas looks at the canons of the 4th Ecumenical Council.

In the 6th Century, three individuals played a huge role in forming and influencing the ecclesiastical structure of the Church. They were the Emperor Justinian, Pope Gregory the Great of Rome, and Dionysius the Areopagite. Fr. Tom deals with the first 2 here and the third in the next episode.

In his continuing series on Bishops, Fr. Tom takes up where he left off in the last episode by concentrating on the influence of the writings attributed to but not actually from Dionysius the Areopagite.

To what lengths will a true saint go to defend pure doctrine? Fr. Tom tells the incredible story of St. Maximus and St. Martin.

Fr. Tom begins looking at the 102 Canons of the "Quinisext" or 5th and 6th Ecumenical Councils sometimes referred to as the Council in Trullo. Maximus the Confessor is affirmed and many Patriarchs and Popes are anathematized.

Fr. Tom continues looking at the 102 Canons of the "Quinisext" or 5th and 6th Ecumenical Councils sometimes referred to as the Council in Trullo. Today he talks about the laws concerning relationships with the Jews and the marital relationships of clergy.

As Fr. Tom continues talking about the canons found in the Council of Trullo, he looks today at those canons that speak about issues like the selling of sacraments, clergy behavior, and the settlement of controversies.

What are the canons about clergy marriage? What should the clergy wear out on the street? Why is water mixed with wine in the Eucharist? These and other issues are addressed in this episode with Fr. Thomas Hopko.

The canons under discussion today by Fr. Tom deal with the rank and place of hierarchical sees and how that is affecting the structure of the Church today.

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.

As Fr. Tom continues his reflections on this historic council, he today speaks about monasticism, baptism, and marriage.

As Fr. Tom continues his look at the so called Quintisext councils, the issues of church attendance and mixed marriages are among the topics addressed.

Fr. Tom has received several e-mails asking about the development of the Pre-Sanctified Liturgy. In this 2 part talk, he gives us the history and elements of this well-loved service of the Church.