Fr. Stephen looks at the Christian understanding of power and the marvelous works of God. God's power is utterly unlike that of the world.

Fr. Stephen reflects on the monastic cave in which St. John of Damascus dwelt and compares it to the "cave" of our heart.

Father Stephen looks at the history and architecture of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and draws lessons for our own humility.

Fr. Stephen speaks about the "liturgy of the heart" as the longest liturgy of all and the true nature of worship.

Fr. Stephen looks at the nature of authority and its root in the reality of the Cross.

Fr. Stephen reflects on the meaning of Dostoevsky's statement, "Each man is responsible for the sins of everyone," and its meaning for prayer.

It is something of a commonplace for modern Christians to think about their "ministry" and place within the Church. Fr. Stephen looks at this idea in the light of Tradition and offers a different approach.

There is a modern construct of the self that is something of a delusion. Fr. Stephen speaks about our true life "that is hidden with Christ in God" as taught by St. Paul.

Fr. Stephen speaks about "redeeming the time" through the constant remembrance of the name of God.

Our culture champions our ability to choose. Fr. Stephen suggests that choices are not quite as central in our lives as we imagine.

Numerous elders of the Orthodox Church speak about the common responsibility for sin that we share through our humility and love for one another. Fr. Stephen examines how this can be so.

Human beings were created to offer all of creation up to God in an act of thanksgiving. Fr. Stephen explores this life of praise.

To know God is the essence of the Christian life according to Scripture - though how we know God is sometimes difficult to describe. Fr. Stephen looks at the moment of hesitation with the words "nevertheless" and "and yet" and the room they provide for such knowledge to be acquired.

Many efforts are made to convince modern Christians that they live "in between" Christ's first coming and His second - and that this "in between" period is somehow different and requires new understandings of the gospel. Fr. Stephen refutes this false understanding and describes where it is we now live.

Fr. Stephen speaks about the difference between feast days as mere events of the calendar and the reality of the Kingdom of God that awaits us in the Feasts.

Fr. Stephen looks at the teaching of Christ on love for enemies and sets it in its proper spiritual context.

Fr. Stephen speaks about the concept of anadoche - the spiritual communion and responsibility we have in one another's lives.

Fr. Stephen suggests that the heart of our faith and our relationship with God can be found more quickly in such things as music and beauty. We often seek to substitute language about religious doctrine in the place of these more primary expressions of our Christian life.

Drawing on a passage from the writings of the Elder Sophrony, Fr. Stephen looks at the spiritual importance of "waking up." St. Paul reminds us, "Arise, O Sleeper, awake from the dead..."

St. Gregory of Nyssa speaks of man both as singer and song. Fr. Stephen explores how we are the "song of God."

On the first Sunday of Great Lent, Orthodox Christians celebrate the return of icons to the Churches. Fr. Stephen looks at the spirit of icon smashing that occasionally infects Christians and various political movements and contrasts it with the spirit of authentic Christianity.

In his recent series on the true and false self, Fr. Stephen looks at evangelism of the heart.

Fr. Stephen completes his series on the true and false self, with thoughts on how we can go about "speaking to the heart."

Fr. Stephen offers a meditation on the Father's understanding that everything is in motion. What does this mean for the direction of our lives?

Fr. Stephen notes that in an Orthodox wedding, there are no wedding vows. This stands in stark contrast to the central place vows hold in Western tradition. He suggests that the West has come to think of marriage as a "contract" between two people while the Orthodox Church thinks of it as a "union." The difference is important.

St. Paul describes the mystery of the faith as: Christ within us, the hope of glory. Fr. Stephen looks at the meaning of God in us and the life of grace.

In this podcast, Fr. Stephen contrasts the “literal” reading of Scripture with the practice of the Orthodox Church, in which we seek to discern the “mystery hidden from all the ages.”

Fr. Stephen offers thoughts on the providence of God—His will working good for us all despite what we may see or think.

With this podcast, Fr. Stephen begins a series in which he looks at the reality of shame and its place in our emotional and spiritual lives. He introduces us to the teaching of the Elder Sophrony that we must learn to "bear a little shame."

Father Stephen Freeman argues that the near-unchanging shape of the Liturgy is part of the "givenness" of our lives. Like many other things in the Orthodox faith, it imparts a stability. Learning to embrace this is important.

Fr. Stephen Freeman offers some insight on dealing with the dark thoughts that often fill our minds.

When we give thanks to God, particularly in difficult times, Fr. Stephen Freeman tells us we unite ourselves with the Cross of Christ.

Just how connected are we? Fr. Stephen Freeman looks at the classical understanding of human connectedness and what it means for our salvation.

Fr. Stephen offers a meditation on the theme of desire and ecstasy in the writings of the Fathers, and its importance for the gospel.

Fr. Stephen Freeman muses on the nature of English in our worship life, especially some of its problems. He points towards something beyond the words.

Fr. Stephen Freeman speaks about the the goodness of creation and the place that suffering holds within it - including a form of suffering that is not evil.

The negative voice we hear in our head. Who is it that is talking? What does it mean? Where does it come from? Fr. Stephen Freeman offers some reflection on this noise.

Fr. Stephen Freeman looks at the "burden" created by the emotional and spiritual debts of things that others have done to us and how they can be forgiven.

On Star Trek, the guys wearing the Red Shirts are expendable. Fr. Stephen Freeman tells us there's a lot to think about in that.

We often imagine that kings and generals and great battles are the turning points of history. Fr. Stephen Freeman points us towards much smaller things and tells us why.

Fr. Stephen looks at the difficulties of forgiveness and what it is, exactly, that is being asked of us in Christ's commandments.

J.R.R. Tolkien had a number of critiques aimed at the abuses of our modern age. That same understanding can be seen in his fiction. Fr. Stephen Freeman looks at the Ring of Power and the mythology of our modern world and draws lessons that every good hobbit should know.

Fr. Stephen describes the spiritual warfare that Christians are to engage in as a battle within the heart—which is where we find the very depths of heaven.

In this podcast, Fr. Stephen speaks about salvation and the Church in the Orthodox understanding. He states that: "the Church is what salvation looks like," and explains how the Tradition of the Church sees our salvation in Christ as something we work out in the context of the believing community rather than as mere individuals.

In this week's podcast Fr. Stephen notes that things are not always as they seem. In our busy world we often only see things in a blur. We want things quickly. He notes that grace has a slowness about it and urges us to "be still" and "know" God.

Fr. Stephen describes the one-storey universe as a faith worth believing and addresses the difficulty that people in the modern world have in transitioning from the secularized religions that dot our landscape to a truly integrated religion such as the Orthodox faith.

Fr. Stephen looks at morality and virtue, particularly as understood during the so-called "Age of Enlightenment," and compares it with an Orthodox understanding of right actions in the life of a Christian.

Fr. Stephen talks about eight different ways that the divided, "two-storey" universe, a world divided between sacred and secular, affect us as Christians, and offers reflections on how we should see and cope with each of them. This is the largest summary of his work to date.

In this podcast, Fr. Stephen speaks about giving thanks to God and its foundation in the belief that God is good. He focuses on four aspects of that goodness.

Fr. Stephen talks about one aspect of the Orthodox understanding of salvation by grace, and notes that a very large part of it consists in "just showing up," learning to be present to God and to accept faithfully the means of grace given to us.