Kevin and Steve interview Fr. Wayne about some hard to ask questions about Lent.

Steve McMeans interviews his co-host, Kevin Allen, about his experiences as the novice of a Hindu guru, and his journey to Orthodoxy.

Here's a hint: It's wrong! Great stuff as Kevin Allen interviews this popular Orthodox priest, a senior editor at Touchstone Magazine.

Dean Emeritus of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary, theologian and writer answers listener questions ranging from the valdity of the "charismatic" gifts (a fitting question for Pentecost Sunday!),to the Christian basis for the animal rights movement!

He served in war-torn Bosnia and Kenya before he turned 40! Now he heads Orthodoxy’s largest charitable and humanitarian aid organization – International Orthodox Christian Charities. Meet Constantine M. Triantifilou, IOCC’s Executive Director, as he speaks about a career and vocation of service. (Don’t hold it against him – he’s also a Boston Red Sox fan!)

In this special 1 hour edition of The Illumined Heart, Kevin talks with Charles Ajalat. Mr. Ajalat is a powerful voice for Orthodox unity with a great deal of pan-Orthodox leadership experience. Currently chancellor and board member of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of America, he was also the architect of the historic Ligonier Meeting of Orthodox bishops in 1994—the first meeting of all twenty-nine bishops in North America. He is the founder of a Los Angeles law firm specializing in tax and litigation matters, and a graduate of Harvard University and the Law School at the University of California at Berkeley. He is a member of St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles. More resources on this topic: Again Magazine (Winter 2003) Kevin's interview with Fr. Josiah Trenham Metropolitan PHILIP's keynote address at Antiochian Convention in Montreal (2007)

Ex-member of the hard-core Christian rock band East West (2002 Dove Award Winner!) speaks about the Christian Contemporary Music Industry, the reality of touring life on the road, the spiritual and physical exhaustion that eventually led him to examine his faith and eventually discovery of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Today Kevin's guest host on the program is Father Steve Tsichlis, Senior Pastor of Saint Paul's Greek Orthodox Church in Irvine, California. Fr Steve's special guest for this exclusive Illumined Heart interview is His Eminence, Metropolitan KALLISTOS [Ware]. Their topic is: UNDERSTANDING THE SACRAMENTS. Saint Paul’s recently hosted His Eminence, Metropolitan KALLISTOS to Southern California, for a two-day, packed-house seminar to the general public titled, “Drawing Closer to the Savior: The Sacramental Life”. CD’s of this seminar are available for purchase by calling St Paul’s Church Office at 949.733.2366. You can also contact them on St Pauls’ website: www.stpaulsirvine.org.

This week Kevin re-conneects after 35 years with his old college dorm neighbor, Conservative Jewish Rabbi Alan J.Iser, about Judaism, the Jewish roots of Orthodox Christianity, and how religious Jews understand the Torah verses what Christians interpret christologically in this frank interview. Rabbi Iser is the spiritual leader of Congregation OR SHALOM in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. 44:05

Hunter Haynes, midwest policeman and self-proclaimed "nominal Presbyterian", spent a year in Kosovo (then part of Serbia) as a United Nations peacekeeper. The experience changed his life. Find out why in this compelling interview!

Hear the fascinating story of Patrick Lansdowne, a 7-year Hare Krishna Temple devotee, about his journey to Christ and the Orthodox Church. In Part One of the interview, Patrick and host Kevin Allen discuss the Hare Krishna sect's unique metaphysics and practices (within Hindusim) and how and why Patrick adopted them! Do any of them "prefigure" Christ?

Today we bring you part 2 of Kevin's interview with Patrick Landsdowne.

Host Kevin Allen and Father Michael Reagan continue their conversation about this most important of topics: Knowing God. Next Illumined Heart: Friday, September 24, 2010

In this inaugural episode of the new season of The Illumined Heart, Kevin Allen welcomes Father Michael Reagan to discuss a long-standing conversation between the Eastern Church and the Western Church: can we know God directly and what does this mean? The perspective in this conversation is practical, not academic. In this new season of The Illumined Heart, Kevin will be providing interviews every other week. However next week (Sept 10) he will have part 2 of his interview with Fr. Michael Reagan.

In part 6 of our interview with the Metropolitan, we ask him to address the future of Orthodoxy and whether he is pessimistic or optimistic.

We ask His Eminence about the role of nationalism and ethnicity in the Orthodox Church.

In this section, Metropolitan Kallistos addresses the question of music adaptation to the culture and modern ears.

The Metropolitan is asked about women's ordination and same sex attraction in this section of the interview.

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

In the first section of our extensive interview with Metropolitan Kallistos, we talk about the state of the Orthodox Church both here and abroad.

In a very special edition of The Illumined Heart, we have an extensive conversation with His Eminence Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, Professor Emeritus in Eastern Orthodox Studies at Oxford University, and Bishop of Diokleia. Metropolitan Ka!istos is widely regarded as perhaps the world’s leading theologian of the Eastern Orthodox Church today. We present the entire interview here but also offer it in bite size pieces below. Kevin Allen's guest host is John Maddex.

Jeremy (Basil) Dannnebohm was an ardent young Catholic. What made him journey from his cradle Church to the Eastern Orthodox Church, only to return to Rome and then revert to Orthodoxy? His story is on this episode of the Illumined Heart.

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.

In this monthly segment, Dean Emeritus of St Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary Fr. Tom Hopko answers listener questions ranging from theories of the Atonement, to Biblical higher-critical theory.

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.

Fr. John Whiteford and host Kevin Allen speak about one of American Christianity's defining doctrines—Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone)—and why it is a flawed and non-biblical notion.

This is the 2nd in our monthly installments of Q&A with Fr. Tom on a variety of subjects related to our faith and Orthodoxy. In this episode he tackles questions about pre-destination and Mary. This feature will be heard the last Sunday of every month.

In this episode, Andrew suggests that the mask is our attempt to save and build our own lives, and yet when we put it on, our life is lost. In the same way, the mockery of intimacy in pornography shrinks and deforms us. Read the transcript HERE.

What’s a good time to have such a conversation? Well, it shouldn’t just be a one-off conversation… it should be an ongoing dialogue and discussion. Listen to the podcast and read the transcript HERE.

How talking about anything — including violence and sexuality — can lead to consequences in others’ lives, intentionally and unintentionally. Read the transcript HERE.

A Study of the Paralytic in Mark Chapter 2 Sometimes the world appears to be so divided and its people so alienated from one another, that it seems like it would take a miracle to fix it and bring us all together again! And yet, this is exactly what Christ came to do. Likewise, the purpose of the Church, which is His body, is to re-unite in itself the world, which has been pulled apart by sin. Drawing on the healing narratives of the Gospels, the sayings of early Church Father, St. John Chrysostom, and contemporary Orthodox thinker Fr. Alexander Schmemann, Steve and Bill examine the causes of division, and discuss how we are healed, and the fragmented cosmos is put back together again in the person of Christ.

Frederica Mathewes-Green

We continue our discussion of the famous Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian and his plea for God to remove from him the "lust for power" and "idle talk". As is made clear from the sayings of the Fathers cited here, these sins are so well-rooted in our normal, everyday lives that raising our self-awareness regarding how and how often we commit them is a significant Lenten undertaking.

Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen! This is the anthem of Pascha, and since it was in fact Holy Week and Pascha last week, we have decided to "go lite" this program hour and air a 20-minute interview segment we did last month with local Phoenix evangelical drive-time radio program host Andrew Tallman in lieu of a full study hour. So enjoy, and next week we'll tackle another topic. A blessed Bright Week to all.

In this program, we revisit Orthodox Holy Week with selected passages from the Holy Tradition - in the hope of trying to convey the richness of the "conversation" between God and the Church. For Christ invites us to go with Him to the Holy Cross, and we find ourselves both willing and unwilling, like the repentant harlot and the betrayer Judas, like the good thief and the blind and unbelieving crowd. Glory to God in Christ! He overcomes the wrath and sins of mankind through love and humility in His Suffering and tramples down Death by Death.

The Proskomide, or the leavened bread that is offered to God, and the accompanying Proskomide prayers, form the essential first part of the Divine Liturgy, taking place well before the arrival of the parishoners to the scheduled service. In this program we attempt to convey some of the significance of the Proskomide and the preparation required for its use. In the Proskomide, the whole of the Kingdom of God - those on earth and in heaven - is commemorated; the Incarnate Lord, the One Sacrifice, the One Bread, the One Body of Christ.

In the final interview of the series with Father Jonah, Steve and Bill have a major meltdown during the first segment trying to explain that even though this is the last interview it was really the first one recorded. This program focuses on the Christian life and monasticism as one expression of living out the Gospel of Christ in community. In this program Fr. Jonah discusses his view of our modern culture, the spirit of the age, and marriage and family and its similarities to the monastic community. It serves as a summary of many of the things discussed in the other five programs.

Steve and Bill offer indisputable evidence that they are still alive by breaking radio silence. Tune in and find out what has been going on for the last few weeks, and then join them in a discussion of "The Unseen Warfare," a Lenten discussion of the spiritual warfare.

Fr. Chad interviews Greg Hatrak, the new bookstore manager at St. Vladimir's Seminary, about some exciting new developments in the school's publishing division.

St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary confers an honorary doctorate on Metropolitan Krystof, primate of the Orthodox Church in the Czech Lands and Slovakia, at an Academic Convocation (February 28, 2011).

This is the second of four Lenten meditations delivered by Archpriest Chad Hatfield at the seminary's annual Pure Week retreat.

This is the third of four Lenten meditations delivered by Archpriest Chad Hatfield at the seminary's annual Pure Week retreat.

Fr. Harry Pappas, priest at Archangel Orthodox Church in Stanford, Connecticut, and an adjunct professor at St. Vladimir's, leads the seminary's second annual Public Lenten Retreat. Titled "Back to Basics: Old Testament and Life," his presentation is divided into three parts, the second of which, "How Life Works," can be heard here.

Fr. Chad Hatfield, Chancellor of St. Vladimir's Seminary, speaks at the school's Diaconal Formation Workshop.

In a presentation centering on Christian identity, Archimandrite Zacharias, a monk of the Monastery of St. John the Baptist, Tolleshunt Knights by Maldon, Essex, England, inspired an audience of more than 100 people with what he termed "domestic theology," that is, "simple things, in Church life that bear profound consequences. Father Zacharias, a disciple of Father Sophrony (of blessed memory) who was a disciple of St. Silouan of Mount Athos, emphasized the importance of each Christian becoming a living temple of God, but in particular, priests.

Dr. Christopher Mitchell, director of the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College, which houses a major research collection by and about seven British authors, including J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, speaks on Tolkien at the 2012 Orthodox Education Day.

Dean The Very Rev. Dr. John Behr, author of academic, popular, and spiritual works, presented the keynote address at this year's Education Day at St. Vladimir's Seminary. Fr. John highlighted the symbiotic relationship between Christianity and books, and described how the development of the internet has changed the way people read.