Steve and Bill got invited to fill in for the vacationing Andrew Tallman, the afternoon drive time talk show host on 1360 KPXQ, the Phoenix area SALEM evangelical radio station. It is a two-hour show from 5 to 7pm, so we are posting the first hour of the program this week and the second hour next week.

During a recent visit to St. John's Monastery, Steve recorded and interview with Abbot Jonah about the Jesus Prayer. In part one, Fr. Jonah discusses the Orthodox view of prayer that goes beyond "requests and praise." He also discusses the practice of the Jesus Prayer and the transformation of the human being which is a difficult and sometimes painful experience.

In part two of the discussion of the Jesus Prayer, Fr. Jonah talks about the context of the practice of the prayer and some of the spiritual pitfalls and dangers of entering a discipline of prayer without spiritual direction.

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.

Steve interviews Fr. Gregory Jensen, an Orthodox priest and psychologist. Fr. Gregory discusses the place of clinical psychology within Orthodox spirituality, particularly as it relates to pastoral care and confession.

The second hour of an interview with Fr. Gregory Jensen on the use of psychology and the Orthodox spiritual life.

In the final program of the series on "Encountering Mary," we deal with some of the hymnography and prayers that are a "brick wall" to many Evangelicals. We discuss several prayers in which Mary seems to be given attributes of deity or usurps the work of Christ in the life of the Christian. But, when we go to the Scriptures we see that the hymnography of the Church is rooted in the Bible and biblical typology and scriptural language in a way that even modern Protestants sometimes use in their devotional lives, practice and hymns.

On January 15th my personal podcast, "Steve the Builder," begins airing on Ancient Faith. The focus will be about my 56 years of "real" life, our culture, living and working in the world, and just being a layperson seeking to be a Christian. Bill and I will still be producing Our Life in Christ programs in the future as we can hammer out some studio time together, but Steve the Builder will fill in the blanks in between Our Life in Christ productions.

We finish this Lenten series discussing the virtues of patience, love, and not judging our brother. Again, the Orthodox axiom of working out the virtues in the body is true, and we learn that patience is not merely a passive state, but also requires spiritual/bodily effort to restrain evil thoughts/actions, choosing to perform God's will instead. Love for God, neighbor, enemies and the whole of creation is our aim, cultivated with our growing awareness of God's pure and captivating eros coming down from heaven. Engulfed in this love we lose interest in the world and adopt the humble mind of Christ, whose words on the Cross, "forgive them for they know not what they do," are to become our own towards all men.

In Part 8 of the series we discuss the foundations of a "sacramental world view" based on the dogmas of the Incarnation and Trinity. How does God relate to creation and thus to the human being through the Incarnation and how does this manifest itself in the sacramental life of the Church?

In the ninth part of the series on forming an Orthodox world view, Steve and Bill continue the discussion of the sacramental world view in light of the Incarnation and Trinity.

In the next three programs we deal with the Perpetual Virginity of Mary. This series is taken from our live broadcasts at KPXQ 1360 in Phoenix, AZ.

In this program we continue the discussion of the Church's teachings regarding the perpetual virginity of Mary. This program was from originally broadcast live in December 2004 on KPXQ in Phoenix, AZ

This is the final program of the three-part series on Mary from our audio archives of our live program on KPXQ Phoenix. In this program we discuss several misconceptions about Mary and her place within the Christian Church through the ages.

The bread and wine, the gifts of the people, have been moved from the table of preparation (prothesis table) to the altar in the Great Entrance. In this program we further discuss the Cherubic Hymn in which we are admonished to "lay aside all earthly cares" as we confront the reality of the heavenly Kingdom and the unity of all believers both in heaven and on earth who confess "Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Trinity one in essence and undivided." We enter a liturgical dialogue with the priest as we contemplate the greatness of the grace of God who accepts from us sinners our gifts in order to return them to us as the Body and Blood of His Son. In this liturgical dialogue we acknowledge our life in the Trinity, the love and unity of the Church, the glory of God, our gratitude to God for His mercy and the awesome and fearful prospect of taking the "fire of divinity" into our human flesh in the Eucharist.

In this debut episode, Fr. Chad has a fascinating discussion with Bishop Hilarion about ecumenical dialogues between Anglicans, Catholics, and Orthodox.

Fr. Chad spoke to the Serbian Clergy Brotherhood last month on the challenges facing our priests in today's culture. We have broken it up into three parts and bring you part 1 today.

Today we bring you part two of Fr. Chad Hatfield's talk at the Serbian Clergy Brotherhood in June on the challenges facing our priests in today's culture.

Here is the third and final part of Fr. Chad's address to the Serbian Clergy about how we should look at the ministry of the priesthood in today's society.

At a recent retreat in Denver, Fr. Chad gave two timely lectures coinciding with recent feasts of the Nativity of the Theotokos and the Exaltation of the Precious and Life Giving Cross. We have broken it up into four podcasts, and here is part 1.

At a recent retreat in Denver, Fr. Chad gave two timely lectures coinciding with recent feasts of the Nativity of the Theotokos and the Exultation of the Precious and Life Giving Cross. We have broken it up into four podcasts, and here is part 2.

Fr. Chad begins his second lecture, but our third part of his talks, at St. Mark's in Denver. St. Mark's is a Western Rite parish in the Antiochian Archdiocese.

Here is the 4th and final part of this series delivered at St. Mark's in Denver.

In this podcast, the Chancellor of the Seminary, Fr. Chad Hatfield talks about the year just completed, the financial picture and some myths that need to be dispelled.

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.

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

This is the fourth 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.

The Very Rev. Dr. Philip LeMasters speaks at the St. Vladimir’s Seminary 2011 Orthodox Education Day.

Dr. Stephen Muse speaks at the St. Vladimir’s Seminary 2011 Orthodox Education Day.

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

Discovery Institute Senior Fellow and noted author Jay Richards was the keynote speaker at the Conference on Poverty, May 31 - June 1, 2013, at St. Vladimir's Seminary. Co-hosted by the Acton Institute, the event featured speakers from diverse backgrounds and disciplines who offered fresh ideas for Orthodox Christians on how to effectively minister to the poor. Other speakers and panelists included Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, St. Vlad's alumnus and officer in the National Council of Churches; Seminary Trustee Dr. Nicholas Pandelidis; Fr Philip LeMasters, Dean of Social Sciences and Religion at McMurry University in Abilene, TX; Michael Miller of the Poverty Cure at Acton; John Couretas of Acton; and director of FOCUS North America in Pittsburgh, Subdeacon Paul Abernathy.

Discovery Institute Senior Fellow and noted author Jay Richards was the keynote speaker at the Conference on Poverty, May 31 - June 1, 2013, at St. Vladimir's Seminary. Co-hosted by the Acton Institute, the event featured speakers from diverse backgrounds and disciplines who offered fresh ideas for Orthodox Christians on how to effectively minister to the poor. Other speakers and panelists included Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, St. Vlad's alumnus and officer in the National Council of Churches; Seminary Trustee Dr. Nicholas Pandelidis; Fr Philip LeMasters, Dean of Social Sciences and Religion at McMurry University in Abilene, TX; Michael Miller of the Poverty Cure at Acton; John Couretas of Acton; and director of FOCUS North America in Pittsburgh, Subdeacon Paul Abernathy.

Discovery Institute Senior Fellow and noted author Jay Richards was the keynote speaker at the Conference on Poverty, May 31 - June 1, 2013, at St. Vladimir's Seminary. Co-hosted by the Acton Institute, the event featured speakers from diverse backgrounds and disciplines who offered fresh ideas for Orthodox Christians on how to effectively minister to the poor. Other speakers and panelists included Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, St. Vlad's alumnus and officer in the National Council of Churches; Seminary Trustee Dr. Nicholas Pandelidis; Fr Philip LeMasters, Dean of Social Sciences and Religion at McMurry University in Abilene, TX; Michael Miller of the Poverty Cure at Acton; John Couretas of Acton; and director of FOCUS North America in Pittsburgh, Subdeacon Paul Abernathy.

Discovery Institute Senior Fellow and noted author Jay Richards was the keynote speaker at the Conference on Poverty, May 31 - June 1, 2013, at St. Vladimir's Seminary. Co-hosted by the Acton Institute, the event featured speakers from diverse backgrounds and disciplines who offered fresh ideas for Orthodox Christians on how to effectively minister to the poor. Other speakers and panelists included Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, St. Vlad's alumnus and officer in the National Council of Churches; Seminary Trustee Dr. Nicholas Pandelidis; Fr Philip LeMasters, Dean of Social Sciences and Religion at McMurry University in Abilene, TX; Michael Miller of the Poverty Cure at Acton; John Couretas of Acton; and director of FOCUS North America in Pittsburgh, Subdeacon Paul Abernathy.

The Very Rev. Dr. John H. Erickson, former seminary Dean (2002-2007), speaks at the first annual "Father John Meyendorff Memorial Lecture" at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary on September 15, 2013.

On November 7, 2014, St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary celebrated its 75th Anniversary with a banquet at the Glen Island Harbor Club in New Rochelle, NY. Guest speakers included Fr. John McGuckin and Bishop Basil. Several surprise announcements were made and can be read about HERE. We've broken the evening into 3 segments. This is part 1.

Part 2 of the 75th Anniversary Gala.

Part 3 of the 75th Anniversary Gala.

Orthodox author, speaker, and AFR podcast host Frederica Mathewes-Green delivers a speech titled "Confessions of a Freelance Writer: Discerning God's Will in an Unpredictable Vocation."

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.

Archpriest Chad Hatfield, CEO of St. Vladimir's Seminary, giving the opening charge to the OCA's Diaconal Vocations Program.

This is two of three lectures that Fr. Chad Hatfield delivered at the Parish Life Conference of the Antiochian Diocese of Los Angeles and the West, held in Phoenix, Arizona, June 28-July 3, 2016.

This is the final of three lectures that Fr. Chad Hatfield delivered at the Parish Life Conference of the Antiochian Diocese of Los Angeles and the West, held in Phoenix, Arizona, June 28-July 3, 2016.

St. Vladimir's Seminary's 75th Commencement, held May 20, 2017, included several distinguishing moments: granting degrees to 16 graduates in three academic programs; remarks to graduates by His Beatitude the Most Blessed Tikhon, of the Orthodox Church in America; the commencement address by His Grace the Right Reverend John of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America; the appointment of Archpriest John Behr to the newly established “Father Georges Florovsky Distinguished Professorship of Patristics"; and the bestowal of the St. Macrina Award upon Archpriest Chad Hatfield, Seminary President.