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Canon Law

Dr. Rossi interviews the Very Rev. Alexander Rentel on the topic of Canon Law. Fr. Rentel is the Director of the Master of Divinity Program, Ecclesiarch, Assistant Professor of Canon Law and Byzantine Studies and The John and Paraskeva Skvir Lecturer in Practical Theology at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonker, NY.




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Project Uganda: An Interview with Seminarian Dn. Simon Menya

Dr. Albert Rossi interviews seminarian Dn. Simon Menya on his vision for ministry in his home country called "Project Uganda." Dn. Simon is a student at Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonkers, NY.




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A Seminarian's Letter

Dr. Albert Rossi shares a letter that he received from a former seminarian about the lessons that he learned and how he is sharing those insights through his ministry today.




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Music as Therapy: An Interview with Dr. Carla Thomas

Dr. Albert Rossi interviews Dr. Carla Thomas, M.D., Trustee of St. Vladimir's Seminary, on the topic of using music as a healing therapy. Dr. Thomas is a Family Practice physician, Board Member of Orthodox Prison Ministry, member of the Brotherhood of St. Moses the Black and parishioner at St. Luke Orthodox Church in Anniston, Alabama (OCA).




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Polarization: An Interview with Bishop Paul (OCA)

Dr. Albert Rossi interviews The Right Reverend Paul, Bishop of Chicago and the Midwest in the Orthodox Church in America, on the present condition of polarization within the Church and the United States.




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Risen Christians: An Interview with Fr. Alexander Rentel

Dr. Albert Rossi interviews the Very Rev. Dr. Alexander Rentel, the new Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America. Fr. Alexander recently gave a homily in the chapel of St. Vladimir's Theological Seminary on the topic of the paschal light of Christ at work in risen Christians.




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Interview with Dr. Grant S. White: Liturgy and the Search for Meaning

Dr. Albert Rossi interviews Dr. Grant S. White, Assistant Professor of Liturgical Theology at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, on the topic of the Liturgy and a person's search for meaning in turbulent times.




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The Homily and the Hearer: Interview with Fr. Sergius Halvorsen

Dr. Albert Rossi has a follow up interview with Fr. Sergius Halvorsen on the topic of "The Homily and the Hearer." Rev. Dr. J. Sergius Halvorsen is the Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonkers, NY.




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Purity of Heart and Sexual Chastity

Dr. Rossi address issues of the purity of the heart and mind in relation to sexual chastity.




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Borders and Frontiers: An Interview with Rev. Dr. Anthony G. Roeber

Dr. Albert Rossi interviews Rev. Dr. Anthony G. Roeber, Professor of Church History at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, on the topic of "Boundaries and Frontiers Within the Church."




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Lessons from St. Silouan the Athonite

Dr. Albert Rossi reflects on one of his favorite saints, St. Silouan the Athonite. The book Dr. Rossi references, Saint Silouan the Athonite, is available through the Ancient Faith Store.




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OCAMPR 2019: An Interview with Chaplain Sarah Byrne-Martelli

Dr. Albert Rossi interviews Chaplain Sarah Byrne-Martelli, co-host of the AFR podcast "A Wounded Healer," on the upcoming OCAMPR conference. OCAMPR stands for The Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology and Religion.




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Transparency and Accountability: An Interview with Fr. Nikodhim

Dr. Albert Rossi has a conversation with Fr. Nikodhim, pastor of St. Nicholas Albanian Orthodox Church in Queens, New York, on the topic of transparency and accountability in the development of trust of others in dangerous situations.




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Fr. Roman Braga

Dr. Al Rossi interviews Dr. Daniel Hinshaw on the life and spiritual legacy of Fr. Roman Braga. Dr. Daniel Hinshaw is professor of palliative care at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonkers, New York.




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Guilt and Shame

Dr. Albert Rossi interviews Fr. David Mezynski on the dangerous and helpful understandings of guilt and shame. The Very Rev. Dr David Mezynski is the Assistant Professor of Orthodox Spirituality at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonkers, NY.




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Sobriety and the Desert Fathers

Dr. Albert Rossi interviews Fr. David Mezynski on the topic of Sobriety and the Desert Fathers. Fr. David is the former Dean of Students at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, and is currently working as a social worker in Rochester, New York.




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An Interview with an Orthodox Physician who Works in a NYC Hospital

Dr. Albert Rossi interview Dr. Alexis Vien, an Orthodox physician who has been working in a New York City hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.




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The Human Race

Dr. Albert Rossi encourages us to consider what is in our own hearts in regards to prejudices in how we relate to other human beings.




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One Race, The Human Race

Dr. Albert Rossi continues his reflections on the state of the human race in our culture and the Orthodox Church.




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Overcoming Impulse Through Relaxation and Prayer: An Interview with Fr. Alexis Trader

Dr. Albert Rossi interviews Fr. Alexis Trader, author of Ancient Christian Wisdom, on the topic of overcoming impulsivity and the desire to control the world around us.




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An Inch Wide and a Mile Deep

Dr. Albert Rossi turns the well known phrase, "A Mile Wide and an Inch Deep," around in order to help us see our need to deeper into our true self in Christ.




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Making Christianity Really Real

Dr. Albert Rossi reflects on a conversation he had following the Nativity divine services on how we can make Christianity really real in our lives.




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Am I Adam and Eve?

Dr. Albert Rossi asks who we really are in relation to Adam and Eve.




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Keep Your Mind in Hell and Despair Not - Part 2

Dr. Albert Rossi continues his reflections on the profound statement by St. Silouan the Athonite, "Keep your mind in hell and despair not."




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Keep Your Mind in Hell and Despair Not - Part 1

Dr. Albert Rossi reflects on the profound statement by St. Silouan the Athonite, "Keep your mind in hell and despair not."




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Love Changes Everything

Dr. Albert Rossi considers the ways that love impacts our lives, even in death.




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Everyone Is Doing The Best They Can

Dr. Albert Rossi encourage us to assume the best of others, seeking to love all who come into our lives, while resisting a judgmental spirit.




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On the Other Hand

Dr. Albert Rossi reflects on the unexpected turn of events that we often encounter in our lives and how we might respond to them.




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Acting Firmly and Wisely

Dr. Albert Rossi reflects on the morning prayer of Philaret of Moscow: O Lord, grant me to greet the coming day in peace, help me in all things to rely upon your holy will. In every hour of the day reveal your will to me. Bless my dealings with all who surround me. Teach me to treat all that comes to throughout the day with peace of soul and with firm conviction that your will governs all. In all my deeds and words, guide my thoughts and feelings. In unforeseen events, let me not forget that all are sent by you. Teach me to act firmly and wisely, without embittering and embarrassing others. Give me strength to bear the fatigue of the coming day with all that it shall bring. Direct my will, teach me to pray. And you, yourself, pray in me. Amen.




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Philippians 4 as a Life Guide

Dr. Albert Rossi reflects on St. Paul's words in Philippians, chapter 4.




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More than Meaning

Dr. Albert Rossi reflects on the pursuit of the meaning of life.




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Where Are God's Hands?

Dr. Rossi reflects on how we are Christ's presence in the world.




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Bread and Circus

Dr. Rossi discusses the need for hobbies and leisure, as balanced with the need for uplifting pursuits.




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Must Christians Suffer?

Dr. Rossi reflects on what Jesus means when he says that his yoke is easy and his burden is light.




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Food and Fasting

Fr. Philip LeMasters explains that our diet and eating habits have a profound spiritual and moral significance as they shape who we become as people and how we relate to others and to the Lord.




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Two Chairs of Peter: Reform, Orthodoxy and the Papacy

Following yesterday's pontifical election, Fr. Andrew Damick comments on this most recent event as well as the recent election of Patriarch John X of the Holy Synod of Antioch.




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The Friendly Giant

How did normal American kids become the Boston bombers? How did the friendly giant become the terrorist? Fr. Lawrence Farley, priest at Saint Herman of Alaska Orthodox Church in Langley, British Columbia, reminds us that this sort of thing always happens one poor decision at a time—and that we should guard against doing the same.




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Sex and Political Action

Fr. Philip LeMasters, Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Religion at McMurry University, tries to account for why homosexuality has become the defining issue of our time, arguing that it was the civil rights movement and the sexual revolution that has turned us all into political hedonists.




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On the Pope, Twitter, and Maximalism

Fr. Lawrence Farley argues that the real story behind the Pope and his Twitter followers is the death of maximalism in the Roman Catholic Church and the modern rush to lower the bar for pretty much everything.




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Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

Fr. Lawrence Farley reviews Reza Aslan’s book Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, calling it "a tired rewriting of the same nonsense that pseudo-scholars have been churning out for some time now."




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Bread and Peanut Butter and the Forgiveness of Sins

Fr. Lawrence Farley reminds us that the man who trusts God and does what is pleasing to him, such as giving alms to the poor, will experience His favor when his own time of need comes.




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Re-evangelizing the Nation

With the Church of England just one generation from extinction, the call has gone out for re-evangelization. Fr. Lawrence Farley asks whether this particular church still possesses the evangel of Saints Cuthbert and Aidan.




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John the Scandalous Baptist

Fr. Lawrence Farley discusses what it was that made the Child of the Desert so controversial—namely, baptizing Jews.




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Stiff Backs and Firm Handshakes

Fr. Lawrence Farley explains why Orthodox Christians prostrate in front of icons of saints.




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Food, Sex, and Sports: Idols or Pathways to Salvation?

Fr. Philip LeMasters reminds us that our Orthodox faith does not require us to abandon or condemn any dimension of life, but instead to offer all that we are and do for fulfillment and blessing and healing.




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Russia, Christianity, and the Olympics

Fr. John Parker, Chair of the Dept of Evangelization of the Orthodox Church in America, comments on an Op Ed piece in the New York Times about Russia and the Olympics. An edited version of Fr. John's comments can be found in the The Post and Courier.




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Male Converts and Female Saints: Strong Women in Orthodoxy and in My Family

Fr. Philip LeMasters marvels at how central the balance of the masculine and the feminine is to our Orthodox faith and spiritual life.




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The Repentance of the Prodigal Son

Fr. Lawrence Farley reminds us that repentance is not simply feeling bad for having broken God's rules; rather, it is a return to yourself and a return to your home.




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Is Orthodoxy the Same Everywhere?: Understanding Theological Controversy Within the Church

There is variety in Orthodox theology, but there is no plurality in dogma—and that is where the unity of the Orthodox faith lies. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick explains.




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Light from Antioch

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick shares his hopes for the future of the Antiochian Archdiocese and Orthodoxy in America. The text version of this commentary can be found here.