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St. Timon and Assisting the World

On the occasion of the Sunday of St. Timon and his congregation's ongoing support of its sister parish in Bosra-Hauran, Syria, Fr. Philip LeMasters encourages us to avoid despair and work to alleviate the suffering of our neighbors wherever they are in the world.




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The Jesus Seminar and Gospel Accuracy

Fr. Lawrence Farley critically examines the hermeneutic of suspicion that marks modern liberal biblical scholarship.




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Choices of Joni and Brittany

Fr. Lawrence Farley argues that Brittany Maynard took only this life—and not the life to come—into consideration when deciding to commit suicide.




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Evil and the Christian

Fr. Lawrence Farley reminds us that while looking at the nature of evil under a philosophic microscope is okay, far more important is the knowledge of how to avoid being involved in it.




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Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?

According to Fr. Lawrence Farley, if the Muslim has no real exposure to or understanding of the Christian message, he might still be spared on the last day if his heart was in ignorance seeking the true God.




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Marriage and Sexuality

Fr. Philip LeMasters argues that it has always been a component of Orthodox teaching that the uniquely life-giving union of man and woman is unspeakably holy and a sign of the relationship between Christ and the Church.




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Physician-Assisted Suicide

Fr. Philip LeMasters presents an Orthodox Christian argument against physician-assisted suicide.




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Apologize and Keep Quiet Forever

Fr. Lawrence Farley argues that the traditional Christian Church should not heed impassioned demands that it shut up and say nothing when its central teachings are trampled, denied, and distorted.




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Christian Universalism

Will everyone be saved in the end? Fr. Lawrence Farley argues that the Scriptures, the Fathers, and even Christ Himself all say no.




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Teaching Protestants About Saints and Icons

Fr. Philip LeMasters shares what he has learned over the last 25 years of teaching Protestants about saints and icons.




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The Elephant in the Room

Fr. Lawrence Farley addresses how the reigning theological liberalism of many Protestant traditions is the elephant in the room when it comes to ecumenical discussions regarding re-Baptism into the Orthodox Church.




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Elmer the Safety Elephant

Fr. Lawrence Farley identifies three rules that children should follow to avoid being harmed by the pornography pandemic.




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Who Was That Woman?

Fr. Lawrence Farley investigates the identity of the woman who anointed Christ's feet before his trial and crucifixion.




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Embodied Persons: Male and Female

Fr. Philip LeMasters contends that the biological complementarity of males and females provides an important clue to the personal identity of human beings.




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Orthodox Witness in a Post-Christian Culture

Fr. Philip LeMasters argues that it is time for Orthodox Christians to be realistic and not panic about life in an increasingly post-Christian culture.




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Orthodoxy and Politics

Fr. Philip LeMasters, a professor of religion at McMurry University and the host of the AFR podcast Eastern Christian Insights, discusses how Orthodox Christians should approach politics.




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The Anaphora of St. Basil

Fr. Philip LeMasters, Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Religion at McMurry University, explains that St. Basil's Anaphora calls us to live out practically what we enact liturgically in response to the needs of the human beings whom we encounter every day.




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Contemporary Challenges in Marriage, Family, and Sexuality.

Fr. Philip reflects on the Eucharistic context of the pastoral response to contemporary challenges in marriage, family, and sexuality.




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Staying Christian in a Culture of Growing Hate

Dn. Michael Hyatt is the chair of the Ancient Faith Ministries board and a Deacon at St. Ignatius Antiochian Orthodox Church in Franklin, TN. Most people know him as one of the top leadership mentors in the country and the Founder and CEO of Michael Hyatt & Company, an online leadership development company dedicated to helping high achievers win at work and succeed at life. In this commentary (which is actually a sermon given at St. Ignatius), Dn. Michael assesses the impact of social media on people in general and Christians in particular. Be looking for the return of his Ancient Faith Radio podcast At the Intersection of East and West in September!




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Coptic Christian Massacre

Dan Bein, the most recent Media Student Leader of Orthodox Christian Fellowship and a Coptic Christian, comments on the recent bus shooting of the Coptic Christians in Egypt who refused to renounce their faith at gunpoint.




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Should It Matter to Christians When Churches Burn?

The world watched in disbelief as the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris burned. But why should it matter? Fr. Andrew Damick has an answer.




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On the Ukrainian Church Controversy

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick shares his thoughts on the controversial situation of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Are we looking at the situation through worldly eyes or through spiritual eyes?




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Spoons - One or Many?

On line discussions about using the common spoon or multiple spoons for the Eucharist during the pandemic has prompted this commentary by Dr. Jeannie Constantinou. Dr. Constantinou has been teaching Biblical Studies and Early Christianity at the University of San Diego since 2002. Previously she taught New Testament at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology from 1998-1999. She has led bible studies, taught and lectured on the Bible and Orthodoxy at parishes, conferences, retreats and seminars for over thirty years. Her Search the Scriptures Live podcast is a popular feature on Ancient Faith Radio.




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Lent and the Pandemic Fallout - Part 1

Fr. Barnabas Powell - Part 1 of




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Lent and the Pandemic Fallout - Part 2

Fr. Barnabas Powell - Part 2 of 4.




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Lent and the Pandemic Fallout - Part 3

Fr. Barnabas Powell - Part 3 of 4.




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Lent and the Pandemic Fallout - Part 4

Fr. Barnabas Powell - Part 4 of a 4 part series




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On Political Power and the Kingdom of God

Fr. Philip LeMasters reads an essay he wrote for Jacob's Well, the official magazine of the Diocese of New York and New Jersey (OCA). "What is the border between Christ’s Kingdom and the kingdoms of the world? The Savior said clearly that His Kingdom “is not of this world,” but the world is where we have to live out our lives as His followers. Throughout the Divine Liturgy, we pray for the salvation of all, peace for the world, and the wellbeing of our civil authorities and armed forces. To do this with integrity, we must discern how to deal with political and social matters in ways that not only convey the transcendence of the Kingdom, but also show how God’s will can be done, albeit imperfectly and partially, here on earth. The border between these realms is real, but not impermeable." Read the essay at https://issuu.com/jacobswell/docs/jacob_s_well_spring_2021_final/s/12860328.




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St Jacob of Serug: The Theotokos and the Archangel

This week, we consider the testimony of St Jacob on the dialogue between the Mother of God and the Archangel Gabriel, as he draws a parallel and contrast to the dialogue between Eve and the serpent in Eden.




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The Theological Poetry of St. Gregory the Theologian

Reflections on the poems of St Gregory of Nazianzus, including his poems for morning and evening, of sin and of redemption; with a comparison to the hopeful proclamation of the funeral songs of the Church.




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A Forest Climb for St Athanasius and the Three Monks

Recorded during a forest walk, this week's broadcast considers a traditional saying regarding St. Athanasius' encounter with three monks on an island, and the relationship between doctrine and transfiguration.




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St. Symeon the New Theologian on the “Impossible Beauty” of the Life in Christ

In this fourth week of the Great Fast, when the Church commemorates the universal adoration of the precious Cross, our broadcast looks at an important passage by St Symeon the New Theologian, on being joined to the suffering Christ and so attaining the "impossible beauty" of His glory. We ask with the saint: how shall we approach such glory?




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St. Mary of Egypt and the Grace of the Holy Mysteries

During this week of Great Lent, wherein the Church reads the Life of St. Mary of Egypt, we explore a section of that text which reveals the relationship between "mystical theology" in ascetical life, to the grace of the Holy Mysteries in the Church. We are prompted to ask ourselves: Do I lose sight of the chalice in my desire to find Christ?




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St. Anthony of Egypt on Sobriety of the Heart

Turning once again to the testimony of St Anthony the Great, this week’s broadcast examines an incident in the great Father’s life in which the true heights of sobriety of heart are witnessed. Might this feed us in our own moments of struggle in the spiritual life?




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The “Wonderful and Confessedly Striking” Christian Manner of Life

Examining a passage from the anonymous second-century Epistle to Diognetus, Archimandrite Irenei explores the witness borne by the early Christian community and asks: does it reflect our Christian testimony today?




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St. Cyprian on the Community of the Lord's Prayer

What is implied in the "our" of the "Our Father"? In this week's episode, Fr. Matthew examines two passages from St Cyprian's treatise on the Lord's Prayer, which focus on questions of unity and community in the Son of God. Do we live this communion in our own life of prayer?




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St. John Chrysostom: Practical Guidance on Dealing with Others

St. John Chrysostom's preaching is filled with practical advice on living a Christian life in the world, and in this broadcast we look at four sayings in which he addresses commonplace issues in the Christian's dealings with others: combating envy, overcoming offence, learning to conquer anger with love, and living in unity to the glory of God.




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St. John Chrysostom: Practical Guidance on Dealing with Others

St. John Chrysostom’s preaching is filled with practical advice on living a Christian life in the world, and in this broadcast we look at four sayings in which he addresses commonplace issues in the Christian’s dealings with others: combating envy, overcoming offence, learning to conquer anger with love, and living in unity to the glory of God.




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“God Is There, Where the Understanding Does Not Reach”

In this episode, Fr. Matthew returns to the Life of Moses by St Gregory of Nyssa, and examines a key passage in which the Saint compares the ascent of spiritual life to Moses's ascent of Mt. Sinai. What does it mean to ascend into "darkness," to converse with God "where the understanding does not reach"? And how does Moses's example reveal the way in which all the Fathers and Saints draw the whole Christian family into deeper communion with God?




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The Contours of Christian Love

Can one call oneself a Christian without love? And what is the nature of the love we are called to show our neighbors? In this week's episode, Fr Matthew examines four patristic passages on love, and asks the question: What is it about Christian love that makes it unique in the world?




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The Contours of Christian Love

Can one call oneself a Christian without love? And what is the nature of the love we are called to show our neighbors? In this week’s episode, Archimandrite Irenei examines four patristic passages on love, and asks the question: What is it about Christian love that makes it unique in the world?




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St. Cyprian on Cain, Abel, and True Self-Sacrifice

What are we to make of the Genesis account of Cain and Abel? In this broadcast, Fr. Matthew examines a portion of St Cyprian of Carthage's Treatise on the Lord's Prayer that shows forth Abel as the first martyr, the example of true self-sacrifice. And it is a lesson with a practical aim: the quenching of anger and hatred, and the discovery of a life offered more wholly to God.




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St. Nicholas Cabasilas on the Assurance of the True Body and Blood

In every age, there is the temptation to doubt the Mysteries of the Church—to question how it is that the faithful should remain secure in believing that Christ makes Himself truly present in Body and Blood at the Holy Table. In this week' episode, Fr. Matthew examines an extended text by Nicholas Cabasilas on the substance of our faith in the Mystical Supper.




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St. Nicholas Cabasilas on the Assurance of the True Body and Blood

In every age, there is the temptation to doubt the Mysteries of the Church—to question how it is that the faithful should remain secure in believing that Christ makes Himself truly present in Body and Blood at the Holy Table. In this week’s episode, Archimandrite Irenei examines an extended text by Nicholas Cabasilas on the substance of our faith in the Mystical Supper.




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Remembering the Mother of God: St. Cyril on the Theotokos and the Incarnation

In this season of Christ's incarnate coming in the flesh, we take a moment to reflect, through the words of St. Cyril of Alexandria, on the role of the Virgin Theotokos in the nativity of the true God, Jesus Christ.




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Remembering the Mother of God: St. Cyril on the Theotokos and the Incarnation

In this season of Christ’s incarnate coming in the flesh, we take a moment to reflect, through the words of St. Cyril of Alexandria, on the role of the Virgin Theotokos in the nativity of the true God, Jesus Christ.




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Glory to God Who Has Shown Himself to Us: St. Ephrem and St. John on the Nativity

In a broadcast for the Feast of the Nativity According to the Flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ, we reflect on two hymns of St. Ephrem the Syrian and a portion of a homily by St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco on the glory of the night of Christ's full revelation.




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Glory to God Who Has Shown Himself to Us: St. Ephrem and St. John on the Nativity

In a broadcast for the Feast of the Nativity According to the Flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ, we reflect on two hymns of St. Ephrem the Syrian and a portion of a homily by St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco on the glory of the night of Christ’s full revelation.




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The Wonder of the Incarnation - St. Gregory the Theologian

We conclude the first series of A Word From the Holy Fathers with this fiftieth episode, in which Fr. Matthew examines a poignant reflection on "the wonder of the Incarnation" by St. Gregory of Nazianzus. The broadcast concludes with a small announcement about the conclusion of this series, and advance notice of its return with a new series in a month's time.




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A Friend of God, a Brother and Son of Christ

Beginning the second series of "A Word From the Holy Fathers," Archimandrite Irenei calls upon the spiritual homilies of St. Makarios the Great, reflecting on the saint’s profound question, "Do you wish to be a friend of God, and a brother and son of Christ?" What does it mean to be God’s "friend," and how should this affect how we see ourselves—and what God requires of us—as Orthodox Christians?