Vanessa The Wonderworker, Chapter Twenty Eight, written and illustrated by Grace Brooks. Available on Amazon

Vanessa The Wonderworker, Chapter Twenty Seven, written and illustrated by Grace Brooks. Available on Amazon

Vanessa The Wonderworker, Chapter Twenty Nine and CONCLUSION, written and illustrated by Grace Brooks. Available on Amazon

28. Book 1: Before You Were Born by Nancy White Carlstrom (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2002) Copyright© Used with permission from the author and Curtis Brown Ltd. Book 2: From I-ville to You-ville by Mersine Vigopoulou, part six (Uncut Mountain Press, 2006)

31. Book 1: Christina's True Heroes by Maria C. Khoury (CDK Publications, 2005) Book 2: Halloween Town by Dennis Eugene Engleman (Regina Orthodox Press) part one

32. Book 1: The Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple from The Twelve Great Feasts for Children by Mother Melania (Conciliar Press, 2003) Book 2: Halloween Town by Dennis Eugene Engleman (Regina Orthodox Press) part two

33. Book 1: Prepare, O Bethlehem!: The Feast of the Nativity illustrated for Children by Niko Chocheli (St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2000) Book 2: Halloween Town by Dennis Eugene Engleman (Regina Orthodox Press) part three and conclusion

36. Book 1: Good King Wenceslas by John M. Neale (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2005) Book 2: A Perfect Christmas written by Dennis Eugene Engleman and illustrated by Niko Chocheli (Regina Orthodox Press, 2003) part two and conclusion.

46. Book 1: It's Sunday Shall We Go to Church? By Elias Liamis and Penelope Moraitou (Akritas Publications, 2007). Available from St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite Publication Society, 240 Diamond St. Northampton, PA 18067. Fax: 610-440-0995. Book 2: Wise Man Artabanes and His Gifts to Christ the Saviour, by Gregorye S. Petrov (The Publishing House of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral).

78. Book 1: "Jesus at the Age of Twelve" from The Bible for Young People by Zoe Kanavas (Narthex Press, 2005) (5.06 mins) Book 2: The Life of Saint Martin of Tours by Verena Smith (St. Nectarios Press, 2008; first published by Burns & Oates Ltd, 1966) (19.38 mins)

"The Wedding in Cana" from The Bible for Young People by Zoe Kanavas (Narthex Press, 2005)

Fr. Ted explains that what we really need for our lives is to have our sins forgiven.

Fr. Ted reminds us that more important than our sinfulness is the mercy of God.

Fr. Ted discusses the Gospel reading, John 9:1-38.

Fr. Ted explains that there's a reason behind everything we do in the Orthodox Church.

This week, Fr. Ted addresses the question of how a loving God could also judge us.

Fr. Ted encourages us to pace ourselves in this, our second week of Lent, as temptations from the evil one can thwart our efforts to be closer to God. He also reminds us to be patient with others as each path is different and we are not to judge.

Fr. Ted urges those who have been born into the Orthodox faith to ask themselves hard questions about what they would sacrifice for Orthodoxy had they not been born into it. He reminds them to demonstrate Christian love and acceptance to catechumens.

This week's homily was delivered by guest priest Fr. Nicholas Tambakis from Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Fr. Ted explains that unlike the rest of creation, human beings are made in God's likeness, capable of free will. He urges us to utilize this gift as we begin our lenten journey.

Fr. Ted reminds us that it is impossible for us to be Christians without the Holy Spirit.

Fr. Ted assures us that the more time we commit to our spiritual life, the more we will get out of it.

Which Messiah are you waiting for—the real one or the one you have created in your mind?

Fr. Ted encourages us to live our faith during Holy Week and throughout the year to come!

Fr. Ted calls us to daily live our faith in the resurrected Christ without fear!

Fr. Ted reflects upon the offering that we make as we come into the House of God.

Fr. Ted discusses the importance of what we wear when we go to the House of God.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos encourages us to resist the fear of revealing our weaknesses in order to find healing in Christ.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos addresses the importance of God Parents in a child's life in the Orthodox Church.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos invites us to consider the reality of our sin and our need for repentance.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos preaches on the Gospel reading from the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent, reminding us that as Orthodox Christians we have been training through our prayer, fasting and almsgiving for an unusual occasion like the one we face during the coronavirus pandemic.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos reflects on the Gospel reading from the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos preaches on Jesus calling the disciples to follow him.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos explains the relationship of power and authority in the Church to Christ.

Mother Frederica Mathewes-Green, well-known author and public speaker, discusses the Christian life. Kevin and Steve ask her about prayer, forgiveness, and to mark our inaugural show--the Illumined Heart!

Continuing discussion with Mother Frederica Mathewes-Green, Kevin and Steve delve deeper into what it means to live life as an Orthodox Christian. Just in time for Lent!

How old is monasticism in the west? Are there historic connections between eastern and western monasticism? What does the western monk strive to achieve? Is the praxis similar for the western (Roman Catholic) and eastern (Orthodox) monk? These are questions Kevin asks Fr. Simon O'Donnell (OSB), a Benedictine monk (and former novice master) of 42 years at Saint Andrew Abbey, Valyermo, California.

In this encore presentation, Kevin talks with Fuller Theological Seminary professor Dr. Paraskeve (Eve) Tibbs about the essential differences between the ways the Christian East and West understand the fundamentals of the faith, worship, and sacraments. A great introduction to East-West Christian distinctives!

Dr Bradley Nassif, a “pioneer of Orthodox-Evangelical Dialogue” talks with host Kevin Allen about “where things are” formally and informally between The Orthodox Church and Evangelical Christians. Kevin asks the question: “What is an Evangelical?”

Illumined Heart host Kevin Allen speaks with the research director of the 2010 US Orthodox Christian Census, Alexei D. Krindatch, about the first definitive census of every Orthodox body in the U.S (including Eastern and Oriental), nationally and by state. Be prepared for some suprises!

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.

What began as a conversation with Fuller Theological Seminary professor Dr. Paraskeve (Eve) Tibbs over coffee, becomes an interview on the essential differences between the ways the Christian East and West understand the fundamentals of the faith, worship, and sacraments. A great introduction to East-West Christian distinctives on this encore presentation of The Illumined Heart with Kevin Allen!

Mother Melania, stavrophor (little schema) nun at St. Barbara Monastery, Santa Paula, California and author of the series, "The Twelve Great Feasts for Children", and the series, "The 3-Day Pascha" (for Great and Holy Friday, Great and Holy Saturday, and Pascha) discusses purity (and impurity) of heart and overcoming the passions.

In the next 4 episodes, Andrew gets very practical on ways to find our way out of addiction. Part 1 asks "How Do We Live?" Read a transcript HERE.

Today Andrew continues his practical advise for freeing ourselves from addiction by offering St. Theophan's four spiritual weapons for our contimplation . Read the transcript HERE.

How do I deal with toxic shame that seems to close off the avenue back to God. Read the transcript HERE.

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.

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.

We continue our discussion of apostolic succession by examining some common objections given by Protestants, found in a sermon outline published on Calvin College's CCEL Historical Church document site. It becomes clear that for Protestants, reaction against apostolic succession is not based on solid Biblical or historical grounds, but rather on the need to question and reject the authority of Rome (papal and magisterial) and its excesses, which are not necessarily a part of the Eastern Orthodox Tradition.