Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick speaks on the kind of secular age we are actually in (it may be not what you think!), how we evangelize and minister in this context, and how we live a true Christian life here. (This talk was given on Mar. 17, 2018, for the OCA Diocese of New York & New Jersey annual teen retreat.)

Addressing alumni and seminarians at St. Tikhon's Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, during the year-opening retreat, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick challenges them to have conversations with the non-Orthodox and not to settle for falling into either polemic or compromise, showing how engagement is instead the traditional Orthodox patristic posture.

On the Eve of Theophany, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick charges straight ahead into dragon territory, discussing what it means to confront the dragons in the water and also asking: Why don't we seem to see dragons any more?

Part of being a good friend and a Christian person is encouraging others and helping them grow. But how do we do that? What if they don't want to grow? This week, Dan, Tim, and Lia address how to foster that encouraging spirit.

Fr. Panagiotis begins College Conference Midwest's keynote lectures by asking what "Come and See" even means and the transformation that it asks of us.

Father Panagiotis delivers his first keynote lecture about how the divine services can impact us and how the liturgy relates to our personal evangelism

Father Panagiotis gives his second College Conference talk about living an Orthodox life and how prayer, fasting, and almsgiving help to form Christians.

OCF Student Podcast Assistant Nathan Jekel is joined by Maria McClatchey and Andrew Abboud to discuss St. Matthew's account of Peter walking on the water and what it means for our Christian lives. Also in this episode, Nathan, Maria, and Andrew give a preview of the topics that they will be discussing on the program throughout the remainder of the academic year and ask listeners to send in questions to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)/**/.

Tasya interviews Rachel Sierra and Naim Mekdessi—two students who have been active throughout their college years in OCF's South Region. The three college seniors discuss dealing with chapter elections, what it means to be District Leaders and chapter presidents, how they handle discouragement in OCF work, and more.

The first keynote address from Dn. Nicholas Belcher.

The second keynote address by Dn. Belcher.

A lively discussion worth downloading. For details on the panel, download this PDF which has all of the information.

Keynote address 3 by Dn. Belcher.

The interviewer is Jonathan Bush, OCF Regional Representative for the South along with his friend Bekah. The subject of the interview is "What is a vocation?"

Our world is full of marriage advice, but is it good advice? So much of what we read and hear about healthy marriage is untrue. Listen to Fr. Nicholas and Pres. Roxanne Louh as they discuss the truth about building a good marriage.

How does your self image align with God's image stamped on you? Listen as Fr. Nicholas and Dr. Roxanne Louh encourage us to live in such a way that matches who we are as Christians.

Fr. Nicholas and Dr. Roxanne Louh were honored to welcome best selling author Dr. Gary Chapman for a special 90 minute version of the show. Dr. Chapman is author of The Five Love Languages which has helped thousands of marriages find peace and harmony.

Part two of introductory notes to the Transfiguration of Christ.

As our culture grows more and more accepting of things that trouble us as Orthodox Christians, Fr. John Oliver shares the example of St. Paul to guide our response.

Fr. John sees our sexuality as a gift from the Divine Logos.

In part 3 of his series on same sex marriage, Fr. John reflects on what a civil right is and how that applies to the question of same same unions.

Fr. John shares his speech from the The National March for Marriage in Washington D.C., and reflects upon his experience with the counter demonstration.

Fr. John exhorts his listeners (despite being a published author himself) to read the saints first.

Fr. John Oliver reflects on forgiveness, and the energies of the heart.

Fr. John Oliver shares the story of the reclamation of a church after the end of the Soviet era, reminding us that "we walk by faith, and not by sight."

Fr. John Oliver reflects on the true meaning of freedom.

With help from his daughter, Fr. Joseph tries to stay on pitch while singing Dan Idzikowski's "Superchristological and Homoousiosis".

At a 1,500 year "disadvantage" -- Aarr! -- St. Anthony the Great missed out on International Talk Like a Pirate Day. But, Fr. Joseph imagines what the desert dwelling Father might have said to disciples of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Fr. Joseph, in this Sunday morning sermon, announces the pending changes to the worship services of St. George, Houston. Well, kinda ...

Since it is well known that he is a priest from the "Old Country," Fr. Joseph may want to be careful about offending the Farmer in the Dell or Mr. MacDonald. (This is Part 2, from Christ the Savior Church, Chicago.)

Kiss the bride ... check! Walk the aisle ... check! Enjoy the honeymoon ... check! (Then what?) Pulling an episode from the "Best Of" files, Fr. Joseph discusses the ch-ch-changes that come with love and marriage. (Just for fun, see if you can identify all of the songs used in this oldie but goodie.)

What's an Orthodox Christian to do on Halloween?

Fr. Joseph offers a brief meditation on the beauty of fallen creatures—at least in His eyes!

The legend of Sunshine Boy and his lesson in humility.

If Christ can make eyeballs out of spit and clay, He can take care of you!

Say what? Listen to this whimsical story about book sales, fake creatures and the birth of The Church.

Who knew they were a protected species? Apparently not St. George!

Fr. Anthony addresses how to identify a true antagonist in your parish and what to do about it.

In this episode, Fr. Anthony talks about the phone apps he uses to slay the morning dragon of the desert and redeem the time. After a brief advertisement for an exciting new (bogus) app, he uses Max Weber to explain part of the frustration (and trust issues) on the part of clergy. Enjoy the show!

In this episode, Fr. Anthony talks about Great Lent in the Lehigh Valley (PA) and about how the Lenten disciplines - and especially the Prayer of St. Ephraim - can protect and heal us from the damage of war.

Join Fr. Anthony next to his back porch in Hartwell, Georgia, as he talks with scientist, theologian, professor, Associate Dean, and evangelist, Gayle Woloschak, PhD, DMin (Northwestern University) about COVID, vaccines, and discernment. This is a recording of Fr. Anthony's livestream. Enjoy the show!

In this episode, Fr. Anthony talks with Dylan Pahman (Research Fellow, Acton Institute) about what we can learn about virtue and markets playing Magic the Gathering. Then, after lamenting the lack of economic literacy among some theologians and clergy, Dylan addresses some of the major objections some Christians have with markets, liberal democracy, and international trade. He makes the case that they will not automatically cultivate virtue, but can be compatible with Orthodoxy. You can read the works referenced at acton.academia.edu/DylanPahman.

Fr. Gregory Jensen, PhD and Fr. Anthony Perkins talk about Orthodox sexuality, chastity, celibacy, and abstinence. Along the way they also discuss the negative effects the culture wars have had on Orthodox pastoral care. They hope to make this part of a series. Warning: it's hard to talk about this euphemistically. Some graphic terms were used. Enjoy the show!

Elissa discusses Orthodox marriage and parenting, focusing particularly on how both involve dying to self.

Fr. Michael begins a two-part series on discussing the comparison between vocations: marriage, monasticism, and singleness.

As an Evangelical, I had been taught that everything that is really important (spiritually speaking) has to do introducing people to Jesus Christ. Presenting Christ was almost everything. I believed that once one was reconciled with God through Christ–which I understood to be a legal transaction–everything that was really important in one’s relationship with God had been taken care of. This assumption, or something very like it, pervades Evangelical writing.

I was speaking to an eighteen year old recently who told me about her bucket list: things she wanted to do before she dies. At the time, I didn’t think much about it. In fact, it seemed rather mature of her to have such specific goals. However, as I have thought about it, I’ve begun to suspect that having a bucket list is a symptom of a particular disease in our culture. What we do does not define who we are, it manifests who we are.

There are some in the Orthodox Tradition who have said that married couples should abstain from sexual relations during lenten periods. Some have gone so far as to say that this is the teaching of the Church. I am not an expert on such things, so I will not venture an opinion on whether or not it is the teaching of the Church or whether or not it is merely pious opinion. However, since someone has asked me about it, I will share some of my thoughts about it. Follow the blog at blogs.ancientfaith.com/prayingintherain/2016/03/marriage-sex-lent

If we do not work on that relationship, if we do not nurture longing for God, if we do not take the time to nurture our inner life, then we also grow apart from God. We are still baptized, still joined to Christ, but growing apart we become bored with God, our longing wanders to more exciting possibilities; and if we are not careful, God become a stranger, even an enemy to us. And this, perhaps, is what hell is like: to be joined to God, yet be bored with Him; to go to your own wedding, despising your fiance; to spend eternity knowing that you ignored for a lifetime the God who loves you so much that he allows you even to ignore His love.

In Orthodox Christian marriage, the wife is the queen, crowned and exalted at the head of the household; however, she is also the intercessor, standing submissively behind her husband, receiving his full attention and quietly interceding on behalf of the household. In this image is revealed the mystery of Christ and the Church, the mystery of the miraculous transformation of water into wine, of what is natural into what is above nature, of what is merely human into what is divine.