What's a Christian look like? It's all Greek to me! In this episode, Fr Joseph gets schooled by an imagined janitor, a native Houstonian, and a real nun.

First it was "live podding," then the dread, the guilt and the heavens were separated from the earth (which, naturally, led to a parody of the theme song from "Green Acres"). Clean Monday blows through quickly; pigs don't fly, but kites do (and don't miss Fr. Joseph's fun outtakes at the very end).

Recently, Fr Joseph had the good fortune to enjoy some warm spring days in the Northeast at St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, where he spent the weekend teaching, preaching, and hanging out with some wonderful young people at what's known as The Kids' Cafe.

Fr. Joseph's not much of a movie buff, but he was recently "blindsided" in Syria. This special 30-minute episode details his recent pilgrimage to Syria, and a certain "Paul" whom he kept bumping into while there. You'll need to listen all the way to the end to discover the answer to a question he's now asked: "Why did you go to Syria?"

On this special edition of the Orthodixie Podcast, Fr. Joseph interviews the author of the new Conciliar Press book Aidan's Song: A Year in the Life of a Parish Priest. The book has been compared to the "Far Side" cartoon and the TV show Married With Children—but nothing quite compares to Fr. Aidan Wilcoxson's singing a rather surprising number on this very podcast. Aidan's Song is an insightful, moving, and often hilarious personal snapshot of a year in the life of a parish priest. Enjoy!

Fr. Joseph picks up "Santa"—only to discover that this Jolly Ol' Elf is packing heat and on a mission (from God).

Fr Joseph ventures into the chaos of mass house blessings with the Sign of the Cross, two Shaun Cassidy fans, and one former Exorcist!

Due to a knock on the noggin, Fr. Joseph finds himself fast-forwarding toward Pascha and holding hands with a green elf at midnight in a church where everybody is clothed in their pajamas and the iconostasis has been replaced with ... dirty laundry?

In the last episode, Fr. Joseph encountered a little green church elf, Elton John, Lady GaGa, Archie Bunker, and Buzz Lightyear in pajamas. In this concluding episode, he tries to make sense of it all (with the help of Ol' Scratch).

Fr Joseph rants and runs for cover—raising concerns, but not hands (please).

Jesus cast the demons into the swine. What did that sound like? Fr Joseph, with help from the children of St Joseph Church, and a potent dish of Hopko, explains.

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.

It is only September, but stores are already displaying their Halloween "goods." What are we to make of this holiday as Orthodox Christians?

No matter what you call your grandparents, go to Church Camp, write home, and beware the Mama Eater.

Fr Joseph reviews the rules of life, particularly Murphy's Law and its variants, and and then provides us with a rule we can all live with.

In this episode, Fr. Anthony talks with Subdeacon John (Robert) Cummings, the Manager of Staff Training and Development at Red Oak Recovery in Waynesville, PA, about opioid addiction, what works in recovery, and how the lessons of effective recovery can be re-learned and enculturated by our parishes. Along the way, they spar about the correct pronunciation of Appalachia (Fr. Anthony used the pronunciation of his ancestral homeland of northern Appalachia; Sdn. John that of his southern part), Enjoy the show!

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 the COVID-stricken Fr. Harry Linsinbigler about parish life and the implications of recent survey results from Gallup (on further declines in American church membership) and Pew (on American religion and the COVID). Enjoy the show!

Join Fr. Harry Linsinbigler and Fr. Anthony Perkins as they (mainly) talk about the actual formula decided on at Nicea, why it was important, and where we are now (hint: we are completely in compliance!). There's also a tangental gem on the Masoretic vs. Septuagint Old Testament. Fr. Harry has (mostly) recovered from his bout with COVID and he and Fr. Anthony are still basking in the Paschal Glow. Enjoy the show!

Join Fr. Anthony and Fr. Harry as they talk about how artificially romanticizing the Golden Age of the Councils contributes to the polarization of our communities, how politics are the new idolatry, and why it is so easy to anathematize heretics over vaccines and masks. Enjoy the show!

In this episode, Fr. Anthony talks with Dn. Michael about three ideal types of parish music; choir, kliros, and congregational. They discuss their attributes, what is required to sustain them, and the way each brings glory to God in its own way. Enjoy the show!

When teaching Orthodoxy to children, our goal is not just to make sure that our kids know things about our faith, but rather to shepherd them in their faith. So how do we do that? Elissa shares a few ideas.

Why does it matter that our God came down to earth and took on flesh? Elissa discusses using the Jesse Tree and other means to teach our children about the Feast of the Nativity.

Rather than picture a perfect, established, normal Sunday school and try to fit yourself into that plan, maybe it's better to start by looking at what you do have and find a flexible, innovative way to make it work.

Elissa offers some suggestions for guiding children through death and dying.

Elissa takes a look at a question from a friend: How do we handle it when an older child doesn't want to go to church? Can't we just worship from home? Why does it matter and how do you teach that?

Fr. Michael examines the Sermon on the Mount, specifically our faith and deeds done in secret.

Fr. Michael shares from Homily 24 from St. Isaac the Syrian. "“Everything that can be perceived by the senses, whether an action or a word, is a manifestation of something hidden within.”

"In Homily 27, St. Isaac the Syrian speaks of two kinds of confidence. The first kind of confidence is what we generally mean when we say someone is confident. That is, the person is sure about what he or she is doing or saying. St. Isaac tells us that this kind of confidence is spiritually dangerous. It is dangerous because we live in an age of changeability, or 'ununiformity' as it is translated in the Holy Transfiguration edition of St. Isaac’s text. This ununiformity refers to the mutability or inconstancy we experience in this world. Things and people don't stay the same."

A friend of mine who is an Orthodox inquirer resently asked me some questions about hell. My friend has been a paramedic for many years and has tried to save (sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing) the lives of many suicides. Knowing that the mental state and the life circumstances of these suicides vary greatly, my friend was concerned that the Church seems to condemn all suicides to hell.

In an on-going discussion with my inquiring friend today, I respond to two questions. First, why do traditional Christians call priests father; and second, why do we pray to saints (i.e. why don’t we just go to God ourselves)? Orthodoxy assumes that it takes a “village” to raise a Christian. And not just a village of people who live in the same time and place, but a village that includes all of our holy Fathers and Mothers who have gone before us. When we come to God, we come with everyone, never by ourselves.

For all that Christ accomplished for our salvation at Pascha, it remains still for us to receive it. And for us to receive the resurrected Life, we have to thirst for it. All of the blessings and gifts and graces of heaven are ours through Christ, but God will not force them on us. God will only give us the heavenly gifts if we thirst for them.

Repentance is a matter of saying, that’s not me, that’s not who I am—even while all I can see is my failure and darkness. This is because who I am, who I am becoming, is hidden in Christ. When I turn my attention to my failure and darkness, all seems to become failure and darkness because guilt makes me want to hide from God, driving me back to sin. In turning to Christ (rather than hiding behind the fig leaves of the knowledge of good and evil–the guilt and sin dynamic), the Light cleanses me from all darkness. We only turn to sin when we turn from the Light, and it is only in turning to the Light that we start to experience real victory over sin.

I write a weekly letter for our community and this week I thought I would share this letter with a broader audience. We celebrated the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos this week. Mary the Mother of God was born into a world full of oppression and confusion, yet she was able to become the Holy dwelling place of God. We too, especially at this time of government restrictions and all of the heightened rhetoric of political campaigns—all too radicalized and spun by social media, news outlets, social prophets, and advertising—we too may feel that we are living in an increasingly oppressive and confusing world. While we are not suffering under the occupation of a foreign army, as was Israel during the lifetime of the Mother of God, still many of us are angry and stressed out by the restrictions being imposed on us, whether we agree with them or not.

Fear and anger, however, seem to trump common sense and faith in God. Fear and anger open in us a floodgate of animal passions making it seem appropriate to demonize (or de-humanize) those we disagree with. Fear and anger release our inner muskox ready to trample those who are less clear thinking than we are, less concerned for liberty or the common good than we are, less eager to create a just and safe society than we are—or at least that’s how it appears to us. And we don’t have time to listen, truly listen, to one another. Fear and anger create urgency so that we don’t have time to listen, we don’t have time to care, we don’t have time to be Christians.

This week we will hear a lot about the Bridegroom in our Holy Week services. Who is this Bridegroom and what is the significance of that title?

This week, the guys watch the Netflix original series "Stranger Things" and discuss friendship, transcendence, nostalgia, and our longing for eternity. They wrap up with their top 5 iconic '80s movies.

This week, the guys watched Beyoncé’s visual album Lemonade. They discuss what it’s like to not be the intended audience for a work of art, listening to experiences we don’t share, the human need to make sense of tragic events, and the album's struggle through infidelity and pain. They end with their Top 5 Music Videos.

Christian and Steve take a dive into the world of stand-up comedy with the John Mulaney’s Netflix special The Comeback Kid. The guys discuss views of masculinity, the power of self-reproach and honesty, and the ability of comedy to take heavy topics and make them approachable-if-irreverent. They close with their Top 5 Comedy Specials.

In the final episode before the summer break, Steve and Christian discuss DC’s hit summer blockbuster Wonder Woman. They discuss the nature of human beings, the power of compassion, and (as always) how secularism has taken hold of our notions of the transcendent. They close with their Top 5 Heroines.

The guys swing into the newest movie about everyone’s favorite wall-crawler, Into the Spider-Verse. They explore how loss affects who we become, how personhood is shaped in relationship, and how our identities are shaped by more than what we choose for ourselves. They close with their Top 5 Examples of Multiple Dimensions in Pop Culture.

The girls take on the 2018 novel, Bridge of Clay. They discuss how stories shape the way we live, how grief is a complex process, and how repentance doesn’t always look like what we imagine. They close with Christina’s Top 5 Greek Myths.

It’s the 100th episode and to celebrate, the guys and the girls took on the cult classic Firefly! You asked for it, and they listened! And buckle up folks, because it’s a big one! Join them in the first ever four-person episode as they discuss the need for a crew, the impact of cross-pressure, how the show explores what it is to be human, and as they reflect on 100 episodes of PCCH! They close with their Top 5 Pop Culture Coffee Hour moments!

The guys finally take on the latest Spider-Man film, Far From Home. They discuss the nature of reality vs. illusion, the human need for belief, and how we often are willing to disown our lives for something easier. They close with their Top 5 Spider-Man Villains.

“Take her to the moon for me. Okay?” The guys explore the beautiful Pixar movie: "Inside Out." They discuss the importance of learning to handle our emotions, the danger of suppressing (rather than processing) negative emotions, and how sadness leads to empathy.

The girls discuss Joan Didion's essays. They touch on themes such as the power of simply finding God in the world around you, the power of words, and the pain of grief.

"I don’t know about you guys, but, um, you know, I’ve been thinking recently that… that you know, maybe, um, allowing giant digital media corporations to exploit the neurochemical drama of our children for profit… You know, maybe that was, uh… a bad call by us. Maybe… maybe the… the flattening of the entire subjective human experience into a… lifeless exchange of value that benefits nobody, except for, um, you know, a handful of bug-eyed salamanders in Silicon Valley… Maybe that as a… as a way of life forever… maybe that’s, um, not good." Steve and Christian watched Bo Burnham's new Netflix comedy special, "Inside." They discuss the pandemic, feeling trapped "inside," and technology. We do more than simply offer reviews. Just like a bee can take good things from flowers (and leave the rest behind), we can learn to take the good things from pop culture as we seek to open ourselves to Christ and His saving work in our lives. It's Orthodox Christian engagement with today's culture.

The girls watched the new adaption of the classic musical West Side Story. They explore how time can change your perspective, the tension between hope and the reality of hurt, and the tragedy of rejecting Love.

Steve and Christian are back to discuss the new MCU film, "Spiderman: No Way Home." Spoilers ahead! They explore restorative justice, loss and sacrifice, and identity.