Please note: The opinions expressed on this program do not necessarily reflect those of Ancient Faith Radio or Conciliar Press. In this hour long special edition program, Steve McMeans welcomes two guest co-hosts, Mary Braun and Andrew Honore! Our guest today is John Granger, a noted Harry Potter expert - www.HogwartsProfessor.com. Mr. Granger has traveled about the country speaking about these books, his predictions since they were being written, and their place in the canon of English Literature. Warning - if you have not read the latest Harry Potter book and don't want to know the plot, be aware that it is revealed in the discussion.

What can Evangelicals and Orthodox learn from each other is the subject of the 2nd section of our interview with His Eminence.

Steve and Bill got invited to fill in for the vacationing Andrew Tallman, the afternoon drive time talk show host on 1360 KPXQ, the Phoenix area SALEM evangelical radio station. It is a two-hour show from 5 to 7pm, so we are posting the first hour of the program this week and the second hour next week.

During a recent visit to St. John's Monastery, Steve recorded and interview with Abbot Jonah about the Jesus Prayer. In part one, Fr. Jonah discusses the Orthodox view of prayer that goes beyond "requests and praise." He also discusses the practice of the Jesus Prayer and the transformation of the human being which is a difficult and sometimes painful experience.

You can order the CD from Grace Brooks at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)/**/ The cost is $12.50 plus shipping. Tell her you heard about it on Our Life in Christ! Thanks!

We finish this Lenten series discussing the virtues of patience, love, and not judging our brother. Again, the Orthodox axiom of working out the virtues in the body is true, and we learn that patience is not merely a passive state, but also requires spiritual/bodily effort to restrain evil thoughts/actions, choosing to perform God's will instead. Love for God, neighbor, enemies and the whole of creation is our aim, cultivated with our growing awareness of God's pure and captivating eros coming down from heaven. Engulfed in this love we lose interest in the world and adopt the humble mind of Christ, whose words on the Cross, "forgive them for they know not what they do," are to become our own towards all men.

Fr. Chad Hatfield, Chancellor and CEO of St. Vladimir's Seminary, explains the reasoning behind the school's upcoming conference on poverty.

This is a lecture from St. Vladimir's Seminary's annual Orthodox Education Day event, held this year on October 1, 2016. The speaker is Dr. Mary B. Cunningham, lecturer in Historical Theology in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Nottingham, England.

St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVOTS) celebrated two milestones at the 2018 edition of Orthodox Education Day (OED) on Saturday, October 6: fifty years of OED and fifty years of St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVS) Press. The day included several highlights befitting the historic celebration, including a passionate call to spread the Gospel as individuals in addition to supporting Orthodox evangelistic enterprises such as SVS Press and Ancient Faith Ministries, delivered by Ancient Faith co-founder John Maddex.

Domingo 2 de Marzo Pd. Nicolás predicó sobre como Cristo es la luz del mundo y como la luz nos protégé de las tentaciones del mundo. Romanos 13:11-14:4 Sunday 2 of March Fr. Nicholas preached about how Christ is the light of the world and how the light protects us from the evil temtaptions. Romanos 13:11-14:4

Domingo 31 de Agosto Pd. Nicolás predicó que Dios agarda cuando nosotros seguimos su voluntad y damos alabanza a Èl. (Salmo 69:30-31) Por eso vamos a celebrar el hecho que Dios agrada en nosotros. Hebreos 9:1-7 Sunday August 24 Fr. Nicholas preached that God is pleased when we follow His will and give praise to Him. (Psalm 69:30-31) Therefor let us celebrate the fact that God is pleased with us. Hebrews 9:1-7

Padre Nicolás predicó sobre que nuestro motivación va a ser la cosa que nos lleva al cielo. (1 Corinthians 9:2-12) Fr. Nicholas preached about how our motivation will be the thing that will take us to heaven. (1 Corinthians 9:2-12)

Today's episode is taken from Molly's piece as a guest blog on The Orthodox Mama. With her eyes on the saints and years of raising her four children, Molly offers three big lessons she's learned about motherhood.

Fr. Evan Armatas welcomes guest co-hosts Dr. Timothy Patitsas from Holy Cross Hellenic College and Thomaida Hudanish from the Metropolis of San Fransisco Mission and Evangelism Ministry. to take listener questions but also to talk about the Beauty First Films project. If listeners would like to subscribe to the Beauty First Films email news list, here is the link: https://mailchi.mp/37d8ba4d0802/beautyfirstfilms Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beautyfirstfilms/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beautyfirstfilms/

Nikolai, a counselor at St. John the Compassionate Mission, shares how he learned from the mission to be attentive.

Nikolai, a counselor at St. John the Compassionate Mission, explains why it's important to break bread together with the poor.

Father Roberto reflects on a moment that he shared with a woman who visits the mission.

Brother Luke shares about an addict and a group of mourners he met at St. John the Compassionate Mission.

Listen to stories about Mothers who frequent St. John the Compassionate Mission in Toronto, Ontario.

Listen to three short reflections about interactions at St. John the Compassionate Mission, reminding us that all lives are worth living.

Listen to reflections and stories from Fr. Nicolaie at St. John the Compassionate Mission.

More stories from volunteers at the mission.

Notes from the underground, written by Brother Luke.

The community welcomes a friend who reminds them of the woman "bent over for eighteen years" in St. Luke's Gospel. The ones who are unnoticed are a priority for God.

Brother Luke shares a collection of interactions and experiences from within the community.

Brother Luke shares a collection of recent interactions and experiences from within the community.

How can poverty, hunger, and mourning be considered "blessed?" Father Nicolai looks at the Beatitudes through the lens of the community, revealing the "Good Word," "Bene Dicere," or "Blessing" that is poured out in and through someone with a sincere heart.

As we enter the Dormition fast, Martha reflects on her summer, motherhood, and our Most Holy Theotokos.

a technically-playable (but just barely) hack using iOS Shortcuts to download remote screenshots compiled into videos #

an Android phone hidden in the Mission is set to Shazam all audio 24/7 and post the roughly 120 songs/day it can identify #

The Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel's clearheaded "endorsement of democracy, solving problems, and Kamala Harris" #

anything out of frame is immediately forgotten, making it very dream-like and surreal to explore #

short fiction about "the near future of art and creative work" #

So, what’s the deal with clerical dress and monastic habits? Do they really matter?

Fr. Lawrence reflects on the questions that must be asked to determine if someone is preaching "another Jesus." He suggests that the blessing of same-sex activity by some churches raise the same questions as in St. Paul's day.

It is easy to misinterpret Christianity as a religion like any other but Fr. Lawrence maintains it is unique.

Fr. Lawrence continues his series and examines the correlation in the Scriptures between that which is clean and that which is unclean.

We Christians share certain external similarities with the religions, but these external similarities can mask the inner meanings of the things we seem to share. In reality, everything in Christianity is different from the religions.

I would like to share with you an easy technique for avoiding moral accountability. Whenever you are caught and called to account for doing something wrong (that is, when you are “busted”), you simply invoke the figure of the Pharisee. Tell your accuser that he is being judgmental and Pharisaical, and that he has no right to judge you. After all, the Lord says, “Judge not”. It works almost every time, functioning as a moral Get Out of Jail Free card.

In my Protestant days, I had no problem with anyone talking about Mary—so long as it was Christmas. On Boxing Day, that was it. Over. No more talking about Mary. What are we anyway, Catholics? It was understood that when we packed away the Nativity set, all talk of Mary got packed up along with it. And my proof that Bible-believing Christians should not talk about Mary? The New Testament never did. Well, hardly ever did—just long enough to narrate the Christmas story. Was she in the Acts of the Apostles? Not really. Was she in the Epistles? No. So there you go: no talking about Mary or calling her blessed.

I have just read two fascinating pieces about Pope Francis’ recent and controversial document Fiducia Supplicans, which officially allows Roman Catholic priests to bless persons in same-sex relationships, one by an Orthodox and the other by a Roman Catholic.

Protestant critics of Orthodoxy fault us for many things, but one of the foremost of their objections is our devotion to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Hostility to Roman Catholicism is built into Protestant DNA, so anything in Orthodoxy that resembles something in Roman Catholicism will be subject to criticism, including such more or less innocuous things like clergy wearing cassocks and calling themselves “Father”. Our Orthodox devotion to Mary (whom we call “the Theotokos”) often heads the list of Protestant objections, since it features so prominently in Roman Catholicism.

Thousands of years ago when I was a teenager and a brand-new Christian, I happened to read an article by S.G.F. Brandon about Jesus being a Zealot, in which he questioned much if not most of the Gospel portrait of Jesus and suggested that the Gospels (particularly that of Mark) constituted a whitewash of Jesus, eliminating His Zealotry from the Gospel picture to make Him and His movement more acceptable in Roman eyes. It was, of course, a precis of his 1967 book Jesus and the Zealots which created something of an academic dust up in its day.

Fr. Apostolos reminds us this Halloween season of the absolute and exclusive claims laid upon us by Jesus Christ.