"Saint Apollonia," from Women of Faith, written by Calee M. Lee, illustrated by Lisa Graves (Xist Publishing, 2015)

129. A Pocketful of Seeds by Sylvia Leontaritis (Panagia Press, 2009).

Fr. Ted reminds his fellow priests that they can easily fall into hypocrisy along with the Pharisees.

Fr. Ted answers a question regarding the Church's take on support groups such as AA. He also explains how the Church views each of us as a living icon or a treasure.

Fr. Ted reminds us that confession is a reconciliation.

Fr. Ted invites us to consider our suffering as an opportunity to enter into a deeper communion with God.

Fr. Ted calls all Orthodox Christians to prayer and humility as the Holy and Great Council begins.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos compares the Orthodox Christian synodal system and the Latin Papal system.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos preaches on the Sunday of the Blind Man and explains the use of typology in the Holy Scriptures.

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

Here's a hint: It's wrong! Great stuff as Kevin Allen interviews this popular Orthodox priest, a senior editor at Touchstone Magazine.

Kevin Allen interviews Peter Jordan, the son of the founder of Fred Jordan Mission, a major Los Angeles skid row ministry, and a recent convert to the Eastern Orthodox Church.

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.

A common dillemma for inquirers into the Orthodox Church is either disinterest or outright hostility to the idea of Orthodoxy by their spouse. In this edition Kevin speaks with a couple who lived this scenario. Meet Bruce and Lynn Marie Heying and learn about their family dynamic and what made Lynn Marie decide to follow Bruce into Orthodoxy seven years later.

The past few years have seen their controversies within the Self Ruled Antiochian Archdiocese of North America. On September 30, 2010, Kevin Allen and John Maddex traveled to Englewood, NJ to visit the headquarters of the Antiochian Archdiocese and the home of it’s Archbishop Metropolitan Philip Saliba. Our purpose was to seek clarification on several key areas that have become a concern to many, and fodder for the blogosphere. His Eminence warmly welcomed us and gave Kevin the freedom to ask any question he thought would be helpful to our audience in understanding several critical issues. There were four specific topics we wanted him to address: 1. The meaning and future of self rule in the Antiochian Archdiocese. 2. The status of the Bishops in North America and the meaning as well as the ramifications of the title “Auxiliary Bishop.” 3. The finances of the Antiochian Archdiocese and in particular the status of an audit. 4. The view point of His Eminence on the Episcopal Assembly, SCOBA, and the future of Administrative Unity in North America. We have left the Metropolitan’s remarks intact and unedited to make them available to the audience for their own evaluation and conclusions. This episode provides the entire interview. If you are interested in listening to the individual topics, we have also divided it up into 4 sections and those are available on The Illumined Heart page of Ancient Faith Radio. A free transcript is also available.

Here is part 2 of this historic interview with Metropolitan Jonah who was just enthroned as Archbishop of Washington and New York and Metropolitan of All America for the Orthodox Church in America. In this half of the interview, His Beatitude Jonah addresses matters such as Administrative Unity among Orthodox jurisdictions, evangelism, and the events that led up to his election at the All American Council in November.

On November 12, 2008, a remarkable thing happened in Pittsburgh, PA. Just 11 days after his consecration as Bishop of Fort Worth and Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of the South, Bishop Jonah was elected Archbishop of Washington and New York and Metropolitan of All American and Canada for the Orthodox Church in America. Kevin Allen was able to spend well over an hour on the phone with His Beatitude Jonah in a candid and fascinating interview that we are bringing you in 2 parts. In this first part we learn about his background, personal interests, conversion to Orthodoxy and the monastic life. Next week we will bring you part 2.

In part 6 of our interview with the Metropolitan, we ask him to address the future of Orthodoxy and whether he is pessimistic or optimistic.

We ask His Eminence about the role of nationalism and ethnicity in the Orthodox Church.

In this section, Metropolitan Kallistos addresses the question of music adaptation to the culture and modern ears.

The Metropolitan is asked about women's ordination and same sex attraction in this section of the interview.

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

In the first section of our extensive interview with Metropolitan Kallistos, we talk about the state of the Orthodox Church both here and abroad.

In a very special edition of The Illumined Heart, we have an extensive conversation with His Eminence Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, Professor Emeritus in Eastern Orthodox Studies at Oxford University, and Bishop of Diokleia. Metropolitan Ka!istos is widely regarded as perhaps the world’s leading theologian of the Eastern Orthodox Church today. We present the entire interview here but also offer it in bite size pieces below. Kevin Allen's guest host is John Maddex.

In this edition Kevin tackles the tricky question of which Christian tradition can authentically claim "apostolic succession," with historian, theologian, author, and Dean of St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, Fr John Behr.

Pornography has become a social, spiritual, and physical epidemic in the world. Andrew's first podcast is part one of a series of conversations which will identify the real issues we must face in dealing with pornography from an Orthodox Christian perspective. This first episode in that series talks about pornography, iconography, and idolatry. A transcript of this episode is available HERE.

That which calls me to embrace the icon and that which calls me to embrace pornography is at root the same thing. Read the transcript HERE.

Andrew continues from the last episode about unfaithfulness being the characteristic act of immorality by exploring how pornography is a rejection of the ultimate significance of marriage. Read a transcript HERE.

Andrew reminds us that we can use our creativity in cooperation with God’s creative power or we can use it apart from God. Read the transcript HERE.

The scourge of pornography use in our society is also itself an image — an image that manifests certain unpalatable realities of our culture and relationships. 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.

What’s a good time to have such a conversation? Well, it shouldn’t just be a one-off conversation… it should be an ongoing dialogue and discussion. Listen to the podcast and 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.

The phrase "apostolic succession" has a number of different meanings among the various Christian traditions, but is key to a proper understanding of Orthodox ecclesiology and her claim to be the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church stated in the Nicene Creed. Here we offer a modest explanation of the Orthodox Church's view, focusing on the collegiate role of bishops, in whose office and authority is found the continuation of Christ and His Apostles' sacramental unity, oversight, and teaching through history to the present day.

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 final program of the series on the Divine Liturgy we discuss the dismissal prayers after communion. These are more than just a formality as they express the summation of all that we have experienced for the past hour or more: God is the lover of mankind. But the Christian's experience of the Eucharist does not end with the final doxology or the Liturgy. In many parishes there are "post communion prayers" that are read as the people come for the closing blessing and antidoron from the priest. These express in prayer the Orthodox experience of the Eucharist and its meaning to us as we commune and "go forth in peace."

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 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.

O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, faintheartedness, lust for power and idle talk. -Lenten Prayer, St. Ephraim the Syrian The Lenten Season, or the Great Fast as the Church calls it, comes each year as part of the Paschal celebration. It is a forty day fast, a time of preparation during which we come face to face with ourselves in the light of extraordinary prayers and insights into our spiritual condition, given as only the Orthodox Tradition is able. Here we discuss Lent, the school of repentance and what God intends for us by it.

In Part 7 of the series we discuss the "practical application" of the dogma of the Trinity. While all "orthodox" Christian churches affirm the dogma of the Trinity virtually none of them can really tell a believer why it is important to our salvation. If we are created in the image of God, then the Trinity is at the core of our being and defines not only God, but the human being and the nature of our salvation in Christ.

Fr. Chad spoke to the Serbian Clergy Brotherhood last month on the challenges facing our priests in today's culture. We have broken it up into three parts and bring you part 1 today.

Today we bring you part two of Fr. Chad Hatfield's talk at the Serbian Clergy Brotherhood in June on the challenges facing our priests in today's culture.

Here is the third and final part of Fr. Chad's address to the Serbian Clergy about how we should look at the ministry of the priesthood in today's society.

In this podcast, the Chancellor of the Seminary, Fr. Chad Hatfield talks about the year just completed, the financial picture and some myths that need to be dispelled.

St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary confers an honorary doctorate on Metropolitan Krystof, primate of the Orthodox Church in the Czech Lands and Slovakia, at an Academic Convocation (February 28, 2011).

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