Made to Be a Kingdom

Today Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony talk about the beauty of the Ascension, the First Ecumenical Council, and how both relate to ecclesiology. Enjoy the show!

Today Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony continue to explore issues in Orthodox Christian ecclesiology using Fr. Harry’s book, Christ’s Amazing Church. For this episode, they focus on the role the Church plays – as Christ Incarnate – in preserving and teaching the Orthodox faith. This is complicated by 1) the importance and of keeping the tradition free of “disorder” (2 Thessalonians 3:6) and “babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge” (1 Timothy 6:20) and 2) the way pride works with current technology to perversely encourage “babbling” in the name of preserving and teaching the Truth. They conclude by encouraging peace, humility, and all the fruits of love. Enjoy the show!

Today Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony continue their conversation on ecclesiology, riffing on Tim Eldred’s article; “The Lie of Just One More Sunday” at The Authentic Pastor (https://www.theauthenticpastor.com/blog/pastor-burnout-just-one-more-sermon) and how so many in parish leadership (to include priests) fall into and justify sinful and unsustainable patterns of ministry. They make the point that poor leadership has serious detrimental downstream effects on the spiritual health of the parish and that doing things Biblically (e.g. Exodus 18) is sustainable, graceful, and beneficial for everyone involved. Enjoy the show!

Today, Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony talk about the words "ecclesia" and "church" and how they should and should not be applied. Specifics covered include correcting the conception of the invisible Church; the church as a place vs. the Church as the body of Christ; and what it is that makes a given place/community "Church" or "not-Church." Enjoy the show!

Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony continue exploring the major topics in "Christ's Amazing Church," looking at how dogma, doctrine, teaching, and theological opinions protect and nourish the Body of Christ. Enjoy the show!

Today Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony start covering the major themes in Fr. Harry's book; "Christ's Amazing Church: A Journey in Orthodox Ecclesiology," focusing on what it means for the Church to be the Body of Christ. Enjoy the show!

Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony respond to a listener's question about His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania of blessed memory - may his memory be eternal! This led to a discussion about autocephaly, patriarchates, metropolitanates, eparchies, and parishes. Lord willing, future episodes will explore these and other ecclesial issues using Fr. Harry's book; "Christ's Amazing Church: A Journey in Orthodox Ecclesiology" as its guide. Enjoy the show!

In today's episode, Fr. Harry talks with Fr. Anthony about St. Paul's instruction to the Church in Corinth that "everything be done decently and in good order" (1 Corinthians 14:40), applying it to the challenges that come to decency and order in parish life and describing how good ecclesiology and love deal with those challenges. Enjoy the show!

Each of the Nativity Gospels in the Four Gospels is unique, but rather than being contradictory, Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony encourage us to celebrate the unity of their witness. Enjoy the show!

Segueing from Fr. Harry's observations about worship in the last episode on his pilgrimage on Mt. Athos, Fr. Harry leads us in a discussion of the various positions of prayer (and there's more to it than standing and prostrations). Enjoy the show!