Made to Be a Kingdom

Avoiding the sins against God’s definition of royalty in His Kingdom. More on avoiding the narcissism that our culture encourages. Here we look at Solomon, and the number of the beast! We also look at a divided Kingdom of Israel under Solomon and how Christ re-establishes and re-unites and expands it universally by His ministry on earth from conception to ascension, and how He is Christ both for the northern Kingdom and the southern Kingdom.

[Priestly Kingdom]: What it means for us to be chrismated Princes and Princesses of the Kingdom. Kill narcissism, and resurrect humility—from dust we are and to dust we must return. Here we discuss necessary aspects of being Royalty in God’s Kingdom. It is the opposite of being royalty in the world (Sts. Boris and Gleb, the Passionbearers; Sts. Katherine and Barbara of old who renounced Roman royalty; Sts. New Martyrs Elisabeth and Barbara who renounced Russian royalty to become full servants of God’s Kingdom).

Our hosts discuss what Orthodox phronema means and why it is important to understand it correctly.

Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony finish their discussion of visiting the Holy Land, sharing the solemn joy of walking the way of suffering. Enjoy the show!

Today Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony talk about visiting the Garden of Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives, the Tomb of the Theotokos and other sites. Enjoy the show!

Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony continue talking about their visits to the Holy Land, sharing their experiences at Mount Temptation and the Jordan River. Enjoy the show!

In this episode our hosts further discuss the recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land as Fr. Harry and the group went from Nazareth in northern Israel, ancient Galilee, down through what was the region of Samaria, down to the ancient land of Judea in southern Israel, and all the biblical meanings that this entails. More pictures and a description of the tour are available at: https://uocofusa.org/news_230605_1

In this episode our hosts discuss Father Harry’s recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land. They discuss whether pilgrimages are even necessary, and how some saints emphasized how they are not necessary. In this episode they discuss the beginning of the pilgrimage which began a trip from southern Israel on the coast at the airport up to ancient Galilee (northern Israel). Discussed are the beginnings in the Annunciation and the ministry of Christ that took place in the region that in the Old Testament was called the “Northern Kingdom” (of Israel), and in New Testament was called Galilee. Pictures and a description of the tour are available at: https://uocofusa.org/news_230524_2.

In this episode our hosts further discuss the victory of Pascha that we celebrate for 40 days, and contrast this with the preparatory period of fasting for 40 days, and discuss the contrast of Christ’s 40 days of temptation and Christ’s 40 days of walking in triumphal victory until Ascension, and how we walk with Him. They also delve into the history of this victory, where the “chief of the demons,” Baal, Beel or Bel, Satan himself, has a long history of seducing the people of God and in Christ’s paschal victory is overthrown and cannot be allowed to take root even if only under influence while he is bound and has people doing his bidding. Also, other basic questions, like “why does the devil have horns” in many depictions of him are answered here.

Our hosts discuss what Pascha and the 40-day period of Paschaltide mean to us in terms of giving us victory over the dark things of this world, and how this is the basis of deliverance from despair and fear in the face of uncertainty and from anxiety in the face of turmoil.