Orthodixie

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

Fr. Joseph solicited podcast ideas with the premise: "A priest, married with children, quits -- just walks away from the ministry. Why?" Some answers may surprise you. (By the way, how do we Orthodox define crazy?)

Last year's "listener supported" Thanksgiving podcast featured a Roman Catholic priest, two Orthodox clergymen, a Baptist boy and an Episcopalian gal, and a Greek layman, who—unexpectedly—shared a Thanksgiving campfire. Here are the combined episodes, slightly edited; stay tuned for details regarding this year's contest at episode's end!

Fr. Joseph manages to connect grandma with KISS, mama with a dirty slugger, catgut with a knee bone, wrestling with a loser, and God Himself with bending the rules -- all in under 12 minutes! (This episode is taken from the new audio version of "We Came, We Saw, We Converted: The Lighter Side of Orthodoxy in America", available from Conciliar Press.)

Since it is well known that he is a priest from the "Old Country," Fr. Joseph may want to be careful about offending the Farmer in the Dell or Mr. MacDonald. (This is Part 2, from Christ the Savior Church, Chicago.)

Can you imagine for a moment that all this revealed religion stuff is really, really real? Imagine, if you will, the Theotokos pondering things, like: Where is Christ the Savior? Fr. Joseph imagines and ponders his way toward answers in Part One of this special episode, "live" and edited, from Christ the Savior church in the Windy City.

The number of Orthodox Christians in America is greatly inflated in a recent survey; an anonymous Orthodox comments on a Christian caterpillar; and a Muslim converts to Christianity thanks to antidoron -- all this and more as Fr. Joseph reads letters from AFR listeners.

From childhood to adulthood to parenting -- even death -- Goodbyes aren't easy. Fr. Joseph tries to understand Goodbye with the help of his parents, his brother, three Evangelists and ... Brad Paisley?

As Fr. Joseph leaves St. George Church and heads west to St. Joseph's, he muses on past "Sons of St. George" and wonders if there really ever was a "Redneck in Ramallah."

Fr. Joseph's displeasure with Stephen Hawking's recent statement about God not being necessary for Creation is akin to his dislike of sweet red BBQ sauce. Though this episode "tilts," only the obnoxious virtual gobbler succumbs to gravity (if there is such a force, that is).