Young Penitent

Last week we went live for an open mic and it turned out well. This week we will have a similar format and will be taking calls live. The link to the stream will be posted in the chat, as well as the show description and people will be invited to join the stream. Do you have something to say? Do you want to bust a rap? Do you have a question? Call in live and become part of the show!

I am trying something new with this stream. We are going to press "go live" with no notes and no preparation. Anybody who wants to join the stream is invited to join us via the invite link which will be posted in the show description. Come join us to hang out; you may bring up any topic for discussion. It is going to be open mic night, and an open forum!

Subdeacon Martinian is the young boy (shown in the picture in the thumbnail) who was baptized by Blessed (St.) Seraphim Rose. Martinian is a member of my home parish who received his spiritual formation at the St. Herman of Alaska Monastery in Platina California. As I was growing in the Faith, Martinian was there as a spiritual friend to me, and after my parish priest and spiritual father he probably bears the most responsibility for my own spiritual formation. For a long time he was the choir director of our parish, and he taught me how to chant on cliros. During this time he would often bring up stories from his past experience at the monastery, which was the time that is now referred to by people who were there as "The Platina Days." In todays interview we will hear the story of how Martinian came to the faith, the story of his baptism, and what is was like during those days which were such an important part of the history of Orthodoxy in the English speaking world. Please join us for our conversation.

Joseph Sciambra is an Orthodox Christian and the creator of the non-profit organization Sons of St. Joseph. This organization was created with the mission of helping Christian men overcome all same-sex attractions and any persistent attachments to the homosexual or the “gay” orientation. Joseph himself used to live a "gay" lifestyle but is now living a chaste life by the Grace of God.

WARNING: FOR MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY

One of my favorite account to follow on X is Fr. Michael Lillie. His posts are always edifying and on point. On a platform which thrives on negative attention, he has managed to build up a sizable following without engaging in negativity. In all the time I have been following him on X I have never once seen him fall into a passionate disagreement with another user. He sets a wonderful example for other Orthodox Christians who choose to use this social media platform.

The Bitcoin halving is less than a month away and soon crypto is going to enjoy a fresh new buzz in the news media. This cycle is poised to be stellar because of a number of factors, which we will discuss. Traditional finance has finally come around to embracing crypto with the launching of Bitcoin ETF's. Macro economic factors such as the upcoming presidential election and the loosening of economic policy by the Federal Reserve mean that financial markets are going to become more open risk-on assets. Combine that with the reduction in the supply of new Bitcoins due to the halving and we see that crypto is poised for another leg up. I have been paying close attention to the crypto markets and I will be giving my thoughts on the subject.

I recently passed 4,000 subscribers on my YouTube channel. When I passed 1,000 subscribers I said that I would celebrate when I passed 2,500 but that number came and went so fast that I didn't have time to record a stream in celebration. In today's stream I will open with a monologue explaining where this channel came from, where I have been, and where I see it going in the future. Also, we had a little gift recently from the Reason and Theology YouTube channel in which my latest interview with Brother Nathanael was critiqued. It was actually a fair critique, but I would like to share a few highlights from that stream and offer my own comments regarding the interview with Brother Nathanael. Finally, I will give a brief update on the Orthodox rap group which we have formed and update everyone on our progress. After these segments I will open the stream up for call-ins.

Back by popular demand! Brother Nathanael is a monk in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR). We had him on several weeks ago to discuss why his channel had disappeared from YouTube (he was banned without explanation). We also discussed Brother's conversion to Christianity and the path his life took from the time he first read the Gospel up until today. In our previous interview we had planned to discuss the crisis in the Orthodox Church, and although the topic was brought up we didn't go into too much detail. In today's interview we will discuss this topic more thoroughly. According to Brother Nathanael there is a crisis in the Church. This has to do with everything from how people are received into the church (chrismation vs. baptism), to catechism, to the education of priests, to how priests preach the faith in their sermons. This interview is going to be a call to all of the young men out there who are the future leaders of the church. It is a call to repentance. It is a call to return to the Faith as it was taught by the Fathers of the Church.

Fr. Moses is a priest in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. He serves at the Holy Mother of God Orthodox Church in Georgetown Texas. He also happens to be a powerlifter and puts up some big numbers. One of his YouTube channels,  @mcphersonbarbell8771  is dedicated to demonstrations of his workouts. Since I am also a powerlifter I thought it would be good to bring him on as a guest to discuss training and physical fitness. Fr. Moses believes that it is the duty of Christian men to be physically fit.