Ancient Faith Ministries

Oct 24, 2024 • 24 min

It is the cry of the poor who are in solidarity with those who suffer the most, today. The poor are not indifferent to the suffering, but lift it in prayer, with faith that God hears them.

Oct 22, 2024 • 2h 36m

The blind men cry out to the Lord for healing as he passes by on the road, and they are rewarded. This simple story contains important lessons for us about faith, persistence in prayer and our response to the Lord when he approaches us and after we encounter him.

Oct 16, 2024 • 1h 9m

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month in the US, and Pres. Melanie welcomes Dr. Mary O'Callaghan, a mother, legal advocate, educator and ethicist in the Catholic Church who speaks on behalf of the human dignity of pre-born babies diagnosed with Down Syndrome and other disabilities. She discusses her research on the history of Selective Abortion, describes existing ministries which provide support to parents who receive difficult prenatal diagnoses, and offers hope-filled, alternative perspectives to parents, medical professionals, clergy, and church communities.

Oct 16, 2024 • 25 min

A discussion of Saturday's gospel leads community members to search for Resurrection.

Oct 15, 2024 • 2h 37m

The request of James and John to sit at the right and left of Jesus in his kingdom prompts the Lord to explain Christian leadership to the Twelve. How does Christian leadership differ from what we typically think of leadership in the secular world?

Oct 11, 2024 • 27 min

Bobby Maddex interviews Dr. Andrei Psarev, a professor of Russian Church History and Canon Law and the Director of Undergraduate Studies at Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary, about his daily reflections on the history and theology of the Orthodox Church, now available on Substack: https://andreipsarev.substack.com.

Oct 9, 2024 • 25 min

How can poverty, hunger, and mourning be considered "blessed?" Father Nicolai looks at the Beatitudes through the lens of the community, revealing the "Good Word," "Bene Dicere," or "Blessing" that is poured out in and through someone with a sincere heart.

Oct 8, 2024 • 2h 53m

As the Lord approaches Jerusalem, he attempts to prepare his disciples for the awful events to come, but they don't understand. James and John anticipate a worldly kingdom. Their mother attempts to help them secure a position. The Fathers have interesting comments on this!

Oct 7, 2024 • 1h 26m

Bobby Maddex, the Director of Digital Media for Ancient Faith Ministries, interviews the Board of Directors of Three Hierarchs High School, founded in 2021 with the help of His Eminence Nicolae of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas and located in Niles, Illinois. For more information about the school and to register for the next upcoming school year, please visit https://www.thochs.org.

Oct 4, 2024 • 2h 14m

Therefore be compassionate, just as your Father also is compassionate!" (Luke 6:36). Our Lord’s command in the Gospel of Luke offers a more concrete counterpart to the command, in the Gospel of Matthew, to be perfect as our Father in heaven (Mat 5:48). If the Lord is "compassionate and merciful, long-suffering and most merciful," as we read in Scriptures (Exod 34:6; Ps 102/103:8), then "becoming sons of the Most High" or, as our theology calls it, "deification" is also about becoming merciful. The Very Rev. Dr Bogdan Bucur exhorts the faithful to strive to follow Christ’s commandment, not just for the sake of keeping the commandments, but because by becoming compassionate we participate increasingly in a living relationship with the Lord. Ultimately, says Fr Bogdan, there is no way to salvation and deification except together with our brothers and sisters, who are given to us by God Himself.

Oct 2, 2024 • 1h 11m

October is Blind Awareness Month in the US, and this conversation highlights the lived experience of Dr. Lauren Barron -- a licensed counselor, wife, and mother -- who humbly offers wise counsel for families experiencing diagnoses of disabilities and other life challenges. Blind herself, she found new insight regarding her disability when becoming Orthodox. Dr. Barron shares encouraging messages for families experiencing visual impairments, and tips for their seeing fellow parishioners.

Oct 2, 2024 • 25 min

In this Sunday's gospel, Jesus provides an abundance of life out of the abyss. The plentiful fish are a testimony of the authority that He has over the living and the dead, revealing that His mercy is deeper than the heart of the sea.

Oct 1, 2024 • 2h 4m

Is it ever too late to change your ways? Christ tells a parable, explaining that it never too late and the rewards for accepting him even at the very end are exactly the same as given to those who never hesitated. But isn't that unfair of God? The Fathers explain and answer!

Sep 27, 2024 • 1h 50m

The account in the Gospel of Luke about how the Lord called Peter, James, and John may seem like a straightforward retelling of events. However, like all Scripture, this passage contains deeper meanings, available to the reader only with deeper study and prayer. The Very Rev. Dr Alexander Rentel highlights the significance of the "great haul of fish," linking it to the original state of Creation in the Garden. He also underscores the manner in which these three great apostles were called, which points to their great role in sharing the Faith with all nations. Fr Rentel also draws connections between this Gospel reading and the epistle reading of the day, where St Paul exhorts the Corinthians to be subject to the apostolic mission, and thereby be led to salvation.

Sep 25, 2024 • 2h 25m

The rich young man was unwilling to part with his wealth to follow Jesus, but the disciples left everything for Christ. After Peter's statement, the Lord discusses the rewards that the disciples can expect. The Holy Fathers elaborate not only about those disciples but us as well.

Sep 24, 2024 • 51 min

As people make their way toward the ancient church, sooner of later they have to make a decision: Orthodox or Catholic? And they wonder, What about St. Peter? Did the Lord intend that he and his successors would govern the church worldwide? The Orthodox have a different take on that, which may be unexpected.

Sep 20, 2024 • 1h 58m

This month Cynthia and Molly explore how crucial it is to start the day with an intentional morning. Then they talk with Fr. John Whiteford about the importance of time management on the path to salvation.

Sep 20, 2024 • 2h 37m

This episode Dr. Jenkins grills Dr. Moritz about his long and winding road out of the Lehigh Valley, to Calvin College, than to Berkeley, all the while inquiring about Orthodoxy, only to find that his path to Orthodoxy led him back to the Lehigh Valley both to Orthodoxy and Chrysostom Academy. Orthodoxy and Education Conference: Orthodoxy and Education: https://tinyurl.com/OrthodoxEducation

Sep 18, 2024 • 1h 32m

In this homily given on the Feast of the Elevation of the Cross, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon (OCA) describes the Cross as both a symbol of suffering and of victory. The Cross represents the transformation of suffering into joy and death into life through Christ's sacrifice. It is central to our Christian worship and salvation. When we embrace our own crosses in our lives, our suffering, like Christ's, can be redeemed and transformed into a path to eternal life.

Sep 18, 2024 • 25 min

The church is called today to care for life, to offer an open space where the soul of man can pray and sing, and have an encounter with Christ, who listens to us from the cross.