Glory to God

Fr. Stephen continues his look at the world from an Orthodox perspective.

In his inaugural podcast, Fr. Stephen describes the Orthodox view of the world in terms we can all understand.

Fr. Stephen looks at the words "relationship" and "fellowship" and notes that they are very "weak" translations of the Greek word koinonia in Scripture. He suggests how we should understand this word in its true, Orthodox sense.

Father Stephen comments on some of the thoughts found in a recent work by Archimandrite Zacharias of England. He looks at the "inverted pyramid," the humility of Christ in which authority is to be found not at the top but at the bottom of things, in Christ's bearing the sins of the whole of humanity.

Fr. Stephen looks at the quiet role played by grace-filled persons in our world. In many ways, God preserves us through the presence of such saints.

Fr. Stephen continues his thoughts on the Church as the proper interpretation of Scripture. In this talk he looks at how we "read" the Church.

Fr. Stephen sets for a case for an "Orthodox Interpretation of Scripture" in which the Church itself is seen as the proper way to interpret the Sacred Writings.

Fr. Stephen speaks about the doctrine of the Church (ecclesiology) and how it is best understood by looking at the cross of Christ.

Fr. Stephen discusses the Orthodox understanding of the difference of heaven and hell and some of its implications for how we speak about them.

In this podcast Fr. Stephen looks at the importance of "learning to sin," meaning the importance of learning what it is as a Christian that keeps us from the Kingdom of God.

In this podcast Fr. Stephen speaks of the God who is "everywhere present and fills all things," and the importance of our being open to Him everywhere, always, in all things.

Fr. Stephen talks about one aspect of the Orthodox understanding of salvation by grace, and notes that a very large part of it consists in "just showing up," learning to be present to God and to accept faithfully the means of grace given to us.

The Triumph of Orthodoxy is also a triumph of the wholeness of God.

In this podcast, Fr. Stephen speaks about giving thanks to God and its foundation in the belief that God is good. He focuses on four aspects of that goodness.

In this podcast Fr. Stephen speaks about the experience of standing at the "edge" of Tradition as people look at the Tradition of the Church and discuss it, seek to appropriate parts of it, but remain outside of that Tradition. He emphasizes that the Tradition of the faith is nothing other than our union with the True and Living God and His union with us.

Fr. Stephen talks about eight different ways that the divided, "two-storey" universe, a world divided between sacred and secular, affect us as Christians, and offers reflections on how we should see and cope with each of them. This is the largest summary of his work to date.

Fr. Stephen looks at the relationship between Orthodox Christianity and culture and argues that since Orthodoxy is the fullness of the faith, it should also be productive of the fullness of what it is to be human. Healthy Orthodox nations have always had a healthy Orthodox culture.

Fr. Stephen looks at the aspect of seeing the world in wonder—an experience shared by both Christian and non-Christian—and suggests, following St. Gregory of Nyssa, that it is the place where our faith should begin.

Fr. Stephen looks at morality and virtue, particularly as understood during the so-called "Age of Enlightenment," and compares it with an Orthodox understanding of right actions in the life of a Christian.

Fr. Stephen makes a distinction between the truth of the Christian faith and the many distortions and misperceptions of the Christian faith that surround us. He makes the case that we need only defend the search for the true and living God.

Fr. Stephen describes the one-storey universe as a faith worth believing and addresses the difficulty that people in the modern world have in transitioning from the secularized religions that dot our landscape to a truly integrated religion such as the Orthodox faith.

In this week's podcast Fr. Stephen notes that things are not always as they seem. In our busy world we often only see things in a blur. We want things quickly. He notes that grace has a slowness about it and urges us to "be still" and "know" God.

In this podcast, Fr. Stephen speaks about salvation and the Church in the Orthodox understanding. He states that: "the Church is what salvation looks like," and explains how the Tradition of the Church sees our salvation in Christ as something we work out in the context of the believing community rather than as mere individuals.

Fr. Stephen continues his series on the One-Storey Universe and looks at what it means for the Church. The Church is concrete and real. The "Fullness of Him that Filleth All in All" is not an abstraction or an "invisible" Church, but rather the very real Church established by Christ.

Fr. Stephen describes the spiritual warfare that Christians are to engage in as a battle within the heart—which is where we find the very depths of heaven.