Made to Be a Kingdom

As America approaches its 250th anniversary, Fr. Anthony and Fr. Harry reflect on patriotism, nationhood, and the relationship between local communities and the Church. Drawing on political theory, Orthodox ecclesiology, and their own pastoral experience, they explore the difference between nations, peoples, and places, arguing that Christian life flourishes not in abstract ideologies but in concr...

Following Pentecost, Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony discuss how the Church protects and nurtures healthy parish culture while remaining faithful to Christ's command to care for His flock. Drawing on Scripture, canon law, and pastoral experience, they explore disruptive behavior, false teaching, predatory personalities, online "para-ecclesial" communities, and the responsibility of clergy and faithful a...

In this episode of Made to be a Kingdom, Fathers Anthony Perkins and Harry Linsenbigler explore Pentecost as the climactic fulfillment of God’s saving work, where the Holy Spirit makes the life of the age to come present within the Church. Drawing on liturgical texts and the Eucharistic prayers, they show how Pentecost is not merely a past event but an ongoing participation in the Kingdom, uniting...

In this episode of Made to be a Kingdom, Fathers Anthony Perkins and Harry Linsenbigler complete their exploration of Paschaltide by tracing its culmination in the Feast of the Ascension. They reflect on the theological and liturgical movement from Resurrection to Ascension—highlighting themes of water, light, and healing, as well as the Church’s lived flexibility in embodying these mysteries in t...

In this episode of Made to be a Kingdom, Fathers Anthony Perkins and Harry Linsenbigler explore how Pascha functions as the Church’s great “reset,” reordering the liturgical year and illuminating the rhythm of Scripture and worship. Beginning with the proclamation of the Word in Gospel of John and the witness of Acts of the Apostles, they trace how the Church reads the Resurrection through the wee...

Today we are reflecting on a critical transition in the life of the Church: the movement from Great Lent into Holy Week and then into the feast of Pascha. As we’ll see, this is not just a change in calendar or intensity, but a shift in focus—from repentance centered on ourselves to full immersion in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

Great Lent is not a private self-improvement program; it is the Church’s shared praxis of becoming the Body of Christ through fasting, prayer, and worship. Fathers Harry and Anthony connect the “cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 11–12) to Orthodox intercession, icons, and the liturgical convergence of heaven and earth—then press the pastoral point: let Lent actually re-form your habits, especially your...

In this episode of Made to be a Kingdom, Fathers Harry Linsenbigler and Anthony Perkins return to Christ’s words in Matthew 16–18 to explore what Scripture reveals about the nature of the Church. Reading the Gospel through its original biblical and Septuagint context, they reflect on Christ as the anointed Petra, the gathering of the scattered people of Israel, and the Church as the place where Go...

In this episode, Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony slow down over Christ’s words in Matthew 16— especially the phrase “my Church”—to clarify that the Church is first Christ’s possession and work, not ours. They trace how Orthodox ecclesiology comes into focus through text and context: Christ’s confession, the meaning of rock (Petros/Petra), and the claim that the Church’s “locus” is the faith revealed by...

Pentecost isn't the Church's birthday: the Church precedes it, stretching back to creation itself, angels, prophets, patriarchs, and is revealed most clearly in Christ and the Church's liturgical witness. Pentecost inaugurates the apostolic priesthood and Eucharistic life, and the episode invites listeners to be formed by the prayers and hymnography where Scripture becomes prayer and grace supplie...

In this New Year episode, Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony challenge the casual habit of saying “my church” by reframing ecclesial identity: the Church is of God—not our possession, but the place to which we belong, purchased by Christ’s blood (Acts 20) and built as a household on the apostolic foundation with Christ as cornerstone (Eph. 2:18–20). They trace how the Church’s catholic “wholeness” is Trini...

As parishes grow, the priest-and-everyone model that once felt like “family” can become unsustainable—especially in catechesis, confession, and pastoral care. Fr. Anthony and Fr. Harry explore practical tools (from scheduling systems to mentoring structures) and historical models of catechesis to show why “one size fits all” is neither Orthodox nor realistic. The goal is not efficiency for its own...

Recorded in person during a seminary week at South Bound Brook, Fr. Anthony Perkins and Fr. Harry Linsenbigler reflect on two passages from In Every Church (p. 78) to clarify how Christ “fills” every ministry in the Church—from the faithful to readers, deacons, presbyters, and bishops—without making ordination a ladder of personal holiness. They challenge a common misreading (including selective a...

Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony explore how internet culture, consumerism, and disincarnate “platforms” distort Orthodox teaching and tempt all of us to become unappointed theologians. Drawing on Metropolitan Saba, Thinking Orthodox, St. James 3, and St. John Climacus, they unpack why theology must remain ecclesial, relational, and local—discerned and bounded within the life of the parish and the wider...

In this episode, Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony unpack how a truly sacramental worldview means that the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church is concretely instantiated in your particular parish— with its people, culture, limits, and gifts. They caution against importing personal preferences based on previous experiences and monastic or on-line ideals into parish life, urging charity, patience, and...

Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony turn to 1 Corinthians 11 to explore the meaning of head coverings in the Church. They show how St. Paul’s teaching addressed cultural practices in Corinth that threatened unity, reminding us that customs should serve modesty, harmony, and love rather than become points of pride or contention. In the end, they emphasize that whatever practices we keep must help build up th...

In response to a listener’s question, Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony explore the role of women in the life of the Church, from family and parish life to broader questions of ministry. They distinguish between the ordained priesthood, reserved for men, and the universal royal priesthood shared equally by all the baptized, emphasizing that men and women alike bring unique gifts and callings into the Body...

Fr. Harry Linson Bigler and Fr. Anthony Perkins reflect on recent tragedies, including the anniversary of 9/11 and the assassination of Charlie Kirk, to explore how the Church prepares us for death. They discuss the difference between modern avoidance of death and the Church’s ancient practices, showing how prayer, liturgy, and the lives of the saints form us to face mortality with peace and faith...

Fathers Harry and Anthony explore the many names of the Church in the New Testament and liturgy, showing how each reveals her identity as the Body of Christ and the household of God. They highlight the call to protect the Church’s fullness through humility, unity, and faithful participation in Christ’s kingdom.

Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony begin their exploration of the many names of the Church found in the New Testament, emphasizing its identity as the Body of Christ and its sacramental fullness in every local parish. They warn of spiritual dangers—wolves among the flock—and reflect on the difference between harmful divisiveness and mere imperfection within the Church, drawing on parables like the wheat an...

Father Harry and Father Anthony explore the theological and canonical importance of gathering for Sunday worship, grounding their discussion in Old Testament examples, patristics, and church tradition. Drawing from Christ’s Amazing Church, they highlight how corporate worship aligns believers with God’s will and protects them from spiritual dissonance. They also reflect on Sabbath observance, the...

Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony explore how the Church existed in the Old Testament as the gathered people of God, long before Pentecost. They emphasize that salvation is communal, not individualistic, and must be understood within the context of the Church as Christ’s Body. The episode unpacks the importance of sacred space, intentional worship, and our calling to be living tabernacles carrying Christ...

Fr. Harry leads us through the way ecclesiology was thought of in the Old Testament and how these concepts were alive, available, and ready to be taken to the next level in the New Testament in the Greek scriptural vernacular. Enjoy the show!

Today Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony take a short detour from their ongoing study of ecclesiology to look a topic in applied ecclesiology: what to do about the paucity of parishes in many of our locales. This is something many of our listeners experience and that the Church is working to solve. Enjoy the show!

The 3rd Ecumenical Council referred to Orthodoxy as “the Faith of the Catholic and Apostolic Church to which all Orthodox Bishops, both East and West, agree.” Today Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony talk about what it means that the Church exists where this faith is found and what the implications are for defining heresy, heretics, and schism. Fr. Anthony also introduces everyone to one of his favorite va...