Orthodox Wisdom

Our father among the saints, Porphyrios, is a most beloved elder of our day. The Lord poured out incredible love to the world through him. His heart was on fire with love of Christ and by God's grace we have been left with his life and witness as inspiration for us unworthy ones of these last days. This excerpt from "Wounded by Love" exhibits his insatiable love for Christ, his wound...

From the Publisher's Overview: On the Dogma of the Church: An Historical Overview of the Sources of Ecclesiology, the Holy Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky) explores patristic resources from the early centuries of Christianity. He brings seminal works at the periphery of the consciousness of every Christian to the forefront as living witnesses to the unbroken tradition of the Church. St. Hilario...

Fr. Seraphim Rose offers us the foundational, patristic approach to the modern phenomena of UFOs, aliens, and "intelligent beings" from above. Be not deceived...hold fast to Christ and the faith of the God-bearing Holy Fathers. 0:00 Title 0:08 Introduction, excerpt from “Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works”, Ch. 77 3:24 Excerpt from "Explanation of the UFO Phenomena", Ch....

A sobering call to our souls. Death awaits, wake up! This word from our holy Father Paisius calls us to chastise ourselves, repent, and endure every suffering for Him Who loves us and gave Himself for us. 0:00 Intro 0:18 A Brief Exposition of Thoughts Which Dispose To Repentance 7:57 The Battle Against Despondency, Slothfulness, and Weakness 10:13 An Instruction Moving To Contrition Which Cuts Off...

Hear many examples of how St. Paisios expressed his God-loving heart in daily life. These are expressions of true piety from a great saint of our times. A reading of pp. 414-421 from "Saint Paisios of Mount Athos" by Hieromonk Isaac -BUY "Saint Paisios of Mount Athos" by Hieromonk Isaac here: https://saintnektariosmonastery.com/Elder-Paisios-of-Mount-Athos -FIND an Orthodox par...

St. Daniel of Katounakia (+1929) cuts to the heart of who is a true theologian, and how one might walk the path towards that experience. His letter to a student of theology is especially applicable today when many are more drawn to follow academic theologians, Latin scholasticism and rationalism, and a devotion to an abstract reading of saints centuries ago without living connection to the saints...

A reading of St. Theophan the Recluse's (+1894) homily examining the teachings of St. John the Theologian 0:21 St. John is above all an example and teacher of love 1:03 How contemporary "wise men" abuse St. John's teaching 2:01 The true teaching of St. John and the false teaching of “Indifferentism” 2:50 St. John binds together his teaching on love with God 5:03 On love and faith...

Excerpts from Vol. 1 & 2 from the 12 Volume Booklet Series by Fr. Daniel Sysoev titled "How to Inherit Eternal Life". These booklets are great to give out to inquirers and catechumens, to sell at parish bookstores, and more. This recording covers two excerpts from each of the first two booklets. BUY the entire 12 volume, 560 total page booklet set here ($45): https://mission-shop.com...

The story of St. Isaac, a great ascetic who was tricked by the devil who appeared to him in bright light, saying he was Christ. St. Isaac, after prostrating before him, was overcome by demonic power. They made him dance all night, leaving him near dead by the morning. After an arduous struggle, and with immense help from St. Anthony and St. Theodosius, St. Isaac regained his strength and abilities...

Fr. Alexey Young, also known as Hieroschemamonk Ambrose, is a close spiritual son of Fr. Seraphim Rose. In the same spirit of Fr. Seraphim, Fr. Alexey calls all Orthodox Christians to a greater awareness and conscious resistance to the error of Roman Catholicism and the grave temptation, very present in our own day, of false union with Rome. 0:00 Intro 0:10 The first way to resist false union is t...

A reading of Homily 32 from St. Isaac the Syrian's Ascetical Homilies 0:11 One must hate sin to be freed from it 1:18 A Prayer 2:18 “On that Day God will not judge us about psalmody…" 3:55 “The End of unseasonable freedom is absolute slavery.” 4:48 “How sweet are the origins of the passions!” and “We do not desire sin, but with pleasure we accept the causes with bring it upon us.” 6:50 “B...

In Fr. Seraphim Rose’s time, as well as today in 2023, many diverse and strongly held opinions exist when it comes to how we should regard Blessed Augustine of Hippo. In one extreme, some treat him as either the greatest father of the first millennium, as one can see in some western confessions and even by some Orthodox. In another extreme, some see him as the root source of a multitude of heresie...

Want to learn more about Baptism and the Reception of Converts? Uncut Mountain Press has just released a first-of-its-kind book: "Reception of the Heterodox into the Orthodox Church: Patristic Consensus and Criteria". BUY the book by 7/30/23 and receive excellent BONUS content. Learn more: --BUY the BOOK (including info about the bonus content and a free preview): https://uncutmountainpr...

Want to learn more about Baptism and the Reception of Converts? Uncut Mountain Press has just released a first-of-its-kind book: "Reception of the Heterodox into the Orthodox Church: Patristic Consensus and Criteria". BUY the book by 7/30/23 and receive excellent BONUS content. Learn more: --BUY the BOOK (including info about the bonus content and a free preview): https://uncutmountainpr...

An excerpt from St. John of Damascus' Against Those Who Attack the Divine Images (First Apology) Full reading here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3r8czLXFQOmTdZk6hnn1oT?si=wXGfEkHWR7SDrj_tpgio_A -BUY the book here: https://churchsupplies.jordanville.org/9780881412451/ -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ Going deeper on icons: --Against Those Who...

A reading from the Spiritual Counsels of St. Paisios the Athonite: Family Life (Vol. 4) 0:09 Geronda, how can a housewife make time for prayer? 2:30 Geronda, a mother told me “I get very tired. I barely have enough time to finish chores let alone say my prayers properly.” 5:07 Geronda, what if a mother has a lot of children and a lot of work to do? -BUY the book here: https://www.holycross.org/pro...

A reading of three psalms from St. Ephraim's "Spiritual Psalter". These psalms highlight the depths of humility, the darkness of sin in our hearts, and the boundless mercy of love of God for mankind. You may find it helpful to listen to this in preparation for not only the Mystery of Confession, but for Holy Communion as well. 0:13 Psalm 11 - I Can Control Neither Myself Nor The Enem...

On June 1/14 the Church commemorates the great Theologian and Confessor, St. Justin Popović. This is the canon chanted during matins. Listen to more from St. Justin here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzFKi22k2KYgxvJMJchHwGAWGZebY0s2s Books to purchase by St. Justin -Orthodox Faith and Life in Christ: https://churchsupplies.jordanville.org/9781884729027/ -The Orthodox Church and Ecumenism...

BUY the NEW BOOK: A CHRONICLE OF THE BEGINNING by Fr. Daniel Sysoev https://mission-shop.com/product/a-chronicle-of-the-beginning/ Publisher’s note: Where was science when God was making the universe? To this day the question of the world’s creation and the origin of the nations is the subject of numerous debates and disputes. The author asserts that Christian teaching on the origin of the univers...

A very important prophecy, focused more on the signs of the apostasy than specific people and places, from a Russian New Martyr, St. Anatole the Younger of Optina (+1922). This prophecy was given shortly after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. St. Anatole was a clairvoyant, God-bearing elder and one of the great cloud of elders from the monastery of Optina. -READ the prophecy here: https://www.orthod...

Hear the story of the healing of a demon-possessed man in Shanghai by St. John Maximovitch when he was Bishop of Shanghai from 1934-1949. This account comes from The Orthodox Word, Issue 48, Jan-Feb 1973. Read here: https://archive.org/details/100101V17N05061981SepOctNovDec Read here the Life of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco (+1966): https://orthochristian.com/54575.html Buy the book &quo...

Listen to St. Nektarios explain how critical the role of the mother is in raising children and how firm the foundation she can lay down in the hearts and minds of her children. Fathers, let us love and sacrifice for our wives and co-struggle in the holy labor of child-rearing! 0:10 Introduction 0:27 The education of children must begin from infancy 2:06 A mother’s influence on her children is beyo...

Hear about Christ's revelations to St. Joseph and his brotherhood on the difficult and often contentious issue of the calendar and true Orthodoxy. As a zealot of Athos once confessed, "Fathers, we must admit that Elder Joseph was right. It is not possible for a rotten root to produce such fruits [i.e. his spiritual children]. A tree is known by its fruit.’ Therefore, we must have been wro...

A reading of St. Paisios’ letter written in 1969 to a priest regarding the recent scandalous actions of Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras and how to respond in a healthy, salvific way as an Orthodox Christian. -read the text here: http://orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/elder-paisios-the-athonite-letter-on-ecumenism.aspx -Find an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ ___...

A reading of the revelation of Jesus Christ to St. Silouan and commentary on the revelation by St. Sophrony from "Saint Silouan the Athonite" by St. Sophrony (p. 429-431, 208-213) 0:18 The revelation of Jesus Christ to St. Silouan 5:19 St. Sophrony’s commentary -Buy "Saint Silouan the Athonite" by St. Sophrony here: https://churchsupplies.jordanville.org/9780881416817/ -Find an...