The Lord of Spirits

How exactly does textual authority function within the Church? Whether discussing the Scriptures, the Apocrypha, the Church Fathers, the Ecumenical Councils, or the liturgical tradition, the Orthodox Church is awash in texts. How are they properly used? What about misuse? What makes them authoritative? Join Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen De Young as they look at the Orthodox tradition o...

What is prophecy? Who is a prophet? Do prophets predict the future? Does prophecy still happen in our times? What is the difference between a prophet and an apostle? How can we recognize a true prophet or prophecy? Join Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick as they look at the Biblical vision of the prophetic ministry.

What happened to people who died before the Harrowing of Hades? What happened to those people after? And what happens at death after the Harrowing? And what’s going to happen at the resurrection of all the dead? Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen De Young track the Biblical imagery of life after death and life after life after death.

What exactly is a blessing? Or a curse? Are these just religious-sounding synonyms for good things or bad things? What does it mean when God blesses or curses? Do the blessings and curses of human beings actually do anything? Is this some kind of Christian magic? Join Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick as they look at how blessings and curses work in the Bible.

On this special bonus episode, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick introduces and then reads the full text of the Harrowing of Hell from the Gospel of Nicodemus. Christ is risen! He truly is risen!

Reading the Bible is easier now than in any previous moment in history. And misreading it is also the easiest it’s ever been. What does it mean to read the Bible historically? To read it literally? What are some interpretive/hermeneutic ideas that don’t make sense if you look closely at them? Join Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick as they go “meta” for this episode and talk about...

In this pre-recorded episode, Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick tackle dozens of recorded questions sent in by listeners from all over the world, with topics ranging from catechism to giants to the evil eye to the Ziz.

When ancient Israel encountered pagan nations worshiping their gods (and sometimes joined in themselves), what exactly were they worshiping? Are they fallen angels, demons, ancestors, the spirits of dead humans, or maybe even nothing at all? How did the early Church understand this worship? What is idolatry and how does it work? Do idolatry and paganism exist today? Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and F...

What exactly is a priest? Who is a priest? Are all believers priests? Is that the same thing as presbyters? And what are those priests in the Bible wearing, anyway? Join Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick as they look closely at what the Bible says about priests in their ancient context and what that means for Christians today.

The podcast is back with all Q&A, all the time. Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick make it an open-line night at the podcast. With calls stretching from California to Romania, callers asked about God's foreknowledge, UFOs, Sasquatch, spirits imprisoned in the underworld, the difference between hell and Hades and Sheol, prayers for the departed, and a host more.

When the prophets ascend in heavenly visions they see the divine council, the throne of God, the cherubim and seraphim, the angels—and a man. And sometimes, outside of prophetic visions, that man shows up on earth, and he talks and even eats with people. Who is this man in heaven? Who is this man from heaven? Join Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick as they conclude their four...

The phrase “son of man” appears over 100 times in the Old Testament, and most of them are in the book of the Prophet Ezekiel. It shows up again, dozens of times, in the Gospels and then gets used elsewhere in the New Testament. What does it mean? Does this refer to Jesus? Every time? Join Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick for part 3 of their 4-part series on the Christology of the...

Fr. Andrew and Fr. Stephen continue their four-part series on the Christology of the Old Testament. This time they discuss the Word of the Lord or the Word of God. Like "Angel of the Lord," this is another phrase that gets people confused sometimes. What does "Word of God" mean exactly? Is it the Bible? Is it Christ? Can we use the phrase for both? Is it preaching? Listen and find out.

The Angel of the Lord is mentioned dozens of times in the Holy Scriptures, yet the identity and nature of this figure is fuzzy for many Christians. Is he an angel like one of heavenly hosts? Is he a symbol of Jesus Christ? Is he the Son of God Himself? Does he have a body? Is this figure compatible with Trinitarian theology? Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen De Young begin a four-part seri...

Werewolves. Vampires. Lilith. Lamia. Unicorns. Donkey-centaurs. Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick open up their demonic bestiary and their Bibles for this special episode.

Leviathan, Behemoth, and other monsters lurk in the Bible—demonic horrors and other assorted beasts. Did ancient people believe these were real creatures? Do they have some kind of global, geo-political meaning? How do they figure into the biblical narrative? Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick pull out their Bibles and go monster-hunting.

Melchizedek is a figure who gets mentioned three very brief and mysterious times in the Scriptures. But who is he? Why does he have a pagan name? Why does St. Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews link him to Christ? Is he a pre-New Testament appearance of the Son of God? What is the “order of Melchizedek”? Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen De Young unravel the mystery and weave the threads togeth...

The great biblical patriarch Abraham began his life in the shadow of the sacrificial ziggurat of Ur, dedicated to a pagan moon god. What does it mean that God called him out of that context, why did God direct Abraham's gaze to the stars, and why did Abraham bring his son Isaac to the top of a mountain? Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick focus on this towering biblical figure, this...

In the Scripture and throughout Orthodox Tradition, the holy Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John occupies a place parallel though not identical to that of the Holy Virgin Mary. Yet he is at the same time a more enigmatic and lesser-understood figure in Christianity. Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick together discuss the Voice that prepared the way for the coming of God in the fl...

The keeping and veneration of relics of saints is one of the practices of Christianity that may disturb or even shock some. How do the bodies of saints relate to their lives? Is that body still their body even after death? Why do some relics have miracles associated with them? And how does this relate to Christian burial? Join Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen De Young as they take a journ...

The word "Apocalypse" stirs up forebodings of the end of the world—natural disasters, wars, massive destruction, giant comets, etc. But is that how the Bible uses the term? What if there were apocalypse throughout the Scriptures? And even now? Join Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen De Young for this sequel to the "Nous" episode to see what apocalypse has to do with your life as a Christian...

According to the Bible, how do we know things? What exactly is the mind? What is consciousness? What are thoughts, and how do they work? And what does knowledge do to someone? Join Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick as they take a mind-bending journey into the Biblical image of the Nous.

The Day of Pentecost is the end of a golden thread that begins with Eden and runs through the Tabernacle, the Temple, the Theotokos, Christ, Christians, the Church and the whole Cosmos. What is that thread? Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick look to the Scriptures to show what connects all these things together.

The Ascension of Christ in glory is not merely Jesus going back where he came from when he was done on earth. Nor is it an abandonment of his disciples. But what is it? Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick look at how ancient people would have understood the Ascension of Christ to his throne in the heavens.

Christ appeared to his disciples and to many others after he rose from the dead, numerous times over the forty days leading up to his Ascension. What happened at those appearances? What was their purpose? And how do the Gospel writers understand what was happening? Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick explore the vision of the resurrected Jesus Christ.