The Lord of Spirits

It's 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 this Holy Week / Pascha special episode, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen De Young take a close biblical look at what happens when the Lord of Spirits himself journeys into the underworld to set his people free.

With this second installment of their series on sacred geography, Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick take a journey into the shadowy and much-misunderstood realm of the dead—the Underworld, Hades, Hell, Sheol, the Grave. Do these words mean the same thing? Where is this place? And who or what exactly is there?

The Scriptures speak of what we might call spiritual places—sacred geography—the Mountain of God, Heaven, Paradise, the Underworld. Are these imaginary places? If not, how does one go there? In this first of two episodes on sacred geography, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen De Young begin a fantastic voyage into another world.

"Atonement" is a word invented for the translation of the Bible into English, because there was no good English word for the concept it describes. So what does it mean? People have atonement theories. Is atonement purely theoretical? Does it have anything to do with suffering or punishment? And who or what is atoned for? Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick finish their three-part se...

Ancient pagans sacrificed to their gods, and ancient Israel was no exception when it came to offering sacrifice to the One they belonged to. But what did those sacrifices look like, and what did they do? Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen De Young continue their series on sacrifice, showing both the surprising similarities and striking differences between pagans and Israel.

What exactly is worship? What does it do? Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick explore worship in the ancient world, both pagan and Israelite, showing how it all resolves into one act—sacrifice. And does that mean killing?

Fr. Stephen and Fr. Andrew continue their discussion on bodies. What about angel bodies? How many types of human bodies are there? Are human and animal bodies the same? And how many bodies does Christ have?

What exactly is a "body?" Do gods have bodies? How many? Does God, being immaterial, have one? If so, where exactly is it? How do we make sense of the Old Testament passages which talk about God walking, standing, fighting in battles, eating, or speaking face to face with Moses? Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen De Young tackle one of the most difficult teachings of the Scripture.

The Star of Bethlehem has long been seen as a sign of Christ’s birth, but was it just an astronomical event such as one might observe with a telescope? Why a star? And what does Jewish astrology have to do with this? Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen De Young discuss the true nature of the great Star of the Nativity.

The Messiah is the Son of David and King of Israel, surrounded by His royal court, including His mother—just like the Davidic kings before him. Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick explore how Christ united the court of David with the Divine Council and how the role of the Theotokos was established in ancient Israel, centuries before she was born.

There are giants in the Bible. Many Christians have tried to explain them away, ignore them, or treat them as mere metaphors. But the Orthodox Church takes giants seriously. Join Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick as they venture into the ancient Land of Giants and discuss why the Book of Joshua is probably not what you thought it was.

Will heaven be boring? Do the saints sit around on clouds playing harps for all eternity? Or is there something that they're doing? Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick continue their discussion of what it means to become part of God's divine council.

Christians argue every year about Hallowe’en: Is it participation in the occult, cavorting with demons we should be running away from, or is it harmless dressing up and candy? Some more traditionally-minded say it’s not about demons; it’s about the feast of All Saints. In this special Hallowe’en episode, Orthodox Christian priests Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen De Young say it really is...

Theosis—becoming like God—is perhaps the best-known understanding of salvation in the Orthodox tradition. But what isn't often discussed is what angels have to do with it. Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discuss how God's divine council is the intended destiny of mankind.

When did the fallen angels fall? Before the creation of the world? Did they all fall at once? How does angelic fall affect mankind? Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick take another deep dive into the Holy Scriptures and other parts of Orthodox tradition to explore these major questions that frame salvation history.

Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick are back with their second episode focused on angels and demons in the Orthodox tradition, laying more critical groundwork for this program by talking about God's Divine Council, then looking at the various kinds of angels, and finishing up by talking about what demons are and why they’re still around.

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen De Young inaugurate this new live, call-in podcast focused on the union of the seen and unseen in Orthodox Christian biblical, patristic and liturgical tradition.

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen De Young introduce a new live call-in show, beginning Thursday (9/10/20) at 7pm Eastern / 4pm Pacific.