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***We hope you enjoy this public offering of Enacting the Kingdom!  We also regularly post content on our private podcast for those who choose to support our project.  If you'd like to become a patron, please head over to www.patreon.com/enactingthekingdom.  We'd love for you to become part of our growing community!***

To listen to the patron-only episode on Spiritual Warfare, please head to www.patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choose a tier of support.  We'd love to have you join our community there.

To listen in to the episode on Spiritual Warfare, along with a growing number of other episodes on our private podcast, please head over to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choose a tier of support.  Not only do we release private episodes every week, but we also host monthly livestreams with special guests - we would love to have you join our growing community!

We hope you've enjoyed this public episode of Enacting the Kingdom!  Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey also regularly post on our private podcast, solely for supporters of this project.  If you are interested in joining our community, please head to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choose a tier of support!  Thanks for watching.

We hope that you've enjoyed this episode of our public podcast!  If you'd like to support this project, and gain access to a growing backlog of private episodes, please head to www.patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choose a tier of support.  We'd love to have you join us there!

This week, Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri discuss the prayer which follows the Litany of Peace, a key moment in the baptismal service which is full of poetry and beauty.  It is ecclesiological, eschatological, and cosmological.

Thanks for listening to another episode of our public offering!  If you are interested in supporting this project, please head over to www.patreon.com/enactingthekingdom to become a patron.  We regularly post private episodes there on a wide variety of fun, and often controversial, topics.  We'd love to see you there!

We hope you enjoyed listening to this "doozy" of an episode!  In addition to the public offering of Enacting the Kingdom, we also offer private episodes for supporters of this project.  If you would like to enjoy more of this content, or if you'd like to become a patron of our work, please head over to www.patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choose a tier of support.

We hope you've received benefit from this public offering of our podcast!  If you're interested in supporting this project, and obtaining access to a growing backlog of private episodes and monthly livestreams, please head over to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choose a tier of support.  We'd love to have you join our growing community.

We hope you enjoyed this part of our public offering!  If you have appreciated this project so far and would like to support our work going forward, become a patron at patreon.com/enactingthekingdom.  There are multiple tiers of support, and you will receive access to a growing backlog of our private episodes as well as monthly livestreams with special guests.  We hope to see you over there!

Thank you so much for listening to this public episode of our podcast, we hope you enjoyed it.  If you would like to support this project, and gain access to the private portion of our podcast, please head over to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom.  We'd love to have you join us.

Thank you again for listening to this public offering of our podcast!  We hope you are able to take something from it that helps you move forward into the world, enacting the Kingdom.  If you would like to support our project and help it continue, please visit patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and become a patron.  Our patrons have access to a growing backlog of private episodes, and also to monthly livestreams with special guests.  We'd love to have you join us!

We hope you enjoyed this public episode of Enacting the Kingdom.  We also regularly post private episodes for our patrons, covering a wide variety of serious and fun topics.  We'd love to have you join our community at patreon.com/enactingthekingdom; your support means so much to us!

Thank you for listening to this public episode of our podcast!  If you'd like see this project continue, please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/enactingthekingdom.  We just introduced a new entry level of support which we hope will enable more of you to join our community.  We regularly post episodes just for our patrons, and host monthly livestreams with fun and expert guests.  We hope to see you there!

We just introduced a new entry level of support which we hope will enable more of you to join our community.  We regularly post episodes just for our patrons, and host monthly livestreams with fun and expert guests.  We would love for you to join us.

Thank you for listening to this public episode of our podcast!  If you'd like see this project continue, please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/enactingthekingdom.  We just introduced a new entry level of support which we hope will enable more of you to join our community.  We regularly post episodes just for our patrons, and host monthly livestreams with fun and expert guests.  We hope to see you there!

Thank you for listening to this public episode of our podcast!  If you'd like see this project continue, please consider becoming a patron at patreon.com/enactingthekingdom.  We just introduced a new entry level of support which we hope will enable more of you to join our community.  We regularly post episodes just for our patrons, and host monthly livestreams with fun and expert guests.  We hope to see you there!

In our fourth season, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey are releasing episodes on a variety of topics that were previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more - including monthly livestreams - please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community.

In our fourth season, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey are releasing episodes on a variety of topics that were previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more - including monthly livestreams - please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community.

In our fourth season, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey are releasing episodes on a variety of topics that were previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more - including monthly livestreams - please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community.

In our fourth season, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey are releasing episodes on a variety of topics that were previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more - including monthly livestreams - please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community.

In our fourth season, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey are releasing episodes on a variety of topics that were previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more - including monthly livestreams - please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community.

In our fourth season, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey are releasing episodes on a variety of topics that were previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more - including monthly livestreams - please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community.

In our fourth season, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey are releasing episodes on a variety of topics that were previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more - including monthly livestreams - please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community.

Dr Daniel Opperwall is an Orthodox Christian author, teacher, scholar, father and husband.  He lives and writes in Hamilton, Ontario.  With a broad spectrum of tastes and interests, Dr Opperwall's work ranges from academic studies in Church history and patristics (in which he holds his PhD) to critical essays, sci-fi and fantasy, literary fiction, poetry, and children's books.  Dr Opperwall teaches theology and Church history at the Orthodox School of Theology at Trinity College, University of Toronto.  His courses are available both in-class and online.  More information is on the Trinity website.

In our fourth season, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey are releasing episodes on a variety of topics that were previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more - including monthly livestreams - please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community.

In our fourth season, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey are releasing episodes on a variety of topics that were previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more - including monthly livestreams - please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community.

In our fourth season, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey are releasing episodes on a variety of topics that were previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more - including monthly livestreams - please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community.

A wise man (who happens to co-host this podcast!) once said, "We do in Liturgy what we are meant to be doing in life."  What then is the story we take part in during Liturgy and what are the stories that we are participating in during our everyday life?

Enacting the Kingdom is only possible because of an active community of people just like you over on Patreon!  We hope you'll join us there, and get access to the other half of this podcast.  Become a patron at www.patreon.com/enactingthekingdom for as little as $3/month.

In this episode, we welcome Jonathan Pageau, host of the Symbolic World blog and podcast.  Jonathan is known for exploring the symbolic patterns that underlie our experience of the world, how these patterns emerge and come together, manifesting in religion, art and in popular culture.

Our patrons were able to participate in this recording, sending questions in advance or asking questions live.  If you'd like the opportunity to engage in events like this, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/enactingthekingdom.  We'd love to have you join our growing community!

In this episode, we welcome back Jonathan Pageau, host of the Symbolic World blog and podcast.  Jonathan is known for exploring the symbolic patterns that underlie our experience of the world, how these patterns emerge and come together, manifesting in religion, art and in popular culture.

Our patrons were able to participate in this recording, sending questions in advance or asking questions live.  If you'd like the opportunity to engage in events like this, please consider becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/enactingthekingdom.  We'd love to have you join our growing community!

Where have we spent our money?  Where have we spent our time?  The answers to these questions will speak volumes about where our heart is.  In this episode of the Liturgies of Life, Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri speak about the liturgy and pedagogy of the shopping mall, and how the shopping mall, sadly, often speaks to the heart more effectively than the Church.  

Can you add to our list of the the great liturgies of our age?  We want to hear!  Come join the discussion at patreon.com/enactingthekingdom, by becoming a patron for as little as $3/month.  Your contributions help make this podcast possible!

What are these needs that aren't being met?  Where can we go to meet them?

If you get value from listening to Enacting the Kingdom, please consider writing a short, positive, five-star review on your podcast app.  Also, even though we are social media-free, you can keep up to date with us by joining our email list.  Just head to enactingthekingdom.com to sign up.  Thanks for your support!

Enacting the Kingdom is social media free, but you can still connect with us!  Subscribe to our newsletter by heading to enactingthekingdom.com.  Also, if you'd like to access our private podcast, become a patron for as little as $3/month at patreon.com/enactingthekingdom.  This podcast is made possible by listeners like you!

Stay connected with us by subscribing to our newsletter at enactingthekingdom.com!  Also, as we are social media free, Patreon is the only place to engage with us and others about these episodes.  Head to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom to join our growing community.  This podcast is made possible because of listeners like you!

**The series that Fr Geoffrey mentions on the sayings of the Desert Fathers & Mothers is part of our Patreon private podcast, and available to all patrons for as little as $3/month!**

As we're social media free, Patreon is the only way to connect with us about both our public and private podcasts.  Head to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom to become a patron and join our growing community.  Enacting the Kingdom is made possible because of listeners like you.

Keep up to date with us by joining our mailing list at enactingthekingdom.com!  Also, if you'd like to support this project, we invite you to join our patron community where we post private episodes on a variety of topics - including the more controversial ones.  Head to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and become a patron for as little as $3/month.

Keep up to date with us by joining our mailing list at enactingthekingdom.com!  Also, if you'd like to support this project, we invite you to join our patron community where we post private episodes on a variety of topics - including the more controversial ones.  Head to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and become a patron for as little as $3/month.

Keep up to date with us by joining our mailing list at enactingthekingdom.com!  Also, if you'd like to support this project, we invite you to join our patron community where we post private episodes on a variety of topics - including the more controversial ones.  Head to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and become a patron for as little as $3/month.

Keep up to date with us by joining our mailing list at enactingthekingdom.com!  Also, if you'd like to support this project, we invite you to join our patron community where we post private episodes on a variety of topics - including the more controversial ones.  Head to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and become a patron for as little as $3/month.

Enacting the Kingdom is social media free, but you can still connect with us!  Subscribe to our newsletter by heading to enactingthekingdom.com.  Also, if you'd like to access our private podcast, become a patron for as little as $3/month at patreon.com/enactingthekingdom.  This podcast is made possible by listeners like you!

Enacting the Kingdom is social media free, but you can still connect with us!  Subscribe to our newsletter by heading to enactingthekingdom.com.  Also, if you'd like to access our private podcast, become a patron for as little as $3/month at patreon.com/enactingthekingdom.  This podcast is made possible by listeners like you!

Keep up to date with us by joining our mailing list at enactingthekingdom.com!  Also, if you'd like to support this project, we invite you to join our patron community where we post private episodes on a variety of topics - including the more controversial ones.  Head to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and become a patron for as little as $3/month.

Keep up to date with us by joining our mailing list at enactingthekingdom.com!  Also, if you'd like to support this project, we invite you to join our patron community where we post private episodes on a variety of topics - including the more controversial ones.  Head to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and become a patron for as little as $3/month.

This show only exists because of an active community of people just like you over on Patreon.  Become a patron for as little as $3/month at www.patreon.com/enactingthekingdom, gain access to private episodes and livestreams, and enter into the discussion!

Did you know that we have a private podcast just for our patrons?  The private setting allows us to engage openly in conversation about all sorts of topics, even the controversial ones.  As a patron, you'll get early access to new episodes, have a platform on which to ask questions and start discussions, and enjoy candid opinions and conversations.  Join us for as little as $3/month, and help us keep this public podcast going!  Sign up at www.patreon.com/enactingthekingdom.

Did you know that we have a private podcast just for our patrons?  The private setting allows us to engage openly in conversation about all sorts of topics, even the controversial ones.  As a patron, you'll get early access to new episodes, have a platform on which to ask questions and start discussions, and enjoy candid opinions and conversations.  Join us for as little as $3/month, and help us keep this public podcast going!  Sign up at www.patreon.com/enactingthekingdom.

Christians do not need to stand in opposition to science in order to recover the true Christian story.  In fact, when we engage in dialogue with science, and live according to the narrative of God, we reveal that we don't have a different narrative after all - it's just that we know the Author and Narrator.

Did you know that we have a private podcast just for our patrons?  The private setting allows us to engage openly in conversation about all sorts of topics, even the controversial ones.  As a patron, you'll get early access to new episodes, have a platform on which to ask questions and start discussions, and enjoy candid opinions and conversations.  Join us for as little as $3/month, and help us keep this public podcast going!  Sign up at www.patreon.com/enactingthekingdom.

Did you know that we have a private podcast just for our patrons?  The private setting allows us to engage openly in conversation about all sorts of topics, even the controversial ones.  As a patron, you'll get early access to new episodes, have a platform on which to ask questions and start discussions, and enjoy candid opinions and conversations.  Join us for as little as $3/month, and help us keep this public podcast going!  Sign up at www.patreon.com/enactingthekingdom.

Did you know that we have a private podcast just for our patrons?  The private setting allows us to engage openly in conversation about all sorts of topics, even the controversial ones.  As a patron, you'll get early access to new episodes, have a platform on which to ask questions and start discussions, and enjoy candid opinions and conversations.  Join us for as little as $3/month, and help us keep this public podcast going!  Sign up at www.patreon.com/enactingthekingdom.

Did you know that we have a private podcast just for our patrons?  The private setting allows us to engage openly in conversation about all sorts of topics, even the controversial ones.  As a patron, you'll get early access to new episodes, have a platform on which to ask questions and start discussions, and enjoy candid opinions and conversations.  Join us for as little as $3/month, and help us keep this public podcast going!  Sign up at www.patreon.com/enactingthekingdom.

Before diving into the sayings themselves, today Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri chat about where and when these holy men and women lived, why they lived that way, and why their words continue to come down to us so many centuries later.  These sayings should affect the things we value, the things we choose to do, the very life that we live.

In this sixth season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

It's so much easier to numb ourselves to the real work we are called to, with counterfeits that replace what is truly needed - but what comes after the struggle?  Ineffable joy.

In this sixth season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

In this sixth season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

In this sixth season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

Today's sayings prove to us again the true meaning of monasticism, which is rooted in monachos - singular focus - which is not the same as being by oneself.  It is rather about the release of all things that get in the way of our capacity to show love.  The singular aim of all that we do is God.

In this sixth season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

In this sixth season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

In this sixth season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

There is another podcast, Bible Project, that does an excellent job of describing certain pillars of biblical literacy that help us approach Scripture properly.   Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey take a look at these pillars from an Orthodox perspective, beginning with Divine and Human Literature, Unified Literature and Messianic Literature.

Check out the Paradigm series here: https://bibleproject.com/podcast/series/paradigm/ 

In this second of half of our series introduction, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey explore the remaining pillars of biblical literacy which will help us approach Scripture properly: Communal Literature, Ancient Literature, Meditation Literature and Wisdom Literature.

Please reference the Paradigm series by the Bible Project here, to learn more about these pillars: https://bibleproject.com/podcast/series/paradigm/

Of course the bible precedes our Divine Liturgy, yet if the Liturgy is understood as the experience of who God is, of being with God and God with us, then we see that it is the very origin of the bible.  Liturgy is the natural home of the bible.  Liturgy is where we go when we want to understand what the bible is all about.  Liturgy is the wrapping around the whole of the Scriptures.

In this episode, Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri discuss how the bible requires full and intentional liturgical participation,  exploring a variety of fun metaphors such as Hamlet, car mechanics, Comic-Con and map-reading. 

From the creation account, through the prophets and into the New Testament, the Scriptures are woven through with experiences of living water.  As Orthodox Christians, we enact this story in our liturgies, recalling the creational and healing purposes of water, and understanding that living water is intimately connected with those who are living according to God's purpose and totally dependent on His grace.

Throughout the bible, in Genesis, Exodus, the prophets and the gospel accounts, the power of water is revealed.  More than that, the power of the one true God is revealed as the One who can calm the waters, the One who can enter in to the destructive waters and emerge not only unharmed, but having also transformed them into healing waters.

In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri discuss how the theme of wilderness appears both in Scriptures and in our liturgical life.

In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

Right from the Genesis story, we see that trees (and seeds) feature prominently in the scriptural narrative, and often mirror the human story.  Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri offer tools for your "biblical literacy toolbelt" to help you unpack the full meaning when you come across trees in the liturgy and the bible.

In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri discuss this pattern that we see in the Scriptures, and how it is also found within our liturgical services.

In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

This spirit, breath and wind portrays God's action in the world - from the life-giving and animating spirit within all human beings, to the powerful blast that forcefully brings order to chaos.  Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey explore this scriptural theme and how substituting some of these other words for ruach and pneuma can help us comprehend what it truly means when we pray for the in-dwelling of the Spirit.

In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri explore these questions, and caution that we are not meant to be stuck within an Old Testament understanding of the ark, but rather we are meant to acknowledge its fulfillment in Christ.

In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

The scriptural narrative of life after death shares a much deeper understanding, one of creation and new creation.  This is not an individual story, but a communal one, and what we do in this world matters.  Everything matters.  As Fr Geoffrey shares from a beautiful Rabbinic tradition, planting a tree matters.  As Fr Yuri shares from personal experience, cleaning the house for your wife matters.  You'll have to listen to see how profound that analogy is. :)

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri also speak about baptism, when we learn to "walk in newness of life", and to participate daily in God's renewal of creation.

In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

In this episode of Your Liturgical Bible, Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri search the scriptures to better understand how Christ's resurrection is set apart, and how we as Christians are called to proclaim and to live according to this truth - a sign of the new age, a permanent new way of being in creation.

In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri discuss this ambiguity around family that runs right through the Scriptures, the meaning and beauty of being adopted into God's family, and the family values that the Scriptures truly stand behind.

In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri flesh out this idea (please forgive the pun!), as well as show how this biblical imagery is expressed liturgically and enacted in our day to day lives.

In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

There can be a tendency amongst Christian to universalize everything, insisting on symbolism and downplaying the very concrete reality of the promises that were made to Israel.  However, as St Augustine tells us, in order for Christ to be the fulfillment of these promises, it is necessary that they were real in the first place.

In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

As we sing at Saturday vespers, "The Lord is King; He is robed in majesty"!

In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

We have seen that in the Orthodox church, liturgical worship is the primary way we experience the Scriptures, express our faith and experience our relationship with God.  There is a dynamic relationship between the old and new covenant and our own participation in the Liturgy, a continuous interplay, an eternal present in which God acts.

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri draw on a number of themes today, including the prophets Habbakuk and Jonah, comic-con, compost and gardening - it all comes together, trust me!  They also discuss the beauty of reclaiming narrative theology, and whether or not bible study has a place in Orthodoxy.

In this seventh public season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Your Liturgical Bible that was previously only available to our patrons.  If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.  We would love to have you join our growing community!

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri discuss the different branches of ethics that many modern-day Christians subscribe to, and the ecclesial ethic that early Christians followed, an ethic which we should strive to return to. It is an ethic that is practiced, like one perfects their craft, until it becomes a habit, and habit becomes character, and character forms us to be people who will respond in any given situation by enacting the Kingdom, God’s shalom, God’s peace, for all of creation.

This series on Narrative Theology will centre around internalizing this ethic so that as the Church we can faithfully encounter every situation, including the situations that we never anticipated, without fear, because we’ll have become the right kind of people. God’s people.

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri explore the analogy of God's story as a five act play, where we have intimate knowledge of the three acts that have come before, book-ended by intimate knowledge of the final act, while in the midst of act four.  

As Christians we often look for a script, or mistakenly think we already have and know the script, when in reality this is an unscripted act.  We have to improvise.  With utter fidelity, we must receive the tradition that has been given us (acts 1-3), and honour the telos we are headed towards (act 5).  We must train, so that we instinctively react in the right way when faced with any given situation, to properly enact God's story in the world.

We make a mistake when we think of ethics as only being issues and struggles that interrupt our "normal life".  In fact, this view is entirely unbiblical and untraditional. We need to think of ethics as the ongoing practice of the Good, so that we have the instincts and habits in order so that we are always acting in accordance with our second nature, a second nature that has been formed by "doing all the drills", living the right way, as children of God being formed increasingly in His likeness.

What are these drills?  What habits do we need to work on?  How do we attain the disponibilité or relaxed awareness, that Sam Wells writes of? Listen in!

High and low status are neither good nor bad in and of themselves, but both are assumed as roles and can be used to move the narrative forward.  Status is also complex and is hardly fixed — it shifts backwards and forwards between high and low as we interact with others.

Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey explore examples of this status narrative in the Scriptures and in church history. As we continue on in the fourth act of this five act play, how do we assess and work out what role we as Christians have to address the world and the issues of the day? Spoiler: we don't always have to assume high status!

A ridiculous reply, without a doubt (especially taken out of context, but you'll have to listen to the podcast for that).  Tragically, the Church sounds precisely like this most of the time.  

A blocking response like this one is based on fear.  Fear that we cannot let go of control of the narrative, fear that the story will not unfold in the right way.  And what does that say about our ultimate trust in God?  

Accepting an offer, and moving the narrative forward, requires a "Yes, and..." response.  Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri discuss how to say "Yes, and..." and also whether there is a place for "no" within the model of accepting offers.

There is ultimately only one unquestionable given: God and His story.

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri discuss another maxim of improv theatre, "Don't be bound by your format", and reflect on the current debate in Canada about assisted suicide to illustrate why questioning givens is so vital.

Rather than focus on what the gift IS, or what the gift is FOR, or even whether it is good or bad, we can focus on what the gift COULD BE.  In the context of narrative theology, how can this gift be understood in a faithful way?  What does the way we accept the gift say about the kind of people that we are and want to be?  What can this gift become in the larger story of God as we move the narrative forward towards the final and fifth act?

Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey discuss the idea of "over-accepting", an active way of receiving that allows us to keep our identity and our relevance in the story, while being faithful to the story that has already unfolded and the story that is yet to come. 

As those lost things that we thought had been written out of the story start to re-appear, we must be aware of the final act drawing nearer, and as a church and as individuals joyfully incorporate those things back into the story. Are we listening to those once-silenced voices?  Are we befriending the lost? Are we changing our habits based on the full story instead of just the part of the story we have inherited?

Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey reflect on this and discuss ways of practicing "reincorporating the lost" so that it becomes a habit in our lives.

Our patrons chose transhumanism as the first topic: a vision of moving beyond the constraints of mortality, illness and suffering, eradicating poverty and scarcity, and enhancing our condition and current capabilities, through the use of science and technology.

Some Christians accept this without reservation as a rather hopeful vision of what's possible for humanity and other Christians move to block transhumanism immediately as incompatible and even Satanic.  What does it look like to over-accept instead, re-framing it within the fuller story of God?

When it comes to sex and gender, there are so many offers on the table, with unclear and changing definitions, and no scientific or sociological consensus, never mind a theological one.  Ultimately, however, every single one of those offers should be capable of being received and framed in the story of God.

The offer on the table today is: "Men and women, although biologically different, should not be constrained by gendered roles in society or expectations of behaviour and personality."  Most today would accept and agree with this egalitarian view, although many Christians would block in favour of a complementarian view.  How then do we move to over-accept this offer in light of what we have received from the first three acts and with the knowledge of what is to come?

In both accepting and blocking, it is taken as a given that one's biological sex predetermines what our gender role will be, and that in order to take on different gender roles, along with the accompanying psycho-social-cultural expectations, norms and behaviours, one must fight against nature.  It's time to question those givens!  

In fact, what we call gender, the church calls us to transcend.  As we hear from many of the Fathers, becoming properly human in the fullest sense means that we will no longer be male and female.  The challenge lies on us - we must question the ways we have essentialized sex and gender and return to the story we should have been telling all along.

The fact that it is still considered an issue is suggestive of how pervasive and insidious this narrative and its givens are in our culture, and how incredibly difficult it is to separate ourselves from it.  We may think that we are not just accepting (prosperity gospel!) or blocking (all materialism is evil!), but how are we actually living our lives?  What daily habits are we participating in that are forming us and our actions in the world?

As Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey look at wealth through the lens of narrative theology, we see how if we move to over-accept in the way Christ teaches us, questioning the givens and re-defining wealth, we will transform our perspective and focus and ultimately orient ourselves according to the Kingdom.

While we navigate and improvise the fourth act of this five act play, we must remain faithful to the first three acts as we move the story forward.  As the church we can find ourselves safeguarding what we have inherited, neither adding nor subtracting from it, so that when the fifth act comes, Christ will find His church preserved intact.  Yet are we not warned in the Parable of the Talents that this is not how we are meant to behave?

We need to be willing to "risk it", to act freely not through innovation but through a faithful renewal, anticipating already what God will reveal in the final act, to live and enact the Kingdom with confidence instead of fear.  Ultimately, living this way is not a risk at all, since our trust in God is complete, and the fifth act has already been secured.

In this new series, Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri plan to confront this disconnect and encourage us to renew our participation in the cycle of prayer that is already present and ongoing within the church. The liturgy of the hours is a beautiful collection of hymnody and psalmody, containing a narrative deeply connected to the scriptures and the wider story of God, comprised of seven services within the day - but wait! Before you say, "Seven services a day?! Nope! Sorry!", the purpose of this series is NOT to insist on adherence to overwhelmingly impossible standards, but to equip our listeners with the tools to flexibly and joyfully immerse themselves into the various cycles (daily, weekly, eight-weekly, annual and festal).

Enjoy it. Connect with it. It will be transformative!

View/download the PDF document that Fr Yuri prepared for catechumens interested in starting small with these services, which he wanted to share with our patrons. We hope that you will find it useful as you follow along through this series.

Far from suggesting that you do Vespers in your prayer corner at home exactly as it would be done in the church, Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri propose practical ways to take Vespers’ thematic psalm and hymn content and adapt it for home use. And please don't worry! If you're thinking that although you love the idea of doing the hours at home, the idea of carving out extra time is rather romantic but impractical, the trick is to take the things you're already doing throughout the day and turn it into prayer.    

It's in simplicity that this will find it's greatest impact and virtue in our lives. Start modestly, with a practice that you can keep habitually and faithfully, and it will become second nature — and transform you!

Far from mandating NO tv, NO YouTube, NO electricity immediately following your evening meal, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey suggest reasonable ways to mark this threshold between the busy-ness of our lives (with its bright lights, both natural and artificial, activity, food and entertainment) and entering into a reflective and meditative mood, putting both ourselves and our devices and our homes to bed.  No doubt this will transform your spiritual life and relationship with God, but also... you'll get a better sleep!

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri explore the history of how the midnight office developed, discuss an ancient sleep pattern that fell into disuse (thanks, Thomas Edison!), and suggest opportunities we might have to re-incorporate these prayers and hymns of watchfulness, vigilance and protection. Perhaps we should not aim to serve the Midnight Office, the way our modern schedules work, but we should be prepared to serve it nonetheless. This practice might just bring purpose and peace to your middle of the night wakefulness!

Thematically, Matins is the mirror image of Vespers, straddling the transition now from dark to light. This transition is a sacramental moment, a transformational act we are all invited to be the priests of, offering up the darkness that God would be able to do something within and through it, and turn it again into light. In essence, this is the Christian life!

Regardless of the time you rise, Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri offer practical advice for enacting this service, stilling ourselves in the midst of what is and what will come, turning to God and placing our trust utterly in Him.

At that transition moment between our morning routine and the launch into our day, with all that it shall bring, this is the opportunity to stand before God, pledging watchfulness and heedfulness to His word, acknowledging Him as the proper authority in all things. This is our baptismal pledge, that we would live our lives recognizing the Lord as King and God, and it is meant to affect every moment of every day.

Remember, even if you have only thirty seconds to mark the first hour — it will be worth it!

Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey discuss the themes of this hour (the trial of Christ, the tasting of the forbidden fruit and the coming of the Holy Spirit), and how we can reflect on them to reorient and recalibrate ourselves that we might approach the busy-ness of our day in the right spirit (pun intended!). 

Fr Yuri speaks from personal experience how helpful incorporating the Sixth Hour into his day has been, from being the main liturgical gathering when St Maria's first became a mission, to today. Even in our modern world, the practice of setting aside ten minutes in the middle of your day to fully read the Sixth Hour is... dare we say... achievable, and encouraged!

Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey remind us that these hours of prayer, properly appropriated and used during our day are crucial for our spiritual, mental and bodily well-being. Whatever we can do, even it it's just one memorized verse, if we do it right and do it habitually until it becomes instinctive and a part of how we live, our lives will be so much the better for it. In essence, as Orthodox we need to become "old clockists".

Fr Yuri's book recommendation: "Deep Work" by Cal Newport.

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri discuss the theme of each day of the week, how they relate to our human experience, and also offer practical advice on how to incorporate the themes into our home prayer life.

Remember, even if you could only spend 30 seconds, eight times a day, doing a simple act (lighting a candle ((this may be a sore spot for Fr Yuri, listen in to find out)), setting aside your devices, saying a troparion, with a word of prayer and a remembrance of God), this will be transformative of your human experience. Far more transformative, even, than if you spent half an hour or an hour every day charging through a bunch of texts without intention. What's important is the recovery of the connection to God's creation and its inherent cycles, daily, weekly and seasonal, and building a remembrance of God and our vocation as image-bearers.

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri also propose a new way to think of St Paul's call to "pray ceaselessly" that will take the world off your shoulders. You are not doing these prayers alone! In solitude, perhaps, but never alone.

As a Church, our response to the TRC (Truth & Reconciliation Commission) is long overdue, but the work has now begun. We will be looking for a multi-layered response: individual, liturgical, parochial and institutional. And since we as Orthodox are not good at "trendy", this response must not merely be a reflection of the time we find ourselves in. Rather, it must be based on a deeply thought out, theologically sound reflection, that will serve us through the ages.

Truly, this is no small task! But here we begin.

If we look honestly at the history of how Orthodox Christians have shared the Good News, we didn't always get it right, however we do have some shining examples of missionary saints that can serve as models to us. Sts Cyril and Methodius, for example, fought against the trilingual heresy to bring Christianity to the Slavs. Centuries later, and very ironically, St Stephen of Perm fought a similar "quadrilingual heresy" - you'll have to listen in to hear what that was about! When done right, as Orthodoxy spread, it was received and then indigenized into the new lands, using their own culture and traditions in order to tell the story in a way that would touch the hearts of their people. 

St Stephen of Perm in particular shows us not only how to bring the gospel to a new people, interfering as little as possible with their culture, language and traditions, but also models how to stand with them against those that would do them harm. In modern terms, he shows us how to be a true "ally".

Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey hold up to the light some of the stereotypical comments made by Orthodox Christians about this topic, with their blend of truth, myth, perspective and simplified history. "We weren't part of the residential school system or the sixties scoop. In fact, not only are we innocent of those charges, we should be praised for our part!" "For Orthodox, our first contact happened in Alaska. How is that relevant to the Canadian Orthodox Church?" "Won't a response at this point (so many years after the TRC) just be adding to so much noise?" "This isn't our cross to bear." "When does this end?!"

The truth is that we are coming rather late to the table - thank the Lord for welcoming those of us who come at the eleventh hour! - but the conversation is just beginning.

In this episode, we take a look at the statements made by other Canadian churches in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with the goals of taking the good, leaving the bad, and figuring out the proper response for our Canadian Orthodox Church. As we consider our own statement, Fr Geoffrey quotes from Samuel, that the Lord might also be with us and let none of our words fall to the ground!

It is important to recognize the strength and grace within our tradition to move this work forward. This is precisely in alignment with the Gospel and therefore with the Orthodox faith. It requires no change in practice, no rethinking of theology. Fr Yuri shares a beautiful analogy for the way different cultures and lands express Orthodoxy (don't miss this one!); as the Canadian Orthodox church we must learn how to express Orthodoxy in a Canadian/North American way.

In this thoughtful discussion, we consider the relationship between making amends on a personal and institutional level, our responsibility to speak out (not necessarily about the past, but certainly about present disparities and how to move forward), and we take a closer look at our motivation for responding to this issue at this time.

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri discuss the pitfalls of whataboutism, the church's precedent of speaking out about certain issues (and perhaps avoiding others), and the continued need for a coherent, modest and meaningful response to this particular issue, connected to concrete action.

Pointing to the work that is already ongoing in the in the life of the church, including (but certainly not limited to) the recent canonization of an indigenous saint, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey share their next steps as they prepare for the Archdiocesan council. 

By the prayers of Holy Mother Olga, may their work be blessed!

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri discuss why tensions might exist for some Orthodox when considering these terms, and also the way that our Orthodox perspective upholds and strengthens this language. We can think of rights as a gift of Christianity to the world, not an enemy theology. Instead of questioning the rights themselves, we must re-tether them to the theological tradition that gave rise to them. Responding in this way gives us a framework for discussion, a framework that is connected back to our wider story of God, and enables us to enact the Kingdom here and now.

It is beautiful and fitting that this episode was recorded on the anniversary of the first contact of the Russian mission in Alaska with Indigenous peoples, and published on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Glory to God!

We'd like to also acknowledge that Murray Sinclair passed into eternal rest the day before this episode was recorded, with many thanks to this great man for the work that he did towards Truth and Reconciliation. Clearly, the work is ongoing, and needs to be ongoing!

"You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews."

Our theology, our understanding of who God is, is mediated through the story of God and Israel. It is through the calling of a particular people, a particular nation, that all nations are saved. It is through God's interaction with this particular and imperfect people, that He reveals himself to be the God that we know and worship and ultimately recognize in the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the central story that we participate in and are grafted into. You can't have Jesus, and the Church, and its sacraments, and a spiritual life, and our destiny in the Kingdom of God, without grappling with the story of God and Israel.

Jesus of Nazareth was and is a Jew. In point of fact, he was a faithful and Torah-observant Jew and first century Rabbi. If we are interested in his teachings and his example, then we must understand he was a real person who lived in a real time within a real culture. It is impossible to understand his teachings without first understanding that he lived in fulfillment of Jewish tradition, not in rejection of it. The more we come to see this, the more we can fully live out our own Orthodox faith.

To miss this, and to separate ourselves from the story of God and Israel, is to put ourselves outside of the worship of the one true God - and surely we want to be counted as those who "worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews."

In this episode, Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri begin to discuss each clause and its deep connection with Jewish tradition, and how its themes ought to inform what it is we bring to prayer, both communal and personal.

Come back next week for part two! In the meantime, we would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.

We also discuss the etymology, and Jewish stories and traditions that might advocate for certain translations of the Lord's Prayer: using "debts" vs "trespasses", "temptation" vs "trial", or "evil" vs "evil one".

We've established during this series that Rabbinic Judaism and what came to be known as Christianity are the two forms of Judaism that emerged from the post temple, first century Jewish environment. Over the centuries and millennia, as these two traditions and theologies ceased to recognize each other as being from one family, this rhetoric that was once part of a family dispute, now takes on a different character.

When the Jew is no longer me, or my family, or the tradition I believe I'm part of, but rather the "other", we start to see the divisions and anti-Jewish stereotypes even in our teaching, preaching and worship. Jesus is no longer the quintessential Jew, living out the best of Judaism, but rather the rebel which saves us from the Law. We read back this othering and anti-Judaism back into the epistles and gospel teachings, and it becomes the seed bed from which antisemitism grows.

Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey explore the difference between anti-Judaism and antisemitism, parallel this whole othering process with marriage, separation and divorce, and also discuss Justin Martyr and his Dialogue with Trypho (both the good and the bad!).

Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey examine how it was not the theology that Jesus proclaimed that led to his execution, rather it was the authority that he claimed, as Son of Man, Son of God, that the leaders (both Jewish and Roman) objected to. The fact that he was indeed at the heart of his Jewish tradition and made those claims, made it all the more objectionable. He was not some crazy marginal figure that could easily be ignored. He knew what he was about.

We also take a look at the Jewishness of his followers, a ragtag collection that represent the various types of Judaisms of the first century, and the symbolism of choosing twelve men in particular.

This might be hard to take, as many of us grew up equating the word "pharisaic" with "hypocritical" - sadly, a definition that still can be found in the Oxford Dictionary. So what is it that the Pharisees believed, and how can we say that Jesus was one?

Today we'll do a deep dive into understanding the different Jewish groups that existed in Jesus' time. As we talked about in the last episode, Jesus drew his disciples from these various groups to show the renewal of all of Israel and the inclusiveness of his Kingdom.

We'll see how Christian theology picks up on some aspects of Sadducean, Essene and Zealot theology but is more like a sibling to Pharisaic theology. In fact, Christianity is super-Pharisaic, not anti-Pharisaic.

Fr Geoffrey explains how we can better understand this term within different contexts by exploring the history of Judeans, Galileans and other Israelites. We'll also see how in his gospel, John beautifully connects Jesus' words with the Jewish feasts that are occurring during his ministry (such as Passover, Purim, the Feast of Tabernacles, and the Feast of the Dedication), with Jesus riffing off these festal themes and calling people back to the true meaning of the feasts. Often connected to these feasts are the "I am" statements of Jesus, also uniquely found in John's Gospel.

The more we know about Jewish history, feasts and practices, the more the gospel comes to life!

Many Christians think that Jesus was rejected because he wasn't what the Jews had expected, for instance, a spiritual teacher instead of a military leader. On the contrary, Jesus touches on every single one of the messianic expectations - and that was the confusing part! Everyone had something to object to.

There was no prophetic messianic checklist with boxes that needed to be ticked off. There is so much more to it than that. We see that in Jesus, every aspect of the scriptures is fulfilled, every part of the history and life of Israel is taken up, recapitulated and lived out in its fulness in the life of Jesus.

Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey discuss all this, as well as the wrinkle in the story - if the Messiah has come, where is the messianic age?

We also learn about a canonized saint within the Orthodox tradition who is also a key figure in Jewish tradition, who held a senior position in the Sanhedrin, and is considered in the Mishnah to be one of the greatest Jewish teachers. 

At the time of Jesus, it was understood and accepted, even by Jews, that every nation was associated with multiple gods. Jews were not monotheist in that they believed there was only one god, rather they were set apart because they believed that their god was the one True God, the Most-High God, to whom all other gods were subject. It's more accurate to call the Jews monolaters, a people who would only offer worship (latreia) to their one true God.

Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey explore what it would have been like for the average everyday Jew to navigate this world of multiple gods, participating in society along with the nations, and also why it would have been difficult for early gentile Christians to adopt monolatry.

Clearly, there was a change of heart, but how can we properly understand this in light of what we have learned through this season so far? We discuss how, from Paul's point of view, his understanding of who God is, the covenant that He has made with His people, and the purpose of the covenant to bring in all the nations, is being fulfilled - not changed.

In this episode, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey discuss the Old Perspective on Paul, New Perspective, Fresh Perspective and Radical Perspective (also called "Paul within Judaism").

Paul insists that gentiles should no longer have to abide by the covenant markers in order to worship the God of Israel, but does it follow that he believed the Torah was now abolished? No, it was rather fulfilled in Jesus, and in the Messianic Age, the time has come for the nations to worship the one God as the nations.

The nations will be recognizable as nations because they don't give up their own cultural boundary markers in their worship of the one God, but have baptized them instead. What a beautiful image!

In this episode, Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri will be looking at different translations of the Bible, and the history behind those translations, when certain words were added and new meanings layered in. Our English translations are thoroughly infected by the Old Perspective that we discussed last time, and when we return to the Greek, in light of the Paul within Judaism Perspective, the complexion of the themes and metaphors are completely changed and make a whole lot more sense!

With a careful reading of the first three chapters of Paul's letter to the Ephesians, especially as we consider the pronouns used, we see a distinctness in terms of Jew and gentile, as we also witness them coming together. Emphasizing their distinctness does not deny their unity; on the contrary, their differentiated unity, and unified diversity, is cause for rejoicing!

Both are unique, and both are called to participate in the worship of the one true God, the Most High, enacting the Kingdom in their own particular ways. Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri explore why the call for the nations to worship in their own tongues, within their own cultural norms, is such a beautiful thing, and also discuss what changes for the Israelites with the coming of their Messiah.

The early Jesus followers were primarily Jews, continuing on in their Jewish faith and practice. They would not have thought of themselves as fundamentally departing in any way from what they believed before. They still believed in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and they would have still participated in temple worship.

Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey discuss what these believers would have added to or complemented their synagogue and temple practice with, the relationship between gentile believers and Jews, and how the destruction of the temple and then the fall of Jerusalem drastically changed the culture of the ecclesia.

We can consider this a case study into how Paul, a Pharisee who believes Jesus is the Messiah, engages with a pastoral topic in a community. We must bear in mind that this was a particular issue for a particular people in a particular place, that place being Corinth, a metropolis noted for its wild pagan culture. As a Pharisee, Paul is a follower of Torah who wants to see it applied contextually, in the current time and place, not because of religious conservatism, but because he is keen to see a real living and meaningful practice in people's everyday lives. Paul brings all of his Jewish tradition to bear, a deeply rich tradition that is complex, multi-faceted, storied and mythological. 

Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey cover the hierarchy of relationship, what it means for a woman to have "exousia" or authority and agency over her own personhood, the book of Enoch (a text which cannot be ignored), and the narrative accounts of Genesis that explain why Paul was concerned with angels and women in the act of worship.

If you think this episode got wild, just wait until the next episode! It will offer further cultural context in which what was covered becomes all the more pertinent, and even further removed from our contemporary mindset. It'll be a fun one!

Thankfully we don't need to accept first century Graeco-Roman medicine in order to be an Orthodox Christian, but we really should use this opportunity to be challenged - are we living our lives in a way that looks like we've been transformed by participating already in God's future kingdom? The way we dress, the clothes we choose to buy, the clothes we choose to store, it's so much more than modesty. For us, as for Paul, this must point to the primordial, cosmological battle that we're involved with at all times.

This is the first of three episodes discussing the "parting of the ways", the scholarly term for the process of the gradual distinction between what we now call Judaism and what we now call Christianity. This complicated process took place over a long period time; we can see its beginnings in the tensions of the New Testament, but its end point is probably a lot later than you would have imagined!

Of course, this is not just happening on one side! Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri also discuss how the compilation of the Mishnah by the end of the second century draws its own line in the sand as well. On the early Christian side, the focus is more on belief (the right way of thinking about who Jesus is), and on the other side, who can be considered to be part of the Jewish family.

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri discuss the theological debates on both sides that framed each group's view, along with Melito of Sardis, a church father of the 2nd century who could either be seen as the source of everything antisemitic, or as someone who saw himself as being part of the very family he was critiquing.

Can we say that the parting of the ways is complete, even in our time?

We jest! We have, however, come to a good time to pause and reflect on what we've discussed so far, before we return with a follow-up season later on. We also are sharing a talk that Fr Geoffrey gave at a conference titled "The Orthodox Church and the Shoah" which encapsulates what we've done so far, and looks ahead to what the implications are.

Who are we? Are we the new Israel? Or are we the gentiles that have come alongside Israel to worship the One True God? The answer to this question will frame how we move forward in our reflections, relationships and dialogue in this re-membering.

Please click the link to view the presentation by Fr Geoffrey: https://youtu.be/46zkjUGoSUU

Commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of many of the Nazi death camps in the final months of the Second World War, OTSA's working group Orthodox Christians in Dialogue with Jews (chaired by Fr Geoffrey Ready, Director of Orthodox Christian Studies at Trinity College) partnered in April 2025 with The Wheel journal, Volos Academy for Theological Studies, and ACER-MJO in hosting an online conference on “The Orthodox Church and the Shoah.”

This presentation on "The theological problem of the Shoah in Orthodox Christian tradition" was one of the introductory talks contextualizing the wider issues discussed during the conference.

1. How do the Synoptic Gospels and Acts portray early conflict between Christ-followers and synagogue authorities and in what way does John's Gospel deepen, reflect, or reinterpret this dynamic?
2. How can we responsibly talk about early Jewish opposition to the Jesus movement in a way that neither distorts history nor fuels anti-Jewish sentiment in our interpretation and preaching today?
3. What it would look like for the Church to fully embrace the self-critical stance of the Hebrew prophets? Not to accuse others, but to repent ourselves in our identification alongside and with Israel?