A Word from the Holy Fathers

In this week’s episode, Archimandrite Irenei explores St. John of the Ladder’s beautiful testimony of repentance as "the daughter of hope and the renunciation of despair." What is the nature of such repentance, and how does it raise up the Christian to "a sure resurrection"?

Focusing on a text by St. Hilary of Poitiers, Fr. Irenei explores the Saint’s conviction that the multitude of heresies and errors surrounding us in the world are not to be feared or to become a cause for despair, for through their very error the Truth of Christ is revealed all the more in the Church.

In the second part of his reflection on St. John Chrysostom’s famed Nativity Homily, Fr. Irenei examines the concluding segments of the sermon, in which the Saint draws our hearts into the experience of the One who brought joy into the midst of the earth.

Beginning a two-part reflection on the famous Nativity Homily of St. John Chrysostom, this week Archimandrite Irenei examines sections of this most-exalted sermon that deal with the unexpected wonder of our salvation, wrought of the spotless offering of the Virgin.

This week, Archimandrite Irenei examines a text by St. Mark the Ascetic in which the Christian is enjoined to "give himself entirely to the Cross," undergoing "with joy" the abasement that it brings. Do we live our lives in this way? Can we claim to be what St. Mark terms "true Christians"?

Taking up a passage from the writings of St. Theophan the Recluse, Archimandrite Irenei examines the nature of human freedom, not as a thing good in itself, but which is to be sacrificed as a perfect offering to God.

Drawn from a remarkable passage from St. John of the Ladder, Archimandrite Irenei examines the crippling effect of spiritual fear on the life of the Christian, and draws from the saint’s guidance the help towards overcoming it with a trustful love in the power of God.

This week’s broadcast focuses on an episode from the Life of St. Anthony the Great, in which the saint, seeking solace in his spiritual struggles, receives an angelic testimony to the way of salvation. Has this message something to teach the Christian struggling in the world today?

In a remarkable text by St. Macarius, the Christian is told that if he sees an arrogant man perform miracles, "even raise the dead," he should not follow. This week, Fr. Irenei explores what this message means for the Orthodox Christian, and how the good works of God are to be stored up secretly in the loving Christian heart.

In this week’s broadcast, Archimandrite Irenei considers Homily 19 on St. Matthew’s Gospel by St. John Chrysostom, exploring the richness of what calling God "our Father" means for our relationship both to Him and to one another as brethren.

Drawn from one of the sayings of the Desert Fathers relating to the life of Abba Ammon, this week’s episode focuses on the question of our attentiveness to God, in the Divine Services as well as in our whole life. Where is our mind—where our heart? Do we not know that we stand in His presence, speaking to Him?

This week, Fr. Irenei reflects on one of the "Steps" from St John Klimakos’s Ladder to Paradise, in which the saint considers the life of the Christian and the judgement of others. Have we begun to live the life of repentance? Or does our judgement of our neighbor reveal that we have yet to grasp the true nature of our sin, and make a true beginning of abandoning it in Christ?

Beginning the second series of "A Word From the Holy Fathers," Archimandrite Irenei calls upon the spiritual homilies of St. Makarios the Great, reflecting on the saint’s profound question, "Do you wish to be a friend of God, and a brother and son of Christ?" What does it mean to be God’s "friend," and how should this affect how we see ourselves—and what God requires of us—as Orthodox Christians?

We conclude the first series of A Word From the Holy Fathers with this fiftieth episode, in which Fr. Matthew examines a poignant reflection on "the wonder of the Incarnation" by St. Gregory of Nazianzus. The broadcast concludes with a small announcement about the conclusion of this series, and advance notice of its return with a new series in a month's time.

In a broadcast for the Feast of the Nativity According to the Flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ, we reflect on two hymns of St. Ephrem the Syrian and a portion of a homily by St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco on the glory of the night of Christ’s full revelation.