A Word from the Holy Fathers
Latest Episodes
The Contours of Christian Love
Can one call oneself a Christian without love? And what is the nature of the love we are called to show our neighbors? In this week’s episode, Archimandrite Irenei examines four patristic passages on love, and asks the question: What is it about Christi
From the Bone of Adam: St. Irenaeus on the Creation of Eve
The Genesis account of Eve being created from the rib of Adam has, throughout history, often been interpreted in negative ways. In this week’s broadcast, through a brief text by St Irenaeus of Lyons, Archimandrite Irenei examines a patristic vision of t
Back to Forgiveness
We look again at the theme of forgiveness in the writings of the Fathers—with an eye particularly toward practical injunctions on forgiveness and the relationship of repentance, forgiveness, and redemption in quotations from a variety of patristic sourc
“God Is There, Where the Understanding Does Not Reachâ€
In this episode, Archimandrite Irenei returns to the Life of Moses by St Gregory of Nyssa, and examines a key passage in which the Saint compares the ascent of spiritual life to Moses’s ascent of Mt. Sinai. What does it mean to ascend into "darkness," t
St. John Chrysostom: Practical Guidance on Dealing with Others
St. John Chrysostom’s preaching is filled with practical advice on living a Christian life in the world, and in this broadcast we look at four sayings in which he addresses commonplace issues in the Christian’s dealings with others: combating envy, ov
St. Nicholas Cabasilas on the Trisagion Hymn
In this episode, Archimandrite Irenei explores the commentary on the "Holy God…" by the 14th-century Byzantine lay theologian, St Nicholas Cabasilas. What is the significance of this ancient hymn of glorification of the Trinity? This episode features po
St. Gregory of Nyssa on Emulating the Fortuitous Birth of Moses
In the first sections of the second book of his Life of Moses, St. Gregory of Nyssa instructs that Christians are to "emulate the fortuitous birth of Moses"—but how can this be done? Is not birth outside the realm of a person’s control? In examining t
The Heritage of St. Paul in Orthodox Spirituality - Part 2
This week we broadcast the second half of our lecture on the heritage of St Paul in Orthodoxy, given recently in Manchester, UK, to a largely non-Orthodox audience. In this portion, Archimandrite Irenei focuses on St. Paul’s injunction to "pray without
The Heritage of St. Paul in Orthodox Spirituality - Part 1
In this first half of a lecture recorded live in commemoration of the "Pauline Year," celebrating 2,000 years since the birth of the Apostle, Archimandrite Irenei explores the heritage of the great missionary saint in Orthodoxy. Drawing connections to Eld
The “Wonderful and Confessedly Striking†Christian Manner of Life
Examining a passage from the anonymous second-century Epistle to Diognetus, Archimandrite Irenei explores the witness borne by the early Christian community and asks: does it reflect our Christian testimony today?