ON THE FIRST SUNDAY of the Great Fast our Church celebrates the triumph of Orthodoxy, the victory of true Christian teaching over all perversions and distortions thereof—heresies and false teachings. On the second Sunday of the Great Fast it is as though this triumph of Orthodoxy is repeated and deepened in connection with the celebration of the memory of one of the greatest pillars of Orthodoxy, the hierarch Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica, who by his grace-bearing eloquence and the example of his highly ascetic private life put to shame the teachers of falsehood who dared reject the very essence of.Orthodoxy, the podvig of prayer and fasting, which enlightens the human mind with the light of grace and makes it a communicant of the divine glory.

Homily – Don’t Ignore the Owner!

1 Corinthians 16: 13-24; St. Matthew 21: 33-42. In today’s Gospel, Christ is trying to help His listeners understand who He was, who sent Him, and why it was that the religious leaders rejected Him. As Christians, we grow up understanding that Christ is “God the Son”, the second person of the Holy Trinity; that […]

Orthodoxy and Sex I

Fr. Gregory Jensen, PhD and Fr. Anthony Perkins talk about Orthodox sexuality, chastity, celibacy, and abstinence.  Along the way they also discuss the negative effects the culture wars have had on Orthodoxy and pastoral care.  They hope to make this part of a series.  Warning: it’s hard to talk about this euphemistically.  Some graphic terms […]

Homily – What must I do (to thread the needle)?

Matthew 19:16-26 The quotes: If thou hadst ever had an absurd desire to fly and to be borne through the air, how wouldest thou extinguish this unreasonable desire? By fashioning wings, and preparing other instruments, or by convincing the mind that it is desiring things impossible, and that one should attempt none of these things? […]

Homily: Patterning Virtue through Liturgy

1 Corinthians 9:2-12; Matthew 18:23-35.  Fr. Anthony contrasts the way of the world with the Way of Christ, compares the wicked lender with the Passion-bearer Gleb, and encourages us to nurture the Logos within through Liturgy and prayer.  Enjoy the show! Check out this episode!

Homily – Second Anniversary in Waynesville NC

Fr. Anthony reminds the faithful at Holy Resurrection (Waynesville NC) or who they are, what they have been through, and what they are about.  Unity.  Enjoy the show! Check out this episode!

Homily – A Meandering Mess of Homily on Something or Other

1 Corinthians 3:9-17; Matthew 14:22-34.   Here’s the text of the homily I was going to give.  Instead of it, I preached on what “the day” has declared in our lives over the last couple of years.  It was partially prompted by recent events in Afghanistan (I worked the Afghanistan situation for several years as an […]

On the Duty of Withholding Sacraments

In this episode, Fr. Anthony and Fr. Harry address the often misunderstood necessity of withholding sacraments.  Framing it as a normal process (beginning with Baptism) allows us to see it less as a political power play or punishment (as the world would have us see it) and more as a valid and necessary part of […]

Homily – Discernment, Disagreement, and Division

1 Corinthians 1:10-18.  How do people dedicated to being One (as God is One) end up being “of” Paul, Apollos, and Cephas?  As we interact and baptize a culture, we are going to disagree about the utility of various symbols, ideas, etc in the local culture.  Disagreements are useful for discernment.  It’s when we dogmatize […]

Homily on Bearing the Burdens of the Weak can be Sustainable

Romans 15:1-7.  There is so much need in the world; how can we bear its burden without breaking down?  How does silencing/replacing the ego help solve the problem?   What is the role of Christ in this?  Enjoy the show! Check out this episode!

Homily on Truth, Politics, and the Babel Fish of Love

Romans 12:6-14.  Fr. Anthony reflects on the necessity of using the Babel Fish of Love (i.e. charity as a translation filter) when evaluating the truth claims of others, especially when they are using the vernacular of their own political tribe.  He also laments how we so easily moralize and dogmatize disputations about facts – an […]