Ancient Faith Today

Dr. Daniel Fanous (Taught by God: Making Sense of the Difficult Sayings of Jesus) is Kevin's guest and he addresses the "difficult" sayings and parables of our Lord in the gospels based on his extensive study of the Torah, Mishnah, and the religious and cultural environment of first-century Palestinian Judaism and early Christianity.

Father John Strickland, Assistant Professor of History, St. Katherine College (Encinitas, CA), and assistant priest at St. John of Damascus Orthodox Church (Poway, CA), draws important parallels between the early Christian Church, confronting a pagan culture in the Roman Empire, and Christianity and life in a neo-pagan, postmodern North America and Western Europe in the 21st century.

On the most recent "Ancient Faith Today," The V. Rev. Fr Thomas Hopko, Dean Emeritus of St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, helped us understand how Orthodox Holy Tradition interprets and applies the prophetic texts of Scripture in light of the many modern-day "end times" interpretations, including the rapture (pre-Tribulation), the antichrist (the beast), millennialism, and much, much more.

Kevin's guest is the V. Rev. Fr. Tryphon, a monk for almost thirty years and the co-founder and abbot of All-Merciful Saviour Monastery on Vashon Island. They talk about all aspects of Orthodox Christian monasticism in the 21st century. Abbot Tryphon is heard on the Morning Offering podcast and can be read on his blog - The Morning Offering.

Kevin Allen's guest is Fr. Stephen Freeman, the pastor of St. Anne Orthodox Church in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and the host of the "Glory to God" podcast. They discuss the idea of "beauty" and its lack in our secularized culture, as well as how to live a sacred life in a secular culture.

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick is Kevin's guest as they discuss what it means to be a Christian in light of the thousands of Christian denominations. Fr. Andrew is the host of two podcasts on AFR and the author of the Conciliar Press book Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy.

Guest: On this day before US "Tax day," Fr. Michael Tassos and Kevin discuss the role of money and finance (and financial planning) in the Orthodox Christian life. Fr. Michael is a Senior Priest and Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Fr Laurent Cleenewerck, author of His Broken Body: Understanding and Healing the Schism between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches and the editor of the Eastern Orthodox Bible (EOB), discusses with host Kevin Allen papacy, primacy, and church as they are differently understood in both Catholicism and Orthodoxy.

Are Humans the Centerpiece of Creation? This episode deals with "Human Exceptionalism" and its threat by the animal and nature rights movements. Kevin Allens's guests are lawyer and award-winning author (and Orthodox Christian) Wesley J. Smith ("A Rat Is a Pig is a Dog is a Boy"), and Fr Christopher of New Skete monastery.

Dr Jeannie Constantinou, Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow, Theology, and Religious Studies, University of San Diego and AFR podcaster (Search The Scriptures), speaks with Kevin about all things biblical, and how the Orthodox Tradition relates to and interprets the Holy Scriptures.

Guest: Perry C. Robinson, the editor of the popular Orthodox theology blog Energetic Procession, will share his perspectives on the perennial heterodox idea that God will eventually save/liberate everyone and why there is such a vibrant theological conversation on this subject going on within segments of Evangelicalism (Rob Bell).

Chris Ionna Holland, an ex-Evangelical who was drawn to Mormonism as a teenager and (later) returned to her traditional Christian roots before becoming an Orthodox Christian (and taught how to evangelize Mormons), and Andrew Gusty (M.D.), a cradle Mormon, Temple worthy, an LDS High Priest, and Second Counselor to the Bishop, discuss their unique perspectives with Kevin Allen about Mormon theology, doctrines, and practices, as well as why they left the Mormon faith and became Eastern Orthodox Christians.

Kevin talks with five-time Emmy Award-winning actor Jonathan Jackson—who can currently be seen on the ABC primetime drama Nashville—about his faith journey to the Eastern Orthodox Church, how he balances his faith life with his daytime job, and why he gave a public "shout out" to the monks of Holy Mount Athos when he received his recent Emmy Award!

Guest: The V. Rev. Patrick Henry Reardon, pastor of All Saints Antiochian Orthodox Church, Senior Editor of Touchstone magazine, AFR podcaster, and author of the newly released The Jesus We Missed: The Surprising Truth About the Humanity of Christ, speaks about the often misunderstood human nature of Christ just two days before His Advent celebration!

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos, Ancient Faith Radio podcaster and the parish priest of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Winnipeg, Canada, and Matthew Namee, a Founding Director of The Society for Orthodox Christian History in the Americas, speak about this vexing and all-too-pervasive reality—and obstacle to evangelism—in the Orthodox Church.

Guest: Joel Miller, author of the recently published Lifted by Angels: The Presence and Power of Our Heavenly Guides and Guardians discusses with Kevin Allen and the callers the reality and role of angels within the Christian salvation context.

Guest: Deacon J. Mark Barna, author of A Christian Ending: A Handbook For Burial in the Ancient Christian Tradition, speaks about dying, death, the movement toward natural burial, and dealing with grief from the perspective of the ancient Orthodox Christian tradition.

Fr. Josiah Trenham, member of the Secretariat of the Canonical Assembly of Orthodox Bishops of North and South America and podcaster on Ancient Faith Radio ("The Arena") talks with Kevin and the listeners about the Church today, its standing in the culture, and the recent work of the Canonical Assembly of Orthodox Bishops in America, which just met for the third time in September.

Kevin interviews Fr. Evan Armatas who will host a brand new call in program starting November 18 and then be heard the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month. This program will offer an "open line" to any question about Orthodoxy and the Bible and then a podcast will be available to download shortly after each program. A few calls came in even on this program to give us a taste of the format.

Amir Azarvan, progressive economic political science lecturer at Kennesaw State University and William Hinkle (SbDn Basil), Minority Whip in the Washington state house, speak about how their shared Orthodox faith has shaped some very different political thinking.