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.

Glory to God Who Has Shown Himself to Us: St. Ephrem and St. John on the Nativity

In this season of Christ’s incarnate coming in the flesh, we take a moment to reflect, through the words of St. Cyril of Alexandria, on the role of the Virgin Theotokos in the nativity of the true God, Jesus Christ.

Remembering the Mother of God: St. Cyril on the Theotokos and the Incarnation

Archimandrite Irenei examines a sermon by St. Leo of Rome, normally read in the season of Pascha, yet which sheds great light on the coming of the Lord, and the pastoral message to be gleaned from the intense theological disputes about Christ’s natures that raged in the early Church.

The Coming of the Lord - St. Leo the Great

Nicholas Cabasilas

In every age, there is the temptation to doubt the Mysteries of the Church—to question how it is that the faithful should remain secure in believing that Christ makes Himself truly present in Body and Blood at the Holy Table. In this week’s episode, Archimandrite Irenei examines an extended text by Nicholas Cabasilas on the substance of our faith in the Mystical Supper.

St. Nicholas Cabasilas on the Assurance of the True Body and Blood

Abba Poemen

In this week’s broadcast, Archimandrite Irenei examines three sayings by Abba Poemen ("The Shepherd") of Egypt on the means by which the hardest heart can be softened by the Lord.

Abba Poemen the Great: On Softening the Hardest of Hearts

What has a man whose obedience once caused a barren stick to blossom forth a tree in the desert to tell us today about the life of virtue? Is it possible for man today to partake of all the virtues? In this week’s broadcast, Archimandrite Irenei examines two sayings of Fr. John the Short of Egypt on the accessibility of all the virtues through the foundation of the love of neighbor.

St. John the Dwarf: A Life of All the Virtues

John Chrysostom

In this week’s broadcast, Archimandrite Irenei offers a reflection on a selection of sayings of St John Chrysostom on the pastoral nature of fasting as an act of charity. In what sense does our fast minister to our neighbor?

St. John Chrysostom on the Charity of Fasting

St. John of the Ladder, whom we normally read during Great Lent, is a Father who offers practical guidance to Christian life of every moment. In this week’s broadcast, Archimandrite Irenei explores a series of passages from Step 1 of St John’s Ladder to Paradise, on the specific issue of the universal calling of the Christian life, coupled with the need for each person to seek out a suitable way of life for the spiritual struggle to be exercised.

St John of the Ladder on Seeking a Suitable Way of Life

What are we to make of the Genesis account of Cain and Abel? In this broadcast, Archimandrite Irenei examines a portion of St Cyprian of Carthage’s treatise on the Lord’s prayer that shows forth Abel as the first martyr, the example of true self-sacrifice. And it is a lesson with a practical aim: the quenching of anger and hatred, and the discovery of a life offered more wholly to God.

St. Cyprian on Cain, Abel, and True Self-Sacrifice

Among the greatest struggles in the Christian life are the "little things"—the day-to-day "bad habits" by which we continually fall, and which seem to trap us in our sin. Is there a way out? In this week’s episode, Archimandrite Irenei examines the Fathers on sin as habits, how these habits enslave us—and most importantly, how we can overcome our shackles and progress toward the Kingdom.

Defeating the Slavery of “Bad Habits”

Reflections on Orthodoxy in its Patristic and Monastic Heritage - The "A Word from the Holy Fathers" Podcast offers a weekly reflection on the writings of the Church Fathers, their significance, and their insights for the life of Orthodox Christians in every age.

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Wrong category

A Word from the Holy Fathers

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, overcoming offence, learning to conquer anger with love, and living in unity to the glory of God.

St. John Chrysostom: Practical Guidance on Dealing with Others

Attentive

In the first of a three-part series on St Basil's Homily on the words "Be attentive to yourself," Fr. Matthew examines the way in which this great Cappadocian Father reveals the depth of meaning behind the short command from Deuteronomy. What has attentiveness to one's self to teach us about the different types of sin we are prone to commit, and the ways they can be prevented?

St. Basil the Great on Moses’s Words: Be Attentive to Yourself - Part 1

Fr Dcn Matthew explores the homilies of St Symeon on man and creation, and in particular the way in which the Christian response to ecological concerns resides in the theology of sacrifice and the participation in divine Communion - including brief remarks from a recent talk by Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia.

Creation and Sacrifice in St. Symeon the New Theologian

Gregory Palamas

The New Testament Decalogue of St Gregory Palamas - who is commemorated during this third week in Great Lent - contains precious testimony to the use of icons in prayer, and the manner in which they bring the heart into a new relationship of love. In our broadcast this week, Fr. Dcn. Matthew explores St Gregory's words, and the pastoral dimension of the Church's iconic tradition.

St. Gregory Palamas on Icons as Tools for the Heart

Why did God become man? This week's reflection explores St Athanasius's consideration of the Son's incarnation as a response to his probing refrain, in the face of man's sin: "What was God to do?"

St Athanasius: “What was God to do?”

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"?

Repentance: The Daughter of Hope

This week, in anticipation of Forgiveness Sunday, Fr. Dcn. Matthew explores a series of patristic texts that deal with the imperative of forgiveness, and the need to forgive as the gateway into the life offered by Christ in the Church.

Shall We Forgive? The Fathers on Forgiveness as the Gateway to Salvation

Special extended-length broadcast; part 1 of 2. 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, Fr. Dcn. Matthew explores the heritage of the great missionary saint in Orthodoxy. Drawing connections to Elder Joseph the Hesychast of Mount Athos, St Symeon the New Theologian, and other great figures of the Orthodox tradition, this first portion of the lecture addresses questions of conversion and relationship, and how St Paul's example is at the heart of living Orthodox Tradition.

Special extended-length broadcast; part 1 of 2.<br> <br>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, Fr. Dcn. Matthew explores the heritage of the great missionary saint in Orthodoxy. Drawing connections to Elder Joseph the Hesychast of Mount Athos, St Symeon the New Theologian, and other great figures of the Orthodox tradition, this first portion of the lecture addresses questions of conversion and relationship, and how St Paul's example is at the heart of living Orthodox Tradition.

The Heritage of St. Paul in Orthodox Spirituality - Part 1

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 sources. Archimandrite Irenei also introduces the Patristic Quotations Topical Index.

Back to Forgiveness

St. John Chrysostom’s 19th homily on St. Matthew’s Gospel account addresses Christ’s promise of open rewards for secret acts—but what does this mean? In this broadcast, we explore the words of St. John on secret acts of virtue being shown forth "in the presence of the whole universe."

The Father who Seeth in Secret Shall Reward Thee Openly

In the final of our three-part series on St Basil's reflection on Moses's words, Fr Matthew explores the saint's culmination on the theme: Can we come to know not only ourselves, but also God and the whole of His creation, through adhering to Moses's command?

St. Basil the Great on Moses’s Words: “Be Attentive to Yourself” - Part 3

Reflections on the poems of St Gregory of Nazianzus, including his poems for morning and evening, of sin and of redemption; with a comparison to the hopeful proclamation of the funeral songs of the Church.

The Theological Poetry of St. Gregory the Theologian

This week, Fr Matthew explores two passages - one by St John of Karpathos, and the other by St Ambrose of Milan - on the nature of the continual falling down and rising up of repentance, examining the question: how is the Christian person to respond to continual failings in his attempts to live a holy life?

Rising in Repentance

How does one attain spiritual wisdom? This week offers reflections grounded in the sayings of St Isaac of Syria, on wisdom approached through humility, prayer in the scriptures, and love of neighbor.

St Isaac of Syria on the Approach to Spiritual Wisdom

In this week's broadcast, Fr. Dcn. Matthew examines three sayings by Abba Poemen ("The Shepherd") of Egypt on the means by which the hardest heart can be softened by the Lord.

In this fourth week of the Great Fast, when the Church commemorates the universal adoration of the precious Cross, our broadcast looks at an important passage by St Symeon the New Theologian, on being joined to the suffering Christ and so attaining the"impossible beauty" of His glory. We ask with the saint: how shall we approach such glory?

St. Symeon the New Theologian on the “Impossible Beauty” of the Life in Christ

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