Frederica Here And Now

Josh David Jordan, is a filmmaker and convert to Orthodoxy from St Seraphim Cathedral. Dallas is working on a movie about an abbott who is a fool-for-Christ. Josh got a lot of critical praise for his first movie, "This World Won't Break," which was screened at festivals around the world and won many awards. It is streaming now on every platform. Thanks to the positive response to "This World Won't Break," Josh was able to draw Hollywood professionals from every discipline to "El Tonto." It's an impressive film and I think will do much to introduce people everywhere to Orthodoxy. https://www.eltontoporcristo.com

Most people experience some fear of death. In this episode, I look first at "fear of the unknown" (exploring scriptures that might apply) and then at "fear of the known." I hope this helps alleviate some fears.

Listen to the final of five interviews Frederica has with monks from Holy Cross Monastery in Wayne, West Virginia.

Here's the fourth of five interviews Frederica has with monks from Holy Cross Monastery in Wayne, West Virginia.

Here's the third of five interviews Frederica has with monks from Holy Cross Monastery in Wayne, West Virginia.

Here's the second of five interviews Frederica has with monks from Holy Cross Monastery in Wayne, West Virginia.

Here's the first of five interviews Frederica has with monks from Holy Cross Monastery in Wayne, West Virginia.

The second-biggest problem Protestants have with Orthodox Christianity (after our love for Jesus' mother Mary) is our icons--not so much the fact of them, but the way we venerate them, bowing, kissing, and lighting candles. But they misinterpret those actions, which are simply continuations from an earlier time. I hope this video will help Protestants understand how we really relate to icons--with affection and honor, and not as objects of worship.

Frederica Mathewes-Green shares reflections about the Annunciation on the weekend of the Feast of the Holy Cross.

Frederica speaks with the Orthodox Christian Book Club about the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete and the topic of prayer.

Frederica Mathewes-Green shares a few words about the meaning of love.

Orthodoxy in America is in revival, and that makes it a lively place to be. In other times and places revival has been a temporary state, so it can’t be expected to last forever. At the moment, though, it’s a great time to become Orthodox.

Doxacon is a gathering of Orthodox Christians with an interest in fantasy, sci-fi, and gaming. This year they asked me to deliver the lay keynote (conference theme: "Making Virtuous Decisions in Fiction"), and I confessed that I don't know much about those popular forms of media. So we compromised. First, I speak about Charles Dickens, and how some non-virtuous personal decisions affected his life and his writing; then my son, Fr. Stephen Mathewes, relates the "virtuous decisions" question to some popular books, movies, and videogames. At the end I came back with a few thoughts about bees. Enjoy!

Frederica reads from and reflects on St. Basil the Great's writings on praying without ceasing.

Frederica shares the story of St. Gregory the Illuminator of Armenia on his feast day.

Frederica Mathewes-Green reads her essay, "Why They Hate Us."

Frederica Mathewes-Green shares the prayer titled St. Patrick's Breastplate.

Don't miss this rich and inspiring reading by Frederica Mathewes-Green of the entire Nativity Kontakion written by St. Romanos the Melodist and translated by Fr. Ephrem Lash. It was taken from the book On the Life of Christ: Kontakia, published in 1994.

So what about this star in the east? How important is it that we insist it be a real astronomical star?

Why does Jesus often tell people not to talk about their healings? I have a theory.