This concludes the asceticism portion of a catechetical series, following lessons on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It explores how everyday relationships train us to love through listening, patience, forbearance, and bearing one another's burdens. Drawing on Scripture and practical pastoral examples, it connects spiritual discipline with kindness, forgiveness, and gentle correction. It also explains how love can include clear boundaries and how repentance helps us take responsibility for our own conduct. I used an AI voice to read the essay summary of the class rather than publish the recording of the class because the class ending up covering some sensitive topics. Read the full essay at OrthoAnalytika.org.

II Corinthians 6:16–18; 7:1
Holiness is real, and the people around us live with the consequences of what we are becoming. Drawing on 2 Corinthians and Saint John Chrysostom, we explore how pride can corrupt even our good deeds—and how remembering Who dwells in us can teach us to repent, give with mercy, and become a blessing to our neighbors. You can read more on this at OrthoAnalytika.org. Enjoy the show!

What is our relationship with money teaching us to love? Fr. Anthony explores tithing and almsgiving as ascetic practices that expose our weaknesses and train us in generosity, self-control, and trust in God. Drawing on Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick's six reasons for tithing, he considers how giving supports parish ministry, how good work bears a double benefit, and why learning to receive can be as challenging as learning to give. This class was given at Christ the Saviour in Anderson, SC, on 24 September 2026.

Galatians 2:16-20; Mark 8:34-9:1

St. Paul teaches that the Law could protect, teach, and prepare God's people, but it could not give the new life that comes through Christ. The Orthodox Church gives us an extraordinary Way of prayer, fasting, worship, and tradition that forms us for holiness—but especially when we come to that Way later in life, we can be tempted to master its practices, turn the means into ends, and measure ourselves and others by them. On the Sunday after the Exaltation, we are reminded to be patient with the work of grace: the goal is not to become exceptionally good at being Orthodox, but to take up the Cross, follow Christ, and allow Him to reshape us into saints. You can find the entire text at OrthoAnalytika.org. Enjoy the show!

Fasting is about much more than changing what we eat: it is part of the Church's training in freedom. Drawing on Scripture, the ascetic tradition, and the image of musicians learning to listen, restrain themselves, and play in harmony, Fr. Anthony explores how fasting retrains our desires so that they no longer rule us. The goal is not deprivation or impressive self-control, but the freedom to love, to live in communion, and to join the beautiful music God is making of His creation. This is the recording of the class given at Christ the Saviour in Anderson SC on 9/16/2026. You can read an essay based on this talk at orthoanalytika.org.

Galatians 6:11-18; John 3:13-17
The bronze serpent was given by God for the healing of His people, but when Israel began treating the gift as though it possessed holiness in itself, Hezekiah destroyed it as Nehushtan—a mere piece of bronze. St. Paul confronts a similar temptation in Galatians, warning Christians not to mistake even good and God-given practices for the new life that comes only through union with Christ. This homily considers how Orthodox rituals, customs, cultures, and identities can form us in holiness without becoming substitutes for the One toward whom they are meant to lead us. You can read the full essay version of this homily at OrthoAnalytika.org. Enjoy the show!

This is a recording of the class given at Christ the Saviour in Anderson SC on 09/09/2026

Prayer is more than asking God for things; it is one of the primary means He has given us for learning to know Him and becoming capable of doing His will. Like practicing music or learning a vocation, a regular prayer rule gradually trains the intellect, disciplines our instincts and passions, opens the heart to God, and joins us more deeply to the common life of the Church. Through prayer, God does not simply change the circumstances around us—He changes us, so that we can participate more faithfully in His work of making the crooked straight and bringing His creation toward beauty, light, and love. You can find the full notes for this lesson at OrthoAnalytika.org. Enjoy the show!

In these excerpts from a teaching liturgy, Fr. Anthony reflects on St. Paul's command that all things in the Church be done "decently and in order," showing how liturgical discipline serves communion, healing, and holiness rather than mere conformity. From venerating icons and lighting candles to dressing modestly, singing together, moving during the services, and exchanging the kiss of peace (maybe - we'll see!), the rituals of the Church teach us how to live together as the Body of Christ. Good liturgical order is therefore less like a military parade than an orchestra or a dance: diverse people learning, through grace, to move together in harmony, beauty, truth, and love. Enjoy the show!