Come Receive the Light

June Theme - BeingHeard

Dandelions for Dinner

Join us this week for a truly amazing account of war, family, loss and faith. Sam Stamatis joins us to talk about his autobiography, written about his early teenage years in Greece during World War II. He’s joined on the show by his son, Peter, who first encouraged him to write down some stories from his childhood. To learn more about the book Dandelions For Dinner, visit www.dandelionsfordinner.com. But first, we’ll hear from Metropolitan Tikhon, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, on the Sunday of the Holy Cross in this third installment of his six-part Lenten series. Plus, get an update on the persecution of Christians in Pakistan. You’ve heard about it on the major news stations, but now get an insider’s look from an Orthodox priest who has been ministering to our brothers and sisters in Pakistan.

Are you a fan of the Orthodox Christian Network? Then please share our Come Receive the Light page with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, +Google, and Linked In. A world in crisis needs to find its way to our Lord Jesus Christ.   Click here to learn more about our theme for the month of April. 

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Phone Interview with Nia Vardalos

On April 12th, join Fr Chris Metropulos for a video interview with actress Nia Vardalos, star of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and author of Instant Mom. You won't want to miss this candid discussion of adoption, parenting, and faith! Stop by the site this week for a phone interview that's sure to pique your interest!

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April 2013 - Personal Narratives of Faith

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1.

From the desk of Father Chris Metropulos, Executive Director of the Orthodox Christian Network

Dear Faithful,

The month of April presents us with so many opportunities to remember and cherish what is precious about our faith. Today, at least in America, we have the freedom to worship as we choose in the church we choose.  Do we sometimes forget that not everyone is so blessed? Listen this month to the voice of an Orthodox priest serving in Pakistan. We have kept his identity a secret to protect him and his sacred work. But on our broadcast, you can hear his voice and learn how his faith causes him to risk everything in order to spread the gospel.  

We are going to look deeper though this month.  It is not enough to wear our faith on our shirt sleeves. Faith must give birth to action. How does your faith live in your actions? What have you done to draw closer to what is most important? As you listen this month, you can ask yourself these questions as you listen to our guests describing their own journeys of faith. One guest you know well: Nia Vardalos, the star of the blockbuster movie, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”  Nia will share with us her personal story of faith and her recent adoption of a young child. You may be surprised at how many things you have in common with her as she tells her story.

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Personal Journey to Orthodoxy

CRTL JourneyMetropolitan Tikhon, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, joins us for the second part of his 6-week look at the Sundays of Great and Holy Lent. He speaks this week about the Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas. Plus, how did a New Age seeker wind up in the Eastern Orthodox Church? Tune in this week as we begin our month-long look at personal narratives of faith. We begin with Veronica Hughes, who began her spiritual journey as a Roman Catholic, then turned to alternative medicine treatment, the teachings of a guru, meditation, Eastern religions, and metaphysics. What brought her to Orthodoxy over a decade ago? You’ll have to tune in to find out!

Are you a fan of the Orthodox Christian Network? Then please share our Come Receive the Light page with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, +Google, and Linked In. A world in crisis needs to find its way to our Lord Jesus Christ.   Click here to learn more about our theme for the month of April. 

Click below to listen to this week's Come Receive the Light program.

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Sundays of Great and Holy Lent, Part 1

This week, CRTL is pleased to introduce the first in a 6-part series with Metropolitan Tikhon, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America. Join us over the next 6 weeks to hear his thoughts on each of the Sundays of Great and Holy Lent, beginning this week with Sunday of Orthodoxy. We'll also hear about the significance Patriarch Bartholomew's attendance at Pope Francis' installation from Fr. Mark Arey of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. And, in our final March segment on New Beginnings, assistant director of Orthodox Christian Prison Ministries Fr. Steven Powley will talk about the impact of a prison sentence on not only the individual, but also the family. To learn more, visit www.theocpm.org.

Are you a fan of the Orthodox Christian Network? Then please share our Come Receive the Light page with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, +Google, and Linked In. A world in crisis needs to find its way to our Lord Jesus Christ.   Click here to learn more about our theme for the month of March. 

Click below to listen to this week's Come Receive the Light program.

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Parenting

We’ll continue our monthly theme of New Beginnings with Dr. Randa Anderson of the Orthodox Christian Counseling Institute, here to talk with us about the many ways in which parenting offers us the chance to begin again. To learn more about the Orthodox Christian Counseling Institute, visit their website, www.occiservices.org. Visit the OCN Amazon store to purchase your copy of the books mentioned during this program. But first, we’ll hear from Mary Bochanis, an Orthodox Christian who works with US Veterans to help them start a new life after they return from war.

Are you a fan of the Orthodox Christian Network? Then please share our Come Receive the Light page with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, +Google, and Linked In. A world in crisis needs to find its way to our Lord Jesus Christ.   Click here to learn more about our theme for the month of March. 

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Preparing for Great and Holy Lent

As we prepare for the beginning of Great and Holy Lent, many of us are already answering questions from non-Orthodox friends and family about why we aren't celebrating Easter on the same date this year. How many of us know the answer? Director of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America’s Department of Religious Education, Tony Vrame, joins us to explain the reason for the difference in dates and to offer some advice on explaining it to others. But first, we'll hear about religious cleansing happening right now in Turkish-occupied Cyprus from Dr. Elizabeth Prodromou. To learn more, visit www.hellenicleaders.com.

Are you a fan of the Orthodox Christian Network? Then please share our Come Receive the Light page with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, +Google, and Linked In. A world in crisis needs to find its way to our Lord Jesus Christ.   Click here to learn more about our theme for the month of March. 

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New Beginnings - March 2013

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. I John 1:1.

From the desk of Father Chris Metropulos, Executive Director of the Orthodox Christian Network

Dear Faithful,

It is time for a new beginning in the way we treat others and especially in the way we speak about God. Since when did it become acceptable to blaspheme God? Yet that is exactly what happened just a few weeks ago in a skit on Saturday Night Live.

This entire month at OCN, we will be talking about new beginnings, but we will be doing so in the light of the fact that the church has been doing this for decades. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. (1 John 1:1) As Jesus Christ Himself represents a new beginning for the world, we are called this Great Lent to start a new beginning in our spiritual lives and in our walk towards salvation.

We are doing this in the light of possibly one of the most blasphemous skits ever to be seen in modern times that recently was presented on the popular and award-winning program, Saturday Night Live out of NYC. True confessions--I am a native New Yorker and a long-time viewer of Saturday Night Live from the time of its inception. It was a new beginning decades ago for late night television comedy when SNL first debuted. But I am afraid that new beginning has turned into a dead end with their last offering that is offensive to anyone who is a Christian, no matter what denomination.

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New Beginnings: The Prodigal Son

Jennifer Hock, the organizer of OCN's upcoming webinar "Enriching our Church School Classrooms" tells us about the many speakers lined up for that March 9th event. We'll also take a first look at our monthly theme of “New Beginnings” through the lens of this Sunday's Gospel: The Prodigal Son. Fr. Barnabas Powell of Sts. Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene Church in Cumming, Georgia, joins Father Chris to talk about the many lessons of this beloved parable.

Are you a fan of the Orthodox Christian Network? Then please share our Come Receive the Light page with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, +Google, and Linked In. A world in crisis needs to find its way to our Lord Jesus Christ.   Click here to learn more about our theme for the month of March. 

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Intercessory Prayer

Have you ever wondered why Orthodox Christians ask the Saints for intercession? Or why we pray for the forgiveness and salvation of those who have already passed away? On this week's program, Dr. David C. Ford, a professor of church history at St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary, explains why these practices are Biblical and fully part of the ancient Christian faith. Also, Dr. Maria Khoury is an Orthodox Christian who has lived with her husband for almost 18 years in the Palestinian occupied territory and talks with us about their day-to-day struggles in that part of the Holy Land.

Are you a fan of the Orthodox Christian Network? Then please share our Come Receive the Light page with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, +Google, and Linked In. A world in crisis needs to find its way to our Lord Jesus Christ.   Click here to learn more about our theme for the month of February. 

Click below to listen to this week's Come Receive the Light program.

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Memorize, Meditate and Apply

This week on CRTL, we’ll hear about the first Family Life/All-Auxiliaries Conference of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America, taking place July 4-7 in Grass Lake, Michigan. For more details on the conference, please visit www.roea.org. Then we’ll join Dr. Bradley Nassif, Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at North Park University, as he and Fr. Chris discuss the importance of not just reading scripture, but memorizing it. Visit www.navpress.org to learn more about memorizing scripture.

Are you a fan of the Orthodox Christian Network? Then please share our Come Receive the Light page with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, +Google, and Linked In. A world in crisis needs to find its way to our Lord Jesus Christ.   Click here to learn more about our theme for the month of February. 

Click below to listen to this week's Come Receive the Light program.

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