The Orthodox Christian Network Blog

You may have seen this ad in the Christmas edition of the Orthodox Observer:

 

That's right: OCN is giving away a FREE iPod, loaded with Orthodox music, as part of Share the Light Sunday 2009, a SCOBA-sponsored event intended to raise awareness and funding for the Orthodox Christian Network.

 

HOW CAN I REGISTER TO WIN?

1. By signing up for our free weekly eNewsletter.
2. By encouraging your friends, family and fellow parishioners to do likewise!

 Fr. Chris offers viewers a glimpse of the OCN studios, where we produce 12 podcasts and one nationally syndicated radio show. Every donation that we receive to support this ministry before the end of the year WILL BE DOUBLED!

Click here for more info.

There aren't many situations in which it's good to be called a fool —  except in one little-known category of the Christian spiritual tradition: The fool for Christ.

His Excellency's lecture delivered at Seattle Pacific University.

This nicely produced documentary, entitled Living Waters: Saving our Seas and Rivers, looks at the environmental work of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. It's now available from goarch.org. 

 Watch Now »

Many of the Holy Week services are available for streamling and download by visiting our Holy Week archive.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, whose many literary works did more than any single author's in the 20th century to introduce the West to Orthodox faith and culture (among other things), died on Sunday at the age of 89.

If you haven't done so already, be sure to read his noted -- perhaps infamous -- address to the Harvard graduates of 1978, in which he said:

The numbers are astounding. According to a variety of surveys conducted over the last few years, the average American teenager spends more than 72 hours a week using "electronic media."

That's 3 whole days!

While that alone should catch the attention of any clergyman or religious educator, the numbers themselves don't tell the full story of teenage media usage, most especially when it comes to the Internet, cell phones, iPods and video games.

 Not perfect, but wouldn't it be great if every local Orthodox parish could generate thoughtful coverage on local TV stations?

A truly beautiful documentary, which provides the viewer with stunning shots of Meteora from above, as well as insight into the history, worship and spirituality of the second largest complex of Orthodox Christian monasteries in the world.

More about Meteora available here.

An Easter song performed by the musical orchestra ''Stupovi'' and various Serbian singers and celebrities. The video is dedicated to the resurrection of Christ, made as part of a campagin to raise funds for reconstruction of a medieval Serbian Orthodox monastery named ''Pillars of Saint George.''

The lyrics are taken from a poem by St. Nikolai Velimirovich, one of the great Serbian saints of the modern era.

Yesterday, the Orthodox Church celebrated Palm Sunday. During the Divine Liturgy at St. Demetrios Church, Fr. Chris Metropulos delivered a special homily for Palm Sunday entitled "What Kind of King Do We Woship?" Click here to watch the Divine Liturgy, and fast-forward to 1:38:05 to watch the sermon. This file require RealPlayer to view. WATCH NOW >>

Our new television series on Orthodox faith and life in the modern world is here! The first episode features an interview with His Grace Bishop Savas of Troas on religious freedom and the Ecumenical Patriarchate. This Webcast is currently available in RealPlayer format. Click here to download Realplayer for free if you don't already have it. WATCH NOW >>

A few years ago, when I was working as a reporter at a small daily paper, my editor asked me to write a story about a local church. She handed me a press release, which explained that this church was putting together a public event for the community, and told me to type something up.

I immediately jumped on my computer and looked for the church's Web site.

Nothing.

 

Watch noted Orthodox Christian evangelist Fr. Peter Gillquist as he delivers a sermon to the community of St. Mark in Boca Raton, Fla. Watch Now >>

This is Part 1 of an incredible, extremely well done documentary on the sufferings endured by many Orthodox Christians under the Communist government of Romania. Three prison survivors, including the well known priests Fr. Roman Braga and Fr. George Calciu, speak about their experiences and their faith.

This commemorative video is a tribute to Archbishop Demetrios of America on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of His Eminence's ordination to the Episcopacy. The video was originally presented at the annual Athenagoras Human Rights Award Banquent in October 2007, at which time the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate honored His Eminence with this pretigious award. WATCH NOW >>

Rev. Fr. Stevan Bauman, priest of Joy All Who Sorrow Orthodox Church in Indianapolis, IN, talks about the teachings of early Christianity and the spirituality of Eastern Orthodoxy.

In this Frontline inteview (requires Real Player), Archimandrite Roman Braga speaks about prayer and his 11-year confinement in Communist prison for the Faith. WATCH NOW >>

V. Rev. Fr. Constantine Nasr, Economos, a ninth generation priest from the Holy Land, speaks about Christianity in Palestine, and explains a breathtaking exhibit at St. Elijah Orthodox Christian Church in Oklahoma City - a Church that has been one of the longest-standing sponsors of Come Receive the Light on the airwaves.

Fort Lauderdale, FL (Jan. 14, 2008) – Four Orthodox bishops, as well as other special guests, joined Fr. Christopher Metropulos and the staff of the Orthodox Christian Network (OCN) for a special, one-hour Web TV program on Sunday.

You can read this year's Encyclical on the

Here's a cross-section of some of the e-mails, phone messages and notes that we at the Orthodox Christian Network have been receiving during the Christmas holiday.

There's so much happening at MyOCN.net, it's hard to keep track of. Here's a summary of some of the most exciting new features intended to help you in your walk with Christ.

If you haven't seen them already, be sure to keep your eyes peeled! In the coming weeks, you should start to see ads for Share the Light Sunday, a SCOBA-sponsored event that takes place throughout North America on January 20, 2008.

You may be thinking: What's the purpose of Share Light Sunday? It's simple: To spread the word throughout the country about the Orthodox Christian Network's programs and mission, and to raise financial support for the growth of its national outreach programs. Parishes around the country hold special events on January 20 for this very reason.

 

Well, January 20 isn't that far away! That means that we need your help to make Share the Light Sunday a success in your area, so watch for more information, plenty of helpful tips, downloads, bulletin inserts and all kinds of updates on this blog. And please feel free to call us at 877-273-2348 for more information. Now's the perfect time to join our Global Advancement Team, a group of volunteers around the country who will be promoting OCN's work during STL Sunday in their home parishes.

 

For now, I'd like to share a couple of jpeg images of two ads that will be appearing in major Orthodox publications. Soon, these will be available on this site for download. They will also be available at any local Kinkos, which means that you could go to your neighborhood branch and print out a high-quality version for your parish, school or place of business. If you'd like an electronic copy for a publication you are designing right now, just post a comment on this blog or drop me a line.

 

The first ad features one of OCN's Share the Light Parishes: Holy Trinity in Concord, NH. You can listen to an interview with Fr. Demetri, the priest of this community, here. As he says in the interview, his OCN-produced Internet radio station is becoming a very popular meeting place for parishioners and their families.

Are you getting excited about the upcoming Web TV Christmas Special on MyOCN.net?

 

Others certainly are. On Dec. 9 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. EST, we'll be broadcasting a live audio and video feed from the CRTL studios.

The commercial world is gearing up for Christmas sales. The ecclesiastical world is gearing up for the season of Advent. And OCN is gearing up to launch a NUMBER of new ways to enrich your online media experience.

 

My wife's grandpa likes to tell a story: It's a good story, about how he and his wife thought they would never have kids and then ended up having six.

 

After the first child, he thanked God for the blessing. And after the second. And the third. Even after the fourth!

 

Finally, after the FIFTH, he said:

We recently asked our listeners: What topic would you most like to hear about in a future episode of Come Receive the Light ?

The initial results are in. More than 60 percent of those polled indicated a strong interest in one of two topics: "Lives of Saints" or "Ecumenism".