Young Penitent

On Saturday, May 6th, 2023 I was on pilgrimage at All-Merciful Saviour Monastery. During the course of the day I interviewed three of the monks who belong to the monastery which resides on Vashon Island. I asked the same list of questions to each of the monks. In this, the second episode of the series, I interview Monk Martin.

On Saturday, May 6th, 2023 I was on pilgrimage at All-Merciful Saviour Monastery. During the course of the day I interviewed three of the monks who belong to the monastery which resides on Vashon Island. I asked the same list of questions to each of the monks. In this, the first episode of the series, I interview Monk Paisios.

Meet Bojan Teodosijevic. Bojan is the creator of the Bible Illustrated YouTube channel. On this channel he creates animated videos using hand-drawn illustrations. The videos tell stories from the Bible and the lives of Saints, as well as explain question about Christianity in an easy to understand and light-hearted format (he often incorporates humor as well). He also has a secondary YouTube channel called Orthodox Banter with Bojan in which he answers questions from viewers and gives his thoughts on various topics from a spiritual perspective. He draws on his own knowledge and experience when he answers questions, and his takes are very well-balanced and carefully thought out. He doesn't usually talk too much about himself, so in this interview we will get a chance to learn more about Bojan the artist behind Bible Illustrated. If you are a fan of Bible Illustrated then you are going to enjoy this interview. If you aren't already a fan, then chances are you will become one by the time you finish listening to this podcast.

Tim Kirby is the animating force behind the American Village in Russia. Tim is an American expatriate who moved to Russia in 2006 and is now the host of the YouTube channel Tim Kirby Russia. The American Village is a project which will settle Westerners on individual plots of land in a tract of land in the Serpukhov district South of Moscow. The village is not yet built; the people who are moving there are the ones who will be doing the building. The people who will be settling in the Village are generally conservatives who wish to escape the moral decay which is expressing itself in the West, and who see Russia as a country which is upholding traditional values and where living out the Christian Faith will not be opposed with hostility. The project has attracted much attention and the quota for the first round of applications has already been filled. In this livestream we will be talking with Tim to find out how this project got started, where it is now, where it is going, and how you can get involved if you are one of those people who have decided it is time to leave the West and migrate to Russia.

Recently there was an article published in the online magazine Tablet about the phenomenon of the Orthobro. Naturally the article wasn't entirely flattering, but we didn't expect it to be. What this article tells us, however, is that Orthodox Christianity is entering into the mainstream consciousness of America, and the Orthobro is one of the reasons why. Eighteen years ago when I first discovered Orthodox Christianity I had no previous knowledge of the Faith. If I had asked my neighbor or friend or a random person on the street if they knew what Orthodoxy was, the answer was probably "no." Things have changed, and a big part of the reason why is because Orthodoxy is being disseminated on the internet in an effective manner. YouTube is the now one of the first places a young person will go to learn about a subject because learning is easier in an audio-visual format. The "Orthobro" was originally coined as an epithet used by Protestants and Catholics to refer to Orthodox online who were argumentative or confrontational in their style, but by now Orthobros have adopted the name as their own. I proudly refer to myself as an Orthobro. Some people still use the term in the negative sense, because we have a bad reputation in some circles, but there is no reason we cant rehabilitate this label to the Glory of God. We are going to begin this stream by answering a few questions that were left in the comment section by a viewer. Then I plan to walk through my bookshelf (at least the portion that is visible on camera) at the request of another viewer. Then I will get around to examining the term "Orthobro" as well as the article that was written about us. Finally, I will point out that some of the criticisms of the Orthobros may be valid, and give suggestions for how we can improve out image online.

One of the most popular genres of Orthodox YouTube videos is that of the conversion story. Usually the title is something like "my journey to Orthodoxy." I made one of these videos and I was surprised to see how popular it was. I then realized that this type of video is a kind of low-hanging fruit; people like to watch these testimonials. Macarius Johnson has taken the "journey to Orthodoxy" genre to a whole new level with his video "The Path of Self Denial." I watched this 2.5 hour Testimony all the way through and decided that I had to have Macarius on the show. His Testimony comes across more like a documentary than a YouTube video. Usually these videos involve a person sitting in front of their bookshelf and talking to the camera, but Macarius has used his talents with videography (which he honed in his career as a rapper) to incorporate photos and videos from his past, and he tells an evocative story that the viewer immediately identifies with. For our stream today I am going to begin the conversation on the topic of rap music. Macarius was a rapper for many years before joining the Church and I have a special interest in this art form having been a rapper myself. Viewers are encouraged to check out his YouTube channel Orthodox Soul.

I am excited to bring to my audience the guest for this episode. I first heard of Fr. John A. Peck when he was a guest on the @Counterflow podcast and I was impressed with Fr. John's presentation style. I then found out that he has his own show on Rumble called Ecclesioclasm (https://rumble.com/user/frjohnpeck) which I also highly recommend. Ecclesioclasm is a weekly show in which Fr. John breaks down news stories from the week and interviews knowledgeable guests on various subjects. You should subscribe to his channel because he is bringing cutting edge information and not enough people are aware of his work. Fr. John is a priest of the Russian Church Abroad in Arizona at All Saints of North America Orthodox Church. He is also involved in establishing several mission parishes in his area. In addition, he is involved in disseminating the Orthodox faith online through numerous websites which he has created, including an online catechism course. The guiding principal of his parish is to be "super conservative in preserving the Orthodox Christian faith, and super modern in propagating it." In today's conversation we will be discussing the unique situation of those people who live in an area where there is no Orthodox church within driving distance. What are such people to do if they decide that they want to become Orthodox but have no way of receiving guidance from a priest? For such people one option would be to use the online catechism lessons that Fr. John offers. We will also talk about furthering one's education after one has become Orthodox, as well as how Fr. John helps young men who are discerning whether to pursue a seminary education for the purpose of serving in the ranks of the clergy.

Returning as an honored guest to the channel to talk about the Orthodox approach to evangelism is my spiritual father Abbot Tryphon. Abbot Tryphon is Abbot of All-Merciful Saviour Monastery on Vashon Island in the Salish Sea and author of the Morning Offering. This week the monastery is hosting a retreat for the St. John Brotherhood of the Salish Sea and since I am present at the retreat I thought it would be a good opportunity to have a sit down discussion with the good Abbot in person. In discussing the Orthodox approach to evangelism we will discuss the history of Orthodox evangelism in America, the difference between the Orthodox approach and that of western confessions to, and the proper use of the internet as a tool for evangelism. Pull up a chair and bring your questions!

In this episode I will be interviewing Abbot Tryphon on the subject of the importance of male friendships. We will also be discussing the Salish Brotherhood of St. John the Wonderworker. Abbot Tryphon is the founder of All-Merciful Saviour Monastery and author of the well-known blog The Morning Offering. One of the themes that he often talks about is the importance of male friendships. Human society was historically communal in nature. In today's society mankind has become atomized resulting in an epidemic of loneliness. As part of an effort to combat this trend Abbot Tryphon created the Salish Brotherhood of St. John the Wonderworker, a lay brotherhood comprised of young men who hold retreats at All-Merciful Saviour Monastery on a bi-annual basis. The Brotherhood is meant to create a supportive environment for its members to grow in the Faith, and is a place where its members can form friendships that are meant to last for a lifetime. In our interview we will talk about the origin of the Salish Brotherhood and its activities, as well as the subject of male friendships in general.

Today we are going to have a conversation with Raphael Fiedler from the YouTube channel Orthodox Review "the most uneducated educational show on the internet." His channel is a valuable resource for Orthodox Christians when it comes time to buy a prayer book, among other books and items which may be used for devotion in the home. The basic premise of his channel is to provide reviews for such items available for purchase so that we can make our purchases based on an informed decision. He could probably be considered the best informed person on the internet when it comes to Orthodox prayer books, and for that reason part of our discussion will be centered around prayer books and our preferences regarding them, but our discussion will by no means be limited to this topic. Tune in to see where the conversation takes us, and bring your tobacco pipe if you would like to join us as we share a smoke during the stream.