The Rule of Faith: Recent Episodes
Fr. Anthony Cook
A weekly audio short-form podcast examining the essential elements of the Orthodox Christian Faith. Basic catechesis in under 10 minutes.
In this twenty-eighth episode, we read the Scriptural witness and account of the Lord's Incarnation, from the Prophets in the Old Testament, and from the Gospels and Epistles in the New Testament.
In this twenty-seventh episode, we begin our meditation upon the Lord's coming in the flesh, the long-awaited Incarnation, and set out eight essential points to consider over the next several episodes.
In this twenty-sixth episode, we discuss what it means that Jesus Christ comes down from heaven, remembering that in this case, and many others, the heights of heaven refer to the Eternal Divinity of God Himself, and not to the geography or altitude of heaven.
In the course of the episode, we refer to the audio and written work of Fr. Stephen Freeman. We therefore include links to his podcast (http://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/freeman) and to purchase his book, Everywhere Present (https://store.ancientfaith.com/everywhere-present-christianity-in-a-one-storey-universe/).
In this twenty-fifth episode, we marvel at the God's entrance into His Creation, and consider the wondrous truth that He has come to live in our midst because He loves us and desires to reconcile us to Himself.
In this twenty-fourth episode, we pivot from the Divinity of the Lord which we have been discussing to the marvelous matter of His Humanity, His presence in our midst.
In this twenty-third episode, we pause to review some of the theological terminology we have been using, and to emphasize the centrality of the Person of Jesus Christ to the Christian Rule of Faith.
In this twenty-second episode, we examine the Iconoclastic controversy, and the final resolution of the controversies of the first 800 years of Christian history, as the restoration of the Icons balanced the intellectual emphasis of the first six Ecumenical Councils with a final affirmation of the tangibility and immanent presence of the Lord.
In this twenty-first episode, we summarize the controversies that consumed the Church's attention between A.D. 325 and 681, and the decisions of the first six Ecumenical Councils that resolved the controversies and built an intellectual fence around the Rule of Faith as they did so.
In this twentieth episode, we meditate on the mystery that the entrance of the Son of God into the Creation is not contingent on other causes, but is the primary act of Creation, as we continue to reflect on the meaning of the phrase, "through Whom all things were made."
In this nineteenth episode, we reflect on the separation between Creation and Creator, and the active presence of the Son of God as Creator that is nonetheless the ultimate truth of existence, however distant we feel ourselves to be from Him.
In this supplemental episode, we look in more detail into the background of the 1st Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, focusing on the philosophical and theological developments in the city of Alexandria prior to the 4th century, the genesis of Arianism in that city, and the deliberations at the Council of Nicaea, as recorded by St. Athanasios the Great.
In this eighteenth episode, we consider how the debate over Arianism finally ended, once it was clear that there could be no reconciliation between the proposition that Jesus Christ is Eternal God, and the proposition that he is not.
In this seventeenth episode, we consider how the Fathers of the Church redefined the word Begotten to remove the implications that had led to the heresy of Arianism, and then step back briefly to remind ourselves why these details of theology and history matter.
In this sixteenth episode, we consider why the Creed speaks of God as Light, and how this phrase affirms both the full divinity of the Son, and His Oneness with the Father through the use of what Fr. John McGuckin calls "buttressing synonyms" (The Path of Christianity, page 302).
In this fifteenth episode, we consider how the Creed affirms that the Son of God is timeless and eternal, and how it uses the words and ideas of the finite universe to speak of the Creator of that universe, and everything within it.
In this fourteenth episode, we consider how we can speak about an infinite God with finite language and ideas, and what it means to say that Jesus is the Only Begotten Son of God.
In this thirteenth episode, we reflect on Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One, and what it is that He is anointed to do.
In this twelfth episode, we reflect on the name "Jesus," what the name means, and what it says about the purpose and work and action of our Lord in this world.
In this eleventh episode, we reflect on the usage over time of the Holy Name of God from Mount Sinai, and why it is so significant that we call Jesus Christ "The Lord."
In this episode, we pause before proceeding with the 2nd clause of the Creed to introduce the podcast, its purpose, its schedule, and some foundational points.
In this ninth episode, we consider what revelation looks like, and emphasize that all revelation is an extension of the ultimate personal revelation of God in our midst, the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. We look especially, however, at God's revelation of Himself to Moses on Mt. Sinai as the One Who Is.
In this eighth episode, we consider the universe itself, and what we can and can't know about it with certainty, and how our limited knowledge shapes both our faith and our reason. Within our limited scope, the only way we can possibly understand our purpose for existence is if Someone that is NOT limited reveals it to us. This episode, and the episode to follow, are laying the groundwork for our discussion of the second clause of the Creed, dealing with the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, our Lord Jesus Christ.
In this seventh episode, we take a whirlwind trip through ancient Greek mythology to define the two basic poles of human religious thought - either the universe itself is infinite and eternal, and all the gods and men that inhabit it are lesser beings within that infinite universe, or it is created by a God Who is Himself infinite and eternal. Guess which side the Christian Faith falls on!
In this sixth episode, we talk about the first things that the Creed says about our One God, and the unexpected juxtaposition of His Fatherhood and His Absolute Might.
In this fifth episode, we talk about the Nicene Creed, and its basic structure as an unfolding of the simple affirmation of trust and belief in One God, and note that trust in One God requires renouncing any other gods.
In this fourth episode, we talk about the connection between intellectual belief about God and personal relationship with God, and how the relationship necessitates belief, but belief does not guarantee relationship.
In this third episode, we define Faith, in the Orthodox tradition, as Trust, in relationship with God.
This podcast is directed to the interested layperson of the Eastern Orthodox Church, particularly to those residing in the English-speaking West. The intent is to talk about the theology of the Church from the ground up. We will start with some basic definitions and presuppositions, and then move through the Nicene Creed in careful detail. Eventually, we will proceed to more specific questions of belief and practice in the modern day. In this second episode, we continue our discussion of Holy Tradition, looking at its application as the Canon, or Rule, of Faith, guarding against heresy and maintaining the standard of what Christianity is and must be.
This podcast is directed to the interested layperson of the Eastern Orthodox Church, particularly to those residing in the English-speaking West. The intent is to talk about the theology of the Church from the ground up. We will start with some basic definitions and presuppositions, and then move through the Nicene Creed in careful detail. Eventually, we will proceed to more specific questions of belief and practice in the modern day. We begin with the question of authority in the Church - what guides and binds us in belief and worship and practice?