The Ground: Recent Episodes
Dcn Justinian Burnett, Jonathan Hill
The Ground is a brand new Orthodox podcast, hosted by Deacon Justinian Burnett and Jonathan Hill, with the blessing of Archimandrite Maximos, Abbot of the monastery of St Dionysios the Areopagite, St James, NY, (ROCOR).
We will be discussing the basis of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, with a special emphasis on symbolism and worldview.
After a brief synopsis of the season so far, Jonathan and Deacon Justinian embark on a discussion of another work by St Justin Popovich, "Humanistic and Theanthropic Culture." Building on the first half of the season and our exploration of the relationship between faith and knowledge, this particular essay leads us toward an understanding of how the conformity of our wills to the will of God and the acquisition of the virtues, leads us to becoming divine--which is the first step to a Christian conception of society and culture.
In this episode, Jonathan and Deacon Justinian finish their discussion of St Justin Popovich's "The Theory of Knowledge of St Isaac the Syrian," with an exploration of the topic of integral knowledge and regaining the "wholeness" of being through purity of heart. The discussion covers the Beatitudes and rules of prayer, as well as the overarching theme of St Justin's work, which is the acquisition of humility before God.
After recapping the last couple of episodes and the discussion on the three states of the soul, Jonathan and Deacon Justinian move on to a discussion to the nature of man, and the condescension of God to man by becoming man in the Incarnation, and what this means for human nature itself. Because of the Incarnation of the God-man Jesus Christ, man is capable of actually participating in the life of God in a radically new way, and the discussion elaborates on this new reality for man through the Orthodox Christian faith.
This hour-and-a-half special is a round-table discussion with Deacon Justinian, Jonathan, and David Richards. David is, in addition to be the sound-engineer for the podcast, a very knowledgeable, 14-year veteran in Orthodoxy who has a wide range of knowledge and experience in philosophy, epistemology, and the various modern, academic approaches to Orthodox theology. The discussion is both personal and fascinating--and we will almost certainly have more of these specials in the future.
Jonathan and Fr Justinian continue the exploration of the difference between faith and knowledge, through continuing to go through specific points of the Longer Catechism by St Philaret of Moscow as well as an explication of the commentary of St Augustine of Hippo on the seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. This episode focuses on the need to actively struggle to conform our will to the will of God, or else we cannot do know God.
In this episode, Jonathan and Fr Justinian begin by going through some material of The Longer Catechism by St Philaret of Moscow, carefully examining the difference between Faith and lower, rational knowledge. This leads to a discussion of the nature of the 'unbelief' of St Thomas, which provides a springboard for discussing the initiatory nature of Orthodoxy, and the fact that certain knowledge comes to us only when we conform our will to the will of God.
Jonathan and Fr Justinian continue to discuss language as symbol, and expand the discussion to include hierarchy, which is defined as the revelation of things at their appropriate level. Bringing into the discussion the "Celestial Hierarchy" of St Dionysios the Areopagite, they begin discussing the different levels of intensity of being, and the hierarchical nature of reality.