The Podvig with Joel Dunn

Please forgive me for not posting an episode in a while. My wife gave birth to our 9th child recently and priorities had to shift. Not to mention the lack of sleep that made writing this episode much ...

18 Mar 20239min

St. Gregory Palamas teaches that “[God] is not revealed in his essence (ousia), for no one has ever seen or described God's nature; but he is revealed in the grace (charis), power (dynamis) and energy...

13 Feb 20239min

Pride was the first sin to enter the world through man. Adam and the woman desired to “be like God,” and consumed, without a blessing, the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. St. James te...

4 Feb 20239min

Psalms 103:2 describes God as one: “Who cover[s] [Himself] with light as with a garment…” God’s first creation was light. Genesis 1:3 But it is not until verse 14 that God creates the heavenly bodies ...

15 Jan 20239min

It's been a few weeks since I posted an episode. Forgive me. There's been a lot going on over that time and now Orthodox Christmas is upon us. For about 12 days recently I was stricken with a debilit...

6 Jan 20237min

In the Unseen Warfare, Saints Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain and Theophan the Recluse tell us that “the enemy watches [us] constantly, waiting for an opportunity to sow evil in [us].” They implore us,...

17 Des 20229min

Acquiring patience is a hard lesson and one that persists to the end of our earthly sojourn. In the Church, patience is considered a virtue. St. Paul famously lists patience in his discourse on the fr...

11 Des 20228min

“The heart is but a small vessel; and yet dragons and lions are there, and there likewise are poisonous creatures and all the treasures of wickedness; rough, uneven paths are there, and gaping chasms....

4 Des 20228min