Claim OwnershipMade to Be a Kingdom
Subscribed: 9Played: 128
Subscribe
© Ancient Faith Ministries
Description
An exploration of the concepts of “Royal Priesthood” and “Priestly Kingdom.”
126 Episodes
Reverse
Pentecost isn't the Church's birthday: the Church precedes it, stretching back to creation itself, angels, prophets, patriarchs, and is revealed most clearly in Christ and the Church's liturgical witness. Pentecost inaugurates the apostolic priesthood and Eucharistic life, and the episode invites listeners to be formed by the prayers and hymnography where Scripture becomes prayer and grace supplies what is lacking.
In this New Year episode, Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony challenge the casual habit of saying “my church” by
reframing ecclesial identity: the Church is of God—not our possession, but the place to which we belong,
purchased by Christ’s blood (Acts 20) and built as a household on the apostolic foundation with Christ as
cornerstone (Eph. 2:18–20). They trace how the Church’s catholic “wholeness” is Trinitarian—the Body
of Christ, the temple of the Holy Spirit, and the people of the Father—made real through baptism,
chrismation, and the Eucharist. Along the way, they clarify Christ’s unique mediation (mesitēs), show
why the Church can be called “of Christ” without diminishing the Trinity, and close with Theophany’s
vivid sacramental imagery—especially the ancient practice of breathing/blowing over the waters as
participation, not mere remembrance.
As parishes grow, the priest-and-everyone model that once felt like “family” can become unsustainable—especially in catechesis, confession, and pastoral care. Fr. Anthony and Fr. Harry explore practical tools (from scheduling systems to mentoring structures) and historical models of catechesis to show why “one size fits all” is neither Orthodox nor realistic. The goal is not efficiency for its own sake, but discernment: building ministries that preserve intimacy, prevent burnout, and help every member find their calling as the parish moves into a new season. Enjoy the show!
Recorded in person during a seminary week at South Bound Brook, Fr. Anthony Perkins and Fr.
Harry Linsenbigler reflect on two passages from In Every Church (p. 78) to clarify how Christ
“fills” every ministry in the Church—from the faithful to readers, deacons, presbyters, and
bishops—without making ordination a ladder of personal holiness. They challenge a common
misreading (including selective appeals to Pseudo-Dionysius) that treats ecclesial rank as a
holiness metric, instead, grounding the Church’s true unity in the liturgy’s confession that “One
is holy” and in the equal reception of Christ in Holy Communion. Finally, they frame clerical
fatherhood as a derivative grace rather than a personal possession, urging vigilance against pride
and despondency, and calling parishes to a shared culture of mutual support so that every
vocation—ordained or lay—can be exercised as service within the royal priesthood of the faithful.
Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony explore how internet culture, consumerism, and disincarnate “platforms” distort Orthodox teaching and tempt all of us to become unappointed theologians. Drawing on Metropolitan Saba, Thinking Orthodox, St. James 3, and St. John Climacus, they unpack why theology must remain ecclesial, relational, and local—discerned and bounded within the life of the parish and the wider Church. They conclude with a pastoral call for accountability in online ministry and for internet engagement that flows out of real parish life, gratitude for one’s bishop and priest, and a deeper commitment to becoming saints together face to face.
In this episode, Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony unpack how a truly sacramental worldview means that
the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church is concretely instantiated in your particular parish—
with its people, culture, limits, and gifts. They caution against importing personal preferences
based on previous experiences and monastic or on-line ideals into parish life, urging charity,
patience, and attentive listening (their “Kentucky windage”) so that real formation in Christ
happens as it should; i.e. through local, embodied relationships
Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony turn to 1 Corinthians 11 to explore the meaning of head coverings in the Church. They show how St. Paul’s teaching addressed cultural practices in Corinth that threatened unity, reminding us that customs should serve modesty, harmony, and love rather than become points of pride or contention. In the end, they emphasize that whatever practices we keep must help build up the Body of Christ in faith and unity. Enjoy the show!
In response to a listener’s question, Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony explore the role of women in the life of the Church, from family and parish life to broader questions of ministry. They distinguish between the ordained priesthood, reserved for men, and the universal royal priesthood shared equally by all the baptized, emphasizing that men and women alike bring unique gifts and callings into the Body of Christ. Drawing on Scripture, the Fathers, and pastoral wisdom, they stress the need for discernment, humility, and submission within the Church, while warning against cultural influences and online divisiveness that distort ecclesial life. Enjoy the show!
Fr. Harry Linson Bigler and Fr. Anthony Perkins reflect on recent tragedies, including the anniversary of 9/11 and the assassination of Charlie Kirk, to explore how the Church prepares us for death. They discuss the difference between modern avoidance of death and the Church’s ancient practices, showing how prayer, liturgy, and the lives of the saints form us to face mortality with peace and faith. Drawing on Scripture, the funeral services, and examples of martyrdom, they remind us that bodily death is not defeat but a passage into eternal life in Christ.
Fathers Harry and Anthony explore the many names of the Church in the New Testament and liturgy, showing how each reveals her identity as the Body of Christ and the household of God. They highlight the call to protect the Church’s fullness through humility, unity, and faithful participation in Christ’s kingdom.
Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony begin their exploration of the many names of the Church found in the New Testament, emphasizing its identity as the Body of Christ and its sacramental fullness in every local parish. They warn of spiritual dangers—wolves among the flock—and reflect on the difference between harmful divisiveness and mere imperfection within the Church, drawing on parables like the wheat and the tares. Their discussion culminates in a beautiful meditation on the Eucharist as the eschatological gathering of the faithful, uniting heaven and earth in the present moment. Enjoy the show!
Father Harry and Father Anthony explore the theological and canonical importance of gathering for Sunday worship, grounding their discussion in Old Testament examples, patristics, and church tradition. Drawing from Christ’s Amazing Church, they highlight how corporate worship aligns believers with God’s will and protects them from spiritual dissonance. They also reflect on Sabbath observance, the consequences of neglecting the ecclessia, and Sunday worship as the divine “tuning fork” that harmonizes our lives with the source of all things good, beautiful, and true. Enjoy the show!
Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony explore how the Church existed in the Old Testament as the gathered people of God, long before Pentecost. They emphasize that salvation is communal, not individualistic, and must be understood within the context of the Church as Christ’s Body. The episode unpacks the importance of sacred space, intentional worship, and our calling to be living tabernacles carrying Christ into the world each week.
Fr. Harry leads us through the way ecclesiology was thought of in the Old Testament and how these concepts were alive, available, and ready to be taken to the next level in the New Testament in the Greek scriptural vernacular. Enjoy the show!
Today Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony take a short detour from their ongoing study of ecclesiology to look a topic in applied ecclesiology: what to do about the paucity of parishes in many of our locales. This is something many of our listeners experience and that the Church is working to solve. Enjoy the show!
The 3rd Ecumenical Council referred to Orthodoxy as “the Faith of the Catholic and Apostolic Church to which all Orthodox Bishops, both East and West, agree.” Today Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony talk about what it means that the Church exists where this faith is found and what the implications are for defining heresy, heretics, and schism. Fr. Anthony also introduces everyone to one of his favorite variations of southern boba tea. Enjoy the show!
Today Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony talk about the beauty of the Ascension, the First Ecumenical Council, and how both relate to ecclesiology. Enjoy the show!
Today Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony continue to explore issues in Orthodox Christian ecclesiology using Fr. Harry’s book, Christ’s Amazing Church. For this episode, they focus on the role the Church plays – as Christ Incarnate – in preserving and teaching the Orthodox faith. This is complicated by 1) the importance and of keeping the tradition free of “disorder” (2 Thessalonians 3:6) and “babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge” (1 Timothy 6:20) and 2) the way pride works with current technology to perversely encourage “babbling” in the name of preserving and teaching the Truth. They conclude by encouraging peace, humility, and all the fruits of love. Enjoy the show!
Today Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony continue their conversation on ecclesiology, riffing on Tim Eldred’s article; “The Lie of Just One More Sunday” at The Authentic Pastor (https://www.theauthenticpastor.com/blog/pastor-burnout-just-one-more-sermon) and how so many in parish leadership (to include priests) fall into and justify sinful and unsustainable patterns of ministry. They make the point that poor leadership has serious detrimental downstream effects on the spiritual health of the parish and that doing things Biblically (e.g. Exodus 18) is sustainable, graceful, and beneficial for everyone involved. Enjoy the show!
Today, Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony talk about the words "ecclesia" and "church" and how they should and should not be applied. Specifics covered include correcting the conception of the invisible Church; the church as a place vs. the Church as the body of Christ; and what it is that makes a given place/community "Church" or "not-Church." Enjoy the show!
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States