The following article was written on spec for submission to the faith section of local newspapers.  It is aimed to an audience unfamiliar with Orthodox Christianity.  I am posting it as submitted. Citations appear below the article. IS THE BIBLE ALL THERE IS? By Fr. Irineos Placek   Among Christians, and certainly among those of the Read more about Is the Bible All There Is?[…]

Sunday’s Homily: “Smashing Modern Idols” Fr. Irineos uses the story of the life of the martyr Polyeuchtus to reflect on idolatry in our modern age and how we can follow the example of the Holy Martyr! Listen to “Smashing Modern Idols – Homily for the 31st Sunday after Pentecost” on Spreaker.

I’ve seen this meme posted a lot this Christmas:   and I’ve seen a lot of people get really upset about it.  In my homily for the Sunday after Nativity, I talk about the Gospel reading appointed for the day, recounting Joseph’s flight into Egypt, and how we quite often let our politics inform our Read more about Christ the Refugee – Homily for the Sunday after Nativity[…]

In this homily delivered on Nativity (Old Calendar), Fr. Irineos discusses the incredible condescension of our Lord to take on human flesh, and, using the Troparion of the Feast, expounds on the theology behind this Troparion. Listen to “Homily – Nativity of our Lord in the Flesh” on Spreaker.

Fr. Irineos, after briefly revisiting the reading for the healing of the 10 lepers, discusses the reading appointed for St. Sava the Sanctified, and why Christ would promise that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. #orthodox Listen to “Homily – 26th Sun after Pentecost” on Spreaker.

Fr. Irineos asks the question, “What if there were as fountain of youth?” and tells of the Church’s special fountain of spiritual youth. Listen to “Homily – 25th Sunday after Pentecost” on Spreaker.

Listen to “Homily on the Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple” on Spreaker. Fr. Irineos discusses the background of this Feast of the Church and how the role of the Theotokos (the Virgin Mary) was prefigured in the Old Testament scriptures appointed for reading during this Feast Day.

This is a real Facebook post from a “pastor” of an evangelical church.  He apparently thinks being called a heretic is a good thing.  This is my response to him: I have a cardinal rule, which is that I don’t discuss biblical exegesis with sola scriptura believers, because we cannot agree on the ground rules Read more about Pride In Heresy?[…]