Jesus Christ said; “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28​-30) In this retreat, Fr. Anthony describes the way the past year has polarized us and how we and our parishes can heal and become the peacemakers the world needs. A video of the presentation is available at Fr. Anthony Perkins YouTube channel.  Enjoy!  

In this homily, given on the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, Fr. Anthony continues to take the parish through the Divine Liturgy.  This week he focuses on the Antiphons and the Little Entrance.  Enjoy the show!

Homily given of Zacchaeus Sunday (1 Timothy 4:9-15; Luke 19:1-10).  Fr. Anthony offers a meditation on how love is enabled by cutting through the labels and baggage (i.e. there is a reason God is "not a respecter of persons").  Enjoy the show!

In this homily, Fr. Anthony continues his series on the Divine Liturgy, offering a meditation on the benefit of singing the Divine Liturgy (the blessed integration of scripture and poetry, music, voices, incarnation, and Eucharist).  Enjoy the show!

It was a great blessing to talk with Fr. Daniel Greeson about his new AFR blog, "Every Thought Captive" and especially his series on discernment.  Enjoy the show!

Here are my notes:

Interview with Fr. Daniel Greeson.

Rector of St. Anne’s Orthodox Church in Oakridge, TN

Podcaster: “In Heaven and On Earth”

Editor and Author of the Ancient Faith Ministry Blog; “Every Thought Captive”

Greeting.  Tell us about yourself and how found yourself wearing a cassock and cross.

I love your new blog, Every Thought Captive.  In the introductory post, you use aggressive imagery – wrestling, dismantling, boldness, even using El Greco’s Purification of the Temple as the blog banner.  What do and don’t you mean by that – and in general where are you coming from?

New blog (November 2020), but already have several excellent series.  The main one I want to talk about is the series on discernment, but I also love you series on Orthodoxy and the Culture War (which includes a serious reflection on how we, as Christians living in America, should and perhaps should not relate to “The West”.  You also did a beautiful series on the Pandemic of Loneliness.  And you have also recruited a great cast to write on other topics.  How do you choose what to write on and what to publish?  What is the goal of the blog?

Discernment.  The Mother of Virtues – how is that possible?  Why do we need it? (false teachers).

St. Anthony the Great tells us to gain discernment, avoid extremes, and walk always on the royal road”.  How do we do this?

St Moses: “Discern money: scrutiny; reject deceptive thoughts; root out (false authority), and check the weight”

What is the role of asceticism in discernment?

Scripture?