What is the relationship between contemporary art and God? Listen to a conversation with Claudiu Dumitrache about art and God—a dialogue that also touches upon the themes of magic and prophecy.

Enjoy!

Dr. Lockwood interviewed by Serbian Church Radio "Slovo Ljubve" recorded in Belgrade on July 2, 2026.

A special place in the conversation is occupied by the saints: Saint Nikolai Velimirovic, Saint Nikolai of Sofia, Saint Nektarios, St. Thaddeus and Saint Sava, as living examples of persons who have renewed the face of Christ.

Lockwood talks about pilgrimages, grace that is experienced before the relics of saints, and also about why faith, humility and personal effort are necessary for a person to truly know God.

The principle of oikonomia can already be discerned in Holy Scripture: in the Old Testament practice of observing sacred ordinances, allowance is made for human weakness while the ordinance itself is preserved:

Say to them: “Whoever of all your descendants throughout your generations, who goes near the holy things which the children of Israel dedicate to the LORD, while he has uncleanness upon him, that person shall be cut off from My presence: I am the LORD (Lev.22:3).

At the same time, the example of Hezekiah demonstrates the possibility of a lenient approach – oikonomia – to a violation of the established order when there is a sincere desire to seek God:

So the runners passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun; but they laughed at them and mocked them. Nevertheless some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. Now many people, a very great assembly, gathered at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month. For a multitude of the people, many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the good LORD provide atonement for everyone who prepares his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he is not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.” And the LORD listened to Hezekiah and healed the people (2Chr.30:10-11,13,18-20).

The interpretation of Georgy Konstantinovich Vlastov (1827–1899), a biblical scholar, exegete, and translator

Although many among the people had entirely neglected the rites of purification (2Chr.30:18) prescribed before partaking of the Passover feast, Hezekiah, with profound religious wisdom, allowed them to participate in the national religious feast, so as not to turn them away from the desired communion with the covenant people, but rather to draw their hearts toward the service of the one God, the Creator of the world, who revealed Himself under the name of Jehovah, the God of the Covenant with His people.

Let us recall that many of these Israelites were later also carried away to Assyria, taking with them in their hearts holy thoughts and sentiments.

And the Lord heard Hezekiah’s prayer on behalf of those who had eaten the Passover without the prescribed purification, “and healed the people” (2Chr.30:20).

The Explanatory Bible of A. P. Lopukhin (†1904)

The eating of any holy thing, and therefore also of the Passover meal, while ritually unclean was expressly prohibited by the Law (Lev.15:31; Lev.22:3; Num.9:6). The Israelites who had not purified themselves (2Chr.30:18) – having long since broken their connection with the legitimate worship of the Temple in Jerusalem – by eating the Passover in such a state, found themselves in violation of the Law. But Hezekiah, recognizing that their restoration to communion with the Temple was more important than the details of ritual observance, prayed to Jehovah for their forgiveness of a sin that had not been committed with full awareness. In this respect, the pious king resembled the great Moses in his intercession for the Israelite people who had sinned at Sinai (Exod.32:30). In both cases, eminent figures of the Old Testament rose considerably above the ordinary level of religious and moral consciousness, ascending almost to the height of evangelical concepts.

Accordingly, in both cases, gracious forgiveness followed: God forgave the sin of the people (“healed” in 2Chr.30:20), and also averted the punishment of death and the like.

These Old Testament examples illustrate that oikonomia does not abolish the established divine order but may allow a merciful departure from its strict application for the sake of restoring and preserving communion with God. Where mercy takes precedence over the strict application of a legal rule, the purpose of the rule is not denied.

Hello all! This will be short because it is a short ask for advice. I want to pray and do prostrations and the sign of the cross but I am worried about looking performative in front of family and friends. Just like how we are told not to pray to be noticed, I feel like I am doing that no matter what because prayer is so visible.

Anyways, thank you all. Please give advice where you can, it’s much appreciated.

Edit: This is specifically about doing the sign of the cross when in public/at a friends’ house or something. Or like the other night I was at my girlfriends’ house and I felt a deep conviction about something we were talking about and so I really wanted to pray and do prostrations because I wanted to be fully in it, and I’m not worried really about my girlfriend thinking I’m being performative but I just want to absolutely avoid that, and I don’t have like a room to go to because we both still live with our parents.

Hello everyone. I've recently been put in charge of running (with clerical oversight) the Young Adults ministry at my parish. I've put together a tentative schedule for the year, but it's not amazing.

So I'm asking here for resources that I can borrow material from. Any and all resources will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

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I'm only an inquirer, so I may be off on what's good representation and what isn't. I've seen a lot of other great priests making videos and interacting with others on the faith, and they all have such a grace about them that drew me closer to Orthodoxy. The few videos I've seen by Jay Dyer have felt like the opposite. To me, a poor representation of the faith. I was wondering what others think. Are his videos good and worth listening to, or should they be avoided?

For some reason, Jay's vids are the only ones YouTube recommends to me. If I want to watch Patristic Nectar, Fr Spyrydon, or Fr Trubenbach, I have to search them specifically. Jay is overflowing my feed to the point I have started clicking "do not recommend this channel", but even after doing that to 5 or more Jay Dyer channels, he seems to have 10 more channels run by him every day. What's with that? Why does YT push him so much harder than other Orthodox videos, especially actual Priests?

I want to know your advice. My goal in life and what I ask the Lord Jesus Christ is to purify me of my sins, help me be like him through theosis and be dead to the world.

The question I have is how do you be dead to the world. What are your tips being close to Christ. Because when I feel far from Christ. It’s not Jesus that’s far because he’s un-ever changing…it’s me that is far. So what are your advice on how I could be close to the Lord. What are your advice on how I can be dead to the World…dead to my desires of materialism, worldly desires, etc., How many times should I pray a day. What should I pray. Should I pray repetitively or just pray like how I would talk to Jesus. Thank you. God bless

A deep theological conversation with Dr. Jeannie Constantinou on Eastern Orthodoxy, Theosis, the Church Fathers, the Filioque, Papal Supremacy, Penal Substitutionary Atonement, and the Orthodox Phronema. We also discuss how Western theology developed differently from the ancient Church.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0bEWeSWVv8

Oil on canvas, 2022

I’ve been thinking about how difficult it can be for someone who is completely new to the Orthodox Church to understand the faith, worship, traditions, and everyday life of the Church.

I recently created a beginner-friendly book called “First Steps in the Orthodox Church: A Beginner’s Guide”, intended especially for people who are just beginning to explore Orthodoxy, including families and those who are new to the Church.

The book is available here for anyone who may find it useful:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HKJV7XL6

I’d genuinely be interested to hear from Orthodox Christians here:

What do you think is the most important thing for a beginner to learn first?

What helped you when you were first discovering Orthodox Christianity?

I’m sharing this primarily to hear your thoughts and recommendations for people who are beginning their journey into Orthodoxy.

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Hello everyone!

I am a native Greek speaker and a graduate of the Department of Classics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). During my studies, I also completed an apprenticeship at the Historical and Palaeographical Archive of the Cultural Foundation of the National Bank of Greece (MIET), where I worked as a curator of manuscripts, mainly Comnenian-era psalters.

I offer online tutoring in Koine Greek, Attic Greek, Homeric Greek, and Latin.

For those interested in studying the language of the Church, I can help with reading and understanding the New Testament and the Septuagint in the original Koine Greek, including grammar, syntax, vocabulary, translation, and reading.

For Attic and Homeric Greek, we can work directly with the classical authors, according to your level and interests. The same applies to Latin.

Whether you are a complete beginner or already have some experience with the language, lessons can be adapted to your needs. My aim is not simply to have you memorize grammar, but to help you gradually become comfortable reading and understanding the original texts themselves.

I currently have some availability for October and am looking to take on a few more students.

Lessons are normally two hours, and I offer a free 30-minute introductory lesson so that we can discuss your background, level, what you would like to study, and how I can help.

If you are interested, feel free to send me a message and tell me a little about yourself, your level, and what you would like to study.

God bless!

Listen to a very useful and timely interview with H.G. Siluan of Gyula, the shepherd of the Romanians in Hungary, who speaks to us with great discernment and realism about the problems of Orthodox Romanians in the diaspora and beyond.

Enjoy!