In this week’s episode of Universal History, Richard Rohlin and I give an introduction to Dante’s Divine Comedy, discussing its historical and political context, Dante’s motivations and his point of view, and why the Comedia is the greatest work of Western literature. Join us for the first course on the Divine Comedy, starting May 8th. Dante’s Infe…

Dr. Cyril Jenkins joins Fr. Andrew for a reading of Tolkien’s short story “Leaf by Niggle.” Is this really an allegory? What does it say about this life and the life of the age to come? Why did Tolkien write this story?By Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Ancient Faith Radio

This is part two of our discussion about the Tower of Babel in the context of Universal History. Richard Rohlin and I recap and continue our discussion on the Book of Jubilees and Pentecost, discussing more in-depth the Feast of First Fruits, and what it means as a structure by which communion between heaven and earth can be facilitated - of unity …

This video will premiere tomorrow, Saturday, April 13th at 10 am EST. In this short reflection, I will explain the parable of Jesus that’s the most difficult to understand, the Parable of the Penitent Steward, or the Unjust Steward. Recently I teamed up with Jordan Peterson, Daily Wire, and the same panel of the Exodus series, this time to film a s…

After 99 episodes of talking about how to interpret Tolkien’s works in religious and specifically Orthodox Christian terms, in Episode 100 Fr. Andrew and Richard talk about all that religion that really is in Middle-earth. Because actually it really is in there – prayer, worship, invocation of saints, etc. The episode wraps up with a big announceme…

This is my second interview with Timothy Patitsas on the topic of beauty. We also discuss filmmaking, the work of Dr. Iain Mcgilchrist, liturgy, self-sacrifice, and social renewal as part of the fruits of a beautiful life. Timothy G. Patitsas has been the Interim Dean of Hellenic College since January of 2020 and the Assistant Professor of Ethics a…

I had the opportunity to sit down with Justin Brierley to talk about Christian apologetics, the state of public discussions about faith, new converts, the identity crisis, and the rise of the “Christian atheist” with figures like Tom Holland, Jordan Peterson, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali intellectually aligning themselves with Christianity. Justin Brierley …

Richard Rohlin returns from his travels and travails with a lenten meditation on food and song, bacon and eggs, and the love of home.By Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Ancient Faith Radio

In this dialogue with the amazing artist and iconographer, Aidan Hart, we discuss an image he has been developing depicting the New Jerusalem. This cosmic image shows many fractal relationships, including the Garden of Eden, the role and destiny of mankind, heaven, earth, and all of creation. It’s a beautiful synthesis presenting the positive aspec…

This is a discussion that Ken Lowry kindly organized on his YouTube channel and podcast, Climbing Mt. Sophia. The panel includes me, John Vervaeke and DC Schindler. We talk about the ontology of artificial intelligence from different perspectives: the scientific, philosophical, and spiritual or theological perspectives. Follow the Climbing Mt. Soph…

In this podcast, I give you a sneak peek into some of what we are doing with GodsDog and the Garments of Skin comic, while also sharing my very first experience encountering the idea of the garments of skin in the apocryphal Book of Jasher. This was monumental not just for what would later become GodsDog, but it was also part of what drew me to Hol…

In this episode of Universal History, Richard Rohlin and I discuss the Tower of Babel in Scripture (Genesis) and the Book of Jubilees, the symbolism of the structure itself, what it means for us today, Pentecost, and the solution to authoritarianism. - Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/wj9EK0QAW54 Links: - The Symbolic World Summit in-pers…

The Leviathan is a strange creature in the Bible and tradition. In this podcast episode I look at the Leviathan, the sea serpent, the dragon, and its relationship to the devil, and how al of these associations came to be what they can mean. And also it can help us understand how symbolism can be polyvalent that is that symbolism can have multiple m…

This is my discussion with James Poulos about technology and spirituality, how technology has reshaped our world and America, the hope of taking control over new technologies and putting them in the right hands, the role of global institutions, laws, and authority. James Poulos is the co-founder and executive editor of The American Mind at the Clar…

Visit https://thesymbolicworld.com/summit for more information about the Symbolic World Summit Stephen James Blackwood is a Canadian-American professor, academic, and social commentator. Blackwood is the founder and president of Ralston College, a liberal arts college awaiting accreditation in Savannah, Georgia. We met on the Daily Wire+ Exodus pan…

In this episode of Universal History with Richard Rohlin, by popular demand, we finally explored the topic of dragons! We discussed the ubiquitous appearance of dragons across history and different cultures, a dragon’s essential characteristics and mythical nature, their connection to snakes, birds, and angels, and the dragon as a hybrid and guardi…

In this video I discuss the symbolism of titans, giants, and Nephilim in anticipation of the God's'Dog: Warrior Kickstarter. Sign up for early bird specials: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/symbolicworldpress/godsdog-warrior 💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com 🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau 🗣 Join The Symbolic Wor…

Author Georgia Briggs joins Fr. Andrew to talk about the character arc of the great Eowyn, Shieldmaiden of the North and White Lady of Rohan. Why is she the way that she is? Why is she so relatable? What makes her different from the other prominent women in The Lord of the Rings? And which passage in The Silmarillion has notable parallels with her …

In this discussion with Jean-Philippe Marceau, we introduce the latest Symbolic World Course, called Symbolic World Metaphysics, based on JP’s upcoming book. JP also talks a bit more about his journey in the symbolic world, his unique approach to these topics, and what the course will offer. Join other Symbolic World metaphysics enthusiasts to expe…

This is a repost of a discussion with Benjamin Boyce on the topic of the Enlightenment, rationalism and science, the problem of identity on the levels of the individual and the group, value hierarchies, authoritarianism, subsidiarity, love, and sacrifice. This conversation happened after I had some disagreements with James Lindsay on Twitter (X) ab…

In celebration of Theophany (6 January) or Epiphany, as it’s called in the Western tradition, I discuss the meaning of baptism, starting with the baptism of Christ, what it means to be “born again” symbolically, and how Scripture, our sacraments, and the Theophany icon illustrate and explain this to us. Join us for the Symbolic World Summit on Feb …

For my last video of 2023, I discuss the pagan god Janus, after whom the month of January is named; why he has two faces, how it’s related to this time of year, the winter solstice, Christmas, and the general ambiguity and uneasiness of places of transition. Happy New Year! Join us for the Symbolic World Summit on Feb 29th, 2024. Learn more: https:…

For their 2023 Christmas episode, Fr. Andrew and Richard discuss the Old English Cynewulf poem “Christ,” whose famous line “Eala Earendel engla beorhtast” inspired the core of the Tolkien legendarium.By Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Ancient Faith Radio

This video takes a close look at one sentence in the Christmas story. A great company of angels appeared to the shepherds in the field to announce the birth of Christ, and they sang, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom His favour rests”. To many people this statement seems meaningless or abstract, but in celebration of …

Andrea with the Bangs comes back for Part 2 of our mini-series on the Voyages of Earendil. She and Richard talk more about what it would mean for Earendil to leave his wife and sons for the doomed voyage into the West, take a deep-dive into Tolkien’s insanely complex notes for his unfinished Earendil heptology. Finally, Andrea makes a billion-dolla…

In this episode of the Universal History podcast, Richard Rohlin and I discuss Christmas, why it looks the way it does, how Christmas developed into what we have today, and why you absolutely should celebrate it if you’re a Christian. --- Buy the Beowulf Course (You have to have a profile on our Symbolic World community, you can create one for free…

Richard joins Fr. Andrew for the conclusion of his two-year walk through The Hobbit, pondering on what it means to be just a little hobbit in the wide world, reading a little Tinfang Warble, and taking a funky dive into the funkiest of all Tolkien movies.By Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Ancient Faith Radio

This is a repost of an older video published on this channel in 2018. We are reposting it because the original video was blocked by YouTube in several countries. Now also seems like a good time to revisit the topics of aliens, encountering the strange, garments of skin, the consequences and dangers of technology, and all the tropes we have in our c…

This is a repost of my recent discussion with Seraphim Hamilton on his YouTube channel. He asked me many good questions about universal history, re-enchantment, fairy tales, the occult, divination, carnival, war, prayer, and ritual, thinking symbolically about your own life, AI, and more. Enjoy. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/wXwi8r00-XU Previou…

Fr. Joseph Lucas published a thesis on the question of sacrifice, called Offerer and Offering: Cyril of Alexandria on Jewish and Christian Sacrifice. In this video, we discuss sacrifice in Scripture, how we should understand the crucifixion, and how the notion of sacrifice applies to the Christian life. Bio: Father Joseph Lucas is an Orthodox Chris…

This is a repost of a great discussion I had on the Climbing Mt. Sophia channel alongside DC Schindler. We discuss beauty, art, freedom, techne and technology, primarily exploring the question: what is beauty? Original: Climbing Mt. Sophia - Beauty, Art and Freedom with Jonathan Pageau and DC Schindler: https://youtu.be/pIikYtFS4Q8?si=SlFG5MR0Ztbmc…

Richard is rejoined by Andrea with the Bangs for part 1 of a 2-part series on the Voyages of Earendil. They talk about stories, the necessity of properly pairing the masculine and the feminine, and various matters touching seabirds. Richard poses a billion-dollar question to Andrea and the audience.By Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Ancient Faith Radio

For this week’s podcast, I sat down with Fr. Turbo Qualls and David Patrick Harry to discuss beauty and iconography in the Orthodox Christian tradition, why beauty is a part of the Church despite Christ leading a simple life, giving back to God, the meaning and purpose of icons in worship, balancing beauty and charity, the question of idolatry, the…

Dr. Martin Shaw will be a speaker at the Symbolic World Summit next year in Tarpon Springs, Florida. In this conversation we discuss pagan stories, including The Odyssey and The Iliad, our current moment in the West, the return of paganism and a desire for Kleos (imperishable glory) in modern life. We also talk about how much paganism differs from …

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick is Chief Content Officer of Ancient Faith Ministries. He has been podcasting since 2007 and is the host of Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy, Orthodox Engagement, and Roads from Emmaus, as well as co-host of The Lord of Spirits, The Areopagus, and Amon Sûl. I had a wonderful conversation with Fr. Andrew about his latest project, Th…

Michael Landsman joins Fr. Andrew to look at the penultimate chapter of The Hobbit, chapter 18, “The Return Journey,” featuring many farewells and most importantly, the death of Thorin. They talk about themes of hope, asceticism, blessings, generosity, repentance, and of course dwarven eschatology.By Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Ancient Faith Radio

Kendelle Hoyer is passionate about storytelling and art, which has been a life-long pursuit since childhood when she decided she wanted to work in animation. Since then, Kendelle has developed her craft of bringing fantastical stories to life. She has been privileged to work on feature films at major animation studios since 2008, and is currently w…

There is a tendency to isolate religious behavior from other human behavior, which can make religious behavior seem arbitrary or ridiculous. In this week's video, I argue that the best way to understand religion, even from a purely materialist perspective, is to understand it as an extension of other types of ritualized behavior, even those we can …

Michael Haldas joins Richard once again to wrap up the conversation they started in 089 - The Last Homely House: The Fall of Everything. This time, they finally make it to Gondolin, and talk about how Professor Tolkien first broke their hearts. Michael also gives us a DoxaMoot after-action report, and we talk once again about the danger presented b…

I had a great discussion with Annie Crawford. She’s written two wonderful articles for the Symbolic World Blog and is offering a course on C.S. Lewis’ Ransom Trilogy on the Symbolic World website. Check out our discussion about C.S. Lewis, AI, progress, gender, laughter, science, and the mystical. Sign up for Annie’s course on the C.S. Lewis Ransom…