Best Fr Geoffrey Ready Podcasts (2024)

1
Reincorporating the Lost - E8 - Narrative Theology 31:25

18h ago31:25

31:25

Whether through improv, songs or stories, audiences are delighted when the narrative draws to an end and elements that had been seemingly discarded are brought back into play. In fact, "Reincorporating the Lost" is necessary to bring a fulfilling conclusion to any story (just ask a child whose parent has attempted to summarize the ending to a plot!…

1
Receiving Gifts - E7 - Narrative Theology 31:44

8d ago31:44

31:44

Instead of a binary decision between accepting gifts without discernment, or blocking them without engagement (neither of which would make for good improv theatre), there is also a third option, that of over-accepting, which focuses on the way we receive the gift. Rather than focus on what the gift IS, or what the gift is FOR, or even whether it is…

1
Questioning Givens - E6 - Narrative Theology 30:45

15d ago30:45

30:45

In the previous episode "Accepting & Blocking", we discussed the importance in improv of using the strategy of "Yes, and..." to further the narrative. Of course, there are multiple ways of saying yes, and often this requires us to question givens. The givens we assume can imprison the way we think and act, but when we question those givens we can r…

1
Accepting & Blocking - E5 - Narrative Theology 31:47

23d ago31:47

31:47

"I'm not your mom, and you're actually a dog". A ridiculous reply, without a doubt (especially taken out of context, but you'll have to listen to the podcast for that). Tragically, the Church sounds precisely like this most of the time. A blocking response like this one is based on fear. Fear that we cannot let go of control of the narrative, fear …

1
Assessing Status - E4 - Narrative Theology 35:36

1M ago35:36

35:36

"Assessing Status" is a game that improv actors use to develop their skills, and it's also a game that we play daily as we interact with other people. It's part of the context of every relationship, every encounter. High and low status are neither good nor bad in and of themselves, but both are assumed as roles and can be used to move the narrative…

1
Forming Habits - E3 - Narrative Theology 33:09

1M ago33:09

33:09

In this episode, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey reflect on a chapter in Improvisation: The Drama of Christian Ethics by Samuel Wells... well, Fr Yuri improvises his part in the reflection (and a good job he does, indeed!). We make a mistake when we think of ethics as only being issues and struggles that interrupt our "normal life". In fact, this view is e…

1
Drama & Improvisation - E2 - Narrative Theology 35:15

1M ago35:15

35:15

If life is a play, indeed a drama, what are our lines? Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri explore the analogy of God's story as a five act play, where we have intimate knowledge of the three acts that have come before, book-ended by intimate knowledge of the final act, while in the midst of act four. As Christians we often look for a script, or mistakenly thi…

1
Doing the Right Thing - E1 - Narrative Theology 31:58

2M ago31:58

31:58

We enter into our new series, Narrative Theology, by considering what it means to do the right thing, and by what methods we should discern what the right thing is anyway. Ethics are based on stories such as what a human person is, what the goal of our being is, and what constitutes a good life. As Christians, our ethics are based on the greatest s…

1
Finale - E19 - Your Liturgical Bible 34:53

10M ago34:53

34:53

We come to the final episode of our series on Your Liturgical Bible, which has been focused on the pillars of the bible and its narrative themes, connecting what's written in the bible with what we do through ritual. We have seen that in the Orthodox church, liturgical worship is the primary way we experience the Scriptures, express our faith and e…

1
King - E18 - Your Liturgical Bible 33:31

10M ago33:31

33:31

The core theme of the Scriptures could be considered to be the theme of monarchy. Initially the biblical narrative seems to imply that having a king would be desirable, despite prophetic warnings against, and then we see the kings of Israel fail again and again. So is it a good idea to have a king, or not? The fact is, our human expectations of kin…

1
Promised Land - E17 - Your Liturgical Bible 32:15

10M ago32:15

32:15

The imagery of land and promised land in the Scriptures can be lost on those of us who live in lands of abundance. But we must also be careful to understand that the promised land is not merely imagery. It is a very real parcel of territory from which God's promises are shown to move out into the world. There can be a tendency amongst Christian to …

1
Image of God - E16 - Your Liturgical Bible 30:20

10M ago30:20

30:20

As we see in the Scriptures, the Israelites had a very mature, deep and rich understanding of what it means to be an image of God. Interestingly, the word used for being an image of God is also the same word that is used for an idol, showing a duality we need to be cautious of, and the importance of ordering ourselves according to the divine and no…

1
Family - E15 - Your Liturgical Bible 29:45

10M ago29:45

29:45

Christians like to tout that the Bible is all about family values, but what do we really mean by that? In fact, the very first thing that happens in God's plan of salvation is that Abram is told to abandon his family and nation in order to form a new family by which, God promises, all families will be blessed. Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri discuss this a…

1
Resurrection - E14 - Your Liturgical Bible 30:00

11M ago30:00

30:00

What did Second Temple Jews believe about Sheol, the realm of the dead, and resurrection? There are resurrection - or bodily resuscitation - accounts throughout the scriptures, so how did the various sects interpret those accounts? Were they considered symbolic, historic or prophetic, personal or communal? In this episode of Your Liturgical Bible, …

1
Life After Death - E13 - Your Liturgical Bible 31:20

11M ago31:20

31:20

Typically, and sadly, when we hear the words "life after death", we think of what happens to our soul after our body dies. Maybe it even spurs us to make sure that we are doing the proper things, thinking the proper way, checking the right boxes, achieving a spiritual condition that will assure we are on the right side of that equation. The scriptu…

1
Ark - E12 - Your Liturgical Bible 35:20

11M ago35:20

35:20

When we hear the word "ark", many of us think of Noah or Moses (...or perhaps Indiana Jones). What is an ark? What are we meant to call to mind when we read about arks in the scriptures, and how does this biblical imagery express itself in our liturgical worship? Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri explore these questions, and caution that we are not meant to …

1
Divine Council - E11 - Your Liturgical Bible 32:35

12M ago32:35

32:35

Time to get uncomfortable! Instead of trying to explain away the "lowercase g" gods, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey define what is meant by the "Divine Council", both in common parlance and also within the Orthodox context and understanding. As we read the scriptures and participate in the liturgy, it's important to understand what monotheism is, and what…

1
Wind - E10 - Your Liturgical Bible 31:07

12M ago31:07

31:07

Wind, breath and spirit. In English we have these three words, but there is just one word in the Hebrew (ruach) and the Greek (pneuma). In fact, there are many more metaphorical applications of this word, such as air, anger, blast, courage, despondency, quick-tempered, inspired, trustworthy and wrath. This spirit, breath and wind portrays God's act…

1
Fire - E9 - Your Liturgical Bible 31:34

12M ago31:34

31:34

When we think of fire in the Bible, we may come up with images of hellfire, the judgement of God and a casting away from His presence. In actuality, fire is used in scripture as a way of God revealing Himself and His holiness. Fire is God's presence which humans encounter, which refines and purifies - and in this way, it's not wrong to think of fir…

1
Trees - E8 - Your Liturgical Bible 31:35

1y ago31:35

31:35

People are trees! Except it's a bit more nuanced than that because you need to also keep in mind... trees are people! Right from the Genesis story, we see that trees (and seeds) feature prominently in the scriptural narrative, and often mirror the human story. Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri offer tools for your "biblical literacy toolbelt" to help you unp…

1
Wilderness - E7 - Your Liturgical Bible 31:06

1y ago31:06

31:06

To be human is to experience times of wilderness. That is, wilderness the way Israelites understood and lived it. In modern times we tend to think of wilderness as a lush getaway, a place of refuge from our urban environment, but in the Scriptural context it is a place of desolation and lack and need, a place of testing, and a time of drawing neare…

1
Mountains - E6 - Your Liturgical Bible 31:47

1y ago31:47

31:47

Symbolically, to be on a high place is to be on secure dry land, where creation flourishes and where God dwells among His people in an awesome and awful (or rather awe-full) way. In this episode, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey discuss the ways mountains appear in the Scriptures, how we understand the meaning of mountains throughout the scriptural story an…

1
Waters of Death - E5 - Your Liturgical Bible 30:55

1y ago30:55

30:55

Continuing on with the theme of water, in this episode Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri plunge into the Waters of Death - the chaotic, deadly, stagnant waters that are the counterpoint to the lifegiving waters that were explored last episode. Throughout the bible, in Genesis, Exodus, the prophets and the gospel accounts, the power of water is revealed. More…

1
Waters of Life - E4 - Your Liturgical Bible 31:57

1y ago31:57

31:57

While the themes of the waters of life and death are intertwined in the Scriptures, in this episode, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey explore the aspect of water that is life-giving and fruitful. From the creation account, through the prophets and into the New Testament, the Scriptures are woven through with experiences of living water. As Orthodox Christia…

1
The Forgotten Pillar - E3 - Your Liturgical Bible 30:51

1y ago30:51

30:51

We have now gone through the seven pillars of biblical literacy as outlined by the Bible Project podcast, but there is a pillar that was missed. This forgotten pillar, or perhaps better called the Pillar of Pillars, is the bible as Liturgical Literature. Of course the bible precedes our Divine Liturgy, yet if the Liturgy is understood as the experi…

1
Pillars of Biblical Literacy - E2 - Your Liturgical Bible 32:20

1y ago32:20

32:20

"Your Liturgical Bible" is our new series created just for our patrons. We will be exploring what the bible is - and what it's not. We will discuss how we're meant to read Scripture, how it connects with Liturgy and our life, and how we can use it to enact the Kingdom. In this second of half of our series introduction, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey explo…

1
Your Liturgical Bible - E1 - Series Introduction 36:16

1y ago36:16

36:16

We are so excited to begin our new series created just for our patrons, Your Liturgical Bible. The Scriptures are the source material for our liturgical services, either directly or indirectly. The goal is to provide our listeners with the tools to read the Scriptures in a way that informs how we experience Liturgy, and then ultimately allows us to…

1
Becoming a Monastic - Desert Fathers and Mothers Patreon Re-Release E8 - Finale 31:25

1+ y ago31:25

31:25

In our final episode on the sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey reflect on the impact these words can have on our modern lives. Even those sayings that deal with becoming a monastic (which at first may seem too far out of reach) can apply to us who live in the world, as we share a common call to asceticism. In this si…

1
Do These Three Things - Desert Fathers and Mothers Patreon Re-Release E7 33:25

1+ y ago33:25

33:25

There are many sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers that mention "three essential things" of the spiritual life, and they are incredibly varied and often paradoxical. Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey discuss these as well as sayings that involve prayer, and the differing gifts of Christians. In this sixth season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasin…

1
Virtues & Silence - Desert Fathers and Mothers Patreon Re-Release E6 34:36

1+ y ago34:36

34:36

As we continue our series on the desert sayings, Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri explore the themes of virtues, charity and services of love, as well as solitude, silence and hesychia. Today's sayings prove to us again the true meaning of monasticism, which is rooted in monachos - singular focus - which is not the same as being by oneself. It is rather abo…

1
Cart Before the Horse - Desert Fathers and Mothers Patreon Re-Release E5 32:58

2y ago32:58

32:58

In this episode on our series of the Desert Sayings, we touch on two themes: the tears of compunction (are those tears self-centered or Christ-centered?) and the necessity for practice in the spiritual life (and sticking with that practice even when there are no discernible results). In this sixth season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a …

1
Simplicity - Desert Fathers and Mothers Patreon Re-Release E4 35:13

2y ago35:13

35:13

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri explore two themes in this fourth episode in our series on the Desert Sayings. The first is simplicity - the importance of always being a beginner, maintaining humility, practicing restraint and putting things in their proper place. The second theme is on spiritual elders and soul friends - those relationships where we can b…

1
The Head and the Heart - Desert Fathers and Mothers Patreon Re-Release E3 32:28

2y ago32:28

32:28

What do the terms "the head" and "the heart" encompass? What does it mean to have the head descend into the heart? Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey discuss desert sayings related to heart-centered spirituality, as well as thoughts, desires and passions. It's so much easier to numb ourselves to the real work we are called to, with counterfeits that replace w…

1
Give Me a Word - Desert Fathers and Mothers Patreon Re-Release E2 34:25

2y ago34:25

34:25

"Give me a word" is a theme of many desert sayings that have been passed down to us, and (let's be honest) the basis of this whole series! Usually it is a short, pithy piece of advice that the hearer is expected to sit with and ponder. Whether an encouragement or a challenge, it must always be wrestled with and actually put into practice. In this s…

1
Season 6 Introduction - Desert Fathers and Mothers Patreon Re-Release E1 30:56

2y ago30:56

30:56

In this sixth season of Enacting the Kingdom, we are releasing a series on the Sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers that was previously only available to our patrons. If you like what you hear, and would like access to much more, please consider supporting our project by heading to patreon.com/enactingthekingdom and choosing a tier of support.…

1
The Joy of Life - Liturgies of Life Finale 30:29

2y ago30:29

30:29

We can be tempted to see our faith as being in competition with other aspects of our life, be that sports, consumerism, politics, theatre or music (among so many others), but that is not the way we are meant to approach life. We should not artificially divide the sacred and the secular. We are called to participate in all of these Liturgies of Life…

1
Political Ideology as Dogma - Liturgies of Life E22 31:56

2y ago31:56

31:56

Ideology is the study of ideas, the study of their origin and nature. In this sense, we should never let our ideology, political or otherwise, become dogmatic. It should always be careful, considered, skeptical, and open to new ideas. And as Orthodox Christians, we should model how to hold dogma properly. Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey discuss this and al…

1
Scientism as Sacred Authority - Liturgies of Life E21 32:46

2y ago32:46

32:46

In the last episode, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey discussed science as a cosmic story and how that story relates to the Gospel. This week, they discuss the problem of the phrase "science says...". Scientific pursuit can be taken to an extreme, and thought of as the only way of rendering truth, in a sense proclaiming scientism to be a sacred authority in…

1
Science as a Cosmic Story - Liturgies of Life E20 31:14

2y ago31:14

31:14

As the transcendent Christian story has been reduced to a package of beliefs and behaviours, science has filled the void with a compelling, impressive, awe-inspiring narrative. It checks many of the same "boxes" and, when pursued in truth, can lead to the development of many of the same virtues: openness, humility, honesty, tolerance, caring, and e…

1
Health & Fitness as Telos - Liturgies of Life E19 31:03

2y ago31:03

31:03

As Orthodox Christians, we participate in a story that has a telos, or end purpose, which is theosis. So what is the telos of health and fitness? Or has health and fitness become the end goal itself? In this day and age, when fitness centres sometimes stand in for churches as a place for community, transformation and purpose, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffre…

1
Doctors as Priests - Liturgies of Life E18 31:02

2y ago31:02

31:02

As Orthodox Christians, we do not artificially divide the body and the soul. There is a spiritual dimension to the medical care of our bodies and there is a physical dimension to spiritual care. In this episode, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey discuss the roles of priests and doctors, the blind trust in (or mistrust of) medical science, the prosperity gosp…

1
Theatre & Film as Liturgy - Liturgies of Life E17 31:03

2y ago31:03

31:03

The Orthodox Liturgy is full of theatricality, so it's easy to draw parallels between it and film and theatre, although clearly the Liturgy is no mere performance. In this episode, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey explore how theatre and film are similar to and different from Liturgy, and most importantly how they are both intimately connected with the perf…

1
Civil (Dis)Obedience - Liturgies of Life E16 30:43

2y ago30:43

30:43

The Church has always been learning what it means to belong to God's Kingdom and live in the world. There is no doubt that Christ is sovereign, so in a sense civil disobedience to a worldly kingdom is inevitable, yet we still recognize and pray for civil authorities. So what does it mean for an Orthodox Christian to be obedient or disobedient to th…

1
Harry Potter as Sacred Text - Liturgies of Life E15 30:34

2y ago30:34

30:34

"Reading fiction doesn't help us escape the world, it helps us live in it" is the thesis of a podcast called Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, which meditates on pieces of the text almost as if they were Scripture. Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri can certainly get behind the thesis - but to what degree should we participate in narrative this way? You may b…

1
Popular Music as Worship - Liturgies of Life E14 34:34

2y ago34:34

34:34

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri speak about what draws us to the concert experience, and how this can also be found within the church (sometimes controversially)! Popular music today is asking profoundly religious questions - often not with satisfying answers - but when you look deeply, the ultimate answer, the Gospel message, can be pointed to. Of course,…

1
Netflix as an Altar - Liturgies of Life E13 31:29

2y ago31:29

31:29

Just as our churches orient us to where our attention should be, so do our homes. Where is the focal point, or the altar, of our spaces? Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri explore the various ways that streaming services, and entertainment in general, manifest as a liturgy in our life - and offer strategies to take control, and use it for Good. Enacting the K…

1
Public Intellectuals - Liturgies of Life E12 37:53

2y ago37:53

37:53

Public intellectuals are certainly a part of the liturgies of our modern life, but it's really not a new phenomenon. To varying degrees, they have always been part of life, including within church circles - well before the dawn of YouTube and TED talks. What are the good ways to engage with public intellectuals, and what are the ways to avoid? Keep…

1
Sports as Religion - Liturgies of Life E11 34:03

2y ago34:03

34:03

Cathedrals, liturgical colours, pilgrimages, chanting, saints, relics - sports are clearly religious, and profoundly successful, at that. To what degree can Orthodox Christians engage with these rituals? Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri point to the good in sports, and also point beyond to the greater Good. Keep up to date with us by joining our mailing lis…

1
Work/Life Balance - Liturgies of Life E10 31:55

2y ago31:55

31:55

As our work becomes increasingly divorced from the way we live our lives, we are often posed with the question of work/life balance. But are work and life opposites that need to be balanced? Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey propose a different way to look at how we measure a good life, rooted in the purpose of Life itself. Keep up to date with us by joining…

1
Food at Home - Liturgies of Life E9 35:36

2y ago35:36

35:36

We all have our food rituals. Whether its having our weekday lunch solo in front of Netflix, or insisting on buttery popcorn for family movie night, these rituals take many forms. Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri pose some questions we can use to gauge whether these food rituals, these liturgies, are helpful or detrimental to us, as well as offer advice on …

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