This podcast has been produced as part of the Orthodox Monasticism course being provided by the London School of Orthodox Christian Studies. This course, together with others being offered, is an online, distance learning course, open to students of all ages, background and international locations. Please visit the London School of Orthodox Christian Studies website for more details.

In this podcast I would like us to consider one of those groups which seems to have been an early precursor of the Orthodox monastic life. These are the less generally well known community known as the Therapeutae. They are described to us by Philo of Alexandria and certainly existed at the time of Christ.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts [00:21:48m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)

The first podcast considering the intermediate state of the soul after death showed that the Fathers of the early Church were unanimous in teaching that the soul continued to exist apart from the body after death, and was in a conscious state of awareness. Over the next series of podcasts on this subject Father Peter Farrington will examine the teachings of some of the most important Fathers in some depth. In this podcast the views of St Severus of Antioch, one of the most important Fathers of the Oriental Orthodox communion, are examined through passages from a selection of his letters. St Severus is shown to be absolutely clear in his insistence on the continuing existence of the soul after death, and in its conscious state of awareness.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts [00:19:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)

The Gospel for the Fifth Sunday of Lent is taken from St John's Gospel, and is that passage where our Lord heals the man who has sat by the pool of Bethesda for 38 years. In this short homily, Father Peter Farrington considers how we are often convinced that we know how we need God to act for us, but he appears in our lives and asks us simply to act in faith and obediece, working out our salvation according to his purposes which are beyond what we expect or imagine.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts [00:07:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)

The Gospel for the Sixth Sunday of Lent is taken from St John's Gospel, and is that passage where our Lord heals the man born blind. In this short homily, Father Peter Farrington considers how we are all of us born blind, as far as spiritual things are concerned, and that just as the Lord Jesus healed the blind man almost without him knowing, so He acts always in our own lives, almost without us knowing, for our salvation.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts [00:08:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (Loading)