Ancient Faith Today Kevin Allen and Ancient Faith Radio

As we enter the election cycle in 2016 what biblical principles or Church canons should be priorities in selecting candidates and supporting party platforms? Should Christian teachings, moral and bio-ethical teaching and Orthodox canons be disregarded in a contemporary secular society? Kevin’s guest is George E. Demacopolous, a Professor of Theology and the Fr. John Meyendorff and Patterson Family Chair of Orthodox Christian Studies, as well as the Co-Director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham University in New York.

In America Christianity is losing its youth, especially when they enter college and university. This is the case across all Christian faith traditions. Two recent studies conducted by both the Barna Group and USA Today found that nearly 75 percent of Christian young people fall away from the faith between the ages of 18 and 22. In this program, host Kevin Allen discusses with his guest Emma Solak, an Orthodox Christian university student and active member of the Orthodox Christian Fellowship—a pan-Orthodox Christian campus ministry—he challenges today’s Christian students face in college and our increasingly secular culture, and ways to stay strong in the faith.

In this first episode of 2016, host Kevin Allen speaks with Archimandrite and Abbot Sergius of the Monastery of Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk, the oldest Orthodox monastery in the U.S., about practical ways Christians can cooperate with the grace of God to "...be transformed ..." (Rom. 12:2) into the Likeness of Christ. Abbot Sergius is the author of the book "Acquiring the Mind of Christ: Embracing the Vision of the Orthodox Church" (St Tikhon Seminary Press). Father Sergius is the 16th Abbot of Saint Tikhon’s Monastery and Lecturer of Orthodox Spirituality at Saint Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary.

One of the great evils of all times is slavery and in this time human trafficking. Unknown to many an Antiochian Orthodox Christian has dedicated his life to educating the public and ending this evil practice. In this episode host Kevin Allen speaks about human trafficking with Tony Nassif Jr, the President of the Cedars Cultural and Educational Foundation. He also produces national Preventing Abuse Conferences which focuses on preventing human trafficking and child abduction.

For most people in our society the Christmas season is a time of celebration, with holiday parties, and unleashed consumerism. For Orthodox Christians however the Advent Season is a time of fasting, prayer and ascetic struggle. Why? In this edition of Ancient Faith Today, host Kevin Allen discusses with Father Gregory Jensen, author of the book The Cure for Consumerism, the reason for the ascetic struggle for Orthodox Christians.

Many Orthodox Christians are wondering how to live and raise their families in an increasingly secularized and anti-Christian culture in the U.S. and Western Europe where many believe Christianity has lost the "culture wars." In this episode of Ancient Faith Today, host Kevin Allen speaks with author and journalist Rod Dreher, of The American Conservative, about what he calls "The Benedict Option."