Christian Saints Podcast

James John Marks
  • 4.7 (12)
  • CHRISTIANITY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

The Christian Saints Podcast is a joint production of Paradosis Pavilion & Generative Sounds which explores the calendar of The ChurchEpisodes are hosted by James John Marks of Chicago, with oversight by Fr Symeon Kees, a priest of the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America, through which he is currently serving St Raphael Orthodox Church in Iowa City. If this podcast is edifying for you, please consider the entire Paradosis Pavilion catalog as well as the music of Generative Soundshttps://www.youtube.com/@paradosispavilion9555https://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.com https://www.instagram.com/christiansaintspodcast https://twitter.com/podcast_saints https://www.facebook.com/christiansaintspodcast Iconographic images used by kind permission of Nicholas Papas, who controls distribution rights of these images Prints of all of Nick’s work can be found at Saint Demetrius Press - http://www.saintdemetriuspress.com Please forgive us our shortcomings, and pray for us

  1. This, too, Shall Pass (Season Finale)

    3D AGO

    This, too, Shall Pass (Season Finale)

    00:00 Opening 02:50 Fr Symeon's Sermon 21:30 Salvation isn't  heaven, or morality, it's illumination 28:11 The paranoia born of living in exile 37:18 Orthodoxy doesn't do philosophical apologetics, we seek illumination 54:10 You can't put an onion dome on The Academy 73:29 Closing & housekeeping ~~~ This, too, Shall Pass (Season Finale) - S7E20 ~~~ This is the end of season 7, in which we have focused almost entirely on the journey on the way of the life of faithfulness being one which requires us to put all ideologies to the side & focus on the inner, spiritual life. ~~~ Scripture citations for this episode:  - Gospel Reading from Sunday January 11     - Matthew 4:12-17  - Wisdom & illumination are spiritual not discursive     - Colossians 1:3-14 The Christian Saints Podcast is a joint production of Generative sounds & Paradosis Pavilion. Our hosts are Father Symeon Kees of Iowa City & James John Marks of Chicago. Paradosis Pavilion - https://youtube.com/@paradosispavilion9555 https://www.instagram.com/christiansaintspodcast https://x.com/podcast_saints https://www.facebook.com/christiansaintspodcast https://www.threads.net/@christiansaintspodcast https://bsky.app/profile/xtiansaintspodcast.bsky.social Iconographic images used by kind permission of Nicholas Papas, who controls distribution rights of these images Prints of all of Nick’s work can be found at Saint Demetrius Press - http://www.saintdemetriuspress.com All music in these episodes is a production of Generative Sounds https://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.com Distribution rights of this episode & all music contained in it are controlled by Generative Sounds Copyright 2021 - 2026

    1h 17m
  2. It Will All Fail

    FEB 6

    It Will All Fail

    00:00 Opening 01:04 You can't put The Faith on the screen & do it well 04:23 Stop debating if Jesus was an undocumented immigrant or refugee 07:54 Don't use Christian images as a foil for ideological vision 10:42 I care if the vulnerable meet God, which means I have to feed them 18:40 Silencing the monstrous is the only righteous anger 22:33 Response videos & click bait breed arrogance & division 27:43 Our utopian vision tends to not include ourselves changing 31:38 It is too easy to convince ourselves our sin does not matter 34:08 Your anger is probably self righteous, which means it is sinful 38:27 The lesson of Ebineezer Scrooge is "fear not!" 40:44 God wants to look at us & have us look at Him the way husband & wife look at each other 42:25 It is hard to be angry at other people if we know we're an idiot 46:26 The utopian vision eliminates the possibility of forgiveness 50:49 Dungeons & Dragons plane of Nirvana teaches us how scary utopia would actually be if we tried to live in it 53:34 Closing ~~~ It Will All Fail - S7E19 ~~~ We are nearing the end of season seven & Fr Symeon didn't want to miss the opportunity to talk about how the two dominant ideologies in our culture both rely on what we could call an unconstrained vision of humanity - the dream of The Enlightenment still alive. In this third part of three, we delve into a bit more pop culture references than is typical for us as we continue to try to drive home the idea the pursuit of utopia brings dystopia & the problem is human delusion. We must focus on dispelling delusion, not problem solving & system building. ~~~ Scripture citations for this episode: Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15-19, Luke 19:45-48, John 2:13-17 - Cleansing of the temple Mark 5: 1-20 - Gerasene Demoniac The Christian Saints Podcast is a joint production of Generative sounds & Paradosis Pavilion. Our hosts are Father Symeon Kees of Iowa City & James John Marks of Chicago. Paradosis Pavilion - https://youtube.com/@paradosispavilion9555 https://www.instagram.com/christiansaintspodcast https://x.com/podcast_saints https://www.facebook.com/christiansaintspodcast https://www.threads.net/@christiansaintspodcast https://bsky.app/profile/xtiansaintspodcast.bsky.social Iconographic images used by kind permission of Nicholas Papas, who controls distribution rights of these images Prints of all of Nick’s work can be found at Saint Demetrius Press - http://www.saintdemetriuspress.com All music in these episodes is a production of Generative Sounds https://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.com Distribution rights of this episode & all music contained in it are controlled by Generative Sounds Copyright 2021 - 2026

    56 min
  3. You Can't Build It

    JAN 23

    You Can't Build It

    00:00 Introduction 02:20 Opening 06:17 We are all nuts 10:36 The sins others can't see are more dangerous 13:30 Living enslaved to Sin is standing on a cliff 17:39 We Can't Build Utopia 18:45 What we do has far more consequence than we realize 23:00 The Dream of The Enlightenment breeds cattle & monsters 25:27 Pursuit of Eutopia breeds Dystopia 28:45 A rabbit trail about our favorite fiction genres 32:47 Self delusion causes us to make the means The End 34:10 The Gerasene Demoniac & the pigs 36:07 Why can't people see the path of The Kingdom 43:55 Confession shatters self delusion 47:45 The divine revelation to The Apostles was unique 49:30 Humans tend to want kings, one way or another 50:50 Another rabbit trail about movies about The Bible 54:00 Closing Human Persons Are Not Infinite - S7E18 We are nearing the end of season seven & Fr Symeon didn't want to miss the opportunity to talk about how the two dominant ideologies in our culture both rely on what we could call an unconstrained vision of humanity - the dream of The Enlightenment still alive. In this second part of three, we delve into a bit more pop culture references than is typical for us, we both admit to a love of dystopian fiction & we also speak of the core mission of The Church to usher all of Creation into Paradise, not to amass warriors to create Utopia through Power. Scripture citations for this episode: Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15-19, Luke 19:45-48, John 2:13-17 - Cleansing of the temple Mark 5: 1-20 - Gerasene Demoniac The Christian Saints Podcast is a joint production of Generative sounds & Paradosis Pavilion. Our hosts are Father Symeon Kees of Iowa City & James John Marks of Chicago. Paradosis Pavilion - https://youtube.com/@paradosispavilion9555 https://www.instagram.com/christiansaintspodcast https://x.com/podcast_saints https://www.facebook.com/christiansaintspodcast https://www.threads.net/@christiansaintspodcast https://bsky.app/profile/xtiansaintspodcast.bsky.social Iconographic images used by kind permission of Nicholas Papas, who controls distribution rights of these images Prints of all of Nick’s work can be found at Saint Demetrius Press - http://www.saintdemetriuspress.com All music in these episodes is a production of Generative Sounds https://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.com Distribution rights of this episode & all music contained in it are controlled by Generative Sounds Copyright 2021 - 2026

    54 min
  4. Human Persons Are Not Infinite

    JAN 9

    Human Persons Are Not Infinite

    00:00 Introduction 05:25 Competing ideologies 09:46 The fundamentals - vision of humanity 12:27 Are humans good or evil 16:20 Are people evil or deluded? 19:46 Can we agree on what good & evil are? 22:55 The sinless passions 25:29 Issues of identity 28:00 The Prince of Peace is Born! 31:44 Too much Emmanuel Kant 33:36 Christmas proclaims Love Incarnate 35:00 Genesis 3, The Lie is "Be Unconstrained" 38:12 Optimistic Christianity 40:30 The subtle lie of the brazen serpent 44:15 Christmas is the beginning of the end of Death 47:29 Closing Human Persons Are Not Infinite - S7E17 We are nearing the end of season seven & Fr Symeon didn't want to miss the opportunity to talk about how the two dominant ideologies in our culture both rely on what we could call an unconstrained vision of humanity - the dream of The Enlightenment still alive. We are suggesting the journey on the way of the life of faithfulness to the evangelion of Jesus, The Christ requires us to accept we are created, finite beings & as a consequence we must have a constrained vision of humanity - the dream of The Enlightenment is not only dead, if it came true, we would become either monsters or animals. Yes, there is a way in which our understanding theosis, divination, is a vision of an unconstrained humanity, we can become divine through grace! And the world's denial of this is a kind of constrained vision. Yes, we see this irony. But for the sake of the conversation, we're framing our thoughts as we outlined them above. This conversation was quite long! So the production team has decided to cut it into three sections this time, not just two. Scripture citations for this episode: Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15-19, Luke 19:45-48, John 2:13-17 - Cleansing of the temple Mark 5: 1-20 - Gerasene Demoniac The Christian Saints Podcast is a joint production of Generative sounds & Paradosis Pavilion. Our hosts are Father Symeon Kees of Iowa City & James John Marks of Chicago. Paradosis Pavilion - https://youtube.com/@paradosispavilion9555 https://www.instagram.com/christiansaintspodcast https://x.com/podcast_saints https://www.facebook.com/christiansaintspodcast https://www.threads.net/@christiansaintspodcast https://bsky.app/profile/xtiansaintspodcast.bsky.social Iconographic images used by kind permission of Nicholas Papas, who controls distribution rights of these images Prints of all of Nick’s work can be found at Saint Demetrius Press - http://www.saintdemetriuspress.com All music in these episodes is a production of Generative Sounds https://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.com Distribution rights of this episode & all music contained in it are controlled by Generative Sounds Copyright 2021 - 2026

    48 min
  5. Look Here, Christ Is Born!

    12/26/2025

    Look Here, Christ Is Born!

    00:00 Intro/lead in from previous episode 02:49 Icon of The Nativity, concentric circles 09:05 She Isn't Looking At Her Baby?! 13:00 We Are Joseph, Trying to Understand 18:18 Everyone Has Doubts, We Can't Stay There 22:06 Joseph As Exemplar for Masculinity 29:29 There is Doubt & There is Doubt 33:31 Overcoming Sin Is Target Practice 35:50 Bethlehem is The Church 39:30 Wanting to Believe, Over Time, Changes Us 45:25 Who Is The Hairy Old Man? 48:01 When Jesus Talked to Job About Doubt 51:53 Listen to God, Not Lies 56:20 Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Mankind! 57:49 Is Mary Beckoning to Joseph? 62:03 Closing thoughts & outro In this second half of our conversation with friend of the show, iconographer Nick Papas, we turn primarily to Christmas, while continuing to explore the relationship between the Old Testament icon of The Tree of Jesse & the icon of The Nativity of Our Lord God & Savior Jesus Christ. If you would like access to the spreadsheet which details the relationship of the figures on the tree to Jesus or The Theotokos, please contact us so we can provide it to you. Reference materials for this episode:   - Nick’s work     - https://www.saintdemetriuspress.com    - https://www.facebook.com/Nick.Papas.Studio Scripture citations for this episode:  - Genesis 18: Sarah laughed  - Isaiah 11: The Peaceful Kingdom prophecy of The Messiah  - Luke 1: Zechariah doubts the birth of John & Mary is amazed at the birth of Jesus  - Luke 24: The Road to Emmaus  - Romans 15; references Isaiah 11 #advent #christmas #nativity #iconography The Christian Saints Podcast is a joint production of Generative sounds & Paradosis Pavilion. Our hosts are Father Symeon Kees of Iowa City & James John Marks of Chicago. Paradosis Pavilion - https://youtube.com/@paradosispavilion9555 https://www.instagram.com/christiansaintspodcast https://x.com/podcast_saints https://www.facebook.com/christiansaintspodcast https://www.threads.net/@christiansaintspodcast https://bsky.app/profile/xtiansaintspodcast.bsky.social Iconographic images used by kind permission of Nicholas Papas, who controls distribution rights of these images Prints of all of Nick’s work can be found at Saint Demetrius Press - http://www.saintdemetriuspress.com All music in these episodes is a production of Generative Sounds https://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.com Distribution rights of this episode & all music contained in it are controlled by Generative Sounds Copyright 2021 - 2026

    1h 4m
  6. A Shoot from The Stump of Jesse

    12/12/2025

    A Shoot from The Stump of Jesse

    00:00 Intro/Catching up together 04:48 Pairing Old & New Testament Icons 11:42 Fr Symeon tells a story 17:12 Adoption, grafting, Friendsgiving & the cherry on top 24:05 Saint Paul explaining the reality of Israel in Romans 34:07 The secret in The Nativity icon about Joseph & Mary 37:37 The presence of The Son at both ends of The Tree of Jesse 41:10 Saint Paul at Mars Hill, is the problem life or death 51:15 The importance of physicality & mental stillness 55:09 Closing thoughts & outro A Shoot from The Stump of Jesse - S7E15 In this special Advent themed conversation we again welcome friend of the show, iconographer Nick Papas to help us dive deep into the relationship between the Old Testament icon of The Tree of Jesse & the icon of The Nativity of Our Lord God & Savior Jesus Christ. If you would like access to the spreadsheet which details the relationship of the figures on the tree to Jesus or The Theotokos, please contact us so we can provide it to you. Reference materials for this episode:   - Nick’s work     - https://www.saintdemetriuspress.com    - https://www.facebook.com/Nick.Papas.Studio Scripture citations for this episode:  - Genesis 18: Sarah laughed  - Isaiah 11: The Peaceful Kingdom prophecy of The Messiah  - Luke 1: Zechariah doubts the birth of John & Mary is amazed at the birth of Jesus  - Luke 24: The Road to Emmaus  - Romans 15; references Isaiah 11 #advent #christmas #nativity #iconography  The Christian Saints Podcast is a joint production of Generative sounds & Paradosis Pavilion. Our hosts are Father Symeon Kees of Iowa City & James John Marks of Chicago. Paradosis Pavilion - https://youtube.com/@paradosispavilion9555 https://www.instagram.com/christiansaintspodcast https://x.com/podcast_saints https://www.facebook.com/christiansaintspodcast https://www.threads.net/@christiansaintspodcast https://bsky.app/profile/xtiansaintspodcast.bsky.social Iconographic images used by kind permission of Nicholas Papas, who controls distribution rights of these images Prints of all of Nick’s work can be found at Saint Demetrius Press - http://www.saintdemetriuspress.com All music in these episodes is a production of Generative Sounds https://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.com Distribution rights of this episode & all music contained in it are controlled by Generative Sounds Copyright 2021 - 2026

    57 min
  7. We Win When Our Enemies Are Saved

    11/28/2025

    We Win When Our Enemies Are Saved

    00:00 Intro 02:04 Chapter 1 09:59 Chapter 2 20:11 Chapter 3 30:09 Chapter 4 40:10 Chapter 5 50:08 Chapter 6 61:13 Chapter 7 65:09 Outro The second half of our conversation about how a huge part of the problem with "politics" in The United States is both "sides" have the same underlying assumption: we can't live the good life until everyone agrees with us & the laws reflect our agreement. Fr Symeon's recent trip to visit his family provides an opportunity to poke holes in this assumption by discussing the ways in which, simply as a practical example, we can see people living, as St Paul said "...aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands..." in a country most Americans would insist is about as far from what we want our society to be as is possible. Well, if people can do it under the world's most challenging conditions, then Orthodox Christians can do it in the USA, whether the political winds are going their way, or against them. And if we can walk in the way of the life of faithfulness no matter the political climate, then why are we spending so much time getting wound up about it? Maybe what it boils down to, is we don't want to see all of humanity get saved, we want to see our enemies get their comeuppance.  Reference materials for this episode:  St John Chrysostom’s commentary on Romans  -12:9-21 - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210221.htm & https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210222.htm  - 13:1-7 - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210223.htm Scripture citations for this episode: Romans  - 12:9-21 live in harmony  - 13:1-7 be good citizens 1 Corinthians  - 6:1-11 lawsuits Ephesians  - 6:5-9 no slave rebellions Philemon  - no slave rebellions The Christian Saints Podcast is a joint production of Generative sounds & Paradosis Pavilion. Our hosts are Father Symeon Kees of Iowa City & James John Marks of Chicago. Paradosis Pavilion - https://youtube.com/@paradosispavilion9555 https://www.instagram.com/christiansaintspodcast https://x.com/podcast_saints https://www.facebook.com/christiansaintspodcast https://www.threads.net/@christiansaintspodcast https://bsky.app/profile/xtiansaintspodcast.bsky.social Iconographic images used by kind permission of Nicholas Papas, who controls distribution rights of these images Prints of all of Nick’s work can be found at Saint Demetrius Press - http://www.saintdemetriuspress.com All music in these episodes is a production of Generative Sounds https://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.com Distribution rights of this episode & all music contained in it are controlled by Generative Sounds Copyright 2021 - 2026

    1h 7m
  8. Find the Eye of the Storm

    11/14/2025

    Find the Eye of the Storm

    00:00 Intro/Back from China 03:56 Journalism in China & The West 09:51 Harmony, rancor, journalism, editorial & social media 19:49 Saint Paul to The Church in Rome on quiet living 23:07 Vacation vs daily life in a place 27:29 Nominalism cannot be the path to social harmony 35:57 To love neighbor & enemy we must participate in God's holiness 40:12 Humble repentance is the path to a just society 43:11 Christianity isn't convenient, look at Syria 50:10 Models of church & state 53:20 No such thing as Orthodox government 54:54 The Church is perfect, stop trying to defend it from itself 58:55 The is no invisible church, there is only The Church 63:45 Two ways to try to be above the bishops 65:27 No, we can't all just get along/Closing A huge part of the problem with "politics" in The United States is both "sides" have the same underlying assumption: we can't live the good life until everyone agrees with us & the laws reflect our agreement. Fr Symeon's recent trip to visit his family in China provides an opportunity to poke holes in this assumption by discussing the ways in which, simply as a practical example, we can see people living, as St Paul said "...aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands..." in a country most Americans would insist is about as far from what we want our society to be as is possible. Well, if people can do it in China, then Orthodox Christians can do it in the USA, whether the political winds are going their way, or against them. And if we can walk in the way of the life of faithfulness no matter the political climate, then why are we spending so much time getting wound up about it? Maybe what it boils down to, is we're afraid of inconvenience. Reference materials for this episode:  St John Chrysostom’s commentary on Romans  -12:9-21 - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210221.htm & https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210222.htm  - 13:1-7 - https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210223.htm Scripture citations for this episode: Romans  - 12:9-21 live in harmony  - 13:1-7 be good citizens 1 Corinthians  - 6:1-11 lawsuits Ephesians  - 6:5-9 no slave rebellions Philemon  - no slave rebellions #china #syria  #journalism #editorial #quietlife The Christian Saints Podcast is a joint production of Generative sounds & Paradosis Pavilion. Our hosts are Father Symeon Kees of Iowa City & James John Marks of Chicago. Paradosis Pavilion - https://youtube.com/@paradosispavilion9555 https://www.instagram.com/christiansaintspodcast https://x.com/podcast_saints https://www.facebook.com/christiansaintspodcast https://www.threads.net/@christiansaintspodcast https://bsky.app/profile/xtiansaintspodcast.bsky.social Iconographic images used by kind permission of Nicholas Papas, who controls distribution rights of these images Prints of all of Nick’s work can be found at Saint Demetrius Press - http://www.saintdemetriuspress.com All music in these episodes is a production of Generative Sounds https://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.com Distribution rights of this episode & all music contained in it are controlled by Generative Sounds Copyright 2021 - 2026

    1h 8m
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Ratings & Reviews

4.7
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

The Christian Saints Podcast is a joint production of Paradosis Pavilion & Generative Sounds which explores the calendar of The ChurchEpisodes are hosted by James John Marks of Chicago, with oversight by Fr Symeon Kees, a priest of the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America, through which he is currently serving St Raphael Orthodox Church in Iowa City. If this podcast is edifying for you, please consider the entire Paradosis Pavilion catalog as well as the music of Generative Soundshttps://www.youtube.com/@paradosispavilion9555https://generativesoundsjjm.bandcamp.com https://www.instagram.com/christiansaintspodcast https://twitter.com/podcast_saints https://www.facebook.com/christiansaintspodcast Iconographic images used by kind permission of Nicholas Papas, who controls distribution rights of these images Prints of all of Nick’s work can be found at Saint Demetrius Press - http://www.saintdemetriuspress.com Please forgive us our shortcomings, and pray for us

Information

  • Creator
    James John Marks
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    155
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Christian Saints Podcast
  • Show Website
    Christian Saints Podcast