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. Is This for Everyone?

    2D AGO

    Is This for Everyone?

    00:00 Introduction 01:50 The focus of the four gospel accounts 02:40 The hymnody, apolytikion & odes for Palm Sunday 07:55 But what about us Gentiles? 11:59 We are from the ten tribes & we are grafted in to restore them 13:42 Closing ~~~ Palm Sunday - Is This For Everyone? ~~~ Reference materials for this episode:  Orthros for the Sunday of The Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem  Scripture citations for this episode: Isaiah 1:2-3  - Prophecy we see reflected in The Nativity icon, those Of The Nations are the donkey Ezekiel 37: 1-14  - The valley of the dead bones Zachariah 9:9-17  - The prophecy picked up by Saint Matthew The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem  - Matthew 21:1-17  - Mark 11:1-11  - Luke 19:28-40  - John 12:12-19 Matthew 27:51-53  - Those who rose from the dead when Jesus died ~~~ In our series of reflections on the Lenten Triodion we have reached Palm Sunday, which, strictly speaking, is after Lent is over, but we're going to carry all the way through Holy Week here. When talking about Lazarus Saturday, Jim focused on what Jesus' ministry meant for The Jews. This week he's focusing on what it means for those of us who are Of The Nations, known as Gentiles. Salvation is for everyone. 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

    15 min
  2. From What Are We Saved?

    FEB 27

    From What Are We Saved?

    00:00 Introduction 01:19 The Gospel Account of Saint John's telling of the raising of Lazarus 08:53 The apolytikion emphasizes the general resurrection 11:29 Parallel to The Feast of Transfiguration 12:32 The verses of the odes for Lazarus Saturday 15:36 Our obligation to the evangelion of The Christ 19:45 Closing ~~~ Lazarus Saturday - From What Are We Saved? ~~~ Reference materials for this episode:  Little Compline for the evening prior to Lazarus Saturday  - As translated into English by the Antiochian Archdiocese of North America Scripture citations for this episode: John 11:1 - John 12:11  - The raising of Lazarus ~~~ Jim returns to the series of Lenten Triodion reflections he began last year. Having completed the Sundays of preparation & the Sundays of Lent, he picks up this week with Lazarus Saturday. The Church emphasizes the confirmation of the general resurrection as well as this event being the "final straw" which drives the Sadducees to seek Jesus' death which is why this day is one week prior to His crucifixion on the Liturgical calendar. 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

    21 min
  3. This, too, Shall Pass (Season Finale)

    FEB 20

    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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. 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
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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
    157
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Christian Saints Podcast
  • Show Website
    Christian Saints Podcast

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