102 episodes

A series of twenty reflections on the history of Christian civilization, or Christendom. The entire podcast is organized around the theme of "paradise and utopia"—that is, of the civilization's orientation toward the kingdom of heaven when traditional Christianity was influential, and of its "disorientation" toward the fallen world in the wake of traditional Christianity's decline in the west following the Great Schism.

Paradise and Utopia Fr. John Strickland and Ancient Faith Radio

    • Religion & Spirituality
    • 5.0 • 51 Ratings

A series of twenty reflections on the history of Christian civilization, or Christendom. The entire podcast is organized around the theme of "paradise and utopia"—that is, of the civilization's orientation toward the kingdom of heaven when traditional Christianity was influential, and of its "disorientation" toward the fallen world in the wake of traditional Christianity's decline in the west following the Great Schism.

    Solving Post-Christian Christendom’s Transcendence Problem III: Architects of Nationalist Ideology

    Solving Post-Christian Christendom’s Transcendence Problem III: Architects of Nationalist Ideology

    Fr. John Strickland concludes his account of the origins of modern political ideology with the rise of nationalism, a force that not only proved to be a counterfeit to traditional Christianity, but the cause of one of utopian Christendom's greatest tragedies.

    • 30 min
    Solving Post-Christian Christendom’s Transcendence Problem II: The Architects of Socialist Ideology.

    Solving Post-Christian Christendom’s Transcendence Problem II: The Architects of Socialist Ideology.

    Fr. John Strickland continues his account of the rise of secular ideology with a presentation on the Russian intelligentsia and the case of Karl Marx.

    • 46 min
    Solving Post-Christian Christendom’s Transcendence Problem I: The Architects of Liberal Ideology

    Solving Post-Christian Christendom’s Transcendence Problem I: The Architects of Liberal Ideology

    In this long-delayed episode (due to work on The Age of Nihilism, available at store.ancientfaith.com/the-age-of-nihilism-christendom-from-the-great-war-to-the-culture-wars), Father John presents the historical origins of liberalism as a modern secular ideology. Atheistic philosophers like Auguste Comte and John Stuart Mill provided the philosophical basis for hope in a secular "kingdom of posterity."

    • 38 min
    Age of Utopia Released

    Age of Utopia Released

    Fr. John Strickland announces the release of the third volume of his book series. The Age of Utopia: Christendom from the Renaissance to the Russian Revolution (store.ancientfaith.com/the-age-of-utopia) is a companion to the podcast, but, as he notes, contains quite a bit of material that is unique. Here he summarizes some of its content.

    • 14 min
    The Forest and Its Trees: An Answer to Cyril Jenkins, Part II

    The Forest and Its Trees: An Answer to Cyril Jenkins, Part II

    In this second half of his response to a recent review of his books, Fr. John Strickland discusses his use of scholarly sources (The Age of Division required more than three hundred and fifty of them). He also reflects on how criticisms of his sources and his arguments may have been provoked by the unconventional way in which he tells the story of Christendom.

    • 1 hr 13 min
    Monographs and Metanarratives: An Answer to Cyril Jenkins, Part I

    Monographs and Metanarratives: An Answer to Cyril Jenkins, Part I

    In this special edition of Paradise and Utopia, Fr. John Strickland responds to a recent review of the first two volumes of his book series. In it, he notes the failure to consider the books on their own terms. He uses the opportunity to elaborate what he considers a healthy vision of Christian historiography, one that supports what many consider the need for a "re-enchantment" of modern culture.

    • 38 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
51 Ratings

51 Ratings

bGuiles ,

Thank you

Father John, thank you for this podcast. It is the second Orthodox podcast series on Christian history I will listen to as I journey home. I may elaborate here once finished. I found one flaw in the 2nd or 3rd episode, a clipping of your voice which made it difficult at times to clearly hear important words. It would be best to rerecord that one. Later… no further voice clipping. I’m learning so much from your very clear teaching. Thank you very much!

Update 10/10/22:
I just finished all of the available episodes and have been profoundly helped spiritually. Thank you!

I just wish you had been able to delve as deeply into the later episodes as the earlier ones. And of course that you had been able to finish. I’m hungry for more so just contacted you via your website to ask when that might occur. I can’t thank you enough for all of this and so hope to someday read these books and glean that much more. Meanwhile I’m going to start over now to absorb and integrate these more deeply. Thanks again and God bless you!

richemerson ,

Excellent Show

Strickland's podcast, in companionship with his two recent books, has been a crucial eye-opener to the history of Europe over the last two thousand years. Both for understanding the nature of Christendom during the first millenium, and the degree to which Christendom changed after the Schism in 1054, with the New Papacy. Highly recommended!

papa main ,

The entire series...

Woven beautifully by a master of history and theology. Deep and of great help to minor thinkers our here trying to make sense of the great royal path.

Top Podcasts In Religion & Spirituality

Ascension
D-Group
Ascension
Brittany Dawn Nelson
Joel Osteen
Hank Smith & John Bytheway

You Might Also Like

Fr. Stephen De Young and Ancient Faith Radio
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick, Fr. Stephen De Young, and Ancient Faith Ministries
Jonathan Pageau
Fr. Andrew Damick, Michael Landsman, and Ancient Faith Radio
Fr. Thomas Soroka and Ancient Faith Radio
First Things