Recorded in person during a seminary week at South Bound Brook, Fr. Anthony Perkins and Fr. Harry Linsenbigler reflect on two passages from In Every Church (p. 78) to clarify how Christ “fills” every ministry in the Church—from the faithful to readers, deacons, presbyters, and bishops—without making ordination a ladder of personal holiness. They challenge a common misreading (including selective appeals to Pseudo-Dionysius) that treats ecclesial rank as a holiness metric, instead, grounding the Church’s true unity in the liturgy’s confession that “One is holy” and in the equal reception of Christ in Holy Communion. Finally, they frame clerical fatherhood as a derivative grace rather than a personal possession, urging vigilance against pride and despondency, and calling parishes to a shared culture of mutual support so that every vocation—ordained or lay—can be exercised as service within the royal priesthood of the faithful.

Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony explore how internet culture, consumerism, and disincarnate “platforms” distort Orthodox teaching and tempt all of us to become unappointed theologians. Drawing on Metropolitan Saba, Thinking Orthodox, St. James 3, and St. John Climacus, they unpack why theology must remain ecclesial, relational, and local—discerned and bounded within the life of the parish and the wider Church. They conclude with a pastoral call for accountability in online ministry and for internet engagement that flows out of real parish life, gratitude for one’s bishop and priest, and a deeper commitment to becoming saints together face to face.

In this episode, Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony unpack how a truly sacramental worldview means that the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church is concretely instantiated in your particular parish— with its people, culture, limits, and gifts. They caution against importing personal preferences based on previous experiences and monastic or on-line ideals into parish life, urging charity, patience, and attentive listening (their “Kentucky windage”) so that real formation in Christ happens as it should; i.e. through local, embodied relationships

Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony turn to 1 Corinthians 11 to explore the meaning of head coverings in the Church. They show how St. Paul’s teaching addressed cultural practices in Corinth that threatened unity, reminding us that customs should serve modesty, harmony, and love rather than become points of pride or contention. In the end, they emphasize that whatever practices we keep must help build up the Body of Christ in faith and unity. Enjoy the show!

In response to a listener’s question, Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony explore the role of women in the life of the Church, from family and parish life to broader questions of ministry. They distinguish between the ordained priesthood, reserved for men, and the universal royal priesthood shared equally by all the baptized, emphasizing that men and women alike bring unique gifts and callings into the Body of Christ. Drawing on Scripture, the Fathers, and pastoral wisdom, they stress the need for discernment, humility, and submission within the Church, while warning against cultural influences and online divisiveness that distort ecclesial life. Enjoy the show!