The Saint Emmelia Podcast
Promoting, Supporting, and Uniting Homeschooling Families Throughout Orthodox North America
The Saint Emmelia Podcast is an outreach of the Department of Homeschooling (Saint Emmelia Ministries) of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. Our mission is to provide inspiring and informative resources and experiences that equip homeschooling families to educate the next generation of Orthodox faithful in North America. This podcast has four segments: Tales from the Little Church, interviews conducted by Matushka Melissa Naasko and Marcy Fox; Hiding in the Library, discussions on reading and literature; Growing with Grace, insights for teens by our Interns; and Spiritual Nuggets, wisdom from our Spiritual Advisors.
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Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Next Steps: An Interview with Megan Bonynge
Christopher talks with Megan Bonynge about the transition from high school to college for Orthodox Christian students, highlighting the importance of support systems, the common struggles of anxiety, depression, relationships, stress, and trauma, and the increase in loneliness.
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Next Steps: An Interview with Pres. Krista Fedorchak
Presbytera Krista Fedorchak focuses on the shift in responsibility for food decisions from parents to students and the logistical challenges of budgeting and scheduling meals. For Orthodox Christians in particular, this transition can be especially difficult during fasting periods. Pres. Krista shares her ideas for how students can nourish their bodies during these years when there is so much emphasis on the mind.
Tuesday, January 13, 2026
Next Steps: An Interview with Kh. BethAnn
Christopher talks with Kh. BethAnn Hyatt about the challenges and joys of the high school-to-college transition from a parent's perspective, specifically detailing her family's non-traditional path, which involved homeschooling, a period in public school, and the very different struggles and paths her two oldest sons experienced after high school. Kh. BethAnn offers tips and advice for homeschooled students, especially how to overcome challenges.
Tuesday, December 16, 2025
107 - Spiritual Nuggets: Marriage as Teamwork
In this talk, taken from the Saint Macrina Lecture "Teamwork: Marriage is not 50/50 (It's 100/100)," Fr. Luke Carpenter (St. Philip's Orthodox Church in Souderton, PA) describes a theological understanding of marriage.
Tuesday, December 2, 2025
106 - Hiding in the Library: Underrated Classics
Mindi and three of the Saint Emmelia interns--Sophia, Caroline, and Christina--have a roundtable discussion about often overlooked classics, and why they should be read.
Books mentioned:
Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose
Coriolanus by William Shakespeare
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Idiot by Fyodr Dostoevsky
The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
The Professor by Charlotte Bronte
Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery
Melissa Naasko
Fr. Noah Bushelli
Mindi Popovich-Schneider
Marcy Fox