Episodes

From The Lord of Spirits

All other Lord of Spirits episodes.

Episodes

Commander Shepherd 2026-06-30
The strangest and most mysterious of the texts in the ancient Christian collection known as the Apostolic Fathers is the Shepherd of Hermas. How…
The Gods of Gerizim 2026-06-02
When the Assyrians carried off the 10 northern Israelite tribes, they imported pagans into Samaria. What is the nature of the religion these people…
Let Me Acts You Something 2026-05-19
What happened to the Apostles after the events of Acts? Traditions regarding them are preserved in apocryphal texts from the early Church, but how…
From Abel to Zechariah 2026-04-27
Martyrdom runs throughout the whole Scriptures, memorably referenced by Christ in His phrase "from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah."…
He Suffered and Was Buried 2026-04-09
What is going on with the Gospel accounts of the passion of Jesus? Why do the Gospel writers describe it as they do? Join us for a close look at the…
What Must I Do to Be Saved? 2026-03-31
Is "salvation" a technical term in Christianity? How is it used in the Bible? And what does it mean to be faithful to the calling of salvation? Tune…
East End Boys, West End Girls 2026-02-17
Why is the Western theology of salvation, both Catholic and Protestant, different from Orthodoxy? Where did the Latin "treasury of merit" come from?…
Stole Something? Kill a Goat! 2026-01-27
Old Testament sacrifices were offered for sins, but was it only accidental ones? What happens if you sin on purpose? Does Jesus' sacrifice change…
Bring Out Your Dead 2026-01-13
What do you do with a dead human body? The ancient world had strong opinions about this, and they showed up not only in their cemeteries and…
Yesterday, Today & Forever 2025-12-30
Icons of God in the Old Testament depict Jesus. The Hymn of Kassiani includes "I will kiss Thy feet whose tread, when it fell on the ears of Eve in…
When the Morning Stars Sang 2025-12-16
Mankind has looked to the heavens with fascination since pre-history, always charting the stars and sometimes worshiping them. But what is the…
Magical Mystery Tour 2025-12-02
Christianity has been called a “mystery” religion. There are some who say that it is simply one of many mystery cults that existed in the ancient…
No, Virginia, Christmas Isn’t About Mithras 2025-11-18
In 1954, deep under the streets of London, a mysterious 3rd c. temple was unearthed, but it was not as hoped a Christian church. It was a Mithraeum,…
The Other Messiah in the Bible 2025-10-14
Some say that the Persians had their own Messiah, and some even say that this is where Israel got the idea. Cyrus the Great, founder of the…
Ye Wrote an Opera? 2025-09-30
Nebuchadnezzar II, king of the Neo-Babylonian empire, most powerful man in the world, was brought low by divine madness. Who was this king who lived…
Soon the Water Will Come 2025-09-16
The ancients told tales of the inundation of the world with water -- the Great Flood. How do these stories compare with the story told in Genesis,…
Storytime with Fr. Stephen 2025-07-25
Fr. Stephen reads tales from the ancient world calculated to drive you mad.
Apostolic Succession 2025-07-15
The Apostles are given authority by Christ to preach, to bind and loose, to exorcise, to baptize, and so on. Did that authority die with them? What…
Mosaic Succession 2025-07-01
Christ said that the scribes and Pharisees sat on the seat of Moses (Matthew 23:2). Is this a metaphor or a defined position of authority? Did Moses…
Hasmonean? Nah, I’m Broke 2025-05-23
Were there really 400 silent years between Malachi and Matthew? Is there a sudden disjunction starting with the New Testament? In this final episode…
Kingdoms of Israel: Reckoning 2025-05-09
Continuing their series on the Biblical history of Israel, Fr. Stephen and Fr. Andrew chart the progress from after the Exodus up to the Second…
I Will Make a Distinction 2025-04-25
In this first episode concerning the story of Israel, Fr. Stephen and Fr. Andrew take us from Abraham to the Exodus.
Every Stick of Wood in the Old Testament 2025-04-11
Is the Cross just what the Romans happened to use to kill Jesus? Or is there something deeper and older that culminates in the crucifixion of…
Apocalypse of Abraham and Atonement Revisited 2025-03-28
Ever read the Bogomil Bible? If not, you might still be interested in the place of Azazel in apocrypha. Continuing their series on Second Temple…
Your Skin Makes Me Cry 2025-02-28
Angels are active in the world. What does that activity actually look like? Is it just “benevolent haunting”? What about guardian angels? Join Fr.…
Who is Your Demon and What Does He Do? 2025-02-14
Is your house haunted? Do demons still possess people? Can we see the activity of demons in the modern world? How would we recognize it? Join Fr.…
Purifications of the Law 2025-01-24
What exactly is ritual impurity? Does it equal sinfulness? How do bodily functions figure in? Did the New Testament abolish the ritual impurity…
Is Progress Even a Thing? 2025-01-10
It's another metaphysical head-scratcher! Following up on some episodes from 2024, the podcast looks at what change actually means (if anything?)…
When God Became Man 2024-12-13
At the heart of Christian faith and life is the incarnation of the Son of God. When does that happen, exactly? It seems easy enough to answer, but a…
Israel, I Choose You! 2024-11-15
It’s Election Day on Lord of Spirits! Who is elected? What are they elected to? How is Israel involved in all this?
Fiend Folio 2024-10-25
What if Guardian Angels had an exact opposite—Guardian Devils? Are some of those demons actually the evil dead? Or what about the ones who come for…
Modernism 101 2024-10-11
"Modernism” is anything bad and not Orthodox, right? Or maybe 20th century? It's said the Church has to confront the modern world or finally enter…
Bible, the Prequel? 2024-09-13
What does evidence from the Neolithic period tell us about truly ancient religion? How does that fit into the Bible? How should Christians…
Some Body 2024-08-09
In the age to come, all of humanity will be raised from the dead -- bodily. This core dogma of Christianity, the bodily resurrection, is often…
Time, See What's Become of Me 2024-08-02
Our understanding of time forms the basis of many theological assumptions. But how does it work in the Scriptures and throughout Christian…
The Devil(s) 2024-06-28
Christian tradition refers to “the devil” or “the evil one,” but is this one being? What about (the) Satan -- or Samael, Mastema, and Azazel? Join…
The Ascension of Isaiah and the Assumption of Moses 2024-06-14
Continuing their series on Second Temple Jewish apocrypha in this pre-recorded episode, Fr. Stephen and Fr. Andrew read two texts about the…
The Book of Jubilees 2024-05-31
What if you could see the unseen spiritual reality in Genesis? How did the world into which Jesus was born understand this story? Explore the…
Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs 2024-05-10
What might the 12 sons of Jacob have said before they died? Fr. Stephen and Fr. Andrew begin a new series on Second Temple Judaism literature, an…
Torah 2: Back in the Habit 2024-03-29
Continuing their examination of the Torah and its place in the Christian Church, Fr. Stephen and Fr. Andrew look at Torah themes of worship,…
Torah! Torah! Torah! 2024-03-15
Christ said that He did not come to abolish the Torah but to fulfill it (Matt. 5:17), but a lot of Christians seem to think He came to abolish it.…
The Season of Virtue 2024-02-23
People often say "Lent is not in the Bible," claiming that it's a medieval invention, and the traditionally elevated prayer and fasting of Lent are…
You Are the Christ, the Son of the Living God 2024-02-09
What does it mean that Jesus is the Messiah? What were the apostles saying when they said that, identifying Him as the Christ? Find out the weight…
God is So Good 2024-01-26
What’s Good? What does it mean that God is good? Are good and right the same thing? Are bad and evil the same thing? Does bad still mean good, like…
Waiter, There's Gods in the Water 2024-01-12
In the great feast of Theophany, Christ is baptized by the Forerunner in the Jordan river. What is the cosmic spiritual reality of what’s happening…
The Saints Will Judge the World 2023-12-29
What does it mean for a Christian to have a patron saint? For a church? For a nation? What is the biblical basis for this practice? Join Fr. Stephen…
The Art and Science of Technomancy 2023-12-15
How did the ancients understand the source of technology? How does that relate to the Fall? What does that mean for our own age and the age to come?…
What Does Stuff Mean? 2023-11-10
Expanding on what's in the episodes "But We Have the Mind of Christ" (July 2021) and "How (and How Not) to Read Your Bible" (April 2022), the…
Pananthropon and Pandemonium: Live, In-Person Conference Q&A 2023-10-27
On Oct. 26, 2023, Fr. Stephen and Fr. Andrew recorded a live, in-person Q&A at the Lord of Spirits Conference held at the Antiochian Village –…
The FOMO Episode 2023-10-27
What happens when you have to miss the party? What happens when you miss the party in the Ancient Near East?
Image of the Invisible 2023-10-13
What actually is a religious icon? How does it work? In this second episode of a two-part series, Fr. Stephen and Fr. Andrew look at iconography –…
Scarecrows Among Cucumbers 2023-09-29
"Idol” gets used for a lot of things, but what was its ancient meaning? How did idols actually work? What does it mean for a people to engage in…
What in Tarnation? 2023-08-25
What is eternal condemnation? Do people go to heaven or hell when they die? What are the Biblical images? Is universalism an acceptable Orthodox…
His Glorious Appearing 2023-08-11
Christians commonly speaking of the "Second Coming of Christ." Is that the right terminology? What does it mean that there are two advents of the…
Bad Boys of the Apocalypse 2023-07-28
The Four Horsemen. Gog and Magog. Locusts. It's going to be an uncomfortable apocalypse, and a rogues' gallery of agents of destruction will be…
Doomsday 2023-07-14
What happens on Judgment Day? What criteria are used? Do Christians go to heaven and non-Christians go to hell? What is the Book of Life? Fr.…
Millennium : Bug or Feature? 2023-06-23
What exactly is the Millennium? Is it in the future? Are we in it? Did we miss it? What about Chiliasm? Was St. Irenaeus really a Chiliast? Join Fr.…
Antichrist Devil's Children 2023-06-10
Are we living in the time of the Antichrist? Is the Antichrist alive right now? What are the signs? Join Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen…
Who Stole the Soul? 2023-04-28
What is a soul? Do you have one? Are you one? Do dogs and oak trees have them? Are they made of rubber? What happens to the soul when the body dies?…
Blood and Water 2023-04-07
What is water really for? Is holy water magic? In the final episode of their series on the sacraments (but not the final sacrament) of the Orthodox…
Samsonite 2023-03-24
Was Samson a good monk or a bad monk? What does it mean to take the Nazirite vow, and does this relate to Christian monasticism? Fr. Stephen and Fr.…
Saint Constantine the Great 2023-03-10
Did you think the series on sacraments was done at 7? Fr. Andrew and Fr. Stephen continue with the coronation of emperors. Why did the Church do…
Unctuous 2023-02-24
The mystery of Unction can be slippery to get our minds around. What does it do? Why don’t we see miracles every time it’s applied? Is sin related?…
Babylonian Job 2023-02-10
Everybody has nice stuff but me. Why do bad things happen to good Babylonians? Why do good things happen to bad Babylonians? How are the gods…
One Flesh 2023-01-27
Is marriage a merely human institution? Does it exist outside the Church? What does the rite actually do? Continuing their series on the holy…
Loosed in Heaven 2023-01-13
Confession of sins is mentioned throughout the Scriptures and practiced by the Orthodox Church. But is a priest really necessary for this practice?…
Who's in Charge Here? 2022-12-23
What does it mean to be ordained? What exactly are holy orders? Does ordination change the man ordained? How? Does he remain ordinary–or become it?…
Baptism by Fire 2022-12-09
Continuing their series on the sacraments of the Orthodox Church, Fr. Stephen and Fr. Andrew examine the holy mystery of chrismation. What is…
Thanksgiving 2022-11-25
The central act of faithfulness of the Christian life is Holy Communion, eating and drinking the Holy Eucharist. What are its Biblical roots? Is it…
Baptism Now Saves 2022-11-11
What is baptism? How is it different from the ritual washings of the Torah? What does it do? How is it related to circumcision? Why is this water so…
Monstrous Compendium 2022-10-28
Lord of Spirits discusses the monstrosity of madness and demonic possession. What does the Bible say about these things? What is the ancient…
What's a Spirit When It's at Home? 2022-10-14
What is a spirit? Is it a ghost? Do schools have school spirit? (“Then we need to hear it!”) What does it mean to be “spiritual”? The word “spirit”…
Battle Wizards: Mauling at the Euphrates 2022-09-22
In a very special mini-episode of Lord of Spirits, it’s Sorcerer v. Witch for Dairy Dominance.
Thunder Gods and the God Who Thundered 2022-08-25
Baal, Zeus, Thor, and other thunder gods were worshiped by pagans in the ancient world. Who were these spirits, and what do we actually know about…
Fall of Man Part 3: The Gate to Heaven 2022-08-11
Completing their three-part series on the Fall of Man, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Fr. Stephen De Young look at the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11,…
Fall of Man Part 2: Crouching Sin, Hidden Dragon 2022-07-29
Continuing their three-part series on the Fall of Mankind, Fr. Stephen De Young and Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick turn their attention to the unleashing…
Fall of Man Part 1: Garments of Skin 2022-07-14
In Genesis, we see that the fall of humanity consists of three problems that Christ comes to to solve – death, sin, and slavery to demons. In the…
The Pattern of the Tabernacle 2022-06-26
People often say, "The Church isn't a building," or "We could worship anywhere." But is that actually true? Why do ancient Israel and the Church…
As Delivered by Angels 2022-06-10
How exactly does textual authority function within the Church? Whether discussing the Scriptures, the Apocrypha, the Church Fathers, the Ecumenical…
Prophet Motive 2022-05-27
What is prophecy? Who is a prophet? Do prophets predict the future? Does prophecy still happen in our times? What is the difference between a…