Orthodox Christian TV

This episode of Direct & Unapologetic features Fr. Dimitrios Moraitis, an Orthodox priest and trained addiction clinician, in conversation with Fr. Chris Metropulos about how the Church can respond to addiction. Fr. Dimitrios frames addiction as a recognized, treatable disease—yet stigma and a 'cult of secrecy' in parishes mean the vast majority of those struggling never seek help.

He advocates a biopsychosocial-spiritual approach that accounts for genetic predisposition, co-occurring mental illness, social environment, and spiritual life. The discussion highlights research showing that clergy are among the most common sources of help for addicts, and that clergy involvement in recovery strongly correlates with long-term retention in the faith community.

The parish, he argues, should function as a 'hospital of the soul.' The conversation also addresses how addiction sickens entire families through enabling and codependency, the role of Al-Anon and structured interventions, and the parallels between the 12 Steps and Orthodox confession—particularly the fourth and fifth steps' resemblance to repentance and the twelfth step's spiritual awakening.

Relapse, he notes, is often part of recovery rather than its failure. Recovery is likened to the journey of the Prodigal Son: hitting rock bottom, returning, and being restored to both God and community. The episode closes with reflections on wholeness in Christ as restored freedom, connection, and awe, and on the Cross as the symbol of reconnection—vertical to God and horizontal to neighbor.

Actor and author Jonathan Jackson discusses his new book, The Eternal Poet and the Cosmic Drama (releasing September 26th), in an interview with Father Chris. Unlike his earlier book The Mystery of Art, which addressed the artist's spiritual approach to work, the new book examines storytelling, drama, and poetry as reflections of humanity made in the image of God, the Eternal Poet.

Jackson argues that narrative principles found in ancient tragedy—planting seeds and fulfilling promises—point toward the Incarnation, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Christ, and that God's providential authorship can be discerned in our own lives. The conversation covers why storytelling is foundational to human culture, how poetry has been reduced to sentimentalism when it is far deeper, and how modern society consumes art like fast food rather than nourishing, generational meals.

Jackson rejects postmodern relativism about aesthetics, insisting there is such a thing as bad art—work that fails aesthetically or is nihilistic and sentimental without transformative depth. He notes that the idea of art shaping virtue or exciting base passions is pre-Christian, going back to Aristotle's teaching on music, so this is not merely Christian moralizing; art need not be explicitly Christian to be transcendent, since the best art awakens the right questions.

The book's first section examines Aristotle's Poetics and Shakespearean tragedy, showing that even before the Incarnation, ancient cultures stumbled upon narrative truths because Christ, the Alpha and Omega, is the author and finisher of our faith. Jackson also draws on Chekhov's 'rifle on the hearth' principle—promises planted and fulfilled—mirroring Scripture's prophecies, and suggests that recognizing God as the eternal author of our lives brings comfort against chaos, despair, and nihilism.

The book is intended for artists of all kinds, since the arts are deeply connected, as well as readers interested in theology. Jackson is the author of two previous books, The Mystery of Art and The Harrowing of Hell.

This interview features Tommy Luka, a high-school senior active in his Greek Orthodox parish and GOYA, who attended Ionian Village this past summer with the help of a new OCN partial scholarship. He walks through what camp life is actually like: daily rotations in Orthodox life, arts and crafts, and athletics; chapel services each day; and shared meals with cabin members that turned strangers into close friends grounded in a common faith.

The most powerful moment of his summer was an excursion to Zakynthos, where he venerated the incorrupt relics of St. Dionysios—an experience he describes as deeply moving and faith-deepening. Tommy admits he expected going phone-free to be hard, but found it surprisingly easy; he stayed present in the moment, only briefly regretting missing the World Cup final.

Being surrounded by Orthodox peers his own age—praying together, visiting monasteries, holding nightly devotions, and even starting Bible studies in his cabin—gave him a wider vision of what living the faith can look like in daily life. The effects carried home: he now prays more often, sets aside daily time with God, and follows a priest's practical advice to pray even fifteen seconds, four times a day.

His counsel to prospective campers is simple: 'what you put in is what you get out of it'—approach the summer with openness and it will bear fruit. The episode closes with an invitation: applications and scholarship information for next summer's Ionian Village are available at myocn.net, making this both an honest look at Orthodox summer camp and a practical encouragement for young people considering applying.

In this talk, Michael Haldas continues his earlier theme that division is of the devil, turning to cancel culture and the broader culture of hatred from an Orthodox Christian perspective. He defines canceling as seeking to destroy someone's reputation, livelihood, or relationships over disagreement, and notes that this is often promoted by people who sincerely believe they are serving a greater good.

He warns that any good pursued apart from Christ becomes self-will and can slide into harm, and he observes with sadness that such behavior appears even among Orthodox Christians online, where curated social media feeds make people blind to opposing views and erode community. Drawing on Scripture—Matthew 12:36-37 on idle words, Luke 22:3 and John 13:27 on Satan entering Judas, and John 15:13-15 on Christ calling His disciples friends—he argues that Christianity is life-affirming: Christ assumed bios, physical life, to give zoe, spiritual life, whereas canceling participates in a culture of spiritual death.

Reflecting with St. Cyril of Alexandria, he explains that Satan enters only by consent; Judas had made a place for him in his heart, so believers must cultivate an immovable love of Christ that shuts the door on the devil. The talk closes with two practical exhortations: to examine whether politics has become one's guiding compass, subordinated faith, or cost one's peace, since everything in an Orthodox Christian's life flows from union with and love of God; and to treasure friendship as sacred, because Christ Himself called His disciples friends and laid down His life for them.

Ending friendships over anger and division, he says, is the opposite of Christ's teaching. The discussion invites readers to guard their hearts against hatred and to resist justifying cruelty as service of a greater good.

This episode of Direct and Unapologetic features Fr. Chris Metropulos in conversation with Christo Pappademos, a lifelong Orthodox Christian and longtime social media user, on how to remain spiritually and mentally healthy in a digital world that constantly prompts us to act, think, fear, and desire. Rather than urging withdrawal from modern tools, the conversation explores how ancient practices—especially deep, intentional prayer and hesychia, the inner stillness cultivated by the monks of Mount Athos—can anchor the heart against distraction and overstimulation.

Christo describes how the Jesus Prayer can become as natural as breathing, citing Fr. Iakovos's 60 Minutes interview, and recalls that even at summer camp, children consistently chose five minutes of silent time with God as their favorite part of the day. The discussion turns to specific digital dangers: rapid-fire platforms like TikTok scatter the mind in ways the Church Fathers anticipated in their warnings about the logismoi, the intrusive thoughts against which we must keep watchful.

Online anonymity also lowers accountability, leading people to write hurtful things in comments and chats they would never say face-to-face; grounding in faith and positive connections helps blunt that sting. Christo contrasts instant gratification with what he calls God's time—beautiful things take time, and even Christ grew and matured before beginning His public ministry.

The episode closes on a hopeful note: social media is not going away, and Orthodox Christians should engage it proactively rather than hide from it. In a workshop, teens proposed an Orthodox Instagram page called 'One Way,' showing that young people can use these platforms for good. The proper posture, the speakers conclude, is to be watchful but not withdrawing—cultivating a stronger, positive Orthodox presence online while keeping the heart rooted in prayer and stillness.

In an Orthodox Christian adult education class, Michael Haldas examines how ordinary believers can unknowingly contribute to division while convinced they are acting rightly. He begins with Matthew 16, where Peter confesses Christ as the Son of God and then, moments later, rebukes Jesus about His coming death, drawing the response, 'Get behind me, Satan, for you are thinking human things, not the things of God.' The point is sobering: even the most devoted among us can speak self-willed words that serve the enemy's purposes.

Haldas notes that 'diabolos' literally means divider, while Christ prays 'that they all may be one' (John 17:21), with the Eucharist as the highest expression of that unity. He warns that in contemporary America especially, people pursue or excuse division while believing their cause is just, yet there is no right side when division itself is the goal.

The root of the problem is self-centeredness: self-will joined to the human mind produces self-deception, so believers must cultivate stillness and prayer. He also addresses the role of media, politicians, and social media in spreading what he calls a virus of hatred, urging recognition of the spiritual warfare behind it and pointing to the sacramental life as ongoing medicine.

Discussing Christ's words in Luke 12 that He came not to bring peace but division, he distinguishes false peace, a superficial harmony that ignores truth, from true peace, reconciliation with God, which may provoke division in a fallen world as a side effect rather than a goal. Citing Fr. Alexander Schmemann, he presents forgiveness as the first breakthrough of the Kingdom: one can hold firm convictions while loving and forgiving those who disagree, becoming 'little Christs.' The discussion centers on humility, restraint in speech, and forgiveness as practical means of resisting division in hearts, families, communities, and nations.

In this extended conversation, actor and musician Jonathan Jackson—known for General Hospital and Nashville—speaks to young people overwhelmed by the sheer number of spiritual paths and by secular cultural pressure. Drawing on his own journey to Orthodoxy, which began in 2007 when he witnessed Pascha celebrations in Romania and culminated in his family's baptism in 2012, he offers advice grounded in his conviction that freedom is inseparable from truth.

Jackson argues that with thousands of competing versions of Christianity, moral relativism and subjectivism lead to inner chaos and, ultimately, nihilism. Against this, he points to Christ's words that the truth will set us free, and that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. After years of searching and what he calls constant wrestling, he came to believe the Orthodox Church alone has preserved unchanged the faith, teachings, dogmas, and ethos handed down by Christ and the apostles.

He describes the Church as a miracle of unity: whether one travels to Greece, Romania, Russia, or Serbia, one encounters the same faith, the same creed, and one chalice. Orthodox Christians, he says, share communion not only with believers around the world today but with the saints of the past two thousand years—fathers like St. Justin Martyr and St. Ignatius of Antioch taught the same faith proclaimed in today's Divine Liturgy.

In a chaotic world, the Church offers stillness and silence because its gaze is fixed on the eternal rather than on cultural whims, a continuity evidenced by modern saints such as St. Paisios, St. Porphyrios, and St. Sophrony. He contrasts this stability with the innovation and constant change of other traditions, citing St. Jude's call to hold to the faith once delivered to all the saints.

He closes by urging young people to seek with humility and openness of heart: seek, ask, and knock, for seek and you will find.

In an adult education session from the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George in Bethesda, Maryland, streamed via the Orthodox Christian Network, speaker Michael Haldas explores the biblical distinction between power and authority. He begins with Lord Acton's warning that power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely, extending the point to followers as well as leaders.

Tracing the theme through Scripture, he interprets the fall of Adam and Eve as the origin of corrupting power: the first sin was exercising self-will, seeking life apart from God. In the temptation in the wilderness, the devil's offer of the kingdoms of the world shows that even demonic authority is only permitted by God, and Christ refuses worldly power altogether.

Turning to Christ's trial before Pilate, Haldas notes that the Greek word exousia is better rendered 'authority' than 'power'—Pilate's authority was delegated 'from above,' since nothing occurs apart from God's will. He explains the Greek vocabulary of the New Testament: dynamis, mighty or miraculous power, and exousia, authority, observing that many English translations of 'power' should really be read as 'authority.' When the seventy disciples rejoice that demons submit to them, Christ redirects their joy: they should rejoice not in power over spirits but that their names are written in heaven—a heart right with God.

The example of Simon the sorcerer in Acts 8, who tried to buy the gift of God, shows that spiritual power must never be sought for its own sake, even with good intentions. The session's central claim is that all power and authority come from God, making Christians stewards rather than owners—of homes, children, money, and positions alike.

True power flows from self-emptying, humility, repentance, and union with God, and may rightly be used to heal, restore, and help others, never for selfish gain. The owner mindset, Haldas argues, is where the corruption of power begins, and stewards must give an account to Christ.