Please join us in extending a warm welcome to our special guest Fr Dcn John Schantz, who shares his family's background and its connection to missionary work with Indigenous persons, and his professional work as a pediatric cardiologist serving a population in which Indigenous people are affected disproportionately.

In this thoughtful discussion, we consider the relationship between making amends on a personal and institutional level, our responsibility to speak out (not necessarily about the past, but certainly about present disparities and how to move forward), and we take a closer look at our motivation for responding to this issue at this time.

We return to our series after a summer away, having had time to reflect on the discussion with Deacon John. Among other things, it serves as a good reminder that it can be all too easy to approach this issue with high level ideas and concepts. The truth is that on all sides of this issue can be found very real people, affected in very real ways, which we must be sensitive too.

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri discuss the pitfalls of whataboutism, the church's precedent of speaking out about certain issues (and perhaps avoiding others), and the continued need for a coherent, modest and meaningful response to this particular issue, connected to concrete action.

Pointing to the work that is already ongoing in the in the life of the church, including (but certainly not limited to) the recent canonization of an indigenous saint, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey share their next steps as they prepare for the Archdiocesan council.

By the prayers of Holy Mother Olga, may their work be blessed!

Words matter. Sometimes words fall short and they disappear in short order, yet when done right they make a profound impact and can be remembered and quoted decades and even centuries later (think Nostra Aetate, or the Creed).

In this episode, we take a look at the statements made by other Canadian churches in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with the goals of taking the good, leaving the bad, and figuring out the proper response for our Canadian Orthodox Church. As we consider our own statement, Fr Geoffrey quotes from Samuel, that the Lord might also be with us and let none of our words fall to the ground!

It is important to recognize the strength and grace within our tradition to move this work forward. This is precisely in alignment with the Gospel and therefore with the Orthodox faith. It requires no change in practice, no rethinking of theology. Fr Yuri shares a beautiful analogy for the way different cultures and lands express Orthodoxy (don't miss this one!); as the Canadian Orthodox church we must learn how to express Orthodoxy in a Canadian/North American way.

In today's episode, we focus our discussion on Orthodoxy in relation to the indigenous peoples of Turtle Island. As in the last episode when we spoke about St Stephen of Perm, there are many North American saints who "got it right" as well, recognizing the theological similarities and compatibility between various forms of indigenous spirituality and Orthodox Christianity. However, it is essential to ground this knowledge in the understanding that these best examples shine all the more brightly because of the darkness against which they were operating.

Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey hold up to the light some of the stereotypical comments made by Orthodox Christians about this topic, with their blend of truth, myth, perspective and simplified history. "We weren't part of the residential school system or the sixties scoop. In fact, not only are we innocent of those charges, we should be praised for our part!" "For Orthodox, our first contact happened in Alaska. How is that relevant to the Canadian Orthodox Church?" "Won't a response at this point (so many years after the TRC) just be adding to so much noise?" "This isn't our cross to bear." "When does this end?!"

The truth is that we are coming rather late to the table - thank the Lord for welcoming those of us who come at the eleventh hour! - but the conversation is just beginning.

In this episode, Fr Yuri and Fr Geoffrey focus in on how Orthodoxy has historically approached its mission of bringing Christianity to other cultures, before coming to North America (don't worry, we'll get to North America soon!).

If we look honestly at the history of how Orthodox Christians have shared the Good News, we didn't always get it right, however we do have some shining examples of missionary saints that can serve as models to us. Sts Cyril and Methodius, for example, fought against the trilingual heresy to bring Christianity to the Slavs. Centuries later, and very ironically, St Stephen of Perm fought a similar "quadrilingual heresy" - you'll have to listen in to hear what that was about! When done right, as Orthodoxy spread, it was received and then indigenized into the new lands, using their own culture and traditions in order to tell the story in a way that would touch the hearts of their people.

St Stephen of Perm in particular shows us not only how to bring the gospel to a new people, interfering as little as possible with their culture, language and traditions, but also models how to stand with them against those that would do them harm. In modern terms, he shows us how to be a true "ally".

If we are truly to be the Canadian Orthodox Church, we need to be attuned to our people. Throughout this season, Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri will explore ways that the Liturgy can (and should) reflect the place we're in, and specifically how we can effectively work with the efforts of Truth & Reconciliation with the indigenous peoples of Canada in an intentional and authentic way.

As a Church, our response to the TRC (Truth & Reconciliation Commission) is long overdue, but the work has now begun. We will be looking for a multi-layered response: individual, liturgical, parochial and institutional. And since we as Orthodox are not good at "trendy", this response must not merely be a reflection of the time we find ourselves in. Rather, it must be based on a deeply thought out, theologically sound reflection, that will serve us through the ages.

Truly, this is no small task! But here we begin.

It's time to wrap up our series on The Hours at Home! We hope this has been as refreshing and freeing for you as it has been for us. So much of the emphasis in Orthodoxy can be on doing something "right" or "completely", but this series has been about how we can actually, in practical ways, engage in the daily prayer of the Church that makes sense of our experience of time and reconnects us to the natural cycle of the day, but also addresses how we live our life in the 21st century.

Remember, even if you could only spend 30 seconds, eight times a day, doing a simple act (lighting a candle ((this may be a sore spot for Fr Yuri, listen in to find out)), setting aside your devices, saying a troparion, with a word of prayer and a remembrance of God), this will be transformative of your human experience. Far more transformative, even, than if you spent half an hour or an hour every day charging through a bunch of texts without intention. What's important is the recovery of the connection to God's creation and its inherent cycles, daily, weekly and seasonal, and building a remembrance of God and our vocation as image-bearers.

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri also propose a new way to think of St Paul's call to "pray ceaselessly" that will take the world off your shoulders. You are not doing these prayers alone! In solitude, perhaps, but never alone.

"Eight Days a Week": a classic Beatles song, yes, but also the Orthodox approach to the weekly cycle of prayer!

Fr Geoffrey and Fr Yuri discuss the theme of each day of the week, how they relate to our human experience, and also offer practical advice on how to incorporate the themes into our home prayer life.