Everyday Orthodox

Interviewing our very own Mat. Trudi Richter! She produces several of our live shows, so you may have spoken with her when you've called in with questions -- but now it's time to get to know her! She grew up in a German Mennonite home in Bolivia, and found her way to Indiana via Canada. Join us to hear the whole story!

Meet Brandi Willis Schreiber, a longtime West Texas native and published author of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, including most recently her spiritual memoir, A Long Walk with Mary: A Personal Search for the Mother of God, released by Ancient Faith Publishing this year. A convert to Eastern Orthodoxy, she attends St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church in Lubbock, Texas with her husband, David, and baby, Rex

Anna is a faithful Orthodox woman, a dentist and mother in Southern California. Her work to support Sister Necatria's Orthodox orphanage in India has included creating two short films.

Meet Sherry Shenoda! She is an Egyptian-American poet and pediatrician, born in Cairo, living in California. Her work is at the intersection of human rights and child health. She is currently serving as a pediatrician in a non-profit health center caring for children in the community and who are transitioning out of homelessness. Her published works center on policy related to the effects of armed conflict on child health, on which she has briefed the US Senate. She was shortlisted for the Brunel International African Poetry Prize in 2019. She lives with her husband and two sons. The Lightkeeper is her first work of fiction.

Meet Father Mikael Fälthammar, an Antiochian priest building up a mission in Sweden! He's working on the translation of texts (both liturgical ) and on finding ways to introduce Orthodoxy in the Swedish context -- while also doing the services, working his regular job, and together with his wife, Kh. Frida, parenting and farming!

Another interesting guest with Elissa. Jeffrey Holton is from the Bay area and is a high tech specialist as well as a convert to Orthodoxy

For Mother's Day, Elissa has invited one of her very favorite Moms. Lainie Horwedel is a wonderful music teacher with a great sense of humor and an impressive opera background—but the defining role of her life may be as a mother and advocate, tirelessly fighting for her son.

Tatiana Nikolova-Houston was secretly baptized in communist Bulgaria, learning the faith from her father, an accomplished puppeteer. She made her way to Texas, and became an iconographer and artist.

Mika grew up Serbian Orthodox in Milwaukee, attending camp in Libertyville and serving the church. Now an octogenarian enjoying her grandbabies in Northern California, she looks back at her years spent serving the Patriarch Athenagoras Institute and IOCC.

Mallory converted to Orthodoxy and became a Presvytera! She is married to a Greek Orthodox priest serving in Pensacola, Florida. She's a fun, outgoing mom with a young family that keeps her on the run!

Semele Halkedis Heller was born and raised in the Philadelphia area, and is now living in Northern California. She was a project manager in tech, but left to be a stay-at-home mom to her three children. She serves on the board of directors of the National Youth Science Foundation, her local chapter of the Young Men's Service League, and her local Little League. In non-COVID times she spends a lot of time volunteering at her children's schools. Semele and her family attend Holy Cross Orthodox Church in Belmont, CA, where she taught Religious Ed for many years and served as the co-director of the Religious Ed program. She likes to joke that she's passed the church volunteering baton on to her husband, who converted to Orthodoxy after all their children were born, and now serves on the parish council.

Live this week on Everyday Orthodox: Michael Elgamal is the driving force behind Creative Orthodox. He is a Canadian Egyptian artist who digs for examples of virtue in the lives of ancient Christian saints and brings them to life in ink and colour. The illustrations he shares online visually hang in an awkward balance between ancient Christian art and childish scribbles. He published two graphic novels: Anastasis: the Harrowing of Hades on Christ's descent to hell and A Forest in the Desert on the life of Saint John the Short

Meet Sarah Gingrich, an Orthodox mother of six living in Lancaster, PA. She is a contributing author of Darkness Is As Light, and co-author of the upcoming Lenten devotional for teen girls Letters For Pilgrimage. She is a soap-maker by trade, and when not working she enjoys beekeeping, hiking, sewing, painting, and gardening. Originally from Montana, she's lived in Canada, Costa Rica, and for six years in Puerto Montt, Chile, as a missionary. The family worship at St. John Chrysostom Antiochian Orthodox Church in York, PA.

Get to know Alex Tallent. She's a recent convert with a background in missions work. She a child abuse survivor and a gothic stay-at-home mom to a sweet toddler.

It's Valentine's Day on Everyday Orthodox. Meet a wonderful couple from Austin, Texas. In addition to serving the Church and raising two boys, they have a wonderful Christian Martial Fitness Ministry.

You have probably heard of her work at Holistic Christian Life and Filled with Less. Now get to know the woman behind these wonderful Orthodox whole health resources!

Milan Obradovic is a scientist, a high school teacher, and author of The Path Amongst the Moravas (Међу Моравама пут), chronicling a bicycle trip with his two of his children tracing the paths of Saint Cyril and Methodius from Serbia to Slovakia. He and his wife, Olga, have six children and live in Serbia.

Pilar Kunz is a homicide detective and coroner on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana, and the mother of five! The whole family just converted to Orthodoxy, though the nearest parish is 325 miles from home!

Meet Eirene Arholetas, live on Everyday Orthodox! She's the writer behind greekamericangirl.com and a talented artist. She's currently working on a PhD that combines Orthodox theology and psychology.

Meet Joshua Gibbs, who teaches online classes at GibbsClassical.com. He is the author of How to Be Unlucky, Something They Will Not Forget, and The 25th: New and Selected Christmas Essays. He is an Alcuin Fellow, a frequent blogger for The Circe Institute, and the creator of the Proverbial podcast.

it's the return of Roberta Sardell! Last time she and Elissa had a fascinating conversation, and it's not over yet!

Earl Ryburn, Jr. grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and taught Elissa and her Sunday School how to sing the Christ is Risen Resurrection hymn in ASL! He serves as a senior acolyte at Transfiguration in Austin, Texas, and works as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA). He awaits ordination to the diaconate, having recently completed the Holy Cross program, and is now studying for a degree in Non-Profit Management at Colorado Christian University.

We get to know Innocent Green! He and his wife and three children recently converted to Orthodoxy, after a long journey from the Church of Christ via the Reformed Church. After all that seeking, it was the Jesus Prayer that brought them home.

We are live with Fr. Evan Armatas! You hear him answer questions on Orthodoxy Live every Sunday night, but how well do you really know him? We'll get to know Fr. Evan with an hour-long conversation about his youth, his decision to become a priest, his various interesting ministries, and his new book, A Toolkit For Spiritual Growth!

Meet Fr. Theodor Svane! A native Norwegian, he found Orthodoxy and then found his way to St. Vlad's! Now he's back home, at his mission parish, and he is delightful. Join us, and learn a little bit about Vikings and Scandinavia, and get to know a really lovely man.

Summer is the author of Of Such is the Kingdom: A Practical Theology of Disability (Ancient Faith 2019) and one of the authors of Seven Holy Women: Conversations With Saints and Friends (Ancient Faith 2020). She's also starting her own traditional small press!

Kenny is the Executive Director of FOCUS North America, an Orthodox non-profit that brings Orthodox faithful together to serve the needs of their most vulnerable neighbors across the United States, including food, clothing, occupation, and shelter needs. A native of Charleston, West Virginia, and a social worker by education, Kenny’s career has afforded opportunities to serve on the front lines of homeless outreach/advocacy/services, as well as international Orthodox missions before coming to FOCUS in 2017. He was Chrismated into the Orthodox Church on Holy Saturday, 1997, at Holy Spirit Antiochian Orthodox Church in Huntington, West Virginia.

Elissa is live with the delightful Greek-Canadian priest, Fr. Ted Paraskevopoulos of FrTED Talks and iSermon. Father's specialty is the re-catechism of those of us who are born Orthodox, but who haven't really understood the faith. He's an excellent priest, and a lot of fun too.

Ginny grew up in the Philippines with her missionary parents, making her a TCK (Third Culture Kid). She has been an editor, writer, project manager, and occasional podcaster for more years than she cares to admit. Twenty-six years ago, her family was chrismated into the Orthodox Christian faith, and shortly afterwards she edited the book Our Heart's True Home: Fourteen Warm Inspiring Stories of Women Discovering the Ancient Christian Faith. From 9-5, she is the editor of Antiochian.org and works for St. Vladimir's Seminary's Advancement team. She also serves on the advisory boards of Classical Learning Resource Center (CLRC) and Orthodox Christians for Life (OCLife).

Roberta Sardell grew up Presbyterian in Boise, Idaho, but when she married a Californian she found herself on the West Coast. Roberta has been very active in her parishes, teaching Sunday School and helping to establish a few missions -- and even going on eight OCMC mission trips!

Maria Silva is the daughter of Fr. Gregory and Pres. Lisa Koo, the priest and presvytera at the Life-Giving Spring Monastery in Dunlap, CA. After college, she spent three months working at the Orthodox orphanage mission in Kolkata, India, run by Sr. Nektaria Paradisi. Inspired by Sister's incredible work, she and a handful of volunteers created a nonprofit organization called Fili, Inc. to support the Indian mission as well as other worthy humanitarian causes. Maria and her husband were chanters and youth leaders at St. Basil Greek Orthodox Church, but three years ago, they made the decision to leave the bustling San Francisco Bay Area to raise their four girls close to the monastery in the countryside. At their home, Silver Goose Family Farms, they have a collection of pigs, chickens, ducks, turkeys, guineas, dogs and cats, and a milk cow named Cookie. Maria homeschools her children with the help and encouragement from the neighboring Orthodox community who also does the same. She also writes children's books: Katherine and the Monastery and Katherine and the Desert Monastery chronicle the experience of visiting the Life-Giving Spring Monastery and St. Anthony Monastery in Arizona through the eyes of children. She is working on several more books whenever there is a moment between animals, children, and the rest of the farm!

Justin Bosl planned to become a Catholic priest, but God had something else in store for him. Find out all about his wife, Annemarie, and their journey to Orthodoxy! Now they have four kids, and Justin is a partner at an Oakland, California, law firm who chants and teaches adult religious education. He just finished the Diaconate program at Holy Cross Seminary, and may be ordained a deacon one day soon! Very active both in his parish and the larger Orthodox Church, Justin serves on the Board of FOCUS North America, and St. Nicholas Ranch & Retreat Center.

Elissa Bjeletich talks with Lisa Rigisich! Lisa found her calling as a high school English teacher and was blessed with two wonderful sons. Life took a turn when her husband underwent a series of unsuccessful brain surgeries, leaving him with memory and stimuli-filtering challenges. Learnt how these unexpected struggles have borne fruit in her spiritual life, and how she's finding God's peace in the midst of the storms

Eddie is a brilliant and fascinating Orthodox convert who develops and oversees programs to address trauma and violence in Chicago.

This eloquent Orthodox teacher in Forth Worth, Texas, talks about teaching during a pandemic.

He is the new Chief Content Officer for Ancient Faith Ministries. He is the author of Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy and other Ancient Faith books. He is the co-host of the Areopagus podcast and the Amon Sul podcast. He is Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick.

This week, meet Mikaila Demetroulis, live on Everyday Orthodox! Get to know this bright young Orthodox woman! A longtime camp counselor and now a traveling nurse, Mikaila is just starting out in life.

Malena is a delightful Serbian Orthodox woman in Northern California who tells us about growing up in a close community, her various female role models, and the mission opportunities she has enjoyed.

Jackie is an energetic Orthodox woman in Charleston, South Carolina. She's a published poet, the author of many articles and a new book, and she serves the Church in many different ministries.

Josef and Effie are a young couple serving as missionaries in an unexpected place—Sweden! Find out why.

Pamela Filutowski teaches Adult Spiritual Enrichment at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Orlando and works in the parish gift shop, selecting and ordering Orthodox books for the store. She is the mother of three and has been married for 30 years to her husband Konrad.

Meet the very talented and fascinating Oleksa Lozowchuk! He is a Canadian Academy nominee and an award-winning music composer (and music producer, music director, music supervisor, and multi-instrumentalist!) whose work spans many genres.

A British deacon in the Serbian Orthodox Church, Professor at the Orthodox St. Katherine's University in San Diego, creator of beautiful vestments, father and husband, Fr. Dn. David-John Williams is fascinating and fun!

Patrick and Laura live on an Arkansas farm with their 19-month-old daughter, Elizabeth. They very recently converted to Orthodox Christianity after being lifelong evangelicals. Patrick is a musician and has been in a number of touring punk bands through the years. He recently started a no-dig garden. Laura has a degree in musical theater and is an actor and yoga teacher.

Elissa interviews Ariane Trifunovic Montemuro, a Serbian-American author, podcaster, and artist, with a passion to preserve the faith for future generations. Her paintings (called Orthodox Narratives) are strongly influenced by iconography, and her portrait of Patriarch Pavle hangs in his home museum.

Dr. Tim is the beloved professor of ethics at Holy Cross Orthodox Seminary in Brookline, Massachusetts, as well as a founder of Beauty First Films, which is producing documentaries on Patmos and Holy Week in Jerusalem. He has just published his opus: The Ethics of Beauty.

A lifelong artist, Fr. Paul formally studied drawing, painting, printmaking, and design at Tyler School of Art, Temple University, earning a Bachelor's Degree of Fine Arts. Subsequently, he spent a year-and-a-half studying at Holy Trinity Theological Seminary in Jordanville, NY. During that time, he simultaneously worked under the tutelage of master iconographer Fr. Andrei Erastov and began fulfilling monastery orders almost immediately. Since then, Fr. Paul has fulfilled many commissions for both churches and individuals, and his work can be seen coast to coast. He is also the illustrator of the children's book St. Seraphim's Beatitudes, authored by Fr. Daniel Marshall. Fr. Paul is a protodeacon and serves at the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Howell, NJ.

Born in Damascus, Noelle is a wife, mom, chanter, and estate planning attorney in Southern California. She talks about Christian burial practices and planning for the future.

Fr. John is a convert to Orthodoxy who brought his entire Santa Fe parish into the Church! Listen to his fascinating story and get to know this delightful soul.

Valerie is a dynamic and very talented music director and vocalist. Born Romanian Orthodox, she lives mostly among converts and has a lot of insights for all of us.