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iEcclesia Season II Episode 43: The Ladder of Divine Ascent: Spiritual Struggles in a 21st Century World
iEcclesia ...From Canada to the World
Program Information
Our forty third broadcast features host Tim Prattas and Peter Brubacker as they discuss spiritual struggles in today's world.
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Episode Summary
Every Great Lent, iEcclesia features weekly podcasts, covering a variety of topics related to this very important period of the Church year. These programs are designed to help the listener understand why we celebrate Great Lent, the weekly themes, and concluding with the importance of Holy Week and Pascha. Today’s podcast is the fourth in our Great Lent 2009 Series. Its author: a Saint. Its content: everything from lying and love of money to despondency, prayer and bringing “Heaven on Earth”. Its influence: felt from the 7th century to the 21st. All this, because a humble, obedient and wise hermit was asked by an Abbot of a Monastery to write down his wisdom in a book. Although he was hesitant at first, this spiritual text is something that is treasured in the Orthodox Church, touching the lives of such people such as St. Theodore the Studite, St. Peter of Damascus and St. Theophan the Recluse. As the fourth Sunday of Great Lent is dedicated to St. John “of the Ladder”, iEcclesia dedicates its podcast to this great Saint of the Sinai Peninsula and brings you, The Ladder of Divine Ascent: Spiritual Struggles in a 21st century world. 1. The program begins with a brief description of what “The Ladder” is, who is the inspiration behind it and a bit more information about when it was written. Also, our guest looks at some of the major themes of “The Ladder”. Next, the Orthodox Church chose St. John of the Ladder and placed a special emphasis on this text. Our guest tackles why out of the many Saints that could have been commemorated on the 4th Sunday of Lent, the Church chose St John of the Ladder. The program continues with our guest answering how are people supposed to live like what is described in this text in the 21st century. A final, important question asked is why should the average Christian care about what “The Ladder” says in today’s day and age, and our guest provides an answer.
Guest Information
Peter Brubacker
- A convert to Orthodoxy - Parishioner at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church (Richmond Hill, Ontario) - Graduate of St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary - Time spent at St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology in Lebanon
- Former National Youth Director, Metropolis Youth Board (Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto (Canada)) - B.Th. (Valedictorian), Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy - M.Div., Tyndale Seminary
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Broadcast
date: Friday
March 27th, 2009
