An eclectic batch of recommended videos

From time to time, I like to share my “finds” from YouTube (and, more rarely, from elsewhere as well — but not this time). In what is mostly a barren digital wasteland, there are still a few oases. Without any overlong descriptions, then, below I present links to a few truly illuminating talks and one inspiring biopic.

(Charles Corbet - c. 1910)

Fr. David McCready is a Western Rite Orthodox priest, now serving at St. Columba’s Orthodox Church in Lafayette, Colorado. My appreciation for the two lectures below is threefold: (1) he doesn’t cater to those who want flashy presentations, but to those who want erudition, substance, and an adult vocabulary (also true of Fr. Cassian Folsom further down the page); (2) he isn’t shy about offering a corrective to the deeply flawed (indeed, erroneous) notion that the Church was divided in its essential orthodoxy between East and West in the first millennium of her existence (and even, to a large extent, for some time thereafter); and (3) his grandly hirsute appearance. Both lectures contain portions that may surprise those who cling to certain faulty notions.

When I first saw the Patristix Channel, I was a little put off by the presentation style of these brothers. That opinion altered after I viewed two or three of what I now regard as a valuable (and, vitally, non-polemical) teaching source for Orthodox faith and practice — one I would certainly recommend to catechumens, for example. The description online is this:

A place to hear stories, truths and interesting things from the early centuries of the Christian faith. We'll talk about heroes and saints, the history of traditions and customs, and how to tie all of this in to our walk with God, our fellowship in the Church, and our ever increasing friendship with Jesus Christ.
This show is created by The Brothers Robinson, Eastern Orthodox Christians and filmmakers.

You can find the site here, and I believe it’s worth a look:

https://www.youtube.com/@Patristix

At the Adoremus website, Fr. Cassian Folsom’s biography reads as follows:

Father Cassian Folsom, O.S.B., is a scholar of sacred music and liturgy, a cancer survivor, and the founder and prior emeritus of the Monks of Norcia. Born in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1955, Fr. Cassian studied music before joining the monastic community of Saint Meinrad in 1974. He founded his monastic community in Rome in 1998 and transferred it to Norcia in the year 2000. Over the last 15 years, the Monastery di San Benedetto has grown, attracting new vocations and pilgrims from around the world. He recently retired as prior but continues to serve the community and teach liturgy at the Pontifical Atheneum of St. Anselm in Rome.

The three lectures below are well worth listening to, as they cover topics related to both previous and forthcoming posts on this page.

Finally, The Most Reluctant Convert can now be viewed on YouTube. Based mainly on Surprised By Joy, it tells the story, using his own words, of C. S. Lewis’s personal journey into Christian faith. This is the description on YouTube: “C.S. Lewis' journey from hard-boiled atheist to 'the most reluctant convert in all England'. Max McLean's performance brings Lewis' story of grief, loss and redemption to life on screen.” It’s a moving presentation, stylishly filmed and brilliantly acted.