This is part two of my Q&A with Father John Strickland. We talk about the Protestant reformation, Autocephalous churches and connections to Byzantium amongst other topics.
John is the pastor of an Orthodox Church in Poulsbo in Washington State. He wrote a four-volume series about the history of Christian civilization called Paradise and Utopia. He’s also recorded a podcast of the same name as an accompaniment to the books which you can find wherever you get your podcasts or at www.ancientfaith.com.
We welcome back Father John Strickland to answer your questions about Orthodoxy.
In part one we tackle the Orthodox view on salvation and purgatory. As well as the role of the Ecumenical Patriarch and thoughts on the Byzantine understanding of how the divine played a role in daily life. Then we finish with the Orthodox view of Catholicism, Church Union and evangelisation.
John is the pastor of an Orthodox Church in Poulsbo in Washington State. He wrote a four-volume series about the history of Christian civilization called Paradise and Utopia. He’s also recorded a podcast of the same name as an accompaniment to the books which you can find wherever you get your podcasts or at www.ancientfaith.com.
This episode is brought to you by Telepaideia, a collection of live online courses in Latin, Ancient Greek, and the classical humanities offered by The Paideia Institute. Visit www.paideiainstitute.org/telepaideia to browse the course catalogue and register!
I interview David Hendrix the man behind the incredible website ‘The Byzantine Legacy.’ It was David who showed me around Istanbul when I first visited in 2018. His website is an amazing resource for anyone who wants to know what survives from Byzantium today.
David is leading a tour of Byzantine Macedonia in September 2025.
It’s time we talked about Orthodoxy in more detail. I ask Father John Strickland to explain the Divine Liturgy, and it’s Byzantine origins, to me.
John is the pastor of an Orthodox Church in Poulsbo in Washington State. He has also written a four-volume series about the history of Christian civilization called Paradise and Utopia. And he’s recorded a podcast of the same name as an accompaniment to the books. He also wrote the Making of Holy Russia: The Orthodox Church and Russian Nationalism before the Revolution.
Marco Cappelli, the man behind the Storia D’Italia podcast, has created a Roman history comic book. Ammianus – the Twilight of an Era tells the story of the incredible change that took place across Italy during the 6th century.
The comic is so good it made me cry. I interview Marco about why he decided to make this and where the inspiration came from.
Get your own copy in Italian, English or Latin! And in physical or digital form here.
Pic: The Capture of Constantinople in 1204, oil painting by Tintoretto (1580).
Professor Nicholas Morton returns to tell us about developments on the sea during the Crusading era. We discuss why Venice, Genoa, Pisa and Amalfi were able to dominate the waves. And talk about the ships they used and how they fought.
Dr Morton is Associate Professor in Middle Eastern and Global history at Nottingham Trent University in the UK. His new book The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East is available now.
Here are 3 podcast-related things you may be interested in.
Roman Graphic Novel
Friend of the show Marco Capelli has made a comic book set in 6th century Italy. It follows two figures that we know about from an Ostrogothic jewellery collection that was discovered in 1938. A Roman Patrician Stephanus who marries a Gothic noblewoman Valatrud. They are subjects of King Theodoric who is trying to create a functioning Gothic-Roman kingdom in Italy. But their union comes shortly before Italy submerges into chaos. And Justinian sends Belisarius out to retake the home peninsula.
You can get your hands on a copy in English or Italian. In paper or in a digital format. Plus loads of other goodies are available from Marco’s Kickstarter campaign.
The Kickstarter ends on October 11th so act now.
Tour of Greece
Lantern Jack, the host of the podcast Ancient Greece Declassified, is leading a tour to Greece.
It’s taking place from January 3rd to the 11th 2025. And it visits every site connected with the famous war between the Persians and the Athenians and Spartans. If you want to go you will visit the Acropolis, the Straits of Salamis, Marathon, Eubeoa, Thermopylae, Delphi, Plataea and you’ll get to try on Hoplite Armour!
Finally my new friend Magnus who creates Roman themed merchandise on Etsy has created an actual History of Byzantium podcast t-shirt. Or I should say t-shirts. Branded with the podcast logo you have several to choose from. I’m sure they will light up any occasion you go to with looks of confusion and bewilderment. But I think they look beautiful.
Check them out here. He also has t-shirts and mugs celebrating lesser figures than me – such as Constantine, Justinian, Basil II, Marcus Aurelius and others.
The History of Byzantium 