The Best Orthodox Media for College Students in 20 Minutes or Less
It’s often tempting to think that we are all so busy that we don’t have time to really engage in spiritual things. Well, thanks to the amazing work of Ancient Faith Ministries, Y2AM, and many others, there are now hundreds of blogs, podcasts, videos, and other media out there to help us grow. Here are seven podcasts and video series that run under 20 minutes that we think you should start following. Did we mention that many of these speakers will be at College Conference this year? Click on the images to start listening and watching today!
The Morning Offering
Average Length: 4 minutes
What you can expect: A short, daily reflection on the spiritual life, culture, and other bits of wisdom from the booming voice of Abbot Tryphon
Why you should listen: In four minutes, Abbot Tryphon can give you food for thought for a whole day, whether he is talking about loving our neighbor, humility, or current events.
Be the Bee
Average Length: 5 minutes
What you can expect: Orthodox theology, tradition, and practice in small, manageable bites always with the goal of searching out and acting on the good in God’s creation featuring the infamous Steve Christoforou
Why you should watch: Ever wonder why we do what we do in Orthodox worship and practice? Need a spiritual pick-me-up? Sometimes feel like there’s a lot of negativity in the world? Steve’s your guy. With humor, wisdom, and a real love for people, Steve shares how we can, like St. Basil and St. Paisios, “be the bee.”
The Trench
Average Length: 5 minutes
What you can expect: Relationships–why they matter, what they look like, how they form us, and how they save us with Christian Gonzalez, husband, father, and Young Adult Ministries Coordinator for the GOA
Why you should watch: This is Y2AM’s newest video series, but from what we can tell, it’s gonna be good. Whether you’re thinking about family, friends, dating, work, or school, your life is filled with relationships, and Christian wants to help you see whoever you encounter as an opportunity to meet Christ and to engage in the spiritual life. Plus, this guy is just downright hilarious.
The Path
Average Length: 7 minutes
What you can expect: The daily Scripture readings according to the New Calendar with a brief reflection from Fr. Tom Soroka
Why you should listen: It’s hard to make up excuses for not reading Scripture daily when you can listen to Fr. Tom read it to you on your way to class!
Coffee with Sister Vassa
Average Length: 10 minutes
What you can expect: Reflections on Scripture, saints, and liturgy presented with the hilarious and dry humor of Sister Vassa Larin
Why you should watch: Sister Vassa is a professor of liturgy in Vienna, Austria, so her reflections on the liturgical life of the Church, feast days, saints, and Scripture come with a professor’s authority and knowledge, and she also shares practical ways we can imitate the saints and follow the Word of God. Plus, you don’t want to miss her entertaining captions, sound effects, and photos of the “zillions” drinking coffee with her.
Praying in the Rain
Average Length: 15 minutes
What you can expect: Excellent and personable reflections from Fr. Michael Gillis on prayer, suffering, temptation, bad thoughts, and the whole of the inner life often drawing on the writings of contemporary saints like St. Porphyrios and classic works like the Philokalia
Why you should listen: Listening to Fr. Michael is like having a spiritual elder on your smartphone. As you are learning to pray, facing the inevitable temptations that arise, falling, and getting back up again to follow Christ, Fr. Michael can give you great, simple advice along the way.
Becoming a Healing Presence
Average Length: 15-20 minutes
What you can expect: Dr. Albert Rossi from St. Vladimir’s speaks on a variety of topics that cover contemporary moral issues, Scripture, psychology, and relationships all in the context of Christ healing us so that we, too, can be a healing presence
Why you should listen: If you’ve never met or listened to Dr. Rossi, you’ll learn that no topic is off limits for him. You can browse or search the archives of his podcast and find episodes on things as diverse as pornography, schizophrenia, vocation, marriage, suicide, forgiveness, and time management.