In this, the fourth talk, Fr Hans Jacobse reviews some of the social and cultural lies about masculinity and contrasts it with the Orthodox understand of man's role as the mediator of creation. Full presentation and Q&A following. To ask questions or get in touch with us, please join our Telegram Group here: https://t.me/isipodcast

In this, the 3rd talk of the Beloved Sons Retreat, Paul Robson details the elements that make up a good brotherhood of men. Paul is the initiator and organiser of the European Men's Gathering and has been professionally running men's groups for some 8 years. In this talk he covers "What is a men's group?", "Why should you join one?" and "What can you expect to get out of it?"r Full talk and Q&A afterwards. To ask questions or get in touch with us, please join our Telegram Group here:...

In this, the second video from the Beloved Sons Retreat, Fr Hans Jacobse talk about the father wound every man bears and why brotherhood--a community of men--is necessary for its healing and for the wellbeing of every man. To ask questions or get in touch with us, please join our Telegram Group here: https://t.me/isipodcast

In this first talk at the Beloved Sons Retreat, Fr Michael describes some of the wounds men bear, especially the verbal wounding we receive from our dads, from siblings, bullies, and other men in our lives, as well as the harsh self-talk in which we engage every day. There is some coarse language here. "Satan," or "Shaitan" in the original Hebrew, means "accuser," and it is ultimately he who accuses us. This talk was the introduction to a set of exercises which were designed to evoke the...

Fr Michael Butler gives a report back and overview of the entire Beloved Sons Retreat held in Livonia, Michigan on the 6th - 8th October 2023. To ask questions or get in touch with us, please join our Telegram Group here: https://t.me/isipodcast

A three way discussion between Fr Michael, Fr Hans and Paul Lloyd Robson about the Beloved Sons retreat, their collaboration with each other and the way forward. Particularly they underline the need for building in-person brotherhood through meetups, events, pilgrimages and regional networks. You can find more information about the AMEN Retreat "The Audacity of Manhood": https://antiochianmen.org/the-antiochian-men-conference-retreat/ The men's group started by Paul and Fr Michael will be on...

Paul describes how St Paisios has been the greatest source of inspiration for his journey into the Orthodox faith and understanding how we can restore an authentic manhood from the teachings of the Church. Please join all three of the co-hosts of As Iron Sharpens Iron for the Beloved Sons Retreat, which will be held 6-8 October 2023 in Livonia, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. For full information and registration: https://www.avg2alpha.com/beloved-sons/ Also, join us on the As Iron Sharpens...

In this episode, Fr Michael Butler gives a close reading of the beginning of The Life of St Anthony the Great by St Athanasius. Covering the Introduction and the first six chapters, we see in St Anthony the example of a young man who began to follow Christ and the initial struggles he faced when he did so. St Anthony's experience mirrors the same struggles all of us face when we want to follow Christ, and his resistance to the devil gives us an example and a hope to follow. Please join us to...

Father Hans Jacobse examines the life of St. John the Forerunner (Baptist) as a role model of manly virtue. So what are some virtues of St. John that should light a fire in our heart? Please join all three of the co-hosts of As Iron Sharpens Iron for the Beloved Sons Retreat, which will be held 6-8 October 2023 in Livonia, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. For full information and registration: https://www.avg2alpha.com/beloved-sons/ Also, join us on the As Iron Sharpens Iron Telegram group for...

In this episode we look to answer, we dive into a unique treasure of the Orthodox faith - the saints. Specifically we look at how are the saints role models for us to learn about manhood and masculinity today. Please join all three of the co-hosts of As Iron Sharpens Iron for the Beloved Sons Retreat, which will be held 6-8 October 2023 in Livonia, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. For full information and registration: https://www.avg2alpha.com/beloved-sons/ Also, join us on the As Iron...

In this episode, Fr Michael takes Righteous Samson from the Book of Judges as an example--both good and bad--of masculinity. He considers how Samson prefigured Christ, what it means that he was a Nazirite, that he was powerfully affected by the Spirit of God, that he was a liminal or threshold figure, and that he was loner. Were these aspects of his life good or bad, and what do they have to teach us about being men today? Please join all three of the co-hosts of As Iron Sharpens Iron for the...

Holy and Righteous King David is a type of a king which can help us to understand Kingship and monarchy - ultimately based on God as King and Lord. In this episode, looking at biblical sources of inspiration for masculinity, Paul explores how our understanding of kingship can be influenced by a secular or even gnostic separation of kingship from our lives and can deny the redeeming work of the incarnation of Christ. Links mentioned in this episode: Iron Telegram Chat: https://t.me/isipodcast...

All of scripture points to Christ as the God Man. In this episode, we discuss how Holy Scripture can be used a source of paternal love and inspiration for masculinity. Particularly we cover three biblical persons - Samson, Holy And Righteous King David and St John the Forerunner.

In part two of the discussion about the patriarchal character of creation, Fr. Hans discusses how the Trinity reveals the relational character of God how that makes the healing of men possible. The love of God is a patriarchal love he points out and then explains how brotherly love becomes the conduit, the channel, by and through which the regenerative and restorative love is God is experienced and known. This is a continuation of Fr Hans' last episode on Our Soul has Structure. You can...

In this episode, Fr Michael Butler talks about -- virtue and its place in masculinity -- the cardinal virtues of courage, moderation, prudence, and justice, and -- how they are the optimization of the various parts of the soul. He goes on to describe courage and moderation as they are expressed in the spiritual life, and gives some practical suggestions for you to follow. Please remember the Beloved Sons Retreat coming up on 6-8 October. Find out more about it and register online here:...

A conversation on the connection between masculinity and virtue with Fr Josiah Trenham. Fr Josiah starts in a surprising place to illustrate how far off we have gone form the path given the role of feminism, looking at shoulder pads in women's suits. He then goes in to illustrate a beautiful example of how men can lead with integrity and love. We particularly inverstigate four areas for the development of masculine virtue: 1. Participation in the divine services of the Church centered around...

We start this episode with a question which Paul has been pondering for some time: Is there a specifically masculine aspect to virtue? The answer may surprise you in this comnversation with Fr Hans and Fr Michael where we cover the connection between virtue and masculine, the role of paternal love and how having a supportive brothrhood can help you to build yourself and those around you up as men together. To ask questions or get in touch with us, or to find the link to the homily from St...

Fr. Hans Jacobse starts his examination of “Is Creation Patriarchal” by explaining how we discover that our soul is ordered and has structure. He talks about how many men find Christ through the pain of their souls. This pain forces man to recognize that he indeed has a soul and he must tend and cultivate it because its with the soul that he encounters God who brings healing to him. This is part one of a two part series where the discovery of the soul and its structure reveals that creation...

In this episode, Fr Michael Butler defines patriarchy as the summit of mature masculinity. He distinguishes immature (toxic) masculinity from mature masculinity then goes on to show that patriarchy has defining characteristics of being centered in God, with the Cross of Christ as it symbol; protective, maintaining order against chaos; generative in creating and providing for others; and encouraging, affirming and blessing others. Mufasa from The Lion King and Abraham in the book of Genesis...

A conversation with the host of the Symbolic World and Orthodox icon carver, Jonathan Pageau. 0:00 - Coming up 1:00 - Introducing the interview and topic of Patriarchy 2:31 - What has Jonathan been up to, especially Mt Athos visit 8:34 - The ideals and pragmatics of Patriarchy 14:34 - Patriarchy as a pattern of reality 20:00 - On female priests in Christianity 23:33 - Feminine and masculine in the sacraments 26:07 - Marriage as the testing ground of aligning with patterns of reality 28:47 -...

Starting off a new season in As Iron Sharpens Iron, we recap why it is we are doing this podcast and what we are trying to achieve. A central part of our approach has turned out to be focused on the integration of considering deep and profound ideas about manhood, but constantly returning to practice, and how we are living our own lives as men, husbands, colleagues. We consider what it means to say that patriarchy is the fundamental structure of reality, how that relates to the teaching of...

Starting off a new season in As Iron Sharpens Iron, we recap why it is we are doing this podcast and what we are trying to achieve. A central part of our approach has turned out to be focused on the integration of considering deep and profound ideas about manhood, but constantly returning to practice, and how we are living our own lives as men, husbands, colleagues. We consider what it means to say that patriarchy is the fundamental structure of reality, how that relates to the teaching of...

In our final episode of the season, we have a discussion of how the podcast has gone so far, and cover particularly several perspectives on the foundations of Patriarchy: - How the Mother of God is the ideal blueprint for being a man - Stability in your own life as a prerequisite for leading a family - How strong brotherhood is essential in leading a family Finishing off season 1 of this podcast, we laid out our plans for the next season, which we intend to be an exploration of Patirarchy -...

This is a conversation with Fr Josiah Trenham on the subject of Purpose. Every part of your life can be raised up to a meaningful engagement with God, the Creator of the Universe. If you bring prayer and awareness of the presence of God into every task that you do, then you can find purpose in all of life. Life as a man is tough. We sholder responsibility and do what we can to stay in integrity with the Grace of God. When we fall, as we often do, then we get up again. To ask questions or get...

Fr Hans talks about purpose, where the boy first sees it and how it has to be and developed in the man. Our purpose is discovered only in relation to God because a man’s purpose requires the cultivation of virtue, and virtue has its source in our Creator. In our age the dominant culture is corrupted. Boys become sidetracked into vices that fragments the inner man and stifles their development into stable adulthood. Only a return to God and learning the obedience by which vice is conquered...