#50 Fr Aleksandr Groves | Orthodoxy reveals our true humanity

#50 Fr Aleksandr Groves | Orthodoxy reveals our true humanity

Please support or subscribe to help us raise funds to buy our new Church Building - https://www.buzzsprout.com/2429544/subscribe We are an Orthodox Church in St Leonard's-on-Sea, Hastings in Albany Road. Check out the awesome Bed and Breakfast run by Fr Aleksandr and Paul - St Benedict - Victorian Bed and Breakfast, Hastings (updated prices 2026) [https://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/st-benedict-victorian-bed-and-breakfast.en-gb.html?aid=2276424&label=msn-6%2AxnknjeNIieuGeCBl92hQ-80814248739756%3Atikwd-80814500241919%3Aloc-162542%3Aneo%3Amte%3Alp162542%3Adec%3Acid578304478%3Aagid1293026148094526%3Aclkid469cc7d0f2f61d33ff9fad86f7cd75e6&sid=d5b4d341e987dfaa1bde1d8cf61d5a4e&dest_id=-2598266&dest_type=city&dist=0&group_adults=2&group_children=0&hapos=1&hpos=1&no_rooms=1&req_adults=2&req_children=0&room1=A%2CA&sb_price_type=total&sr_order=popularity&srepoch=1784022393&srpvid=01b144a43b0e06aa&type=total&ucfs=1&] Join the Jarvah Founders Club and get a discount on Biltong for a whole year!  https://www.jarvahbiltong.com/jarvah-founder-s-page Something strange happens when you step into an Orthodox church: the room is full, yet nobody is performing for anybody else. Attention stops being stolen and starts being trained.  We’re joined by our own Father Alexander Groves to talk about Orthodox Christianity as the work of becoming fully human. We dig into why the Orthodox life involves effort and sacrifice, why that struggle is worth it, and how the Church heals us through prayer, confession, and the Eucharist. Father Alexander also shares his personal journey from an Anglican choirboy with a sense of vocation, to a Church of England priest, to Roman Catholic lay life, and finally to what he describes as a joyful homecoming into the Orthodox Church.  We go deep on Russian Orthodoxy, not as an idea but as lived history: the persecution under communism, the witness of martyrs, and the quiet heroism of grandparents who kept the faith alive when the state tried to crush it. From there we turn to the saints, veneration, and the startling closeness of holiness, including Father Alexander’s own patron, Saint Alexander of Svir, and the story of relics rediscovered after 1989.  Finally, we bring it home to Hastings and St Leonards in East Sussex: a tiny chapel built on a sliver of land, a growing parish, and the surprising chain of events that led to renting a larger building while we work towards buying it, including a visit from the myrrh-streaming Hawaiian icon of the Mother of God. If you care about Orthodox liturgy, Christian tradition, spiritual discipline, and building a real local community, this one’s for you.  Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave us a review so more people can find the Sunny Banana. Drop us a line [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2429544/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2429544/support]

#49 | The Afrikaans Greek Orthodox continues - Saints and Worship lead us to God PART 2

The saints are not a chapter in a history book for us, they are part of the Church’s present tense. We talk about the startling intimacy of Orthodox Christianity: speaking to the Panagia like family, kissing an icon beside a stranger and feeling a real bond, and remembering that holiness is not reserved for monks or martyrs. Along the way we touch on incorrupt relics and the living memory of saints in places like the Ionian Islands, where faith was defended not with clever arguments but with a simple, practical confidence in God’s work among real people.  We then move into what many newcomers notice first: the Divine Liturgy. We reflect on how Orthodox worship is not built around a long talk, but around prayer, beauty, attention, and Holy Communion. The priest is not there to perform; he disappears into the work of worship. Icons, incense, chanting, posture, and silence become a kind of embodied catechesis, the “message” delivered through what you step into and participate in. If you have ever felt worn out by faith as a purely rational exercise, this conversation offers a more grounded path from the head into the heart.  Finally, we share concrete guidance for anyone curious about the Eastern Orthodox Church or trying to deepen their spiritual life: start with the lives of the saints, return to prayer, seek humility, and find wise spiritual guidance. We mention beloved reads like Everyday Saints and the writings of Saint Paisios, and we speak honestly about the struggle of keeping a prayer rule, especially in modern life far from traditional Orthodox cultures. We also share why we’re moving to a subscription model to help support our Orthodox parish in Hastings.  If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the beauty and truth of Orthodoxy. Drop us a line [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2429544/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2429544/support]

# 48 | A young Afrikaner becomes Greek Orthodox PART 1

For £2.27 ($3) a month you get: * Exclusive access to premium content * Access to great value on all Jarvah Biltong Products (UK only) * All funds go to the Orthodox Church in St Leonard's, Hastings to continue it's transformational work Sunny Banana (Sunny Banana + Jarvah Biltong) [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2429544/supporters/new] Nektarios' Business selling beautiful Orthodox Products https://www.instagram.com/prodromossouthafrica?igsh=M25hdDRqM3g5NXJu&utm_source=qr [https://www.instagram.com/prodromossouthafrica?igsh=M25hdDRqM3g5NXJu&utm_source=qr] You can’t argue someone into the Orthodox Church, but you can invite them to come and see and that invitation changes everything. We sit down with Nectarios Otto, a chanter we met at the Greek Orthodox Church in Pretoria, to talk about what happens when ancient faith meets modern hunger in South Africa, and why repentance and obedience are not harsh ideas but the doorway into real spiritual life. We also get practical about Orthodoxy beyond Sunday. Nectarios shares the story behind Prodromos Orthodox Goods, a small icon and devotional project born from visits to Mount Athos and monasteries in northern Greece. It’s a conversation about gratitude, hospitality, and the very real need for Orthodox icons and books for families, converts, and lifelong faithful who want their homes to reflect their prayer. Along the way we touch on calendars, parish culture, and what it means for Greek communities to welcome a growing wave of English-speaking newcomers. Then we go personal. From Dutch Reformed roots and contemporary church life to catechism and baptism in the Greek Church, Nectarios explains the quiet sense of “there must be more” that pushed him towards something older and deeper. We close with the saints, especially Saint Nectarios, including a striking miracle story from South Africa and a reflection on why the saints feel present in Orthodox Christianity rather than locked in the past. If you’re curious about Orthodoxy, icons, Mount Athos, or the search for the ancient Church in a modern world, listen now, share it with a friend, and leave us a review so more people can find the conversation. Drop us a line [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2429544/fan_mail/new] Jarvah Biltong [https://www.jarvahbiltong.com/] Jarvah Biltong is handcrafted premium biltong that brings together flavour, tradition, and community Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2429544/support]

#45 | Have you been in the dark belly of a monster? Why a spiritual father/mother is essential

For £2.27 ($3) a month you get: * Exclusive access to premium content * Access to great value on all Jarvah Biltong Products (UK only) * All funds go to the Orthodox Church in St Leonard's, Hastings to continue it's transformational work Sunny Banana (Sunny Banana + Jarvah Biltong) [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2429544/supporters/new] Ten reps can feel impossible until someone looks you in the eye and believes you can do them. After a morning at Trojan Gym in Hastings, I share a small moment that caught me off guard: I’m grinding through dips in tired little sets, then a stranger asks, “Can you do ten for me?” I manage ten straight reps, and it leaves me wondering what just happened and why simple encouragement can change our limits so quickly. That question takes us somewhere deeper: who is rooting for you, and do you actually know it? I talk about the Orthodox Christian practice of spiritual fatherhood and godparents, and how a parish priest, monk, or nun can become a steady guide. This isn’t about having perfect answers; it’s about having a trusted person who helps you stay honest, brave, and open to mercy when you’re tempted to hide. We also explore confession and the biblical call to expose darkness rather than live in it. When anger, lust, jealousy, and shame stay buried, they grow heavier and drag us down. When we bring them into the light, they can be healed, redeemed, and transformed. Along the way I reflect on Jonah, the cry of “Lord, help me”, Pentecost and the Holy Spirit, plus a couple of quotes that underline the urgency of stepping into the light now. If you found this meaningful, subscribe, share it with someone who needs encouragement, and leave a review. Who is the person in your life you can call for a coffee and speak honestly with? Drop us a line [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2429544/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2429544/support]

#44 | Anger And Lust As Fuel For God

For £2.27 ($3) a month you get: * Exclusive access to premium content * Access to great value on all Jarvah Biltong Products (UK only) * All funds go to the Orthodox Church in St Leonard's, Hastings to continue it's transformational work Sunny Banana (Sunny Banana + Jarvah Biltong) [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2429544/supporters/new] Anger, lust, jealousy, pride, cravings, addiction, we usually talk about them like they’re glitches to delete. I’m taking a different angle today, sparked by reading Orthodox bishop and theologian Kallistos Ware in The Image Of The Father, where he asks a brave question: are the passions evil by nature, or are they human energies that can be redirected and transfigured? We sit with the language that really bites: do we say mortify or redirect, eradicate or educate, eliminate or transfigure? I share honestly that these aren’t abstract ideas for me. They show up in real life, and they can either push us into disconnection from our neighbour, disconnection from God, and disconnection from ourselves, or they can become the very place where grace starts to work. We talk about practical redirection. What happens when anger stops targeting people and turns towards the roots of evil instead? What would it look like to educate lust and craving, training desire towards prayer, worship, time with God, and love of neighbour? This is the Orthodox Christian vision of transformation: not becoming less human, but becoming more human than we’ve ever been before, shaped into the image we were created to bear. If this reflection helps, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. What passion do you most want to see transformed? Drop us a line [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2429544/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2429544/support]