Catechism 101

The Creed (Week 8): The Breath of Life

In the final lecture on the Creed, Abbot Ankido explains how the Nicene Creed was expanded at the Council of Constantinople (381 AD) after Nicaea (325 AD) to definitively affirm the divinity of the Holy Spirit against those who denied it, and why the added lines about “one holy Catholic and apostolic Church,” “one baptism,” and the resurrection describe the Spirit’s effects in Christians. Using John 20, Genesis, Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones, and Acts 2, he argues the Spirit is truly given to believers, reversing sin’s rupture with God and others, empowering the apostles, and making Pentecost the Church’s “birthday.” He contrasts sacramental life with symbolic-only approaches, explains baptism’s indelible mark and why it isn’t repeated, describes the Spirit as the Church’s “soul” (Augustine/John Paul II), and connects the Communion of Saints to prayer to saints and the Church as God’s family. Next week, Abbot Ankido will begin his lecture series on the Old Testament. ––– New episodes drop weekly. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for the audio versions, or visit the Qurbana Media YouTube channel for video: https://youtu.be/Yue3Tz6Wj8E [https://youtu.be/Yue3Tz6Wj8E]

The Creed (Week 7): The Holy Spirit

This lecture moves from the Nicene Creed’s Christological section into the Holy Spirit, explaining how the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed was developed at Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381), and why the early draft barely mentioned the Spirit. It introduces the post-Nicaea heresy of Pneumatomachianism (“spirit-fighters”), which denied the Spirit’s divinity and personhood, and highlights the Cappadocian Fathers’ defense. Abbot Ankido defines divine personhood through Trinitarian relations and describes the Spirit as the eternal love “breath” between Father and Son. Using Scripture from Matthew, John, Acts, and Paul, he argues the Spirit acts and speaks as a person, transforms believers through baptism, and empowers the Church beyond mere moral virtue. The episode also previews the Filioque controversy and frames “from the Father through the Son” as a key formulation. ––– New episodes drop weekly. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for the audio versions, or visit the Qurbana Media YouTube channel for video: https://youtu.be/S4VGPrCf7HQ [https://youtu.be/S4VGPrCf7HQ]

The Creed (Week 6): The Second Coming

This lecture continues the Creed’s teaching on Jesus, emphasizing that his Resurrection is not a mere resuscitation like Lazarus or Jairus’s daughter but a real, glorified bodily life animated by the Holy Spirit, shown in appearances to Mary Magdalene, the Emmaus disciples, Thomas touching Jesus’ wounds, and Jesus eating with the apostles. It then explains the Ascension as Jesus taking authority at the Father’s right hand and, drawing on Hebrews, presents Jesus as the true high priest who enters the heavenly Holy of Holies, offering his once-for-all sacrifice. The Mass is described as sharing in that same offering on earth, uniting heaven and earth and giving a foretaste of the Second Coming in the Eucharist. Abbot Ankido concludes with Jesus’ return to judge the living and the dead, early Christians’ longing for his coming, and Romans 8’s assurance of no condemnation for those in Christ. New episodes drop weekly. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for the audio versions, or visit the Qurbana Media YouTube channel for video: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAM4wC7YYq_Wbkre-UuApoIWTzKdAQHJX [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAM4wC7YYq_Wbkre-UuApoIWTzKdAQHJX]

The Creed (Week 5): The Paschal Mystery

Abbot Ankido Sipo continues his lecture series on the Creed by moving from the Incarnation to the Paschal Mystery—Christ’s passion, death, burial, resurrection, and the Apostles’ Creed line “He descended into hell.” He argues sin is more than breaking a rule: it fractures communion, producing fear of God, shame, blame, and alienation, as seen in Adam and Eve. Salvation reverses this through Jesus as the new Adam, whose voluntary death is an act of love that restores relationship with God and others. He explains the Bible’s developing view of the afterlife, describing Sheol/Hades as the realm of the dead and using Jonah’s prayer “from the belly of Sheol” as a sign of life as communication with God. Citing the Catechism, he presents Christ’s descent as preaching to the dead, defeating death, and opening communion through the Eucharist. New episodes drop weekly. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for the audio versions, or visit the Qurbana Media YouTube channel for the video: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAM4wC7YYq_Wbkre-UuApoIWTzKdAQHJX [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAM4wC7YYq_Wbkre-UuApoIWTzKdAQHJX]

The Creed (Week 4): The Incarnation

This week's lecture continues a walk through the Nicene Creed by focusing on Christology, especially the lines affirming Jesus as “true God from true God” and “consubstantial with the Father” as the Church’s response to Arianism. It explains how Scripture presents Jesus’ divinity in a Jewish way (Alpha and Omega, Son of Man from Daniel, “I am,” calming the storm) while also insisting on the full reality of his humanity and warning against diminishing either nature. Abbot Ankido connects this to salvation: sin fractures relationships, and the Incarnation begins reconciliation by uniting God and man in one person. It also explores “through him all things were made” as the Logos/blueprint of creation (with reference to Pope Benedict’s Regensburg address), reads Colossians 1 and Hebrews on Christ as creator and perfect priest, and briefly discusses the Virgin Mary and the Immaculate Conception. New episodes drop weekly. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for the audio versions, or visit the Qurbana Media YouTube channel for the video: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAM4wC7YYq_Wbkre-UuApoIWTzKdAQHJX [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAM4wC7YYq_Wbkre-UuApoIWTzKdAQHJX]