Fr. Thomas Hopko

Fr. Thomas Hopko is the Dean Emeritus of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York, NY, and is a popular speaker.  He holds a B.A. in Russian Studies, a M.Div. from St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, a M.A. in Philosophy from Duquesne University, and a Ph.D. in Theology from Fordham University.  He is an accomplished author with numerous articles, essays, and books including The Orthodox Faith and Women and the Priesthood.  He shares his wealth of knowledge a longtime educator and lecturer  He has also served, among other things, as delegate to the World Council of Churches.  For more in-depth information on Fr. Thomas, visit St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary.

13 - Salvation

HT-13-01     The Meaning of the Cross
HT-13-02     The Meaning of the Cross (continued)
HT-13-03     The Meaning of the Cross (continued)
    Fr. Thomas explains how Christ fulfills through the cross the offices of prophet, priest and king.  The mystery of the cross perfects the original design of God for mankind.  He explains the different types of love, charity, mercy, affection and relates them to their proper patterns as expressions of the Godhead.  This is teaching filled with stark and agonizing contrasts.  It serves up a good measure of sanity about such current concerns as self-esteem, abandonment, hatred, self-loathing and multiple personalities.  "The Meaning of the Cross" is really a mini-course worthy of being mined again and again.

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Missions & Evangelism A Presentation at the 2003 Conference on Missions & Evangelism
20 - Ecclesiology

Fr. Thomas speaks about the local church and its challenges and problems.  These four talks are good for any local parish to hear.

HT-20-01	Loving and Worshipping God	47 min
HT-20-02	Preaching, Teaching & Scripture	47 min
HT-20-03	Pastoral Care	74 min
HT-20-04	Money, Property & Facilities	57 min

At the end of  the 2003 Conference on Missions & Evangelism is a Question and Answer session.  Frs. Thomas Hopko, Daniel Byantoro, & Peter Gillquist all give good teaching covering many topics.

HT-20-05    Questions and Answers    64 min

36 - Teaching Truth to Youth

HT-36-01     Children: What is Important?
    Best for children 7-12 years.  Fr. Thomas is speaking to and with children and explains some basics about some patron saints, the Bible and God's love.  Poor sound quality.

42 - Healing

HT-42-01     Healing and the Eucharistic Life
    Physical and all other types of healing are discussed in the context of the liturgical life of the church.  True healing is possible but only if part of God's will for each of us.

HT-42-02     Spiritual Sickness and Healing
    Bodily healing may not be for God's glory.  Why is this?  How should we think about the body and soul in this life in relation to eternity?

HT-42-03     Most Essential Healing
HT-42-04     Most Essential Healing (continued)
    Because Christ is victorious over death and is present in the Church, His healing power remains even to today.  But his promises are for the healing of the soul, but not always the body.

43 - Marriage

HT-43-01     The Theology of Sex
    Marriage, family and sexuality must all be put in context of a proper theology.  Only Jesus Christ can show us a proper view of sex.  There can be no definition of human life and therefore sex without reference to God.

44 - Family

HT-44-01     The Family and The Spiritual Life
HT-44-02     The Family and The Spiritual Life (continued)
    Fr. Thomas discusses the theology of the family; what is it supposed to be according to what Jesus and the saints have stated.  Discussion of child rearing, forgiveness, counseling, abuses, and bringing up children who will love the Lord and His Church.

51 - Suffering

HT-51-01     Divine Will – Human Suffering   September 2004    92 min
    This talk was given on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. What is the place of suffering in the earth?

	Individual Cassette:	$4
	2 CD set:	$10

60 - Spiritual Life

HT-60-01     Victorious Living in a Godless World - 1994
HT-60-02     Victorious Living in a Godless World (continued)
HT-60-03     Victorious Living in a Godless World (continued)
HT-60-04     Victorious Living in a Godless World (continued)
    This is like a primer on the Christian life.  Specifically covers salvation, prayer, scripture and how they relate to life.  These messages are a great encouragement to those who want to live according to Christ's teaching.

Contemporary Christian Orthodoxy

This is a "State of the Union" address for American Christians.  This very frank message, in three parts, discusses many of our problems and how they affect individuals, families and churches.  Fr. Thomas shows how the gospel of Christ can overcome these problems.  Very practical.  A good message to listen to often.

HT-60-05     An Orthodox World View
HT-60-06     To Know God is to Know Yourself
HT-60-07     How To Demonstrate You Really Want God

65 - Maturity

HT-65-01     The Place of Gratitude in the Christian Life   November 2004    92 min
    Fr. Thomas says, “Gratitude is life and if a person is ungrateful, they are dead. The content of life in the Christian view is perpetual gratitude in and for everyone and everything in all circumstances, particularly in afflictions and in suffering.” Then he goes on to say that this is so and why it is so.

	Individual Cassette:	$4
	2 CD set:	$10

Introduction to Iconography
80 - Icons

These two cassettes give a good foundation on the churches teaching on icons.

HT-80-01     Why Icons Are Essential to the Christian Faith
    Heather Mac Kean is an iconographer (one who writes icons).  She explains the practical theology of icons and how they reveal truth to all who view icons.  This tape fits well with HT-80-02 by Fr. Thomas.

HT-80-02     The Doctrine of The Church According to the Icons
    The center of the Christian faith is a human and He has been raised from the dead and we have seen and handled this God Himself.  Jesus is the very Icon of God.

82 - Mary

HT-82-01     Mary: The Great Example
HT-82-02     Mary: The Great Example (continued)
    This message explains what the church has taught about Mary, since the first century and through the ages.  The Eastern traditions and Western variations are examined.  A question and answer session is included.  Both tapes should be ordered together.

83 - Men & Women

HT-83-01     Sexuality and Sanctity: Men and Women Saints and How They Relate to Each Other and To God
    Fr. Thomas says man is incomplete without woman.  This is true in marriage and in all other relationships in life.  Even the great saints in monastic life have stated the need to be complete through a spiritual relationship with women.  Together, they learn the depths of God to a greater degree than alone.

85 - Modern Era

HT-85-01     Saint Innocent of Alaska
    The fascinating and inspiring story of the first Orthodox missionary to Alaska from Russia.  Not in great detail but a good introduction to St. Innocent.

90 - Knowing and Loving God

The center of all human life in the knowledge of God.  God is knowable by man because He has revealed Himself to us.  This fact is unique in all religion and is possible only through the revelation of God through His Son Jesus, the Christ.

HT-90-01     What Do the Orthodox Claim About Knowing God?
HT-90-02     What Must We Humans Do to Know God?

Prayer According to the Orthodox Tradition
94 - Prayer

This 13 part series was given to students at St. Vladimir's Seminary.  This series is very practical, powerful and expansive.  Fr. Thomas' generous use of Scripture, writings of the Church Fathers and his great sense of humor make this series both interesting and enjoyable.  Great for a 13 week study series with others.  You'll want to listen to these tapes over and over again.

Sound quality is fair to poor in spots.

HT-94-01     To Whom Do We Pray?
HT-94-02     The Goal of Prayer
HT-94-03     The Goal of Prayer (continued) &
                     Liturgy and Prayer
HT-94-04     Liturgy and Prayer (continued)
HT-94-05     Reading and Psalmody
HT-94-06     Reading and Psalmody (continued) &
                     Reading and Meditation
HT-94-07     Reading and Meditation (continued)
HT-94-08     Beginning to Pray
HT-94-09     Beginning to Pray (continued) &
                     Trisagion Prayer
HT-94-10     Trisagion Prayer (continued)
HT-94-11     Lord's Prayer
HT-94-12     Lord's Prayer (continued)
HT-94-13     Rule of Prayer
HT-94-14     Setting a Rule of Prayer
HT-94-15     Setting a Rule of Prayer (continued) &
                     Unceasing Prayer
HT-94-16     Unceasing Prayer (continued)
HT-94-17     The Jesus Prayer
HT-94-18     The Jesus Prayer (continued) &
                     Conclusion and Questions
HT-94-19     Conclusion and Questions (continued)

Prayer According to the Orthodox Tradition -- HT-94-01/19
(2) Cassette Albums --> $76 + S&H

Individual Cassettes:

$4 each

94 - Prayer

HT-94-21     How To Pray
HT-94-22     How To Pray (continued)
    This two-tape set on prayer is a practical look at prayer.  This would be a good set to listen to instead of the 19 tape series above if you want a good introduction and basis for more study on prayer.  As always on any of Fr. Thomas' presentations, there a lots of questions and answers.

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Revised: October 22, 2006.