Orthodox Christians hear the gospel readings of the Passion during Holy Week every year. We may think we know what happened, but what appears rather simple and straightforward is actually very layered and complex.
In her new book, The Crucifixion of the King of Glory: The Amazing History and Sublime Mystery of the Passion, Dr. Constantinou gives background information and insights into the Passion of Christ that few Christians have ever heard about. The book weaves together threads from many different facets of life in first century Palestine to reveal the complex activities, relationships and attitudes that shaped events which culminated in the crucifixion of the Lord. Watch more of this series on myOCN Community Events recorded programs.
Authors
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Shaped by a life of service to Christ’s Church, Fr. Christopher has dedicated himself to using all the tools God has placed at his disposal to spread the light of Orthodoxy across the United States of America and around the world. Speaker, Radio Host, Professor, Founding Father of the Orthodox Christian Network (OCN), Pastor, Leader of 12 Pilgrimages to the Holy Land and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Author, Father, Grandfather and Defender of the Faith. As founder, host, and executive director of the Orthodox Christian Network he shepherds a dynamic and rapidly expanding ministry bringing joy, hope, and salvation in Jesus Christ to close to 1 million people a month in more than 190 countries. A nationally known radio personality, Fr. Christopher co-hosted the groundbreaking, internationally televised Epiphany Celebration of Tarpon Springs, Florida in January 2006, presided over by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and seen on the Hallmark Channel. He was also featured in a 2012 television broadcast on TLC entitled “4 Weddings.” In May 2014, he offered live English commentary from Rome via Radio Vaticana and EWTN for the worldwide televised broadcast of the historic meeting of Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Jerusalem. In November 2014, he returned to Rome to provide the English commentary on a second Radio Vaticana/EWTN worldwide televised broadcast, this time on the occasion of Pope Francis’ visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul in celebration of the Feast Day of St Andrew. He worked alongside a team of professionals from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America on these broadcasts. Currently serves as Vice President, International Association of Digital Media Orthodox Pastoral Care. Fr. Christopher holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Hellenic College of Brookline, Massachusetts, a Master of Divinity Studies Degree from Brookline’s Holy Cross School of Theology, and a Doctor of Ministry Degree from the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. His dedication to the family unit drove Fr. Christopher to be certified as a Family Mediator by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Florida. Fr. Christopher has also studied extensively at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. He has served the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese for more than 40 years. He has held many different assignments as: Representative to the United Nations and United States Missions; Assistant Priest St. Demetrios Cathedral, Astoria, NY; Dean of the Assumption Cathedral in Denver, CO; Pastor of the Archangel Michael Church, Roslyn, NY; Pastor of the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Ft Lauderdale Florida, President of Hellenic College Holy Cross School of Theology, Dean of Admissions and Registrar of the Hellenic College and Holy Cross School of Theology; member of the Archdiocesan Council; President of the Archdiocesan Presbyter’s Council for two consecutive terms; and council member of the Metropolis of Denver and the Metropolis of Atlanta. He also served as Vicar of the South Florida Conference from 1998-2011. In the summer of 2008, he was elevated by His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios to the rank of Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Patriarchate with the blessings of the Holy and Sacred Synod, the highest honor bestowed on a married clergyman. Fr. Christopher and his late wife, Presbytera Georgia Mitsos, have six children and four grandchildren. With the blessings of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros and Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco he was appointed as Interim Pastor of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in San Jose, Ca in October 2021.
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Dr. Eugenia Constantinou holds five degrees in theology including Master of Theology degrees from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Harvard Divinity School and a Ph.D. from Université Laval where she specialized in the Apocalypse in the ancient Church. She has been a professor at Orthodox institutions including Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute. For the past eighteen years she has taught biblical studies and early Christianity at the University of San Diego, and she also currently teaches New Testament at two graduate schools of theology, the Franciscan School of Theology and Sts Athanasius and Cyril Coptic School of Theology. She has been a regular speaker at retreats and conferences for over forty years. Her most recent book Thinking Orthodox: Understanding and Acquiring an Orthodox Christian Mind was recently released by Ancient Faith Publishing. The subject is why the Orthodox Church is the continuation of the original ancient Church, and why it is different from Western Christianity. The focus of the book is not so much on what we believe but why. The book Thinking Orthodox will be an ongoing subject of discussion on Let’s Talk Live right here on OCN beginning January 7, 2021. But for tonight, our subject is the feast of the Nativity of our Lord Christmas and the gospels that tell us the story of Christmas.
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