{"podcast":{"title":"Philokalia Ministries","slug":"philokalia-ministries-1083501","podcast_index_feed_id":1083501,"rss_url":"https://philokalia.podbean.com/feed.xml","website_url":"https://philokalia.podbean.com","image_url":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/594245/My_Post_Copy-1acrsu.jpg","author":"Father David Abernethy","episode_count":877,"summary":"Philokalia Ministries is the fruit of 30 years spent at the feet of the Fathers of the Church. Led by Father David Abernethy, a member of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri since 1987, Philokalia (Philo: Love of the Kalia: Beautiful) Ministries exists to re-form hearts and minds according to the mold of the Desert Fathers through the ascetic life, the example of the early Saints, the way of stillness, prayer, and purity of heart, the practice of the Jesus Prayer, and spiritual reading. Those who are involved in Philokalia Ministries - the podcasts, videos, social media posts, spiritual direction and online groups - are exposed to writings that make up the ancient, shared spiritual heritage of East and West: The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Saint Augustine, the Philokalia, the Conferences of Saint John Cassian (a favorite of Saint Philip Neri, the founder of the Oratory), the Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian, and the Evergetinos. In addition to these, more recent authors and writings, which draw deeply from the well of the desert, are read and discussed: Lorenzo Scupoli, Saint Theophan the Recluse, anonymous writings from Mount Athos, the Cloud of Unknowing, Saint John of the…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-14T06:21:09.072660+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/philokalia-ministries-1083501"},"episode":{"title":"The Name Above Every Name, Conference One","slug":"the-name-above-every-name-conference-one","published_at":"2026-07-13T16:21:17+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/philokalia-ministries-1083501/the-name-above-every-name-conference-one","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/philokalia-ministries-1083501","url":"https://philokalia.podbean.com/e/the-name-above-every-name-conference-one/","audio_url":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/hnn282y5hzihznb3/July_Retreat_Week_One_7112026_FINAL97b5c.mp3","summary":"The Name Above Every Name Conference OneReceiving the NameThe Gift Before the Method “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”— Philippians 2:10 There is perhaps no prayer more beloved in the Christian East than the Jesus Prayer. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.” It is spoken by monks in their cells, by hermits in the desert, by laborers at their work, by the elderly in nursing homes, by the sick in their hospital beds, and by countless hidden souls who have learned to carry the Name of Christ as their constant companion. Yet before we speak of the prayer itself, we must ask a more fundamental question. Why this Name?Not simply why this prayer, but why this Name? Our age has become fascinated with methods. We search for techniques that promise peace, concentration, or spiritual experience. We want to know how many repetitions to make, how to regulate our breathing, how to quiet the mind, how to pray without distraction. These questions are not unimportant. The Fathers address them with great sobriety. But they are never their starting point.The Christian life does not begin with a method. It begins with a Person.The Apostles did not first receive a prayer rule. They encountered Christ.Everything else followed from that encounter. This is the first lesson that Archimandrite Zacharias never tires of repeating. The Name of Jesus is not a sacred formula. It is not a mantra. It possesses no power apart from the living Person whom it reveals. When we invoke the Name, we are not repeating syllables. We are standing before the living God who has become man for our salvation. This changes everything.Prayer is no longer something we accomplish.It becomes Someone whom we meet.The whole mystery of Christianity is con…","meta_description":"The Name Above Every Name Conference OneReceiving the NameThe Gift Before the Method “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth a…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":5973,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/philokalia-ministries-1083501/episodes/the-name-above-every-name-conference-one/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/philokalia-ministries-1083501/the-name-above-every-name-conference-one.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}