The Great Tales
by Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick, Dcn. Seraphim Richard Rohlin, and Ancient Faith Ministries
Latest episode
Blood and Bow (Odyssey Pt. 5)
Blood and Bow (Odyssey Pt. 5)
About this podcast
Myth, legend, and story communicate history, meaning, identity, and the highest truths about both the seen and unseen world. Both ancient Israel and the Christian Church recorded, preserved, rewrote, commented on, and found edification in the great, epic tales (as well as the lesser ones), whether they originated inside or outside the people of God. Join Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Dcn. Seraphim Richard Rohlin as together they read the great tales.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 45 episodes
- Blood and Bow (Odyssey Pt. 5)The twists and turns all come to an end as Dn. Seraphim and Fr. Andrew finally take a shot with Odysseus’s bow and see just who’s going to end up with the pious Penelope. Music…
- All Cretans Are Liars (Odyssey Pt. 4)Fr. Andrew and Dn. Seraphim continue their read-through of the Odyssey with Odysseus's arrival back in Ithaca, and the various disguises he'll have to wear, lies he'll have to…
- The One with the Giants (Odyssey Pt. 3)Fr. Andrew and Dn. Seraphim continue their read-through of the Odyssey with books 9–12, the "Apologoi," in which Odysseus tells the stories of his voyage from Troy. These are by…
- The Odyssey Part Deux-ly: Departed SuitorsFather Andrew and Dn. Seraphim pick up the Homeric threads again, wrapping up their discussion on The Odyssey. All the beauty and nostalgia of the homecoming, plus the brutality…
- The Man of Many Twists and TurnsFather Andrew and Dn. Seraphim return to the Bronze Age to tell the story of a man who was variously identified as the Trojan War's greatest hero or its greatest villain.
- Kullervo: Born for RuinPARENTAL ADVISORY: THIS EPISODE CONTAINS CONTENT THAT MAY BE UPSETTING FOR CHILDREN. Kullervo is one of the most memorable figures in the Kalevala, the great poetic compendium of…
- The Queen of SerpentsOne of the greatest tales of Lithuania is Eglė, Queen of Serpents. We welcome our friend Fr. Gintaras Sungaila live from Lithuania to talk about this story as well as to share…
- Fate the MightyHow do you live in a collapsed civilization? Three Old English poems stand out for their reflection amidst loss - "The Ruin", "Deor," and "The Wanderer." Their elegiac power…
- Mermaid's Tale and Raven's WingFr. Andrew and Dcn. Seraphim tell you three tales from medieval romance and legend -- tales concerning mermaids, monsters, and the Raven of St. Oswald.
- Hagiography or Legend?Special guest co-host Dcn. Nicholas Kotar joins us to tell the story of Russia’s strange tradition of mashing up saints’ lives with fairy tales.
- O Death, Where is Your Sting Now?The week after Bright Week, Fr. Andrew and Dcn. Seraphim read some of the most intense and exciting poems from the Christian tradition, both East and West, about the harrowing of…
- Three Bardic BeatdownsOur hosts recap three legendary poetic showdowns: Väinämöinen vs. Joukahainen in the Kalevala, Homer vs. Hesiod in ancient Greece, and Taliesin vs. an entire court full of Celtic…
- Burgundians Behaving BadlyWe continue #HoaryNorthernWinter with a turn toward the German tellings of the Volsung story, the Nibelungenlied, and Þiðreks saga. Rather than being translations of the Norse…
- The Scourge of God#HoaryNorthernWinter continues with the final showdown with the Huns and the fall of the House of the Gjukings. While we're on the subject, we'll look more deeply into the…
- The Quarrel of the Queens#HoaryNorthernWinter continues as we come to one of the most famous scenes in the Volsunga Saga: the Quarrel of the Queens, the moment when everything breaks for Sigurd and the…
- The Cup of the GjukingsWe continue #HoaryNorthernWinter as we resume the Volsunga Saga and find out what happens to our great dragon-slaying hero when he comes to the Hall of the Gjukings and is…
- The Rhizomatic Evolution of the Nibelung Dragon-SlayerThe story of Sigurd the dragon-slayer is one of the most celebrated tales in all of European literature—but it doesn't come to us in a single, authoritative form. Instead, it…
- Dragonsbane of the NorthGreatest among the Norse and Germanic tales is the Völsunga saga – the story of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer, the cursed ring of Andvari, and how a powerful family of storied…
- The Beowulfian ApostleFr. Andrew and Dcn. Seraphim conclude their discussion of "Andreas," the Old English poem about St. Andrew rescuing St. Matthew from an island of cannibals. One of the wildest…
- The Flood of St. AndrewDelving into Old English sources, Fr. Andrew and Dcn. Seraphim read “Andreas,” the 10th-century poem that looks and sounds like Beowulf and tells the tale of how St. Andrew…
