S4 Ep75: “Getting Up Again” w Carollynn Xavier
Stand up comic Carollynn Xavier is back on The Fighting Priests podcast to give an update on her spiritual journey and her career in comedy, taking a break from jujitsu and then coming back again.
S4 Ep74: “War, Peace & War Again”
With the war, both in Ukraine, and now in Israel, Fr. Ted and Fr. Thomas, discuss the idea of war, defence of one’s people, and the Orthodox understanding of it all.
S4 Ep73: “Just Stand Up!”
In this episode Fr. Ted and Fr. Thomas discuss the difficulty of falling and getting back up. Defeat, both in BJJ and in the spiritual life can be difficult to overcome. Here they discuss how they deal with it and how BJJ and Orthodoxy has helped.
S4 Ep72: “Finding Purpose” w Dimitri Tsourounis
Fr. Ted and Fr. Thomas discuss with blue belt Dimitri Tsourounis, a Gracie Combatives certified instructor at RevMMA in Toronto, Canada. Together they explore the theme of “finding purpose“ through becoming part of a community and giving back.
S4 Ep71: “Strength & Humility” Part 2 w Fr. Yuri Hladio
In part two, Fr. Ted and Fr. Yuri, continue their conversation about the tension between strength and humility, and how it affects Orthodox Christians, who train BJJ.
S4 Ep70: “Strength & Humility” Part 1 w Fr. Yuri Hladio
In part one of this two-part interview, Fr. Ted speaks with white belt Fr. Yuri Hladio from Hamilton, Ontario. Together, they discuss the tension between strength and humility, and what that means for Orthodox Christians, who train BJJ.
S4 Ep69: “Staying the Course” - Consistency in Training w Yianni Avgeropoulos
In this episode, Fr. Ted interviews Yianni Avgeropoulos, a two stripe white belt from Markham, Ontario. Together they discuss the importance of consistency in training and in spiritual life.
S4 Ep68: “The Clothes Make the Man” - Gis & Vestments
In this episode, Fr. Thomas and Fr. Ted explore the history and practicality of both Orthodox, priestly, vestments and jujitsu uniforms.
S4 Ep67: “Doubt, Confidence & Trust”
In this episode Fr. Ted and Fr. Thomas discuss the importance of trust in any relationship, including religion and Jiu Jitsu.
S3 Ep66: 3rd Year Anniversary
In this 3rd Year Anniversary episode Fr. Thomas & Fr. Ted reflect back on the past three years of podcasting and review some of their favourite topics and episodes.
S3 Ep65: “War & Peace” Orthodoxy & Pacifism Part 3b w Capt. Andrei Petrov
Fr. Ted & Fr. Thomas interview Captain Andrei Petrov, a US Marine of 13 years, who is also a first stripe purple belt, and also a seminarian, preparing himself for ordination in the Orthodox Church. In this two-part interview, they discuss war, peace, violence of Christianity with violence, and many
S3 Ep64: “War & Peace” Orthodoxy & Pacifism Part 3a w Capt. Andrei Petrov
Fr. Ted & Fr. Thomas interview Captain Andrei Petrov, a US Marine of 13 years, who is also a first stripe purple belt, and also a seminarian, preparing himself for ordination in the Orthodox Church. In this two-part interview, they discuss war, peace, violence of Christianity with violence, and many
S3 Ep63: “Into the Mystery” - Initiation, Experience & Growth w Kevin Donascimento
Fr. Ted interviews Kevin Donascimento, a Blue Belt under John Schell from North Carolina. Kevin is a catechumen in the Orthodox Church, preparing himself for baptism and also pursuing BJJ and MMA.
S3 Ep62: “Discipline for Longevity - Training Smart, Training Humble”
In this episode Fr. Ted and Fr. Thomas discuss training for longevity and the factors that affect it: ego, age, nutrition and lifestyle. They also discuss the parallel phenomenon of overtraining in the spiritual life and how the same factors that affect BJJ also influence religious life.
S3 Ep61: “Old Priest, New White Belt” w Fr. James Guirguis
Fr. Ted & Fr. Thomas interview Fr. James Guirgis.Priest at St. Raphael Antiochian Orthodox Church in outside of Raleigh, North Carolina. Lives in Willow Springs, North Carolina Three Stripe White Belt, Shell Shock BJJ, under the lineage of John Schell, who trained under Ruben Rodrigues in the lineag
S3 Ep60: “Christianity, Comedy & Combat” w Carollynn Xavier
Fr. Ted & Fr. Thomas thank you Carollynn Xavier, a white belt in BJJ and also an Orthodox Catechumen. Together they discuss her journey to Orthodoxy, getting into jujitsu, and trying to navigate the world of stand-up comedy while being a Christian.
S3 Ep59: “God Given” - Natural Ability vs Hard Work
Fr. Ted and Fr. Thomas compare and contrast natural ability vs hard work. What are the differences? How important are they? And, is one better than the other, as it pertains to spirituality and BJJ.
S3 Ep58: “The Least of These My Brethren” w Raul Chavez
Fr. Thomas & Fr. Ted interview Raul Chavez of Project XGuard, a program that provides BJJ training for underprivileged children. Raul is a first degree Brown Belt under Fernando "Gringo" Zulick at Action Reaction MMA in Toronto, Canada. He started training in December of 2010 and started Project XGu
S3 Ep57: “The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same” w Rev. Joshua Serrano
Fr. Ted & Fr. Thomas interview Rev. Joshua Serrano, a Lutheran Pastor from San Carlos, CA. Joshua is 4 Stripe Blue Belt under Professor Marco Nascimento in San Mateo, CA. He’s been training on and off for 11 years and has initially trained at then famed gym Victory MMA in San Diego. Together the thr
S3 Ep56: “Rolling with Giants” - Fr. Ted Goes to Masters Worlds
Fr. Ted discusses with Fr. Thomas his first competition as a blue belt at Masters Worlds in Las Vegas.
S3 Ep55: “Being & Becoming” w Joshua Wherley
Fr. Ted interviews Joshua Wherley, a 4-stripe BJJ white belt under Shannon White at True Art Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Akron, Ohio. Joshua is also a convert to Orthodox Christianity from Lutheranism and together they discuss the concept of becoming both a Christian and a BJJ practitioner.
S3 Ep54: “Family, Friends & Fighting” w Jose Kim
Fr. Ted & Fr. Thomas speak with Jose Kim, a new Blue Belt training out of RevMMA in Toronto. Together they discuss how to be a good parent, spouse and training partner.
S3 Ep53: “Young & Dangerous” - Kids Learning BJJ w Katerina Paraskevopoulos
Fr. Ted interviews his daughter Katerina who has been training BJJ for almost 3 years. Together they discussed the importance of young people learning how to defend themselves, especially in an increasingly dangerous society.
S3 Ep52: “Changing Hearts & Minds” - The Religious Power of BJJ w Jim Trick
In this episode Fr. Thomas & Fr. Ted speak to Jim Trick, a BJJ purple belt training out of First Colony BJJ near Boston. MA. Jim is founder of the “MyWhiteBelt” podcast, a former Christian Pastor and motivational speaker. Together they discuss everything from faith, training, salvation and ecclesio