HOST: Like many other religious faiths, Christians participate in periods of fasting, prayer, and penance to bring one closer to God. The most important fasting season of the Orthodox Christian calendar is the Great Lent, which is a period of purification leading up to Pascha or Easter – the most important festival within the Church.

During the Great Lent, Christians fast from animal products, offer prayers, give alms, and practice penance. Today on Our Noble Lineage, we are honored to have with us His Eminence Metropolitan Nikitas Lulias, Director of the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute (PAOI).

Is the only accredited graduate level program in Orthodox studies outside of a seminary in the US, and seeks to teach, promote, and sustain the traditions of Orthodox Christianity.

Nikitas(m): Our Institute is a member of the Graduate Theological Union, which brings together various institutes, schools, theological academies from the various religions and faith traditions of the world, including not only the Christian tradition, but also the Buddhist, the Muslim, the Jewish tradition, as well as a variety of
other expressions of life.