EPISODE · Aug 10, 2026 · 1H 48M
The Dormition: What the Death of the Theotokos Reveals About Yours
from Orthodox Health · host Dr. Michael Kuhn
You will die. So what exactly are you preparing your body for?After exploring how Orthodox Christians should feed the body during fasting & how to train without making the gym an idol, in this episode of the Orthodox Health Podcast, Dr. Michael Christian & John confront the question that neither nutrition nor physical discipline can answer:What are health, strength, suffering, & ultimately the body itself actually for?The Dormition gives the Church’s answer.The Theotokos, the holiest human person who ever lived, still shared our mortality. She truly died. Yet the Feast does not present her death as defeat. Christ receives His Mother, the grave does not have the final word, & her glorification reveals the destiny of humanity united to Him.They explore the theology of the Dormition icon, why Orthodox Christians fast before the Feast, bodily resurrection, illness and human dignity, the limits of modern wellness culture, remembrance of death, the difference between physical toughness & Christian asceticism, & what it actually means for a Christian to “die well.”Along the way, they ask a harder Orthodox Health question:Is caring for your health making you more available for love, service, & surrender... or simply making you more afraid of losing control?Health is good. Strength is good. Medicine is good.But none of them can tell us what our life is ultimately for.☦️ Blessed Dormition Fast.Chapters:00:00 Coming Up0:41 Orthodox Health Intro02:10 What Is the Body For?09:04 What Is the Dormition?15:23 Why Fast Before Dormition?20:07 Why Celebrate a Death?31:24 Reading the Dormition Icon41:11 Scripture & the Feast49:06 Why Mary Still Needs Christ54:48 The Fantasy of Invulnerability1:03:24 The Destiny of the Church1:08:06 Dignity Beyond Productivity1:16:21 Physical Discipline vs. Asceticism1:24:02 Remembering Death Without Fear1:29:24 What This Means for Health1:32:08 Five Diagnostic Questions1:44:04 What Does It Mean to Die Well?1:45:05 Destined for ResurrectionWork with Dr. Mike Signed Copies of Orthodoxy & The Medicine of the Future: OrthodoxHealth.com/bookOrder Orthodoxy & the Medicine of the Future on AmazonDonate to St. John the Theologian hereSupport the Show with a One-Time or Recurring donationIntro & Outro Music: St. John of Chicago Orthodox Church Choir (Arkansas) - Please support their building fund by buying the whole album hereOrthodox Health Instagram & Telegram
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The Dormition: What the Death of the Theotokos Reveals About Yours
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