The Symbolic World 421 - Deacon Seraphim (Richard) Rohlin - Recovering Our Heritage
Nov 14, 2025
Deacon Seraphim (Richard) Rohlin, an Orthodox deacon and CEO of Symbolic World Press, dives into the significance of heritage recovery and an enchanted Christian life. He discusses how modernity has fragmented shared experiences and contrasts ancient perceptions of time with contemporary views. Rohlin critiques the 1619 Project as a competing origin story and highlights the importance of feasts as portals to sacred time. He urges a return to practices like feasting and hospitality to transmit deep Christian patterns and restore community connections.
57:26
Stories Make Nations Real
- Medieval universal histories create national identity by linking peoples to sacred and ancient origins.
- Forgetting your people's story severs your sense of self and communal cohesion.
History As Shared Identity
- 'History' originally meant inquiry and later came to mean the shared story of a people.
- Participation in that story makes you part of your people and anchors identity.
Kairos Reclaims Time
- Kairos (sacred fitting time) lets festivals access a higher, undying time and revive past ages.
- Feasting and ritual temporarily reunite cyclical sacred time with ordinary chronos.
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Intro
00:00 • 2min
Why Paradiso Confuses Readers
01:50 • 2min
How I Discovered The Symbolic World
03:52 • 3min
Why Different Days Are Not All Equal
06:28 • 32sec
The 1619 Project as a Competing Origin Story
07:00 • 3min
Geoffrey of Monmouth and Inventing Britain
10:13 • 9min
What Is Universal History?
19:01 • 4min
Modern Historiography vs. Received Tradition
22:58 • 3min
How Technology Fragmented Shared Experience
25:42 • 1min
How Ancient People Experienced Time
26:54 • 3min
Feasts: Where Time and History Meet
30:10 • 5min
Modernity's Break with Kairos
35:07 • 3min
Postmodernity, Identity, and the Loss of Common Celebration
38:00 • 5min
The Cross as a Point to Reconcile Origins
42:47 • 1min
Why Britain Traces Roots to Troy
43:57 • 2min
Arthur as the Christian Unifier
46:11 • 4min
How to Recover Heritage at Home
49:58 • 3min
Feasting as Sacrament and Family Practice
52:40 • 4min
Pilgrimage, Exile, and the Christian Story
56:39 • 41sec
Outro
57:20 • 1sec
#694
• Mentioned in 37 episodes
Beowulf
Anonymous
Beowulf is an Old English epic poem that chronicles the daring deeds of its titular hero, Beowulf.
The story begins with Beowulf's journey to help King Hrothgar of the Danes, whose mead hall, Heorot, is terrorized by the monster Grendel.
Beowulf kills Grendel and later Grendel's mother, then returns to his homeland to become king of the Geats.
After ruling for 50 years, he faces his final battle against a fire-breathing dragon, which ultimately leads to his death.
The poem explores themes of heroism, fate, and the struggle between civilization and wilderness.
#8387
• Mentioned in 5 episodes
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
The Gawain Poet
The poem tells the story of Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur's Round Table, who accepts a challenge from the mysterious Green Knight.
Gawain beheads the Green Knight, who then picks up his head and sets a date for Gawain to meet him at the Green Chapel in a year and a day.
The narrative follows Gawain's journey to the Green Chapel, where he faces various tests of his honor and chivalry, including encounters with the Lord and Lady of a castle.
The poem delves into themes of mortality, the inevitability of death, and the importance of keeping one's word and adhering to knightly duties.
#9039
• Mentioned in 4 episodes
History of the Kings of Britain
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth's 'Historia Regum Britanniae' ('History of the Kings of Britain') is a 12th-century work that significantly shaped the Arthurian legend.
While largely fictional, it provided a detailed backstory for Arthur, including his parentage, the introduction of Guinevere, and the establishment of Tintagel as his kingdom.
Monmouth's invention of Avalon as Arthur's final resting place further enriched the mythology.
Despite its historical inaccuracies, the book's influence on the enduring popularity of the Arthurian legend is immense.
It remains a crucial text in understanding the evolution of the story.
#131
• Mentioned in 117 episodes
The Hobbit
or There and Back Again
J.R.R Tolkien
Published in 1937, 'The Hobbit' is a children's fantasy novel that introduces readers to the richly imagined world of Middle-earth.
The story follows Bilbo Baggins, a home-loving hobbit, who is persuaded by Gandalf to join Thorin and his twelve dwarves on a quest to reclaim their treasure from the dragon Smaug.
During the journey, Bilbo encounters various creatures, including trolls, goblins, and the mysterious Gollum, and discovers a magical ring that renders the wearer invisible.
The novel is a prequel to 'The Lord of the Rings' and explores themes of personal growth, courage, and unexpected heroism.
#19
• Mentioned in 305 episodes
The Bible
Various Authors
The Bible is a comprehensive collection of texts that form the central religious text of Christianity and Judaism.
It is divided into the Old Testament, which includes books such as Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and others that narrate the creation of the world, the history of the Israelites, and the prophetic messages.
The New Testament focuses on the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, along with the early Christian church and its spread.
The Bible contains a wide range of genres, including historical narratives, poetry, wisdom literature, prophetic writings, and epistles.
#77
• Mentioned in 165 episodes
The Odyssey
Homer
The Odyssey, attributed to Homer, is an ancient Greek epic poem that tells the story of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, and his ten-year journey home after the Trojan War. The poem explores Odysseus's encounters with various mythical creatures, divine interventions, and natural challenges.
Upon his return to Ithaca, he must confront the suitors who have been vying for his wife Penelope's hand in marriage.
With the help of his son Telemachus and the goddess Athena, Odysseus devises a plan to defeat the suitors and reclaim his throne.
The poem is a reflection on human nature, loyalty, and the consequences of one's actions, and it remains a crucial component of ancient Greek literature and Western cultural heritage.
#16625
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
Liquid modernity
Zygmunt Bauman
#2647
• Mentioned in 13 episodes
The 1619 Project
The New York Times Company
Nikole Hannah-Jones
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Transfiguring Time
Understanding Time in the Light of the Orthodox Tradition
Olivier Clément
Transfiguring Time is Olivier Clément's early and influential work that examines the nature and purpose of time from an Orthodox Christian perspective.
Written when Clément was 37, the book reflects his fresh encounter with Orthodoxy and integrates deep theological insights, including personalism and eschatology.
It contrasts the Christian understanding of time with archaic and cyclic religious views, emphasizing the transformative power of the Incarnation and the eschaton.
The book includes philosophical reflections, biblical exegesis, and liturgical-poetic elements, drawing on the neo-patristic renaissance and thinkers like Vladimir Lossky to articulate how time is intimately connected to personhood, salvation history, and the ultimate fulfillment in eternity.
#
A Continual Feast
Evelyn Burge Witte
A Continual Feast by Evelyn Burge Witte is a culinary book that delves into the cultural and historical aspects of food and feasting traditions.
It offers readers insights into the significance of food in social and historical contexts, celebrating the ongoing tradition of communal meals and culinary heritage.
I’m excited to share this powerful talk by Deacon Seraphim Rohlin, my collaborator at the Symbolic World Press and co-host of the Universal History Podcast. In this talk from the 2025 Touchstone Conference, he explores how we can recover our heritage and live an enchanted Christian life. The title of his talk originally was "The Deep Pattern: Re-Enchanting Time through Medieval Universal History".
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/EtvIpApaSrE
https://www.touchstonemag.com/
Universal History podcast: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVX4HUUPrIY_M2uZP3yW6EEiod3fGD6FD&si=iYKlCCZJSt_ob2oi
Paradiso live course details:
The Symbolic World Enters Paradise
Join me and Deacon Seraphim Rohlin this November in our course on Dante's Paradiso.
-Course length: 5 weeks, 15 hours
-Dates of live classes: Wednesdays, November 5th to December 3rd, 2025
-Time: 2-5 pm Eastern Time
-Cost: 190 USD (Involved patrons get 10% off, apply discount code at checkout)
-Register today: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-paradiso
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro by Jonathan
01:15 - Intro music
01:40 - Introducing Dcn Seraphim Rohlin
03:34 - Start of talk
15:20 - Paradiso class
17:08 - Resume talk
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/EtvIpApaSrE
https://www.touchstonemag.com/
Universal History podcast: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVX4HUUPrIY_M2uZP3yW6EEiod3fGD6FD&si=iYKlCCZJSt_ob2oi
Paradiso live course details:
The Symbolic World Enters Paradise
Join me and Deacon Seraphim Rohlin this November in our course on Dante's Paradiso.
-Course length: 5 weeks, 15 hours
-Dates of live classes: Wednesdays, November 5th to December 3rd, 2025
-Time: 2-5 pm Eastern Time
-Cost: 190 USD (Involved patrons get 10% off, apply discount code at checkout)
-Register today: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/dantes-paradiso
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro by Jonathan
01:15 - Intro music
01:40 - Introducing Dcn Seraphim Rohlin
03:34 - Start of talk
15:20 - Paradiso class
17:08 - Resume talk
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/