Start with Ancient Faith Ministries and the official Antiochian Archdiocese channel. They’re both canonical, theologically sound, and made for people exactly where you are right now.
YouTube can be a minefield for inquirers. There’s good content out there, but there’s also a lot of weird stuff, rigorist channels that’ll tell you you’re doing everything wrong, jurisdictional flame wars, conspiracy theories dressed up as theology. You don’t need that. What you need is solid teaching from people who know what they’re talking about and who are in communion with the Church.
The Safe Starting Points
Ancient Faith Ministries is your best bet overall. They’ve been producing Orthodox content for years, and they curate carefully. You’ll find everything from Fr. Thomas Hopko’s classic “Speaking the Truth in Love” series to interviews with contemporary priests and theologians. The production quality varies, some of it’s polished, some of it’s just a guy with a microphone in his office, but the theology is consistently reliable. When you’re driving to work at the refinery or sitting in the pickup line at school, Ancient Faith podcasts (most of which are also on YouTube) are a solid choice.
The official Antiochian Archdiocese YouTube channel posts talks from Metropolitan SABA, recordings from clergy conferences, and catechetical material. It’s not flashy. But it’s ours, and it reflects what we actually believe and teach. If you’re a catechumen at an Antiochian parish, this is home base.
The Orthodox Church in America has a similar setup. Their official channels post liturgies, catechumen classes, and orientation talks. The OCA and the Antiochian Archdiocese are in full communion, so there’s no theological daylight between us. Their stuff is just as useful for you as it is for their own people.
Individual Teachers Worth Your Time
If you search for Fr. Thomas Hopko, you’ll find hours of his lectures and talks, mostly through Ancient Faith. He was dean of St. Vladimir’s Seminary for years, and he had this gift for explaining complicated theology in plain English. His “55 Maxims” series is short, practical, and deeply Orthodox. Start there if you’re feeling overwhelmed.
Metropolitan Kallistos Ware’s talks on prayer, the Creed, and the Jesus Prayer show up in various places. He wrote The Orthodox Church and The Orthodox Way, two books you’ve probably been told to read. His lectures are just as clear and accessible.
Fr. Alexander Schmemann’s recorded talks are harder to find, but Ancient Faith has some. He’s worth the effort. His book For the Life of the World changed how a lot of people think about sacraments and daily life.
Parish Channels Can Be Gold
Lots of canonical Antiochian parishes post their catechumen classes on YouTube. All Saints in Fort Worth, St. George in Houston, Holy Transfiguration in various places, these aren’t professionally produced, but they’re real catechesis happening in real parishes. You’ll hear the questions other catechumens are asking. You’ll hear how priests explain things to people who grew up Baptist or Catholic or with no church background at all. It’s like sitting in on someone else’s class, which can be incredibly helpful when you’re trying to figure out if what you’re learning at your own parish is normal. (It probably is.)
What to Avoid
If a channel spends more time attacking other Orthodox jurisdictions than teaching the faith, skip it. If someone’s constantly talking about how the Church has been compromised or how only their particular monastery or jurisdiction has the real truth, that’s a red flag. We’ve got enough to learn without getting sucked into internet drama.
Same goes for channels obsessed with end-times speculation, politics dressed up as theology, or anything that makes Orthodoxy sound like a secret society with hidden knowledge. The faith of the apostles isn’t hidden. It’s right there in the Liturgy every Sunday.
A Practical Approach
Subscribe to Ancient Faith and the Antiochian Archdiocese channel. When you find a talk or series you like, check the description to see who’s speaking. Then search for more from that person. If your priest mentions a book or a teacher, look them up on YouTube. You’ll start to recognize the voices of people who know what they’re talking about.
And here’s the thing: YouTube is supplemental. It’s not a replacement for standing in church on Sunday morning, for asking your priest questions after Liturgy, for reading the books he’s assigned you. But when you’re on your lunch break or folding laundry at 10 p.m. and you want to keep learning, these channels can help. They’ve helped a lot of us.
