5 comments about John Climacus: The Ladder of Divine Ascent (The Classics of Western Spirituality).

1. I have read both versions of John Climacus' book and have compared the two books line by line on some subjects. I vote
   for the Paulist edition.

   For example on gluttony the Paulist Press has it "a stuffed belly
   produces fornication, while a mortified stomach leads to purity". Meanwhile the Transfiguration version is "Satiety in food is the father of fornication; but affliction of the stomach
   is the agent of purity". For me the Paulist reads like the NIV version of the Bible while the Transfiguration version reads like King James. Earth shaking? Not according to the Transfiguration introduction itself. It states
   very clearly that it too relies on Mignes' Patrologica Graeca
   (like the Pauline). Moreover it goes on to say "Since no
   critical text of The Ladder exists to date, the various editions
   that have been published present us with variant readings.
   Though significant, none of these descrepancies are of a dogmatic
   nature." (p.xxx)

   The Paulist Press version, the one shown here is easier to read (NIV vs King James again).It contains a scholarly introduction by Kallistos Ware the premier Eastern Orthodox Writer (which you can skip if you are still worried about being polluted by the Latins which he clearly is not). Most importantly I think the Paulist version speaks to you more in what I imagine to be John's true voice. He had a sense of humor and was NOT a pedant.

   Having cast my own pedantic vote for the edition shown on the Amazon site, let me make my main point. Comparatively I too find this book to be superior to any other Christian text I have ever read on the pursuit of perfection. Imitation of Christ. Unseen Warfare, Philokalia etc etc. John got it right at Sinai sometime in the 600s. I regularly seek his friendship and guidance both in his words and in spritual/mental communion with him. A kinder, holier, more knowledgeable guide you could not ask for.




2. I now have a small collection of books from the Paulist Press Classics of Western Spirituality series. All are well-edited and well-translated, and all come as standard glued paperbacks with that lamentably ugly Paulist cover 'art' (which here lost them one star).
   
   The Paulist edition of 'John Climacus: The Ladder of Divine Ascent' is certainly scholarly and reads well enough, but I became intrigued by the comparisons other reviewers were making between it and the Holy Transfiguration Monastery translation. And so I decided to obtain a copy of the HTM edition (ISBN 0943405033) since it is once more in print at a remarkably modest price and can be ordered through their web site.
   
   As others have pointed out, the two translations, though equally scholarly, are in very different styles. As physical products the books are very different too, and I'm overwhelmed at the superb quality of the HTM edition -- hard bound in full gilt-blocked cloth and with a durable Smyth-sewn binding that opens flat, well printed in two colors on Sebago Antique paper, illustrated throughout with icons, and with head and tail pieces and many lovely ornaments. The Editors' Foreword informs us that they "have not wished to spare labours or expense in producing an edition that is worthy of this great classic."
   
   The keen student will no doubt want to have both the Paulist and the HTM translations, as each serves to provide what the other lacks and both help clarify their occasional respective obscurities. Bibliophiles and the Orthodox, however, will undoubtedly be more than happy to settle for the superb Holy Transfiguration Monastery edition as an elegant and tasteful vehicle for an important spiritual classic and a real book that will last.



3. In my opinion this text is one that should be read from an Orthodox perspective. There are many items within that if you are not Orthodox could be taken out of perspective (5th step). The content of the text is excellent and is so widely acclaimed in the Orthodox world that it is commonly read in many Orthodox monasteries in addition to laity during lent. So be caution if you choose to delve into this book, and you may not want to lean on your own understanding of the content.



4. When I first read Saint John Climacus' work, I read this edition and was somewhat disappointed with it, though I did not know why. An orthodox monastic suggested I get the Holy Transfiguration Monastery edition. The latter translation is translated in the older style and thus seems more authentic. As I recall the version here seemed to have too much of the translator's own interpretaions in it. That was offputting to me.
   This book gives guidance as to how to strip oneself of the passions of the old man and put on the new man.
   I reread this work every Lent and am always amazed at the insights it gives. When I don't understand a passage I just move on and know that the insight will come at a later reading. The book gives incredible insight into the passions. If one is working on a specific passion like anger or vainglory, the book can be a remarkable help.
   This book is read every evening in one monastery I know of, and monastics reread it every Lent.
   After writing this review I realized that the five star rating I gave it is for the Holy Transfiguration Monastery edition. I would have to give the Paulist Press version a lower rating for the above-mentiioned reasons. Maybe three stars?



5. This is a very readable translation of the Ladder. I found both of the introductions scholarly but easy to understand. I think they do about as good a job as possible of setting the Ladder in a context that modern Christians can accept. I noted that one person did not like Kallistos Ware's introduction, but I thought it was quite good.
   
   The translation by Holy Transfiguration Monastery is more formal, but it is a beautiful hardback -- one of the nicest I've seen at that price.

5 comments about Facing East: A Pilgrim's Journey into the Mysteries of Orthodoxy.

1. This books shares a year in the life of an Orthodox mission church from a first-person perspective. It is certainly not a weighty theological treatise, and though a bit "chatty" at times (especially the first half of the book), it provides the reader a good look at an Orthodox congregation in action. If you want to know about the doctrines and apologetics of Orthodoxy, this is not the book for you.



2. At first glance in the store, this book fueled my interest in the Orthodox Church. Further, the easy style of writing made me feel very comfortable. However, upon purchsing the book and diving-in, I was soon put-off my the author's frequent caustic remarks about the Episcopal Church, my own denomination. Not only did these remarks add nothing to the book, but simply showed that the author still has unresolved issues of her own concerning the denomination she left to join the Orthodox Church. These put-downs simply took away from her work and credability.
   
   While her account of falling in love with the Orthdox liturgy and the "truth" she found in this denomination, nothing is said about ortho-praxis, or the "right-practice" of the faith. I hear about a lovely liturgy with an actient tradition behind it, but nothing about what her church is doing to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned. In other words, I was left with the sense that the Orthodox church was a lovely museum piece with little active engagement of the Gospel in the broken world in which we live. "Faith without works is dead," and I'm left with an impression that the Orthodox church is lovely and old, but dead. While it is my hope that this is not the case, one would not know it from simply reading this book.
   
   Further, while the author uses a very reader-friendly style, there are times you think she wishes she had the talent of Anne Lamott to convey her faith at a no-bones heart-level. The author can't quite pull that off.
   
   While an enjoyable read about a woman's story of coming to the Orthodox church, it has a few serious flaws which detracts from the picture she would like to paint.



3. I think this book is very important to anyone interested in the Orthodox Church. It's not the only book you'll want to read, but it supplements the other great books out there in a unique and important way.
   
   This book is not a treatise on Thology or practice. There are a number of good books available to cover these topics. Instead, it's a personal memoir. It tells the story of a woman, a family, and a congregation as they come into their faith and tradition. There's the feel of conversation over a cup of coffee here as Mrs. Mathewes-Green talks in an engaging and humorous style about the experience of discovering a faith and building a church. It takes something that can be very intimidating - the discovery of an ancient and deep faith and tradition that is very alien to modern American culture - and makes it very human and very accessible.
   
   If you want to get right into Theology, History, Spirituality, and Practice, Read Biship Kallistos Ware's "The Orthodox Way(Spirituality)," "The Orthodox Church (History)," Clark Carlton's "The Faith (Theology)" and some of the other great books available. These are all important. The most important piece of exploring Orthodoxy, however, is to "come and see." Experience the worship and life of the Church. It can be intimidating at first, however. But Mathewes-Green makes it so much more accessible. Give it a try!



4. I give this book two stars for the author's sincere account of her conversion to Orthodoxy. Unfortunately, if you have little attraction to conservative, American Protestantism, this book may not draw you to Orthodoxy. Yes, the author has converted to Orthodoxy, but a conservative, Protestant ethos pervades the book. (Actually, this book is really part of a genre, written by conservative Protestants who come to Orthodoxy because they feel their previous faith-traditions have not been conservative enough). The result is that Mathewes-Green gives facile and rather uncharitable critiques of feminism and Anglicanism, and her exposition of Orthodoxy tends to be doctrinaire. I am deeply interested in Orthodoxy and occasionally attend the Divine Liturgy, but the ex-Protestant converts in the congregations sometimes put me off with their exclusivist and over-zealous approach...I am far more comfortable with the "cradle" Orthodox from traditionally Orthodox countries. One can't of course expect Orthodoxy to be incredibly progressive and liberal, but the Protestant fundamentalist "baggage" that so many North American converts bring to Orthodoxy can stifle a breadth of vision.



5. I confess: when I first started reading this book, I was very turned off by all the chit-chat about the goings-on of people in the author's church and life. For instance in the first few pages, we meet "Basil," who says things like: "Ya taking inventory?" as the little church body sets about converting a rented room into an Orthodox sanctuary.
   
   I also thought, at first, that author Mathewes-Green was treating her faith very lightly -- too lightly -- almost as if she was making fun of it. She takes us through one particular service this way: "Basil's son, Michael, then leads us in chanting forty 'Lord, have mercys,' running the words together Byzantine style: 'Lord have mercyLordhavemercyLordhavemercyLordhavemercy,' he intones."
   
   Shortly after, we read: "At this point the booklet instructs the worshippers to make a prostration. We fold where we are standing, dropping to our knees, a process that takes longer for some than others. ... A prostration is a shuffly process. ... Another prostration here. More shuffling."
   
   I must say, I was thinking: the audacity!
   
   But I kept on reading. And I was shamed. Humbled. And then hooked. Author Frederica Mathewes-Green sure showed me a thing or two about faith. Hers, and the faith of those around her, shined brightly and compellingly to this seeking-heart Protestant.
   
   There are many moments throughout the book where I was stunned by the beauty of God and of her love for Him and of the treasures within Orthodoxy. I will not share them here -- I want you to discover them for yourself, like I did! And I wound up caring very much for all the "characters" that make up her life: would that I, too, could find such a family!
   
   All in all, I do highly recommend this book. It will take you inside the life of Orthodox believers -- through their services, fasts, feasts, faith, fathers...in a way I have not yet seen another book do. This may be as close as you can come to "being there" without actually having attended Orthodox services.

5 comments about The Soul After Death: Contemporary "After-Death" Experiences in the Light of the Orthodox Teaching on the Afterlife.

1. It is astonishing that those claiming to be Orthodox in these reviews, have never actually read the Church fathers on this topic. Rose bases his speculations on Gnostic tales ("Tale of Basil the New") found in the Bogomil groups, and on the superstitions which came into the Russian Orthodox under the Latin "captivity" which included this idea of "Purgatory".
   St. Mark of Ephesus is very clear against any idea of the soul "journeying" through demonic "judges" in his homilies. Our Pascha celebrations tell us that "Christ is Risen! The demons are fallen!"
   St. Isaac of Syria writes (Epistle to Symeon of Caesaria) "[We] convict the false writings called "revelations" which, composed by originators of corrupt heresies under the influence of demonic phantasies, describe celestial dwelling..the pathways to Heaven, the places set apart for judgment (toll-houses) ..But all these..are shadows of a mind inebriated by conceit and deranged by the working of demons..This.especially assaults monks who ...inquire into empty opinions, yearn for novelties, and are superficial"..
   How well said by this Desert Father who saw the Mandean Gnostics and knew their myths, warning against them! St. Irenaios (op cit. Bk. I, Chap 25) warned the Church in Rome against the Gnostic pagan idea of the soul being saved apart from the body.
   Anyone who believes that a long beard and a monk's robe makes a Christian Orthodox monastic is ready for any devilish pablum. The new age Gnostic mixture in Rose's writings certainly fit the description.



2. While so many Orthodox theologians in Fr. Seraphim's day were writing left-leaning works that looked as though they had come from Vatican II, monk Seraphim was earnestly laboring to bequeath to the tiny American Orthodox flock the rich patristic inheritance of the Church.
   
   The Soul After Death's chapters upon the tollhouses contains large quotations of St. Cyril of Alexandria, St. Macarius of Egypt, St. Leo of Rome, and St. Mark of Ephesus. Those who slander Fr. Seraphim and these teachings are usually from the school of one Mr. Puhalo, who deeply resented Fr. Seraphim's vast influence upon Orthodox Christians of America, Russia, Greece, and elsewhere.
   
   Fr. Seraphim was a great luminary of the Orthodox Church who truly struggled for Orthodoxy. You will not be disappointed with this easily readable, insightful volume.



3. Seraphim Rose here renders a work that is at once terribly interesting and tremendously important. It is interesting in that all truly philosophical people must, at some point, contemplate their ultimate fate. The book's importance is that it thoroughly and lovingly lays out what the soul is likely to expect on passing from this world.
   
   Orthodox teaching on the death experience and the Particular Judgment is emphasized. New Age and occult interpretations, so popular these days, are presented fairly and held up to their proper contempt. The result is a synthesis that could be read profitably by all Christians, and non-Christians, rightly concerned with this terribly important subject.
   
   A minor criticism is in order, though. At the outset of his presentation, Seraphim Rose makes certain to express his disdain at Roman Catholicism. This commentary is unnecessary, and mars the quality of this generally excellent work. It is nevertheless well written, and tremendously important. We recommend the reading and serious consideration of this excellent book.



4. This book is perhaps one of the most difficult books out on the market, especially for new converts, to read and not have a highly emotional reaction to what has been written. Seraphim Rose was a gifted writer, among many things, and this is a page-turner of the first degree.
   
   The problem is that Seraphim Rose presents, in this book, some highly questionable theology that is mostly of a 19th Century Russian nature. He cannot be blamed for this, of course. Fr. Seraphim was the product of the enviornment he was raised he. He walked into a Russian Orthodox Church, a very conservative parish in San Francisco of exclusively Russian immigrants with a very "Russian" way of looking at the world. It says a lot about Fr. Seraphim's character, of course, that he allowed himself to be so totally submerged into Russian Orthodoxy. No doubt much of this had to do with his friend, Fr. Herman - someone whom no doubt had the largest effect on his later beliefs. I have heard people say that Rose was the first "American born Father", but I think it may be more accurate to say that Fr. Seraphim was more like an American who immigrated to Russia and was a Russian theologian who happened to be born in America, and also spoke flawless English.
   
   Rose presents in this book a nearly flawless representation of the teachings of his heros like St. Theophan the Recluse and Bishop Ignatas of 19th century Russia. Some groups have condemned his teachings as being Gnostic, which is highly exaggerated. In Fr. Seraphim's much better book "The Place of Blessed Augustine", he defends St. Augustine from some ridiculous charges of heresey from "right-wing" Orthodox groups that you can find now at places like Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Boston - non-canonical churches - these same churches are ironically the ones who attack Fr. Seraphim's theology. In truth, his theology is exactly in line with what Russians were believing 150 years ago, and you certainly cannot blame him for teaching the Orthodoxy he was chrismated into in San Francisco during the 60s.
   
   Fr. Seraphim Rose was such a brilliant writer who wrote so many books, and he was so gifted in his ability to translate Russian texts that to this day, the monastery of St. Herman of Alaska in Plantina, CA is without a doubt the resource to go to for Russian theology. Even St. Vladimir's Press cannot compete with the beautiful translations by men like Seraphim Rose and later, the almost equally gifted Fr. Damascene.
   
   I often compare Fr. Seraphim Rose to St. Augustine. In many ways, the flaws of "Soul After Death" follow the errors that Augustine made at times in his theology. Ironically, it has to do with overdeveopment of the central thesis of his works. This is something that nearly everything Fr. Seraphim wrote suffered from.
   
   In this short book, Fr. Seraphim spends far too much time talking about how wrong the teachings of Protestants and Catholics and, even more so, that of non-Christians. As I read this book, I wondered by such an obviously gifted man allowed himself to go on tangents such as the many chapters on near-death experiences or his denouncing the deities of Hindus as "demons", or even his rather tiring attempt to describe Orthodox doctrine on angels and demons taking up "space". Like Augustine, he just doesn't seem to know when to drop a subject and move on to the more important business - which are the teachings of the Russian Orthodox Church on death.
   
   This book could probably be condensed into about 70 pages. Drop the chapters that do not discuss the teachings of the church as the primary subject, eliminate the letter with the "critic", and then you have a much more developed study. It just felt like in this book Fr. Seraphim spent too much time on subjects of little relevance.
   
   This book was not without great merit, however. Fr. Seraphim does such flawless research, and his citations are precise and not vague. It is clear he spent a lot of time on learning about subjects like the "Book of the Dead", which he spends two pages writing about and then a paragraph denouncing as "satanic". This makes for an uneven read, and also makes Fr. Seraphim sound somewhat proud, although this was probably not his intention.
   
   I would recommend this book, but I would highly suggest that a reader truly interested in Orthodox teachings on death also read two other books either before or after this one. One is "Life after Death" by Metropolitan Hierotheos and "Eternal Mysteries of the Grave", which is a compilation of almost exclusively Russian material that Rose drew on in his book. The reader will be struck by the difference in approach to this subject. But, to his credit, Fr. Seraphim comes to the same conclusions as Metropolitan Hierotheos - but one book is a scholarly study by a Greek bishop while the other is an uneven but well-written denouncing of non-Orthodox teachings with the Orthodox teachings on the afterlife thrown in. At the end of the book, in fact, Fr. Seraphim simply gives us a writing by St. John of San Francisco, whom he loved dearly, and makes a commentary on St. John's writings. In truth, you can read this chapter only and understand the basic teaching of the Holy Orthodox Church on matters of life after death.
   
   Seraphim Rose was a gifted man of great piety, but like his beloved St. Augustine, he simply wrote too much about too many things - things that could be left unsaid, or are rather implied in his earlier comments.



5. Since when did Christians believe in the immortality of the soul, as this book says? When was the soul and body separated into two distinct entities, again, as this book states? Never.
   
   The Creeds of the Church explicitly affirm the Resurrection of the body, NOT the immortality of the soul. The Fathers affirm that heaven is not our destiny. Our goal in asceticism is not to escape the body into some mystical disembodied state as the "angels" that is a heretical idea the Church has battled since she came into being in a world soaked in paganism and platonic thought. Spiritual exercises such as fasting, vigils, etc, are not to escape our "sinful" bodies, but rather to redeem them, offer them to God, not to annihilate them. Jesus Christ was fully human, he went to the bathroom, sweated, bled, ate, slept, drank, got exhausted, and grew hungry. All these things are good, they are natural, and God himself affirmed the goodness of his material creation. God created humanity as animated bodies, not as incarnated souls. Just as Jesus Christ was fully human, he was also fully God, therefore allowing our human nature to share in his divinity, not to abolish it.
   
   The funeral Liturgy again affirms the eschatological fulfillment of time, when Christ returns and redeems the cosmos, not to destroy it, but to redeem this material world and NOT to replace it with some disembodied spiritual world. Our "soul" after death is in a temporary state, it is not natural, but rather a result of sin. The soul is not immortal on its own, but [the soul] is more of a fiction, not a distinct substance as dualism proposes (And trust me this book is pagan platonic dualism all the way through) that God keeps us in his love after death until the Resurrection of the Dead. The Paschal service itself proclaims the lack of power demons have, and to state that demons somehow influence after we die is obscene and disturbing and not in line with Scripture of the teachings of the Church or Liturgy. The saints eagerly await the Resurrection and this is why in the Orthodox Tradition we pray for the departed and remember them, becuase they (like us) have not reached their final destiny after the Parousia. This is why we sing Memory Eternal, so that the "soul" of the individual is remembered in the Divine Memory of God, becuase they are with God already! In case I have not made it clear enough Rose embraces shallow dualism and forgets the hope of the Resurrection of the Dead and the defeat of the demonic powers by Christ!
   
   Rose and his cohorts preach a gospel that is foreign to the one proclaimed by the Orthodox Church. This book presents a false teaching on the body and the soul. His reactionary rhetoric and constant "demonizing" of others is tiring, and this book grows boring with his repetitive subject matter. Not only is Rose a terrible writer, he is a poor witness of the glory of the Orthodox Church.
   
   I do not recommend this book to any seeker or recent convert; he will distort your mind. Ask a spiritual father if you do consider reading his books, but I don't recommend his books to any one, even if they have been Orthodox for a long time. Fundamentalist rhetoric can be comforting in these confusing philosophical times, and Rose's deceitful words can feel like a warm comforting blanket on a cold day. I would recommend anything by Fr Schmemann, Bishop Ware, Paul Evdokimov, John Behr, Vladimir Lossky, anything by SVS Press) or The Monks of New Skete, but nothing published by the St Herman of Alaska Brotherhood or by Seraphim Rose. Rose continues his Gnostic perversion of Orthodox Christianity in this bizarre book of ramblings. Stay far far away.

No comments about Partakers of the Divine Nature: The History and Development of Deification in the Christian Traditions.

5 comments about Gifts of the Desert: The Forgotten Path of Christian Spirituality.

1. I really like this book for the interviews Markides holds. THis is the same for Mt. of Silence....It is great he has the connections he does and shares his interviews with us. I also think Kyriacos seems to be growing in his own spiritual life. This is more evident in this book. Gifts of the desert is very accessible, and provides good food for thought and growth for anyone interested in Orthodox spirituality.



2. This book is a great follow-up to The Mountain of Silence. I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in learning about the Orthodox Christian Church or wanting to deepen their relationship with God.



3. Markides opens by telling the compelling story of how Saint Anthony Greek Orthodox monastery in the desert of Arizona came to be in 1995 despite impossible circumstances. Markides also gives us glimpses into the challenges the monks must face, and we even hear from an ex-monk who discovered he wasn't "made" for the rigors of the monastic life.
   
   In chapter three Markides picks up where he left off in Mountain of Silence, his previous book, and returns to Cyprus to visit Father Maximos, who is now a bishop. The journey then continues not in the desert, but on water. Father Maximos leads a pilgrimage cruise in the Aegean Sea where he is almost constantly surrounded by followers, and Markides often has to talk to him in group situations. Even though he has to share Markides with other people, they cover an incredible breadth of topics, which fortunately does not dilute the power of the messages. The pace is as quick as a John Grisham novel.
   
   The Different Kind of Hospital chapter is my favorite. Maximos says the holy fathers would have placed the study of theology in the medical school, not in the humanities department: "The ecclesia must be properly seen as being a part of medicine; in reality a spiritual hospital." In the Anger Without Sin chapter Maximos writes that anger is a part of our nature and therefore a gift (!) from God. We should strive to use anger only to resist temptation, as Christ did. Only humility can defeat Satan. He writes, "The presence of anger in your heart is a sign that you lack humility."In the spiritual stages chapter we learn that the three stages are slave of God (motivate by fear), employee of God (motivated by rewards), and lover/child of God (motivated by love of God). Other chapters are devoted to near death experiences, prayer power, cunningness and faith of saints. Markides takes a detour in chapter eight, the Converts chapter, and flies off to London to interview Bishop Kallistos Ware; this chapter alone might well be worth the price of the book.
   
   If Mountain of Silence left you wondering what Markides' personal religious beliefs are he leaves little doubt in Gifts from the Desert. Early on in the book he relates his thoughts about mystical Christianity, describes Theosis in detail, and talks about the exclusivity of Christianity. And the last chapter contains his forthright opinions in favor of feminism and women's ordination.
   
   The greatest gift that I received from this book was the realization that I feel like an overworked employee of God too much of the time yet I am in the right place. And that place is the church - a spiritual hospital, not an exclusive country club where image is everything. It is in this hospital where there is medicine for spiritual healing here on earth, not just in the world to come.



4. Mr. Markides really captures the essence of his time with Fr. Maximos!!! I'd really like to meet both of them, actually. The book, Gifts of the Desert: The Forgotten Path of Christian Spirituality is truly an enlightening one regarding the Orthodox faith and the insights of Fr. Maximos are priceless!



5. Since Markides uses a tape recorder and transcribes his coversations with Bishop MAXIMOS, it is almost as if this book has two authors; thus, one feels the need to evaluate both.
   On the sole basis of the Orthodox Bishop's words, I would have given this book five stars. What he says seems perfectly in sync with Orthodox tradition and only confirms and enhances what I have already learned about Orthodox belief.
   However, when Markides, restates or comments upon these teachings, I am left wondering if we are talking about the same statements.
   As a previous reviewer has written, Markides seems to process the teaching he received from Bishop MAXIMOS in such a way as to end up with an overall Universalism. In fact, given the book's concluding remarks, I can't exactly see why Christ would even be necessary. But surely this isn't what Bishop MAXIMOS intended to convey!
   Furthermore, in the final chapter Markides makes condescending remarks about the overall "patriarchal" attitudes of Eastern Orthodoxy with its oh so out-of-date attitudes about modern issues like women's rights and human gender.
   Frankly, it boggles my mind that anyone who has spent the least amount of time in Eastern Orthodoxy would conclude that its priests and monks hold traditional views because they don't know any better. Does he really expect that eventually some type of "Constantinople II" will reverse these attitudes and that Orthodoxy will jump on the Political Correctness bandwagon? It's as if Markides feels the Church needs to taylor itself to what the public wants. "Would women like a more extensive liturgical role? Well, let's see what we can do about that. Perhaps they would like free access to the Holy Place. Than let them help themselves. We would hate for anyone to be dissatisfied."
   And regarding our monks' alleged "Dark Ages" views regarding human sexuality--well, I don't even want to know where he's headed with that.
   All in all, the book left me feeling enriched, confused and disappointed: enriched because of the wealth of insight contained in Bishop MAXIMOS's teachings; confused because I couldn't recognize the Bishop's teaching in the midst of Markides's remarks about it; and disappointed because Markides seems no closer to shaking off the mindset of academia than he did at the end of The Mountain of Silence.

5 comments about Thirsting For God in a Land of Shallow Wells.

1. I found this to be an honest and irenic story of one man's long journey to Orthodoxy. His story gives the reader insight into how difficult it can be to realize you are wrong about some of the most important things in life and how difficult it can be to move into a direction that is very different and even considered wrong in your previous way of thinking. I would recommend this book to anyone who is Protestant and is curious about Eastern Orthodoxy. In the second half of the book the author goes into explanations dealing w/ the most common hot button issues Protestants have w/ Orthodoxy. Some explanations are stronger than others but overall I found them to be good and thought provoking.



2. This book is great for any Protestant who wonders why s/he feels something is missing in their spiritual walk. Matthew Galatin shows the shortcoming of the Protestant rationalistic thinking and an alternative scarcly known in the West. This alternative is Orthodox Christianity. The power and beauty of the Church is foreign to most of the West and Matthew wants to show you how you are selling yourself short and to get you to start thinking in a different mindset. This book has been a great blessing to me I hope others will consider buying it as well. God Bless you all!



3. This is an excellent introduction to Orthodox Christianity, especially as a comparison to Protestantism, and offers insight into why people are attracted to it (Orthodoxy). Someone said it could stand to have a few more footnotes, which I agree with. Yet, for his intended audience (Protestants), Matthew Gallatin does a great job of telling his own story of journeying toward Orthodoxy, and dispelling common misconceptions.



4. This is one of the few books on the market written by a Protestant convert to Orthodox Christianity which simply retells the author's own story without actively trying to convert the reader.
   Perhaps it is due to this book more than any other that I eventually ended up converting myself.
   Gallatin was a Seventh-day Adventist who went through a series of denominations as many of us who seek the true Church tend to do. Ironically, my journey led the other way and yet we ended up at the same final destination. I went through a series of denominations before becoming a Seventh Day Baptist and eventually converted to Orthodox Christianity.
   I thought it odd that Gallatin does not say which verse it was that convinced him that he need not keep the Sabbath but rather just said that for the first time he read it as was written. Whilst I was an SDB this did nothing to assist me in understanding what he was talking about at that point. Admittedly though this issue plays a very minor role in the whole story of the book.



5. From a Protestant viewpoint...Whoa! This book is about to undergo its fourth read for me. It will ROCK your world. The Truth is sometimes hard to take because acceptance of it necessitates action. Can you handle the Truth, or do you want to stay in your own little box? It may knock you out, but if you love truth, it well set you free! Get out the oven mitts, this one may be too hot to handle. :)

5 comments about On Marriage and Family Life.

1. This text is easy to read and understand, I recommend it to anyone, whether or not they are considering marriage. The book is most definitely appropriate for High School age and up. However, the lessons that are taught in "On Marriage and Family Life" should be taught to children from birth.



2. The Advice given it this short work is great. Please, though, don't think that this is an entire work that Saint John wrote on marriage and family life, rather, it is just a compilation of modern times of a few seperate sermons which Saint John gave on days in which the Scriptural readings were dealing with marriage. Many would consider it chauvanistic, but others, like myself, know it's not so much chauvanistic as realistic. A must read and a must take-to-heart.



3. St. John Chrysostom's homilies on marriage and family life are refreshingly free of political correctness. He teaches that women have the duty to obey their husbands, and that both men and women should be chaste before and after marriage. And yet, this book seems to be aimed more at men then at women; they are taught to love their wives as Christ loved His bride, the Church, which was not obedient or beautiful or good until He offered His life to make it clean.
   The teaching in the book is timeless, but sometimes seems particularly relevant to our age. For instance, "Let them shun the immodest music and dancing that are currently so fashionable....Remove from your lives shameful, immodest, and Satanic music, and don't associate with people who enjoy such profligate entertainment.... Will this sort of life be distasteful for a young bride? Only perhaps for the shortest time, and soon she will discover how delightful it is to live this way. She will retain her modesty if you retain yours." (page 60) This seems more relevant to our day than to his until you remember that he was murdered for denouncing the empress for promoting these entertainments.
   If you want to be a good, Christian husband, this book will speed you on your way. I would especially recommend it to men who are engaged, so that they can enter into the married state with the right intentions.



4. St. John's On Marriage and Family Life is so biblical and still relevant for the 21st century. There are only a very few things in these writings that might be considered more historical than practical. This book makes a great wedding or anniversary gift.



5. This great work, from the great pastor known for his practical yet profound preaching, contains the remedy for the crisis in Christian marriages today. We would do well to return again and again to these core lessons of faith applied to the practical living out of our marriage vows. It would not be a stretch to assert that all subsequent works on marriage are mere commentary to St. John's tried and tested 1600+ year old advice.
   
   Do not suppose you are ready for marriage or a good spouse unless you tackle this most challenging of works on the subject. It is a difficult teaching of sacrificial love that is all too uncommon in marriages today. It is a challenge that most will find difficult and abandon. But it is truth that cannot easily be dismissed. A true remedy for the self-serving so-called "self-help" platitudes that fill the marriage advice shelves of bookstores today.
   
   Not for the faint-hearted, but then, neither should marriage be. Get it and make it a book you return to again and again in examining your conscience and reinvigorating your marriage. The cost of applying the advice is far greater than the cost of the book, but the payoff in your marriage is beyond measure.

5 comments about The Way of a Pilgrim and A Pilgrim Continues on His Way (Shambhala Classics).

1. A classic in the search of how to live the Christian life. The Pilgrim is a young man searching for the meaning of how to pray without ceasing and through that search his life is altered for the better. By way of Pilgrim's search, you will find yourself seeking the same passion for God he does.
   
   Though the book is sadly unknown outside Orthodox Christian circles, it is an enjoyable and inspirational read for Christians of any denominational persuasion. It is also key to understanding Orthodox Christian theology at its roots. To compare it with other works that might be more familiar I think _In His Steps_ (ISBN: 0800786084) by Sheldon comes close. But Pilgrim remains a classic in its own right.



2. Introduction:
   
   A hidden spiritual treasure worthy of contemplation and meditation for any Christian who wants to grow closer to the heart and life of Jesus.
   
   While reading this book, I realized that this spiritual devotional is a gem on the cultural and timeless level as John Bunyan's classic "The Pilgrim's Progress" (a favorite with Protestants) or Thomas a Kempis' classic "The Imitation of Christ" or Brother Lawrence's "The Practice of the Presence of God"(well known by Roman-Catholics). Historically, the eastern church (Ortodoxy) is one whose theology is synonymous with mysticism, something that comes across in "The Way of the Pilgrim" thru the Jesus Prayer and Philokalia. The western church (Catholic and Protestant) emphasis is more on systemic theology and doctrinal formulations.
   
   Author:
   The author is unknown. Father Thomas Hopko (from famous Orthodox Seminary St. Vladimir in New York), who write the forward, states that "whatever the origin and intention of the anonymous author's fascinating story" the pilgrim's way "affirms first of all that the source, goal and content of human life is ... the living God Himself."
   
   Content:
   The spiritual way of this pilgrim tells us "that life is communion with God ... a ceaseless prayer in pursuit of God and communion with him." It also tells us that "Jesus Christ is this life."
   
   The pilgrimage starts with an honest question: "What does it mean to pray without ceasing?" (as the pilgrim had heard during Liturgy; 1 Thes. 5:17, Eph. 6:18, 1 Tim. 2:18). He searches long for an answer to his questions of "how one is to pray unceasingly and what is the nature of this sort of prayer."
   
   He travels with a Bible that is very dear to him (which he had been reading from early childhood) and a sack of dried bread crumbs and some water. Once he learns of the "Jesus Prayer" that the holy Church Fathers had written about, he realizes that "the prayer began to move of its own accord from my lips into my heart." He states that "calling on the name of Jesus now filled my days with joys" and everytime a spirit of sorrow, fatigue, doubt came over him, repeating "the Jesus Prayer" helps him to turn his mind and heart to God and fills him with divine peace and joy. The pilgrim also learns and acquires the Philokalia, a collection of deep spiritual writings from the Christians of the East. Thus the Pilgrim's progress is a life of reading the Bible, having a life of prayer, and contemplating on the spiritual gems found in the Philokalia.
   
   Conclusion:
   If you believe that "we are all pilgrims on a journey to God", as the forward to "The Way of the Pilgrim" states, than your spiritual life will be enriched by this Christian classic.
   
   "Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Doamne ajuta! (roumanian for 'May God help us!')



3. This book has very bad print on a bad paper! It will hurt your eyes!
   
   Never seen such a thing in my life, you can't read it for half one hour without headache.
   
   Never more books from this publisher! Waste of money!
   
   I have to buy other version of The Way, so I can read it.



4. In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul writes "Pray without ceasing," (1 Thes 5:17) and in his letter to the Ephesians, he writes "Pray at all times in the Spirit." (Eph 6:18) What does it mean to pray at all times without ceasing? Can it be done? These are the questions asked by the pilgrim, the main character of The Way of the Pilgrim and The Pilgrim Continues his Way, two books written in the late nineteenth century by an anonymous Russian Christian. The pilgrim character tells of his journeys through Russia as he seeks to learn to pray unceasingly.
   
   Through the telling of his tale, the pilgrim shares much about prayer. The focus of prayer is The Jesus Prayer, and the goal for the pilgrim is to continually pray this prayer from his heart. The writer introduces lessons on prayer and the Christian life through other characters such as priests, wise teachers called "starets" and other Christian travelers who share their stories of faith. The pilgrim carries two books with him that are his sole possessions on the earth and his treasures. These are The Bible and a book of Eastern Church Fathers called The Philokalia. The narrator references both books to provide lessons on prayer.
   
   His journey reveals what he learns about prayer. Through the book, the narrator reveals several lessons about prayer for reflection and practice. The main theme is ceaseless prayer.
   
   An older teacher shares with the pilgrim that, as Paul writes to the Romans, "we know not what we should pray for as we ought." (Rom 8:26) The teacher advises that the perfection of prayer is not within our power, but we can pray often and always. The teacher then shares The Jesus Prayer with the pilgrim,
   
   "The continuous interior prayer of Jesus is a constant uninterrupted calling upon the name of Jesus with the lips, in the spirit, in the heart, while forming a mental picture of His constant presence, and the imploring of His grace, during every occupation, at all times, in all places, even during sleep. The appeal is couched in these terms, `Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.'" (Pilgrim 9)
   
   The pilgrim begins by practicing saying the above prayer thousands of times a day. With much effort and by the rejection of other thoughts and doubts, he develops the habit of saying it continually. He first says it with his lips and mind. Later in the book a teacher shares with him the expanded form of the Jesus Prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."(Pilgrim 135) His teacher explains that in this form of the prayer, the entire Gospel and way to salvation is represented.
   
   Through his interactions with others and his reading, the pilgrim continues to learn about The Jesus Prayer and its effects. He shares the following,
   
   "What the Gospel is, that the prayer of Jesus is also, for the Divine Name of Jesus Christ holds in itself the whole gospel truth. The holy Fathers say that the prayer of Jesus is a summary of the Gospels."(Pilgrim 27)
   
   This explains why the prayer so effective for those who pray it in combating their spiritual enemies and producing the fruits of the Spirit in their heart.
   
   The author emphasizes that God's grace drives prayer and rewards prayer. He urges those he speaks with to make attempts at prayer and ask God to help them. He does not belittle even the feeblest attempts at prayer. For the author, every intention of ours and every movement of ours toward God are valuable to God. He summarizes his thoughts,
   
   "The love of God gives grace a thousand fold more than human actions deserve. If you give Him the merest mite, He will pay you back with gold. If you but purpose to go to the Father, He will come out to meet you. You say but a word, short and unfeeling--`Receive me, have mercy on me'--and He falls on your neck and kisses you. That is what the love of the heavenly Father is like toward us, unworthy as we are." (Pilgrim 117)
   
   This is an important spiritual value for the pilgrim that he tries to practice and teach. God gives us grace to come to Him, and when we come, he pours out more grace upon us.
   
   The Way of the Pilgrim and The Pilgrim Continues His Way summarize the Bible's lesson on prayer. The author illustrates that prayer leads us to Christ and the Father and is itself inspired and initiated by the Holy Spirit within us. The author has included many scriptures about prayer. He shows systematically how the New Testament encourages prayer. He offers a lesson on how prayer empowers us to do good works, so that the term, "Pray and do and think what you will" is reasonable and sensible for the Christian who prays sincerely.
   
   The book offers a way of life that is hidden in Christ through a continual praying from the heart to Christ. The author shows how it is possible and beneficial to pray continually as prescribed by Scripture.
   
   Shakespeare On Spirituality: Life-Changing Wisdom from Shakespeare's Plays



5. I've read several books on Orthodoxy and The Jesus Prayer and this is one of the best. The Way of a Pilgrim, in and of itself, is incredibly inspirational and well worth acquiring; a true classic in Christian literature. However, what I liked best about this particular version is the appendix. Included are several writings from the Fathers regarding The Jesus Prayer intelligently hand-picked by the authors to illuminate how the text can be transformed to your own life by learning how to use The Jesus Prayer. The writings are condensed, key points from authorative Fathers in Orthodox history regarding the Jesus Prayer. The text and the appendix have been deeply rewarding for me. This is one of the few books I return to again and again for inspiration. Highly recommended.

5 comments about Praying With Icons.

1. I read Jim Forest's _Praying with Icons_ a few years ago when it first appeared. I just finished re-reading it, and am even more impressed this time around. Anyone familiar with Forest's other books knows how comfortably fluid his style is, and how insightful his ideas are. Both of these qualities make this the single best introduction to icons I know.
   
   To my mind, there are three different but interrelated aspects of this book that are especially worth noting.
   
   The first is Forest's argument that "beauty bears witness to God," and that in depicting holy things beautifully, icons enhance our relationship with the Divine. This is a point well worth considering. Too often, I fear, beauty in the context of worship is either dismissed as irrelevant (all that matters is the word), venerated for its own sake (high church preciousness), or overdone and distractingly gaudy. But Forest reminds us that the beauty of icons is intended to aid in the transfiguration of those who pray before them. Icons are images of the wholeness of God, and they convey and impart some of that wholeness to us through their beauty. It takes a great deal of artistry to manifest that kind of beauty.
   
   The second point worth noting is Forest's observation that the writing/painting of an icon is in itself an act of worship and service, entered into reverently and prayerfully. There are traditions that dictate how the wood is prepared, how the colors are selected, what they represent, and so on. The care and love with which icons are made is a good reminder that all work with God's creation is, or ought to be, mindful and reverential. The fruits of all our mental and physical labor are, in one manner of speaking, iconic.
   
   The third especially noteworthy aspect of Forest's treatment is his tie-in of prayer with icons. It might seem that the connection between the two is obvious, but I'm not sure this is the cas, at least not in the contemporary U.S.. I've been in many homes where icons are displayed as curiosities, by totally secular hosts, on the walls right next to African masks and Peruvian weavings. Forest's reflections on prayer--that it involves the whole person, not just the intellect, that it requires the cultivation of stillness and silence, that a good prayer life is one that requires a great deal of deliberate discipline, and that the goal of our prayer life is theosis--are wonderful.
   
   In addition, as earlier reviewers have pointed out, the last 150 pages of the book discuss specific icons--Christ, Mary, the saints, the Transfiguration, etc--pointing out their language, their significance, and their histories. Readers of Forest's book will be well prepared to begin praying with icons, and to move on to other reflections on icons such as John of Damascus' _On the Divine Images_ or Leonid Ouspensky & Vladimir Lossky's _The Meaning of Icons_.
   
   Finally, the illustrations, in color as well as black-and-white, are fabulous. A book to read and re-read.



2. Icons paint the word of God. Visual pictures bring the His words alive in your heart. You feel the generations of prayer and walk backwards through creation . Why do they cause such a reaction among society? Could it be their power of bringing us closer to JESUS and why He came suffered, died and rose from the dead?



3. The first copy of the revised, expanded, all-color edition of "Praying with Icons" came through the mail slot just minutes ago.
   
   Thanks to PDF files sent to me by the publisher, I've been following the design of the new edition for months. Even so I wasn't quite prepared for what a really fine job Orbis has done on this. I knew all the icon reproductions (there are many more in this edition, with better examples in each case) would be in color, but didn't dare to hope the paper would this good or that the printing quality would be so excellent. Orbis really has outdone itself.
   
   It's a much expanded edition. The first edition, published eleven years ago, was 170 pages. The new book has fifty more pages. This is due both to revision and expansion of the text plus more icons photos, and also the addition of new saints, including St Maria (Skobtsova) of Paris, St Elizabeth the New Martyr, St Gerasimos of the Jordan (one of the Desert Fathers), and St Martin of Tours.
   
   The old edition went through at least ten printings. May the new one do at least as well.
   
   As the book's author, it is for others to write reviews. All I can do is express appreciation for what the publisher has done to make this a larger and more attractive book than it was.
   
   -- Jim Forest



4. This book was very informative. I purchase it to help me write a paper on icons. I learned much about the history and use of icons even for today. It is written in a way anyone can understand. I recommend this book to those who want to know more about Praying with icons.



5. First published ten years ago, PRAYING WITH ICONS has since become a modern spiritual classic, recognized for its groundbreaking insights into the history and theology behind icons. This reprint is recommended for any spiritual collection needing another, modern copy: it uses classic and contemporary icons within a collection of meditative reflections on typical images, from Christ to the saints. Christian libraries will find it important.

4 comments about The Philokalia: The Eastern Christian Spiritual Texts--selections Annotated & Explained (SkyLight Illuminations).

1. The Philokalia is Orthodox Christianity's collection of great spiritual writings from the Church fathers. It is a collection of writings that range over about a thousand year period, starting around the year 400. The Philokalia itself is a multi-volume tome of very dense religious writing. I find it a bit like reading Oscar Wilde, in that each sentence is a gem, but the overall effect is that it is unreadable. It's just too dense for the likes of me (or, more correctly, I'm too dense for it.)
   
   So I found this book a wonderful way of approaching the Philokalia. It has brief snippets from the texts -- usually two to four sentences at a time -- that express a single idea of the original author. On the facing page, the editor provides annotations that help you understand the context and intent of the passage. Reading a page or two of the selections can serve as a daily devotional that exposes you to the more mystical Eastern Orthodox flavor of Christianity.
   
   You can't really say that you've read the Philokalia if all you read is this annotated selection, but you may well be able to say that you have been enriched by Eastern Orthodox thought.



2. Extensively annotated by Orthodox priest Allyne Smith and skillfully translated by G. E. H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Bishop Kallistos Ware, Philokalia: The Eastern Christian Spiritual Texts, Selections Annotated & Explained is a collection of writings by monks from the fourth to fifteenth centuries, embodying the Eastern Church's interpretation of biblical meaning. Emphasizing mystical and contemplative practices that engage all senses in worship and prayer, Philokalia is wonderfully made fully accessible to professional theologians and lay Christians and spiritualists alike. Each two-page spread contains a passage on the right, and annotations on the left, the better to simplify reference and understanding. An invaluable addition to spirituality and Christian literature shelves, whether as part of a church or home library.



3. The format of this work into sections and each section containing short quotes, makes it ideally suited as a devotional work you can read and meditate with in short bits at a time. The commentary along the facing page makes it easy to find help when you need it. Very clear, concise, and inspiring. A solid edition for theological study or purely as meditation/prayer helps. Highly recommended for all Christians but especially for those nurtured in the Eastern traditions.



4. This book presents quotes from early Church fathers, and pairs them with helpful editors' notes on the facing pages. It addresses topics such as prayer and the heart, and how the individual can seek to unite with God in reverence and peace. A brisk read, but requires the reader's full attention at every turn.