Customer Reviews (1)

a reference handbook, not a theological or devotional book
Coomler's handbook is a collection of common icon patterns (line drawings, usually presented backwards or mirror-image) with short decriptions (some better than others).

This book is not a theology of iconography, nor is it a devotional work. It's a reference text, a pattern book which may be used to identify icons & iconographic themes, read and interpret common iconographic symbols, etc. It can be extremely helpful when understood and used correctly, especially when supplemented with good theologies of iconography and devotional works.
... Read more

Product Description
Reviewing the Eastern tradition from patristic times to the present, Joseph Woodill develops a distinctly Orthodox vision of virtue ethics, and compares it with Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish virtue ethics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Sounds Great, But Can the Lady Sing?
This is an excellent scholarly review of Orthodox Christianity. But is Orthodoxy willing to practice what she preaches? The philosophy ofOrthodoxy is steeped tradition and on a solid foundation. Do not fall inlove with the ideaLs and philosophies presented here in this book andexpect the same from the actual churches as they are very patriarical andnot all churches are the bastion of ethics and Christian love that theymight aspire to be. Judge each church not on what you have read Orthodoxyto be as presented in this or any other book, but on acongregation-by-clergy basis. This book covers what the RELIGION is builton, not the individual parishes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (55)

Would be a great novel, amazingly it's non-fiction!
I think this book speaks to many generations.While younger than the subjects of the book, I went through a lot of searching similar to their journey.Their work in trying to "recapture" the Church of Acts is truly inspiring.Their joy at "discovering" the Orthodox Church is amazing.I have used the analogy of a paleontologist walking past a pet store and finding various dinosaurs for sale... realizing something they thought long-dead was very much alive in the modern day!Some of the twists of the story are truly gut-wrenching and disappointing, but the passion of some leaders to put The Church ahead of politics and borders is true testimony to the life and vitality of Orthodoxy.Highly recommended for those new to Orthodoxy, those seeking to learn about the Bride of Christ, and those who question the heart, life, and love of this pre-denominational church!

U.S. Christianity's best-kept secret
Mention "Orthodoxy" to the average American, and they're likely to give you a doubtful look and say, "That's Jewish, isn't it?"

Such is our ignorance about the oldest branch of Christianity. Peter E. Gillquist, later Father Peter Gillquist, tells of how he and other young members of the Campus Crusade for Christ went on a search for their own, personal, Christian Holy Grail. It began on U.S. college campuses in the 1960s, and culminated in the late 1980s with the reception of 17 Evangelical Orthodox Church parishes with 2,000 members into the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church in America.

Gillquist and his fellow seekers, a number of whom also became Orthodox clergy upon their conversions, did not make a hasty decision based on a "Paul on the Road to Damascus" vision or a sudden inspiration from a spell-binding preacher. They carefully studied and discussed the Bible, particularly the New Testament, from cover to cover; prayed for guidance; met repeatedly with various members of the clergy; and moved slowly but steadily from their roots (most of them, anyway) in mainline Protestantism, to the conclusion that the true, original, uncompromising Church of Jesus Christ was the Orthodox Church.

From forming their own Evangelical Orthodox Church, the seekers moved gradually but steadily toward a logical conclusion: They should meld their denomination into one of the established Orthodox archdioceses. After being rebuffed at the last minute when they expected to meet the Patriarch of Constantinople, the Orthodox former evangelicals finally turned to the Antiochian archdiocese, which welcomed them warmly and received them into its ranks.

Gillquist's sincerity about his and his colleagues' conversion is unmistakable, and the book tells one a good deal about what one religious writer has called "the best-kept secret in American Christianity: the Orthodox Church." The narrative moves along at a stately pace, much as one might expect that of a Divine Liturgy, in which everything has a time and place.

As a lifelong Protestant who has found his religion unsatisfying for years (I no longer attend services), I have been fascinated by, and drawn to, Eastern Orthodoxy for a long time. As such, I found this book illuminating and informative, a read well worth it, if you find religion and the search for same an interesting topic. I learned things about both Orthodoxy and the teachings of the New Testament that I never knew before, when reading this book. These Christian seekers' journey makes a great story.

Wonderful Introduction to the Orthodox Faith
Being an Evangelical who hasbecome tired of the games that are played in today's modern church Peter Gillquist's book came at the right time. There still is a Church out there that follows the teaching of the Apostles. This book is only the beginning for me for the study of the Orthodox faith.

Becoming Orthodox
In 1987, concluding a search which lasted more than a decade, some 2000 "evangelicals" joined Eastern Orthodoxy.Most of their leaders, ordained as deacons and priests, had earlier worked for Campus Crusade for Christ.Their journey forms the plot for Peter E. Gillquist's Becoming Orthodox:A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith(Brentwood, TN:Wolgemuth & Hyatt, Publishers, 1989).
In part one, Gillquist tells of the journey "from Arrowhead Springs to Antioch."In the 1960's, zealous young evangelicals charged like assault troops, determined to win America's colleges cam¬puses.They worked hard, relished the challenge, and elicited many "decisions for Christ."However, to their dismay, "Most of the decisions for Christ honestly did not stick."Admitting what they were doing was not work¬ing, some of them began searching for something deeper, something more permanent. More than a para¬church, they sensed the need for a church.So, in 1968, a number of them left Campus Crusade and began what they later would call "The Phantom Search for the Perfect Church" (21).Some of them established "house churches," and in time a loose coalition of "churches" were knit together on the basis of their leaders' personal ties.
Then the leaders began to meet and study and dis¬cuss what they should do with their fled¬gling move¬ment.They seriously studied not only the Bible:they scoured Church history.And they found, to their surprise, that the Early Church was rigorously Christocentricin its doctrine and thor¬oughly liturgical in its practice.Reading such sources as St Clement of Rome, St Ignatius of Antioch, St Justin Martyr and Hippolytus, they discovered how concerned ancient believers were with who Christ was rather than whatHe did for us.They also found a worship pattern and a sacramental emphasis quite foreign to most of them. In 1975, they formed the "New Covenant Apostolic Order," which in 1979 became the Evangelical Orthodox Church.They had concluded that for its first 1000 years the Church had maintained a doctrinal unity."The whole Church confessed one creed, the same in every place, and had weathered many attacks.The government of the Church was recognizably one everywhere.And this one Church was Orthodox" (p.51).Amazingly, of those who through study reached this conclusion, "none of us had ever to our knowledge been inside an Orthodox Church.Most of us did not know it existed.For that reason, I am chagrined to report that we decided to start it over again!" (p.58). So for a decade they studied and discussed and slowly discovered the ancient/enduring world of Eastern Orthodoxy. What they discovered was a deeply traditional, liturgical Church, committed to the apostolic succession of (male) clergy, rightly revering Mary as Christ's mother(Theotokos), using the sign of the cross, etc.--they found a Church which satisfied the one-time Campus Crusaders as the trueChurch of Jesus Christ.Concluding that Orthodoxy is the way, they next sought to affiliate with one of the existing Orthodox communions.This proved somewhat difficult to do!But in time the Americans were received into the Antiochian Orthodox Church.
Reading this book illustrates the limits of parachurch organizations like Campus Crusade.They have value--but they're limited and ultimately inadequate because they're not a church.Folks need Church!So this book reveals the hunger for Church!That Gillquist and his associates found Church in historic Orthodoxy shows, along with the other books reviewed in this issue, the need some thoughtful Americans have for ancient symbols, historic roots, efficacious sacraments, participatory liturgies.Parachurch efforts often dis¬sipate within a few years--or a few decades at best.Enthusiastic sectarian movements, and the denominations they spawn, usually begin to wither within three or four generations, for enthusiasm wanes with inter-gener¬ational transmission.So again and again we find, in Church history, people rediscovering the value of permanent things, common concrete things like rituals and liturgical years and prescribed celebrations

One man's journey
I was hoping for more of a "how to guide" for protestants to enter the Orthodox church, but this is more of a questioning and exploration into the Orthodox church which most of us who are seeking to actually become Orthodox have largely already been through. ... Read more

Product Description
The interaction of 19th-century Russian missionaries with three indigenous groups, the Chukchi and Altaians in Siberia and the Dena'ina Indians in Alaska, resulted in widely different outcomes. The Chukchi disregarded the missionary message, the Dena'ina embraced Christianity, and the Altaians responded by selectively borrowing from Orthodox religion. Znamenski--in the first work of its kind in English--argues that the relationships between indigenous shamanism and Orthodox missionaries in Siberia and Alaska were essentially a dialogue about spiritual, political, and ideological power, and challenges both the widespread conviction that Christian missionaries always acted as agents of colonial oppression among tribal peoples and the notion that native peoples maintained their "pristine" traditional cultures despite years of interaction with Western society. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume traces the history of Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity from their roots in early Christian churches to the way the religions are observed today. Coverage includes: the history, traditions and practices of Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity; the nature of Christianity in countries of the former Soviet Union; historical and doctrinal disagreements between the Catholic and Orthodox Christian churches; the historical relationship between Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity; and Catholic communities in the United States. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Catholic Church Promotion
First, the good stuff.It is written so that grade 6-8 kids can read this easily and it is certainly a general overview.

This book reads more like a Catholic Church pamphlet than a seriously researched document.Non-Catholic groups, regardless if they are Protestants or Orthodox, are depicted as groups who decided to not follow the correct views, but are nevertheless not completely bad.

The Crusades are dealt with in a paragraph and "Throughout the succeeding crusades, however, dissension among the leaders took place and deviations from their holy purpose often led to failure."By stating that there was a holy purpose to conquering the Levant is not only extremely subjective, it is historically inaccurate.The Inquisitions are similar reviewed in a paragraph and stated as being a means to achieving political unity.Nothing is mentioned of executions, torture, or the really good stuff. There are many other examples, but these two should demonstrate a fundamental weakness that is consistent throughout the book.

In short, the subjectivity of this work got on my nerves and as a history teacher I would question its value as a source because of it very obvious bias. ... Read more

Product Description
Tatakis is a real master of thought, a "philosopher who theologizes," or, putting it otherwise, a philosopher who takes theology seriously and brings out its insights dressed in philosophical form. The result is indeed a most fruitful synthesis of philosophy and religion; a philosophy of religion, or more accurately, a religious philosophy. It is a Christian philosophy, which is possible, because this is indeed the legacy of Byzantium, that priceless alabaster of Eastern Orthodox Christianity of which Tatakis has been a key exponent and interpreter. It is precisely this Greek Orthodox Christian synthesis that this volume explains in a straightforward, comprehensive and profound way. This work is a real companion to Tatakis' earlier work on Byzantine Philosophy, laying the emphasis on the content of Byzantine thought and its characteristic religious bent, Greek Orthodox Christianity, as distinct from its history and literature, which are more typical of the earlier work. There are certain overlaps between the two books, but this one brings out more clearly the Greek Orthodox theological dimension in Tatakis' thought which deserves to be explored much more than it has. It reveals the great soul of this extraordinary man who is both a philosopher and a man of faith and theology; and who, in spite of the exigencies of life (as he describes them very movingly in his last and most interesting book - the book of his life - published posthumously in 1993), has left us the strength and the aroma of the Greek Orthodox spirit and nobility. ... Read more

Product Description
The author writes: 'It is impossible to understand either the New Testament doctrine on marriage, or the very consistent practice of the Orthodox Church without seeing Christian marriage in the context of the Eucharist... The very notion of marriage as a sacrament presupposed that a man is not only a being with physiological, psychological, and social functions, but that he is a citizen of God's Kingdom, i.e., that his entire life'and especially its most decisive moments'involve eternal values and God Himself.' This excellent study on Christian marriage is a valuable resource for anyone seeking to understand the Orthodox perspective on marriage. In it John Meyendorff examines marriage in the Church from the contexts of Judaism and the New Testament, the early Church and Roman law, sacramental life, and contemporary society. Specific issues discussed include: second marriages, 'mixed' marriages, divorce, abortion, family planning and responsible parenthood, married clergy, celibacy, and the monastic life. Essential reading for all pastors, it is also useful for parents, newlyweds and those preparing or the sacrament of marriage. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Thorough
Fr. John Meyendorff's Marriage: An Orthodox Perspective offers overviews of the major themes that Orthodox couples are likely to come across in marriage as well as explanations of the meaning of the Orthodox wedding ceremony and its history and development. Following are some of the highlights of the book:

1. Wedding as a Separate Rite
Section VI, "The Contemporary Rite of Betrothal," offers one example of how the form of marriage developed over the centuries in the Orthodox Church. "The new responsibility given to the Church by the laws of Emperors Leo VI and Alexis I--that of giving formal legitimacy to all marriages--required the adoption of new liturgical forms. These new forms, on the one hand, were to be separate from the Eucharist and, on the other hand, had to reflect the eternal and unchangeable teachings of the Church about the meaning of marriage" (p. 29). Although the Orthodox Church views herself as having preserving certain truths since the days of the Apostles, it cannot be said that the form of the marriage ceremony has been remained unchanged since those days. "Orthodox Byzantium, with its remarkable ability to interpret Scripture, to relate it to the central mystery of Christ, to use signs and symbols in expressing the meaning of the Christian faith, produced in the tenth and eleventh centuries the two present-day Orthodox services of betrothal and crowing" (p. 29). The betrothal service takes the place of the marriage contract. In it, the bride and the groom each promise to one another faithfulness. "It was originally a civil ceremony. By assuming responsibility for it, the Church did not suppress the legal and moral obligations imposed by the Old Testament law, by roman law and still maintained by our own contemporary society. She rather provided them with a new Biblical and spiritual meaning" (p. 30).

2. "Mixed" Marriages
Fr. John recognizes the reality of "mixed" marriages between Orthodox Christians and non-Orthodox Christians in a pluralistic society such as ours. "It is certainly possible," he writes, "without being members of the same Church, to enjoy friendship, to share interests, to experience a true character compatibility, and, of course, to `be in love' with each other." Yet Fr. John cautions against these relationships:"the question is whether all these human affinities can be transformed and transfigured in the reality of the Kingdom of God if one does not share the same experience of what this Kingdom is, if one is not committed to the same and unique Faith" (p. 51). For Fr. John, one's faith is not merely "Christian," but rather, "Orthodox Christian," or "Protestant Christian," etc. I would contend, however, that one's faith is not in a denomination; rather, it is in Christ. Two Christians who have encountered the living Christ and who have been transformed by His love do share the same faith, and the potential for a love relationship between them knows no limits, even if they belong to separate denominations. Fr. John later concedes this point, writing that we all know of some mixed marriages that "lead to the creation of happy families, and it would be unwise and utopian to discourage them all. Actually, it may well be that some of such marriages end up being more durable and happier than those contracted by nominal Orthodox who never heard about the meaning of Christian marriage and who never accepted personally and responsibly any true Christian commitment" (p. 52). Despite this fact, Fr. John considers the act of blessing the marriage outside of the Orthodox Church to be an obvious "betrayal of the sacramental grace received from [the Orthodox Church] at baptism and is, in fact, inconsistent with Church membership" (p. 53).

3. Family and Family Planning

a) Overview
Fr. John begins by offering an overview of the Christian meaning of marriage and sex. "[O]ne of the essential differences between the Old Testament Judaic conception of marriage and the Christian one was that, for the ancient Jews, marriage was a means for procreation only, while, for Christians, it is an end in itself--a union of two beings, in love, reflecting the union between Christ and the Church" (p. 59). For the Orthodox, sex and marriage, in addition to the function of procreation, offers the husband and wife a union that reflects God's love and is thus unto their spiritual edification.

b) The Question of Birth Control Presented
I expected Fr. John to come across harshly against the use of artificial birth control, since it frustrates one of the ends of the marital relationship--procreation. Rather, he poses a series of difficult questions and then states that the Church has no one official rule that is to be applied across all couples. He begins by discussing the issues that have led couples to consider family planning: "if the `life' given by parents to their children is to be a fully human life, it cannot involve only physical existence, but also parental care, education and decent living. When they beget children, parents must be ready to fulfill all these responsibilities. There obviously are economic, social or psychological situations where no guarantees can be given in this respect. And there is something even a near certainty that the newly born children will live in hunger and psychological misery. In those situations, various forms of family panning, as old as humanity itself, have been always known to men and women" (p. 61-2).
Fr. John goes on to discuss the various options available to couples, including total continence, which "the New Testament and Church tradition consider [to be] an acceptable form of family planning" (p. 62), periodic continence, as taught in the Roman Catholic Church, and "artificial" contraception, such as the "pill." He then presents a series of questions as to the ethics of selecting one form of birth control over another:"is there a real difference between the means called `artificial' and those considered `natural'? Is continence really `natural'? Is not any medical control of human functions `artificial'? Should it, therefore, be condemned as sinful? And finally, a serious theological question: is anything `natural' necessarily `good'?" (p. 62). "Straight condemnation of birth-control," he concludes, "fails to give satisfactory answers to all these questions" (p. 62). Fr. John instead suggests that each couple may experience the right answers in a different way.

c) The Case Against Birth Control
I understand that, as Fr. John states, the Church as a whole has not pronounced a universal teaching on contraception. Yet its seems clear to me that artificial birth control is a wrong that should be avoided. One of the chief purposes of marriage is procreation; to thwart this end or to limit the size of family seems to me to undermine the very institution of marriage. Certainly, there are times when limiting the size of one's family is prudent, such as when a couple lacks the means to care for a child. Yet even in these situations, to do so using artificial contraception counters nature and is detrimental to the spiritual and physical health of the partners. The "barrier" methods of birth control prevent the act from becoming what it was intended to be: a complete fusion of man and woman. Many of the drugs, such as the pill, have serious adverse health effects on the woman's body. Other methods, such as spermicides, give the message that one accepts the spouse fully, but rejects his fertility. The complete giving and receiving in the sexual act is undermined by such methods and the natural end of the sexual act is undermined.
Natural family planning, in contrast, is able to obtain the same ends as artificial birth control, but in a way that is in keeping with nature. When the couple is able to practice periodic continence when the woman is fertile, nature is not thwarted, for sexual intercourse during the female's infertile period does not have the natural end of conception. Furthermore, the couple learns the virtue of self-control by limiting sexual intercourse to such times and the spiritual and physical health of the partners is not threatened.
The comparison of artificial birth control to the use of medicine seems to me to be apt. Whereas medicines seek to restore God's intent of blessing man with good health, birth control thwarts His intent for partners to be fruitful and multiply. Whereas medicines curing people of illness are in accord with the natural end of man to live a long life and prosper, artificial birth control counters one of the natural ends of sexual intercourse: procreation. Medicine seeks to correct an evil that is not within God's divine intent; artificial birth control seeks to throw off course a good that God intended.

4. Appendices
The book concludes with five appendices that deal with: (I) the New Testament's references to marriage; (II) the tradition of the Church, as recorded in the writings of the Fathers; (III) the Church's Canon Law based on the Ecumenical Councils, local councils, and writings of the Fathers endorsed by the Councils; (IV) an explanation of the liturgical tradition of the marriage ceremony; and (V) a reproduction of the marriage ceremony, including both the service of betrothal and the crowning.
Among the most moving accounts of marriage are those of Fr. Alexander Elchaninov (1881-1934), which are reproduced in Appendix II. Fr. Alexander writes: "Marriage is a revelation and a mystery. We see in it the complete transformation of a human being, the expansion of his personality, fresh vision, and new perception of life, and through it a rebirth into the world in a new plenitude (p. 96).
"Marriage, fleshly love, is a very great sacrament and mystery. Through it is accomplished the most real and at the same time the most mysterious of all possible forms of human relationship. And, qualitatively, marriage enables us to pass beyond all the normal rules of human relationship and to enter a region of the miraculous, the superhuman" (p. 97).
"In fleshly love, besides its intrinsic value as such, God has granted the world a share in His omnipotence: man creates man, a new soul is brought into being" (p. 97).
"In marriage the festive joy of the first day should last for the whole of life; every day should be a feast day; every day husband and wife should appear to each other as new, extraordinary beings. The only way of achieving this: let both deepen their spiritual life, and strive hard in the task of self-development" (p. 100).
Also of note is the explanation of the liturgical tradition in Appendix IV. Communion was a part of the original wedding ceremony, unless one or both of the spouses were not in good standing with the Church, in which case Communion was substituted by the common cup. "[T]o those who are not worthy of Communion--for example those who are being married a second time, and others--the Divine Gifts are not given, but only the common cup, as a partial sanctification, as a sign of good fellowship and unity with God's blessing" (p. 112). Today, however, the common cup has virtually replaced Communion in the Orthodox wedding ceremony.

Good, especially on Liturgical stuff
This book provides a good overview of marriage. While not as "deep" as some Orthodox books on the subject, it is definately more practical than most, and also goes into the liturgical aspects of getting married more than most. Fr. John's explanation of how the Orthodox view of sex differs from the view of certain other Christians is probably helpful to those unfamiliar with all the theological disputes. And certainly, his inclusion of Canons and quotes from Church Fathers add some meat to Fr. John's overview.

Provided excellent background information
When my cousin was married, my gift to her and her non-Orthodox husband was a wedding program that I wrote.I felt it would make the ceremony more interesting for the groom's family.It proved educational for my family as well. This book was an excellent reference.It provided an explanation of each part of an Orthodox marriage ceremony, why it occurs, and the historical origin.It provided a wealth of information in an easy-to-read format for non-Orthodox and Orthodox alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Targets mainly cradle (Greek) Orthodox, of limited appeal to converts
THE ORTHODOX CHURCH: 455 Questions and Answers is a collection of questions which appeared in the "Religious Question Box" column in the Hellenic Chronicle from 1980 to 1985. The questions answered range the gamut from difficult theological questions like original sin and the second coming, to explanations of ritual like censing and blessing with water, to everyday matters of our society such as rock music, sex, and politics. Some of the letters are written in a very eccentric manner, but the authors of the column are always able to answer even the most badly-phrased question with a patient and comprehensive answer.

The Hellenic Chronicle is, of course, a Greek newspaper and much of the commentary here is dedicated toward a Greek Orthodox audience. I was unhappy with the rather rude treatment of the Orthodox Church in America (making it seem like a hardly-significant Russian denomination). What limits the bok, however, isn't a denominational bias, but rather a focus on helping cradle Orthodox understand the faith they grew up in. There is little focus on the questions converts have and the difficulties they face. Indeed, the entries here were written before the massive influx of people leaving evangelical Protestantism for Orthodoxy in the late 1980s, and so it lacks the helpful tone that many introductory publications from other presses offer. The book can be useful for people new to Orthodoxy, but should really serve as support to other materials. If you are a total neophyte, start with Timothy Ware's already classic THE ORTHODOX CHURCH.

A Handy Reference Guide to Orthodox Christianity
The description on the cover accurately calls this: "A concise and comprehensive handbook on the Orthodox faith thoroughly indexed for easy reference." This book is a handy tool for newcomers to the Orthodox Christian faith--like me--or for those who might be investigating this ancient, yet contemporary, expression of Christianity. The index of topics at the front makes it easy to find short articles on many topics, such as abortion, Bible, calendars, divorce, Easter, forgiveness, God, Holy Spirit, icons, Jesus Prayer, Kingdom of God,Lord's Supper, marriage, non-believers, Orthodox Church, Patriarchs, Qumram, Roman Catholicism, sacraments, Theotokos, Undivided Church of Christ, Virgin Mary, World Council of Churches, Yahweh and Zeon. I've often used this book to answer my own questions, as well as those of my non-Orthodox friends. Highly recommended!

Eastern Orthodox Views on Modern Issues
This book is composed of 455 questions that many people are asking today. Here the Eastern Orthodox answers are given. There are a variety of subjects covered, such as the Apocrypha, Byzantine Catholics, CapitalPunishment, War, the Pope, Istanbul, etc. Within each section there arequestions people have asked relating to these topics. Such questionsinclude: What Does the EO church believe about Birth Control? Why Don'tMore People Believe in God? What is Love? and Why are there so manyChristian churches? These are just a few examples of what the Churchbelieves on these pressing issues. The only drawback is that the book waswritten in 1988, so the more contemporary issues may not be covered. Butotherwise it is a useful book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Decent read, unprovocative
This is what it is--a textbook on the Egyptian Coptic Church.It's history book gruel--not particularly insightful or engaging, but it gets the job done.One of the strengths of the book is it is a general history of post-Hellenistic-to-Sadat Egypt.An in-depth analysis of Coptic theology is missing from this book, and that's a bit disappointing.The book tends to focus on the cultural role of Coptic Christians in Egyptian history, such as the influence in business inspite of persecution, poll-tax, and Nasserite socialism.That's good to know, but again, not the stuff you'd look for when reading a book on Traditional Egyptian Christianity.

Coptic Christianity : Survival of Alexandrine Orthodoxy

Coptic Orthodox Faith:
The Copts, followed the pioneer Alexandrine Christians, Jewish Therapeutae for Christ, who believed so vividly in Emmanuel that they became a Church of Martyrs, their strive being to preserve their Church Orthodoxy; in Christology as well as in Doxology, "We magnify you O Mother of the True Light, we glorify you O Theotokos, saintly Mother of God for you have borne unto us the Savior of the world. Glory to Thee O Christ, our Master and King; pride of the Apostles, crown of the martyrs, rejoicing of the righteous, steadfastness of the churches, and forgiveness of sins. We proclaim the Holy Trinity, One Godhead, that we worship and glorify. Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord bless, Amen."

History of Traditional Egyptian Christianity:
On my first visit to Coptologist Orval Prof. Wintermute, in Duke University, he asked me if I read Th. Partrick book on the Coptic Church History. Oops, for a while I thought; why should any devotee of Christian history expose himself to the hard task of retrieving sour memories of martyrdom, monastic sufferings, heroic defense of true faith and schismatic persecution by the Byzantine. A long list of violations of Coptic identities by Arabs imposing Islam by sword and Mamlukes thirsty for power, let alone Al Hakim who plundered them, to the Turks who exiled their artisans to be finally exposed to Islamic fundamentalist terror in the last few decades.

History's Hard Task accomplished:
Fr. Partrick started his romance with this sour part of Christian history through Origen, and Coptic language. He taught early church history which was very well glorified in the nascent heroic Church. His research and bibliography are very extensive with 12 pages of exhaustive Index.
"Because of the complexity of a history that involves research in Greek, Roman, Persian, Syriac, Ethiopic and Arabic sources, the story is available to scholars in bits and pieces, primarily in the form of articles or monographs provided by specialists in areas such as Patristics, Christian theology, or Arabic studies. Now, Hall Partrick has woven all of that together for a full account which is reported in clear English and brings the story up to the present century. It is a much needed work. There is no comparable modern survey of Coptic history in English." R. Orval Wintermute, Prof. Emeritus of Coptic & Semitics, Duke Divinity

CCR Book Review:
'Since 1967, when prof. A. Ateya wrote a concise survey of Coptic Church History in his book 'history of Eastern Christianity', there has been no scholarly attempt to write a modern Coptic history that includes the material available in new articles and monographs in various languages.By this book, the author who is an Episcopal priest and professor of early Church history tries to fill this gap. With hundreds of footnotes, and a 25-page biography of primary and modern sources, he divides the book into 11 chapters, each covering a period in the life of the church since its birth in the first century. In less than 250 pages, Partrick does the impossible task of covering the work of the school of Alexandria, the Church leadership in the ecumenical councils, the rise of monasticism, the suffering under different Moslem rulers after the Arab conquest, and finally the revival in the 20th century.
The author should be commended for the massive information he has put in this book. It deserves a place in every library and should be put in the hands of the Coptic youth.' (Coptic Church Review, Vol 17,No 4, winter 1996 )

Good for those who have no clue what Coptic Christianity is
The book is good for giving a lot of information about the Coptic Orthodox church, but the author doesn't give the church enough credit for its role in ancient and modern Christianity. I don't think its a book the Coptic Church will promote.

good research but hard to read
I found this book very difficult to sit and read.It seems to be a great reference book but the style is dull and I end up taking a nap after I read it.It is good to have by your nightstand.

Quick Review
As the title states, this is a history of the Coptic Orthodox Church.We in the West simply don't hear enough about this topic.

Not for the faint of study, this is probably the only book you'll need on the Coptic branchof Christianity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Narrow Knowledge Leads to Faulty Conclusions
This book is primarily composed of a series of articles written by the author an published in a variety of places, though where they were originally published is not explicitly stated.At its core, naturally disjointed as it is, the work is primarily a critique of Western Christianity when compared to Orthodox Christianity.

Phillips is to be commended on at least some levels.For one thing, he recognizes that the estrangement between East and West took place gradually, and as a result of the two churches finding themselves in vastly different circumstances.Second, he (rightly) points out that when the division of Eastern and Western Christianity took place, those living at the margins (that is, ordinary clergy and laity not directly touched by the conflict, which would have been the majority) did not recognize that anything truly remarkable had happened.

But, Phillips is problematic in that the theology he produces is based on faulty evidence, and the unsteady ground upon which the balance of the work rests is apparent from the second chapter.For a few examples, Phillips assumes that the Norman invasion resulted in a marked shift in the ecclesiastical life of Anglo-Saxon Brittan (it did not) and that the connection between Insular and Roman Christianity was only tenuous (ignoring that since Augustine of Canturbury Rome and the English Church enjoyed rather close relations). Second, he presents a narrow and simplistic (one might even say stereotypical) view of the so-called 'Dark Ages', which he dates from roughly 450-1150, especially in his claim that the light of learning had all but been extinguished in the West with the exception of Isidore and the Venerable Bede, noting that 'Rome all but fades as an intellectual center at this time.'One is left to wonder how he reconciles such a statement with the literary output of Gelasius I and Gregory I, just to name two prominent literary Popes of the period.

Ultimately, the author's bias comes through in the second chapter/article: the ills of the world, the division of the Church, the loss of Christendom to secularism is exclusively the fault of Western Christianity.On pages 17-18, Phillips proceeds on a litany of 'if onlys' which he sees as having had the potential of averting schism in the Church (one of the more amusing of which is his assertion that Holy Roman Emperor Otto III was an excellent candidate to bring about cultural unity between East and West; while it is true Otto desired a united Christian Empire, he wished to rule that empire from Rome, not Constantinople, and while he did introduce Byzantine court customs into his court, he also greatly revered Charlemagne, whom Phillips holds in extreme contempt).However, Phillips nowhere offers the possibility that anyone in the East made any error or missed any opportunity to avert schism, entirely passing over the hot-headed nature of Patriarch Michael Keroularios, the anti-Armenian and anti-Western canons of the Synod in Trullo, the lack of interest in aiding the Papacy on the part of the Eastern emperor, or the cultural xenophobia rampant in the Christian East at this period.The message of this passage and the entire work cannot be missed: the West is responsible for the breakup of Christendom because it was not the East.This circuity dominates the balance of the work as the author goes on to attribute every ill imaginable not being Eastern: everything from racism to World War II is the responsibility of Western Culture for not becoming (indeed, for never having really been) Eastern.

On the whole, what is provided in this work is a cautionary tale that a little bit of knowledge, a whole lot of assumption, and the desire to polemicise can produce a product full of falicies that would be amusing if the author did not intend himself to be taken seriously.There are indeed many better, more rigorously academic (not to mention more historically balanced) monographs available for the serious reader.This work should be passed over and forgotten which it seems has mercifully been the case.
... Read more

Product Description
This book contains the latest academic research, thinking, and writing about Orthodox Christianity and Hellenism. The studies have been written and collected in honor of Rev. Dr. Demetrios J. Constantelos, an expert on the intersection between Christian religion and Greek culture. Topics include the following: Church History, Theology & Spirituality, Church & Society, Canon Law, and Hellenism. ... Read more

Product Description
Called to Serve is a contribution to the ongoing theological discussion of ordained and lay ministry, taking into special consideration the numerous discussions and debates which are currently at the forefront of the Church, namely, how both the clergy and laity can work together for the good of the entire Body of Christ.The essays included in this volume are from some of the most noteworthy and ecumenically minded theologians in the Eastern Church. Most lived and ministered on the European Continent, although some eventually immigrated to the United States. Among the authors included in this volume are Metropolitans Kallistos Ware of Diokleia and Maximos Aghiorgoussis of Pittsburgh, Fathers Alexander Schmemann, Nicholas Afanasiev, Kyprian Kern, Sergius Bulgakov, and Georges Florovsky, as well as the lay theologians, such as Nicholas Berdiaev, Anton Kartashev, and Elizabeth Behr-Sigel.These theologians have been influential in a theological and liturgical renewal in the Eastern Church in both Europe and North America and were very active in ecumenical discussions and debates. They participated in the World Council of Churches as well as many local and international ecumenical organizations. These voices, many still unknown to a generation of readers, can once again help us to understand the various relationships among the people of God, both ordained and lay, and how we call can foster and encourage greater openness, understanding, and freedom in Christ. ... Read more

Product Description
Christianity arose within the social and spiritual dislocation of the Roman Empire. Jesus, perceived by authorities as a threat to public stability, was executed in about 30 CE; his crucifixion and belief in his resurrection became a defining symbol for world-wide Christian religion.

The fall of Rome led to a divided Roman Empire and eventually a divided church. Though Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches share virtually the same canon of scriptures, they have diverged through the centuries as each embraced different ideas about worship, ethics, and relations to politics and culture.

The Religion, Scriptures, and Spirituality series describes the beliefs, religious practices, and the spiritual and moral commitments of the world’s great religious traditions. It also describes a religion’s way of understanding scripture, identifies its outstanding thinkers, and discusses its attitude and relationship to society. ... Read more

Product Description
Orthodox Christianity is the main historical inheritor of the Byzantine tradition of Christianity, and is still practised around the world. The two main strands are Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox, but there are thriving communities in countries are varied as Egypt (the Copts), Armenia, and Romania, with strong diasporic communities in Western Europe, North America, Australia, and elsewhere. This book offers a compelling overview of the Orthodox World, covering the main regional traditions and the ways in which the tradition has become global; key figures include John Chrysostom to the contemporary Fathers of Mount Athos and a rich selection of key themes, including theology, monasticism, iconography and the arts, pastoral care and Orthodoxy through the eyes of travellers. The contributors are drawn from the Orthodox community worldwide, providing an innovative and illuminating approach to the subject, ideal for students and scholars alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Outstanding Introduction to Orthodox Christianity
The Orthodox Christian Church, I've discovered, is very complex with tons of liturgical, historical and theological information to learn. I found this book to be an outstanding basic introduction, covering just what a basic introduction needs to cover. Also, it is extremely well-written and understandable, and the typeface is very "easy-on-the-eyes". I highly recommend it to all new converts and to those that are just merely curious. (And it fits in my pocket!)

Intelligent, well-written, introduction to Eastern Christianity
Fr. Garvey is an excellent writer. (I first discovered him as a writer for Commonweal magazine.) He is an intelligent and articulate spokesman for Orthodox Christianity. His writing doesn't freight the Taliban-like rigidity and loveless triumphalismof some "convert" Orthodox clergy and religious. His coverage of Orthodoxy evocatively whets the appetite for deeper and more satisfying explorations of many aspects of this immensely rich and multi-faceted tradition. Fr. John is realistic about the challenges facing Orthodox ethnic-based churches in our American pluralistic society. I wish that Fr. Garvey would have addressed the apparent absenceamong xenophobicOrthodox jurisdictions of authentic social concerns, i.e., the poor and disadvantaged, and national social policy. I am wondering what does Eastern Orthodox Christianity look like outside of Sunday liturgy and the religious piety of its members?I recommend this book as a gift for seekers preparing to attend an Orthodox liturgy, or for those whose interest has been peaked by an earlier contact with the tradition and want to explore further.

Concise and informative
Much like the companion book on Judaism, it is a great little book for the rest of us to appreciate an unfamiliar religion.

Excellent pocket-size abbreviated introduction to the Orthodox Christian Faith
4.5 STARS of 5

While this pocket-size 131-page book may seem expensive, it is worth every penny of it.John Garvey does an excellent job at explaining the multi-faceted faith (beliefs and practice) of Eastern Orthodoxy to the average reader (Christian or non-Christian).

In the introduction the author acknowledges that "Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a mystery to most Christians from other backgrounds," and with this in mind Garvey does not write a polemical treaty of Orthodoxy.Rather this book is from a teaching perspective and it is meant to be a primer of sorts.The writing and explanations are very easy to follow.After finishing the book in one sitting I can say that John Garvey has been faithful to his goal (stated in the Introduction) of "no attempt to convince Catholics, Protestants, members of any other faith, or non-believers of the errors of their views."

The book has 9 chapters:
1) What is Orthodox Christianity? (12 pages)
2) Authority in the Orthodox Church (8 pages)
3) Original Sin and the Fall (4 pages)
4) Deification (4 pages)
5) The Sacraments (16 pages)
6) The Church Year (12 pages)
7) Eastern Orthodox Spirituality (26 pages)
8) Orthodoxy and Other Religions (6 pages)
9) Contemporary Problems and Challenges for Orthodoxy (12 pages)

The Appendix includes the Anaphora of St. Basil the Great (taken from "The Divine Liturgy According to St. John Chrysostom"), followed by 4 pages of Some Common Orthodoxy Prayers, and a 3 page bibliography to more in-depth books on Eastern Orthodoxy.

In my opinion this book would not be a good read for a seminarian due to its lack of depth, index, and bibliography.For furhter great reading on the topic of Orthodox Christianity I would like to second John Garvey's vote for the following books: "The Orthodox Church" and "The Orthodox Way" by Timothy Ware (now Bishop Kallistos). ... Read more

Product Description
Father Degyansky, a Priest of the Orthodox Church in America, presents an excellent brief history of the ecumenical movement, and follows it with an assessment of contemporary ecumenism, an ideology which his sober analysis convicts of hypocrisy for its total inability to tolerate any criticism. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
In "Memory Eternal", Sergei Kan combines anthropology and history, anecdote and theory to portray the encounter between the Tlingit Indians and the Russian Orthodox Church in Alaska in the late 1700s and to analyze the indigenous Orthodoxy that developed over the next 200 years. As a native speaker of Russian with eighteen years of fieldwork experience among the Tlingit, Kan is uniquely qualified to relate little-known material from the archives of the Russian church in Alaska to Tlingit oral history and his own observations.By weighing the one body of evidence against the other, he has reevaluated this history, arriving at a persuasive new concept of 'converged agendas' - the view that the Tlingit and the Russians tended to act in mutually beneficial ways but for entirely different reasons throughout the period of their contact with one another. The Russian-American Company began operations in southeastern Alaska in the 1790s. Against a description of Tlingit culture at the time of the Russians' arrival, Kan examines Russian Orthodox theology, ritual practice, and missionary methods, and the Tlingit response to them.An uneasy symbiosis characterized the early era of the Russian-American Company, when the trading relationship outweighed any spiritual or social rapprochement.A second, major focus of Kan's study is the Tlingit experience with American colonial domination. He attributes a sudden revival of Tlingit interest in Orthodoxy in the 1880s as their attempt to maintain independence in the face of concerted efforts by the newcomers (and especially Presbyterian missionaries) to Americanize them."Memory Eternal" shows the colonial encounter to be both a power struggle and a dialogue between different systems of meaning. It portrays Native Alaskans not as helpless victims but as historical agents who attempted to adjust to the changing reality of their social world without abandoning fundamental principals of their precolonial sociocultural order or their strong sense of self-respect. Sergei Kan is professor of anthropology and Native American studies at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. ... Read more