Freedom, Faith, and Dogma: Essays by V. S. Soloviev on Christianity and Judaism — V.S. Soloviev (Jul 2009)

Often remembered for his association with the Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky, V. S. Soloviev (1853-1900) remains the foremost representative of ecumenism in nineteenth-century Russia. Working in the name of the Universal Church, with the goal of restoring its unity, he often criticized the institutional churches severely for their contradictions and imperfections.

Freedom, Faith, and Dogma is Vladimir Wozniuk’s fourth volume of translations of Soloviev’s writings. These essays display the Christian philosopher’s concerns about the obstacles that religious and political dogma present to the free pursuit of faith. Many of them explore the reasons why neither Judaism nor Christianity was ever able to establish a truly just “kingdom of God.” Several also reflect Soloviev’s steadfast and outspoken championing of full religious and civic rights for Jews throughout Russia and all of Europe. Wozniuk’s introduction places Soloviev squarely in the mainstream of Christian thought and highlights the concerns that dominate this collection: the meaning of church unification, the proper relationship between church and state, and how to deal with the tendency of the powerful to exploit the powerless, concerns that remain relevant to this day.

Sexuality, Marriage, and Celibacy in Byzantine Law — Matthew Blastares

Matthew Blastares compiled the most important legal collection of the late Byzantine Empire, a collection that Orthodox ecclesiastical judges continued to use in the Ottoman Empire. The collection ranges from church law that any Christian might recognize to laws that seem bizarre to the modern eye (such as multiple restrictions on menstruating women) to those that retain their relevance for contemporary debates (such as those related to homosexuality). No English translation of significant portions of the work has existed before this publication by Patrick Viscuso. I know of nobody more suited to introduce and translate these texts; Viscuso’s grasp of late Byzantine legal texts is unparalleled. The result, not surprisingly, is a masterful and significant work of legal scholarship and a cogent, clear, annotated translation that belongs on the bookshelf of all who study Byzantium and its church. —Tia Kolbaba (Rutgers University)

Touching Heaven: Discovering Orthodox Christianity on the Island of Valaam — John Oliver and Jonah Paffhausen

“Deep in a northern Russian forest of jade and brown, far from any hint of civilization, Valaam monastery sinks into the seasons of the year as it has for a thousand years before….”

So begins the story of John Oliver, a young American on a journey of discovery— a journey that leads him to an ancient Russian monastery, a place of peace and a place of struggle. For on Valaam, he encounters the great depths of Orthodox Christianity and is reminded that the Christian life is not for the faint of heart. And on Valaam, the treasure of stillness requires a fierce guarding.

“A gripping…account of what drew John Oliver into the deep waters of Christianity and made him an Orthodox Christian.” — Jim Forest

“This marvelous book …leads us inward and upward, until for a moment, at least, we touch heaven.” — Fr. John Breck

Touching Heaven is a lovely book, quiet and contemplative, and full of peaceful revelations.” — Frederica Matthewes-Green

Person and Eros — Christos Yannaras

Person and Eros is probably one of the most important theological works to be published in Greece in the twentieth century. It addresses the question of how we encounter the ultimate reality we call God. Christos Yannaras argues that the intellectual ascent to first principles which is characteristic of the Western philosophical tradition is based on mistaken premises. We cannot encounter reality simply through conceptual knowledge. The knowledge of truth is not exhausted in its linguistic expression; it is acquired through immediate experience. Yannaras thus leads us by way of the problem of knowledge to a theological vision of union with the supreme mode of loving self-transcending and self-offering being. Norman Russell’s lucid translation makes this vision accessible for the first time to English-speaking readers.

A Noble Task: Entry into the Clergy in the First Five Centuries — Lewis J. Patsavos

This book presents a rich collection of key texts from the Fathers and early councils setting out what was expected in moral and educational terms from aspirants to the clergy in the early Christian centuries. Hitherto students of the early church have had to search for this material in a variety of different publications. Here they will find it translated and discussed in a comprehensive manner. While the latest historical scholarship has been taken into account, the book’s main focus is on the spiritual rather than the social role of the clergy. It is the author’s deepest wish that those aspiring to the Christian priesthood might find here an accurate and vivid account of the virtuous life that should always be their goal.

Review
A prolific reference work . . . Using a descriptive method, Professor Patsavos illustrates how key patterns of values, formulated during the first five centuries of Christianity, became formative for the remaining Orthodox Christian history. . . . –Marian Gh. Simion, Assistant Director, Boston Theological Institute

The Hermit, the Icon, and the Emperor: The Holy Virgin Comes to Cyprus — Chrissi Hart

Long ago on the island of Cyprus, a cuckoo sang a prophetic song that started a series of mysterious adventures. A hermit had a vision, a proud and selfish governor was stricken with paralysis, and a princess lay dying.All these events were part of a plan-God’s plan-to bring the very first icon of the Mother of God, painted by the Evangelist Luke himself, from the emperor’s palace in Constantinople to a new home on Cyprus.The richly detailed, jewel-toned illustrations by acclaimed fine artist Niko Chocheli and the engaging text bring this true story to life for contemporary readers of all ages.

Beginnings: Ancient Christian Readings of the Biblical Creation Narratives — Peter C. Bouteneff

What are we missing when we look at the creation narratives of Genesis only or primarily through the lens of modern discourse about science and religion? Theologian Peter Bouteneff explores how first-millennium Christian understandings of creation can inform current thought in the church and in the public square. He reaches back into the earliest centuries of our era to recover the meanings that early Jewish and Christian writers found in the stories of the six days of creation and of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Readers will find that their forbears in the faith saw in the Genesis narrative not simply an account of origins but also a rich teaching about the righteousness of God, the saving mission of Christ, and the destiny of the human creature.

“Beginnings takes us back to the beginning of the scriptural creation narrative and to the beginning of the Christian appropriation of this narrative. The reader is initiated into precursors of the Christian tradition (especially the Septuagint and Philo) and then guided through the early Christian thinkers (especially Origen) whose writings underpin current theological reflection on Genesis 1-3. Beginnings allows twenty-first-century readers to wrestle with issues ranging from creation and the image of God to anthropology and gender–all in the context of the community of faith that found its beginning, middle, and end in Jesus Christ. Peter Bouteneff has done the church a valuable service in this focused study.”–Joel C. Elowsky, managing editor, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, Drew University

First Fruits of Prayer: A Forty-Day Journey Through the Canon of St. Andrew — Frederica Mathewes-Green

Join Frederica Mathewes-Green on a guided retreat—ideal for the Lenten season—through the classic Great Canon, a wise, ancient, Orthodox text that will enrich your experience of spirituality and prayer.

First Fruits of Prayer will bring readers of all denominational backgrounds into the prayer experience of first millennium Christianity through immersion in this fascinating text, a poetic hymn written in the eighth century. This extraordinarily beautiful work, still chanted by Eastern Christians every Lent, weaves together Old and New Testament scriptures with prayers of hope and repentance. It offers ancient ways of seeing Christ that will nevertheless feel new to most readers today.

This insightful book offers all readers an opportunity to walk through a classic text from the Christian East in a series of 40 prayerful readings, with accompanying commentary and questions for further reflection.

Macarius of Jerusalem: Letter to the Armenians, AD 335 — Abraham Terian

In his Letter to the Armenians, Macarius, Bishop of Jerusalem, draws on local tradition to respond to queries by the nascent Armenian Church regarding baptism and the Eucharist. He addresses his letter to Vrtanes, elder son and second successor to Gregory the Illuminator as head of the Armenian Church, and reveals much about the nature of pre-Nicene Armenian Christianity and its affinities with East Syrian baptismal and eucharistic traditions thought to stand in need of reform. Terian’s study of Macarius Letter to the Armenians establishes the date of this earliest document bearing on the history of the Armenian Church, and highlights the document s place in the baptismal and eucharistic liturgy of Jerusalem prior to Cyril’s Catechetical Lectures and in the travel diary of the nun Egeria later in the fourth century.

Orthodox Readings of Augustine — George E. Demacopoulos

The engagement of the Latin and Byzantine theological traditions of old formed the strongest pillar of the Oecumenical faith. It is a delight to see it set up straight again in this current and lively collection of essays. –John McGuckin, Columbia University

This is a magnificent contribution to the current trends in patristic reception- history, and no less a boon to ecumenical understanding. –Sarah Coakley, University of Cambridge

This is an ambitious and rewarding volume. And singular! These original and learned essays explore little known aspects of Eastern Christian thought and offer fresh insight into the reception and appraisal of Augustine in the East in medieval times and today, as a unique contribution to contemporary theological scholarship. –Robert Louis Wilken, University of Virginia

This is a magnificent contribution to the current trends in patristic reception- history, and no less a boon to ecumenical understanding. –Sarah Coakley, University of Cambridge

This is an ambitious and rewarding volume. And singular! These original and learned essays explore little known aspects of Eastern Christian thought and
offer fresh insight into the reception and appraisal of Augustine in the East in medieval times and today, as a unique contribution to contemporary theological
scholarship. –Robert Louis Wilken, University of Virginia

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