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The author of this book, Saint Luke the Confessor (his worldly name was Valentin Yasenetsky-Voyno), is a Russian saint of the twentieth century. He was born on April 27, 1877 in Kerch, Crimea and fell asleep in the Lord on June 11, 1961 in Simferopol, Crimea. Canonized by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) in November 1995.

He was a descendent of a Belarusian-Polish impoverished princely family, and he was archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church and at the same time a prominent physician, surgeon, inventor, scientist, writer and painter.

The title of this book is a quote from Saint Luke's letter to his eldest son Mikhail. The full sentence is: "I began to love suffering that so amazingly purifies the soul."

During the severe trials of the Russian Church, when the communists had come to power in the country and were engaged in a methodical genocide of the clergy, Innocenty, Bishop of Tashkent, asked him to become a priest. Valentin Yasenetsky accepted this request and received priestly ordination, with the bishop describing his future mission in the words of the Holy Apostle Paul: "not to baptize, but to evangelize." (1Cor 1:17)

Over the years, after the death of his beloved wife, he took monastic vows and was named after the holy Evangelist Luke; then he was ordained a bishop. After many prosecutions by the Soviet authorities and convictions on false grounds (including false testimonials from some colleagues, students and friends, as well as false reports, elicited by the secret police) and an exile for many years to Siberia, above the Arctic Circle, he was eventually released and he ended his days as Archbishop of Simferopol and Crimea. Throughout all the trials, he remained true to his Russian Orthodox faith and principles, and continued his work as a doctor and scientist, despite the blindness that struck him in the last years of his life.

by Fr. A. James Bernstein

The story of a man searching for truth and unable to rest until he finds it. Raised in Queens, New York, by formerly Orthodox Jewish parents whose faith had been undermined by the Holocaust, Arnold Bernstein went on his own personal quest for the God he instinctively felt was there. He was ready to accept God in whatever form He chose to reveal Himself--and that form turned out to be Christ. But Bernstein soon perceived discrepancies in the various forms of Protestant belief that surrounded him, and so his quest continued--this time for the true Church. With his Jewish heritage as a foundation, he studied and evaluated, and eventually came to the conclusion that the faith of his forefathers was fully honored and brought to completion only in the Orthodox Christian Church.

Surprised by Christ combines an engrossing memoir of one man's life in historic times and situations--from the Six-Day War to the Civil Rights Movement to the Jesus Movement in Berkeley--with a deeply felt examination of the distinctives of Orthodox theology that make the Orthodox Church the true home not only for Christian Jews, but for all who seek to know God as fully as He may be known.

About the Author: The Rev. A. James Bernstein was a teenage chess champion whose dramatic conversion experience at the age of 16 led him to Christianity. His spiritual journey has included a number of twists and turn: he was chapter president of Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship at Queens College, helped found the Jews for Jesus ministry in San Francisco, was a staff member of the Christian World Liberation Front in Berkeley, served as a pastor of an Evangelical Orthodox Church near Silicon Valley, and later became an Eastern Orthodox convert and then priest. He lives with his wife Bonnie outside of Seattle, Washington, where he serves as pastor of St. Paul Antiochian Orthodox Church. Father James is the author of the booklets Orthodoxy: Jewish and Christian (Conciliar Press, 1990); Which Came First: The Church or the New Testament (CP, 1994); Communion: A Family Affair (CP, 1999); Heaven and Hell (AFP, 2009); The Original Gospel (AFP, 2010), and Discovering the Prophecies of Christ (AFP, 2016). He was also a contributor to the Orthodox Study Bible: New Testament and Psalms (Thomas Nelson, 1993).

Professor Patsavos' approach reflects the very essence and nature of the Canonical Tradition of the Orthodox Church; namely, that the canons are of a spiritual and pastoral dimension, striving for the salvation of the souls of God's people. This insightful book is accompanied by an index that classifies the Holy Canons for easy reference.

"Behold, I make all things new!" --Rev. 21:5

At the center of Christian faith and at the very heart of Orthodox spirituality, the proclamation of the Resurrection, whose promise is realized with the sending of the Spirit, is the living source of the Church's confession of faith. In this book, His Beatitude, Patriarch Ignatius IV offers a meditation on salvation offered to man by the resurrected Christ and the Holy Spirit, in whom all things are created anew.

In the words of the author, the surprising affirmation, "Behold, I make all things new," is "not to be relegated into the future beyond history; it reveals the new world which, starting from the present, enters into the sphere of our own temporal order. The dramatic tension in which we are living, therefore, is not situated between a conceptual transcendence and a phenomenal immanence; it is located between two levels of time: this present age which is both dialogical and diabolical; and the new time which is 'parousial' and which renders this present age 'paschal.'"

Baptism, says Patriarch Ignatius, is the sacrament which renews us and brings us into the new Creation, precisely because it brings us into the communion of the Church. This awareness, he says, "should lead us, in our inter-Church relations, to re-center everything on the Church as the great sacrament, and to search all the more vigorously for ways to overcome the divisions which still exists in our communion of faith. It is up to us whether the New Creation remains hidden and meaningless, or whether it deifies man and transfigures the world. Such is our responsibility in the quest for authentic renewal."

About the Author: Ignatius IV, Patriarch of Antioch, of blessed memory, was one of the Presidents of the World Council of Churches. A graduate of St Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris, he served for many years as Dean of the Orthodox Theological Seminary in Balamand, Lebanon. As one of the founders of the very active Orthodox Youth Movement (MJO) of Lebanon and Syria, he helped organize and lead the renewal of church and monastic life in the patriarchate of Antioch.

nternationally esteemed as one of the most outstanding Greek Orthodox theologians and patristic scholars of our time, Fr. John Romanides was also a groundbreaking pioneer. Paradoxically, he did not break new but neglected and hallowed ancient ground. In an age of religious syncretism and rationalism, this classic work brings to light ancient truths long ago replaced by juridical schemes and forgotten in most Christian denomination.
Truths regarding the creation 'ex nihilo', the destiny of man, Adam's sin and fall, the origin of death, soteriology and God's relations with the world were exposited as the doctrines of the primitive Church by the Apostolic and post-Apostolic Fathers of the first and second centuries. Hindered by the paradigms of post-Augustinian thought, Western Christianity has rarely understood these doctrines that predate by several centuries the commonly held juridical ideas of original sin and atonement.
This book is the only in-depth comparative study of these doctrines and the underlying paradigms of the earliest Church Fathers on the one hand and the scholastic theologians on the other. IT demonstrates the integrity of the faith and apophatic theology of early Church in sharp contrast to the Augustinian and scholastic rationalism expressed by the aphorism credo intellegam, or 'I believe in order to comprehend.'
Dr. Romanides devoted his life to the authentic Tradition of the Church Fathers, differentiating it from the post-Augustinian thought worlds that had obscured it even in the Orthodox East.

Archimadrite Justin was born in Vranje on the Feast of the Annunciation, 1894, of parents Spiridon and Anastasija. He stud-ied at the Seminary of Saint Sava in Belgrade from 1905 to 1914. During the First World War, he retreated to Skadar with the Serbian army, where, with the blessing of Metropolitan Dimitrije, he received monastic profession in 1916, tak-ing the name of Saint Justin the martyr and philosopher. His secular name had been Blagoje. Metropolitan Dimitrije sent him for further study to Petrograd and Oxford. He returned to Belgrade after the war, and was appointed as an assistant at the seminary in Sremski Karlovci. He received his doctorate of Athens University in 1926, with the doctoral thesis: 'The Problem of the Person and of Knowledge according to Saint Makarios of Egypt'. On his return to Sremski Karlovci, he edited the periodical 'Christian Life'. Transferred to the Prizren seminary, and then sent back to Karlovci in 1931, he worked alongside Metropolitan Josif Cvijović in the Carpathian area of Czechoslovakia, organising church life among the Carpatho-Russians. On his return, he was transferred to the Bitolj sem-inary, and was chosen in 1934 to be professor of Dogmatics and Comparative Theology at the Theological Faculty in Belgrade. He remained in this position until the end of the war, at which time the communist authoritities removed him from his work in the university. After this, he lived in various monasteries in Serbia, and in 1948 went to the monastery of Ćelije near Valjevo, where he remained until his death as the monastery's spiritual father. He devoted himself completely to prayer and to theological and scientific work and translation, to which his very many published and unpublished works bear witness. He entered into rest in the Lord on the Feast of the Annunciation, 1979.

The Seer describes the life and work of the Prophet Samuel, called ‘the Seer’ by his contemporaries. Early chapters focus on Hannah’s prayer and discuss prayer of the heart. There are practical comments about family relationships and bringing up children in the Church. The chapter on Samuel’s sons considers why children from devout families sometimes rebel. The Prophet Samuel received revelations from God and possessed the spiritual gifts of clear sight and seeing into the future. There is a detailed discussion of what exactly these charismas are and why God bestows them. There is a compelling account of how Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit when anointed by Samuel, and how he later lost this gift. Saul’s sins seem superficially trivial, but were actually so grave that they caused God to ‘change His mind’ about him. As a spiritual father, the author is able to understand and describe Samuel’s profound grief over Saul’s fall. This is an interesting, enlightening and very readable book for the general reader about a major biblical and historical figure. For spiritual fathers and those they guide it throws light on the mystery of obedience and the consequences of disobedience. For parents and would-be parents it has a personal message. And for all Christians it provides an inspiring example of a man of God filled with spiritual gifts, who was in communion with God throughout his life and never grieved Him at any point.

The Eastern Church Fathers stressed that the Bible is not of its own kind but was born and shaped in a community of faith. They understood Scripture to be an essential element of Holy Tradition: the apostolic witness passed down and developed into the fundamental teachings of Orthodox Christianity.

This book offers a fresh look at the way Eastern patristic writers used Scripture in elaborating what would become the body of Orthodox doctrine. It begins with a discussion of the aims and methods of biblical interpretation as they were developed among the Greek Fathers. The second section introduces the reader to the ancient literary form known as chiasmus and shows how important a proper "chiastic" reading of the biblical text can be for revealing its "literal" meaning.

The final section takes up several crucial issues concerning the Orthodox doctrines of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Raising from a new perspective the divisive question of the filioque, it demonstrates the continuing importance of the Nicene Creed for expressing the most basic and significant teachings of Orthodoxy: God as Trinity and God incarnate. These doctrines reflect as clearly as any others the way Scripture takes shape in Tradition, while it serves as the ground and measure of Tradition.

About the Author:  The Very Rev John Breck was Professor of New Testament and Ethics at St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary from 1984 to 1996. He is presently Professor of Biblical Interpretation and Ethics at St Sergius Theological Institute, Paris, France, and with his wife, Lyn, directs the St Silouan Retreat Center near Charleston, SC.

Bible, Church, Tradition: An Eastern Orthodox View- Volume One In the collected works of Fr. Georges Florovsky is an excellent introduction to Orthodox biblical exegesis and ecclesiology. It should be read by Protestants, many of whom are unfamiliar with Orthodox views on Scripture, as well as Roman Catholics for an alternative view to their own tradition, as well as Orthodox themselves who are looking for a short, academic but intelligible introduction to this topic. Fr. Florovsky is considered by some to be one of the most outstanding and profound theologians of twentieth-century Orthodoxy. The first section of the book deals with the Church's proclamation of God's revelation to man, the Gospel, in the Holy Scriptures, and the "catholic" nature of the Church itself. The Church is labeled "catholic" because it possesses within itself a distinct universality and applies to all mankind. The Scripture needs to be proclaimed as God's Word revealed to man through the ages: first to the ancient Hebrew tribes in the form of the Old Testament and to the entire world through the New. The Bible should not be treated as a "history" book as such, nor is it a manual on the natural sciences, as many "fundamentalists" of various sects today uphold.

This pocket-sized book, originally published in Russian in 1904, is a short but comprehensive work offering guidance to the Christian on how to conduct himself through the course of the day. The author describes how to conduct oneself in the morning, in relation to God, in common situations of life, in daily work, during meals, during the afternoon rest, in the evening, before sleep, and during sleeplessness. He concludes with a consideration of prayer and guidance and on how to spend Sundays. 

In The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, the 5th-century Christian theologian Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite outlines the visible Church as a sacred, vertically ordered system. Its purpose is to guide believers upward through material symbols and sacraments, facilitating their assimilation and union with God (known as theosis or deification)

In Hymns on Paradise: St. Ephrem the Syrian offers a deeply poetic and theological reflection on the story of Genesis 2 and 3, weaving rich imagery to reveal the profound connection between the material and spiritual worlds. Through 15 hymns, Ephrem invites readers to see creation as a sacramental witness to its Creator, where nature and Scripture work together to reveal God’s truth.

With a Biblical and symbolic approach, Ephrem explores themes such as the unity of the Old and New Testaments, the sacraments as glimpses of heavenly realities, and the ultimate fulfillment of God’s plan. His timeless use of vivid imagery transcends cultural and philosophical barriers, making his insights fresh and accessible even today.

Hymns on Paradise: St. Ephrem the Syrian will inspire readers to see God’s hand in creation, deepen their understanding of Scripture, and reflect on the eternal mysteries of faith.

This is a thoroughly practical manual of the spiritual life that focuses on the central goal of every Christian: discerning the will of God and struggling to mold our life to it, just as Christ “humbled Himself and became obedient” (Philippians 2:8).

Saint John addresses fundamental questions: Why should we care about God’s will? What are the benefits in following His will? How do we avoid common obstacles to living in accordance with His will? The reader will find practical and eternal wisdom running through these writings that discuss the perennial questions of why a good God permits evil. This is the first English edition of St John’s text, edited and abbreviated for the contemporary reader.

St John Maximovitch (1651-1715) was Metropolitan of Tobolsk and all Siberia. He served as a missionary in Siberia and was known for his unpretentiousness and his generosity to the poor. His veneration among the people grew after his repose and he was glorified by the Russian Church in 1916, becoming the last canonized saint of the pre-revolutionary period. He is best known today as the namesake and ancestor of the great 20th-century saint of the Russian diaspora, St John of Shanghai and San Francisco.

Why do so many of us good Christians find our spiritual progress blocked? What can we do about the unconscious neurotic tendencies that warp our relations with others? How can we let go of the idealized image we have of ourselves? Drawing on the classic work Our Inner Conflicts by psychiatrist Karen Horney, Archimandrite Symeon shows how we are led to unhealthy attachments, slavish dependency, or a position of compliance which can even affect our relationship with God. He then explains how today s Christians can use biblical teachings and the wisdom of the Eastern Orthodox Church fathers to combat these characteristically modern problems.

Archimandrite Symeon Kragiopoulos is a lecturer, preacher, and confessor in the Metropolis of Thessaloniki, Greece. His spiritual lectures often draw on his study of psychology. He has founded two monastic communities, the Monastery of the Holy Trinity for men and the Monastery of the Nativity of the Theotokos for women.

By linking together a series of brilliantly chosen texts from the early centuries of the Church, the author lays bare the roots of the deeply mystical spirituality that has flourished among Christians throughout the ages.

Includes index and appendices.

In 1794, the first Orthodox missionary monks arrived at Kodiak to fond what they believed would be an indigenous Orthodox Church in the New World. They recognized as integral to their mission the defense of Native people who were being abused, exploited and enslaved by an unjust regime. The mission understood its function in cosmic terms: to sanctify, here and now, this land, these people, and bring them to the unity-in-love which is the goal of authentic Christian mission.

The history of the Alaskan Church confirms the eternal and indestructible character of the Church's vision, integrating into her worship the cosmic, scriptural and eschatological dimension of faith. Among the Native Americans in Alaska, Orthodoxy has become an integral part of an authentically American culture. Consequently it is appropriate that an Orthodox theology of mission should originate from the Alaskan context. If an American Orthodox missiology is to emerge, its formulation should serve not only the Church in America but contribute to the clarification of Orthodox theology for the universal Church as well.

Archpriest Michael J. Oleska, Alaskan Orthodox missionary for nearly three decades, completed his doctoral work in Church History and Patristics at the Orthodox Theological Faculty in Presov, Slovakia, in 1988. Upon completing a year of research and teaching at Moscow's St Patriarch Tikhon Theological Institute, he was elected Dean of St Herman's Seminary in Kodiak, Alaska, in 1996. He is also the editor of Alaskan Missionary Spirituality.

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A collection of articles on prayer and the spiritual life, together with some of the author's own prayers. A moving testimony to the relevance of Christ, who, for Archimandrite Sophrony, is "all, and in all, the beginning and the ending" of all things.

A saint and Equal of the Apostles of our own modern times, St. Nikolai personifies the ethos of Orthodox Christian evangelism.  Many are familiar with his Grace-filled and  tremendously fruitful mission in Japan, but little has been available in English until now.

This publication of Divine Ascent Press presents for the first time a collection of writings in English introducing the reader to St. Nikolai and the culture he encountered in Japan just as it was opening its doors to the world around it.

Articles written by several scholars and believers in Japan give new insight into his life and the struggles he faced as he tirelessly sought to fulfill the  call of the  Gospel.  We see St. Nikolai mirrored in his diaries, as well as in the  lives of his disciples, who were forever changed by their discovery of Orthodox Christianity through his  unique mission.

The Christological Controversy describes the turmoil of fifth-century Christianity seeking to articulate its beliefs on the person of Christ. The policies of the Theodosian dynasty and the conflicting interests of the patriarchal sees are the context of the controversy between Nestorius of Constantinople and Cyril of Alexandria, a bitter dispute that racked the entire oecumene. The historical analysis expounds on the arguments of both sides, particularly the Christology of Cyril, which was adopted as a standard.

There is a relatively small, but determined group of people who call themselves true Orthodox, or the Church in Resistance. Having separated themselves from the large body of Orthodox Churches, they accuse the leaders of Orthodoxy of steering the Church away from the Faith of the Fathers. These self-proclaimed defenders of Orthodoxy charge that the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar, more modern clerical attire in public, efforts to develop relations with non-Orthodox and other minor changes from nineteenth century forms of Orthodoxy have compromised the essential dogma of the Church. The author, a priest of the Antiochian Archdiocese, with the blessing of Metropolitan Philip, and valuable input from several Orthodox clergy, refutes these charges and presents the truth of Orthodoxy.

Not until now has the ancient wisdom of Lao Tzu been presented alongside the otherworldly revelation of Jesus Christ in a way that encompasses the full significance of both. Avoiding the common pitfalls of religious syncretism, CHRIST THE ETERNAL TAO shows Lao Tzu’s Tao Teh Ching as a foreshadowing of what would be revealed by Christ, and Lao Tzu himself as a Far-Eastern “prophet” of the Incarnate God. Inspired by Fr. Seraphim Rose’s early studies of the Tao Teh Ching, this book draws from the unpublished translations and teachings of Fr. Seraphim’s Chinese philosophy teacher, Gi-ming Shien, in order to uncover the esoteric core of the Tao Teh Ching. Then, through the transmission of mystics of the ancient Christian East, Lao Tzu’s teaching is brought into a new dimension, exploding with new meanings. Part I contains a “New Testament” of the Tao Teh Ching, which looks at Christ through the eyes of Lao Tzu and presents the Gospel in Lao Tzu’s own intriguing way. Part II unfolds the history of the revelation of God, from the creation of man, through the fall, primordial civilization, Lao Tzu, Confucius, and the ancient Hebrews, and finally to God’s Incarnation in Jesus Christ and His ultimate revelation of His Being as Three Persons. Part III offers practical advice from Eastern Orthodox teachers on how to unite oneself to Christ the Incarnate Tao/Logos and acquire His Divine Grace (in Chinese, Teh). Much more than a mere study in comparative religion, CHRIST THE ETERNAL TAO uses Lao Tzu’s intuitive realizations as a springboard by which to catapult the spiritual seekers of our day all the way into the mystical depths of Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

From Metropolitan Philip, Primate, Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America:The History of Orthodoxy in the New World can, we believe, be divided into three the first is the era of the second is the era of organization and the third is the present era of spiritual renewal and maturation. Father Theodore's present work, Christ in Our Midst, eloquently addresses the concerns of this present era.... It deserves the widest possible circulation.

St. John Chrysostom delivered nine homilies on repentance in Antioch of Syria sometime between 386 and 387. With conviction and certitude, he preached that repentance was a necessity for both the sinner and the righteous man. This volume presents Chrysostom's homilies on repentance and includes a sermon on almsgiving that he preached in Antioch during the winter months in 387.

Chrysostom's work reveals that repentance is an indestructible pillar of the All-Holy, Universal and Immutable Church of Christ. He believed that repentance is the liturgical tool that rejuvenates sinners and admits them into the life-giving Eucharist where they experience fully and dynamically the concrete presence of God.

The powers of repentance have rich biblical roots, and Chrysostom masterfully weaves his teaching with a plethora of Old and New Testament citings. From Scripture, the reader learns that repentance is never confined to the eucharistic context―it becomes a way of life for the believer. The daily applications of repentance, such as almsgiving, fasting, remorse over personal sins, humility, prayer, and attending Church, suggest that a person's entire life has an ecclesial character. Chrysostom preached that the whole experience of a true life in Christ is repentance that culminates in metanoia―the total change and renewal from the heart and mind of sin to "the mind of Christ" (1 Cor. 2:16).

In his introduction to the homilies, Fr. Gus Christo includes a succinct biography of Chrysostom within which he sets the homilies in their chronological context. He also provides an overview of repentance and discusses the ecclesiological nature of Chrysostom's theology.

Gus George Christo is a priest of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, under the spiritual direction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, and is currently a pastor of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity in Lansing, Michigan. He received his B.A. in religious studies from the University of Virginia and his M.A. and Ph.D. in theology from the University of Durham, England. This volume is part of Fr. Christo's ongoing research and translation of the works of early Church Fathers, especially the works of St. John Chrysostom.

"This volume successfully draws readers' attention to the importance of 'repentance' in Greek theology and ecclesiology. It also sheds new light on 'preaching' as an important activity in the life of the Early Church. . . . The precise and concise sketch of the life of Chrysostom in Father Christo's Introduction helps set his sermons in their historical context. . . . This volume is a rich source of spiritual nourishment. Moreover, it is highly recommended for those who are interested in the different ways by which the Church Fathers approached and interpreted the Scripture."―Koinonia―Princeton Theological Seminary Graduate Forum

This is the definitive biography in English of one of the most famous and best-loved saints of the Orthodox Christian church. Russian by birth, St. Seraphim, (c. 1759-1833) has often been compared with St. Francis of Asissi in the West, both being known largely for their unique relationships to animals and their palpable love of all people. Beyond granting us a rich telling of this man s luminous life, Fr. Lazarus Moore additionally opens the door to the eastern Christian spirituality of the Orthodox church, often still unknown in English-speaking countries. From firsthand accounts of mystical and miraculous experiences, to deep discussions of spiritual practices and theology, the very detailed account of St. Seraphim s life is a must-read for any student of spiritualilty or person of faith. Clearly, this is not a biography in the ordinary sense. Fr. Lazarus interaction with the flame of Sarov is felt on every page. It is as though he were at St. Seraphim s side, learning from his Elder s acts and words. St. Seraphim is not only set before our eyes, but is brought into our very hearts. Fr. Lazarus leads us to an invocation of the Saint himself; we feel his presence and receive a taste of that extraordinary peace, sweetness and joy for which he is known and loved by so many. The body of this book is identical to that published in 1994 by New Sarov Press (now defunct) under the title: St. Seraphim of Sarov: A Spiritual Biography; However, this present edition has an entirely new design and offers a number of new features: a foreword by Bishop Hilarion of the ROCOR diocese; original artwork; added footnotes and editorial notes; a reflection on Fr. Lazarus Moore by his caregiver at the end of his life; a history and technical notes on the manuscript; a collection of St. Seraphim's Prayer Rules given to his spiritual children; and an Akathist Hymn to St. Seraphim translated by Fr. Lazarus.

The Correspondence between the Tubingen Theologians and Patriarch Jeremias II of Constantinople on the Augsburg Confession.

Augsburg and Constantinople was the crowning achievement of the late Very Reverend Father George Mastrantonis, a distinguished Orthodox clergyman and prolific author. First published in 1982, this book remains a work of vital interest to scholars of all faiths. The correspondence between the Lutheran theologians of Tubingen and Orthodox Patriarch Jeremiah II may be seen as the first substantive ecumenical dialogue of the post Reformation era. More than four hundred years later, these exchanges continue to have value well beyond the purely historical. In preparing this translation and commentary, Father Mastrantonis believed that these documents are "especially important today when a movement toward better understanding among churches is taking place."

Since the early days of the Church, Christians have struggled to come to terms with Christ's words of peace and His example of peace. In Christ's life, as recorded in the New Testament, it is striking that He neither killed anyone nor summoned any of His disciples to kill. Indeed, the final miracle Christ performed before His execution was to heal an enemy's wound, an injury caused by the Apostle Peter in an attempt to defend his master. Yet, in the course of more than twenty centuries of Christian history, we see Christians often involved in war and, in surveying the calendar of saints, find not only those who refused to take part in war but also those who served in the military, though no one has been canonized due to his skill as a soldier. Besides the millions of Christians who have fought in armies, often against fellow Christians, we also find many priests, bishops and theologians who have advocated war and blessed its weapons. Our subject is an urgent one. Many people today live either near conflict areas or are directly touched by war or in areas where terrorist actions may suddenly occur. Everyone on the planet is in some way affected by wars in progress or wars in the making as well as the consequences of wars in the past. Every day thousands of Christians struggle in thought and prayer with some of the most difficult of questions: May I fight injustice by violent methods? Am I allowed to kill in combat? Are there limits on what I can do in the defense of my country? Am I as a Christian allowed to disobey demands that I believe are unjust or violate the Gospel? When the demands of my country seem at odds with the demands of the Kingdom of God, how do I respond to this conflict? Rarely do we find easy answers to these and similar questions. Thus, those of us in the Orthodox Christian tradition search for help in Holy Scripture, the canons provided to us by ecumenical councils, the witness of the saints, the writing of the Fathers of the Church as well as theologians of recent times. Imitation of saintly forebears alone, however, will not solve our problems. Different eras have adopted different attitudes. Also many of today's problems never existed before, not least the changed character of war in an era of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and mass propaganda. Yet knowledge of the thought and action undertaken by the Orthodox Churches on the issues of war and peace in recent decades surely can help us find ways out of the dead ends that many communities are experiencing today. This is the aim of this book.

The Byzantine liturgy, with its beauty, its richness, and its depth, intrigues, inspires, and fascinates a great number of today s Christians; and yet it remains for many almost inaccessible if not incomprehensible.
The Typikon, the liturgical book that contains the order of the liturgical celebration, is complex, whence the necessity of decoding it both for recent converts and for cradle Orthodox Christians desiring to deepen their liturgical observance.
And that decoding is the goal of this book. Developed from courses given at the Institut Saint-Serge in Paris, it covers the celebration of the offices throughout the Byzantine liturgical year. The organization and composition of the liturgical offices are first situated in the context of their historical development, and then are analyzed in detail from a practical point of view.
This explanation of Byzantine liturgical practice, the first of its kind in English, includes an extensive bibliography and comprehensive glossary.

One of the greatest orators of his age, St. Gregory the Theologian (also known as Gregory Nazianzus), is considered among the most central of Church fathers. His work, and that of St. Basil the Great, did much to win the day for the Nicene Creed (by God’s grace) and to secure its completion at the first Council of Constantinople, where the Creed received its final and present form. He is not as easy to read for moderns as Augustine or some of the Latin Fathers. But is well worth the read. Below is a portion from his Second Paschal Oration in which he asks the question: “To whom was the ransom (Christ’s death on the Cross) paid?”

Our venerable father Mark the Ascetic thrived in the year 430. He was a disciple of Saint John Chrysostom, according to Nikephoros Kallistos (vol. 2, bk. 14. ch. 53), and was a contemporary of Saint Nilus and Isidore of Pelusium, who were famous ascetics. Diligent in the study of the Scriptures, he wrote many discourses full of abundant learning and spiritual benefit. Of these, 32 are mentioned by Nikephoros Kallistos, which teach the entire path of the ascetic life, though they have not been preserved. Only eight of his discourses survive, different from the above, which are mentioned by both Kallistos and the critic Photios (codex 200). Of these, the discourse "On the Spiritual Law" is first, "On Those Who Think They Are Made Righteous by Works" is third, both divided into short chapters, and "To Nicholas the Monk" is eighth. These discourses were included here as more useful than the others and why all three belong to the spiritual law. The venerable martyr Peter of Damascus and Gregory of Sinai and the most holy patriarch Kallistos and Paul the Evergetinos and many other Fathers also mention his books. All of them have studied his works and urge us to study them as well. The Holy Church of Christ honors his memory on March 5 and praises his ascetic struggles, the wisdom of his words and the grace given to him by God. From Philokalia, vol. 1. Translation by John Sanidopoulos.

The primacy of the bishop of Rome, the pope, as it was finally shaped in the Middle Ages and later defined by Vatican I and II has been one of the thorniest issues in the history of the Western and Eastern Churches. This issue was a primary cause of the division between the two Churches and the events that followed the schism of 1054: the sack of Constantinople by the crusaders in 1204, the appointment by Pope Innocent III of a Latin patriarch of Constantinople, and the establishment of Uniatism as a method and model of union. Always a topic in ecumenical dialogue, the issue of primacy has appeared to be an insurmountable obstacle to the realization of full unity between Roman Catholicism and the Orthodox Christianity. In this timely and comprehensive work, Maximos Vgenopoulos analyzes the response of major Orthodox thinkers to the Catholic understanding of the primary of the pope over the last two centuries, showing the strengths and weaknesses of these positions.

Covering a broad range of primary and secondary sources and thinkers, Vgenopoulos approaches the issue of primacy with an open and ecumenical manner that looks forward to a way of resolving this most divisive issue between the two Churches. For the first time here the thought of Greek and Russian Orthodox theologians regarding primacy is brought together systematically and compared to demonstrate the emergence of a coherent view of primacy in accordance with the canonical principles of the Orthodox Church. In looking at crucial Greek-language sources Vgenopoulos makes a unique contribution by providing an account of the debate on primacy within the Greek Orthodox Church. Primacy in the Church from Vatican I to Vatican II is an invaluable resource on the official dialogue taking place between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church today. This important book will be of broad interest to historians, theologians, seminarians, and all those interested in Orthodox-Catholic relations.

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. -- John Meyendorff, from the book

This excellent study on Christian marriage is a valuable resource for anyone seeking to understand the Orthodox perspective on marriage. 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.

This is a revised and expanded version of a book that has appeared in French, Italian, and Greek. It focuses on themes central to Eastern Christian worship and spiritual life and serves as an introduction to the series of six volumes of Bishop Kallistos' collected works.

The opening chapter recounts the author's journey to Orthodoxy. The next two chapters provide profound and illuminating insights on death, bereavement and resurrection in Christ, and on repentance. Chapters four through seven invite us into the world of the desert ascetics and hesychast monks. Combining scholarly rigor with practical counsels on prayers, Bishop Kallistos makes the wealth of the Orthodox tradition accessible to today's Christians. The next three chapters concern personal vocation, martyrdom, spiritual guidance, and the strange path of the fool for Christ's sake. There follows a brief essay on time and eternity. The final chapter is a challenging discussion of Origen and Ss Gregory of Nyssa, Isaac the Syrian and Silouan the Athonite, and in conversation with them Bishop Kallistos asks, "Dare we hope for the salvation of all?"

A teacher at the University of Oxford who lectures around the world, Bishop Kallistos speaks equally to laypeople and specialists, on both timeless mysteries and urgent contemporary concerns.

“For He hath looked upon the lowliness of His handmaiden; for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.” —(Luke 1:48) A right understanding of Mary, the Mother of God is essential for a right understanding of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God. When her image is distorted, the image of her Son also becomes distorted. This concise little book is a classic exposition of how the Orthodox Christian Church has venerated the Mother of God throughout the ages, and on the chief errors that have sought to change or undermine this veneration: both ancient heresies and the later deviations of Western Christendom. It clearly tells why the Virgin Mary should truly be called the Mother of God and should be honored by all generations, and why at the same time She cannot be said to have been unable to sin, or considered a Co-Redemptress along with Jesus Christ, the only Savior of the world. Written by a miracle-worker of modern times who was in close spiritual contact with the Mother of God - St. John Maximovitch, Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco (1896-1966) - this work was translated by an American convert to the Orthodox Faith who was a beloved disciple of St. John: Hieromonk Seraphim Rose of Platina (1934-1982).

n this book, Oliver Clement comments on three traditional prayers. The first, which is known to us all, is the ""Our Father."" The author's intention is not to rival prestigious works but to discern, within the depths of the text itself, a Trinitarian revelation, the ways of communion--the ""prayer of fire"" of which St John Cassian spoke. There follow two other prayers that are familiar the Eastern tradition: first the prayer of the Holy Spirit (""O Heavenly King"") which, in the Byzantine rite, precedes any liturgical action, and on a more personal level, and work of reflection or witness. It celebrates the tremendous Breath of God which conveys to us the resurrected life. Finally, the ""Prayer of St Ephrem"" is characteristic of the services of Great Lent and sums up the interior struggle for trust, humility, and respect for others.

St Maximus the Confessor (c. 580-662) beautifully expounds the meaning of the Divine Liturgy in this work, which had a profound influence on the subsequent tradition, beginning with St Germanus of Constantinople (PPS 8). Maximus' vision of the liturgy contemplates the interpenetrating relationships of all things with each other and with Christ, in whom all things cohere. The church building and the human being and the cosmos are all mutually related and symbolically reflect each other. Further, in the liturgy we enter into the mystery of Christ. As St Maximus puts it, "Let us not be absent from the holy Church of God because she contains such great mysteries of our salvation according to... and she reveals the gift of adoption that is given through holy baptism in the Holy Spirit and that perfects each one into the image of Christ."

Preface - "Meanings in Gospel discourse are formulated in the Holy Spirit and therefore with enduring value and a view to eternityl. Every teaching, parable, story and description, as well as every phrase, every words, and every 'detail' contained in the Gospel of Christ is of greatest depth and significance. These are not exhausted by a mere superficial interpretation, the most our own poor spiritual measure can conceive. this is also true of the God-given prayer known to us as 'Our Father,' which the Lord Himself gave to His Church as an example of prayer for all of us. Our Holy Fathers lived the Gospel of Christ. They kept His holy commandments. Their life, their discourse, became extensions of the Gospel, and their experience in the Spirit of God enriches the holy Tradition of the Church. They reveal the great depth of the saving words of the Lord Jesus Christ and prove that His commandments 'are not heavy' but can be applied by Christians in any age, and thus they keep control over our lack of faith, neglect, and sloth..."

This work by Nicholas Cabasilas is a remarkable product of Byzantium's last great flowering of theology. At a time when secular humanism was increasingly asserting man's complete autonomy, Cabasilas proclaimed that man's true life lies not in himself, but in Christ. For him, man's redemption in Jesus Christ is not just a matter of history, which can be elucidated simply by scholarly endeavor; it is a saving event in which man is called to participate here and now, in body and spirit as well as intellect, through the sacramental life of the Church. The present translation makes this devotional classic available for the first time in English, while the extensive introduction by Boris Bobrinskoy assesses its place within the history of eastern spirituality.

Mother Maria Skobtsova died on Good Friday, 1945, in Ravensbrück concentration camp near Berlin. The “crime” of this Orthodox nun and Russian refugee was her effort to rescue Jews and others being pursued by the Nazis in her adopted city, Paris, where in 1932 she had founded a house of hospitality. "Mother Maria is a saint of our day and for our day; a woman of flesh and blood possessed by the love of God, who stood face to face with the problems of this century." Metropolitan Anthony Bloom "The way to God lies through love of people. At the Last Judgment I shall not be asked whether I was successful in my ascetic exercises, nor how many bows and prostrations I made. Instead I shall be asked: Did I feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and the prisoners? That is all I shall be asked." Nicolai Berdyaev "In commemoration of Mother Maria" Though written in 1937, this essay, arguably one of Mother Maria's most significant writings, was, discovered only in 1996 by Helene Klepinin-Arjakovsky in the archive of Sophia Pilenko (Mother Maria’s mother) in NY (?????). While based on very specific groups and tendencies within the Russian Orthodox Church, nonetheless Mother Maria’s analysis of five types of Christian faith and practice remain widely relevant today, even beyond the original Russian Orthodox context. In turn she posits and offers a critique of four religious types: synodal, ritualist, aesthetical, and ascetical, before presenting her own ideal, which she calls the evangelical type. Of all the types, the one most tied to Russian history and the most common style of relationship between Church and State in Russia is the “synodal” model, which refers to the long period in Russian history when the Orthodox Church was administered as a department of the tsarist state. But even here, one can recognize the tendency among many Christians to cling to a “traditional” and seemingly “unchangeable” vision of an institution’s identity and piety. Such a model might be recognized under the more familiar word “Christendom.” The discerning reader, regardless of background, will surely also recognize the other “types” depicted here: the ritualist, aesthetical, ascetical. In each case she offers a fairly biting critique of approaches to religious practice that substitute the love of tradition, order, doctrine, liturgy, or form for the underlying Spirit of God. Mother Maria’s last type, the “evangelical,” is not to be identified with the modern Protestant variety, whether that is identified as Bible-based, culturally and ethically conservative, or openly and emotionally expressive. Rather, what she means by the “Gospel” type is a more authentic Christianity of the sort already reflected in the preceding writings. In this type, liturgy and hierarchy, dogma and tradition all have their place, but here we seek first God and God's kingdom, and recognize Him foremost in the face of the brother or sister before us. Love of God is love of the neighbor. The liturgy we celebrate in church is the liturgy we must live on the street, in our homes, in loving service to the neighbor. Again, the relevance of this model is not confined to the Orthodox Church. Indeed, Mother Maria’s vision points to a truly ecumenical convergence available to Christians of all backgrounds and traditions, and it is this challenge, among others, that gives her voice such an enduring and urgent relevance.

The good things of this world intoxicate a person; vanity despoils the soul and the mind, and sobriety is lost. The most wise Ecclesiastes understood that the soul is not capable of finding peace and perfect wisdom in this world. And though the meaninglessness of the world oppresses a person, inattentive people fail to notice the terrible maelstrom into which we are all caught up. The only escape from it is Christ.

Over twenty years ago, Professor Kesich wrote The Gospel Image of Christ: The Church and Modern Criticism. This completely rewritten and enlarged book represents the fruit of Professor Kesich's lifetime interest in the study of "biblical criticism." He has added chapters regarding the dating and chronology and the history of the gospels, reevaluating the Gnostic gospels and the titles and images which the earliest Christians considered adequate to answer the question of who Jesus is. He has also addressed questions raised by some new approaches to gospel research. For all practical purposes, this is a new book with the old title, which best conveys its major purpose. The basic perspective of the previous work, as well as still valid material, has been retained from the first edition. This book contributes to the ongoing discussion regarding the nature and value of New Testament research. It is the author's contention that the proper function of biblical criticism is to build, not to destroy, to illumine, not to obscure, to give us a better understanding of the gospel, not to produce another gospel. He pays particular attention to the incarnational approach, which presupposes historical inquiry and justifies historical research. In his view, constructive scholarship can give us a possibility of answering the question of who Jesus is, an answer which will illuminate the living image of Christ in the Church.

Confronting and Controlling Thoughts, According to the Fathers of the Philokalia by Anthony Coniaris Published by: Light and Life Orthodox spirituality places great emphasis on thoughts (logismoi) since everything we do begins in the mind. The Fathers of the Philokalia have much to teach about confronting and controlling thoughts. Since the average person experiences 4000 thoughts each day, the experiences of these Fathers over a period of over 1000 years can help us resist the evil thoughts that seek to pollute "the springs of life," i.e. our minds and hearts.

A Star in the Heavens: The Life of Father John of Valamo Igumen Panteleirnon has composed a vivid account of Father John's life and way of thinking based on the staretz' vast correspondence, an account which also gives as an insight into the history of the Valamo brotherhood up to the late 1950's.

Professional theologians have long recognized Fr Dumitru Staniloae as the most influential and creative Romanian theologian of the 20th century. A pioneer in his country's religious renaissance, he has fought for almost half a century to free theology from a routine scholasticism, and spirituality from mere sentimentality. Yet in the West Staniloae has been known more by reputation than by his writings, which for the most part have appeared only in Romanian. This English translation makes his work available to a wider audience for the first time. In a fresh and masterly synthesis, rooted in the tradition of the Greek Fathers yet open to the legitimate concerns of contemporary Christian thought, Staniloae gives a dynamic presentation of the Orthodox doctrine of the Trinity as the basis of ecclesiology and anthropology. He assumes a balanced theological framework of the totality of creation, of the world and human culture, by referring it to its ultimate goal: restoration and transfiguration. Staniloae's approach provides new insights into the relationship between Orthodoxy and Western Christianity as well. In a strikingly positive way he presents the truths of the Orthodox faith as a liberating solution for all rather than as a judgment upon others.