Two Months Later

During the first week of Great Lent, the Great Canon of Repentance (Saint Andrew of Crete) was read in the parish:

The Great Canon of St Andrew is read each year as part of the ascetic labour of the Great Fast (Lent). Divided into four portions, these are read during the services of Great Compline on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings of the First Week ('Pure/Clean Week') of the Fast.

This seemed to be a very fitting way to begin the Lenten season.

Last Saturday, I was received into the catechumenate at the parish I attend. A rendering of the Service of the Catechumens can be found here.

Last Sunday was the Sunday of Orthodoxy. There was a pan-Orthodox Vespers at the Romanian parish this year. This was a great occasion to participate in a service involving Orthodox clergy and laity from all jurisdictions. A wonderful meal was provided afterwards.

God willing, I will be received into Orthodoxy on the 5th Saturday of Holy Lent (April 12th)[Updated].


Some new additions to my library:

• Russia, Ritual and Reform - Paul Meyendorff
• God, History and Dialectic - Joseph Farrell
• Aristotle East and West: Metaphysics and the Division of Christendom - David Bradshaw
  
• Commentary on the Divine Liturgy - Nicholas Casabilas
• Wisdom from Mount Athos - Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov
• Great Lent - Alexander Schmemann
• The Way to Nicea - John Behr
• The Nicene Faith - John Behr
  
• My Life in Christ - Saint John of Kronstadt
• Sayings of the Desert Fathers - Benedicta Ward
• The Hidden Man of the Heart - Archimandrite Zacharias
• Saint Silouan the Athonite - Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov
• Unseen Warfare - Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain
• Standing in God's Holy Fire - John McGuckin
• Lenten Triodion - Kallistos Ware
• On the Unity of Christ - St. Cyril of Alexandria
• St. Cyril of Alexandria: The Christological Controversy: Its History, Theology, and Texts - John McGuckin
  

Reading:

Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works - Hieromonk Damascene

From Eighth Day Books:

Father Seraphim was the secret hero of thousands in Russia and Eastern Europe during the Communist era. His commitment to the ancient Christian faith and his skill in communicating that faith made him a source of hope to all who read his works or observed his life. This Book chronicles Father Seraphim’s early life and explains his conversion to Orthodoxy in terms of his painful search for truth in the confused culture of California in the 1960’s. At the end of his earthly life, those who knew him best believed him to truly be a man of integrity -- that is, one whose whole being had been ’’integrated’’ by deep love for Christ. For those interested in Father Seraphim specifically, or twentieth-century Orthodoxy generally, this is a must-read -- a beautiful book that awakens courage and hope and joy in all who struggle to love Christ.

This was one of the more interesting biographies I've read. Insofar as one can know another from a book, I found a good deal in common between myself and Fr. Seraphim. In particular, I admire how he handled the trying circumstances of his times; weathering the various difficulties which beset American Orthodoxy.


Becoming Orthodox - Peter Gillquist

From the rear cover:

This is the story of a handful of courageous men and their congregations who risked stable occupations, security, and the approval of life-long friends to be obedient to God's call.

It is also the story of every believer who is searching for the Church. Where Christ is Lord. Where holiness, human responsibility, and the Sovereignty of God are preached. Where fellowship is more than a covered-dish supper in the church basement. And where fads and fashion take a back seat to apostolic worship and doctrine.

This book provides an interesting, anecdotal account of a group of Protestant pastors and congregations who converted to Orthodoxy about two decades ago.

The Disputation With Pyrrhus of our Father Among the Saints Maximus the Confessor - Joseph Farrell

From the introduction:

The Disputation with Pyrrhus, like all other works of St. Maximus the Confessor, is centered around the mystery of the Incarnation and enhominization of the only and eternally begotten Son and Word of the Father...

At the center of St. Maximus' tehological and christological universe is the doctrine of Recapitulation. It is this doctrine which forms the basis of all that the New Testament and the Fathers have to say in connection with the Incarnation. While the term "recapitulation" itself appears only twice in the New Testament, the concept itself occurs repeatedly; one has only to recognize its principles of operation order to know when it is being applied. These may be categorized as follows: 1) preeminence 2) repetition and recontextualization, 3) reversal, and 4) fulfillment.

This is a heavily footnoted translation of the disputation, from the Greek, by Joseph Farrell. This book lends a lot of valuable insight into the monothelite position held by Pyrrhus, and the dyothelite position held by St. Maximus. Monothelitism was officially condemned at the sixth ecumenical council, and this book provides some of the arguments involved in this important controversy which is often overlooked.


A Beginner's Guide to Prayer - Michael Keiser

From Light and Life:

Drawing from nearly 2000 years of Orthodox spiritual wisdom, this book offers the average person a deeper relationship with God through the habit of prayer.

This book provided a casual overview of prayer from a contemporary Orthodox perspective. For lighter-weight introductory writings on prayer, I would also recommend the following:

• Beginning to Pray - Anthony Bloom
• On the Prayer of Jesus - Ignatius Brianchaninov
  

The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Saint John Climacus

St. John Climacus, sixth-century Abbot of Sinai, compared the spiritual life to a ladder of thirty steps, and explained in detail the challenges presented by each of these steps. This spiritual classic has brought inspiration and edification to every generation since that time, and has been treasured by both monastics and laymen. This edition includes a full-color frontispiece of an icon of the Spiritual Ladder, from Mount Sinai.

From Eighth Day Books:

Read chapter 18 of this manual, ’’On Insensitivity,’’ and experience honest terror; or chapter 28, ’’On Prayer,’’ and be reminded how limited and solitary our conception of prayer is, when we come across the following: ’’Prayer is by nature a dialog and a union of man with God. Its effect is to hold the world together (emphasis ours)... prayer is the mother and daughter of tears...’’ The work of the seventh-century abbot of St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mt. Sinai, The Ladder is probably the single most important text in the spiritual literature of Eastern Christendom. Read in monastic refectories and churches every year during Lent, The Ladder is a text of utmost seriousness and earnestness. Psychological subterfuge and self-delusion are surgically stripped away, leaving the reader two choices: run away or repent.

This is a fascinating book which resides within the Philokalia class of writings. A longer description of the work can be found here.


I'm presently in the midst of a few other books and articles which I will hopefully post about in the next while.

Fr Seraphim Rose

Death to the World has posted a great wallpaper of Fr Seraphim Rose. To learn more about, and view more pictures of this notable, American monastic, click here.


As of today (Feb 18, 2008) it appears that the wallpaper has disappeared. In lieu of that, enjoy this photo:

New Books

Some new additions to my library:

• Georges Florovsky - Ways of Russian Theology, Part One (Collected Works of Georges Florovsky, 5)
• Archimandrite Zacharias - The Enlargement of the Heart
• Archimandrite Zacharias - Christ, Our Way and Our Life
• Archimandrite Sophrony - Monk Of Mount Athos
• Archimandrite Sophrony - His Life Is Mine
• Hieromonk Damascen - Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works
  

Recent Reading

Here are some of the works I've recently completed reading:

God's Human Face, by Christoph Schonborn

Artists and theologians have meditated upon the mystery of God's human countenance and tried to express it. This book seeks to present the great sources of this meditation--sources which today are widely unknown, or have become foreign or obscure. These sources are above all the great masters of early Christianity. In their meditation upon Christ, Bishop Schonborn seeks the sources of the art on the Icon. The reader will find not only an engaging introduction to the meaning and beauty of Icons, but an invitation to draw closer to the One who inspired these Masters of theological expression and holy art.

This is an interesting book which provides insight into the iconoclast controversy culminating in the seventh ecumenical council. Although the Roman Catholic author deviates somewhat from an Orthodox view of icons, the historical analysis warrants the read.


Hesychian Sobriety, a commentary on the St. Hesychios text by Fr. Theophanes

The Psychological Basis of Mental Prayer in the Heart is a three-volume work dedicated to the the study of the foundations of the Jesus Prayer. It has been written by an Orthodox monk, Fr Theophanes (Constantine). The complete text has been published on-line on the Internet, and the links given below are to the actual transcribed texts of the volumes.

The third volume, Hesychian Sobriety, comprises a new translation of a text of St Hesychios, On Sobriety, taken from the first volume of the Philokalia, and a very detailed commentary on that text. This commentary draws extensively on the texts of Evagrius that were discussed in Volume II.

This volume ends with an epilogue which summarizes the three-volume work as a whole.

This is the fascinating third volume of the trilogy: The Psychological Basis of Mental Prayer in the Heart. This is the most interesting book I've read on Orthodox asceticism and prayer. The epilogue of this book provides the best summary of the discussion contained therein.


Partakers of the Divine Nature, by Normal Russell

The deification of man is the characteristic Byzantine way of expressing the goal of human life. Far from implying a heretical notion of man's absorption into God, as Western writers sometimes assume, the term encapsulates a number of widely differing approaches to the doctrine of salvation. Among the Greek Fathers deification is expressed variously as filial adoption through baptism, as the attaining of likeness to God through gnosis and dispassion, as the ascent of the soul to God, as the participation of the soul in the divine attributes of immortality and incorruption, as the transformation of human nature by divine action, as the eschatological glorification of both soul and body, and as union with God through participation in the divine energies(1). In Byzantine writers the emphasis falls on the Pauline aspect of filial adoption and incorporation into Christ, the sacraments becoming all-important as the means by which divine life is communicated to the believer. With Palamas the chief focus of deification settles on participation in uncreated grace, which enables the human person to transcend himself and live with the life of Christ, so that he becomes 'uncreated through grace'(2).

A good article on the history of 2 Peter 1:4 in the Byzantine tradition. Some worthwhile blog posts on the essence / energies distinction can be found here.

Vacation Reading

Having returned from vacation, here's what I'm reading:

The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
I'm midway through and may have some comments once I'm finished.

Here's what I read:

Two Paths: Papal Monarchy -- Collegial Traditions, by Michael Whelton

From Light and Life:

A brilliantly written book that explains compassionately, simply and factually the historic, theological and liturgical differences between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions. Includes Peter and the Papacy, Collegial Tradition, Filioque and Schism, Donation of Constantine; Infallibility; the New Mass of Vatican II versus the Orthodox Liturgy and much more.

This was an interesting introduction to the historical ecclesiologies of East and West and the role these divergences played in the Great Schism.


Dancing Alone, by Frank Schaeffer

From Light and Life:

Chronicles the spiritual journey of Frank Schaeffer to Orthodox Christianity, a pilgrimage which began in 1976. Converting to Orthodoxy is, undoubtedly, an act of inner spiritual strength and courage for any proselyte. It was an especially courageous decision for Frank Schaeffer, who is the son of the world renowned and respected Protestant author and preacher, Francis Schaeffer. This book can be used as a missionary tool to reach out to brethren who thirst for the eternal truths of the Orthodox faith.

Frank Schaeffer provides in this book an interesting perspective on the historical/philosophical development of Protestantism and the contemporary consequences.


For the Life of the World, by Alexander Schmemann

From St. Vladimir's Press:

In For the Life of the World Alexander Schmemann suggests an approach to the world and life within it, which stems from the liturgical experience of the Orthodox Church. He understands issues such as secularism and Christian culture from the perspective of the unbroken experience of the Church, as revealed and communicated in her worship, in her liturgy - the sacrament of the world, the sacrament of the Kingdom.

This was a particularly interesting book. The penetrating insight into the secularism permeating Christendom resonated with my own experiences and observations, reminding me of David Bentley Hart's article mentioned here. An interesting treatment of the Western symbol vs. reality dialectic is found in this book.


Thirsting for God in a Land of Shallow Wells, by Matthew Gallatin

From Light and Life:

Philosophy professor Gallatin, who found the fullness of faith in Orthodoxy, expresses many of the struggles that a Protestant will encounter in coming face-to-face with Orthodoxy: such things as Protestant relativism, rationalism versus the Orthodox sacramental path to God, and the unity of Scripture and Tradition. He also discusses praying with icons, praying formal prayers, and many other Orthodox traditions. An outstanding book that will help Orthodox readers more deeply appreciate their faith and will give readers a more thorough understanding of the Church.

This is a great introductory book; especially for Protestants who are accustomed to the winsome style of contemporary Christian literature.