Book on Eastern Orthodox theology

[wynd]

I’ve seen a lot of recommendations for The Orthodox Church. I would also highly recommend The Orthodox Way, also by Met. Kallistos. While it gives a good account of the history of the church, I find the former book a bit dry when it comes to theological matters.

 

[Cavaradossi]

WOW! Thanks… This looks perfect

In using the Rainbow Series… Do I still need to study “The Fount of Knowledge” ?

If you’re interested in gaining a strong foothold in the philosophical background behind Eastern theology, I would recommend that you read it. If on the other hand you’re just looking for a basic overview without having to learn the philosophical background and terminology behind Eastern theology, then there’s probably not as much need to read The Fount of Knowledge

 

[Bergon]

The following is an excellent introduction to Eastern Orthodoxy: Ware, T. (1993) The Orthodox Church London: Penguin (ISBN 9780140146561). The author, Timothy Ware, is Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia, an Eastern Orthodox bishop in the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain.

 

[Randy_Carson]

A very accessible primary source is The Way of A Pilgrim by an anonymous 19th-century Russian layman. In a sense it’s the counterpart to the work of St. Therese of Lisieux at roughly the same time in the Western Church–a simple yet profound piety that touches the heart.

I read this about 35 years ago when I first entered the Catholic Church and was considering monasticism. All I remember of it was that the person telling the story wandered from place to place reciting the “Jesus Prayer” - “Jesus have mercy on me, a sinner.” without ceasing.

There has to be more to it than that. What is your impression of the book now that you are viewing the world differently?

 

[Randy_Carson]

After having discussions on this forum with Eastern Orthodox Christians, I thought it would be worth while to read a book on Eastern Orthodox theology from (obviously) an Eastern Orthodox perspective. I have chosen “Eastern Orthodox Theology: A Contemporary Reader” by Daniel B. Clendenin. Is this a good book to learn about Eastern Orthodox theology?

I really think you might be better off with Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton.

amazon.com/Orthodoxy-G-K-Chesterton/dp/0979127661

:yup:

 

[Contarini]

I really think you might be better off with Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton.

amazon.com/Orthodoxy-G-K-Chesterton/dp/0979127661

:yup:

That is a joke, right? Although Chesterton claimed that the book was confiscated by a Russian border guard. According to Chesterton, the guard assumed that it was a book about Eastern Orthodoxy, and furthermore that it was a hostile one.

Edwin

 

[Randy_Carson]

That is a joke, right? Although Chesterton claimed that the book was confiscated by a Russian border guard. According to Chesterton, the guard assumed that it was a book about Eastern Orthodoxy, and furthermore that it was a hostile one.

Edwin

 

[jcld]

If you’re interested in gaining a strong foothold in the philosophical background behind Eastern theology, I would recommend that you read it.The Fount of Knowledge

Hello Cavaradossi. MANY THANKS ! I will study The Fount of Knowledge first… then proceed towards the rainbow series.

By the way… I tried looking at the Rainbow series (through the website). No offense meant, I haven’t seen all topics inside yet, but as I randomly chose some topics… I found that the detail is almost just a few paragraphs…

Is the website version of Rainbow series just a tiny summarization of the actual books ? If these are actual pages of the Rainbow series, then I might just be purchasing 4 tiny booklets instead of thick books. No offense meant… just want to make sure I am not purchasing 4 tiny booklets… that’s all

Thanks again.

 

[jcld]

If you’re interested in gaining a strong foothold in the philosophical background behind Eastern theology, I would recommend that you read it.

By the way, as I was digging for Orthodox Theological books, I found a WONDERFUL website… ecpubs.com… They are selling Theological books as well… I think… Would you ilke to have a look and maybe tell if it the books are ok ?

I wish I could already be one of those Western Catholics who is also fully knowledgable in the Theology and Practice of the Eastern Churches as well

 

[Cavaradossi]

Hello Cavaradossi. MANY THANKS ! I will study The Fount of Knowledge first… then proceed towards the rainbow series.

By the way… I tried looking at the Rainbow series (through the website). No offense meant, I haven’t seen all topics inside yet, but as I randomly chose some topics… I found that the detail is almost just a few paragraphs…

Is the website version of Rainbow series just a tiny summarization of the actual books ? If these are actual pages of the Rainbow series, then I might just be purchasing 4 tiny booklets instead of thick books. No offense meant… just want to make sure I am not purchasing 4 tiny booklets… that’s all

Thanks again.

I’m pretty sure that what’s online at the OCA website is actually the complete series (so there’s no real need to buy it). I recommended that you read it because its treatment of the liturgy and the liturgical cycle is much more complete and helpful (for one who is not already already familiar with the divine liturgy) than most books out there (for example, it covers the major parts of the liturgy in order, something which Metropolitan Kallistos does not do in The Orthodox Church as far as I remember). The segments are deceptively short because the website has basically subdivided the chapters further, but each book in the series should be about 150-200 pages long.

Once you’re acquainted with the basic structure of the divine liturgy, if you are looking for a more in depth commentary (rather than just a summary of the liturgy), I might recommend Nicholas Cabasilas’ A Commentary on the Divine Liturgy. It has the downside of being a bit old (it was written in the 14th century), so he describes some parts of the liturgy a bit out of order (or perhaps more correctly, modern practice is a bit out of order), but the commentary is quite excellent.

 

[Cavaradossi]

By the way, as I was digging for Orthodox Theological books, I found a WONDERFUL website… ecpubs.com… They are selling Theological books as well… I think… Would you ilke to have a look and maybe tell if it the books are ok ?

I wish I could already be one of those Western Catholics who is also fully knowledgable in the Theology and Practice of the Eastern Churches as well

I’ve not read many books by Eastern Christians in Union with Rome except for one book by Fr. Taft (not out of any particular sort of prejudice, but just because they’re even less well known and less available than books by Orthodox authors), so I can’t really vouch for these books personally. However, I have heard many excellent things about books written by Archbishop Joseph Raya.