Eastern Catholic / Orthodox equivalent of . .

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whosebob

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Maybe one of our Eastern Catholic or Orthodox brothers or sisters will have some insight on this . . .

What would be the rough “equivalents” in Eastern Christian spiritual literature of:

Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis
and
The Liturgical Year by Dom Gueranger?

My guess after searching the Internet would be that either the “Ladder of Divine Ascent” or the “Philokalia” could be compared in scope and impact to “Imitation.”

But as for Gueranger’s work, I have no idea. Granted, he drew on the liturgies of the East and West in his work. But his primary emphasis was the liturgy and calendar of the Latin Church.

Thanks for your insights.

In the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
 
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whosebob:
Maybe one of our Eastern Catholic or Orthodox brothers or sisters will have some insight on this . . .

What would be the rough “equivalents” in Eastern Christian spiritual literature of:

Imitation of Christ by Thomas a KempisandThe Liturgical Year by Dom Gueranger?
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Ok, here is what I think. I agree with you on the “Ladder of Divine Ascent” or the “Philokalia” being compared in scope and impact to the “Imitation of Christ” but understand that the “Ladder of Divine Ascent” is very monastic.

As for “The Liturgical Year” I have not read it so I am guessing here but by you description of it I think this might fit.

“The Year of Grace of the Lord” by a Monk of the Eastern Church. This work is sub-titled “A Scriptural and Liturgical Commentary on the Calendar of the Orthodox Church”

As a side note, our Church year differs from the Western Church year. It starts September 1st.
 
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ByzCath:
As a side note, our Church year differs from the Western Church year. It starts September 1st.
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Really, why so? Is there some significant holiday that falls thereabouts, or is it simply a matter of this-is-how-we-have-always-done-it?
 
The Eastern equivalant to Thomas a Kempis’ work is a work called The Imitation of Christ by a certain Thomas a Kempis (i am serious). The work was translated into Greek on the Holy Mountain shortly after it was first published, and enjoyed (enjoys? i do not know) a great deal of popularity (the author’s name was withheld, to prevent its rejection on polemical grounds). The corresponding Greek writing is St Nicholas Cabasilas’ The Life of Christ.

*The Ladder of Divine Ascent *has as its western equivalent The Ascent of Mt. Carmel, as well as other writings of St John of the Cross and Theresa d’Avila. The Philokalia has no western equivalent that i am aware of, though the closest in style is the *Catena Aurea *of St Thomas Aquinas, in that they are collections of Chruch Fathers’ writings on a given subject, though they cover different subjects (the former is on prayer without ceasing, the latter is on the yearly Gospel cycle).

Our Church year is based on the Hebrew/Jewish Temple calendar, modified for a solar calendar. The year begins in September, because, according to Jewish mythology, the world was created September 1-7. This is why the Mother of God’s birthday is celebrated on September 8-she is the perfection of creation. Anyway, our years are different, and are measured from the beginning of the world as well. The year that we are currently finishing is 7512. When the year is viewed wrt the Great Feasts, we begin with the Theotokos’ birth, and end with her Dormition and Assumption, and wrt the first and last days, these are both feasts of the Mother of God-the first commemorates her synaxis at Messina-an apparition of sorts if i understand correctly, and the last day of August commemorates the deposition of her cinture in Constantinople in 6416 (908 AD).

I hoope this helps.

In Christ,
Adam
 
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akemner:
Our Church year is based on the Hebrew/Jewish Temple calendar, modified for a solar calendar. The year begins in September, because, according to Jewish mythology, the world was created September 1-7. This is why the Mother of God’s birthday is celebrated on September 8-she is the perfection of creation. Anyway, our years are different, and are measured from the beginning of the world as well. The year that we are currently finishing is 7512. When the year is viewed wrt the Great Feasts, we begin with the Theotokos’ birth, and end with her Dormition and Assumption, and wrt the first and last days, these are both feasts of the Mother of God-the first commemorates her synaxis at Messina-an apparition of sorts if i understand correctly, and the last day of August commemorates the deposition of her cinture in Constantinople in 6416 (908 AD).
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Fascinating! Thank you for the informative and stimulating response. 🙂
 
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akemner:
The Eastern equivalant to Thomas a Kempis’ work is a work called The Imitation of Christ by a certain Thomas a Kempis (i am serious). The work was translated into Greek on the Holy Mountain shortly after it was first published, and enjoyed (enjoys? i do not know) a great deal of popularity (the author’s name was withheld, to prevent its rejection on polemical grounds). The corresponding Greek writing is St Nicholas Cabasilas’ The Life of Christ.
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Adam, great reply, especially on the start of the Liturgical Year but I must comment on this.

whosebob was asking what the Eastern equivlant (for lack of a better word) to the Western work of The Imitation of Christ. The answer to this is not the same work but translated into Greek.
 
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