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Orthodox Church - Simple Guides

THIS BOOK WILL HELP YOU* to appreciate the depth and beauty of the dominant form of Christianity in Greece, Russia and much of Eastern Europe* to understand the tenets, nature and holy days of Orthodox belief* to recognize the physical features of an Orthodox church, and the spiritual significance of icons* to know what to expect and how to conduct yourself during Orthodox services and ceremoniesOrthodoxy is the dominant form of Christianity in Greece, Russia, parts of Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Its practices are largely unfamiliar in the West, and have remained essentially unchanged since the earliest days of the faith. This lucid introduction outlines the tenets, nature and holy days of Orthodox belief with the Western reader in mind. It describes the physical church, especially icons, services, and common practices, and offers advice to visitors on how to conduct themselves so that they are accepted and feel comfortable.Several chapters concern the life of Jesus and the beginnings of Christianity; others trace the origins and history of the Church, with particular attention to its great champion, Constantine the Great. The present structure of the Church is described in brief, and the split between the Eastern and the Western Churches is related with differences clearly explained.The great antiquity and beauty of its liturgy, its essentially minimal hierarchy and its mystical yet pragmatic approach make the Orthodox religion a powerful medium for its profound and universal message. This deceptively simple volume takes the reader on a journey to the heart of the Christian tradition.ACCESS THE WORLD'S RELIGIONSSimple Guides: Religion is a series of concise, accessible introductions to the world's major religions. Written by experts in the field, they offer an engaging and sympathetic description of the key concepts, beliefs and practices of different faiths.Ideal for spiritual seekers and travellers alike, Simple Guides aims to open the doors of perception. Together the books provide a reliable compass to the world's great spiritual traditions, and a point of reference for further exploration and discovery. By offering essential insights into the core values, customs and beliefs of differentsocieties, they also enable visitors to be aware of the cultural sensibilities of their hosts, and to behave in a way that fosters mutual respect and understanding.

Orthodox Churches and Politics in Southeastern Europe: Nationalism, Conservativism, and Intolerance (Palgrave Studies in Religion, Politics, and Policy)

Orthodox Churches, like most religious bodies, are inherently political: they seek to defend their core values and must engage in politics to do so, whether by promoting certain legislation or seeking to block other legislation. This volume examines the politics of Orthodox Churches in Southeastern Europe, emphasizing three key modes of resistance to the influence of (Western) liberal values: Nationalism (presenting themselves as protectors of the national being), Conservatism (defending traditional values such as the “traditional family”), and Intolerance (of both non-Orthodox faiths and sexual minorities). The chapters in this volume present case studies of all the Orthodox Churches of the region.

Orthodox Constructions of the West (Orthodox Christianity and Contemporary Thought)

The category of the “West” has played a particularly significant role in the modern Eastern Orthodox imagination. It has functioned as an absolute marker of difference from what is considered to be the essence of Orthodoxy and, thus, ironically has become a constitutive aspect of the modern Orthodox self. The essays collected in this volume examine the many factors that contributed to the “Eastern” construction of the “West” in order to understand why the “West” is so important to the Eastern Christian’s sense of self.

The Orthodox Icon and Postmodern Art: Critical Reflections on the Christian Image and its Theology (Routledge Research in Art and Religion)

This study examines the theories of postmodern visuality and representation and identifies concepts that resonate with Orthodox theology and iconography.C.A. Tsakiridou frees the Orthodox icon from iconological precepts that limit its aesthetic and expressive range. The book’s key argument is that poststructuralist thought is not alien to Orthodox theology and iconography. Dissonance, liminality, and ambiguity are essential for conveying the paradoxes of Christian faith and recognizing the hagiopneumatic vitality and openness of the Orthodox tradition. Perichoresis or coinherence, a concept in patristic theology that defines the relationship between the three persons of the Holy Trinity and the two natures of Christ, acquires a feminine dimension in the person of the Theotokos. Like the ascetical concept of nepsis, it has aesthetic implications. Intermedial qualities present in iconography, photography, and cinema help explain how icons become hosts to transcendent realities and how their experience in Orthodox liturgy and devotion has anticipated and resolved the postmodern disorientation of visuality and representation.The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, postmodernism, philosophy, theology, religion, and gender studies.

Orthodox Identities in Western Europe: Migration, Settlement and Innovation

The Orthodox migration in the West matters, despite its unobtrusive presence. And it matters in a way that has not yet been explored in social and religious studies: in terms of size, geographical scope, theological input and social impact. This book explores the adjustment of Orthodox migrants and their churches to Western social and religious contexts in different scenarios. This variety is consistent with Orthodox internal diversity regarding ethnicity, migration circumstances, Church-State relations and in line with the specificities of the receiving country in terms of religious landscape, degree of secularisation, legal treatment of immigrant religious institutions or socio-economic configurations. Exploring how Orthodox identities develop when displaced from traditional ground where they are socially and culturally embedded, this book offers fresh insights into Orthodox identities in secular, religiously pluralistic social contexts.

Orthodox Jews in America

Although there are many good books on the history of Jews in America and a smaller subset that focuses on aspects of Orthodox Judaism in contemporary times, no one, until now, has written an overview of how Orthodoxy in America has evolved over the centuries from the first arrivals in the 17th century to the present. This broad overview by Gurock (Libby M. Klaperman Professor of Jewish History, Yeshiva Univ. ; Judaism's Encounter with American Sports) is distinctive in examining how Orthodox Jews have coped with the personal, familial, and communal challenges of religious freedom, economic opportunity, and social integration, as well as uncovering historical reactionary tensions to alternative Jewish movements in multicultural and pluralistic America. Gurock raises penetrating questions about the compatibility of modern culture with pious practices and sensitively explores the relationship of feminism to traditional Orthodox Judaism. There are several excellent reference sources on Orthodox Jews in America, e. g. , Rabbi Moshe D. Sherman's outstanding Orthodox Judaism in America: A Biographical Dictionary and Source book, to which this is an accessible and illuminating companion; recommended not only for serious readers on the topic but for general readers as well.

The Orthodox Parish In America: Faithfulness To The Past And Responsibility For The Future

The Orthodox Parish in America: Faithfulness to the Past and Responsibility for the Future

The Orthodox Parish In America: Faithfulness To The Past And Responsibility For The Future

Orthodox parish life in North America, particularly in the United States, challenges many traditional assumptions as to how the church functions. The parish as a public corporate entity, the expanding roles of lay and ordained leadership, the coexistence of multiple jurisdictions-all of these are new realities for Orthodox Christianity. This volume addresses these and other related issues. Historians such as John Erickson, Thomas FitzGerald and Patrick Viscuso analyze the factors that have shaped these realities in America, from earlier eras to the present day. Theologians such as Thomas Hopko, Jaroslav Pelikan and Stanley Harakas reflect on the theological significance and implications for the Orthodox Christian understanding of the church's very nature. Liturgical scholars Alkiviadis Calivas, John Klentos and Paul Meyendorff discuss the challenges of liturgical life in today's Orthodox parish. Thomas Lelon and George Papademetriou examine parish management and leadership issues. Other essays address topics such as distance learning and the Internet, interChristian marriage, preaching, evangelization and mission. This book provides an excellent, realistic overview of contemporary Orthodox parish life in the United States, and a thought-provoking look at diverse scenarios for the future.

Orthodox Readings of Aquinas (Changing Paradigms In Historical And Systematic Theology Ser.)

This book is the first exploration of the remarkable odyssey of Thomas Aquinas in the Orthodox Christian world, from the Byzantine to the modern era. Aquinas was received with astonishing enthusiasm across the Byzantine theological spectrum. By contrast, modern Orthodox readings of Aquinas have been resoundingly negative, routinely presenting Aquinas as the archetype of as a specifically Western form of theology against which the Orthodox East must set its face. Basing itself primarily on a close study of the Byzantine reception of Thomas, this study rejects such hackneyed dichotomies, arguing instead for a properly catholic or universal construal of Orthodoxy - one in which Thomas might once again find a place. In its probing of the East-West dichotomy, this book questions the widespread juxtaposition of Gregory Palamas and Thomas Aquinas as archetypes of opposing Greek and Latin theological traditions. The long period between the Fall of Constantinople and the Russian Revolution, conventionally written off as an era of sterility and malformation for Orthodox theology, is also viewed with a fresh perspective. Study of the reception of Thomas in this period reveals a theological sophistication and a generosity of vision that is rarely accounted for. In short, this is a book which radically re-thinks the history of Orthodox theology through the prism of the fascinating and largely untold story of Orthodox engagement with Aquinas.

Orthodox Russia in Crisis: Church and Nation in the Time of Troubles (NIU Series in Orthodox Christian Studies)

A pivotal period in Russian history, the Time of Troubles in the early seventeenth century has taken on new resonance in the countryÆs post-Soviet search for new national narratives. The historical role of the Orthodox Church has emerged as a key theme in contemporary remembrances of this time—but what precisely was that role? The first comprehensive study of the Church during the Troubles, Orthodox Russia in Crisis reconstructs this tumultuous time, offering new interpretations of familiar episodes while delving deep into the archives to uncover a much fuller picture of the era. Analyzing these sources, Isaiah Gruber argues that the business activity of monasteries played a significant role in the origins and course of the Troubles and that frequent changes in power forced Church ideologues to innovate politically, for example inventing new justifications for power to be granted to the people and to royal women. These new ideas, Gruber contends, ultimately helped bring about a new age in Russian spiritual life and a crystallization of the national mentality.

Orthodox Sisters: Religion, Community, and the Challenge of Modernity in Imperial and Early Soviet Russia (NIU Series in Orthodox Christian Studies)

Orthodox Sisters explores the relationship between women, religion, and social, cultural, and economic change between 1700 and 1935 through the experiences of Orthodox convents in Nizhnii Novgorod diocese. Focusing primarily on the Convent of the Exaltation of the Cross, William G. Wagner places the women's experiences in the broader context of developments in female monasticism and religious life in Russia, as well as in Europe and North America over the same period. This is the first comprehensive study that follows a Russian convent through all the stages of its life—from its origins in the eighteenth century to its flourishing at the turn of the twentieth century, to its resistance to Soviet assault, and, finally, to its rebirth in the 1920s. By the late nineteenth century, the Convent of the Exaltation of the Cross and the other convents and women's religious communities in Nizhnii Novgorod diocese constituted a reimagined form of a traditional Orthodox monastic community. Wagner shows how these nuns and novices adapted to the conditions of emergent modernity in a distinctively Orthodox way. When almost everything but their communal life, work, and worship and their sacred spaces had been stripped away and they were subject to the socialist state's efforts at subversion, the sisters of the Convent of the Exaltation of the Cross and the other convents in the diocese created an authentic Christian community that gave their lives a collective meaning. In this way they were able to lead a rewarding life and survive the early years of Soviet Russia.

Orthodox Spirituality and Protestant and Anglican Spirituality

Mount Angel Abbey Library is housed in a world-renowned building designed by Finnish architect, Alvar Aalto. The architecture of the Abbey Library reflects and shapes its spirit and purpose. The building's natural light illumines the multi-color bindings, offered on open stacks against a disciplined black and white background, softened by undulating curves and light colored wood. The structure, including three stories and a mezzanine, was completed in 1970. The library is a part of Mount Angel Abbey a community of Benedictine Monks.

The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today's World

The FIRST EVER Orthodox Study Bible presents the Bible of the early church and the church of the early Bible.Orthodox Christianity is the face of ancient Christianity to the modern world and embraces the second largest body of Christians in the world. In this first-of-its-kind study Bible, the Bible is presented with commentary from the ancient Christian perspective that speaks to those Christians who seek a deeper experience of the roots of their faith.Features Include:Old Testament newly translated from the Greek text of the Septuagint, including the DeuterocanonNew Testament from the New King James VersionCommentary drawn from the early Church ChristiansEasy-to-Locate liturgical readingsBook Introductions and OutlinesSubject IndexFull-color IconsFull-color Maps

Orthodox Tradition and Human Sexuality (Orthodox Christianity and Contemporary Thought)

Sex is a difficult issue for contemporary Christians, but the past decade has witnessed a newfound openness regarding the topic among Eastern Orthodox Christians. Both the theological trajectory and the historical circumstances of the Orthodox Church differ radically from those of other Christian denominations that have already developed robust and creative reflections on sexuality and sexual diversity. Within its unique history, theology, and tradition, Orthodox Christianity holds rich resources for engaging challenging questions of sexuality in new and responsive ways. What is at stake in questions of sexuality in the Orthodox tradition? What sources and theological convictions can uniquely shape Orthodox understandings of sexuality? This volume aims to create an agora for discussing sex, and not least the sexualities that are often thought of as untraditional in Orthodox contexts.Through fifteen distinct chapters, written by leading scholars and theologians, this book offers a developed treatment of sexuality in the Orthodox Christian world by approaching the subject from scriptural, patristic, theological, historical, and sociological perspectives. Chapters devoted to practical and pastoral insights, as well as reflections on specific cultural contexts, engage the human realities of sexual diversity and Christian life. From re-thinking scripture to developing theologies of sex, from eschatological views of eros to re-evaluations of the Orthodox responses to science, this book offers new thinking on pressing, present-day issues and initiates conversations about homosexuality and sexual diversity within Orthodox Christianity.

The Orthodox Way

A classic accounts of the belief, worship and life of the Orthodox Church. Discusses God as hidden yet revealed, the problem of evil, the nature of salvation, the meaning of faith, prayer, death and what lies beyond.

Orthodoxy

Orthodoxy, as author G. K. Chesterton employs the term here, means "right opinion." In this, the masterpiece of his brilliant literary career, Chesterton applies the concept of correct reasoning to his acceptance of Christian faith. As he expresses it in his preface, "It is the purpose of the writer to attempt an explanation, not of whether the Christian Faith can be believed, but of how he personally has come to believe it. The book is therefore arranged upon the positive principle of a riddle and its answer. It deals first with all the writer's own solitary and sincere speculations and then with all the startling style in which they are all suddenly satisfied by the Christian Theology. The writer regards it as amounting to a convincing creed. But if it is not that, it is at least a repeated and surprising coincidence."Written in a down-to-earth and familiar style, Orthodoxy nevertheless presents formal and scholarly arguments in the explanation and defense of the tenets underlying Christianity. Paradox and contradiction, Chesterton maintains, do not constitute barriers to belief; imagination and intuition are as relevant to the processes of thought and understanding as logic and rationality. "Whenever we feel there is something odd in Christian theology," he observes, "we shall generally find that there is something odd in the truth." Chesterton defines his insights with thought-provoking analogies, personal anecdotes, and engaging humor, making his century-old book a work of enduring charm and persuasion.

Orthodoxy

Orthodoxy (1908) is a book by G. K. Chesterton that has become a classic of Christian apologetics. Chesterton considered this book a companion to his other work, Heretics. Chesterton presents an original view of Christian religion. He sees it as the answer to natural human needs, the "answer to a riddle" in his own words, and not simply as an arbitrary truth received from somewhere outside the boundaries of human experience.

Orthodoxy: Large Print (Dover Thrift Editions)

Orthodoxy, as G. K. Chesterton employs the term here, means "right opinion." In this, the masterpiece of his brilliant literary career, he applies the concept of correct reasoning to his acceptance of Christianity. Written in a down-to-earth and familiar style, he presents formal and scholarly arguments in the explanation and defense of the tenets underlying his faith. Paradox and contradiction, Chesterton maintains, do not constitute barriers to belief; imagination and intuition are as relevant to the processes of thought and understanding as logic and rationality. "Whenever we feel there is something odd in Christian theology," he observes, "we shall generally find that there is something odd in the truth." He defines his insights with thought-provoking analogies, personal anecdotes, and engaging humor, making this century-old book a work of enduring charm and persuasion.

Orthodoxy: Large Print (Image Classics #12)

A Timeless Argument for Traditional ChristianityIf you think orthodoxy is boring and predictable, think again. In this timeless classic, G. K. Chesterton, one of the literary giants of the twentieth century, presents a logical and personal reasoning for Christianity in model apologetic form. Gilbert Keith Chesterton was a self-described pagan at age 12 and totally agnostic by age 16. Yet, his spiritual journey ultimately led to a personal philosophy of orthodox, biblical Christianity. The account of his experiences, Orthodoxy bridges the centuries and appeals to today's readers who face the same challenges of materialism, self-centeredness, and progress. "Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all. And faith mean believing the incredible, or it is no virtue at all." --G.K. ChestertonA unique book, Orthodoxy addresses our faith struggles and how we communicate our faith to others. Through philosophy, poetry, reason and humor Chesterton leads us on a literary journey toward truth. This edition includes a foreword by Philip Yancey who, like C. S. Lewis and other leading Christian writers, found this book to be pivotal his Christian experience. Yancey credits Chesterton with helping to revive and define his faith.

Orthodoxy: The Beloved Christian Masterpiece (The Essential Wisdom Library)

A classic of Christian apologeticsPart spiritual autobiography, part apologetics, Orthodoxy is G.K. Chesterton's account of his own journey to faith. Chesterton didn’t set out to write a defense of Christian thought, instead he hoped to recount how he personally became a believer. However, in doing so, he penned one of the great classics of Christian writing, a book that has influenced countless people and continues to speak compellingly to our modern day. Chesterton writes about his journey of faith with wit, charm, and a razor-sharp intellect, undermining casual assumptions and lazy speculations in a relentless search for truth and meaning. Orthodoxy is the next title in the Essential Wisdom Library, a series of books that seeks to bring spiritual wisdom—both modern and ancient—to today’s readers. Featuring a foreword by Jon Sweeney, this new edition of the classic text is a must read for seekers and believers alike.

Orthodoxy: Large Print (Moody Classics)

Now with a foreword by Matthew Lee AndersonAntiquated. Unimaginative. Repressive. We've all heard these common reactions to orthodox Christian beliefs. Even Christians themselves are guilty of the tendency to discard historic Christianity. Yet as we read through the literature in Christianity&’s past, we learn that we are in better company with our beliefs than we might think. Through his enchanting book, Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton reminds us of the paradoxes of our faith and the joy that comes when we explore them.From the foreword by Matthew Lee Anderson, author of The End of Our Exploring:&“How can we contrive to be at once astonished at the world and yet at home in it?&” And with that question, G.K. Chesterton recounts the heart of an intellectual journey that took him from the edges of a nihilistic pessimism into the center of the paradoxical joy of Christian orthodoxy. His book is not a defense of the Christian faith, at least not primarily, so much as an attempt to explain how the startling paradoxes and sharp edges of the creed explain everything else. It is a dated work, dealing in the categories and concerns of Chesterton&’s contemporaries, and yet it comes nearer timelessness than anything we have today. Though Orthodoxy was written near the start of the 20th century, I have dubbed it the most important book for the 21st. There are few claims I have made in my life that I am more sure of than that one.

Orthodoxy: Large Print (Mobi Classics Ser.)

G. K. Chesterton meditates on the value of the Christian faith to society in this celebrated essay Inspired by a friend to examine his personal philosophy on religion, G. K. Chesterton walks readers through his conversion to Christianity, which was based on a rational consideration of fact. Orthodoxy considers the logical and scholarly arguments in favor of the Christian faith and presents an impassioned argument for the church as a positive, liberal organization. One of the strongest apologias ever written, it is a critical triumph from a renowned author, poet, journalist, and philosopher, whose own spiritual journey provides the foundation for this fascinating treatise on religious belief. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

Orthodoxy

Orthodoxy

In Orthodoxy, Gilbert K. Chesterton explains how and why he came to believe in Christianity, and more specifically, the Catholic Church's brand of orthodoxy. In the book, Chesterton takes the spiritually curious reader on an intellectual quest. While looking for the meaning of life, he finds truth that uniquely fulfills human needs. This is the truth revealed in Christianity. Chesterton likens this discovery to a man setting off from the south coast of England, journeying for many days, only to arrive at Brighton, the point he originally left from. Such a man, he proposes, would see the wondrous place he grew up in with newly appreciative eyes. This is a common theme in Chesterton's works, and one which he gave fictional embodiment to in Manalive. A truly lively and enlightening book!

Orthodoxy and Heresy (Elements in the Problems of God)

'Orthodoxy' and 'heresy' are essential categories by which the 'Catholic' theological tradition evaluates the (im)propriety of various beliefs and practices relative to its non-negotiable commitments. This Element sketches moments in the development of Christian 'orthodoxy' and 'heresy' in time, as much in the Old and New Testament as in the history of the Church. It also touches upon the vexed theological-methodological question of the relation between Scripture and ecclesial Tradition before concluding with a critique of the 'Catholic' tradition's preoccupation with 'orthodoxy' and 'heresy' in favor of a Christian theology 'without anathemas' that is concerned only for truth.