The Ancestral sin1 review John S. Romanides Zephyr Pub, 2002 Excellent Fr. John Romanides gives the best exposition on 'original sin' I've ever read. His exegesis of Scripture and the Fathers evidences his great mastery of these subjects. The ONLY reason why I did not give it 5 stars, is because the book is incomplete insofar as it only considers the very earliest ...             Gregory Palamas: The Triads (Classics of Western Spirituality)3 reviews John Meyendorff, Nicholas Gendle Paulist Press, 1982 An Important Mystical Theologian + Contents Gregory Palamas is one of the most important figures in Eastern Orthodox Chrisitianity. First, a little history. The Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches split in about the 11th century over a fairly obscure disagreement over the nature of Christ. However, for many centuries before this, the ...             Being As Communion: Studies in Personhood and the Church (Contemporary Greek Theologians Series, No 4)8 reviews John D. Zizioulas St Vladimirs Seminary Pr, 1997 Absolutely M A S S I V E + A deep work + Paradigm-shifting book + once upon a time + Communion in the Mystical Body of Christ             The Orthodox Way31 reviews Kallistos Ware St Vladimirs Seminary Pr, 1995 ... should be called "The Christian Way" ... it's that Good + Helped me learn about Orthodoxy + Great companion to The Orthodox Church... + Get your highlighters out! + Great for seekers!             The Life: The Orthodox Doctrine of Salvation (Faith Series)2 reviews Clark Carlton Regina Orthodox Press, 2001 perhaps the best concise introduction to Orthodox Christianity for Westerners + A Primer on Orthdoxy For me, nine-tenths of the value of this book is in its chapter on Satisfactionism. Anselm of Canterbury's understanding of Christ's work of salvation, elucidated in his essay Cur Deus Homo (Why God Became Man) at almost exactly the time of the Latin See's Great Schism with the four Eastern ...             The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church12 reviews Vladimir Lossky St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1997 Superb and Serious + an ever-greater plenitude, + Lossky is brilliant + This work gets at the heart of Christian mysticism + The best technical introduction in English             Ephrem the Syrian: Hymns (Classics of Western Spirituality)1 review John Meyendorff Paulist Press, 1989 The Father of Lenten Prayers St. Ephrem was born at Nisibis during Roman rule, but when the Persians took over the city, he moved & later died in Edessa 373 AD. St. Ephrem wrote numerous works & for easy categorization can be listed in 3 forms: (1) Texts, (2) Exegetical, & (3) Poetical. This book is about the 3rd type, his ...             Symeon, the New Theologian: The Discourses (Classics of Western Spirituality)3 reviews Paulist Press, 1980 An American View of an Eastern Saint + Great Byzantine mystic + Only for serious students of religion, but great! When I first encountered this book, I was an American Anglican, raised a southern Baptist. As such, I did not begin to appreciate Symeon's Discourses until well into this book. By the time I finished it, I was talking to other people about how much contemporary American Christians have to learn ...             A Night in the Desert of the Holy Mountain: Discussion with a Hermit on the Jesus Prayer1 review Birth of the Theotokos Monastery Greece, 2003 Romantic and stimulating ;) 5 stars! This book focuses on discussions between a holy pilgrim and a true Gerondas. It begins on mount athos, the center of greek orthodoxy. It feels as if one is actually there. The descriptions are magnificently drawn. If you are interested in the Prayer of the Heart, this book is for you. It goes deep ...             Writings from the Philokalia: On Prayer of the Heart8 reviews Faber & Faber, 1992 Wonderful, just wonderful. + A truly wonderful book, filled with the Spirit of God + A Beautiful Timeless Text + Love of Beatiful Things, and Real Life of Prayer + The Place to Start the Philokalia             The Inner Kingdom: Volume 1 of the Collected Works7 reviews Kallistos Ware St Vladimirs Seminary Press, 2000 At the feet of a Bishop + Great Insight From A Great Theologian. + Wise, warm: wonderful + A wonderful collection + The Inner Kingdom of an exploratory Orthodox Bishop             The Deification of Man: St. Gregory Palamas and the Orthodox Tradition (Contemporary Greek Theologians Series ...5 reviews Georgios I. Mantzarides St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1997 The best kept secret in western Christianity + Balanced + I loved this book + Nice introduction to the central Christian concept.             An Outline Of Orthodox Patristic Dogmatics2 reviews John S. Romanides Orthodox Research Institute, 2004 Expressing the Christian Faith, in its Mere Orthodoxy + Good for fast reference "One of the major and permanent goals of a theologian, who wants to express the Christian faith, as it is held by the Orthodox Catholic tradition, is to be able to do justice to history as well as to 'systematic' thought addressed to contemporaries" John Meyendorff, Forward to Zizioulas' Being as ...             St. Gregory Palamas and Orthodox Spirituality4 reviews John Meyendorff St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1997 Excellent Introduction + A corrective to arid Scholasticism This book is an excellent introduction to St. Gregory Palamas and Hesychasm. It explains to the reader why this Christian belief and practice is so important to us today. Also recommended is The Moutain of Silence by Kyriacos C. Markides.             For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy22 reviews Alexander Schmemann St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1997 Profound Sacramental Theology. A Must Read. + True Orthodox Christianity + If you could only buy one book about Christianity...... + Amazing Scholarship + Phenomenal             On Prayer (Archimandrite Sophrony)1 review Archimandrite Sophrony St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1998 an absolute 'must' This is the testimony of an unique witness of the Eastern Orthodox tradition, which spans across two thousand years of history. The author, a former hermit in Mount Athos, is soaked in the wisdom of the ascetic, dogmatic and liturgical tradition of the radical Christianity represented by Orthodoxy. ...             Eucharist, Bishop, Church: The Unity of the Church in the Divine Eucharist and the Bishop During the First ...2 reviews John D. Zizioulas Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 2001 Foundational Reading + Profound exploration of early Christianity Like the other reviewer I found this book to be very informative regarding the nature of ecclesiastical communion and the self-understanding (if such a reflective process even existed I have my doubts) of the Church in the early centuries. While ecclesiology as such is not strictly speaking a ...             The Mystery of the Trinity: Trinitarian Experience and Vision in the Biblical and Patristic Tradition2 reviews Boris Bobrinskoy St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1999 A scholarly look at the Trinity as manifested in the Church + Ground yourself in the traditions of the church. This book offers an excellent look at the experience and vision of the Holy Trinity in the life of the Orthodox Church. Rather than attempting to explain that which words cannot explain, the author instead chooses to illustrate how the Triune God has manifested Himself to mankind throughout ...             Saint Silouan, the Athonite3 reviews Archimandrite Sophrony St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1999 St. Silouan the Athonite is a living icon of Christ + A Gem + A Text book for salvation This is an expanded version of the out-of-print classic from the same author of A MONK OF MOUNT ATHOS (see customer review from Columbus, Georgia). Both St. Silouan and Archimandrite Sophrony are remarkable men who know the Uncreated Light from experience. These are men who can be guides to a ...             Maximus Confessor: Selected Writings (Classics of Western Spirituality)6 reviews Paulist Press, 1985 Maximus to the maximum + Maximus the Confessor + A great Eastern father + Read a Little at a Time + hold everything