Kallistos WareBesprekingen

Short but deep, it will need another read shortly

The title is a bit misleading but this book is a profound joy to read. Met. Kallistos Ware will be deeply missed. May his memory be eternal.

complete text of Vol. I

This book is a general account of the doctrine, worship and life of Orthodox Christians by the author of the now classic The Orthodox Church. It raises the basic issues of theology: God is hidden yet revealed; the problem with evil; the nature of salvation; the meaning of faith; prayer; death and what lies beyond.

Very good.

From the author of "The Orthodox Church." Discusses the basic practices of the orthodox faith. I would recommend this to people who are interested in Orthodoxy beyond just an academic viewpoint, though it could certainly be used for that as well. The author writes very personally, though the book also contains great information on an academic level.

This is a paperback book that gives a basic background, history and summary of The Orthodox church. It is useful for Christians to understand a branch of Christianity (although they would say "the main and only trunk) and is useful for those studying Russian or Greek history or a number of other smaller areas to understand a dominant religion and sometimes a state religion.
I am not interested in offering rebuttal to the material.

The book begins by giving a lot of fascinating history of the Orthodox Church. To me, as a western Christian, it makes a lot of sense to start with the history because it helps explain the eastern mindset a bit.. especially since the eastern church hasn't had the same controversies that helped form the western church. The book finishes up by briefly explaining how the Orthodox Church worships, sacramental and practical.

Great overview of the Orthodox churches; there's not much to complain about. I would've liked a bit more theology, but you can't have everything. To my surprise, the twentieth century history bits were my favorites- what could easily have devolved into an 'oh how we were oppressed by evil communists' rant was very balanced and insightful. It's odd that someone with such a firm grasp on history can still claim that the Orthodox church practices Christianity as is was practiced during the age of the great councils, but no doubt there's a way to finesse the somewhat obvious differences between the national (dare I say nationalist?) churches of the present and the ideas of primitive Christianity.

A little bit dated now, but still the standard and best introduction to the Orthodox Church for English-speakers. I hope Metropolitan Kallistos issues a third edition of the book.

I haven't read anything by Metropolitan Kallistos that wasn't excellent and enlightening. Some of the topics that this book covers, and covers very well, are spiritual elders, fools for Christ, death, and universal salvation. This book seems to focus especially on the charismatic gifts within the Orthodox Church, which makes an excellent resource for those who want to know more about these are they are lived in the Orthodox Church. His personal conversion story, which opens the book, is also wonderful to read.

As the back of the book says, the Philokalia is the most important book other than the Bible for Orthodox Christians, and it is truly amazing. The glossary at the back of this book helps a lot, and contains explanations of many very important Orthodox beliefs and terms. The only complaint I have is that I wish the translators and editors would have included St. Nikodimos' comments on the various writings he compiled within this English edition. It seems that they would have been very helpful and retaining them would have remained true to the original compilation by Ss. Nikodimos and Markarios.

Western Christianity is incomplete without its other half, the Eastern. My faith made more sense when I began, some years ago, to learn a little about Orthodoxy. Celtic Christian spirituality is very similar, and when I asked an Orthodox priest about this, he said "They are the same". They do not have St Augustine's doctrine of original sin, and there is a more profound reverence for God's creation. They say "Have peace in your soul, and thousands around you will be saved". I think I have experienced the truth of that, in a small way.

Great introduction to Eastern Orthodoxy.

One of the best books on the Trinity that I have ever read.

This is a classic explanation and history of the Jesus Prayer by Metropolitan Kallistos, who is a renowned English teacher of this prayer who stands in the Orthodox tradition. This would be perfect material to accompany Simon Barrington-Ward's books on the Jesus Prayer. Also, Met. Kallistos's audio teachings on the Jesus Prayer are available from WCCM on CD - about five hours of clear, humorous and detailed explanation.

This is a worthwhile book for anyone who is embarking on a study of Orthodox Christianity whether for academic or spiritual reasons. Bishop Ware's style is straightforward and clear, and his summaries are an adequate introduction. The sections on theology accomplish their purpose quite nicely, the sections on history less so. While the book establishes a basic timeline for Orthodox history, it's apparent that Ware is not a historian by training and the sections suffer from various anachronisms and misuses of theory. Most egregiously, Ware projects the notion of a modern Russian nation backwards onto Kievan Rus. My recommendation would be to skim the history sections and spend your time in the excellent and succinct introduction to Orthodox theology.½

An introduction to the Eastern church.

The thing I like about the Orthodox is that they do not split theology from spirituality, and Ware is one of the best and clearest writers in this tradition. To learn about God is secondary to knowing God.

One of my all-time favorites on religion. It's a pretty short book, and it moves very quickly. Since the first time I read it in college, I've been struck by how similar my Methodist-inspired beliefs are to Orthodoxy, and how they resolve a lot of the problems I struggle with (the point/necessity of the crucifixion, e.g.,) in ways that make a lot of sense to me. The final chapters on God as eternity and God as journey are particularly good (although I probably think that because I read them most recently), but the whole book is excellent.

Reading Timothy Ware’s book Orthodox Christianity, I realized that the joy of life was the essence of Orthodoxy. God became incarnate, thus transforming the material world by sanctifying it. Orthodox theology emphasizes the unknowability of God. The fundamental truths of Christianity are mysteries, ineffable, beyond our understanding.

Ware concisely explains the schism between the Latin and Eastern churches. Linguistic differences made the churches strangers to each other, with Rome speaking Latin and Constantinople Greek. Cultural differences contributed to the rift, too. In the 11th century the East was richest, most sophisticated empire in the world. They saw the West as smelly upstarts, not much more evolved than barbarians. Ware, an Orthodox priest, expresses regret that the East wasn’t more tolerant.

The schism was mainly caused by arguments about religious doctrine. The problem of the Filioque was a dispute about the emanation of the Holy Spirit and the Trinity, which spoke directly to the place of Christ within the Trinity and the nature of Christ himself. Another fight was on papal authority; the West was for a highly centralized authority while the East preferred a system of patriarchates, with the Bishop of Rome as first among equals, not superior to other churches. There were other religious differences, such as marriage for priests and the use of leavened or unleavened bread for communion, but these were not as severe as the questions around the Filioque or papal authority.

Essential book for anyone considering joining the Orthodox church. He is inclined to look on the "bright" side of certain issues, like ecumenical relations.

CHAPTER NOTES; FURTHER READING; INDEX

BIBLIOGRAPHY; INDEX OF AUTHORS AND SOURCES; INDEX OF SUBJECTS

Presented to David (? Hamner) on his priesting in St David's Cathedral, 29 June