The rather prosaic title of this brilliant book does not convey the wonderful riches of spiritual insight in store for the reader as he or she enters the theological world of Dumitru Staniloae. Staniloae was the greatest Romanian Orthodox theologian of this century. Experts in the field like Bishop Kallistos Ware consider Staniloae as perhaps the greatest Orthodox dogmatic theologian of modern times, but since most of his work remains untranslated, his greatness is not yet fully appreciated. In this book, the reader gets a taste of theology Staniloaen-style. It is not dry-as-dust intellectualizing, but wonderfully supple, allusive prose grounded in spiritual insight and rich in symbolism. Each chapter in the book develops the authentic Orthodox understanding of the nature, function and life of the Church as living Body of Christ. Reading this book attentively is an unfolding illumination, subtle, harmonious, balanced, brilliant. His chapter on Trinitarian theology, for example,usually the type of thing that makes the average reader's eyes glaze over, is clear, firmly grounded in the Fathers of the Church, utterly traditional yet cuttingly current, insightful as well as precise, sparkling with gems of perception, a joy to read. This is to be expected, when you consider that Staniloae was the epicenter of the modern spiritual revival in Romania, translator of the Philokalia into the Romanian language, and himself an adept in Orthodox hesychastic spirituality. All of Romania mourned his death in 1993, but his work lives on in books like Theology and the Church. This is a marriage of theology and spirituality not to be missed. Highest recommendation.

Although this is a thin booklet, only 43 pages, it is to the point, scholarly, and balanced. If you're looking for a dual between to great theologians, this isn't it. Both Fahey and Meyendorff are faithful to their respective traditions without slinging theological mud. To give you an idea of its contents, I'll quote Maximos Aghiorgoussis' forward: "Our theme deals with ecumenical problems between East and West. Faith in the Holy Trinity is both the main mark of Christianity and the main problem in the relations between Eastern and Western Christendom. The Eastern and Western approaches to the doctrine of the Trinity go back to the patristic period. The entire patristic tradition of the East has a "personalistic" approach...whereas in the West St. Augustine authored the so-called "psychological" approach. This difference in approach is one of the main theological factors which played- and continues to play- and important role in the "estrangement" between Eastern and Western Christianity. [In this essay] two contemporary experts in these differing approaches examine the issue. On the Eastern side, the focus is placed upon St. Gregory Palamas. On the Western side, the focus is placed on the doctrine of St.Thomas Aquinas."

This is one of those gems that you are so thankful to find in the field of theological writings. It's a bit technical, but it's worth the struggle if you are just beginning and very illuminating if you're familar with the issues, since it poses the question from the point of view of St. Palamas; an often overlooked theologian from the often overlooked Eastern Church.

This well written book is a general survey of Byzantine Theology both in its historical and doctrinal aspects. The first part deals exclusively with the historical development of the various theological doctrines of the Byzantine Church and the second part deals with the exposition of different doctirnes of theology. As a teacher Dr Meyendorff is clear and accurate in his coverage of the different aspects of theology.

As a Roman Catholic I was impressed by the striking similarities between the Byzantine doctirnes and the Roman Catholic faith. The author is objective and clear in his exposition. He seemed a little preoccupied with comparing and contrasting the theological doctirines of the Byzantine Church with those of the West. This seemed to limit the scope of the book. As a book dealing with theology, it is a successful work beneficial to those looking for some insight into the theological doctirnes and their development in the Church.

Meyendorff's introduction to Orthodox theology is extremely detailed in a concise manner. His style is smooth and easy to follow, although it really would help if the reader had some background in theology (but not much!). Take a look at the sample pages for a taste. This is one of the best intros to Orthodox theology in English and I recommend it heartily! Enjoy!

You may also be interested in Jordan Bajis' "Common Ground". It is an excellent introduction to the Orthodox Tradition geared towards Western Christians. Kallistos Ware has written a more devotionally-flavored into, "The Orthodox Way", which is also highly useful.

Father Meyendorff's complete and detailed discussion about the complex theology of the Byzantine church is outstanding. The Christiology debate was a little over my head at points but his chapters on Iconoclasm and on the Schism between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church were top notch.

I am in seminary and have now used both vols. 1 and 2 of Raitt's work. I have also used a fair number of other texts to get history/theology/spirituality information for classwork and papers. These are among the best sources you can pick up on the subject. Each is a compendium of (believe it or not) good articles on topics covering the range of issues that has shaped Christianity from early times to the present. It also wisely includes considerable information about outside influences like paganism and Islam. The only possible negative comment I could make is that some articles have TOO much information at times. They are all written by respected scholars in the field, and some, while fascinating, run long. But, then again, if you "really need to know more" then this is a great place to start.

This volume written by a well-known historian and theologist John Meyendorff, one of the pioneers of the modern ecumenical movement, arises most of the highly controversial and still fundamental for European civilization problems like the strugle between Rome and Constantinople for the right of being considered heir of the ancient Roman empire, Eastern and Western tradition of spirituality and Church-Building, or Byzantine Roman and Catholic Theology of the late Middle Ages. Other essays, characterized by usual Meyendorff's brilliance and clarity, discuss with depth and accuracy the different aspects of the Roman legacy in Russia (in its Eastern version), the fall of Bizantium and the rise of Russia as a major center of Orthodox civilization. I strongly recommend this book to everyone interested in the history of Russia and Byzance, as well as the early history of relations between European East and West.

This is a "more approachable" version of Meyendorff's larger and more scholarly tome on St. Palamas, which remains to this day the definitive work on the monk. This shorter version includes numerous photographs and a good level of background/historical detail. Those with a general (non-scholarly) interest in learning more about Gregory Palamas will find it especially convenient; though it will fail to satisfy those with a desire for in-depth academic information.

This short introduction by John Meyendorff surveys the development of Eastern Orthodox spirituality, which culminates in the work of St. Gregory Palamas (14th century). It contains a number of illustrations: icons, photographs (black and white), and manuscript artwork. The basic thesis is that Eastern Othorodox spirituality - what some would call "mysticism" - begins with primitive monasticism and culminates with Palamas in the 14th century (although there are a few slight developments in Russia, such as St. Seraphim of Sarov). The basic practice that culminates with Palamas has come to be known as "Hesychasm", which means "inner stillness" or "inner peace".

Meyendorff's writing is easy to read and comprehend; it is nice that he pretty much gets to the heart of each thinker he discusses (Evagrius, the pseudo-Macarian homilies, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Maximus the Confessor, and others) rather than discussing superfluous detail (the point of the book, afterall, is the *spirituality* of the Eastern Orthodox church). The bigger picture of doctrines like true prayer and deification/theosis (union with God, a concept largely abandoned in the West) are touched upon along with their developments in the thoughts of the above thinkers. It is a wonderful touch that Meyendorff includes a fair number of quotes from the primary sources.

The focus of the book is St. Gregory Palamas and Meyendorff offers a good synopsis of his life and times before going into the controversy surrounding Palamas and a monk named Barlaam. In short, Palamas' great victory was teaching that because God has become human, humans can experience God in a living way (this recalls the teachings of St. Athanasius who, oddly enough, is not touched upon in this book). It is interesting to note that although this book is almost 45 years old, Meyendorff touches upon the tolerance of the Turkish Muslims that captured a ship Palamas was on and the dialogue that went on between the Muslims and Hesychasts in the 14th century.

The book is clearly biased in Palamas' favor, and Meyendorff does seem to have the motive of showing how the traditions of the Eastern Orthodox church have remained faithful to their original heritage, a common claim made by Eastern Orthodox thinkers and writers as a way of distinguishing them from what they perceive to be distortions in the West. (I, for one, am staying out of the debate.) Although Meyendorff's bias isn't too terrible of a thing, the reader should know this going into the book; those that read carefully will probably pick this up pretty quickly.

The book seriously suffers, however, from the absence of any type of bibliography (which is always nice to have, so that the reader can do some of his or her own research). Although the book is an introduction, topics are often touched upon so lightly that the reader wants more. It's hard to get more without a bibliography! The book also suffers from its print and binding jobs, which are rather poor.

It would be great if someone would take this book and look up the original sources that Meyendorff used and repackage it without typos and with a better binding. The material itself is great - and for this I recommend the book - but for more serious students it is of limited use.