Lectures on the Christian Sacraments (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press)

One of my favorite series of books is called the Popular Patristics Series. It has been in publication for years and seeks to make influential writings of the Church Fathers more accessible and available. At present, there are 57 volumes today, and while I don't all of them (unfortunately), I have been blessed with each one I have read. Today, I would like to tell you about the latest volume in the series entitled Lectures on the Christian Sacraments by St. Cyril of Jerusalem.

The book begins with a lengthy (50 pages) introduction which discusses St. Cyril's Mystagogical Catecheses, the importance of Jerusalem in the history of Christianity, the Rites of Christian Initiation in Jerusalem, the authorship of St. Cyril's works, and the various manuscripts of this work. The rest of the book spans 70 pages with Greek on the left pages and an English translation on the right pages. The work is divided into two parts, The Protocatechesis and The Mystagogical Catecheses, with the latter being further divided into five sections - On the Prebaptismal Rites, On the Baptismal Rites, On the Chrismation, On the Body and Blood of Christ, and on the Eucharistic Liturgy.

Overall, I found this a very interesting and historical read. The works themselves are broken down point by point and step by step on what happens during each Sacrament and why it is happening. With a writing style like this, it makes St. Cyril's works very approachable and easy to read. Those who read Greek will appreciate having the original text on opposite pages, as even the best translations lack something. If you would like to learn more about the Sacraments of Initiation during a formative time in Church History, this is the book to buy!

This book was provided to me for free by. St. Vladimir's Seminary Press in exchange for an honest review.

Jesus Crucified (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press)

One of my favorite Church Fathers is St. John Chrysostom. He was such a brilliant man and excellent speaker, which is why he earned the title "golden-mouthed." Anytime you read something he wrote, you know you are in for a challenge and also a treat! Recently, there was a book released called Jesus Crucified: The Baroque Spirituality of St. Dimitri of Rostov. On the back cover of this book, it described St. Dimitri of Rostov as the "Russian Chrysostom," so I knew this book was going to be a must read for me!

The book is 170 pages long and is the first volume of the Treasures of Orthodox Spirituality series. The introduction begins by telling us about his life. He born in December 1651 near Kiev. His sisters entered the monastery and at age 17 he was tonsured at Kirillov Monastery. After a year, he was ordained a deacon and five years after that he was made a priest. From that time until 1701-2, he was made an abbot at five different monasteries and retired from the abbacy three times. It was at this time that he was finally made a bishop at Rostov where he would spend the rest of his life. His most important work was his Lives of the Saints. However, the works covered in this book are devotional in nature, including prayers and meditations for private use.

There are individual chapters in the book, but the contents are divided thematically too. The first two chapters focus on the Wounds of Christ. The next two chapters focus on communion with the following three on worship. There are also two chapters which focus on defeating blasphemous thoughts, something I know I struggle with. We finally get to the meat of this book with three longer devotions on the Passion, followed by three poems which also focus on the Passion. The book closes with prayers focusing on daily confession of sins. Overall, this was a very enriching book to read. It was hard at times and challenging, but it was a journey that was well worth the read. I highly recommend you check out this book and read it during Holy Week or anytime!

This book was provided to me for free by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press in exchange for an honest review.

On the Apostolic Tradition (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press)

St. Hippolytus of Rome lived during the 2nd and 3rd Century and was regarded as some to be the most important 3rd Century theologian. He was a disciple of Irenaeus, who was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of John. His writings were extensive and the amount of them are said to have rivaled Origen. Much like Origen, his works presently are fragmented or missing. Some of his most important works include On Christ and the Antichrist, and On the Apostolic Tradition, which I am reviewing today. On the Apostolic Tradition is #54 in one of my favorite series in Orthodoxy called the Popular Patristics Series. I've read and reviewed several of these books, and they never disappoint.

The introduction to On the Apostolic Tradition is approximately 60 pages long and includes information on the discovery of this text, the contents and arrangement, the authorship, and a summary of conclusions. The text itself is divided into 43 chapters and discusses topics such as ordination of priests and deacons, the catechumenate, Baptism, and general rules of the community. Some of these rules include distribution of Communion, fasting, and burial practices. The rules on fasting were interesting. It is highly recommended for widows and virgins to fast often, but says laypersons and priests can fast if they want. At the end of the main text is a five page homily on the Psalms, which the translator believes is appropriate to include because it helps to better understand the main text.

On the Apostolic Tradition belongs to a genre called "Church Orders," and while you could find this text for free online, it's not the same. The reason for this is because Fr. Alistair Stewart's second edition of this text incorporated a newly discovered Ethiopic manuscript, and also provides commentary alongside the text to provide explanations for why things in this book are the way they are. I found that to be extremely helpful, because like my comment above, I was scratching my head to the rule of fasting, among other things in the text. Also of interest in this text is all the roles for people. There is a lot to process in this book, and it is not one that you read lightly or casually. This is for the serious student who is interesting in reading a book that has had a great influence on different liturgies today, including some parts of the Roman Catholic liturgy and the United Methodist Church as well.

This book was provided to me for free by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

Two Hundred Chapters on Theology (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press)

The Popular Patristics Series from St. Vladimir's Seminary Press is one of the most readable and accurate series of early Christian literature available to this day. It contains works from Sts. Athanasius, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, Ignatius of Antioch, and John Chrysostom just to name a few. Today, I am going to tell you about one of the latest volumes entitled Two Hundred Chapters on Theology by St. Maximus the Confessor. It is Volume 53 in the series.

The book begins with a biography of St Maximus, but states that accurate biographical information is hard to come by. What we do know is that he was born around 580 A.D. and he was probably part of Constantinople's aristocracy. The Two Hundred Chapters were written between 628 and 630 with themes that include limitations of Creation; mystical contemplations of Scripture; and asceticism. The Chapters in this book contain Greek on one side and an English translation on the opposite page, which is especially handy for those who want to read the original text. The Chapters are also not we would think of as chapters, but short paragraphs whose messages have varying degrees of depth. I would now like to provide a few brief quotes to show you St. Maximus' wisdom.

"The wise man, when teaching and being taught, wills only to be taught and to teach profitable things; but he who would appear wise, hen asking and being asked, propounds only rather pretentious statements."

"A 'heart' is 'pure' that represents its recollections as altogether formless and shapeless before God and stands ready to be imprinted with his characteristics alone, through which he naturally becomes manifest."

These are two of the shorter and more straightforward Chapters. There are other, which are both longer and deeper in content. If you would like to read the words of a great saint, in little paragraph bites, I recommend this book. With 200 Chapters, you will have enough to get you through a little over half of the year with enough time to go back to some of the meatier ones and chew on them a little longer and extract all the spiritual nutrients they contain.

This book was provided to me for free by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

Treasure-House of Mysteries (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press)

Poetry can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. It all depends on the reader and the depth, he or she wishes to dive into when reading the poem. To further complicate poems, one has to consider context the poem was written in, references which may no longer be relevant, and meanings which can be lost when translating from one language to another. Today, I will be reviewing the book Treasure-House of Mysteries, which is Volume 45 in the Popular Patristics Series available at St. Vladimir's Seminary Press. Without further ado, here is my review.

When I think of Syriac Christianity, I think of St. Ephrem. When I think of translators of Syriac texts, I trust Sebastian Brock. Treasure-House of Mysteries is both of these and more! In addition to St. Ephrem, there are a number of poems by Jacob of Serugh (also known as Mar Jacob) and even more from anonymous sources. There are five sections in this book. The first one is an introduction to both Syriac Christianity and to recurring themes in this book, like clothing and bridal imagery. The second section addresses Ephrem's reading of the Bible and the way he interpreted Scripture, both factual and spiritual. This section has also contain numerous excerpts from Ephrem's hymns, which discuss Scripture and the self-revelation of God. The remaining three sections are where the poetry is found and there is a section on the Old Testament, New Testament, and Bible to Liturgy.

The book is well-organized, in that the poems start with Genesis and end with Revelation. You can choose to read them in the order they are presented or you can look for a subject that fancies you and hop around, which is what I chose to do. The first two poems I read were "The Two Thieves" and "The Cherub and the Thief." Both of them address the Good Thief, whom I chose as my Confirmation saint. In "The Two Thieves," which I enjoyed immensely we read a dialogue back and forth between the Good Thief and the Bad Thief. The Good Thief tries his hardest to get the Bad Thief to reconsider his position on Christ and accept the gift of salvation that Jesus gave the Good Thief, but he was too blind and stubborn to see that Jesus was the Messiah. In "The Cherub and the Thief," which I didn't enjoy as much was a conversation between the Good Thief and the angel defending the Garden of Eden. In it, the Good Thief explained to the angel that with the death of Jesus, Paradise has been re-opened, and it takes a good deal of convincing for the angel to believe. It was beautifully written, I just had a hard time making myself believe that the angel guarding Eden would not have known what happened until the Good Thief told him so.

Other interesting poems were "The Angel and Zechariah," and "The Angel and Mary." These two poems provide a nice contrast of the annunciation of John the Baptist and the annunciation of Jesus. You can really see the doubt of Zechariah and why he was punished, which is in start contrast to Mary's innocent questioning and trying to understand what was about to change not only her life, but the life of the world. Overall, this was a very rich book. It was both thought-provoking and spiritually edifying. What I really appreciated was the introduction before each poem, as it helped provide context, set the tone, and provide Scriptural passages for the poem. If you are interested in poetry or Syriac Christianity, this is a must-read for you! You will also want to check out Hymns on Paradise by St. Ephrem the Syrian.

This book was provided to me for free by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

The Cross Stands While the World Turns (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press)

Have you ever come back from Mass or Divine Liturgy and felt a little disappointed with the homily? I admit that I have, more than once sadly. It is an unfortunate reality that cannot be avoided. Sometimes there's a guest speaker or a stewardship pitch. Other times, the priest might have had a busy week, and pulled one out of his archives, that might be a bit outdated. What do you do when you feel less than fed by the homily? You have two options. You can either stew over it and gripe about it, or you can do what I do and reach for a book of homilies. I have several, just because I am always trying to soak up other perspectives on specific passages or Feasts. One that I recently picked up is called The Cross Stands While the World Turns.

The Cross Stands While the World Turns is a book of homilies divided into three sections, "The Paschal Cycle," "The Nativity-Theophany Cycle," and "The Theotokos Cycle." In total, there are thirty-five homilies in this book. Most of the homilies are taken from Sundays throughout the Orthodox Church Calendar and the Twelve Great Feasts. The only Feasts days I see missing are Pascha and the Transfiguration. The beauty of this book is that it is not one you have to read all at once or in order. You can pick up this book at any time of the year, turn to the appropriate Sunday, or major Feast Day and be treated to a beautiful homily.

After reading homilies related to the Nativity season, I started thumbing through the book looking for one to jump out to me. Lo and behold, "Antipascha: St. Thomas Sunday," did just that! Poor St. Thomas gets a horrible rap. He will forever be mislabeled as doubting, just like Mary Magdalene will always be mislabeled as a prostitute. In Fr. Behr's homily, he seeks to redeem St. Thomas. "His doubt, and his inquiry, is not out to disprove, but to confirm. There is, indeed, a world of difference between a doubt that is seeking confirmation and a doubt that is basically skeptical. As the Fathers and medieval theologians put it: faith seeks understanding." You'll find insight like this in all of his homilies, as each one is well-researched and well-crafted.

This was a very-enjoyable book and one that I will keep at prominent and easy-to-reach place on my bookshelf. I had a hard time putting it down after reading the homily for one day, and oftentimes found myself reading additional tales just to absorb Fr. Behr's knowledge. The biggest complaint I have with this book is that there was no homily for Pascha. Another minor complaint is that there is no introductory material for each of the three cycles, I referenced in the first paragraph. These complaints, however, do not detract from the wisdom contained in this book and did not cause me to downrank the book either. 5 stars!

This book was provided to me for free by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!