Primacy in the Church from Vatican I to Vatican II (NIU Press)

Primacy in the Church from Vatican I to Vatican II is a book written by the Very Reverend Maximos Vgenopoulos, who is the Grand Archdeacon of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. In this book, the author examines the concept of papal primacy from an Orthodox perspective using the two most recent "ecumenical" councils as a guideline. Vatican I issued the Dogmatic Constitution Pastor Aeternus, which defined the doctrine and affirmed papal infallibility. Vatican II issued the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, which reaffirmed Vatican I and also reaffirmed the doctrine of collegiality of bishops.

The book spans four chapters, two on Vatican I and two on Vatican II. Two of the chapters go into great detail on each of the councils, including what led to the councils being called and key declarations on papal primacy. The heart of the book, however, is the other two chapters, which include Orthodox reactions to each council. To my great surprise, there was disagreement among the Orthodox reactions. Each chapter begins with several figures arguing against Catholicism and primacy and then concludes with several other figures, not necessarily arguing for primacy, but presenting a more balanced view. The arguments in this book basically boiled down to several Greek Orthodox people against primacy and several Russian Orthodox people against the Greek Orthodox arguments.

John Zizoulas is the name you will see repeatedly in this book, as he has a unique theology on primacy. He starts by saying that Catholics and Orthodox do not agree on the role of Peter in the New Testament, so using history as an argument for or against primacy is futile. For him, it is the principle of "the one and the many" that will prove to be the most fruitful for discussion and dialogue. He then compares the ordering of local churches to the Trinity, because even though the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equal, there still exists a hierarchical order with the Father being the first. Zizoulas also agrees with Alexander Schmemann in the belief that primacy is necessary to "express and manifest the unity of the Church at the regional and universal levels."

As a convert to Roman Catholicism, it's easy to see why the doctrine of papal primacy has been a cause of disagreement and discord. I found myself pleasantly surprised reading this book, as it was thought out, balanced, and unbiased. Granted, it was a challenging read and an academic read, but I expected nothing less. For that reason, it took me a bit longer to read this book than I anticipated. I found myself reading and re-reading sections to try and fully grasp what was being said. The general conclusions section in the end proved extremely helpful in making things clearer for me. The real beauty of this book is that Orthodox and Catholics alike can benefit from reading this work.

This book was provided to me for free by Northern Illinois University Press. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

d'Aulaires' Books (New York Review: Children's Collection)

When it comes to reading mythology, I have three trusted people to which I turn - Edith Hamilton and Ingri and Edgar d'Aulaire. The former's book Mythology was a classic I read in high school and the husband and wife's Book of Greek Myths served as a jumping off point when I was younger. Recently, I have been discovering mythology in other cultures. Egyptian mythology has featured heavily in movies like Prince of Egypt, but lately Norse myth is gaining traction thanks to movies like Thor and The Avengers. Today, I am going to review two books that deal with Norse mythology, and possibly a third book by the same authors, if I have time, so let's get started!

D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths is a gorgeous hardcover that is approximately 12" x 9". It was originally named "Norse Gods and Giants" before New York Review Books reissued and renamed it. The book is over 150 pages long and is slammed with illustrations! On the inside of the front cover and back cover is an illustration that shows you the Nine Norse Worlds, with their original Norse names. For example, Hel & Nifl Heim is the Underworld. This illustration is very helpful in understanding Norse mythology. There is also a very useful glossary in the end with very detailed definitions, as well as page references for where the terms appear in the stories.

There are approximately thirty stories in this collection. As to be expected a great deal of them focus on Loki and Thor (two of the more well-known figures in Norse mythology). The first several stories are creation stories, which includes who the first gods were, how the world was created, and how man was created. I found these most fascinating, as I am a sucker for a good origin story. For example, man and woman were originally trees that three gods (Odin, Hoenir, and Lodur) gave life to. Unlike in Biblical accounts where people grew more sinful, in Norse mythology people grew better in every way. In fact, a disguised Odin walked among them teaching them how to behave. The book closes with the tale of "A New World." In this conclusion, there is a new sun and new earth and two people have survived. However, they don't worship the old gods anymore but God Almighty. Truly a fascinating book!

D’Aulaires’ Book of Trolls is a companion book to D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths. Both books have the same dimensions (12" x 9"), which I greatly appreciate for vain shelf placement aesthetics. In this book, we see the nighttime side of Norse mythology, for everyone knows that trolls only come out when the sun goes down. There aren't many specific tales about trolls in this book, but it is more a guide to what trolls are, what they look like, customs, etc.

Some of the things I learned in this book is that the more heads a troll had, the harder it was for him to eat because all the heads were hungry and greedy. I also learned that the number of knots a troll could tie in his tail indicated his rank among trolls. Trolls are also very rich, because they own the gold and silver under the mountains. Lastly, trolls turn to stone and shatter in the sun. Most/all of the trolls probably turned to stone, and this is why you don't see them anymore. As an adult, I enjoyed learning and reading about trolls. From a child's perspective, I could see how it might be a little frustrating to have few clear stories and instead be presented with a FAQ on Trolls. It is still engaging and full of great illustrations, so if you buy D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths, you will definitely want to pair this book with it.

D'Aulaires' Book of Animals is an exquisite book that spans approximately 30 pages, but in reality is one long front and back page. The front page is in color and shows a variety of animals ranging from whales to elephants. These color pages show the animals in their natural habitat and contain few words at the bottom describing the location where they live (like North or South) and why they live there. The reverse side is black and white and shows you the same animals, but this time the text at the bottom tells you the different sounds the animals make. I've seen the age range on this book for children ages 2 to 5, but I would say 5 is the minimum age. More rambunctious children might tear or rip this illustrious foldout page. Still a very pretty book!

These books were provided to me for free by New York Review Books in exchange for an honest review. If you found these reviews helpful, please click here, here, and/or here and click Yes!

The People of Ancient Israel (Angelico Press)

The People of Ancient Israel is the shortest book in Dorothy Mills' six volume history set, spanning only 210 pages. The book begins by describing the land of Palestine, including its size, terrain, vegetation, and climate. Ms. Mills then briefly details both the Hebrew Scriptures and "tales" such as Creation, the Flood, and the Tower of Babel. She points out that the world owes a great deal to the Hebrews, because they taught the world about God in their writings.

After these few brief chapters, we reach the main focus of this book - the people. Of course we start with the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Included in this section is a lot of what you would find in Scripture. However, there is also some personal commentary on certain topics, like why Abraham would listen to God and agree to sacrifice his son Isaac. Her reasoning and viewpoint seems centered on cultural reasons for this near-sacrifice and that Abraham obtained the idea from culture and not from God. She also doesn't say that God sent an angel to stop the sacrifice, but that Abraham reached a level of understanding that this sacrifice would not be pleasing to God. That is definitely one way of looking at it, but not how I would teach it.

After the Patriarchs is mention of Joseph and Moses. Following Moses, we begin to see the nation of Israel take shape with their wandering in the desert. The reason for this is because they were issued the Law (or the Ten Commandments). The nation finally gets roots with their conquest of Canaan, and leaders (also known as Judges) ruled over the people. Ms. Mills talks about several of the more famous judges, primarily Samson and Ruth. The nation then becomes a kingdom under Saul, who was followed by David and then Solomon. The most interesting sections to me dealt with the Divided Kingdom, Israel's fall, and their time in captivity.

The book then ends with "In the fulness if time, the Teacher came. At Bethlehem, in the days of Herod the King, seventy years before the destruction of Jerusalem, Christ was born, who by his life and teaching made possible the fulfilment of the ancient visions." I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, Dorothy Mills does a nice job making history interesting and come alive. On the other hand, there are a few troubling statements in the book. Overall, I would give this book 4 stars.

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