Surrounded on all sides by Islam, the beloved Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew continues to impact the world for Christ from his seat in Constantinople, a city central to Christian history.The Orthodox Church, that great beacon of the East, now boasts 300 million members worldwide. In one of the most remarkable tenures of the patriarchate it has been more than twenty-five years since Bartholomew first accepted this ministerial position, which is considered “first a...

John Chryssavgis explores the ascetic teaching and theology of St John Climacus, a classical and formative writer of the Christian medieval East, and the author of the seventh-century Ladder of Divine Ascent. This text proved to be the most widely used handbook of the spiritual life in the Christian East, partly because of its unique and striking symbol of the ladder that binds together the whole book. It has caught the attention of numerous readers in East and West alike through the ages ...

Surrounded on all sides by Islam, the beloved Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew continues to impact the world for Christ from his seat in Constantinople, a city central to Christian history.The Orthodox Church, that great beacon of the East, now boasts 300 million members worldwide. In one of the most remarkable tenures of the patriarchate it has been more than twenty-five years since Bartholomew first accepted this ministerial position, which is considered “first a...

John Chryssavgis explores the sacred dimension of the natural environment, and the significance of creation in the rich theological history and spiritual classics of the Orthodox Church, through the lens of its unique ascetical, liturgical and mystical experience.The global ecological crisis affecting humanity's air, water, and land, as well as the planet's flora and fauna, has resulted in manifest fissures on the image of God in creation. Chryssavgis examines, from an Orthodox Chr...

Revealing unexpected truths about early desert spirituality, this volume argues that the lives of Barsanuphius and John relate closely to contemporary urban communities and how clergy tackle social challenges. The early Desert Fathers and Mothers have exercised a particular charm and appeal in recent years, but they have often been portrayed as inaccessible and eccentric figures in the history of monastic spirituality.John Chryssavgis argues that the elders have an unusual capacity...

The only comprehensive critical anthology of theological and historical aspects related to Florovsky's thought by an international group of leading academics and church personalities. It is the only book in English translation of Florovsky's key study in French – "The Body of the Living Christ: An Orthodox Interpretation of the Church".The contributors tackle a broad range of subjects that comprise the theological legacy of one of the most influential theologians of the twentieth c...

Commemorating the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, this volume offers an original examination of the enduring impact of the single most famous gathering of Christians since the apostolic ageDespite the longstanding historical and theological study of the Council of Nicaea, several central questions remain. Was Nicaea a theological event or a political one? What does it mean if it was both? Was Constantine’s intervention without precedent, or was he simp...

Nikos Nissiotis (1924-1986) was one of the foremost and formative intellectuals of the ecumenical movement in the twentieth century. As professor of philosophy and psychology of religion at the University of Athens, director of the Bossey Institute, and Chairman of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches, he interpreted the Orthodox spiritual tradition for a Western audience and highlighted the role of Christian thought in the modern world.This collection of...

Can Orthodox Christianity offer spiritual resources uniquely suited to the environmental concerns of today? This book makes the case emphatically that it can indeed. In addition to being the first substantial and comprehensive collection of essays, in any language, to address environmental issues from the Orthodox point of view, this volume (with contributions from many of the most influential theologians and philosophers in contemporary world Orthodoxy) will engage a wide audience, in aca...

In celebration of the 2021 visit to the University of Notre Dame by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, as well as the thirtieth anniversary of his election, this groundbreaking volume gathers together and introduces eleven important joint statements from the patriarch, addressing diverse topics from climate change to ecumenical dialogue.As the spiritual leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, His All-Holiness Bartholomew, Orthodox Archbishop of Constant...

Based on a constructive reading of Scripture, the apostolic and patristic traditions and deeply rooted in the sacramental experience and spiritual ethos of the Orthodox Church, John Zizioulas offers a timely anthropological and cosmological perspective of human beings as “priests of creation” in addressing the current ecological crisis.Given the critical and urgent character of the global crisis and by adopting a clear line of argumentation, Zizioulas describes a vision based on a ...

"Hyperechios’ sayings deserve to be known better and making them available in English translation makes them fully accessible to scholars/readers of all abilities.” —Greg Peters, American Benedictine Review“[S]tellar scholarship . . . a marvel . . . . This volume is a great basis for lectiodivina, for a retreat, for a class in the spiritual life and its vision and tools.” —Michael Plekon, Cistercian Studies Quarterly...