Orthodox Spirituality

By: Peter Bouteneff

Book by Peter Bouteneff This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0872432181
• ISBN13: 9780872432185
• Release Date: February 1997
• Publisher: Templegate Publishers
• Length: 91 Pages
• Weight: 0.26 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Small, But Valuable

If you seek a comprehensive book that reaches the depth of Orthodox thought, this book is not for you. Rather, it is a small compilation of quotations from Orthodox writers of all backgrounds. You will find everyone from Saint Cyril of Alexandria to Father Matta El Maskeen (Matthew the Poor) in this book. I generally recommend it to people who wish to benefit from one reading per day, but with the caveat that this book may not represent the Orthodox doctrine and theology of any particular branch of the Church.

Contemplate, and Celebrate the Depth & Breadth of Orthodoxy

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God" (Matt. 5:8). A Living Spirituality: The Kingdom of Heavens is not to be sought in a faraway galaxy at the end of time, not even on a higher plane of mystical existence, that we delve into after we pass away. Eternal life is wherein God is revealed (John 17:3), and made manifest in our very existence, not acquired through a prescription of ritual practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving to achieve piety, it should be lived in our own lifetimes, here and now. To experience the presence of the heavenly Father, the Lord who is knocking on our doors (Rev. 3:2), we have to hear him, and let him in our inner being and thought, invite him into the heart of our minds (Noia), and He grants us, in this lifetime, the grace of His fellowship, and the joyful peace in His presence. To see God, you have to reacquire the purity of heart, that babes and kids have, and loose in a man centered glorifying culture. Daily Readings, in Orthospirituality: Within Ichthys, the fish, a symbolic icon of early Christianity, in the forefront, Introduction, and Notes, and Sources at the end, each of these brief readings, is limited to one page in length. The brief introduction exposes orthodox traditions, of asceticism, prayer, Synergy (Human freedom, and participation), and a recommended further readings. These represent an appetizer of a wide range of inspiring renderings that comprise of sayings from patristic, medieval, to modern authors, prayers, poems, and faith orienting fables. This is a good introductory invitation, a pilot book that quotes a wide variety of texts, in space and time from the Desert Fathers to contemporary teachers of the way; Bp. Kalistos Ware (The Inner Kingdom & The Orthodox Way), and Fr. Matthew the Poor (Orthodox Prayer Life & The Communion of Love.) Editor Bouteneff: Peter Bouteneff, a student of the beautiful arts; divinity, music, and philosophy (under Oxford scholar of Orthodoxy, Bishop Kalistos Ware) has added an ecumenical maturity to the recipy of Boetheus' consolation of Lord's providence in true Orthodoxy of grace and synergy.

pocket companion for devotions

This is a little gem of a book that provides a wide variety of texts, each one page long, comprised of prayers, poems, and sayings from patristics and modern authors. For the price it is an excellent gift for friends, or just a handy pocket book that you can use for devotions on the run or at the prayer corner. Enjoy