Customer Reviews

The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity

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Since the above discription is so complete, all I will add is that this work is very detailed and comes in under three pounds! THe articles are all balanced and scholarly, with great attention to the general reader. It is also a great way to find an updated bibliography on the subject as well, since all articles are followed by detailed biblios. There are few works like it in English. Enjoy!

A previous reviewer here has titled his entry as "Full of Bias". This may be tiresome to some readers but there is no wrong in being biased -- a book that is intended to be supportive of its topic we expect to be biased, which just means to have an inclination for or toward a subject, person, football team, and so on. E.g., I am biased about Eastern Rite theology and spirituality, and find I enjoy that position more and more especially as it tends to open me more to my neighbors of the world. Prejudice, on the other hand, is different and often malicious, unfounded, and irrational.

This work was written mainly by outsiders to Orthodoxy who apparently didn't do their homework.

Some of the articles are factual and unbiased; unfortunately, some are not and are likely to lead the uninitiated researcher down the unfortunate road of church politics. I won't go too far in detail on this matter, but especially in the area of investigating various Orthodox jurisdictions, this book is hopelessly prejudicial.