Centuries of Holiness: Ancient Spirituality Refracted for a Postmodern Age [Hardcover]

Richard Valantasis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 18, 2005

Richard Valantasis brings us a guide to the spiritual life for the smart seeker who wants to be fully attuned to God, interactive with other believers, connected to the wider world in which humans live, engaged with the physical universe, committed to service to the poor and disenfranchised, and, finally, postmodern. Adopting a literary device first used in the fourth century by the Desert Father Evagrios Pontikos, Richard Valantasis offers a “century” of spiritual texts—a hundred short essays from 800 to 900 words—on a hundred spiritual themes. Believing that “tradition is the action of the Holy Spirit making available the wisdom of the past in a new idiom and a time,” Valantasis moves from the premodern spiritual world of the Christian tradition to the postmodern realities of our current world, and back again. Sample entries · Conversion · Sanctification · Incarnate Living · Discernment · Divine Indwelling · Union with God · Ennui · Progress · Holy Dying · Habitual Prayer · Thorns and Impediments · Praying the Bodies · Spiritual Direction · Emotional Ecology · Seeing Double · The Body Transparent · Temptation · Consolations · The Devil · Visions of Deification · Humility>

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Ably addressing ‘those who yearn for a spiritual life that has depth and intellectual challenge,’ these beautifully written entries range so widely that they do not permit easy summary, but Valantasis’ work takes advantage of the tough-minded asceticism of his Orthodox upbringing while acknowledging other traditions, as well as postmodern ideas of race, gender, and class. Highly recommended.” –Library Journal, 3/05

-Mention. Theology Digest/ Vol. 52 No. 3/ Fall 2005 (Theology Digest )

-Mention. Theology Digest/ Vol. 52 No. 3/ Fall 2005 (, )

About the Author

Richard Valantasis is the Clifford E. Baldridge Professor of Biblical Studies at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. He is the author of Third Century Spiritual Guides, Gospel of Thomas, Centuries of Holiness, editor of Religions of Late Antiquity in Practice, and co-editor of Asceticism.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 231 pages
• Publisher: Continuum (February 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826417051
• ISBN-13: 978-0826417053
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,373,103 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Demanding, but rewarding, March 9, 2006

By 

May B. Daw (Watertown, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Centuries of Holiness: Ancient Spirituality Refracted for a Postmodern Age (Hardcover)

The "centuries" of the title are not chronological centuries but designate this collection of one hundred spiritual essays, based upon Eastern Orthodox teachings but "refracted" for modern Western Christians. Valantasis envisions his readers as those who "yearn for a spiritual life that has depth and intellectual challenge." He demands a high level of concentration and commitment from his readers-- his sentences are complex, and the ideas behind them are equally so. I found much wisdom within them! The density of the essays requires that they be digested over some considerable time. The author includes suggestions for focusing on certain chapters over the course of a retreat, or throughout a season of the church year.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jewels of wisdom, March 30, 2009

By 

Sara Shovar Byers "Sally" (Southwest Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Centuries of Holiness: Ancient Spirituality Refracted for a Postmodern Age (Hardcover)

This small rich book is Lenten reading for several of my church group.
The separate "essays" are stand alone focused thought filled jewels. The information is written in easy to understand language, the concepts are timeless and deeply complex. Scholarly with a human touch, Richard Valantasis is a fascinating erudite teacher and spiritually gifted priest. This elegantly shaped book is the finest bedside table reading, one essay at a time.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pentecostal perspective, May 14, 2009

By 

Josh "Follower" (Anchorage, AK) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Centuries of Holiness: Ancient Spirituality Refracted for a Postmodern Age (Hardcover)

Unbelievably insightful on over one hundred spritual questions. A thinking believer's resource. I heartily recommend this. I am purchasing several as gifts.