Customer Reviews

Father Arseny: A Cloud of Witnesses

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This book is so vital to read as Westerners who may not know about the persecutions of the Russian Church under the communist. What makes this books stand alone is the life of Fr. Arseny of Blessed Memory. His struggles with criminals, political prisoners, brutal guards, and trying to simply stay alive while fulfilling his sentence in one of the soviet, "special camps," gives you a look at how one man's humanity and compassion can have such a deep impact on so many others. Fr. Areny's life stands among many of the as yet un-cannonized saints that suffered for the Orthodox Faith. The spiritual depth and the description of some of Gods mysteries pulls back the veil of this world for the reader so they can see the depths of Gods love in his saints. You will love this book even if you are not Orthodox.

This is a continuation of the book Father Arseny, 1893-1973: Priest, Prisoner, Spiritual Father : Being the Narratives Compiled by the Servant of God Alexander Concerning His Spiritual Father.

The story of Father Arseny is perhaps the most illustrative example of what an Orthodox Christian life should be that I've ever read. It is a story of self-examination, repentance, prayer, forgiveness - all elements that from the basis of Orthodox Christian living (praxis). I can't count the number of people who've been inspired by these books. I would certainly recommend or even prescribe these two books to every Orthodox Christian. An absolute must, if there is such a thing.

As for the non-Orthodox, Christian or not, I would of course also recommend this book. It is for them too inspirational, as well as informative. As other non-Orthodox reviewers have indicated, it has led them to ask questions of Orthodoxy, and this is good!