37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Orthodoxy explained by a modern master., December 5, 2005
This review is from: Gifts of the Desert: The Forgotten Path of Christian Spirituality (Hardcover)
Like his earlier work "The Mountain of Silence," this book consists largely of spiritual discourses by the Cypriot priest/bishop, Father Maximos, Markides' long-time spiritual mentor. In addition, Markides' itinerary includes a visit with the British convert to Orthodoxy, Fr. Kallistos Ware, author of several notable books on Orthodoxy, and a journey to the remarkable monastery of St. Anthony's the Great in the Arizona desert. (I say "remarkable" because it is a true gem of a place, sprouting oasis-like from the golden desert, lush with orchards, gardens, and ponds, and boasting lovely architecture that combines traditional Orthodox motifs with the style of the American Southwest. For those who are interested, it has its own website.)
Although this book might be marketed as presenting an "esoteric" form of Christianity, I do not think that Father Maximos would be very happy with that designation. As Vladimir Lossky pointed out in his great work "The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church," Orthodoxy "has never made a sharp distinction between mysticism and theology." Thus, for me, Father Maximos is a straightforward representative of traditional Orthodoxy rather than a purveyor of strange doctrines or quasi-heretical mumbo-jumbo. Anyone who comes to this book looking for the "exotic" will be disappointed. (Not because the "miraculous" is absent from this book- which it isn't - but because the miraculous is presented as a normal outcome of the Orthodox life and the beneficience of God and the Theotokos.)
In Orthodoxy, the "mystical" is hidden, so to speak, in plain sight - in the sacraments, the liturgy, the prayer life, and the ascetical disciplines incumbent upon everyone. To be sure, their is a special quality to the monastic life that is different from that of the layperson, but the basic process of "theosis" (deification) is offered to all believers without exception. Father Maximos makes it clear that the mystical life is the life intended for every believer, and that the only impediment to the divine life is our own distraction and scatteredness.
Father Maximos talks about the struggle with the passions, with the mind, and with the myriad of distractions collectively known as "the world." His remedy for the world's ills is nothing if not traditional, but it is sometimes couched in language and metaphors that are unusual and even provocative. So, in his own way, Father Maximos is a bit of a salesman, but only in that he modernizes the sales pitch, not the product.
Markides - a sociologist at the University of Maine - occasionally challenges Father Maximos with the typical liberal critiques of Christianity, e.g., clerical conservatism, patriarchy, the doctrine of hell, salvation outside the church, and so forth. Father Maximos generally defends Orthodoxy, but not without emphasizing that these controversial doctrines and practices have always been subject to alternate interpretations, even amongst the great saints of the church.
Finally, one comment about the various monastic personages who make brief appearances throughout this book. Anyone who thinks that monks are all cut from the same cloth will be surprised to read the biographical details of many of these monks. They truly have come from all walks of life, from all educational and economic levels, and from every kind of - shall we say - "lifestyle."
I give Markides generally favorable marks for this book, although his tendency to introduce his politics grated on me from time to time, particularly insofar as his political views were offered only in passing and therefore - in my opinion - came across as a superficial kind of "knee jerk liberalism." But that is a minor quibble with a book that otherwise provides a good view into Orthodoxy as lived by some of its most illustrious practitioners.
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Athonite Way?, May 21, 2006
This review is from: Gifts of the Desert: The Forgotten Path of Christian Spirituality (Hardcover)
Kyriakos Markides, the Cypriot-American sociologist from Maine is back with another fine volume, dealing with the mystical aspects of Orthodox Christianity. He relates these to many eastern and new age religions and practices. However, his main focus is on the spirituality of the Holy Orthodox Church and he presents this with reverence and love.
There are some 'side trips' in this volume--notably visits to a Greek Orthodox monastery in Arizona and a chat with Bishop Kallistos (Tim Ware) the venerable Orthodox convert/author/scholar of the United Kingdom.
Some reviewers have found the side trips, both to Sedona and to eastern mysticism distracting from the main thrust of the book, which is what Markides and his travel companions and friends are taught by the Venerable Father Maximos. Those who read THE MOUNTAIN OF SILENCE remember the assertive, youngish Maximos as abbot at Panagia. He is now the over-busy Bishop of Limassol but still finds time to share the gerontos wisdom with Markides, as they take a pilgrimage through the Agean and travel Cyprus.
Some of the joy of these books is that they are travelogue as well as discourse, deftly wrapping theology, comparitive religion and sociology into a slice of life and look at the sights.
Father Maximos is on target as ever. Some part of his wisdom will hit home with any reader. Maybe the discourse on anger and sin, perhaps the concept of the Ecclesia as a spiritual hospital, or maybe the idea that the Bible is not chronology or archeology but a medical text for the soul?
GIFTS OF THE DESERT will have wide appeal. Perhaps those who will gain the most are those in the west who either gave up on Christianity or never tried it because they felt that spiritual depth, mysticism, and communion with the Divine were not to be found in the rationalist, scholastic, legalist tradition which has unfolded over the years in both Rome and the Protestant denominations.
But, as Markides notes in his opening chapter, Christianity is no stranger to meditation, mysticism, and miracles. This book gives much wisdom about why.
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26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Revelation, November 2, 2005
This review is from: Gifts of the Desert: The Forgotten Path of Christian Spirituality (Hardcover)
First a confession: I'm a tremendous fan of this author, have read all of his books and benefit from his insights every time. This book is no exception - in fact, I could hardly put it down. Though his spiritual journey concentrates on the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the questions and dilemmas he tackles are those found in every religious tradition. His "guru," the brilliant Father Maximos, provides the insights into the Christian tradition that most of us have never received in our catechism, Protestant or Catholic, verifying that the ancient split in the Christian church certainly robbed the West of deeply mystical traditions that were original roots of Christianity. But Kyriacos doesn't focus on dogma as much as the inherent paradoxes of trying to live a Christian spiritual tradition in daily life and 21st century society, and his exploration with Father Maximos covers topics that span a wider scope of spirituality, from New Age traditions and Near Death Experiences to nationalism, world politics, and the history of religious traditions at large - no small task that he executes with succinct, readable prose that is also brought to life by his intellectual curiousity and the cultural environments of his quest, from Cyprus to New Age Sedona Arizona. For spiritual seekers of all walks, this is a book not to be missed!
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