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Gifts of the Desert: The Forgotten Path of Christian Spirituality

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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.

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.

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!

I have to admit that Markides played a role in my return to my cradle faith. Like him, also, I understand what it is to try to reconcile the mystical experiences and mindsets of the East with the fast-paced, rational life of the West. He elucidates these points beautifully.

To those who feel he brings entirely too much politics and social commentary into his writings, then perhaps you have missed the lesson on nationalism/politics & religion he was learning from Fr. Maximos in MOS and with which he continues to struggle in GotD. In the East, often, it is your religion that defines your affiliation/politics; much like we are becoming here in the US. A Christian Arab is a very different being from a Muslim Arab. Same with Cypriots. The type of Muslim or Christian further define your politics in a way that will never be understood in this country, even post-911. This doesn't leave us when we come to America.

Part of Markides' spiritual struggle is to come to terms with how much of what is worldly should intrude on his spiritual life, and also the reverse. And best yet, how to integrate them and deal with them holistically. Markides isn't writing how-to books. There are other books for that. Even Bishop Kallistos Ware said of Markides' Mountain of Silence that it was for those that may not wish to read more academic books at the introductory level. He is writing about his own life journey and all that he is learning along the way. In sharing it with us through his writing, he can learn more by accessing more inaccessible teachers and places and therefore teach us more while furthering his own journey. So long as we walk together, we walk well.

I read "Mountain of Silence" by Kyriacos Markides a couple of years ago and was captivated by the description of Orthodox Christian spirituality that it presented. "Gifts of the Desert" continues much in the same vein, through discourses detailing the author's trip to St Anthony's monastery in Arizona (with some history of that monastery), and another trip to Cyprus to have more conversations with Fr. Maximos (now Metropolitan Maximos), the main figure from "Mountain of Silence". Also, Markides records an interview with British Orthodox theologian Bishop Kallistos Ware - making the book well-rounded overall in content.

With that said, I found parts of the book problematic. Other reviewers have already mentioned Markides' liberal political digressions, and yes, it gets a bit irritating. But more than that, Markides consistently inserts a sort of unitarianism, where Christianity is just one good type of spirituality amoung others that are just as good - that all roads lead to God. This presents to the reader a confusing portrait - Markides spends so much time harking the need to follow the "Three-fold Way" to God: purification, illumination, and deification. But if all religions are the same and all roads lead to God, and all will be saved, then why SHOULD we follow the three-fold way? Indeed, the three-fold way was never intended to be followed alone, outside of the Church from whence it came, but Markides appears to propose a religion-less, and Church-less, spirituality. While this sort of spirituality may be popular in today's cuture, presenting it in this book does a disservice to the people who provide much of the book's content and is inconsistant with the Orthodox Christian tradition from which Markides draws.

If you're considering this book and have not read "Mountain of Silence", then definately read "Mountain" first. Overall it's much better, although a bit of the universalist bent that I just complained about is present there too. If you have read "Mountain" and enjoyed it, then you probably will enjoy "Gifts of the Desert" as well.

Like the previous reviewers who were both blessed and a little disappointed by this sequel to the outstanding "Mountain of Silence," I would like to add my two cents. Over all it is similar to "Mountain" except this journey takes place beyond Greece and Cyprus to include the new and upcoming Greek monastery, St Anthony's, in the Arizona desert that has drawn both praise and criticism, with its Athonite perspectives on the spiritual life under the direction of Elder Ephraim, a disciple of famed Elder Joseph the Hesychast. Markides also travels to England to seek direction from Bishop Kallistos Ware, the leading spokesman of Orthodoxy in the Western world. And of course there are many more enlightening and insightful conversations with Bishop Maximos of Cyprus, the main character of the book. Like the other reviewers, I became tired of Markides' liberal political digressions. I am not sure if he puts them into the book just to have some sort of foil against which to discuss topics or if he really feels that way. Either way, it would seem that some of his points of view would at least have been changed over the past several years of contact with the Tradition. I can't say, and I don't mean this as a judgment upon him or those with such views; it just seemed odd and out of place.

I'd say that before you read this one, read "The Mountain of Silence".

There are some gems in here, but unfortunately I can't recommend the book. Just when you begin to delve into the depths of Orthodox Christian spirituality, Markides sticks in some comment comparing this with Zen Buddhism or Hinduism or something else New Age. Go ahead and read the Bhagavad Gita, for example. It is very interesting, yet completely eclipsed by the teachings of Orthodox Christianity, rendering any comparison ridiculous. I suppose Markides should be cut some slack - he is, after all, an academe, so it's amazing that he's even made it this far. Actually, I believe that he may even say so himself :-)

A friend of mine, who spent years at a Buddhist monastery before becoming an Orthodox Christian, looked at the book, put it down and said, "Would you pick up Dostoyevsky and Danielle Steel and then proceed to read the former, interspersing it with an occasional chapter of the latter? Of course not! Better read St. Ephraim the Syrian, and leave Markides to Fr. Maximos. He's obviously on a journey, and he's not quite there yet. Maybe in the next book he will arrive." I couldn't have said it better myself.

I love Kyriakos Markides! I love the pursuit of truth that he describes in delicious prose in his several books. I was fascinated with his discoveries of timeless spiritual wisdom on Mt. Athos (to which I have made a pilgrimage two times - most recently in 2005). Markides' "Mountain of Silence" is one of my favorite books! So I looked forward to his next book, which was published in October 2005, "Gifts of the Desert". I expected it to be a continuation and further exploration of the "search for orthodox spirituality" that he began to recount in "Mountain of Silence". However I found the book to be a disappointment in the end! It is well-written and it does pick up from where "Mountain" ends, but I find that Markides veers off into various tangents that have more to do with his apparent liberal and social politics and views (anti-Iraq; pro-feminism, etc.) than the pursuit of "orthodox spirituality". Frankly, Markides sounded more like a liberal professor of sociology (which he is by trade!) than the seeker of truth that he was in "Mountain". Personally, I'd buy the book if you love Markides - but wait until it comes out in paper! I guess this is what you can get when you write from a first-person perspective (ie., personal opinions and tangents) but frankly it became tiresome.

Markides opens by telling the compelling story of how Saint Anthony Greek Orthodox monastery in the desert of Arizona came to be in 1995 despite impossible circumstances. Markides also gives us glimpses into the challenges the monks must face, and we even hear from an ex-monk who discovered he wasn't "made" for the rigors of the monastic life.

In chapter three Markides picks up where he left off in Mountain of Silence, his previous book, and returns to Cyprus to visit Father Maximos, who is now a bishop. The journey then continues not in the desert, but on water. Father Maximos leads a pilgrimage cruise in the Aegean Sea where he is almost constantly surrounded by followers, and Markides often has to talk to him in group situations. Even though he has to share Markides with other people, they cover an incredible breadth of topics, which fortunately does not dilute the power of the messages. The pace is as quick as a John Grisham novel.

The Different Kind of Hospital chapter is my favorite. Maximos says the holy fathers would have placed the study of theology in the medical school, not in the humanities department: "The ecclesia must be properly seen as being a part of medicine; in reality a spiritual hospital." In the Anger Without Sin chapter Maximos writes that anger is a part of our nature and therefore a gift (!) from God. We should strive to use anger only to resist temptation, as Christ did. Only humility can defeat Satan. He writes, "The presence of anger in your heart is a sign that you lack humility."In the spiritual stages chapter we learn that the three stages are slave of God (motivate by fear), employee of God (motivated by rewards), and lover/child of God (motivated by love of God). Other chapters are devoted to near death experiences, prayer power, cunningness and faith of saints. Markides takes a detour in chapter eight, the Converts chapter, and flies off to London to interview Bishop Kallistos Ware; this chapter alone might well be worth the price of the book.

If Mountain of Silence left you wondering what Markides' personal religious beliefs are he leaves little doubt in Gifts from the Desert. Early on in the book he relates his thoughts about mystical Christianity, describes Theosis in detail, and talks about the exclusivity of Christianity. And the last chapter contains his forthright opinions in favor of feminism and women's ordination.

The greatest gift that I received from this book was the realization that I feel like an overworked employee of God too much of the time yet I am in the right place. And that place is the church - a spiritual hospital, not an exclusive country club where image is everything. It is in this hospital where there is medicine for spiritual healing here on earth, not just in the world to come.

I came to this this book wondering about the Eastern spiritual tradition, and I found valuable insights presented in a pleasing manner. The book's chatty style is an excellent means to approach sometimes complicated theological issues.

Another reviewer critized the digressions in the book. One of the digressions has to do with women. For me, this is important. Although Markides doesn't offer any astounding insights into the position of women in the Eastern church, at least he mentions the problem. And as I was reading the book, I kept wondering what about women in the Eastern church. Do they find mentors? Are they really on the radar at all? How do Western women relate to Eastern spirituality?

Thank you Professor Markides for a wonderful book.