Customer Reviews

The Historical Road of Eastern Orthodoxy

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This is another important work from the Orthodox scholar Alexander Schmemann worthy of our attention. It was written originally in Russian for the Orthodox people and then translated into English for the sake of the western audience, largely Catholic and Protestant. The difficult and intriguing path of the Orthodox Church through the centuries is the subject matter of the book and it is narrated and interpreted in a scholarly manner here providing a sourcebook for ecumenical dialogue. In commenting on the difficult road of Orthodoxy through the centuries focussed on Byzantium, the author has endeavored to avoid any polemic against Western Christendom in an effort to understand the issues from a neutral standpoint. As a fairly accurate and dependable summary of the history of Eastern Orthodoxy, it is valuable to anyone intending to learn more about the Christian Church from the historical perspective.

I think this book offers a good introduction to Eastern Orthodoxy. It is easy to understand. Over several places, the author has casted invaluable insight to the historical development of the church.

The author's perspective of history seems to have adopted Hegel's view of thesis + antithesis => synthesis.