The Sacrament of Love: The Nuptial Mystery in the Light of the Orthodox Tradition (Paperback)

by Paul Evdokimov (Author), Anthony P. Gythiel (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

For Paul Evdokimov, the conjugal union of man and woman in marriage is an image of God in Trinity — a relationship of persons united in love, thus realizing their one nature. But, since the Fall, only Christ can truly reconcile man and woman and bring about the harmony of Eros and the person. The sacrament of marriage regulates the communion between man and wife in all its sacramental fullness. True love is fruitful, but this fruitfulness is not only expressed through children; in can also be manifested through hospitality, through service, and sometimes through a common creation.

The Sacrament of Love is a unique reflection on marriage, as well as on monastic and non-monastic celibacy. It places the relationship of man and woman within the context of the most perfect relationship of persons: the Trinitarian communion of the Divine Persons.

Language Notes
Text: English, French (translation)

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 088141042X
• ISBN-13: 978-0881410426
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #595,916 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #44 in

  Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Theology > Sacraments

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Profound Marital Theology, July 10, 2003

By	D. Hipsh "justanna" (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a great and perhaps life-changing book for many marriages. Unfortunately, the language is intensely theological. Those familiar with basic theological terms within the Orthodox Christian tradition have an incredible tool in their hands. This is one of the few English works on the theology of the masculine and feminine - the roots of their being and differences, their special charisms, the impact of the fall on cross-gender relations and the recapitulation of those relations in Christ through the mystery of marriage. If you can follow the language in this review, you can follow the language in the book. I wouldn't be without this read. It has a way of reworking modern thought from two people constantly butting heads in a marriage to the realization of an important interplay between masculine and feminine differences and how they can serve to achieve not only a better whole, but salvation for those two as well.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marriage the Sacrament of Love, April 2, 2009

By	Gerard Reed - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

St Augustine once said "He who is not spiritual in his flesh becomes carnal even in his spirit." One of Eastern Orthodoxy's strengths is its constant concern for sanctifying all realms of reality, making holy the most mundane of events. Thus marriage, as Paul Evdokimov makes
clear in The Sacrament of Love: The Nuptial Mystery in the Light of the Orthodox Tradition (Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir's Seminary Press, c. 1985), is considered an important sacrament in Orthodox tradition. In its profoundest sense, "Sanctification is the action of the Spirit who
brings about the miraculous birth of Christ in the depth of the soul" (p. 35).
According to The Orthodox Confession, a sacrament is defined as "a holy action through which the invisible grace of God is given to the believer under the visible sign" (p. 124). A Christian marriage is, as Clement of Alexandria said, a "House of God," a holy place where God accomplishes his sanctifying intent in men and women. Created by Love, called to love, we find in the marital bond the finest arena for spiritual perfection. Christian husbands and wives rightly pray "Grant, O God, that by loving one another we may love you" (p. 67). In marriage we find a holy place where we have opportunity to become people of character, virtuous persons.
In the words of Pius XI, "'{love} must have as its primary purpose that man and wife help each other in forming and perfecting themselves in the interior life, so that through their partnership in life they may advance ever more and more in virtue; . . . this mutual inward molding of husband and wife . . . can in a very real sense . . . be said to be the chief reason and purpose of matrimony'" (p. 45; quoting the encyclical On the Christian Marriage). To become godly, to be fully conformed to Christ, we must fully surrender our will to God's. God sanctifies those who fully surrender themselves to Him. The surrendered will is the open door through which God enters to accomplish his saving, sanctifying intent. As St Maximus the Confessor said, "'The Spirit begets no will that resists Him. He transfigures by deification {theosis} only the will that desires it'" (p. 55).
Thus our calling as Christians involves the renunciation of self. In a sense, any vocation demands the renunciation of self, the total giving of oneself to something higher than the insular self. Our calling as husbands and wives also demands self-surrender, surrendering our will, learning to serve our spouse or children. Meeting others' needs, not having one's own needs met, makes marriage good. Doing so enables us to contribute to the synergistic work of salvation God seeks to accomplish within us.
Endokimov's treatise enables us to understand what marriage as sacrament means to the Orthodox. It further helps us understand how sanctification is stressed by writers who seek to show how the Holy Spirit imparts grace to believers. The book also includes the (lengthy) liturgy of the marriage service.

1 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Delivery, July 20, 2005

By	Heather Groblebe "Mystic of the Real" (Arvada, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I received the book that had no way of being damaged with the way it was wrapped. It was a gift and it looked good when I gave it. I would also recommend this book to all who desire relationship with those you love. It is divine and it is real!