Remember Thy First Love (Revelation 2:4-5): The Three Stages of the Spiritual Life in the Theology of Elder Sophrony

After reading the entire book and pondering my own inner prayer life and faith journey, I especially found the last part of the book "Questions and Answers" to be the best! It really helped go back through and uniquely summarize the book and help make relevant and applicable everything stated. Great read for any Christian.

This is a spiritually profitable book that will take more than one reading to absorb everything. The author seems to repeat himself often, but perhaps the repetition can help reinforce the ideas that he is presenting. I would describe this book as a "Spiritual Handbook." The book will be of maximum value if one puts into practice what one reads, rather than to read it just for head knowledge, which will profit one very little. It is not light reading to relax, but rather weighty reading, which is meant to be practiced. Apparently this book was written as part of some lectures or retreat since there is a section of “Questions and Answers” that starts on page 339 for some, not all, of the chapters. I kept two bookmarks in my book as I read it; one for the chapter I was reading and the other for the corresponding questions and answers. I found it easier to focus on the questions when the chapter was fresh in my mind. This book can be of great benefit in aiding the spiritual warfare that a Christian must wage.

I immediately fell in love with this book. It nourished my soul. This book is filled with depth!! It's truly a wealth of wisdom to be digested slowly and carefully. It's not a difficulty book to read at all, but if you are looking for a quick light read, it's not for you.

This is one fabulous book. I cannot put it down. The writer draws you to be introspective and is very inspirational.I sometimes reach out and just open it up to any page, and read and read and read. Even if I just read a couple of pages, I get so much out of it. I would recommend this highly - especially to those who are serious about their faith and their journey to salvation. Very very good.

This book is a true spiritual jewel, and I can't recommend it enough. Whether you are an Orthodox Christian who has been living in the Orthodox Church for years, or a newcomer to Orthodoxy, you WILL benefit a lot from this book. Make sure you read it with a pencil ready, to underline thoughts which you find to be particularly important and/or inspiring for you. Believe me, there will be A LOT of such thoughts in this book!

Great read.

Every page drips with insight!!!

Excellent!