The Orthodox Church: An Introduction to Eastern Christianity

Amazing book, very easy to read (Kallistos had a gift) but mostly a very profound and well explained introduction to orthodoxy. To read with its companion "The Orthodox Way".

If you want to know about the Orthodox church, this book is great. Good info without being complicated.

A very thorough book that delves deeply into the subject matter. As expected, the Bishop is obviously highly educated and very knowledgable in the subject, this clearly comes across in the book. He has evidently worked hard at condensing what is a very comprehensive topic area into a very readable paperback without doing an injustice to the church and its history. Due to the author's credentials I would imagine the book is unrivalled in its field. However, for those with only a superficial interest in the topic the book may be a rather little too dense, dry and monotonous, it is not really light reading and I found myself getting a little bored at times, as admittedly, I am more interested in orthodox theology and praxis rather than church history. Hence why my title. It would be shame not to complete what is a very insightful book. If you have any reservations you may wish to consider the author's other book 'the Orthodox Way' as an alternative, or as a precursor to this book, a book that goes far deeper into the subjects of history, theology and praxis, splits and the effects of persecution under Communism. The book also provides a very good clear explanation of theosis, the orthodox understanding of the very purpose of all of our lives. The Orthodox Church is significantly more developed and complete in its understanding of this particular theological concept, than is found anywhere in the West. The book, although primarily aimed at lay readers, is nonetheless sufficiently academic to be able to make a very credible contribution to any theology degree course.

Really informative and well written. Definitely worth a read for anyone interested in Orthodox Christianity.

Although a graduate in Theology, my academic experience never extended beyond Rome and the interaction between "Western Christianity" and the dialogue with Judaism, Islam and Buddhism and ethics and philosophy. Although realising that there were differences between Western Christianity and Orthodoxy I never explored these and it was only as a result of a visit to an Orthodox Cathedral in Estonia that my interest was stimulated. This book is an ideal introduction to this tradition and the reader, like myself, will perhaps have a whole new view on Orthodoxy and the tribulations and trials that the Orthodox communities have faced throughout history, not only from Islam but also from Communism. (I particularly was interested in that section which dealt with the experience in the Russian Church under Communism). This book has now stimulated my interest to carry my studies further and try to understand more about Orthodox Christianity and whether it has a spiritual message in post modernity.

I have learned so much about the orthodox view of early church history and the 7 ecumenical councils. The author gives a very easy to understand but information packed recap of the history. I have only read this part so I can't comment on the rest of the book but I am enjoying it a lot. I honestly can't stop reading despite having exams to study for.

its been most useful

It gives a good overview of Orthodox Christianity (OC). I had no idea about OC. But now I know at least the historical background of it and its theology. So it is a good introduction to people who need fundamental knowledge of OC. The theology part could have been more elaborated so that I could learn a bit more. I am an evangelical Christian, holding many different views from OC. However, I think the value of church history would benefit individual Christian if they truly understand it. I also think there is a trend that the edge of denominations is getting blurred. there is a chance that Christians of different background could learn from each other after overcoming biases.

gut

A very complete and well organized book about the history of the Orthodox Church and the basic fundamentals of its doctrine. It's written in an interesting and enjoyable style to read. I recommend this book for anyone interested in knowing more about Orthodox Church history and faith.

Good!

Clear and beautiful peice of work...

This book is a must for anyone who wishes to learn about Orthodoxy. However it only covers the Eastern Orthodox Churches and not the Oriental Orthodox Churches.