I want to find some good reading materials about the Orthodox Church. Most people think (if they do think about it at all) it is just like being Catholic except that its Greek (or Russian or Armenian). I like to know more about its doctrines and practices. I believe that Western Christians can learn a lot from our Eastern brethren.
Tags: Orthodox, Orthodox Catholic Church, Catholic, good books, reading materials, Religion Beliefbest book for introduction to orthodoxy, eastern orthodox church books, orthodox web book
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Some good books about the ORTHODOX church is……
The Bible.
http://www.kingjamesbible.com
This is the only book you need
Most Greek Orthodox communities have small reading libraries.
check out The Philokalia
Peace
I have found this portal.
It is an english edition of one of the most popular orthodox web site.
http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/
And here is the web site of the Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia:
http://www.russianorthodoxchurch.ws/synod/indexeng.htm
There are a lot of places to look, and books aren’t always the best sources because they’re often outdated. I just skimmed through a “Greek Orthodox Catechism” today, written about a century ago (when Orthodoxy was much less prevalent in the English-speaking world), and it had incredibly westernized information in it.
1) This is a nice introduction to theosis, one of the central aspects of Orthodox theology:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3664/is_199904/ai_n8848698/
2) The Wikipedia page for the Eastern Orthodox Church is a great introduction about the Orthodox church in general
3) There is an Orthodox Wiki (orthodoxwiki.com), but its audience seems to be people who are already Orthodox and lacks explanation on many things
4) Bishop Kallistos Ware has written two great books called The Orthodox Way and The Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Way is a good source if you want to understand the philosophy behind major doctrines of the Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Church gives a history of the Orthodox Church and provides an introduction to its basic teachings.
The Orthodox Church is available online in HTML format:
http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/history_timothy_ware_1.htm
http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/history_timothy_ware_2.htm
5) I found this website helpful as an introduction on various aspects of the church:
http://standreworthodoxchurch.us/bishops.html
Hope they help.
Apart from the Bible:
The Orthodox Church by Bishop Kallistos (Timothy) Ware
Introducing the Orthodox Church by Fr Anthony Coniaris.
The Illumined Heart by Frederica Matthews-Green
Let Us Attend! A Journey through the Orthodox Liturgy by Fr Lawrence Farley
Christ in the Psalms by Fr Patrick Henry Reardon
Early Christian Writings ed. by A. Louth (Penguin)
The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church by Vladimir Lossky
I’d recommend “The Orthodox Church” by Bishop Kallistos Ware.
You must log in to post a comment.