Through an unexpected, and very welcome, occurrence of a financial refund, after taking care of some obligations, Anna and I each allowed ourselves a treat. That meant for me an order, with free shipping, from Light & Life Publishing.
This past week I received in the mail:
I'm particularly keen on all of them, though for different reasons.
Fr. Damascene's book, on recommendation from several co-bloggers, demonstrates how Chinese philosophy served as a paedegogos for the Chinese, as Hellenic philosophy did for the Greeks. There are also some (tantalizingly few) tidbits from Fr. Seraphim's papers on Chinese philosophy tucked away in brief comments in-text and footnotes.
Cabasilas' book, a library copy of which I'd scanned and read brief snippets, is amazing. It presents an Orthodox sacramental theology that will, I feel certain, produce a sea change in my current faith and practice. For that very reason, I am not ready to read it yet. It would be far too painful for me, since I cannot yet partake of the Holy Mysteries.
The Fords' book is primarily an account of the lives of married saints organized around the monthly ecclesial calendar. I've already discovered a rich treat. The holy ancestors of God have served, in my prayers, as Anna's and my marital patrons, not the least of which practical reasons is that their feast day is a mere two days' prior to our wedding date. But through the Ford's book, I also discovered the following saints for 11 September: Demetrius and Evanthia.
Demetrius was a philosopher. He was also the ruler of a city in Asia Minor. One day, his wife Evanthia and his son Demetrianus were praying in a pagan temple, when a great earthquake occurred. The earthquake toppled the temple, and they were buried in the rubble.Saint Cornelius the Centurion (September 13), the first Gentile brought into the Christian faith by Saint Peter (Acts 10 and 11), rescued them, and then brought them to the Christian faith. He filled their hearts and minds with the teachings of Christ, and the whole family became shining examples and models of the Word of Truth.
In time they all suffered persecution for their faith. They died of starvation inflicted on them by those who hated the Christians.
Finally, Fr. Ambrose's book on the life of Ivan Kireyevsky. Kireyevsky's life came to my attention while reading Blessed Hieromonk Seraphim's biography (see ch. 71, "An Orthodox Survival Course" [especially pages 620ff] in Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works). In fact, Fr. Seraphim helped Fr. Ambrose write this biography by translating portions of Kireyevsky's writings from the Russian. (There is also a life of Ivan Kireyevsky written by Dr. I. M. Kontzevitch in the St. Herman Press book on Elder Macarius, Elder Macarius of Optina, which life by Kontzevitch originally appeared in another work by him on the Optina monastery and its history.) One such passage From Kireyevsky's works translated by Fr. Seraphim appears in Fr. Seraphim's own biography:
The chief distinguishing feature of Orthodox thought is that it seeks, not to arrange separate concepts in accordance with the demands of faith, but rather to elevate reason itself above the usual level--to strive to elevate the very source of understanding, the very means of thinking up to sympathetic agreement with faith. (cited in Father Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works 618)
And, of course, all of these will have to wait for probably a couple more months, as I've already got tons of stuff on my plate right now. Not the least of which is a dissertation proposal to finish and defend.
Posted by Clifton at October 23, 2005 01:02 PM | TrackBackClifton:
I am so glad you got St. Nicolas of Cabasilas book! I just finished reading it (for the first of many times). I bought used for about $7. I highly recommend also his Commentary on the Divine Liturgy (about $5.50 used). Whether a result of the translator's work or the Saint's writing in the original, both of these works are incredibly easy to read despite being 14th Century works.
The latter Commentary is a must for inquirers, in my opinion, to understand the meaning of the liturgy. One can find it elsewhere in the earlier fathers here and there, but he puts in all in one package.
Hope you are feeling better soon,
=e
Posted by: E T at October 23, 2005 09:02 PMAch, I'm jealous! I've wanted a copy of Cabasilas' Life in Christ for a while. I had been under the impression that it was effectively out of print right now. I guess I was wrong. Time to start saving my pennies. Did you order it straight from SVSpress? I have his commentary on the Divine Liturgy and it is just wonderful.
Posted by: Doug at October 24, 2005 09:42 AM