Church Books

This is a great book for Catholic Junior High or High School students. It contains many different ways of praying within the Catholic faith. I would recommend it to anyone who works with young Catholic students.

I was very impressed with this Prayer Book and highly recommend it not only for Youth, but for Adults of any age. Many wonderful prayers, leather-bound book will last a lifetime. Makes a wonderful gift!

This is a must have for every teen. What a great resource for them to not only learn about different forms of prayer, but to have meaningful and relevant words and ideas to use in their personal prayer as they form their relationship with their God.

This is a wonderful prayer book. It presents prayer in a context that young people can understand and appreciate. Topics are organized into four sections: I. Prayers for Today's Teenagers, II. Prayers from the Catholic Tradition, III. Methods for Personal Prayer, IV. Liturgical Prayer. The book follows the "Pray It! Study It! Live It!" format of the Catholic Youth Bible and the Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth. There are sidebar notes throughout the book which provide additional information and ideas for the reader. In part IV, Liturgical Prayer, the Mass is explained in the context of prayer and how one's personal experience of the Mass can be deepened.
While this book is written specifically for teenagers, it can also be understood and appreciated by pre-teens. Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade Religious Education students like this book very much. And, as an adult, I find this book fascinating and helpful to my own continuing formation. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to every Catholic!
(One little note--It is not leather-bound as described; it is bound with a leather-ette material--similar to leather, but NOT LEATHER. It is still a very nice, sturdy binding and cover.)

I work in a Catholic High School and this little book has been a great resource for Youth friendly prayer. It has the basics and much, much more. I love it! More importantly the kids love it and USE IT!!!

This book is fantastic, offering a well selected variety of early Celtic Christian literature. The selections, (many for the first time translated into English) offer a real feel for the dispositions, theology, and flavor of the early Celtic Christian. The introductory chapters offer valuable contextual information. If there is a fault with the introduction, it is that it leaves the reader thirsting for more. The end notes, as well, communicate important information regarding descriptions of geography, information explaining items which may not be self-explanatory to the first time student in this field of study. As with the introduction, the end notes leave the reader thirsting for more. I really only have one major complained or criticism: I hate end notes. Placing the references, etc, as foot notes is much more convenient, easier to locate, and keeps the reference in the context of the main texts. I wish for many more volumes such as this. In the meantime I continue rereading this one to two times per year, and continually looking up references. For a student of the early Celtic Church who is not fluent in either Latin or any of the early Irish, Scot, or Welsh languages, this book is a must read, and will provide much spiritual edification. An invaluable resource to include in one's library.

Celtic Christianity is rightly said to be the branch of Christianity which celebrates God's immanence in the cosmos, and this collection of works from Celtic Christians gives an excellent overview of this fascinating branch of Christian spirituality.

Very pleasing to me was seeing John Scotus Eriugena's Commentary on the Gospel of John, where he blasts the Manicheans for seeing the material world as evil (such a position was totally incomprehensible in Eriugena's eyes, and his admiration for the beauty of the cosmos runs through his works).

There are also other works including poems, hymns and stories of saints. This volume is a valuable addition to the library of any Christian interested in Christian spirituality.

This is an excellent book, edited by the founder of the MA program in Celtic Christianity, at the University of Wales, Lampeter. The book brings the topic to life, and allows the reader to gain an insight into the spiritual world of the Celts. Dr. Davies presents the reader with a wide variety of works, that give an excellent representation of Celtic writing and thought. It is a book that must be read and reread, in order to gain the full effect of the excellent pieces of work offered. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the Celts and/or spirituality.

Partly there is a problem dealing with Celtic spirituality, or indeed, Celtic anything. It is comparatively recently in history that the coalescence of Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Briton, Manx, and other 'Celtic fringe' cultural groups have been classified as a unified Celtic society. Certainly the early people in these regions (not to mention those on the continent) would have seen differences as outweighing the similarities, and would have found unity only in being non-Roman and non-Germanic.

Certainly there is a sharing of story, world view, and spiritual sense, however, that helps us make sense of describing Celtic Spirituality as a category. This relates both to the earlier non-Christian Celtic religions (yes, there was more than one) and the ways in which Christianity spread to the Celtic regions.

`While recognising the importance of Celtic primal religion at the earliest and most formative stage of evangelisation of the Celtic-speaking cultures, it must be recognised that the surviving evidence for Celtic religion in sparse, and often comes from widely differing places and times. But something of its general character does emerge.'

Included in this character are a sense of place (which often includes woodlands, water, glades, springs, mountains, etc.). Ideas of treasure, particularly hidden treasure, and that being a treasure that is not always what the world would value, abound. Heroism and bravery, often at dramatic cost with a deep sense of loss even in the victories, goes through many tales. Other worldly and pantheistic imagery coexist in many ways. Animals and birds are often seen as messengers, harbingers, or symbolic -- many of the illuminated manuscript from Irish monasteries show the continuation of this sort of influence. Celtic religions are also predominantly oral, hence the popularity of story, song, and poem as opposed to argued technical essays or homiletic forms.

The texts in this volume are divided according to the following categories:

Hagiography
These are lives of the saints, often told as heroic (and sometimes tragic) tales. Of course the greatest cycle known to us is the Patrick Tradition -- those stories and legends that have gathered around St. Patrick, who lived in the fifth century. These include letters, declarations, a life story, sayings, and St. Patrick's Breastplate, known to many as a very long hymn, but which actually exists in many different forms. Apart from the Patrick stories are stories of St. Brigit, St. Brendan, St. David, St. Beuno, and St. Melangell, all unique Celtic saints.

Monastic Texts
In a recently issued popular history, entitled How the Irish Saved Civilisation, Thomas Cahill argues that the preservation of culture and learning in the Irish monastic movement gives us much of our knowledge and continuation from civilisation in the past. There is much to be said for this argument, for the early Irish love of books, knowledge, and historical sense of preservation of the valuable gives us much of Celtic wisdom, as well as much of the Greco-Roman tradition as well.

Poetry
Early Irish and Welsh poetry are presented, most of it anonymous, and much of it seems very similar to Celtic devotional material of today. It still speaks to us with a very strong voice.

Blessing and brightness,
Wisdom, thanksgiving,
Great power and might
To the King who rules over all.

To the chosen Trinity has been joined
Before all, after all, universal
Blessing and everlasting blessing,
Blessing everlasting and blessing.

This could be a text from a modern hymnal. The Celtic peoples, with their love of number symbols in addition to natural symbols, fastened on the idea of the Trinity with very little difficulty. The trifold nature of the above poem, going several layers deep, shows this affinity.

Devotional Texts and Liturgies
These texts are meant to be used for lectio divina, a kind of spiritual reading, as well as prayers enacted in the community for blessing. Some litanies and excerpts from the great Stowe Missal give a sense of patterns of worship for Celtic peoples.

Apocrypha, Exegesis, Homilies, and Theology
These four categories include expansions of the biblical text (such as the story of The Creation of Adam), and interpretation of particular pieces (a Gloss on Psalm 103) which gives insight into how Celtic peoples interpreted the biblical texts, which come from a culture so foreign and yet so similar to their own. Also, the Homilies give a sense on what preachers found important; that these survive may give us a sense also of what the hearers considered important (most of my homilies will not survive the week they are delivered!). The theology texts here give a good flavour of the academic and spiritual side of Celtic learning and reflection. The theological treatises are introduced and interspersed with verse that drives home the spiritual dimension far better than any learned discourse could do.

Seventy pages of notes on technical and academic aspects of the texts (translation, interpretation, history, cultural notation, etc.) and a generous fifteen-page bibliography help round out this text, and make it useful both for spiritual direction and insight as well as for academic research and historical and literary investigation.

Edited and introduced by Oliver Davies with collaboration from Thomas O'Loughlin, Celtic Spirituality draws primarily from Latin, Irish and Welsh manuscripts to show the texts that have been 'rediscovered' frequently in Christian history as providing an 'alternative' to mainstream' Christian thought and practice. Perhaps it is the legacy and the gift of the Celtic peoples to always provide a fringe, from Roman times to the present, and from that fringe a freshness of ideas, approach, and insight comes forward to renew culture and civilisation in many facets.

This is part of a series of spiritual and mystical writings from many religious viewpoints, produced by the Paulist Press. Jewish, Christian, and Muslim texts are presented with clarity, careful translation that works for accuracy both of word and spirit, and interesting historical insight.

In my eighteen or so years as a Celtic Catholic, and especially in the past five years, I have seen the term "Celtic Christianity" applied to everything from the sublime (love of nature and the saints) to the ridiculous (giving communion to your dog) to the utterly intolerable (worshipping pagan gods). Some modern writers on the theme do an excellent job of interpreting this strand of the Christian Faith for the modern reader; others are better left unread. So where is a serious inquirer to go for "the real goods"? Where to find out what our ancient Fathers and Mothers in the Faith really believed, thought, and did? Davies's book is an excellent resource.

Limiting his own comments and interpretations to the introduction (and with an excellent preface by James Mackey), Davies contents himself with providing clear and easily readable translations of original source material. Some of the most important documents for understanding the mind of the early Celtic Christian are here. You can read all of St. Patrick's own writings and the ancient biography by Muirchú. Discover the most ancient accounts of St. Brigit, St. Brendan, St. David, and even the dear but little-known St. Melangell and her hare. But that's not all. There is the monastic Rule of St. Columbanus, ten Irish poems, twenty Welsh poems, and several devotional prayer-poems. You can find some of the oldest Celtic liturgical material, interpretations of Scriptural passages, ten ancient sermons, and some theology courtesy of Pelagius and John Scottus Eriugena.

This is all original material, carefully translated and presented in an easy-to-use format. But it's not dry dusty stuff: it breathes a freshness from the early days of the Faith that is sometimes missing from more modern writers. We've perhaps been around too long, thought about it too much. Our Celtic saints got the good news "hot off the press," and embraced it with a shocking enthusiasm which is good for us jaded post-moderns. I hope you read this book and enjoy it as much as I have.

Kydd, Ronald A. (1997). Charismatic Gifts in the Early Church: An Exploration Into the Gifts of the Spirit During the First Three Centuries of the Christian Church. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.

This very brief book analyzes the theology and presence of Spiritual gifts in the Post-Apostolic era. Kydd examines the Didache, Tertullian, Justin Martyr and more.

While I would concede that the Spiritual Gifts became less prominent in the centuries following Pentecost, it was not due to a necessarily defined doctrine or understanding in the early church. The early church embraced and practiced the Spiritual gifts. This much is clear in this brief book by Ronald Kydd.

Kydd (1997) concludes his volume by declaring that Spiritual gifts played a prominent role in the first two centuries, "We have been able to come to a fairly clear conclusion...Throughout the first and second centuries, the gifts remained very important to the church".

Kydd traces the gifts decline in the third century,
"...in the first half of the third century, things change...It is clear that the importance granted to spiritual gifts was passing...The gifts just did not occupy the place in the life and thinking of the Church that they once had"

The question Kydd doesn't answer thoroughly is why the gifts declined. He does end his monograph by suggesting the following:
There came a point around A.D. 260 at which they no longer fitted in the highly organized, well-educated, wealthy, socially-powerful Christian communities. The Church did not lose its soul, but it did lose these special moments when God broke into the lives of men and women.

I would concur with Kydd's brief observation. A theology opposed to the presence of gifts is foreign in this early church, but their absence was rather due to a change in ecclesiology which centered around the role of the Bishop in the local church and deemphasized the role of the laity in the context of worship. This continues today as many churches function with a precisely timed worship service which allows no space for lay involvement, let alone the expression of Spiritual gifts. All pastors must deal with this issue in the context of the local church. For Pentecostal/Charismatic pastors, there is a challenge in constructing a liturgy which allows for and encourages the exercise of Spiritual gifts. If such is not desired in the weekly corporate gathering, then one must find other contexts in which the laity can edify one another in the empowerment of the Spirit or else even the Pentecostal/Charismatic community of churches runs the risk of becoming functional cessationists.

It may surprise some Christians to learn that the gifts of the Holy Spirit did not die out at the end of the first century. Anyone doubting this should read Kydd's thorough investigation into the continuing presence of the gifts of the Spirit during the first three centuries of the Christian church. This scholarly--but by no means arid--study fills a deep need, for the church today often struggles to overcome its luke-warmness while failing to see the clear New Testament importance of the gifts of the Spirit for its daily life. The church began as a "little band of fisherman [and evolved] over the centuries until it [became] one of the dominant features of the Greek and Latin world. The Church grew astonishingly in size, power, and influence." (p. 86) Part of the explanantion for this evangelism explosion was not strategic planning or better schools of training, but, as Kydd says, the presence of Jesus himself and the sending of the Holy Spirit. Kydd offers irrefutable historical evidence that the gifts remained after the New Testament period as absolutely essential ingredients for the growth and life of the church. This work belongs in every thinking Christian's library

Trenchant analyses, singular perspective. A gift born of creative nature, and sedulous habit. Great work Dad!

This review has been delayed for too long. However, as a gift, I have just been given the complete works of B. B. Warfield, Baker, 1932. And, as I am very interested in the activities of the Holy Spirit as attested to in the early Church, I thought of this book again instantly. It is a shame that Pentacostals seem most interested in the Holy Spirit as a reflection of belief in the Early Church. But, it appears there is a "Balkanized" Christianity that presents itself today in both the Chruches and to a large measure in academy. There is a new generation of scholars just getting their start in a series of monographs edited by John Court. But, there are over one hundred fifty titles in the last five years out of Cambridge University Press. I can neither afford them all or have time to read each of them.

Which brings me back to this humble effort. This book is the author's Phd. dissertation updated and revised as needed. As I have not read the original, the last is a supposition. However, there appears to be no editorial hand at work. Therefore, this is not Mommsen or Tuchman. This is a very straightforward analysis of the available writings of the Early Church Fathers on the topic of the Holy Spirit. Systematically, into the third century CE, the author finds universal support for a positive and active presence of the Holy Spirit in all writings of the Fathers that pertain. This was significant revisionism at the time of its publication in 1984. This all may have been stated later by others and with far more style. But, no one, can with cause, challenge the author's evidence and his conclusions excluding the discussion of the nature of Montanism and it's relationship to Roman orthodoxy. This is an important piece of scholarship that can not be disregarded by any academic writing on the Holy Spirit and the early Church. Also, it is easily read by a lay person regardless of the akward prose. This book is most highly reccommended by me. I found it concisely enlightening.

If a scholarly but undersatandable review of the roots and early history of the charismatic gifts is what you seek, this is it! Dr. Kydd combines very high quality research with an equally impressive ability to make the results understandable and relevant. This revision of Kydd's doctoral thesis is perfect for the student of Pentecostalism or Church history, and also relevant to any interested soul who has encountered the charismtic manifestations.

This book was simple and to the point for any child to read. Great for the smaller child to understand exactly what is going on in her life.

This book is perfect for preparing children for Holy Communion! It teaches with simplicity and clarity. I have read all of Mrs. Ficocelli's books, and look forward to her next one!

I was raised catholic and needed a book about holy communion!
This book was simple and easy to follow and asked questions at the bottom about their own communion! Ann just loved it and I
too enjoyed reading it to her! Does the author have anthing on
confirmation? My son Luke is making his next year and would love a book!!

Wonderful book that explains the true meaning of Holy Communion in a fun, simple and captivating way. Great for the children and the parents. Warm, loving and includes everyone in the experience. For communion or renewal of understanding this book is fabulous for all.

I was raised Catholic and wanted to get Mary a book that would
have her understand the importance of Holy Communion! I felt the book was creative, simple and got the point across about God's Love. I even enjoyed it. It brought memories of my own
Holy Communion!! Does she write any other books? My Son Michael is being confirmed next year and would love a book that would
explain Confirmation on the same level!!

During the middle ages the Christian church increased in political power and cultural authority. "The Christian East & The Rise of the Papacy: The Church AD 1071-1453" is the fourth volume of the acclaimed 'The Church in History' series, and covers such topics as the reformation of the papacy, the crusades, scholasticism and its impacts on the Eastern Orthodox church. Also exploring theological and spiritual trends that helped the Byzantine Commonwealth maintain its identity even as the empire itself crumbled. An informed and informative work, "The Christian East & The Rise of the Papacy: The Church AD 1071-1453" is very highly recommended to any Religious Studies shelf, as well as the non-specialist general interest reader who wishes to learn more about the history of the Christian Church.

SVS Press has publishes another invaluable volume for the church historian in "The Christian East and the Rise of the Papacy" by Aresteides Papadakis, since it focuses on the much-neglected area of Byzantium. Papadakis' essential thesis is that the final split between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches did not come about in 1054, with the mutual anathemas, but in 1204, when crusaders sacked Constantinople. The factors that led to this were a stronger papal control over the church, and an imperialism during the crusades, wherein Eastern Christians were the victims more than Muslims were.

In the 11th century, the clergy were appointed by feudal lords in Western Europe, which resulted in all kinds of simony and corruption. "It was undoubtedly lay control of ecclesiastical structure that made possible the purchase or sale of virtually every clerical grade the general rule by the tenth century. Simony became in fact unavoidable once clerical offices began to be treated like secular appointments." (p. 23) Most priests were married, and the church property simply went to their children. Further, the papacy itself was a puppet of the German emperor. A reform movement emerged in response to these abuses, led by Peter Damian and Leo IX. First, they wanted to enforce mandatory celibacy to prevent church property to pass into the hands of the priests' children. Second, they wanted to make the papacy independent of secular political control by electing the popes through conclaves made of cardinals. The College of Cardinals, which survives to this day, was Peter Damian's idea. "Significantly, the belief frequently expressed by medieval authors that the college of cardinals was the pope's supreme advisory body and, as such, was an imitation of the ancient Roman senate, was first articulated by one of the most uncompromising of the early Gregorians, Peter Damian." (p. 35-36) Finally, they wanted to end lay investiture.

In the context of the newly-powerful papacy and a suspicion towards Islam, the crusades were launched. The ostensible purpose of the first crusade was to re-capture Jerusalem from the Muslims and help the Christians of the east. Unfortunately, this is not exactly what happened. The papacy wanted to bring the Eastern Christians under its control, evoking the Donation of Constantine and historically specious arguments. Many in the western church saw the easterners as traitors. After the first crusade, parallel Latin jurisdictions were set up in areas where there were no Latin Christians before. This continued through the crusades in the Middle East (to say nothing of the Northern Crusades). Papadakis does not neglect to note that the idea of violence in the Western church had deep roots. "The theoretical justification for just war or even holy war outlined above- expressed for the first time by Augustine- was to have a lasting influence on the ethic of warfare in Western Christendom...Later papal reformers, insofar as they viewed their opposition to feudal power as a struggle against heretics and schismatics, or even excommunicates, were to find in these ideas a number of useful weapons...The belief that the Church had the power to authorize violence against heretics was in fact expanded to include pagans, as pope Gregory I's encouragement of such activity for the purpose of evangelization in the sixth century illustrates. This principle of forcible conversion may have inspired Charlemagne's later campaigns against the pagan Saxons." (p. 80) Many on both sides, however, still thought that some form of reconciliation was possible.

With the sack of Constantinople in 1204, any hope for re-union was effectively destroyed along with the city. The purpose of Fourth Crusade was to conquer Muslim Jerusalem via an invasion of Egypt. Instead, the crusaders diverted to Constantinople and took the city. The sacking was brutal, even by medieval standards. It did not happen in a vacuum or in a fit of mob rage, however. The constant rhetoric that people were hearing in the west was that the Byzantines were heretics, schismatics, and traitors. "Such observations came to be viewed as Gospel truth by the end of the century. They had become so popular by then that the diversionary assault on Constantinople, when it finally did come, was accepted with little hesitation. The fatal attack was rationalized by everyone involved by the belief that the Byzantines were already heretics. For the fourth crusade apparently the schism had been in existence for some time." (p. 103) Although there were attempts at reconciliation after 1204, in the Councils of Lyons and Florence, they ultimately failed. In addition, though Constantinople was eventually returned to the Byzantine Empire, the sacking of the city so weakened the Empire that they were unable to withstand the Turkish assaults in the 15th century. "Conceivably, the systematic Ottoman occupation of Asia Minor and the Balkans would not have been so effortless had the empire been able to maintain its territorial unity and strength after the fourth crusade." (p. 410) Although the Christians in the Ottoman Empire were allowed to exist and practice their religion, theological/cultural development would come to a halt, and they would be cut off from communication with their Western brethren until the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Highly recommended for students of church history.

The period covered in this book is 1071-1453, the final "decline and fall of the Roman Empire". In 1071, both of the Byzantine Empire's deadliest enemies launched their initial attacks - the Turks at Manzikert and the Italian Normans in Greece. The Norman onslaught was intimately connected with the relationship between eastern and western Christianity and caused such a decline that the Empire could not resist the Turks.
In the West, the Saxon kings of Germany had demanded that the Pope restore Charlemagne's title as "Roman Emperor" and grant it to them. Consequently, these "Holy Roman Emperors" (the title actually originates later) interfered in the papacy in order to maintain their claim to be Roman Emperors, forcing their choice of German prelates on the church. Eventually the German Popes asserted themselves and claimed universal authority over all of Christianity and all Christians. They also established the rule that the Cardinal-Bishops, previously a less powerful set of advisers, would be the sole electors of successive popes.
In the middle of the eleventh century, a papal legation attempted to force the Patriarch of Constantinople to be subject to the Pope. The Eastern Church's position is that the Pope was one of five patriarchs, equal in power and independent, differing only in that the Pope was owed a higher degree of respect since his city was the founding city of the Roman Empire. Further, the government of the Church was instituted by the human race for human needs by the Church Councils and the Pope was not an infallible king. The legate (Cardinal Humbert) excommunicated the Patriarch and several other high officials.
This schism was not recognized as being irreparable at the time, but every attempt at reconciliation ran into Papal demands for submission.
Indeed, a friend of mine who is in the Roman Catholic clergy stated that the Catholic Church would welcome the Orthodox back into union and would only impose the "magisterium" of the Pope "lightly" - the very sticking point of the past millennium.
The Normans used these differences to arouse hatred toward the Empire during the course of the Crusades, eventually resulting in the diversion of the Fourth Crusade into the conquest of Constantinople, a catastrophe from with the Empire never fully recovered. The Fourth Crusade and the treatment of the Eastern Church by its western overlords solidified the schism.
The Crusades were devastating for not only the Orthodox, but also for the Copts (Egypt) and Nestorians (Syria, Persia and farther east) who had been quite numerous and had thrived under Muslim rule. The Crusades established the idea that Christians were the enemy of Islam and so these communities were subjected to severe persecution and were vastly reduced in size and influence.
The one permanent success of the Papacy in the East was the union with the Marionites of Lebanon, who are henceforth loyal Catholics.
The supposedly all powerful Papacy suffered itself from schism, first moving to Avignon, then splitting into two (Avignon and Rome) when the return to Rome was attempted and, finally three (Pisa, whose second and last Pope was John XXIII, whose Papacy was so controversial that the Catholic Church avoided this once popular Papal name for 500 years until a Pope decided to ignore him as an anti-pope and take the name and number for himself) before the split was finally healed. This split and the conciliar movement (Ecumenical Councils as a church "Parliament" to balance the Papal monarch), which was spawned then, were part of the background of the Reformation. Ironically, the theory of Papal absolutism resulted in, first, a separation from the non Latin Church and, second, in a substantial civil war and separation in the Latin Church itself.
The Eastern Church turned more metaphysical during this period. St. Gregory Palamas championed the idea that experience of the divine was possible for human beings. For an excellent discussion see The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church.
The West went in the opposite direction - Scholasticism, the idea that Theology could be derived from Axioms in the manner of geometry, prevailed.
In addition to the comprehensive coverage of the Greek and Latin Churches, there is fairly good coverage of the Slavic and Armenian Orthodox Churches.
The people at St. Vladimir's Press informed me that this book and Imperial Unity and Christian Divisions: The Church, 450-680 Ad (Church History ; 2) will be reprinted in the winter of 2007-8 and volume 1, part 1 of this series Formation And Struggles and volume 3 Greek East And Latin West: The Church AD 681-1071 (The Church in History) have appeared in the fall of 2007 with the rest of the series to follow.

Aristeides Papadakis' "The Christian East and the Rise of the Papacy" is a fantastic work that deals with the subject of the Roman papacy trying to assert itself and its authority over the whole of Christendom.

The book is exhaustive in detail and meticulously notated. It took me quite some time to read because of the complexities of the subject. However, it is one of the best church history books I've ever read and an absolutely essential read. It tells the story of church history from the Eastern perspective and shows why the Eastern Orthodox Church resisted (and continues to resist) the papal claims of universal authority.

The Eastern Orthodox Church has always been conciliar in nature and refutes the "infallibility" claims of the papacy. He draws on Nicholas Cabasilas' view about the idea of papal infallibity as being a flawed concept. He asserts that the College of Cardinals can't give to the pope that which they don't possess (infallibility) and draws on the eastern view that a group of bishops ordains a bishop and can only invest that person with authority that they themselves possess.

It is an idea that is discussed at length. The book also shows a lot of the internal workings within the Byzantine empire and the Slavic kingdoms and how they dealt individually as well as collectively with the papacy. A truly amazing book that should be read by anyone wanting to see the view of the papacy from an Eastern perspective.

A clear and well-written history of the major interaction of East and West at the height of the largest and most divisive split in the Church.

Excellently written. Provides a wealth of information on the events surrounding schism of the Papacy and the East.

There is no doubt that this thought-provoking book capitalizes on the passions which prove to compromise the human condition. The author utilizes moral wisdom handed down for nearly two-thousand years to confront the perplexed and wounded soul. It was very nice to read about the fact that those who engage in same-sex attractions should never be hated, scorned or dealt with unjustly or even uncharitably in any way! Bravo to this author for a well balanced approach to this contemporary and often thorny issue. I found the book to be replete with sage advice for all readers. No where did I perceive any Christian propaganda, as some may think and attempt to excoriate a most beneficial commentary of this kind. As we all may see the signs of the times, this book although short,will cast some light on relationships that's for sure. A smooth read, to say the least. If you want to gain a dramatical and somewhat humorous slant on the things of the flesh and the human condition that struggles, see the product link following. The Den of Iniquity

Thomas Hopko's sensitive and inclusive look at relationships is an excellent opportunity for anyone to fine tune and explore the meaning of relationship in their lives. Highly recommended reading for anyone.

Below is a review of Fr. Hopko's book that was unfortunately received by the publisher after the book had already gone to press, and was therefore not included with the final publication. Dr. Elizabeth Stuart is a Professor of Christian Theology at the University of Winchester. She is also a lesbian and a leading UK theologian specializing in Queer Theology. I believe the review speaks eloquently to the value of this book for those on both sides of this emotionally-charged issue. Her review is as follows:

"Although I profoundly disagree with the stance taken towards homosexuality in this book I found it a delight to read. It is a careful, compassionate and comprehensive discussion of contemporary same-sex attraction from the perspective of the Orthodox tradition. It is informed by gay and lesbian theology and other alternative perspectives. I would recommend it to all who study or who are personally involved in the issues around same-sex relationships in the Christian tradition, perhaps particularly to those not part of the Orthodox tradition, for the rich theology of that tradition frames the debate in very different terms to those of other denominations. This book holds out the possibility of a debate which need not fracture the Church nor create alarming levels of animosity between Christians. For this reason alone, it is worth reading and engaging with."

The Author: Father Tom Hopko, one of America's leading Orthodox theologians, author of many books, professor emeritus at St. Vladimir's Seminary.

Writing style: Succinct, clear, to the point. The whole book is just 126 pages, about half of those being notes.

Topic: The relationship between Orthodox Christianity, love, and same-sex attraction.

You will expect the author to scripturally and traditionally explain why same-sex genital relations are incompatible with Christianity. He does a good job of this, citing not only the Bible and Patristics but many current authors who disagree.

Father Tom also does a superb job of differentiating for Enlish-only readers, that Love has four components, Agape (charity), Storge (affection), Philia (fraternal love), and Eros (sex). He points out that in our fallen world, that it will be inevitable that many of us will have sinful passions of every sort, including an interest in same-sex pornia. He clearly separates this manifestation of God's providential permission from God's Essential Love.

In so doing, he shows that platonic same-sex love- in the form of agape, philia, and storge, is quite normal but argues convincingly that same-sex genital attraction joins a pantheon of other sinful desires, from gluttony to theft, as something we may have urges towards and even natures towards, but that we must deal with, not succumb to.

He then spends that last third of his monograph suggesting ways to live a Christian life and be welcome in the church and to deal with not only same-sex eros but a host of serious vices.

Perhaps his two most telling quotes are relegated to the footnotes. He quotes Saint Anthony to point out that all asceticism and mortification is not good, and that it can be pointless at times. He also has a wonderful quote about Christian living from the late Father Alex Schmemann; "It's how you deal with what you've been dealt."

Many readers who are same-sex practitioners won't want to read that their eros is a cross to bear, not a divine love. On the more fundamentalist end of the spectrum, some might have expected more condemnation from Father Tom (because they don't understand the Orthodoxy hermenuetic of Love, perhaps?).

Yet, Father Tom does a passionate defense of civil law, the civil rights of those in same-sex unions, and passionate chastisement of those who are too judgemental.

All readers will have to admit that this work is logical, compassionate, well-organized and researched, and in synchrony with mainstream Orthodox theology.

This is not a ponderous tome; it is a fresh and modest monograph. Those interested in the topic should take time to read it.

Christian Faith And Same-Sex Attraction by Thomas Hopko (Dean Emeritus of St. Vladimir's Seminar) is an informed study presenting the visionary perspective of the church and the religious ideals towards same-sex attraction. Clearly defining theological and pastoral insights concerning the experience of same-sex-desires and acknowledgements, Christian Faith And Same-Sex Attraction analyses the nature of gender identity and sexuality through the perspective of Christian Orthodox theology and is very strongly recommended reading for members of the Orthodox Christian church seeking to understand the theological doctrines relative to the issues of same-sex attractions experienced by themselves and/or their friends.

This is a very informative resource and reflects the many Church documents that mirror the teachings of the past 2000 years. It is topically organized and is a must for all who teach the Catholic faith and really a must for all Catholics and Protestants alike.

A truly indispesable collection of the "Magsiterium" -- the teachings of the Catholic Church in an easily accesible, annotated format. This needs to be on the shelf of every Catholic who wants to go to the next level of his/her faith.

What did the Council of Trent teach on the subject of justification? What does Humanae Vitae actually say about contraception? What are the earliest creeds (symbols of the faith) and how to they differ? How has the Church's teaching on the Eucharist been clarified through the centuries? How does John Paul II describe the proper relationship between faith and reason?

This tome, running nearly 1100 pages, is (-to steal from an old Army ad) "a great place to start" one's research into Church teachings. The entries are arranged thematically (-revelation and faith, Tradition and Scripture, the Triune God, the Church, sacraments, and so on) and the Index is good. (Not great, mind you, but good.) Several of JP II's encyclicals are included, so it's quite up to date. (The first edition of this work appeared in 1973; this, the Seventh Revised and Enlarged Edition, contains material as recent as 1999.)

The font is large enough for reading without eye-strain. (Many compendiums fail readers in this regard.) The margins provide breathing room for notes. The paper sucks highlighter yellow pale, but that's accepatable in such a large edition offered at a modest price.

One always wishes for longer excerpts from beloved documents, but the editors have done a matrerful job of providing an overview of the Church's authoritative teachings on the central aspects of the Catholic faith.

This book is a classic collection of documents relating to Catholic beliefs, morals, and practices from 100 AD until the present (including many writings of Pope John Paul II). The contents are mostly documents from Church Councils, creeds, Papal decrees, and various other sources of Catholic thought. The sections are: Symbols and Professions of Faith, Revelation and Faith, Tradition and Scripture, The Triune God, Humankind and the World, Original Justice and the Fall, Jesus Christ, Mary, The Church, The Church and Churches, The Church and World Religions, The Church and Missions, Christian Worship, the Sacraments, Baptism/Confirmation, the Eucharist, Reconciliation/Anointing, Order, Matrimony, the Life of Grace, Principles of Christian Life, The Social Doctrine of the Church, Sexual Order and Respect for Life, and Christian Fulfillment.

The documents are translated into modern English from the original languages, and occasionally have notes, which are always helpful. The introductions to each document provide a nice historical background, and often, a helpful summary of each document. Otherwise, the documents (which are arranged chronologically) are allowed to speak for themselves. I was impressed with the wisdom contained within. They speak for the biblical and historical faith in a clear way, effectively working within each culture, without capitulating to the culture. The social teaching documents are especially interesting in this way, and show a great balance between standing up for what the Church considers right, without forgetting that mercy is always freely available from Christ. I was particularly glad to see many documents relating to potential reunion of East and West, as well as dialogue between the Catholic Church and Protestant churches.

Now I need to explain why I only gave it four stars. The reason is the quality of the book itself. My first copy had dog-eared pages and the binding was strange and uneven, even though it came sealed in plastic from the factory. I sent that copy back thinking it was a defective book. My second copy, sealed as well, also had similar issues. One page was pretty creased, although I could make out the words affected by the creases. A few other pages look like they came out of the presses a little crooked. It is obviously a publishing issue, perhaps only with a certain print-run, but nonetheless a little annoying. However, the price is right and I can overlook this issue seeing how amazing the material inside is. Anybody who is Catholic or wants to know more about the Catholic Church should consider getting this book. While some of the information may seem a little theologically advanced at times, it is well worth diving into.

This is a must for the serious student of Christian theology and history. It contains the critical 'snippets' from counciliar and papal documents of the earliest times to today. The book has the Roman Catholic Church's official responses to problems; from the heresies we encountered in the Patristic Age, to the Reformation, to today's social justice issues. In both spirit and form, it is another Denzinger's Encheridion, except it is in English, not Latin and Greek. As a seminarian, it ranks a place next to the Bible and the Catechism; and as a priest-to-be, it will help solve all those really tough to answer questions!

The Christian Life Hymnal was recommended to me by someone on an accompaniment forum who used it at church services because it contains a host of well known songs in different keys. I found it to be a great resource for some lesser known and beautiful arrangements of songs that fit very well into service. I highly recommend it as an addition to a standard musical library of well known hymnals and religious music books.

Nice burgundy outside; hardcover. Some of the songs it has in slightly different versions.

I own dozens of hymnals, mostly fairly recent (meaning published in the last forty years), and I love singing hymns. I would have to say that this is one of the most attractive collections I've seen for use in a hymn sing, and many congregations would probably find it a good choice for a pew hymnal. It has almost all of the "old favorites" that a Baptist or Methodist is likely to want to request at such a singing, as well as almost all of the old standby hymns of mainline American protestantism, and no specific sectarian bias that I can detect aside from a general conservatism. Most of the texts are not appreciably modernized or gender-neutralized (though it does give "Good Christian *Friends*, Rejoice"). Where there are two common tune traditions for a given text current in American protestantism, both are often accommodated (e.g. "O Little Town of Bethlehem" to both Forest Green and St. Louis; "Come, Thou Long-expected Jesus" to both Hyfrydol and Stuttgart). Among the roughly 600 songs, there are 16 by Fanny Crosby, 24 by Charles Wesley (who turns 300 this year) and 20 by Isaac Watts. Recent hymns are fewer, but there are several by Keith Getty, Hillsong's "Shout to the Lord", and some others of the type. Almost nothing from the mainline hymnic "explosion" of recent decades, though: 1 by Fred Pratt Green, 0 each by Wren, Troeger & Dudley-Smith... To my surprise, only one Gaither piece, no Andraé Crouch, and no "Victory in Jesus" or "I'll Fly Away"! So it's only 5 stars, not six. But then, my six star dream hymnal would have to be at least twice as thick and twice as costly.

My family wanted several (matching!) hymnals for our family devotional time, and so my internet search begun. I wanted a hymnal that had all of the old standard doctrinally-rich ones, such as "A Mighty Fortress is our God," "Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise," "The Church's One Foundation." It's amazing how many hymals I found that did not contain all three of these! I also wanted other favorites of ours that are common, but not quite as high up there on the list of standard hymns that most Christians (at least before the last decade or so) know, such as "Day by Day," "Be Thou My Vision," and "And Can It Be."

This hymal was a perfect fit for us. It contained all of those. It also has a few newer ones that are broadly known such as, "As the Deer" and "In Christ Alone" by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. All of them, however, could be considered "hymns" with depth to them. In other words, there are none of the ones that are pure praise choruses.

Each hymn does have a verse cited at the top, and the translation used varies. We don't care for some of the translations used, but that's not a deal-breaker for us. We can always look it up in our New King James version.

We've been very happy with our set of hymnals. They're great for using within the family, having a hymn sing with friends, or in a church setting. Note that when there are several potential musical selections for a particular hymn, they are often all presented.

We purchased this hymnal for family use in conjuntion with the hymn study book, "Then Sings My Soul." The hymnal contains most of the songs we have studied. I appreciate that the editor did not change original words on hymns like "Come Thou Fount," as seen in most contemporary hymnals. The songs will be familiar to most Christians in Baptist, Bible, Community, and other similar churches. A solid hymnbook.

Frank Senn is greatly qualified to write this book on the history of Chrisitan worship. Currently serving as the pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Evanston, Illinois, he had served as a professor at the Lutheran School of Theology (Chicago) and lectured at Seminex and the University of Chicago. This book is an attempt to tackle a huge topic: the history of worship that is both "catholic" (with an awareness with their connection with the whole Church through the ages--usually through the historic liturgy) and "evangelical" (applying this historic liturgy in a modern way, with an eye toward contemporary needs and even the unbeliever). He thus places his focus on the liturgies of the Roman Catholics, Anglicans/Episcopalians, Lutherans, United Church of Christ, and Methodists. Modern a-ligurgical worship, Eastern Orthodox worship, and informal Calvanist worship is only touched upon briefly.

This 700+ page book was difficult for this reader. The first major division (Worship from c.30 AD to the Reformation) was covered at lightning-speed so that I found it difficult to "keep up" with Senn; the second major division (the Reformation) was just the opposite--really, really slow; the final major division (Reformation to the present) was by far the most enjoyable section of this book.

"Christian Liturgy" definately requires a substantial degree of prior liturgical knowledge and church history. German and Latin abound in this book; historical churchmen are referenced frequently; and technical jargon is employed liberally. In between these things are brilliant summeries and insightful critical analysis of both theology and liturgy. He also effectively balances the "what happened" and the "so what? Why should I care." Senn shows that both the pastor and church-goer should care a great deal about the historical development of the liturgy.

By far, his best section (especially from the "so what?" standpoint) is his third section (Reformation to present). He covers the rapidly-changing-yet-rapidly-growing-together liturgical movements and explains why the various denominations worship as they do. His epilogue on worship in a postmodern era was excellent and has influenced the way I think about modern free-form liturgy.

In sum, this book is recommended for professionals (pastors, professors) who have an interest in the historical development of the "historic Western liturgy." If you don't have the linguistic or historic background knowledge, don't let this book intimidate you, it would be worth it to take your time and work through the book--it will enhance your worship and your appreciation for liturgical worship.

When I say that Frank Senn's book 'Christian Liturgy: Catholic and Evangelical' is a monumental work, that description takes several dimensions. The book itself is very large (nearing 800 pages) and covers virtually all aspects of worship practises in Christianity from the earliest beginnings to the present innovations and continuing reformations/reconstructions both in denominational senses and a broader, more ecumenical sense.

Do not be deceived by the subtitle Catholic and Evangelical -- these words have specific meanings that go beyond denominational or sectarian confines. In a sense, every Christian group or denomination strives to be catholic, universal. 'Liturgy that is catholic is that which serves the public proclamation of the gospel in word and sacraments as celebrated by the whole people of God in Christ Jesus.... With or without bishops, the Churches of the Reformation (Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican) were also concerned with catholicity. They embraced whole peoples of territories and nations in established or state churches, and in that sense, they were not sects.... Liturgy that is catholic is that which expresses the faith and way of life (i.e., culture) of a whole people, but within an ecumenical shape by which it maintains a sense of continuity with catholic churches of other times and places.'

In another sense, every Christian group or denomination strives to be evangelical, outreaching and proclaiming. 'The evangelical content of liturgy has served sometimes as a corrective of the catholic tendency to root liturgy in the culture of a people. Words and ceremonies derived from indigenous cultures are not always shorn of their heathen connotations.'

The first section, The Prolegomena, covers aspects of the rituals in Christian worship in terms of theology, philosophy, and symbolic meaning. The roles of symbols and rituals, the roles of myth and music are explored as an underpinning for all subsequent specific discussions.

Senn early in the writing confesses the inadequacy of this or any book to encompass with equal emphasis the performance of liturgy in every time and place. Given the wide variance in history, geography, and denominational/confessional group, the history of liturgy is vast and diverse. Giving a nod to other recent scholarly efforts at liturgical development (The Study of Liturgy by Oxford Press, Dix's The Shape of the Liturgy, et al.), Senn nonetheless argues that this volume is a valuable contribution because of the breadth of coverage both historically and geographically.

In this book one can see the early developments in the eastern church come alive once more in modern liturgical 'innovation'; compare and contrast Reformation liturgies from Scandanavia and Germanic regions with the more Roman Catholic Mediterranean regions, with the more static eastern orthodox liturgies struggling to remain faithful in territories dominated not by other denominations but by other religions.

This is great resource for scholars and for those looking for liturgical ideas and innovations. The final chapters, which include social considerations to be included in liturgical development, including how to reach the 'unchurched', can be particularly useful. The Indices are arranged by Subject, Persons, and Biblical References and Documents. There is an extensive bibliography for further research and reading.

Useful for reading or for research, Senn's book is a valuable resource for anyone concerned for the art of liturgy.

Phrases such as "exhaustively researched," "brilliantly argued," and "magisterial treatment" are overused. Nevertheless, these phrases are simply descriptive of Senn's CHRISTIAN LITURGY.

Senn presents chapters on "The Repertoire of Rites" (informed by, but not merely a re-hash of, Eliade and Douglas) and "The Incarnational Reality of Christian Liturgy." Part One: "From Meal to Mass" takes us up to the Late Middle Ages in about 260 pages, with some excellent insights into Syrian, Alexandrian, Roman/North African, Gallican/Mozarabic, and other rites. Part Two: "Reformation Liturgical Traditions" gives greatest attention to Lutheran liturgical development in the 16th century, though Senn does provide useful material on Unitas Fratrum, Anabaptists, Reformed Liturgy, the Anglicans, and the Catholic Reformation. Part Three: "Liturgical Loss, Retrieval, and Renewal" brings us up to the present, including "The Feminist Critique" and "Reaching the Unchurched." The book ends with an Epilogue on Postmodern Liturgy. Fortunately, the Epilogue is a detailed treatment and not just a few pages of vague rhetoric (which more often than not marks epilogues these days).

The Bibliography is extensive (almost 30 pages) and is divided into a variety of topics--historical, theological and theoretical. The Indices are also usefully divided, into Subject, Persons, Biblical References and the various orders and rites.

Senn's focus on liturgy is not exclusive. He does not describe a cloistered people separated from the world in which they are housed.

Throughout we find clear implications for ecclesiology, mission,evangelism, and outreach.

This goes on the shelf right next to Dom Gregory Dix's THE SHAPE OF THE LITURGY, some parts of which have now been eclipsed by Senn.

I got this book "on a whim" thinking it would be good to have on hand. It has proven to be more than good. As a Lutheran teacher who teaches religion, I am able to refer to this book and get a great Lutheran view of Christian history and liturgy.

Not only helpful, but thorough and complete. Being Lutheran, I particularly enjoyed the accuracy of the Lutheran detail, but this is not to suggest that any one component is less than thoroughly and comprehensively researched. My students ordered it with no regrets! I recommend it!

Don't let the title scare you mothers away. "Listen My Son: St. Benedict for Fathers" brings the reader through the Rule of Saint Benedict, (RSB), by way of a brief daily reading that explains each section as it would be applicable in any parent's life today. The entire RSB is read within one year's time.

It is often said that child birth comes without any instruction manual. "Listen My Son: St. Benedict for Fathers" can be that manual.

This would make an excellent gift for a new parent.

Dr. Longenecker's meditations on the rule of St. Benedict are both inpirational and pragmatic. This book offer a useful re-tooling and reapplication of these essentially monastic directives for use in family life. It makes me want to work more dilligently at being a better father and person.

My mother gave this book to all her sons (including me) for Christmas a year ago. This was my first exposure to Saint Benedict and his Rule. At that time I had very little exposure to the monastic life. As I read this book I could really begin to appreciate the devout nature of Benedict and his followers. It is clear that these men who give up their lives for Christ, these monks, truely have a calling to this vocation.

I really liked the interpretation that went along after each rule by Dr. Longenecker. This was especially valuable as I had not been experienced these teachings before. I highly reccommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about the contemplative life.

As a mother, I was intrigued by the title of this book, and now wish that I had read it long ago, when my children were younger. The advice is age-old and not just for fathers, rather, it is inspiring for all adults, but especially parents trying to keep a family together in these chaotic days.

As any who have read an ancient work in translation will tell you, any commentary that is included can be a blinding distraction, or the most illuminating aspect of the literature. In this case, Longenecker's accompanying prose is surely the latter. Benedict's Rule is related to the work of a father with practiced ease and grace. The work is profoundly instructive.
In fact, my only gripe is with the slightly unwieldy, slightly overlong introduction. Though it should by no means be skipped, I remember feeling a little anxious to get on to St. Benedict. Very high marks though, I thoroughly recommend this book to any father, or mother for that matter.