Search results for ""St Vladimir's Seminary Press,U.S.""

What happens to us after death? How do we reconcile our religious beliefs and our scientific world view? These questions faced St Paul in his dealings with the Church at Corinth and also St Gregory of Nyssa, who was educated in the prevailing Greek philosophical systems. He refused to keep religion and science in separarate compartments of his mind, and yearned to synthesize his faith and his philosophy. St Gregory dramatizes his thoughts in dialogue form and deals with the the implications of faith for our personal lives.

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Popular Patristics Series Volume 9 This is the second edition of this Popular Patristics volume, enhanced with freshly edited text, an updated cover, and a new foreword by Hank Hanegraaff. The sermons of St John Chrysostom are some of the richest classical commentaries on the Christian life. Knowing well the realities of life in the world, the temptation of rich and poor alike, this great orator—"the golden-mouthed"—addresses the questions of wealth and poverty in the lives of the people of his day. And yet, as the modern reader is confronted with his words, it becomes apparent that he, too, is being addressed; Chrysostom's words are words proclaiming the truth of the Gospel to all people of all times. The message of the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) is brought home to every person in these six sermons of Chrysostom with clarity, insight into the human dilemma, compassion, and judgment. Related texts in the Popular Patristics Series include St Basil the Great's on Social Justice (PPS 38) and several other works by St John Chrysostom: Six Books on the Priesthood (PPS 1), On Marriage and Family Life (PPS 7), The Cult of the Saints (PPS 31), and Letters to Olympia (PPS 56).

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This Festschrift celebrates the joyful heart and retirement from thirty-five years of university teaching of Bishop Kallistos Ware, a person who has found his monastic "desert" among the "dreaming spires" of academia, and his "cell" in the lecture room. The Festschrift contains articles by renowned academics, which are based on historical, theological, and spiritual themes.

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Of the many themes that classical Antiquity and early Christianity had in common, for all their profound diffrerences, none was more influential than their love of language. It was the Greek asnd Roman rhetorical theorists who called the attention of later generations to the importance of speech and language. Likewise, when the author of the Fourth Gospel needed a comprehensive metaphor to describe the eternal significance of Jesus Christ, he turned to speech, calling him the Logos, the Word And Reason Of God, through whom the universe was made and by whom it was upheld. What would happen when these two systems of interpreting persuasive language collided - and yet in some sense converged? To answer that question, this book examines three interpretations of the most universally acknowledged piece of rhetoric in the history of the west, the Sermon on The Mount, from the latin and Catholic tradition (St.Augustine), and the Reformation and Protestant tradition (Martin Luther). Each is acknowledged in his tradition as a prince of the pulpit. Togethor and yet seperately, they illuminate both the sermon and the speaker for anyone who still takes the challenge of the faith - and of language - seriously.

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Reflections on the theological aspect of the liturgy was the focus of Alexander Schmemann's intellectual life. He intuitively grasped and insisted upon the essentially theological character of all liturgical renewal. He recognized that the renewal of the church requires a rediscovery of the liturgy's own inherent theology, that same theology which once informed the whole of the church's life as well as the teachings and writings of the leaders of the Patristic age. This theological content which is inherent in the liturgy itself is designed by Schmemann as "liturgical theology". This collection of essays by the pre-eminent 20th-century Orthodox liturgical theologian is intended as a companion volume to his "Introduction to Liturgical Theology". Here can be traced the development of his thought, and particularly his increasingly precise articulation of the nature and method of liturgical theologyy. Here too can be found Schmemann's constant stress on liturgy as an eschatological and ecclesial event and he repeatedly challenges the liturgical movement in both East and West to rediscover these elements, which were so central in the life of the early Church.

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A systematic and contemporary presentation of Orthodox ecclesiology, including chapters on Eucharist and catholicity, apostolic continuity and succession, ministry and communion, and the local church.

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A book of sermons by 7th and 8th century Fathers including St John of Damascus and St Andrew of Crete. This volume brings together the earliest attempts to interpret Mary's dormition, or falling asleep in the Lord, in the light of the whole Paschal Mystery.

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Nicholas Cabasilas' Commentary on the Divine Liturgy is a remarkable product of Byzantium's last great flowering of theology. The wok has long been essential reading for specialists in the fields of comparative liturgy and history of liturgy, since Cabasilas comments in detail on the Byzantine rite of his day and is able to draw comparisons with the Roman liturgy as well. The work is also invaluable for all those who wish to understand more about the theory and practice of worship in the Orthodox Church. In this edition the text of the Commentary, translated by J. M. Hussey and P. A. McNulty, has been supplemented by a brief foreword which places Cabasilas' work in its historical context. A helpful introduction by R.M. French describes the celebration of the liturgy in the Orthodox Church. A Commentary on the Divine Liturgy begins with observations and description, but it does not end there. Like Cabasilas' Life in Christ, his Commentary is imbued with a fervent sacramental mysticism. For Cabasilas, man's redemption in Jesus Christ is not just a matter of history. It is a saving event in which man is called to participate here and now, in body and spirit as well as intellect, through the sacramental life of the Church. The vitality of worship, and not just its form, therefore is the focus of Cabasilas' thought. His message remains pertinent for us today.

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In this work Olivier Clement comments on three traditional prayers. The author's intention is to discern, within the depths of the texts themselves a trinitarian revelation, the ways of communion. The other prayers are familiar in the Eastern tradition: first the prayer of the Holy Spirit which, in the Byzantine rite, precedes any liturgical action, and on a more personal level, any work of reflection or witness. The final prayer is characteristic of the services of Great Lent and sums up the interior struggle for trust, humility and respect for each other.

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Fr Lawrence Farley brings his Biblical interpretation skills to bear on the Song of Songs, one of the shortest but richest—and most difficult—books of the Bible. This balanced, verse-by-verse commentary examines the text on two main levels: both as a beautiful image of the love and the bond shared between man and woman in marriage, and as an icon of the “great mystery” toward which human marriage points: Christ and the Church (Eph 5.32). We live in swiftly changing times, when the value, the meaning, and the very definition of marriage are the subject of heated debate. Fr Lawrence offers us a vision of the biblical foundation for marriage, which can withstand the floods of life, “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone” (Eph 2.20).

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Popular Patristics Series Volume 49 An otherwise unknown second-century Christian, Ignatius was taken from Antioch to Rome in an imperial triumph, to be executed in the arena. He saw this triumphal procession as Christ’s, as he went to a conquering death. As Christ’s death brought about reconciliation between Jew and Gentile, Ignatius hoped that his death, united with Christ’s, would bring about reconciliation within and among the churches to which he wrote. Two centuries later, when the Arian controversy further divided the Antiochene church, an unknown writer took on the persona of Ignatius to appeal for peace. As today the church is more than ever divided, Fr Stewart presents a fresh English version of both Ignatius and his imitator, with the Greek of Ignatius, and concise introductions to the letters. The most recent research on Ignatius is accessibly presented, and the first English version of the imitation Ignatius is here made available to students, to clergy, and to the people of God.

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Uniting the whole history of God's activity in one encompassing divine economy, Irenaeus demonstrates that there is but one God, who has made Himself known through His one Son, Jesus Christ, by the one Holy Spirit, to the one human race.

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This text is one of the most important and yet approachable works produced by Cyril. It was written after the Council of Ephesus (431) to explain his doctrine to an international audience. Cyril argues for the single divine subjectivity of Christ, and describes how it encompasses a full and authentic humanity in Jesus - a human experience that is not overwhelmed by the divine presence, but fostered and enhanced by it. Christology becomes then, for St Cyril, a paradigm for the transfigured and redeemed life of the Christian. There is an introduction to the historical and theological background of the time, of the text and to St Cyril himself.

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