(Part 2) Top products from r/OrthodoxChristianity

I orbited Catholicism for a few years but was never compelled to make the leap. When I encountered Orthodoxy, I fell in love and the decision was easy. I was baptized in 10 months.

For me, American Orthodox worship is much more powerful and alive than the Catholic. I highly suggest that you "taste and see" if the fruit is good. Also, I love the Orthodox sense of mysticism (which you can find in the writings of Father Sophrony or the speaking of Fr. Seraphim Aldea)

YMMV. I have a lot of respect for the Catholic church and a lot of friends who are Catholic. But please have an encounter with both before you leap in. If one is a much better for your spiritual growth than the other, then your very soul may be at stake.

On the technical side, I posted these 7 days ago, but these are my favorite podcasts on Orthodox/Catholic theological and ecclesiological issues.

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A very good podcast discussion on Catholic/Orthodox differences:

https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/orthodoxyheterodoxy/rome_part_1a

https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/orthodoxyheterodoxy/rome_part_1b

https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/orthodoxyheterodoxy/rome_part_2a

https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/orthodoxyheterodoxy/rome_part_2b

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And another very good podcast on Papal claims to being the leader of the church:

https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/ourlife/rome_peter_orthodoxy

They aren't Orthodox theologians, but:

• Christianity: The First 3000 Years - can't beat this for an academic, accessible, comprehensive, and fair point of view of every corner of the Christian world in history. Literally every corner. You can skip chapters/parts that don't apply to Orthodoxy if you wish.
  
  
• A Short History of Byzantium -
  focuses more on the Byzantine Empire and so leaves out a lot of stuff, but it does cover the Ecumenical Councils and a lot of Orthodox history. There is also a harder-to-find 3 part trilogy of this abridged book.
  
  Orthodox Writings:
  
  
• Bishop Ware's The Orthodox Church has an overview, but it's pretty light.
  
  
• Orthodox Alaska provides a historical look at the history of Orthodoxy in Alaska, which is pretty great (and super interesting).
  
  There are probably not many good histories of the Church by Orthodox theologians, to be honest.
  
  

1. Nope. Not rude or disrespectful.
   
2. http://www.orthodoxiya.fm/ (If you speak Arabic, here is an Orthodox on-line radio station. If not- you'll be just as lost as I am with this! However, if you like chants, there is some good chanting to be found here. If you prefer or know English better, then this might be more up your alley: Ancient Faith Radio (music/chanting, podcasts, blogs)
   
   Well, I'll just share books and links with you that I just shared to someone else on another thread. I don't know how useful some of them will be for you, since you don't have a Christian background, but there they are anyway. Regarding specific differences between Copts, Armenians, Old Believer, and Eastern Orthodox, I don't know of any books that specifically address the differences (but Ethiopians are Copts and Greeks/Russians/Antioch are all Eastern Orthodox). ;)
   
   The Orthodox Faith by Thomas Hopko (It's all on-line- so no need to buy anything here.)
   
   Beginning to Pray by Anthony Bloom (Wonderful resource for anyone.)
   
   On the Incarnation by St. Athanasius (Catholics of all stripes should approve of this, but this is definitely something the East looks at more frequently in my observation. Also all on-line.)
   
   The Meaning of Icons by Vladimir Lossky (Icons are often overlooked in book recommendations on Orthodox Christianity. It's a shame. It's one of the most fascinating subjects.)
   
   On Acquisition of the Holy Spirit by St. Seraphim of Sarov (Even the pope has recognized him as a saint. This is a wonderful and deceptively simple (i.e. heavy) read. This is also all on-line. There are also six you-tube videos for this so you can just listen: https://youtu.be/pBynRA0wNg8 )
   
   Also, I don't think this has much to do with theology, but I really liked them:
   
   The Way of a Pilgrim (I recommend this book to everyone. Always.)
   
   How to Live a Holy Life by Gregory Postnikov (This is a small book. It's deceptively simple. The doing of what's in it is more difficult.)
   
   

3. For an Orthodox view, I highly recommend this podcast series on the bible to you. Dr. Constantinou of the University of San Diego essentially covers what she would in one of her survey courses. This goes in-depth on the topics of scripture (old and new). It truly starts with the second podcast (Inspiration and Inerrancy) and moves on to cover oral tradition, bible manuscripts, the septuagint, the canon, translations and versions, patristic interpretation, the school of Alexandria, the school of Antioch, and the Latin fathers in other podcasts. Search the Scriptures: Introduction to the Bible (Lesson 2)

>I think part of me doesn't want to freak her out about something that I'm worried could just end up being a phase....

Yes, I'm not sure how familiar you are with Orthodoxy, but there are some rather freaky and disturbing things to it when you are coming to it for the first time.

For example, venerating the tombs where saints are buried and being anointed with holy salves that are springing forth from the bones of these men. I'm speaking literally here. Being called to participate in present day miracles and mysteries is no easy task. I don't mean to scare you off, along with the mysteries there is unmistakable beauty and richness which can be found no where else.

Although, idealistically, it doesn't matter where you go, I think practically speaking though you both would be served well by going to a more modern minded parish.

I know you're being recommended lots of books at this time, but if I could reocmmend one more for you Introduction to Liturgical Theology by Alexander Schmemann will help you to understand the roots of the early Church, why the Sabbath is important to them, where vespers and matins came from, why the Passover and Pentecost continued to be celebrated and much much more. All presented from a liturgical and Orthodoxy perspective.

I know that you went to seminary, but understanding the roots of the Liturgical worship from an Orthodox perspective is not always easy to understand, especially in explaining this to your wife I think this could be very helpful.

I've got both the OSB and the CSB Ancient Faith Study Bible. The commentary in the CBS one is very good, however there are problems withe the CSB translation itself. The CSB has a pretty clear low church congregationalist bias.

My advice: get both! The OSB has a more Orthodox friendly translation (and the commentary is good, but as you say is certainly coming from an Orthodox perspective). Then just use the CSB one for the commentary.

If no one has pointed it out to you already, there is another great resource for source material from the Church Fathers. The Complete Ante-Nicene, Nicene, and Post-Nicene Church Fathers Collection contains pretty much every work written by every Church Father and Doctor of the Church, East and West. It's also dirt cheap for the Kindle version. The only problem is this material is not curated in any way: you are literally getting all of it. It can feel like drinking from the firehose. In hardback it is something like 37 volumes? It's huge. My suggestion would be to start with the particular works you are interested in rather than reading it front to back.

1. Synaxarion (I believe there are entries for at least the majority of the family; certainly St Basil in depth)
   
2. The Life of Macrina by St Gregory of Nyssa may be helpful as it goes more into Macrina and some other family members. I don't think Emelia is talked about extensively, but her life and upbringing is gone into more than perhaps in other works.
   
3. Not a book, just info about their feast day (Feast of the Holy Family of St Basil) and their icons. http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2013/01/feast-of-holy-family-of-saint-basil.html
   
4. A Saint Among Saints: A Sketch of the Life of St Emmelia. I've never read this, so I can't speak to its worth.
   
5. Marriage as a Path to Holiness: Lives of Married Saints by David Ford. Includes Sts Emelia and Basil.
   
   
   Hope this helps. Good luck! I need to read some of these myself. Thanks for the research opportunity ;)

I don't know whether a catechism is the best kind of resource to provide. He should contact the priest nearest to him and establish a relationship - let the priest guide him. One way or another, he will need a spiritual father.

Depending on your friend's disposition, I might be more inclined to recommend Elder Cleopas' The Truth of Our Faith. Personally, I would definitely not recommend any of Clark Carleton's books. They are not inaccurate - I just think they are too polemical.

I would also strongly recommend Everyday Saints. The book is not any kind of catechism, but it gives a very strong sense of what an Orthodox life feels like, even though it is written from a Russian monastic perspective. The same holds true for Mountain of Silence, which is from the perspective of a Greek layperson.

My priest used The Faith by Clark Carlton as a catechism. It's very good, as is the aforementioned books by Kallistos Ware. It lays out our beliefs and our practices well for a newcomer.

If you are interested, it is here on Amazon, where I am surprised at it's price (my parish bookstore had it for twenty dollars). If you are serious, PM me and I would be willing to loan you my copy.

You have come to the start of the path to the Truth. It's a hard one, but very rich and fulfilling. May God bless you on your journey!

There is a good one that helped my family:

Ask for the Ancient Paths

https://www.amazon.com/Ask-Ancient-Paths-Discovering-Church/dp/1936270633

It's directed at Protestants and is very informative. It is a small book and a VERY easy read!

Good luck my friend.

Friend. There's a really interesting book called His Broken Body. http://www.amazon.com/His-Broken-Body-Understanding-Catholic/dp/0615183611?ie=UTF8&keywords=his%20broken%20body&qid=1459185341&ref_=sr_1_2&sr=8-2

It addresses many of the issues and seeks to heal the separation. It's a little pricey but well worth it.

If you asked me (much to dismay of many EO here) I say they still are one Church. I kind of follow the thinking of David Bentley Hart's The Myth of Schism article. http://fatherdavidbirdosb.blogspot.ae/2012/05/myth-of-schism-by-david-bentley-hart.html

In Lebanon, the Greek Antiochian Orthodox and Maronite Catholics (plus the Greek Catholics, Syriac Catholics, Syriac Orthodox, etc) almost act and function like One Church and One Body. They intermarry and in many towns intercommune, pray the liturgy together, some monasteries are joined together, etc, etc.

If you have specific questions (coming from my background) perhaps I can help you answer them :)

The Ancient Commentary on Scripture Series (published by InterVarsity) has in-depth patristic commentary on individual books of the Bible. It goes verse-by-verse, so it sounds like what you're looking for. If you want patristic/medieval commentary for free, this site is quite good: https://sites.google.com/site/aquinasstudybible/home .

As for Bible translations, Fr. Thomas Hopko once recommended the RSV (plus the apocrypha) for balancing readability and literalness. I myself like the KJV, but the RSV is quite good: Ignatius press publishes a good edition.


Fr. Laurent Cleenewerck, an OCA (?) priest, is working on translating the Bible from the official Greek of the Orthodox Church. He has only finished the New Testament. But you can pair it with Lancelot Brenton's (old) translation of the Septuagint.


For what its worth, Richard Hays has recently published a book explaining figural exegesis (the method for interpreting the bible that the Fathers use), called [Reading Backward] (https://www.amazon.com/Reading-Backwards-Figural-Christology-Fourfold/dp/1481302337/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1500494710&sr=8-3&keywords=richard+hayes).

I recently read Fr. Alexander Schmemann's The Historical Road of Eastern Orthodoxy.

I thought it was a pretty good, fairly in-depth overview of Orthodox history, from 33AD to the mid-20th Century (though most of the focus is up through Byzantium; the closer to the present he gets, the less in-depth he goes, IIRC). In addition, I liked how Schmemann didn't shy away from the problems the Church has experienced, but, at the same time, also offered context to help the reader understand why some decisions seemed like a good idea at the time.

That is a bad translation. A better one is:

"For You possess my heart, O Lord; you took hold of me from my other's womb."

It goes on:
"I will give thanks to You, For I am fearfully and wondrously made ..."

If all our inclinations are the will of God, then God ordained pyromaniacs and pedophiles, as /u/sarracht pointed out. What this verse means in context is that God created man to be in communion with him.

So no, it is not the case that "whatever is, is as is it should be." This is the unfortunate consequence of the Protestant Calvinist doctrine that God predestined everything. He has foreknowledge, but he lets us have free will.

Are you sure you "personally really only disagree with one or two things and that's it?" A good book to read is The Faith. It includes chapters about the creation, the fall, and the sacrament of marriage.

I've had a powerful encounter with Christ through the mystics of the Orthodox church. There's a rich emotional approach to how they speak and write, rather than a mental or scholastic one. I've never before heard men talk with words that lit my heart on fire like this.

I recommend this book. It's short, and it just might be what you are looking for. It's not a theology book. Rather, it's like the personal journal or diary of someone meeting Christ. I did not know before that Christianity could be such a living thing. It is just about 100 pages and it changed my life.

If you can, visit a monastery. These are not men that are not just studying Christ, but that are in pursuit of a direct experience of him. Fr. Seraphim Aldea is my favorite living mystic, and he is a monk. He has some advice for how to find Christ in the talk I linked.

Book 1

Book 2

Book 3

​

Also download the app called "Catena" on your phone. It's free and it's the bible with patristic commentary for pretty much every verse.

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EDIT: my best advice would be to ask for book recommendations from your spiritual father; i.e. the priest you confess to. They would have a better idea of what you should be reading. When I first started meeting with my priest regularly I told him I had been reading some of the ascetic fathers and he told me to stop. He was right, I wasn't ready for that and am still not ready for that. Let the Church guide you.

Fair enough. It was actually the first Ortho book I read, but for where I was it was just what I needed. But as you said, doesn't mean it's a good starter for everyone. I've heard a lot of people talk about "The Mountain of Silence" but haven't had a chance to read it myself. I'd also highly recommend "A Light from the Christian East". It's actually written by a Protestant professor but does a great job of explaining Eastern theology for western readers. It's a bit academic, but if that doesn't phase you check it out!

St. Innocent: Apostle to America is a detailed but very readable book about this wonderful saint. It's only about $5 used at Amazon :-) I recommend it!

In that price range, you could pick up the NRSV with Apocrypha (some may find issue with that translation, but I like it for personal use) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0061827215/

Or if you want a more reverent translation, the RSV2CE is quite good, keeping in mind it won't have the full Orthodox deuterocanon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0898708338/

Edit: Also, it's my understanding that one can find a KJV with Apocrypha for a decent price

Introducing Eastern Orthodox Theology is a readable introduction based on a lecture series.

Light from the Christian East was written by someone in the Reformed tradition who nevertheless does a pretty good presentation of Orthodoxy.

Orthodox Christianity (3 vol.) is probably the most comprehensive overview by a contemporary Orthodox theologian and churchman.

Here's my own book recommendations, if you don't mind. Unfortunately, they're not exactly what you asked for.

Frank Sheed's "Theology and Sanity" on the Catholic side. I would also recommend "Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux.

On the Orthodox side, The Way of the Pilgrim and Everyday Saints and Other Stories.

Another interesting book, if you're coming from a western background, is Augsburg and Constantinople: The Correspondence between the Tubingen Theologians and Patriarch Jeremiah II of Constantinople on the Augsburg Confession.

I don't know of books like you're asking for, but I'll be sure to check this thread later to see what gets suggested.

If you're trapped on an island, St Basil on Social Justice wouldn't be of much use, but it's transformed the way I look at things and I read it frequently.

I'll do you one better- how about the Bible, and the Holy Fathers! It's great to read snippets from St John Chrysostom on the daily readings every day.

If you're trapped on an island, The Ladder of Divine Ascent might be applicable, but you might go crazy without spiritual guidance.

Also, these two books by Timothy (Kallistos) Ware https://www.amazon.com/Orthodox-Way-Kallistos-Ware/dp/0913836583 and https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/014198063X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480292564&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=the+orthodox+church&dpPl=1&dpID=51exHD4f7sL&ref=plSrch are relatively easy to read and give a good summary of church doctrine and history.

Off the top of my head, these should be helpful to you, though I'm certain there are others. These are scholarly works, which is what it sounds like you're looking for, though I would strongly suggest simply reading various Church Fathers, starting with the "Apostolic Fathers" collection, then becoming familiar with the Cappadocians. I cannot overemphasize how helpful and illuminating simply reading various Fathers is.

His Broken Body
and The Primacy of Peter: Essays in Ecclesiology

No, but this book - Ask for the Ancient Paths - was amazing for me.

Here are a few suggestions

https://www.amazon.com/Life-World-Sacraments-Orthodoxy/dp/0913836087

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0281070989/ref=ox_sc_act_image_4?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Liturgical-Theology-Alexander-Schmemann/dp/0913836184/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=alexander+schmemann&qid=1570773874&sprefix=akexander+schm&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/Orthodox-Worship-Living-Continuity-Synagogue/dp/1944967540/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=Orthodox+worship&qid=1570774074&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0881410829/ref=ox_sc_act_image_6?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/988785154X/ref=ox_sc_act_image_5?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Hymn-of-Entry-Liturgy-and-Life-in-the-Orthodox-Church-Contemporary-Greek-Theologians-Series-No-1/dp/0881410268/ref=cm_cr_dp_mb_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8

Vespers

https://www.amazon.com/Evening-Worship-Orthodox-English-Russian/dp/088141011X

And here is a lecture on the history of the different divine liturgies.

https://youtu.be/i-39xxdeZ9Q

And here is a lecture on what litugircal theology is from the view of fr. Alexander Schmemann delivered by a theology professor with Notre Dame (both authors are linked above)

https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/svsvoices/the_anchor_of_schmemanns_liturgical_theology

I got these:

The Orthodox Church by Kallistos Ware

The Orthodox Way by Kallistos Ware

The Mountain of Silence by Kyriacos C. Markides

The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

I'm still reading them but I hear that this selection will cover a lot of bases. Check eBay too, they can found pretty cheap.

Most bishops would not require rebaptism, assuming your baptism invoked the trinity and it is a plus if it was via immersion. In Australia , I don't believe any of those bishops would have you be baptised again.

I used to struggle with icons but the writings in defense of them by St. John of Damascus convinced me. I recommend you read his Three Treaties

https://www.amazon.com/Treatises-Vladimirs-Seminary-Popular-Patristics/dp/0881412457


https://www.amazon.com/Divine-Images-Apologies-Against-English/dp/0913836621/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=john+of+damascus+icons&qid=1573431276&sr=8-1

if you continue to have doubts about icons

https://www.amazon.com/Meaning-Icons-Vladimir-Lossky/dp/0913836990/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1487480778&sr=1-1&keywords=9780913836996

Perhaps not the guidebook you are looking for, but a good start.

Like everything else, there is not much of an "official" anything in the Eastern Orthodox Church, but somehow it all hangs together.

I know more or less what you are getting at. Give The Longer Catechism of Metropolitan Philaret a spin.

For contrasting Orthodox beliefs with those of what we call "sectarians" (non-Orthodox), check out The Truth of Our Faith, vol. I.

Neither are exactly the sort of "checklist" you are looking for, but I think they might serve your purpose.

It's not only history, but I like The Historical Road of Eastern Orthodoxy for both history and an introduction to Orthodoxy.

The Orthodox Church: An Introduction to Eastern Christianity https://www.amazon.com/dp/014198063X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_HmxhDbPXC5MRX

Always a good Book to start with!

RSV-CE|RSV-2CE
:---|:---
Thee/thou|you/your
archaic verb forms ('didst')|modern verb forms
'Steadfast love'|'mercy'

And other changes that aren't well documented. Although while thinking about writing this post, the Psalter I use is a you/your Psalter, so it would make sense to have a you/your Bible.

Plus, the RSV-2CE comes with iconography on the front, and I would like to have that.

My introduction was, Ask for the Ancient Paths, by James Guirguis; it was an easy read and it was moving.

Ask for the Ancient Paths: Discovering What Church Is Meant to Be https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936270633/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_yWF1BbKJP3J83

The Faith: Understanding Orthodox Christianity https://www.amazon.com/dp/0964914115/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_2ye9ybVK8CRE4 This is what my parish uses for the inquirers class

The Bible and the Holy Fathers for Orthodox and On the Prayer of Jesus, easily

If you have a kindle, you can't do much better than The Complete Ante-Nicene, Nicene & Post-Nicene Church Fathers Collection, which is an ebook version of a definitive 37-volume series, for $2.99. And unlike other ebook versions of this series, this one has active linked tables of contents (both for the whole series and for each individual book), rendering it much more usable.

Hello, English-speaking white boy here. I was baptized in a very well-educated OCA parish years ago and moved to my current city for work. Here there is only a Greek parish, a very ethnically Greek parish, so I understand what you are feeling.

The reason so many "ethnic" parishes exist in the Western world versus the missiological route taken by Sts Cyril and Methodius which offers services in a native language is because of the way the bulk of Orthodoxy arrived in the West.
Though there were missionary trips (check out "Orthodox Alaska" for a taste of the missions work among the native people), most of Orthodoxy came with the immigrants as their religion and their culture. Many people groups upon arriving in America settled into ethnic ghettos and though they had become part of the world's 'melting pot,' they were still very isolated. Their culture was still their identity and was passed down to following generations.

Much of my parish is still first-generation Americans and where I live, we don't get too many inquisitors about Orthodoxy because it's in the 'Bible Belt,' so this parish has remained mostly Greek in language. The current priest is an American-born Carpatho-Russian priest who has added some English, but on a 'good' day we're still at 80% Greek.

For all of the 'ethnic' parishes around there are plenty that offer services in English, whether OCA, Antiochian, Greek, ROCOR, etc. But, as my priest has to remind me when I jump on my "I want English!" soap box, the Greeks in our parish are just as much the sheep he has been entrusted with as we English-speaking people are. And (I am not speaking on a wide scale, I am simply stating from my particular parish), so much of their cultural identity is wrapped in Orthodoxy that if we abandoned the Greek, many in our parish would stop coming, even though they speak English.

It can be frustrating, but I have learned much of the liturgical Greek since arriving and since I know the Liturgy in English, the transition hasn't been too bad. Because I am not Greek, I do stand out a bit. The Greeks refer to me as "the Russian," though I'm not sure why. There are many who haven't spoken the first word to me in three years, but then again, there are many others who have welcomed me and tried to Greek me up a bit (though I still haven't gotten the taste for ouzo).

A unified American Orthodox Church is still a long way in the future, but it is something being worked toward. There is much to decide upon, much to sort out. I'm all for a uniquely American Orthodoxy (I would even propose our Liturgical chant be based on Sacred Harp, but that's just my opinion), but it will take time, lots of time, just like Orthodoxy around the world has required hundreds and thousands of years to take its place among the people.

His Broken Body: Understanding and Healing the Schism between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches by Fr Laurent Cleenewerck is a great, non-polemical book on the differences between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism (Fr Laurent is Orthodox and writing from an Orthodox perspective).

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Here it is in book form. Not sure if it is online somewhere as well.

For a really intersting discussion of this, see Fr. Schmemann's book The Historical Road of Eastern Orthodoxy

Fr. Schmemann, and. Fr. Hopko after him, would both contend that Orthodoxy has still not recovered from the fall of Constantinople.

I’d say you can’t really beat The Sayings of the Desert Fathers.

I would suggest The Light From the Christian East by James R. Payton. Dr. Payton is a Protestant and is sensitive to Protestant perceptions. The book is also more in depth theologically than some of the "testimonial" type books. After reading this volume I wish I had picked it up earlier in my inquiry.

https://www.amazon.com/Light-Christian-East-Introduction-Tradition/dp/0830825940

I bought the alphabetical collection, and I re-read it every month or so. Fantastic book.

Orthodox Alaska: A Theology of Mission
By Fr. Michael Oleksa
link

So, what is it you believe about icons?

Edit- reading your posts...

Doesn't this one:
>A dwelling place in matter for dead heroes who were once incarnate? Same.

Contradict this one?
>Channel. A pipe isn't the home of water.

Your beliefs on icons might be a bit confused. You should come back after studying what we actually believe about icons, so you won't be arguing against strawmen. I'd start with St. John of Damascus. It's a $5 paperback on Amazon.

Start there so you understand our position first. That'a way you know what you're arguing against.