An Introduction to the Christian Orthodox Churches

An introduction to the life of the Orthodox Churches of the Christian East from 312 up to the year 2000.

John Binns (Author)

9780521667388, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 4 July 2002

296 pages, 12 b/w illus. 3 maps
22.8 x 15.3 x 2 cm, 0.473 kg

'John Binns has done a worthwhile task in writing about the complexity and richness of the Orthodox Church for the general reader. … Binns' encyclopaedic grasp of his subject gives the reader a fascinating insight not only into the past history of the churches but also into their contemporary witness in today's world. … The book can be recommended to any who want a sympathetic objective introduction to the Orthodox Church both in history and as it exists today. Binns has collected a truly heroic amount of information in 250 pages and it is hard to see a better starting place than this book.' The Expository Times

This clear and accessible introduction describes the life of the Orthodox Churches of the Christian East from the accession of the Emperor Constantine in 312 up to the year 2000. It explores the nature of the various churches of the Christian East, both Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian Orthodox, the Church of the East, and Greek Catholic Churches. It explains both the common traditions and the different and sometimes divisive local characteristics. The distinctive Orthodox approaches to the themes of liturgy, theology, monastic life and spirituality, iconography, popular religion, mission, politics and the schism between East and West are discussed in turn. A final chapter examines the response of the Churches to their new freedom following the collapse of communism and the prospects for the future. For Christians of the West, a knowledge of Orthodoxy can open up fresh ways of looking at the Christian faith.

List of illustrations
List of maps
Preface
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction: identifying Orthodoxy
2. Description: a map of Orthodoxy
3. Liturgy: where heaven and earth meet
4. Doctrine: believing in the Orthodox Churches
5. Icons: revelation in image
6. Monasticism: shaping of saints
7. Popular piety: people, places, pilgrimage
8. Mission: incarnation as proclamation
9. Church and state: the dream of God's kingdom on earth
10. East and West: the division of Christendom
11. Prospect: a cautious reforming
Table of dates
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: History of religion [HRAX]