Awhile ago I purchased The Orthodox Church by Timothy Ware. Ware is known as Kallistos, the Metropolitan of Dioklia. He is the bishop of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Great Britain. As a layman he wrote this book and it has gone through a few revisions. It is a considered a high quality, easy introduction to the Orthodox branch of the Christian faith.
Is there anyone out there who has read this book? Anyone who is part of the Orthodox family who has any feelings about it? If so, do you consider it a fair introduction to Orthodoxy?
I ask because I read The Catholic Church by Hans Kung. I thought it was a valuable introduction to Roman Catholicism until a Catholic responded to my observations by saying that Kung hardly is a qualified representative of Catholicism and recommended a few other books. If you are Orthodox, and you feel this way about Ware, let me know who you think is a better representative (yet still readable).
August 29, 2009 at 1:12 am
Oh my! His Eminence is nothing like Küng is for the Catholics!
Overall The Orthodox Church is a fine introduction, particularly regarding historical issues. He has come under critique for some of his statements regarding "ecumenism" in the second edition. But even those critics merely refer readers to the first edition instead, as it is an excellent introduction.
It is an eminently readable book. For someone wanting a general introduction to Eastern Orthodoxy, for price, availability, and quality, it will suffice admirably.
There is something of a companion volume to be found in Metropolitan Kallistos' The Orthodox Way, which describes in more depth various imporant aspects of Orthdoox theology, including many excerpts from the Church's hymnological and Patristic treasuries. It, too, is widely available and inexpensive.
The two volumes would be ideal together as an introduction to Orthodoxy. The reader should commence with The Orthodox Church, and then read The Orthodox Way.
August 29, 2009 at 1:26 am
Kevin,
Thank you for your response. I will make sure to try to work through both books.
Is there a large book, like 'Catholicism' by R.P. Mcbrien that is an equivalent?
September 2, 2009 at 6:48 am
You're very welcome, Brian. I'm not familiar with the McBrien book, so wouldn't know of anything similar. Ostrogorsky's _History of the Byzantine State_ is also something of a history of Orthodoxy (as is every Byzantine history, really), so you might want to look at that. Otherwise, it's also the classic go-to history for Byzantium.
Fr John McGuckin's _The Orthodox Church_ is quite hefty, but I haven't read it. I haven't been able to stomach the $100+ price tag without hearing some rave reviews first, which I've not heard. So, it exists, but I can neither recommend nor disrecommend it, to be fair.