What do you think?
Rate this book
Le Starets Serge
Correspondant de saint Silouane et du célèbre Higoumène Chariton de Valaam, ami de Jacques Maritain, Louis Massignon, Olivier Lacombe, Charles du Bos, Emmanuel Mounier et Gabriel Marcel, père spirituel de Nicolas Berdiaev, de Vladimir Lossky et du grand iconographe Grégoire Kroug, le Starets Serge Chévitch (1903-1987) fut l'une des figures les plus charismatiques et les plus lumineuses de l'émigration russe et de l'Église orthodoxe en Occident. Cet ouvrage présente la vie, la personnalité et l'enseignement de ce grand spirituel. Un enseignement simple, très concret, proche des sources évangéliques et patristiques, et profondément ancré dans l'expérience intérieure de « la vie en Christ », dont pourront tirer profit tous les chrétiens soucieux d'approfondir au quotidien leur vie spirituelle.
- GenresNonfiction
166 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
2 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Jean-Claude Larchet
59 books67 followersJean-Claude Larchet, né le 9 août 1949 à Badonviller (Meurthe-et-Moselle), est un patrologue et théologien orthodoxe français.
Auteur de nombreux ouvrages publiés aux éditions du Cerf et traduits dans dix-neuf langues, il est notamment spécialiste de Maxime le Confesseur.
Auteur de nombreux ouvrages publiés aux éditions du Cerf et traduits dans dix-neuf langues, il est notamment spécialiste de Maxime le Confesseur.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 21, 2023
Transformative
June 27, 2014
This book is a treasure, at once deep and practical.
Elder Sergei (Shevich) was a Russian-emigre priest-monk who spend most of his life in France. Though in the spiritual lineage of the Optina Elders, he never lived in a monastery, but devoted himself to serving a parish. Jean-Claude Larchet has blessed us with this beautiful book about his life and counsels.
The book breaks down into three parts. Part One gives us the Elder's life, which is interesting partly because it reads like a Who's Who of the Russian Orthodox emigration in France during its 'golden age'. I learned that the great iconographer Fr. Gregory Kroug was a spiritual child of Elder Sergei, who helped him through more than one bout of severe mental illness. The Elder's concern and healing intercession for those with psychiatric problems seems to have been a keynote of his pastoral ministry.
Part Two, the real core of the book, organizes and summarizes the Elder's teaching. I found this section tremendously helpful and challenging. Elder Sergei rigorously avoided theological speculation and encouraged his followers to do the same, feeling that it often serves in our time as a substitute for prayer and authentic spirituality. Perhaps because he lived in the 'world' and dealt with Orthodox Christians living in the world, his teaching, while very demanding, is always concrete, specific and simply presented.
Part Three, entitled 'Words of Salvation', is a collection of quotes from the Elder, collected over many years by those who went to him for counsel or confession. I'm afraid this section was a problem for me: it's very repetitive, and most of its content, along with many direct quotes, is already contained in Part Two. I felt that could have benefited from much more editing and organization.
This is a spiritual gem, one that I'll be reading again and , I hope, applying.
Elder Sergei (Shevich) was a Russian-emigre priest-monk who spend most of his life in France. Though in the spiritual lineage of the Optina Elders, he never lived in a monastery, but devoted himself to serving a parish. Jean-Claude Larchet has blessed us with this beautiful book about his life and counsels.
The book breaks down into three parts. Part One gives us the Elder's life, which is interesting partly because it reads like a Who's Who of the Russian Orthodox emigration in France during its 'golden age'. I learned that the great iconographer Fr. Gregory Kroug was a spiritual child of Elder Sergei, who helped him through more than one bout of severe mental illness. The Elder's concern and healing intercession for those with psychiatric problems seems to have been a keynote of his pastoral ministry.
Part Two, the real core of the book, organizes and summarizes the Elder's teaching. I found this section tremendously helpful and challenging. Elder Sergei rigorously avoided theological speculation and encouraged his followers to do the same, feeling that it often serves in our time as a substitute for prayer and authentic spirituality. Perhaps because he lived in the 'world' and dealt with Orthodox Christians living in the world, his teaching, while very demanding, is always concrete, specific and simply presented.
Part Three, entitled 'Words of Salvation', is a collection of quotes from the Elder, collected over many years by those who went to him for counsel or confession. I'm afraid this section was a problem for me: it's very repetitive, and most of its content, along with many direct quotes, is already contained in Part Two. I felt that could have benefited from much more editing and organization.
This is a spiritual gem, one that I'll be reading again and , I hope, applying.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews