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Life Together: Wisdom of Community from the Christian East
Written in the tradition of the Orthodox Easts desert tradition of short meditations on spiritual themes, Bishop Seraphims new book is the Eastern Churchs answer to Bonheoffers great reflection on similar themes. Here, Bishop Seraphim explores the Russian understanding of the term Sobornost, a word for community first introduced in the 19th century, which has taken shape as a key concept for exploring what community means and how unity between human beings is truly possible. This uniquely Eastern perspective on a topic of interest to people everywhere will appeal to anyone hungering for a new understanding of community that can inspire daily life. The book will also leave readers with the happy awareness that the history of the Church is not something closed and complete, nor is Christianity an exhausted creed which has run its course. Instead, Christianity is young and ever new, and the Church is just beginning to discover the inwardness that is implicit in the Gospels.
161 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2011
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May 11, 2017
Pick a week and, during that week, take this book everywhere you go. Once an hour, read one paragraph. By the end of the week, you'll have had an especially pleasant week and you'll have finished the book.
Bishop Seraphim's small collection of thoughts, quotes, and impressions feel less dogmatic, more like musings from a merciful old man. It is not unlike a commonplace book. He has no problem plundering the Egyptians, sharing quotes generously from any number of Christian branches and denominations, from scientists (I'm unsure of their religious background), from poets...you get the feeling he is quoting from whichever book he was reading that morning or whomever he shared a meal with that afternoon.
As a young man and a young Orthodox Christian still learning the fenceposts of his faith and cautious not to overstep his bounds, I was sometimes uncomfortable with Bishop Seraphim's thoughts on ecumenism. However, he is a bishop, and I am barely a year out of catechesis, so he has earned the liberty, comfortable for me or not.
Favorite quote: the author's referencing Simone Weil's description of prayer as "absolutely unmixed attention."
Bishop Seraphim's small collection of thoughts, quotes, and impressions feel less dogmatic, more like musings from a merciful old man. It is not unlike a commonplace book. He has no problem plundering the Egyptians, sharing quotes generously from any number of Christian branches and denominations, from scientists (I'm unsure of their religious background), from poets...you get the feeling he is quoting from whichever book he was reading that morning or whomever he shared a meal with that afternoon.
As a young man and a young Orthodox Christian still learning the fenceposts of his faith and cautious not to overstep his bounds, I was sometimes uncomfortable with Bishop Seraphim's thoughts on ecumenism. However, he is a bishop, and I am barely a year out of catechesis, so he has earned the liberty, comfortable for me or not.
Favorite quote: the author's referencing Simone Weil's description of prayer as "absolutely unmixed attention."
Displaying 1 of 1 review