The Fragrance of God

by Vigen Guroian

In this literary gem Vigen Guroian chronicles not merely the changing seasons but the course of his own life as he and his family move from Maryland to a new home near the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Leaving the old garden behind and cultivating another garden become an emblem of our journey through life, marked as it is by both bitter losses and sweet new blessings. While deeply personal, The Fragrance of God vividly unfolds the great biblical themes of the grandeur of God’s creation, the senses as “paths” to experiencing God, and the garden as a “place” of birth, death, and renewal. Laced throughout with quotations from Guroian’s beloved church fathers and replete with theological reflection, The Fragrance of God will lead readers down a path of deeper insight into the creation and the Creator.

Genres: Theology, Poetry, Memoir, Nonfiction, Faith, Gardening, Nature

144 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 21, 2006

About the author

Vigen Guroian resides with his wife June Vranian in Culpeper, Virginia, where he mostly tends to his large perennial and vegetable gardens. June is an Interior Designer. Vigen and June have two children. Their son Rafi is 28 years of age, a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College, and employed at Cox Newspapers in Washington D.C. Their daughter Victoria is 24 years old, a graduate of Washington and Lee University, and employed at the NRA.

Dr. Guroian received his B.A. from the University of Virginia (1970) and his Ph. D. in Theology from Drew University (1978). He is presently Professor of Theology and Ethics at Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Guroian was an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia from 1978-81 and held a post there as well in the Center for Russian and East European Studies. He has been a visiting lecturer at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary in New Rochelle, New York, and was the Seminary's Director of Academic Affairs from 1990-92. Dr. Guroian has served for many years as a member of and consultant to the Armenian Religious Education Council of the Prelacy of the Armenian Church of North America.

Since 1986 Dr. Guroian has been a member of the faculty of the Ecumenical Institute of Theology at St. Mary's Seminary and University teaching courses there regularly. For the academic year 1995-1996 he was named the Distinguished Lecturer in Moral and Religious Education at the Institute.

Dr. Guroian has been on numerous editorial boards including The Journal of Religious Ethics, Pro Ecclesia: A Journal of Catholic and Evangelical Theology, and Christian Bio-Ethics. He has served terms on the Board of Directors of the Society of Christian Ethics and the executive committees of the American Theological Society and Christians Associated for Relations with Eastern Europe. He has been active in both the National Council of Churches and in the World Council of Churches.

He is Senior Fellow of the Center on Law and Religion of Emory University; Permanent Senior Fellow of the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in Mecosta, Michigan; Senior Fellow of the Trinity Forum; and an ongoing Fellow of the Wilberforce Forum under the Prison Fellowship Ministries founded by the honorable Chuck Colson.

Recent significant consultations and projects on which Dr. Guroian has served include: "The Alonzo L. McDonald Family Project on Christian Jurisprudence," Emory University (2004-2009); "The Vocation of the Child," commissioned by the Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Religion at Emory University (2005-2006); A Consultation: "American Orthodoxy or Orthodoxy in America," sponsored by the Institute on Religion and World Affairs, Boston University and Pew Charitable Trusts (2003-2004); Christian Jurisprudence Project on "Law and Human Nature: The Teaching of Modern Christianity," sponsored by Pew Charitable Trusts (2001-2004); and "Consultation on Ecclesiology and Ecumenism," sponsored by the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology (2000-2003).

Dr. Guroian has published more than 150 articles in books, journals, and encyclopedias on a range of subjects including Orthodox theology, liturgy and ethics, marriage and family, children's literature, ecology, genocide, and medical ethics. He has authored a monthly column entitled "Really Human Things" on the Prison Fellowship Ministries' BreakPoint site. Dr. Guroian's books, Inheriting Paradise: Meditations on Gardening (Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1999) and Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classic Stories Awaken a Child's Moral Imagination (Oxford University Press, 1998), received national press and media attention. Feature stories on his books have appeared in The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Richmond Times Dispatch, and more than a dozen other newspapers around the country. Dr. Guroian has been a guest on NPR's "Talk of the Nation," "T

Reviews

[Christina Corzine · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible look into the soul, and beauty of gardens in light of our theology and God.
An incredible mix of poetry, theology, philosophy and garden descriptions that will be I think a favorite to turn to in years to come. His returns to Jesus’s first appearance as a gardener to Mary Magdalene will stick with me for a long time.

[Steve]

From the opening chapter of "On Leaving the Garden" in The Fragrance of God:

"In the Christian religion, sight has frequently been proffered as a metaphor for the experience of God. The medieval theologians spoke of the "vision of God" as the summum bonum, the highest good of the Christian life. They singled out sight as the "mystical" sense, the one that draws us deepest into communion with God. Dare I contend with souls so wise? For I have a notion that smell, not sight, is the most mystical sense. The garden has persuaded me of this."

[Brianne P · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was beautiful on several levels! It renews the need to delve into the beauty of things our culture has pushed away or mislabeled. And it renews the path to a child-like awe of God's creation!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful.

[Tabitha Merritt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prose bordering on poetry guides his reader through a full year’s worth of seeing God in the author’s garden, this slim volume reinstates the holiness of growing things with Truth in every page while he also shares his disappointments and sorrows from the year. Just beautiful.

[JoAnn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a gardener too. This book gave me plenty of words/images/reflection to remind me of the great message the garden is.

[Deb]

Second read of a good book tying gardening and faith.

[Becca Hadley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this work by my former UVA professor as something to savor in lent.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 2001, Vigen Guroian and his family left their home (and their gardens) in Reisterstown, Maryland, to begin a new life (and with it, a new garden) in Culpeper, Virginia.

For Guroian, an Orthdox theologian, leaving his old garden behind and cultivating new soil became more than just an opportunity to ponder flowers, herbs, and vegetables. Just as that old garden inspired him to write Inheriting Paradise: Meditations on Gardening (which I read last year), this new garden invited him once again to think deeply about the nature of God and creation, of life and death, of bitter losses and sweet new blessings.

I love Guroian’s writing because it reminds me a little of the earth itself: it's cool and dewy like a garden in twilight; its essence is made rich and fertile by the patient working in of both Guroian's own theological reflections and the wisdom of his beloved church fathers.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting. I couldn't get into it though. Some great thoughts and analogies, esp. re: gardens, gardening, God and Life. However, as pieced together memoirs, it was too disjointed, and to my taste, sorry: too flowery. But, like I said, interesting: in perspective, Eastern Orthodox theology, observance of beauty.

[Jane G Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

If combining poetry, spirituality and gardening gets you excited then this book is for you. The heart of the author, an Armenian Christian, spills out onto the pages of this spare but powerful book and has inspired me to head straight to the green of the garden to pray.

Thank you, Mr. Guroian.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This small book is a lovely set of reflections on gardens, the process of gardening, and God. I think that I had never thought about trying, in a sense, to recreate Eden in my backyard, but it makes the drudgery of weeding seem almost sacred.

[Jamie Cain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book. Guroian's garden reflections are replete with God's fragrance, especially from the literature and life of the Eastern church. And any author who appreciates and quotes George Herbert is okay in my book.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guroian does a masterful job of connecting spirit, flesh and sense. He draws me in with words and helps me smell the mystic reality of the garden as it depicts the eternal nature of God. This is a spectacular little book that begs to be read outdoors within scent of roses or rain or lavender or...

[Sheri-lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somehow there is a beauty about this book that I cannot describe.

[Wilbur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the turtle story.

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collection of essays about general topics relating gardening to the spiritual life. I was drawn to this book because of the exploration of sacramentality through the five senses.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful meditations, especially the one on leaving the garden which brought to mind the lost garden of my childhood.