The Orthodox Church a Well-Kept Secret: A Journey Through Church History

by Father George Nicozisin

The Orthodox A Well-kept Secret was written for older Sunday School Classes, Christian education for adults and a catechism for potential converts to the Orthodox Christian Faith. A little Old Testament background is given to lay the foundation for the Coming of Jesus Christ. New Testament and Apostolic Times are touched upon to introduce the beginning of the Christian Church. The Development of the Christian Church, the emergence of Papal Authority, the great Great Schism (1054), the Four Crusades (1095-1261), the Fall of Constantinople (1453), the Protestant Reformation (1517), the English Reformation (1534), the Calvinist Movement (1541), the Protestant Churches today, the Roman Catholic Church today and all the Orthodox Churches world wide are discussed, The basic differences between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the Main-line Protestant Reformation Churches are detailed. Suggested reference book are listed in the back for those who would like to delve a little into the history, spirituality and theology of the Orthodox Church. Some minor additions and corrections were made in this second edition.

190 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1997

Reviews

[Hazel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a bit dry, not the most well-written and in need of some proofreading and editing! However, it gave some very interesting information about the history of the Orthodox churches, their connections to one another and their relationship to the Roman Catholic church. There is a very informative passage on the Protestant reformation; it gives the history and the motivation for each religion's formation. So--it was slow going, but I learned something. The author's purpose is to inspire people to join the Orthodox church--but given that each seems to have a national base, I think it is unlikely to work. Still, at least the takeaway is to understand who they are.

[Kristopher Godwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple minor and mostly inconsequential historical errors, and it feels like some more clarifications on issues on needed at parts. Its little outdated be 40-50 years(it was funny to me reading about how the American Orthodox independence issue should be settle at the "next" council). But overall a great read and very informative book.
I recommend.

[Montserrat Bouvier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good little book to comprehend the world's history of different religions but written from the Eastern Orthodox point of view