The Orthodox Faith: Doctrine and Scripture

by Thomas Hopko, Andrew Tregubov (Illustrator)

THE ORTHODOX FAITH series is intended to provide basic, comprehensive information on the faith and life of the Orthodox Church. It consists of four volumes.

This volume is divided into two parts. The first outlines the doctrinal teachings of the Orthodox Church by looking at its sources, followed by a commentary on the Nicene Creed and an explanation of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Part Two contains an explanation of the primary source of Christian doctrine - Scripture - through an overview of the contents of both the Old and New Testaments.

Genres: Religion, Christianity, Theology

248 pages, Paperback

Published March 18, 2016

About the author

Thomas Hopko is an Orthodox Christian priest and theologian. He was the Dean of Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary from September 1992 until July 1, 2002 and taught dogmatic theology there from 1968 until 2002. Now retired, he carries the honorary title of Dean Emeritus. Father Hopko is a prominent Orthodox Christian lecturer and speaker, well-known both in Orthodox and ecumenical circles. He has several podcasts on the internet radio station for Orthodox Christians called Ancient Faith Radio

Reviews

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quotes:

The crossing of the Jordan into the promised land corresponds to baptism in Christ into the Kingdom of God… The only one who actually crossed the Jordan and brought the people into the land was not Moses but Joshua, whose name in Greek is Jesus, thus prefiguring the One Who was to come of the same name, which means Savior, the One Who began His messianic mission of bringing the Kingdom of God by His baptism in the Jordan River.


Typos:
p. 69: before “an” things = before “all” things
p. 81: “21 union” = “a union”
p. 83: “ofhow” = “of how”; “Word-made–flesh” = “Word-made-flesh”
p. 162: at “t he” weekday = at “the” weekday
p. 176: the “dd vine” name = the “divine” name
p. 180: union “-with” = union “with”
p. 182: Word of “,God” = Word of “God”
p. 183: beliefs “and. Behavior” = beliefs “and behavior”
p. 185: the fact “-that” = the fact “that”
p. 186: who “believe-in” = who “believe in”
p. 208: is the “Ont” by whose = is the “One” by whose
p. 222: the king who “shah” reign = the king who “shall” reign
p. 236: waiting for “Hint” = waiting for “Him”
p. 237: a body “h ast” = a body “hast”
p. 244: and “tile” God = and “the” God

[Joseph G Martin III · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Introduction to Orthodox Christianity

This book has great depth combined with a very clear style. Although it is primarily aimed at those interested in the Orthodox Church, my Byzantine Catholic priest recommended I read it as an introduction to Eastern Christianity, as both Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches have a shared approach to spirituality.

[Levi Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was our first book in catechumen class. Not a bad introduction, but it was pretty basic for someone like me. The next three books will probably teach a lot more about the Orthodox Church, and especially how it is different from Christianity as I am used to experiencing it.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Straightforward, but other volumes in series probably better for understanding orthodox specifics.

[Adele · Rating 5 out of 5]

very awesome introduction to Orthodox ideas. good to discuss with people.

[Emily Sparks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this on the recommendation of an Eastern Catholic friend. There are a few differences with Roman Catholic theology, but not much.

[Sarah]

Mandatory read for catechumen. Boring but efficient.

[Jessi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, very thorough. Took me awhile to read as it is dense, but great for Orthodox inquirers.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fr. Hopko's presentation of the Orthodox Church and Faith is totally accessible, but at the same time very informative as he presents the material in an easily understood way yet uses the proper terminology to introduce the reader to the fundamentals of Orthodoxy. For catechism the book is excellent. The reader should be aware that Fr. Hopko very much sees the spiritual life as the two ways, which means he presents things as black or white with little middle ground which if you take to logical conclusions can push one to absolutism and extremism on even minor issues. True, you can't really teach Orthodoxy from exceptions, but the tradition is much more nuanced than suggested by the book. We have 4 Evangelists, not just one and the Church rejected those early efforts to harmonize the gospels, thus embracing at times ambiguity and variation. The wisdom tradition is a major part of Orthodoxy, and this is a tradition that says it is not just about the Law. The very power of the parables is they require interpretation and can be applied to a variety of situations. That being said, the text and this series of books is incredibly valuable to modern efforts of education and evangelism.

[Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a brief introduction to Orthodox doctrine. It is fairly comprehensive in its coverage, discussing the various sources of information Orthodox Christians rely on, the mystery of the Trinity, the books of the Old & New Testaments, and the Orthodox view of "salvation history" - but the largest section is devoted to a line-by-line explanation of the Symbol of Faith, i.e., the Nicene Creed, which is a useful method of introducing the basics.

There is, at times, an overreliance on large blocks of quoted text, when more explanation from Hopko would be desired.

This edition of the text, printed by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, is unfortunately riddled with copy-editing errors. Another reviewer has listed some of the typos, but there are still others. This is very regrettable to see in such a useful and popular work.