Feast of Friendship

by Paul D. O'Callaghan

Feast of Friendship (First Edition)

Genres: Nonfiction, Theology, Friendship

Paperback

First published March 1, 2002

Reviews

[Anne Awaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was rich in theological references ranging from the Bible, the church fathers and theologians in the current day. I found it very encouraging in times that I overly relied on wanting a romantic relationship and overlooked the value of one rooted in philia. The desire to want to share beautiful experiences that are experienced alone, very much resonated with me.

[Russell Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fine small book, one which introduces, from the perspective of Orthodox Christianity (the author is a protopresbyter, or a non-monastic priest, who serves as Dean of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral here in Wichita, KS), a wide range of reflections--theological, psychological, practical, literary, and personal--on the importance of friendship to the Christian life. While not a serious work of philosophy, it taught me a good deal, as he dealt with the writings of Plato, Aristotle, Montaigne, and Kierkegaard, to say nothing of drawing extensively upon the Bible and the Patristic tradition. He makes a strong defense of philia, as distinct from both eros and agape, as being equally deserving of the label "love," and asks good questions about why, exactly, it is so hard for many of us to talk about how friends love one another, and are transformed by that friendship, in the same way that love transforms people. I like in particular how he ties the moral life and moral virtues to friendship, in the sense of being intimately connected to communion and relationships; quoting the theologian Paul Wadell, he writes that "the moral life is the seeking of and growing in the good in the company of friends who also want to be good," which strikes me as profound. Of course, he acknowledges that friendships with an explicit focus on virtue are rare--though given how friendship changes us, perhaps not as rare as we think. Anyway, not a groundbreaking book, but one filled with excellent thoughts.

[Debbi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book because I was looking for something that delves into how friendships reflect or should reflect the Trinity. While there were a chapter or two on the theology of friendship (and they were thought-provoking), most of the book was not what I was looking for. However, it was still a good book, just not great.