The Feast of Friendship

by Paul D. O'Callaghan

Whether the author knows it or not, this is a profoundly humble book in the sense of the Latin root of the word which indicates the soil from which something grows. The soil for this book is rich: the insights of Aristotle, biblical paradigms of friendship (David and Jonathan, Christ and the Beloved Disciple, Christ and Mary, Martha, and Lazarus), the reflections of the Church Fathers and exemplars of contemporary moral and theological reflection such as David Ford (whose concluding chapter in Self and Salvation informs the title of Fr. Pauls work), Pavel Florensky, John Zizioulas, John MacMurray, C.S. Lewis, Gilbert Meilaender, Paul Wadell, Andrew Sullivan, Carolinne White, and others. Well extend the analogy: like soil that synthesizes its elements and transforms them into something that still contains them yet is unique, so this book is synthetic, carefully restating the essential contributions of each source while advancing them in intellectually acute and stimulating ways that make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. For Fr. Paul, an Orthodox priest, friendship is deeply revelatory of the relations of the Persons of the Holy Trinity, and thus precious, of inherent worth. The pastoral reflections on the pitfalls and potentials of such a crucial aspect of our lives are among the most valuable aspects of this study. We offer it to you in hope that it will remind you, as it did us, that this overlooked dimension of our experience is a crucible of moral development, infused with the possibility of being a foretaste of the Kingdom.

Genres: Nonfiction, Theology, Friendship

151 pages, 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.