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Ορθόδοξη ψυχοθεραπεία: Πατερική θεραπευτική αγωγή
Η Ορθοδοξία είναι θεραπευτική επιστήμη. Θεραπεύει τον άρρωστο άνθρωπο. Και αυτή η ασθένεια συγκεκριμενοποιείται στον νου. Η Εκκλησία με την διδασκαλία της, την λατρεία, την άσκηση, τα μυστήρια ελευθερώνει τον νου και τον καθιστά ναό του Παναγίου Πνεύματος. Αυτή η θεραπευτική αγωγή εφαρμόσθηκε και επιβεβαιώθηκε από όλους τους αγίους. Είναι η μόνη οδός που οδηγεί στον Θεό. Νομίζω ότι η απώλεια της Παραδόσεως φαίνεται κυρίως στην απώλεια της θεραπευτικής μεθόδου και στην απώλεια πραγματικών θεραπευτών. Η επάνοδος στην ορθόδοξη παράδοση είναι ουσιαστικά επάνοδος στις δυο αυτές βάσεις.
Η θεραπεία της ασθενούς ψυχής, η ζωοποίηση του νεκρού νοός, η καθαρότης της ακαθάρτου καρδιάς δεν επιτυγχάνονται με συμβουλές ούτε με φάρμακα, αλλά με τα μυστήρια και την ασκητική μέθοδο της εκκλησίας, με την εγκράτεια, την αγάπη, την προσευχή και την διαφύλαξη του νου από τις προσβολές του σατανά δια των λογισμών. Γι' αυτό πιστεύουμε ότι η ορθόδοξη παράδοση έχει μεγάλη σημασία για την εποχή μας, γιατί είναι η μόνη που μπορεί να ελευθερώσει τον άνθρωπο και να τον θεραπεύση από το άγχος και την ανασφάλεια που προέρχονται από τον θάνατο της ψυχής. (Από την παρουσίαση στο οπισθόφυλλο του βιβλίου)
Η θεραπεία της ασθενούς ψυχής, η ζωοποίηση του νεκρού νοός, η καθαρότης της ακαθάρτου καρδιάς δεν επιτυγχάνονται με συμβουλές ούτε με φάρμακα, αλλά με τα μυστήρια και την ασκητική μέθοδο της εκκλησίας, με την εγκράτεια, την αγάπη, την προσευχή και την διαφύλαξη του νου από τις προσβολές του σατανά δια των λογισμών. Γι' αυτό πιστεύουμε ότι η ορθόδοξη παράδοση έχει μεγάλη σημασία για την εποχή μας, γιατί είναι η μόνη που μπορεί να ελευθερώσει τον άνθρωπο και να τον θεραπεύση από το άγχος και την ανασφάλεια που προέρχονται από τον θάνατο της ψυχής. (Από την παρουσίαση στο οπισθόφυλλο του βιβλίου)
367 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
Hierotheos Vlachos
28 books95 followersHis Eminence Hierotheos, Metropolitan of Nafpaktos and Agios Vlassios in Greece, is regarded as one of the foremost authorities on the Orthodox spiritual life. A prolific writer, he has authored more than fifteen books, many of which have been translated into English. His Eminence’s theological vision may be summed up in the following quotation, taken from his The Science of Spiritual Medicine: “The whole therapeutic method of the Orthodox Church is not aimed simply at making human beings morally and socially balanced, but at re-establishing their relationship with God and one another. This comes about through the healing of the soul's wounds and the cure of the passions through the Sacraments and the Church's ascetic practice.”
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 15, 2012
I throughly enjoyed this difficult work. Its' difficulty lies in a perplexing set of spiritual issues woven together with an unseemly set of threads. In simpler words, the translation lacks lots and lots. By no means am I implying that, perhaps, someone other than Ms. Williams should have done the work. No! My bet is that Metropolitan of Nafpaktos Hierotheos through a collection of his teachings wove together a complex set of issues. Bear in mind, that I still enjoyed his work. His efforts to join together the works of the Cappadocians, St. Gregory Palamas, Starets Silouan, Archimandrite Sophrony, Symeon the New Theologian, John Climacus, Isaac the Syrian, etc. impressed me.
His taking on issues like self-esteem, theoria, psychotherapy, praxis, prayer, pride, likeness of God, humility, Hesychasm, forgiveness, dispassion, ecstasy, etc., and in so doing decidedly reframed my professional take on things. Bear in mind that I am a seemingly retired psychotherapist who had waded through a wonderful reframing of my type work from a spiritual development perspective. So, while it isn't easy reading, I see it as a work well worth the effort it will take to wander through loosely configured ideas which in time will bear fruit.
His taking on issues like self-esteem, theoria, psychotherapy, praxis, prayer, pride, likeness of God, humility, Hesychasm, forgiveness, dispassion, ecstasy, etc., and in so doing decidedly reframed my professional take on things. Bear in mind that I am a seemingly retired psychotherapist who had waded through a wonderful reframing of my type work from a spiritual development perspective. So, while it isn't easy reading, I see it as a work well worth the effort it will take to wander through loosely configured ideas which in time will bear fruit.
September 14, 2014
الكتاب رائع جدا جدا ويقدم ليس نظرية جديدة ولكن خبرة ورؤية جديدة لمشكلة مرض النفس الانسانية
يعتمد الكاتب على كتابات الاباء الولين فى فهم النفس الانسانية وتقسيم اجزائها الى الجسد والنفس والروح ثم يقرر الفرق بينهم فى كلمات كافية .. ويحدد الفرق بين القلب والعقل والذهن والادراك
من خلال كتابات الاباء الارثوذوكس كالقديس غريغوريوس بالاماس ويوحنا الدمشقى ومكسيموس المعترف
ويقدم خبرة الشفاء الارثوذوكسى على انها منهج الحياة بحسب طريق التوبة وضبط الجسد بالنسك والصلاة الدائمة كطريق للاتحاد بالله وهو ما يستنتج ويبرهن انه هو الشفاء الكامل وحده
ويقيم الكاتب الافكار المعاصرة المبنية على الدراسات النفسية ولا يرفضها وان كان يعيب عليها اشياء كثيرة جعلتها تفقد جوهر فكرة الشفاء ويستعيد التقليد الارثوذوكسى المختبر من قبل الاباء فى بساطة
الكتاب تقييمه ليس سهلا فهو كتاب صعب يحتاج المرء الى قرائته مرات ومرات ليستوعب كل ما فيه ويظل البعض غامضا لانه نتاج اختبارات شخصية لقديسى الله
الكتاب صعب من حيث المحتوى والفهم ويحتاج الى من يفهم الروح النسكية والمصطلحات الرهبانية كى يستوعب هذا الكتاب بالاضافة الى صبر على الاجزاء الغير مفوهة
هذا الكتاب سيجده الكثيرون غير شيق لانه يعتمد على طريق صعب وهو الاختبار والحياة مع الله فى توبة وصلاة ونسك مما فقدناه كثيرا هذه الايام
كتاب ارشحه للجميع
يعتمد الكاتب على كتابات الاباء الولين فى فهم النفس الانسانية وتقسيم اجزائها الى الجسد والنفس والروح ثم يقرر الفرق بينهم فى كلمات كافية .. ويحدد الفرق بين القلب والعقل والذهن والادراك
من خلال كتابات الاباء الارثوذوكس كالقديس غريغوريوس بالاماس ويوحنا الدمشقى ومكسيموس المعترف
ويقدم خبرة الشفاء الارثوذوكسى على انها منهج الحياة بحسب طريق التوبة وضبط الجسد بالنسك والصلاة الدائمة كطريق للاتحاد بالله وهو ما يستنتج ويبرهن انه هو الشفاء الكامل وحده
ويقيم الكاتب الافكار المعاصرة المبنية على الدراسات النفسية ولا يرفضها وان كان يعيب عليها اشياء كثيرة جعلتها تفقد جوهر فكرة الشفاء ويستعيد التقليد الارثوذوكسى المختبر من قبل الاباء فى بساطة
الكتاب تقييمه ليس سهلا فهو كتاب صعب يحتاج المرء الى قرائته مرات ومرات ليستوعب كل ما فيه ويظل البعض غامضا لانه نتاج اختبارات شخصية لقديسى الله
الكتاب صعب من حيث المحتوى والفهم ويحتاج الى من يفهم الروح النسكية والمصطلحات الرهبانية كى يستوعب هذا الكتاب بالاضافة الى صبر على الاجزاء الغير مفوهة
هذا الكتاب سيجده الكثيرون غير شيق لانه يعتمد على طريق صعب وهو الاختبار والحياة مع الله فى توبة وصلاة ونسك مما فقدناه كثيرا هذه الايام
كتاب ارشحه للجميع
August 3, 2026
There's something deeply offensive about modern psychology attempting a Barlaamite coup of the soul, i.e. by claiming the mind either is the soul or is greater than the soul. Secular psychotherapy seeks only to placate symptoms, and is essentially incapable of true healing. This is where Orthodox Psychotherapy comes in. Rather than fixating on judicial atonement theories like the West, the East wisely claims the purpose of Christ's life is opening the door for theosis, and thus the purpose of the church is as a hospital, not a notary or court. As Vlachos quotes from another writer, "The patristic tradition is neither a social philosophy nor an ethical system, nor is it religious dogmatism: it is a therapeutic treatment." Orthodoxy thus is much better than any Western Christian traditions at answering the question of "what do we do during this life?" The answer is to help convince others that they're sick and then to help heal themselves/ourselves.
Unfortunately, in Protestant theology there is no room for growth (as that would imply more gray area than their black and white legalistic justification allows), and in Catholicism there is precious little room for mysticism (what with their insistence upon rationality, cf. Aquinas and the scholastics). Helpfully, Orthodoxy rejects both of these fallacies; you cannot justify God to men using rational logic, and you cannot ever achieve perfection, but neither of these are problems! On the contrary, they're beautiful opportunities!
The spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually immature person needs quick answers. This is the primary cancer of modernity, the endless debates and "gotchas". Orthodoxy, especially following St. Palamas and the hesychasts, rejects this mindset wholeheartedly. Instead of merely being "right", the important thing is a union of personal spiritual improvement alongside these different kinds of learning. What was self-evident to the premoderns has sadly been lost among most modern and postmodern minds. To put it more succinctly, "knowledge without praxis is the demons' theology".
Praxis, however, is only the first of three stages toward salvation which the fathers describe. This first stage focuses on bodily purification from sin and involves a literal and spiritual separation from the world. The second stage, theoria, is the beginning of inward movement toward the light of God, toward seeing God. The third and final stage is "theology", which, far from the superficial way we usually use the word, means a more robust knowledge of God, firsthand, by his grace.
In different parts of the book slightly different divisions are set up, but they all describe essentially the same thing: a movement away from worldly knowledge and action toward the awakening of the "nous" (the eye of the heart, or as I might put it, the heart's heart), and finally theosis, or communion with God. Paradoxically, this path is both strict/narrow and expansive. It has to start narrowly in order to purge the person of mind and egotism so that they can actually allow God in. So much of our modern dilemma is the constant buzzing and busyness: hesychasm, or silence and stillness, is the obvious and time-tested answer. It's worthless to fight fire with fire, to attempt to do more to finally feel worthy; the paradoxical answer is to stop working, to learn to rest, to return to the ultimate sabbath rest of Christ, to stop being selfish and instead to re-learn how to love.
God is stillness, oneness, simplicity itself; yet we pile on so many words, concepts, images, and frantic actions, all of which are worthless. The only way we can return to simplicity and gain wisdom is by the participation of our "nous" in God's energies. We can never fully become God himself, but we can approach him thanks to Christ. As Vlachos beautifully wrote in one part, Dispassion has degrees, and a person who is struggling to attain it must never stop, but struggle continually, because perfection has no end." To the western, absolutist mind, this sounds like Hell. To the premodern nous (and even the postmodern subjectivity), this sounds like truth and purpose.
You could think of the nous as the "energy" of the person, the deepest unifying force in a human, which "is changed according to the path followed and the place where it stays." None of this is really new; we all know that what you spend your time on, you worship; and what you worship, you become. Your habits inhabit you. Your God is whatever you sacrifice the most time to. No matter the metaphor you use, it's pretty self-evident. Thus the first step toward wisdom is discrimination: that is, deciding what to pay attention to, what to do, what rites to repeat.
Orthodoxy then is an attempt to address this issue at the root, an attempt to heal the nous, since it is deathly sick. To declare it dead is to prematurely absolve one's self of all responsibility. The truth is quite the opposite: we're seriously responsible for our own nous, and to neglect this is to willfully damn ourselves. Thus the rite the hesychasts repeat more than any other is the Jesus prayer. As Vlachos so beautifully writes, "peace is not an abstract value, but Christ himself." Far from being a struggle (i.e. jihad), "one should not be agitated in this spiritual struggle."
As with Christ's paradoxical and indirect teachings, so too is the spiritual journey one of transforming passions, not merely destroying, ignoring, or repressing them. The goal is stillness, and the only stillness which is disordered is the lingering of the nous with the thought of sin; ours is a continual movement through stillness. "The spiritual life is a continuous journey, and healing is endless." This healing is salvation itself, a process, not a singular point on a map or a legalistic declaration. It's reciprocal, synergystic, continual, cyclical, spiraling tighter and tighter toward the single still point which sustains all of reality, the Reality outside of reality, the One, immovable, trinitarian God.
Unfortunately, in Protestant theology there is no room for growth (as that would imply more gray area than their black and white legalistic justification allows), and in Catholicism there is precious little room for mysticism (what with their insistence upon rationality, cf. Aquinas and the scholastics). Helpfully, Orthodoxy rejects both of these fallacies; you cannot justify God to men using rational logic, and you cannot ever achieve perfection, but neither of these are problems! On the contrary, they're beautiful opportunities!
The spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually immature person needs quick answers. This is the primary cancer of modernity, the endless debates and "gotchas". Orthodoxy, especially following St. Palamas and the hesychasts, rejects this mindset wholeheartedly. Instead of merely being "right", the important thing is a union of personal spiritual improvement alongside these different kinds of learning. What was self-evident to the premoderns has sadly been lost among most modern and postmodern minds. To put it more succinctly, "knowledge without praxis is the demons' theology".
Praxis, however, is only the first of three stages toward salvation which the fathers describe. This first stage focuses on bodily purification from sin and involves a literal and spiritual separation from the world. The second stage, theoria, is the beginning of inward movement toward the light of God, toward seeing God. The third and final stage is "theology", which, far from the superficial way we usually use the word, means a more robust knowledge of God, firsthand, by his grace.
In different parts of the book slightly different divisions are set up, but they all describe essentially the same thing: a movement away from worldly knowledge and action toward the awakening of the "nous" (the eye of the heart, or as I might put it, the heart's heart), and finally theosis, or communion with God. Paradoxically, this path is both strict/narrow and expansive. It has to start narrowly in order to purge the person of mind and egotism so that they can actually allow God in. So much of our modern dilemma is the constant buzzing and busyness: hesychasm, or silence and stillness, is the obvious and time-tested answer. It's worthless to fight fire with fire, to attempt to do more to finally feel worthy; the paradoxical answer is to stop working, to learn to rest, to return to the ultimate sabbath rest of Christ, to stop being selfish and instead to re-learn how to love.
God is stillness, oneness, simplicity itself; yet we pile on so many words, concepts, images, and frantic actions, all of which are worthless. The only way we can return to simplicity and gain wisdom is by the participation of our "nous" in God's energies. We can never fully become God himself, but we can approach him thanks to Christ. As Vlachos beautifully wrote in one part, Dispassion has degrees, and a person who is struggling to attain it must never stop, but struggle continually, because perfection has no end." To the western, absolutist mind, this sounds like Hell. To the premodern nous (and even the postmodern subjectivity), this sounds like truth and purpose.
You could think of the nous as the "energy" of the person, the deepest unifying force in a human, which "is changed according to the path followed and the place where it stays." None of this is really new; we all know that what you spend your time on, you worship; and what you worship, you become. Your habits inhabit you. Your God is whatever you sacrifice the most time to. No matter the metaphor you use, it's pretty self-evident. Thus the first step toward wisdom is discrimination: that is, deciding what to pay attention to, what to do, what rites to repeat.
Orthodoxy then is an attempt to address this issue at the root, an attempt to heal the nous, since it is deathly sick. To declare it dead is to prematurely absolve one's self of all responsibility. The truth is quite the opposite: we're seriously responsible for our own nous, and to neglect this is to willfully damn ourselves. Thus the rite the hesychasts repeat more than any other is the Jesus prayer. As Vlachos so beautifully writes, "peace is not an abstract value, but Christ himself." Far from being a struggle (i.e. jihad), "one should not be agitated in this spiritual struggle."
As with Christ's paradoxical and indirect teachings, so too is the spiritual journey one of transforming passions, not merely destroying, ignoring, or repressing them. The goal is stillness, and the only stillness which is disordered is the lingering of the nous with the thought of sin; ours is a continual movement through stillness. "The spiritual life is a continuous journey, and healing is endless." This healing is salvation itself, a process, not a singular point on a map or a legalistic declaration. It's reciprocal, synergystic, continual, cyclical, spiraling tighter and tighter toward the single still point which sustains all of reality, the Reality outside of reality, the One, immovable, trinitarian God.
December 12, 2017
It was comprehensive, to say the least. It largely grouped the main point of each section with the sayings of orthodox fathers that support the point. Although thorough I found this method redundant and dry.
The points made, and content were well worth it though. The idea of the nous (the eye of the heart) needing to be purified through stillness and prayer was resonant with me. It certainly had some similarities to mindfulness practices, although it pushed beyond them with the promises of faith. The idea of the church as a hospital for the cure and healing of the soul was also an important one and well developed.
There were some interesting aspersions towards the west, which I think were more reflexive than thoughtfully laid out or argued, which are fruitful to ponder. In general though I think it is well worth a read and the rich content makes up for the occasional dryness and any mis-charecterizations of western theology.
The points made, and content were well worth it though. The idea of the nous (the eye of the heart) needing to be purified through stillness and prayer was resonant with me. It certainly had some similarities to mindfulness practices, although it pushed beyond them with the promises of faith. The idea of the church as a hospital for the cure and healing of the soul was also an important one and well developed.
There were some interesting aspersions towards the west, which I think were more reflexive than thoughtfully laid out or argued, which are fruitful to ponder. In general though I think it is well worth a read and the rich content makes up for the occasional dryness and any mis-charecterizations of western theology.
March 4, 2023
typo p. 226: “know that far the most” should be “know that by far the most”
Quotes:
At depth humanity is differentiated into the sick in soul, those being treated and those cured.
“For it is necessary actually to be still to know God.” St. Gregory the Theologian
A contrite heart prays unceasingly to God. It does not despair but hopes in God’s great love for man. So it is marked by hope. St. Symeon the New Theologian, an experienced spiritual physician, recognized that excessive and untimely contrition of heart “darkens and troubles the mind,” it banishes pure prayer and compunction from the soul and creates pain in the heart which results in hardness and extreme callousness. This is how the demons bring about despair.
The nous is the eye of the soul, while the mind makes sensory and noetic things thinkable… It is not the mind but the nous which knows the heavenly treasures. The mind simply makes thinkable the things which man’s nous lives experientially.
God allows us throughout our life to be fought by the devil in order to make us humble.
The members of the Church are not divided into good and bad or moral and immoral, making human ethics the criterion, but into the sick in soul, those being cured, and those cured. Precisely these three categories correspond to the three degrees of knowledge. Those whose soul is sick are people of bodily, worldly knowledge, those being cured are the ones who in different degrees are acquiring the soul’s wisdom and knowledge, and those cured are the saints of God, who possess spiritual knowledge, true knowledge of God.
March 16, 2013
This is not an easy book to read and understand. It needs to be approached seriously and with care, and for lay persons at least, certainly not without the guidance of a spiritual father. It is a serious work and assumes a certain degree of spiritual maturity and experience. Which I lack. So most of it is far over my head.
Nevertheless, I found it very helpful and inspiring. I come back to it every couple of years and take another crack at it. Each time I get something out of it that I missed before. It's extremely challenging and each time I read it it leaves me realising I'm barely a beginner as a Christian.
I found the patristic terminology very difficult to get my head around. It's probably a little easier if you have a Greek cultural and language background. But there are some smaller books on "themes from the Philokalia" like "The Nous" which are well worth reading for a little contextual orientation first.
It's a book you take slowly and need to read many times.
Nevertheless, I found it very helpful and inspiring. I come back to it every couple of years and take another crack at it. Each time I get something out of it that I missed before. It's extremely challenging and each time I read it it leaves me realising I'm barely a beginner as a Christian.
I found the patristic terminology very difficult to get my head around. It's probably a little easier if you have a Greek cultural and language background. But there are some smaller books on "themes from the Philokalia" like "The Nous" which are well worth reading for a little contextual orientation first.
It's a book you take slowly and need to read many times.
April 10, 2025
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your nous, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Romans 12:1-2
July 17, 2009
Met Hierotheo's finest text - which I accidentally stumbled across and read with little understanding of theology. Total gibberish back then, when I came across it in a jumble-sale of a book-shop in central Athens, when looking for any, ANY book on Orthodoxy in English (my Greek being non-existent). It was the only English title languishing on the shelf. I bought it without realising that it was completely inappropriate for someone who had hardly ever ventured into any serious study of theology, and had barely even stood through a single Liturgy! Of course - like learning football or training for an ultra-marathon, theology is not something that can be achieved purely through reading books about it - you actually have to do it - and having a great coach who understands your limitations is also a tremendous boost, or you can develop all kinds of injuries... but I digress..
Anyhow - this book turns conventional notions of modern Psychotherapy somewhat on it's head and deals with curing the person through that great hospital for sick souls : the Orthodox Church.
A book that takes time to grow into before you "get it" but certainly one that I look forward to dipping into every once in a while - it makes more and more sense. Not something for a newbie though! And in keeping with Met. Hierotheo's other writing: he doesn't mince his words!
Anyhow - this book turns conventional notions of modern Psychotherapy somewhat on it's head and deals with curing the person through that great hospital for sick souls : the Orthodox Church.
A book that takes time to grow into before you "get it" but certainly one that I look forward to dipping into every once in a while - it makes more and more sense. Not something for a newbie though! And in keeping with Met. Hierotheo's other writing: he doesn't mince his words!
March 19, 2020
პირველ რიგში, სახელმა შესაძლოა შეცდომაში შეგვიყვანოს, აქ სრულიად სხვა რამესთან გვაქვს საქმე, ვიდრე ტრადიციულად მოვიაზრებთ ხოლმე ფსიქოთერაპიაში. ამ კუთხით, ვფიქრობ ეს წიგნი უფრო ახლოსაა თავად ფსიქოთერაპიის ცნებასთან, ვიდრე ტრადიციუალად მოაზრებული ფსიქოთერაპია, რომელიც უმეტეს შემთხვევაში ფსიხეს, როგორც სულს, საერთოდ არ ცნობს. წიგნის ფორმულა ერთი შეხედვით მარტივია: ფსიხე არის სული, ადამიანის სული დღევანდელ ეპოქაში განსაკუთრებითაა დაზიანებული, მას სჭირდება კურნება, თერაპია. ქრისტიანობა, ამ შემთხვევაში მისი აღმოსავლური, ორთოდოქსული მიმართულება, დანახულია როგორც მაკურნებელი მეცნიერება/მოძღვრება. ავტორს მოჰყავს ცნობილი ასკეტი მამების სწავლებანი და მათ ეყრდნობა.
სხვა მხრივ, მძიმე საკითხავია უდიდესი აქცენტით ასკეტიკაზე, როგორც კურნებაზე. ყველა ადამიანი ვერ იქნება ასკეტი, ისიხასტი თუ დაყუდებული. სული თერაპიას ურბანულ გარემოშიც ისევე საჭიროებს, როგორც უდაბნოში. უფრო მეტადაც კი.
სხვა მხრივ, მძიმე საკითხავია უდიდესი აქცენტით ასკეტიკაზე, როგორც კურნებაზე. ყველა ადამიანი ვერ იქნება ასკეტი, ისიხასტი თუ დაყუდებული. სული თერაპიას ურბანულ გარემოშიც ისევე საჭიროებს, როგორც უდაბნოში. უფრო მეტადაც კი.
September 2, 2024
I absolutely love this book!!! This is the third book I read by Met. Hierotheos and it is safe to say he has a gift in writing about difficult topics. It might be a bit repetitive sometimes, but that’s how it gets engrained in your heart!!
June 5, 2024
If you are a Christian seeking to deepen your relationship with God and live out Jesus's teachings genuinely, this book will not disappoint.
While challenging to read, it has opened up a whole new world for me. Having grown up in a heavily Christianity-influenced environment, this book introduced me to Orthodox Christianity and its relevance to today’s society, particularly concerning mental health.
This book has transformed my understanding of Christianity. It reveals many similarities with Buddhism, especially in techniques and the understanding of the "heart." These techniques help both priests and laypeople draw closer to God.
Completing this book felt akin to finishing your first marathon—exhausting but immensely satisfying, leaving you with a profound sense of accomplishment.
P.S. For more professional advice and healing, consult your local spiritual Father.
While challenging to read, it has opened up a whole new world for me. Having grown up in a heavily Christianity-influenced environment, this book introduced me to Orthodox Christianity and its relevance to today’s society, particularly concerning mental health.
This book has transformed my understanding of Christianity. It reveals many similarities with Buddhism, especially in techniques and the understanding of the "heart." These techniques help both priests and laypeople draw closer to God.
Completing this book felt akin to finishing your first marathon—exhausting but immensely satisfying, leaving you with a profound sense of accomplishment.
P.S. For more professional advice and healing, consult your local spiritual Father.
February 7, 2022
A very comprehensive overview of Orthodox Christian concepts. Our understanding differs from western Christian models.
Orthodox Psychotherapy displays The Church as hospital.
The chapters on Hesychasm and Anti-Hesychasm are key.
Very essential for building an Orthodox "phronema" or worldview.
Orthodox Psychotherapy displays The Church as hospital.
The chapters on Hesychasm and Anti-Hesychasm are key.
Very essential for building an Orthodox "phronema" or worldview.
May 10, 2022
A wonderful guide to the healing offered by the Orthodox Church and comparable in my opinion to Dumitru Staniloae’s wonderful book Orthodox Spirituality. Esther Williams’ translation is exceptional, and the Birth of the Theotokos Monastery’s edition done with love. Thank you.
December 6, 2022
The range and depth of knowledge contained in this book are astounding. It explains the beliefs that were held by the early fathers of the Orthodox Church. Reading it as a total beginner was difficult, but I picked up a lot of useful information as a result.
February 9, 2024
Reading this was like being told exactly all the ways I personally fall short. The good news is that there are also answers given. The later parts felt like they went over my head but I know this won't be the only time I read this book.
November 15, 2024
Orthodox Christianity isn't exactly in direct competition with Protestantism; it's competing with psychotherapy, and the legion of therapists and counselors (Christian and non-Christian) that Protestant churches have come to rely on.
September 3, 2025
An indispensable guide through the mystical teachings of the Philokalia through a therapeutic lens
August 23, 2018
من اعظم ما كتب في العصر الحديث كتاب فوق الرائع تعجز الكلمات عن وصفه
May 23, 2014
A dense treatment of Salvation as Healing. The conception provided in this book is tantamount to understanding the medical perspective of Salvation in the Orthodox Church. In this presentation, the Church is a hospital and the Clergy its physicians. In reflecting Christ as The Physician of our bodies and Souls, Metropolitan Hierotheos presents Sin as Illness and Salvation - traditionally theosis - as healing of the soul.
The remedies for a sick soul are traditionally Orthodox and centre on the Eastern Fathers' anthropology of Man and the inner prayer life, sourced mainly from the philokalia. Silence and Humility seem to be two essential guides along this path. Salvation is presented as a three-part process; illumination, purification then deification. Essentially, one has to become well to treat others; the Bishop, having supposedly tread at least a large part of this path, can guide others.
The only con to this book is the writing style and organisation. It is tediously repetitive. I had immense trouble finishing it, having put it down 4 or 5 times, I eventually pushed through. Many of the concepts are repeated, not just within chapters but across them. This made it very difficult for me to have a clear conception of the bounds of this theology. No doubt some of these qualms arise from the difficulty of translating such a detailed work. I would love to see a new, simplified, or at least, refined edition. Well worth the read if one is prepared to perform detailed study while cross-referencing.
The remedies for a sick soul are traditionally Orthodox and centre on the Eastern Fathers' anthropology of Man and the inner prayer life, sourced mainly from the philokalia. Silence and Humility seem to be two essential guides along this path. Salvation is presented as a three-part process; illumination, purification then deification. Essentially, one has to become well to treat others; the Bishop, having supposedly tread at least a large part of this path, can guide others.
The only con to this book is the writing style and organisation. It is tediously repetitive. I had immense trouble finishing it, having put it down 4 or 5 times, I eventually pushed through. Many of the concepts are repeated, not just within chapters but across them. This made it very difficult for me to have a clear conception of the bounds of this theology. No doubt some of these qualms arise from the difficulty of translating such a detailed work. I would love to see a new, simplified, or at least, refined edition. Well worth the read if one is prepared to perform detailed study while cross-referencing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 6, 2012
Would be much improved if the publisher had employed better editing to remove repetitions and clean up the rambling style. Reads like mundane text was inserted to wrap around years of outlines and note-taking from reading the Fathers, notebook after spiral notebook, without integrating it into a cohesive presentation. Still, very valuable information and helpful.
August 11, 2011
The science of the Christian Fathers for the human soul.
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