The Orthodox Book Club

[Reader Nilus]

Anyone read Dancing Alone by Frank Schaeffer?

I would not recommend it to anyone.
Reader Nilus

 

[Marjorie]

I would not recommend it to anyone.
Reader Nilus

I haven't read it but I heard that it was very polemical and not very charitable towards the West at all.

In IC XC,
Marjorie

 

[Reader Nilus]

Part of the problem with the book is the fact that Frank Schaeffer just converted and was not Orthodox to the point of his total view of life. When I became Orthodox, I was told to be Orthodox and partake in parish life at least 5+ years before doing or saying anything. Some of that is still evident in his rant against the Church for coming out against the war in Iraq.
Reader Nilus

 

[Marjorie]

That's very true, Jeff. It took me about six months after deciding to become Orthodox to truly start to think like an Orthodox Christian (it is its own unique worldview...) And after a year I still have a long way to go.

In IC XC,
Marjorie

 

[Vasya Davidovich]

Hi Vasya,

Re: River of Fire: I haven't read this book, but I have seen it mentioned also, as a good resource. I hope someone will post their thoughts on it as I have thought about getting it myself. Thanks for your other recommendations! The one by Mother Cassiana sounds really interesting!

Greetings, Suzannah!

Mother Cassiana's book is a total of a personal pilgrimage that brings her into contact with a lesser-known (to us) branch of Orthodox monasticism. You get history, cultural expose, and personal testimony all at the same time. A riveting read. The blurb at the back of the book reads as follows:

"Jesus said, 'If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.' "

Matthew 19:21​

These were the words which impelled Saint Anthony, the father of monastics, to embrace what came to be known as the monastic life. It is the desire to do more than what the commandments require, to leave everything aside and come as close to the Lord as possible, which has led men and women, young and old, throughout the centuries, to become monastics and follow Christ wherever He may lead.​

The author's journey in following the Lord led her to Romania. Readers of this book are invited to become pilgrims and follow along, to see life as it truly is in an Orthodox monastery, and to tour many monastic settlements in the region of Romania known as Moldavia.​

​

Again, fantastic book. Highly recommended. Romania tops out Mt. Athos on my personal life of pilgrimages to make. Read the book!​

-Vasya.​

 

[Vasya Davidovich]

River of Fire is a short polemic work, maybe 30 pages, about God's love, the nature of hell, and whether evil comes from God. His method is to contrast a Western conception of God which claims He is the author of evil and delights in our suffering with the Orthodox knowledge of God. The Western outlook he criticizes is a bit of a strawman, and I believe the true Western picture is far closer to the Orthodox picture, but the strawman does haunt all Western thought and one must be aware of it.

Thank you, gzt. I will keep an eye out for it. Would you happen to know the author and publisher? -Vasya.

 

[Turpius]

I have read some of Fr.Schmemann's books and find them quite interesting.

 

[Orthosdoxa]

I have read some of Fr.Schmemann's books and find them quite interesting.

BTW, welcome Turpius!

And Father Schmemann is simply awesome!

 

[xsearnold]

I haven't read it but I heard that it was very polemical and not very charitable towards the West at all.

In IC XC,
Marjorie

I would agree that it was a bit "over the top" regarding its criticism of Protestantism, in general (as opposed to "the West"). I actually took that up with Frank in an e-mail and he admitted that he probably was overly critical of Protestantism since he had been a recent convert to Orthodoxy at the time he wrote the book. Essentially, Protestantism was blamed for the advent of humanistic, relativistic thought and action.

After reading the book, however, I'd say he makes a good case for this, even though I ultimately disagree with the extent to which Protestantism is blamed.

 

[xsearnold]

Part of the problem with the book is the fact that Frank Schaeffer just converted and was not Orthodox to the point of his total view of life. When I became Orthodox, I was told to be Orthodox and partake in parish life at least 5+ years before doing or saying anything. Some of that is still evident in his rant against the Church for coming out against the war in Iraq.
Reader Nilus

Not being Orthodox, I have not paid much attention to the Church's stance on the Iraq War. Is there a forum thread devoted to this? I'd like to see the responses made to various objections on this stance, rather than rehash old ground. I could not find an obvious thread using the Search facility in this forum.

 

[Vasya Davidovich]

Michael the Iconographer might like this one:

Heroes of the Icon, by Fr. Stephan/Steven Bigham (1998 Oakwood Publications)

 

[Vasya Davidovich]

Mike the Ike:

Actually, ditto for this one. The previous offering covers just about every key figure in the history of Orthodox iconography, and discusses the theological steps taken to get from the ban on images of the Pentateuch to the triumph of icons at the close of the iconoclastic controversy (to put it mildly). A fascinating read. This second book is a compilation of essays discussing common errors that leak into modern and not-so-modern iconography.

The Image of God the Father in Orthodox Theology and Iconography and Other Studies, by Fr. Steven Bigham (1995 Oakwood Publications).

Unsure whether or not the portion in little letters is part of the official, searchable title.

Erratum: Heroes of the Icon was published in 1998.

-Vasya.

 

[Michael G]

Vasya,
I have yet to read Fr. Stephan's works but I actually spoke to him one time on the phone. A friend of mine who is a noted iconographer gave me his phone number to call him to ask him a question about the Resurrection/Hallowing of Hades Icon. I shall have to add these titles to my immense iconography library and give them a solid reading! Thank you for the heads up on these works.

 

[Michael G]

This book is not by an Orthodox priest, but rather a Jesuit priest. I still highly recommend it. He Leadeth Me by Fr. Walter Ciszek, SJ. Published by Ignatius Press. It is the story of a priest who learns the true meaning of the spiritual life while in a Soviet prison camp for something like 15 years.

 

[Vasya Davidovich]

Vasya,
I have yet to read Fr. Stephan's works but I actually spoke to him one time on the phone. A friend of mine who is a noted iconographer gave me his phone number to call him to ask him a question about the Resurrection/Hallowing of Hades Icon. I shall have to add these titles to my immense iconography library and give them a solid reading! Thank you for the heads up on these works.

That's awesome! Orthodoxy is such a small world. Fr. Stephan is a friend of mine, and I am a big fan of his work. Well, some of it anyway. We had a rip-roaring debate a couple years back on one paper he was editing. But I find him most approachable.

I would like to extend my personal iconography library. What would be the first five to ten titles that jump to mind as requisites to the scholar/iconographer who is genuinely interested in all aspects of iconography?

-Vasya.

 

[Michael G]

Russian Icons Today by Sergei Timchenko
The Icon: Window on the Kingdom by Michel Quenot
On The Divine Images by St. John Damascus
The Icon by Konrad Onasch
The Meaning of Icons by Leonid Ouspensky
On The Holy Icons by St. Theodore Studite

 

[Vasya Davidovich]

Thanks, Michael.

Totally off topic, but which style of brush strokes do you use? I don't know the names in English, because I studied under a French iconographer. And in what century and cultural tradition of iconographer are all/most your works?

Vasya the Ever-Inquisitive.

 

[Michael G]

Thanks, Michael.

Totally off topic, but which style of brush strokes do you use? I don't know the names in English, because I studied under a French iconographer. And in what century and cultural tradition of iconographer are all/most your works?

Vasya the Ever-Inquisitive.

My brushstrokes are mostly made in x shapes, atleast for the larger areas. I tend to emulate 14th C Novgorod work and 15th C Moscow work. To me, those are the epitome of iconography.

 

[xenia]

Anyone read Dancing Alone by Frank Schaeffer?

I do not recommend this book or any other book by Frank Schaeffer.

People claiming to have found the One True Church should not write pornographic novels about their family, especially when their parents are Francis and Edith Schaeffer.

I will not even buy anything from Schaeffer's Regina Press.

People will say his novels are not pornographic. I disagree.
People will say they are not about his family. I strongly disagree.

-Xenia

 

[Vasya Davidovich]

Huh? Pornographic?