In the past few months I've been growing and changing more than I have in the past few years. As a result, I've spent less and less time at my old, online "haunts," and more time with myself, my home, and my children. I do have a few, new online "haunts" that for special reasons I keep up with. They are Contemporary Orthodoxy and Contemporary Orthodox Thought. I also check into a new blog, Observational Commentary.
I've just finished reading Kyriacos Markides' book The Mountain of Silence. In this book, Kyriacos records his conversations on living an Orthodox spiritual life with the Athonite elder, Fr. Maximos. I am thrilled with this book. It is written in an easy style that takes the reader along with Kyriacos on his visit to Cyprus, including wonderful descriptions of the country and the monastic life at the monastery he is visiting. I find Fr. Maximos' answers to Kyriacos' questions insightful, inspiring, and intelligent. I can't say enough about this book. I read it to my husband, and he liked it, too. We have bought a second copy to keep ourselves and have given our first copy away. If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it.
It is good to see you, I agree, I really like that book.
ReplyDeleteI've not read that book but have heard nothing but wonderful things about it. Hopefully one of these days I will take the time to read it, along with the pile of books that sits next to my reading chair!
ReplyDeleteGrowing is hard work. Sometimes I wish we could take a break from growing and just 'be'...ya know what I mean?
I hope you are able to get to that book, Philippa, it is well worth the read.
ReplyDeleteYes, growing is always hard, and I have taken many opportunities to "just be" over the past couple of years. It is in the "just being" that we do our most growing. Thank you for the reminder.
Hi, Mimi. *waving* :)
ReplyDeleteJust as an FYI, Frederica Mathewes-Green's take on "Mountain of Silence": "By the way, a good book that gives an 'inside view' of what this spirituality is like in practice, with all its 'spirit-filled' elements, is 'Mountain of Silence' by Kyriacos Markides. I should warn that the author is coming from a very idiosyncratic place; he is a sociology professor who has come to fervent belief in miracles, evil spirits, theosis, and he is profoundly in awe of the wisdom of the Orthodox Church. What he doesn't get so much is Jesus. In his subsequent book he makes it even more clear that he thinks we need a version of Orthodox spirituality that acknowledges that it is divisive to insist on the necessity of Jesus Christ, and recognizes the universality of the path to enlightenment. Strange, isn't it? Lots of people say, 'I like Jesus but I have no use for the church'--he's the opposite."
ReplyDeleteMaria, thank you for your comment and the quote from Mka. Fredrica Matthewes-Green. It's odd, though; I did not see any "I like the Church, but have no use for Jesus" type of attitude in that book. Perhaps I was focusing of Fr. Maxime's comments and not so much on the author's comments. Fr. Maxime's comments are wonderfully insightful and helpful, to me at least.
ReplyDeleteI read one of his earlier books (something about lions) when I was very, very newly Orthodox, and he was in his "wandering" phase, and I can definitely see what Kh. Frederica was saying.
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