The Orthodox Church: An Introduction to Eastern Christianity

If you want to know about the Orthodox church, this book is great. Good info without being complicated.

its been most useful

A very thorough book that delves deeply into the subject matter. As expected, the Bishop is obviously highly educated and very knowledgable in the subject, this clearly comes across in the book. He has evidently worked hard at condensing what is a very comprehensive topic area into a very readable paperback without doing an injustice to the church and its history. Due to the author's credentials I would imagine the book is unrivalled in its field. However, for those with only a superficial interest in the topic the book may be a rather little too dense, dry and monotonous, it is not really light reading and I found myself getting a little bored at times, as admittedly, I am more interested in orthodox theology and praxis rather than church history. Hence why my title. It would be shame not to complete what is a very insightful book. If you have any reservations you may wish to consider the author's other book 'the Orthodox Way' as an alternative, or as a precursor to this book, a book that goes far deeper into the subjects of history, theology and praxis, splits and the effects of persecution under Communism. The book also provides a very good clear explanation of theosis, the orthodox understanding of the very purpose of all of our lives. The Orthodox Church is significantly more developed and complete in its understanding of this particular theological concept, than is found anywhere in the West. The book, although primarily aimed at lay readers, is nonetheless sufficiently academic to be able to make a very credible contribution to any theology degree course.

This is a work of great scholarship that is readily accessible to all. It was so clear and understandable that deals with the fine points of doctrine that have always eluded me in comprehension. I am glad to say that Kallistos Ware has done a great service to the church and to all who wish to understand what is going on together with all the wonderful audio and visual effects of the church experience.

Amazing book filled with information and history, a good look into the history of the Orthodox faith, a definite read for those looking at the orthodox faith.

I have learned so much about the orthodox view of early church history and the 7 ecumenical councils. The author gives a very easy to understand but information packed recap of the history. I have only read this part so I can't comment on the rest of the book but I am enjoying it a lot. I honestly can't stop reading despite having exams to study for.

I gave this book a five star rating; The author writes with such clarity, even a novice like myself can get to grips with the finer details of Orthodox theology. But it is more than that; the author's passion for his faith jumps out from every page, making the book much more than a dry academic 'This is how it works' manual. This has only furthered my interest in the Orthodox Church and the people who belong to it.

Timothy Ware taught me a lot about a topic I was relatively ignorant about. If you want to understand the history of the early Orthodox Church, the reasons why the great schism happened, the Orthodox Church during Soviet and modern times, this is a great book for you.

gut

A very complete and well organized book about the history of the Orthodox Church and the basic fundamentals of its doctrine. It's written in an interesting and enjoyable style to read. I recommend this book for anyone interested in knowing more about Orthodox Church history and faith.

This book is a must for anyone who wishes to learn about Orthodoxy. However it only covers the Eastern Orthodox Churches and not the Oriental Orthodox Churches.

Reducing the size of the print presumably made the book cheaper to publish, but it has ruined the reading experience. I hate leaving a book unfinished, but I doubt I'll plough all the way through this.

Everyone should have this