Welcome to the Orthodox Church: An Introduction to Eastern Christianity

by Frederica Mathewes-Green

Publisher:

Paraclete Press

, 2015

Overview

Welcome to the Orthodox Church—its history, theology, worship, spirituality, and daily life. This friendly guide provides a comprehensive introduction to Orthodoxy, but with a twist: readers learn by making a series of visits to a fictitious church, and get to know the faith as new Christians did for most of history, by immersion. Mathews-Green provides commentary and explanations on everything from how to “venerate” an icon, the Orthodox understanding of the atonement, to the Lenten significance of tofu. It’s the perfect book for inquirers and newcomers, but even readers who have been Orthodox all their lives say they learned things they never knew before. Enjoyable, easy-to-read, and leavened with humor, Welcome to the Orthodox Church is a gracious guide to the ancient faith of the Christian East.

Key Features

• Explains history, theology, worship, spirituality, and daily life.
• Explores a comprehensive introduction to Orthodoxy, but with a twist.
• Provides commentary and explanations on everything.

Praise for the Print Edition

In her own warm, engaging way, Frederica takes us on a journey that is strange and exotic for those previously unfamiliar, and a spiritual refuge and oasis for those who have embraced it. This just may be the Church you have been looking for and didn’t even know it existed.

—John Maddex, CEO, Ancient Faith Ministries

How do you introduce (Eastern) Orthodoxy? Frederica Mathewes-Green suggests we treat it as a large, and much-loved, family house. She takes us round it, showing us all the rooms and what goes on in them. Her conversational style is completely accessible, but utterly honest; there is lots of information, and she deals directly with problems to be encountered. It feels a bit like Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. This is a wonderful book.

—The Very Revd. Archpriest Andrew Louth, Professor Emeritus of Patristic and Byzantine Studies, Durham University, author of Introducing Eastern Orthodox Theology

Plenty of books deal with Christian theology in weighty and abstruse ways, but precious few apply the theology so wholly to the everyday lived realities of life, and in such easily accessible prose, as does Welcome to the Orthodox Church. This book follows exactly Frederica Mathewes-Green's tried and true recipe, of lucid writing marked by a strong sense of humor, but never escaping from the deepest spiritual realities. Do take warning, though. If you do read this thoughtful and passionate book, you will run the risk of having to take the claims of Orthodox Christianity very seriously indeed.

—Philip Jenkins

Product Details

• Title: Welcome to the Orthodox Church: An Introduction to Eastern Christianity
• Author: Frederica Mathewes-Green
• Publisher: Paraclete Press
• Print Publication Date: 2015
• Pages: 384
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• ISBNs: 9781557259219, 1557259216
• Resource ID: LLS:WLCMRTHCHRSTNTY
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-10-26T21:43:07Z

About Frederica Mathewes-Green

Frederica Matthewes-Green is an Eastern Orthodox author and speaker. She earned her BA in English from the University of South Carolina and her MA in theological studies from Virginia Theological Seminary. She is also the author of The Illumined Heart, The Open Door: Entering the Sanctuary of Icons and Prayer, and Gender: Men, Women, Sex and Feminism.