Bread & Water, Wine & Oil: An Orthodox Christian Experience of God
Overview
Worry, despair, insecurity, fear of death . . . these are our daily companions, and even though we attempt to ignore them or try to crowd them out, they are there, waiting for us in our quieter moments. It is precisely where we hurt most that the experience of the Orthodox Church has much to offer. The remedy is not a pep talk, or any simple admonitions to fight the good fight, cheer up, or think positively. Rather, the Orthodox method is to change the way we look at the human person—starting with ourselves.
According to 2,000 years of experience, Orthodoxy shows us how to be transformed by the renewing of our mind, a process that is aided by participation in the traditional ascetic practices and mysteries of the Church. In this unique and accessible book, Archimandrite Meletios Webber first explores the role of mystery in the Christian life, then walks the reader through the seven major mysteries of the Orthodox Church, showing the way to a richer, fuller life in Christ.
Key Features
- Introduces the Orthodox understanding of human life and faith
- Explores the seven major mysteries of the Orthodox church
- Uses an accessible and engaging style
Contents
- Life as Mystery
- The Mind, the Heart & Mystery
- Orthodoxy—A Relationship with God
- Distraction & Prayer
- Askesis—Making the Sanctified Effort
- The Sanctification of Time
- Sacred Places for Sacred People
- Icons & the Incarnation
- The Mysteries of the Church
- Birth & Baptism
- The Mystery of Chrismation
- Divine Liturgy & Holy Communion
- The Mystery of Confession & Forgiveness
- The Mystery of the Anointing of the Sick
- The Mystery of Marriage
- The Mystery of Ordination
Top Highlights
“The rift between the heart and the mind is healed through ‘ascetic labor’—prayerful effort—which begins with making the mind quiet, and ends with wrapping the mind and the emotions in prayer and placing them in the heart, where they rightfully belong and where their final integration takes place.” (Page 26)
“For the East, by contrast, the story of Adam and Eve is, at its heart, a story of disintegration, fragmentation, and estrangement. The man and the woman—and the world in which they lived—were torn apart by their behavior, and vast gaps came to exist between God and man, between heaven and earth, between one person and another, between the genders, and finally even within the human personality itself. Each and every person is internally fragmented and externally isolated from the outside world, right down to the ultimate depths of his or her being. Fragmentation within the human personality is observed essentially as the division between the mind and the nous or heart.” (Page 11)
“The slave’s knowledge of the master is limited. He is trained to act on orders” (Page 36)
“In the East, we can discern another scheme. Here, the one thing that can be said of the mind is that it is divorced from the heart. In this fallen state, it issues a constant stream of logismoi, the torrent of ‘thoughts’ that accompanies our daily lives.” (Page 12)
“If the fears and desires of the person’s mind prove to be too strong for the silent witness of the heart, the transformation can be towards paranoia and despair.” (Page 31)
- Title: Bread & Water, Wine & Oil: An Orthodox Christian Experience of God
- Author: Meletios Webber
- Publisher: Ancient Faith
- Print Publication Date: 2007
- Logos Release Date: 2015
- Pages: 200
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Christian life › Orthodox Eastern authors; Mystery; Sacraments › Orthodox Eastern Church
- ISBNs: 9781888212914, 1888212918
- Resource ID: LLS:BRDWTRWNXPRNCGD
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T19:14:47Z