New books

St Isaac the Syrian: Ascetic Homilies - A Critical Edition by Marcel Pirard

The Ascetic Homilies of St Isaac the Syrian were translated from the original Syriac into Greek at the turn of the 9th century by monks Abramios and Patrikios of St Saba Monastery in Palestine. They were widely read, primarily by monks, and bore crucial influence on all of the spiritual tradition and literature of the Eastern Church. The Ascetic Homilies are preserved in a plethora of manuscripts featuring significant differences. In 1770, Nikephoros Theotokis published an edition of the Ascetic Homilies based on two manuscripts. Theotokis’ edition was reprinted in 1895 by Ioakeim Spetsieris; in 1871, Kallinikos Pantokratorinos produced a vernacular version. To this day our knowledge of St Isaac’s work rests on these editions.

Boban Stojkovic: Christianity in the Land of the Rising Sun

Boban Stojkovic: Christianity in the Land of the Rising Sun (The Mission of the Orthodox Church in Japan. Saint Nikolai Kasatkin and his mission), Diocese of Dalmatia, Sibenik 2010, 157 pages  [ISBN 987-86-82555-49-00]

The baptization of all nations on behalf of Father, Son and Holy Spirit , as is widely known,is the New Testament imperative.The mission is an obligation of the Church. However, our time is perhaps мост inert when it comes to missionary work. Simply, as if  modern church apostles have become lazy.  This state of ministerial activity, because of its importance, requires serious attention and fast response.

Speaking of that, the Nikolai Kasatkin's mission in Japan is, in many ways, paradigmatic.  St. Nicholas was preaching Christ to the people whom the Orthodox tradition was completely unknown and therefore he started from the scratch. To a large extent, the situation in which are  today's missionaries, whose "target groups"  belong either to those few peoples who have never heard of the Gospel of Christ or to those who tore off from the Christian tradition of their ancestors. To both sides, therefore, the Orthodox Christian tradition is known just as much as it was known the Japanese at the time of Nikolai Kasatkin. Hence the study of his work on the baptism of Japan invaluable for finding the most appropriate missionary model and its implementation today.

New Edition of the Holy Bible presented at Book Fair

On Friday, October 28, at the Book Fair there was a presentation of a new edition of the Holy Bible Old and New Testament (along with deuterocanonical books which were translated into Serbian by His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral and retired Bishop Atanasije of Zahumlje-Herzegovina). In the presence of His Holiness Irinej, Serbian Patriarch, Their Graces Bishops Hrizostom of Zica and Georgije of Canada about this edition of the Publishing Fund of the SOC it was spoken by Their Graces Bishops Irinej of Backa and Atanasije of Hvosno.

Serbian Orthodox Church at 56th International Book Fair

On the stand of the Publishing Fund of the SOC Archbishopric of Belgrade-Karlovac in the hall no. 4 of the Belgrade Book Fair yesterday three works of Serbian Patriarch Pavle were presented: Interview I, Interview II and Woman in Orthodox Church. About these significant publications were spoken by His Grace Bishop David of Krusevac and protoprebyter-staurophor Vladimir Vukasinovic, editor in chief of the Publishing Fund of the SOC.

Charalambos P. Stathakis: The Hagia Sophia

Dear reader, as you run like the rest of us along the dizzy main road, stop, stay aside for a while. Let the others be dizzy, and take the secret underground trail, which will lead you through the dewdrops of the leaves, the crystal smile of the sun, the city’s underground galler- ies, your knowledge, and your feelings, to the doorstep of the Hagia Sophia. Because all dew- drops, all sunrays, and all beauty lead there. That is what you will be told by my friend, the author, whom I am fond of and whom I send you to, Charalambos Stathakis: the doctor, the warm and humane researcher, the scientist devoted to his work and his patients, who has given a series of scientific papers, who, nevertheless, retains a nest of beauty untouched in his heart, which makes him outstanding—even though he is not a specialist in architecture, nor a historian, nor a theologian, nor a Byzantinist—it makes him stand out in all these together and in entirety.

Christos Yannaras: The Meaning of Reality

The collection of articles traces the thought of Christos Yanaras through his long journey in discovering the meaning of existence, communion, eros, and history. It is a cause of immense joy that no vewer than twenty articles of passionate significance and substance have at present been gathered together in this volume under the title The Meaning of Reality. Yannaras is undoubtedly one of the most significant thinkers of our time. Kallistos Ware once described him as "the most creative and prohetic religious thinker at work in Greece today," while Rowan Williams characterizes him as "one of the most significant Christian philosophers in Europe."