Review: John Meyendorff, "Introduction to Byzantine theology" and "Christ in Byzantine theology"

John Meyendorff, Introduction to Byzantine theology, éditions du Cerf, 2010, p. 320, series "Orthodoxy" Christ in Theology Byzantine, éditions du Cerf, 2010, p. 302, series "Orthodoxy." Both books are published in French.

Editions du Cerf commenced with a new collection "Orthodoxy", in which two first books are reprints of two classics of  late P. John Meyendorff: Introduction to Byzantine theology and Christ in Byzantine theology.

The first book consists of a historical part, which covers the period from the fifth to the fifteenth century, and one doctrinal part  which is dealing successively with the creation of man, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, Trinity, the sacramental theology, Eucharist and the Church in the world.

 The second book explores the different steps in the explanation of the Orthodox Christology of the fifth to the fourteenth century through  various crises that had occurred (Nestorianism, Monophysitism, Origen, and mono-energy Monothelitism, iconoclasm ...).

Although it sometimes leads to some concerns in detail and often seem overly schematic, the first volume is a useful introductory manual. The second presents a more detailed study and is essential for the understanding of Orthodox Christology.

Source: Orthodoxie