Byzantine Legacy in the Orthodox Church, The Author: Meyendorff, John Publisher: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press

Challenge of Our Past: Studies in Orthodox Canon Law and Church History Author: Erickson, John H. Publisher: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press

Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine V.3 Author: Pelikan, Jaroslav Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

Early Church Author: Chadwick, Henry Publisher: Penguin Books

Face of Russia: Anguish, Aspiration and Achievement in Russian Culture Author: Billington, James H. Publisher: TV Books, LLC

The Great Church, as the Greeks called the Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople, was the spiritual centre of the Byzantine world. The Church’s survival during the four centuries of Turkish rule which followed the fall of Constantinople bore witness to its strength and to the unquenchable vitality of Hellenism. Sir Steven Runciman’s history of the Great Church in this period is written with scholarship, sympathy and style.

‘Neither in English nor indeed in any other western European language does there exist a study of comparable scope and brilliance.’ - The Times Literary Supplement

‘Sir Steven’s main concern is to trace the story of the Orthodox Church in its “captive” state from the fall of Constantinople in 1453 to the Greek War of Independence in 1821. He does it with learning, sympathy and adroit attention to detail that make the book a worthy companion to his other Byzantine studies. This is history with precision and elegance.’  - The Daily Telegraph

‘The book, as we should expect, is a model of wide learning and perfect scholarship, lightly carried and elegantly expressed … I have read it, and will return to it, with interest and delight.’ – Hugh Trevor-Roper, The Sunday Times

‘Here, as ever, we find a carefully balanced and well-documented presentation of historical episode; a wealth of fascinating – often humorous – detail; a shrewd assessment of the lessons to be drawn from the past; and all this set forth with precision and great charm. The author is a master both of his subject and of the English tongue.’ – Church Quarterly

‘.. . a unique contribution to western understanding of the Byzantine Orthodox Church, its traditions, and its miraculous survival’. - D. M. Nicol, The Journal of Ecclesiastical History

A stimulating interpretation of the history of Eastern Christianity, this book serves as a general introduction to the Orthodox Church and is widely read by Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike.

As Schmemann himself said,

This book is not a scholarly investigation into the history of the Orthodox Church nor a mere manual. It is a reflection on the long historical pilgrimage of Orthodoxy, an attempt to discern in our past that which is essential and permanent and that which is secondary, mere past.It is my sincere hope that in reading this book Western Christians may realize that our past is also their past, or rather, our common past, that essential “term of reference” without which no mutual understanding is possible. As the Eastern isolation of Orthodoxy is coming to an end, as it becomes more and more implanted in the West, it becomes urgent that its history be known and understood.

Father Alexander Schmemann (+ 1983) was a prolific writer, brilliant lecturer, and dedicated pastor. Former dean and professor of liturgical theology at St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, his insight into contemporary culture and liturgical celebration left an indelible mark on the Christian community worldwide.

A concise and informative portrait of the Patriarchal and Stavropegic Leimonos Monastery, which since its foundation in 1526 has been a precious source of spiritual enlightenment and the vital impulse behind much educational, economic and social activity in the wider Methimni region…

We are given a brief introduction to the Saints whose lives were touched by the Monastery; a guide to its monuments and its museum; a look at the manuscripts, documents and old prints kept in its library; we run our hands over some examples of its fine metalwork and feel a few of its gold-embroidered vestments…

Through this guide the reader and pilgrim will become more intimately acquainted with the Leimonos Monastery in all its many and significant aspects.

Jews from Alexander to Herod Author: Russell, D.S. Publisher: Oxford University Press