Orthodox Religion

Leah Vincent was born into the Yeshivish community, a fundamentalist sect of ultra-Orthodox Judaism. As the daughter of an influential rabbi, Leah and her ten siblings were raised to worship two things: God and the men who ruled their world. But the tradition-bound future Leah envisioned for herself was cut short when, at sixteen, she was caught exchanging letters with a male friend, a violation of religious law that forbids contact between members of the opposite sex. Leah's parents were unforgiving.

Eve Tibbs offers a comprehensive, yet very accessible, introduction to the beliefs and practices of the Eastern Orthodox Church for Western listeners. Tibbs has devoted her career to translating the Orthodox faith to an evangelical audience, and she has over 20 years of experience teaching this material to students. Assuming no prior knowledge of Orthodox theology, this survey covers the basic ideas of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, from its origins at Pentecost to the present day.

Foreskin's Lament reveals Auslander's youth in a strict, socially isolated Orthodox community, and recounts his rebellion and efforts to make a new life apart from it. Auslander remembers his youthful attempt to win the "blessing bee" (the Orthodox version of a spelling bee), his exile to an Orthodox-style reform school in Israel after he's caught shoplifting Union Bay jeans from the mall, and his 14-mile hike to watch the New York Rangers play in Madison Square Garden without violating the Sabbath.

Considered by many to be the final and crowning work of the patristic age, St John of Damascus’ On the Orthodox Faith addresses all the major areas of Christian belief: Trinitarian theology, Christology, soteriology, the sacraments, the veneration of icons, saints, relics, and much more.

Ancient Faith has produced a fresh update and redesign of a book cherished by a generation of seekers. Written in an accessible manner for the average lay person, Orthodox Worship offers insights into the Orthodox liturgy. Early Christians preserved a continuity of worship from the Old Covenant to the New, employing elements from the Jewish Temple liturgy, the synagogue liturgy, and the rituals of the Jewish home.

A dedicated group of Orthodox monks (who wish to remain anonymous) have created a fresh English translation of the Masoretic Hebrew text of the Psalter, corrected to the Septuagint. A frequently asked question: The Psalms aren't in numerical order in this Psalter. Why is that? Answer: That was done intentionally. This edition of the Psalter was created for prayer, at home or in church, rather than for reference. It's not just another Book of Psalms.

For so many, the Christian faith is viewed as little more than a drug that enables the weak to escape reality. An opiate that helps its users to avoid facing the injustice of the world and making a stand against it. In short, the Christian faith is perceived to be a counter-revolutionary ideology that keeps people passive, infantile, and ineffectual. In contrast, Peter Rollins has crafted a series of parables that shatter this popular perception.

For centuries the Ottoman Empire committed atrocities while swarming through Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Central Europe and others. Greece was also one of the barbarians' targets. Turks shed the blood of the innocent throughout all of Greece without any hesitation. Men, women, elderly even children were submitted to the horrifying torments of the barbaric Ottoman armies. One of these children was Constantine Morphis later named Ephraim. His innocence and his love for Christ led him through the most difficult times but also to triumph.

St. Marina was from Antioch, a young girl with a passion so fierce for the Love of Christ, she denied all that was offered her for a life of wealth and power and continued to seek only the love that Jesus gives. She was hideously and brutally tortured in ways no human could indure but the Lord, who works miracles, led her through it all, with his Grace.

The Orthodox Christian tradition is filled with wisdom and guidance about the biblical path of salvation. Yet this guidance remains largely inaccessible to parents and often disconnected from the parenting challenges we face in our homes. Parenting Toward the Kingdom will help you make the connections between the spiritual life as we understand it in the Orthodox Church and the ongoing challenges of raising children.

Nearly ten years in the making, this liturgical translation of the Psalter is the result of a collaborative effort between translators, editors, scholars, church musicians, and the communities of St Vladimir's Seminary and St Tikhon's Monastery. The goal for this project was to find translational register that was both accurate to the original and, at the same time, felt familiar within the liturgical context in which it would be read and sung.

The Holy Psalter contains the Psalms and other scriptural Odes that are used throughout the Orthodox Church's liturgical life. It uses the Greek Septuagint ("LXX") Old Testament, the scripture used by the Apostles and the early Christians, and by the Orthodox Church today.

Abby Stein was raised in a Hasidic Jewish community in Brooklyn, isolated in a culture that lives according to the laws and practices of 18th century Eastern Europe, speaking only Yiddish and Hebrew and shunning modern life. Stein was born as the first son in a dynastic rabbinical family, poised to become a leader of the next generation of Hasidic Jews. But Abby felt certain at a young age that she was a girl. She orchestrated a personal exodus from ultra-Orthodox manhood to mainstream femininity - a radical choice that forced her to leave her home, her family, her way of life.

In response to popular demand, Patrick Henry Reardon explores redemption and salvation through the lens of Scripture, patristics, and liturgics, as well as through history, philosophy, language, literature, and psychology. He brings all these perspectives together to show how the whole of Christ’s work—from Incarnation to Ascension—accomplishes the “at-one-ment” of God with man.

How do we acquire this mind of Christ and where is it to be found? For the Orthodox Christian, salvation is the acquisition of this mind of Christ which is to be found in the Church. This acquisition moves us from the image of God to the likeness of God; through our obedience to this call we begin to know God and this knowledge is eternal life (John 17:3). This small book hopes to begin to answer how acquiring the mind of Christ is possible and why it is necessary in our lives today.

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 two thousand 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.

An Orthodox priest with a doctorate in counseling, Fr. Meletios Webber helps us to understand addiction and explores ways to overcome it. He clearly and skillfully explains the 12 steps of the fellowship of alcoholics anonymous. In correlating the 12 steps with basic Orthodox theology, Fr. Mel identifies the implication of the 12 steps for Orthodox, and for all Christians. Using examples from the life of the Orthodox Church, he shows how the steps can be a valuable resource for our own spiritual journey.

This Is My God is Herman Wouk's famous introduction to Judaism completely updated and revised with a new chapter, "Israel at 40". A miracle of brevity, it guides listeners through the world's oldest practicing religion with all the power, clarity, and wit of Wouk's celebrated novels.

How do we, as orthodox parents, keep our children in the church throughout their lives? It all begins with involving them in the life of the church from birth onward - in the parish and also at home. Blueprints for the Little Church provides practical ideas and encouragement - without judgment - for incorporating the primary practices of orthodox spirituality into your family life at every stage of its growth and throughout the church year.

The Essential Talmud is a masterful introduction by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz to the great repository of Jewish wisdom, the Talmud. A book of profound scholarship and concise pedagogy, The Essential Talmud succinctly describes the Talmud's history, structure, and methodology. It summarizes the Talmud's main principles, demonstrates its contemporary relevance, and captures the spirit of this unique and paradoxical sacred text as a human expression of divine law.