CONCILIAR PRESS ANNOUNCES FIVE NEW BOOKS FOR LENT 2008

Ben Lomond, CA – Conciliar Press Ministries is pleased to announce the release of five new books, just in time for Great Lent 2008. The five titles -- three picture books for children and two adult titles -- include:


Drita: An Albanian Girl Discovers Her Ancestors' Faith
Written by Renee Ritsi
Illustrated by Cameron Thorpe
After suffering for decades under religious persecution, Albanians and other Eastern European Christians were allowed to worship more openly following the fall of communism in the 1990's. In the new picture book, Drita: An Albanian Girl Discovers Her Ancestors' Faith, author Renee Ritsi offers readers a vivid picture of the world of an Albanian girl who finds the Orthodox Christian faith of her ancestors. As this beautifully illustrated story opens, we meet Drita, a young Albanian girl whose family has lived for years under repressive communist rule. After decades of religious oppression, Drita is finally able to discover the faith of her ancestors. As she experiences God’s love for her through the example of her grandparents and the teachings of missionaries, she turns her heart toward Christ. At the story’s joyful conclusion, Drita is surrounded by her grandparents and friends as she is baptized.



Baby Moses and Moses' Flight from Egypt
Two books in the new Old Testament Stories for Children series
Written by Mother Melania
Illustrated by Bonnie Gillis
While adult readers enjoy the new Complete Orthodox Study Bible, children can enjoy the Orthodox perspective on classic Bible stories with the new Old Testament Stories for Children series. Launched with the release of the picture books Baby Moses and Moses’ Flight from Egypt, the series uses simple verse and colorful, semi-iconographic illustrations that are both sweet and reverent to introduce children and their parents to the profound truths revealed in the pages of the Old Testament. Everywhere in the Old Testament, the Fathers of the Church see Christ, the Theotokos, and the Church revealed. The Fathers always understood the Old Testament in light of the New. Moses in the basket is a “type” of baptism. Jacob crossed his hands to bless Joseph’s younger son (Ephraim) over his older son (Manasseh)—a prefiguring both of the Cross and of the surpassing of the Old Covenant by the New. The series will continue with several Moses stories and include others that are also associated with Christ’s Pascha: Jonah and the fish, the Three Youths in the furnace, and Elijah raising the widow’s son.


Lynette's Hope: The Witness of Lynette Katherine Hoppe's Life and Death
Edited by Fr. Luke A. Veronis

Lynette Katherine Hoppe's life and death touched hundreds, if not thousands of lives as she served as a missionary in Albania, tragically succumbing to cancer in 2006. In Lynette's Hope: The Witness of Lynette Katherine Hoppe's Life and Death, close family friend and fellow OCMC missionary Fr. Luke Veronis retells the story of her life, and then lets her writing speak for itself. In poignant, honest prose, Lynette's diaries, newsletters and website chronicled her struggles in the "valley of the shadow" as she faced impending death. In the midst of such heartache -- a young missionary wife and mother ill and dying -- how did she live? How did she die? The answers to those questions will move readers to agree with those who witnessed her passing, that truly hers was a "beautiful death." No one who reads Lynette's Hope will come away untouched; all will be stirred to a new resolve to live life as she did, in the presence of God, with joy and faith.



Shepherding the Flock: The Pastoral Epistles of St. Paul the Apostle to Timothy and to Titus
Part of the Orthodox Bible Study Companion Series
By Fr. Lawrence Farley
The latest volume in Fr. Lawrence Farley’s Orthodox Bible Study Companion Series, Shepherding the Flock: The Pastoral Epistles of St. Paul the Apostle to Timothy and to Titus, combines a fresh, literal translation of the pastoral epistles with verse-by-verse commentary written “for the average layman, for the non-professional who feels a bit intimidated by the presence of copious footnotes, long bibliographies, and all those other things which so enrich the lives of academics” (from the series introduction). Arranged in brief pericopes of text with commentary following, Shepherding the Flock presents a traditional Orthodox interpretation of the scriptures along with historical, linguistic, and contextual details that bring Paul’s epistles to life for the contemporary reader. St. Paul’s epistles to Timothy and Titus contain the apostle’s instructions to the pastors under his care about how they, in turn, should care for their flocks in wisdom and love. As the last epistles St. Paul wrote in anticipation of his martyrdom, they “remain as a testimony to his pastoral love and as an inspiration for those in the Church, both the shepherds and the flock, to walk in holiness and love themselves.”

Now available at conciliarpress.com, amazon.com and at bookstores everywhere.

PRESS RELEASE: New Book by Fr. Bill Mills

Press Release

New Bible Study Resource for Great Lent!!!!

Available January 2008

MOORESVILLE, NC (January 2008)—Fr. William C. Mills is pleased to announce the publication of his fifth book, Let Us Attend: Reflections on the Gospel of Mark for the Lenten Season. This book is a collection of pastoral reflections on the gospel lessons from Mark that are read during Great Lent. Let Us Attend is a wonderful resource for personal and group Bible study, adult education classes, and sermon preparation.

Other books in this series include From Pascha to Pentecost: Reflections on the Gospel of John (Rollinsford, NH: Orthodox Research Institute, 2005), Prepare O Bethlehem: Reflections on the Scripture Readings for Christmas-Epiphany (Rollinsford, NH:Orthodox Research Institute, 2006), Baptize All Nations: Reflections on the Gospel of Matthew (Rollinsford, NH: Orthodox Research Institute, 2007), A Light to the Gentiles: Reflections on the Gospel of Luke (NY: iUniverse, 2007).

About the Author

Fr. William Mills, Ph.D. is the rector of the Nativity of the Holy Virgin Orthodox Church in Charlotte, NC, and an adjunct professor of religious studies at Queens University in Charlotte, NC. His essays and book reviews have appeared in AGAIN magazine, The Orthodox Church of America Magazine, Cistercian Studies Quarterly, Pro Ecclesia, and Theological Studies.

Fr. Mills is available for clergy and parish retreats. For more information about his books or his speaking engagements please visit his webpage at www.wcmills.com.

Let Us Attend: Reflections on the Gospel of Mark for the Lenten Season by William C. Mills

Publication Date: January 2008
Trade Paperback: $11.95
ISBN 0-595-48043-8
1-800-AUTHORS OR www.iuniverse.com
Discounts available for bulk orders and for parish bookstores

NEW BOOK: Syra's Scribbles by Syra Divine

Syra's Scribbles, a self-published novel by author Syra Divine, will officially be released on January 20, 2008, when it will be available in most online bookstores.

Syra Divine, AKA Syra Ruehle, is an Orthodox mother of three whose semi-autobiographical novel grew out of emails to friends and family that described stories from her daily life life. "These letters became a personal journal of my daily joys and struggles," Ruehle said. "Syra's Scribbles is my memoir of the years when I was a busy mother of two. The prayers and church services show Orthodoxy in practice. The dirty diapers and singing toddlers are experiences every mother can relate to."

Having grown up with the confidence that she could do anything she aspired to, Syra married her true love, earned her master's degree in mathematics, and then embraced a career as housewife and stay-at-home mother.

The letters in Syra's Scribbles chronicle the author's real-life experiences, taking the reader through a continuum of emotion: the thrill of a baby learning to walk, the surprise of a teenaged nephew moving in, the fear of wild fires creeping closer, and the anguish of an aging mother's decline that would change everyone's lives. Syra's stories are laugh-out-loud funny, inspirationally moving, and real beyond the glitz and glamour of reality TV.

NEW BOOK: Called to Serve by Fr. John Peck

Called To Serve a new Bible survey workbook containing all the books of the Orthodox Bible, is now available. Written by Fr. John A. Peck, Orthodox priest, graphic artist, and contributor to the soon-to-be published Orthodox Study Bible, Called to Serve is a basic survey of the Holy Scriptures for Orthodox Christians. "No longer will the Bible be an intimidating mass of stories and text gathering dust and guilt from disuse," said the book's press release. "In a fun and exciting journey, this workbook will take you through the entire Bible, and fill in the gaps and answer the questions that you may not even know you have. In 20 short lessons, you'll have set a firm foundation for your life in the Holy Scriptures."

Called to Serve, self-published by Fr. Peck, is available in two versions: a student edition containing 20 lessons, and a leaders edition containing answers to questions posed in the student edition.

Peck has been publishing books under the "Interior Strength" moniker for about a year. Other Interior Strength titles include Divine Liturgy: A Student Study Text, BIBLE DRILL Field Manual, Bible Diva Flight Manual, S.W.A.T. Field Manual, and BIBLE DRILL Officer's Manual. According to Peck, the "Manuals" are "intense VBS type programs that are held every year in the summer in Ohio. Very intense, very fun, and very successful."

Learn more about called to serve at interiorstrength.com

NEW BOOK: Song of the Talanton by Claire Brandenburg

From Conciliar Press



PICTURE BOOK SHOWS SILENT BEAUTY, INTRIGUE OF MONASTICISM

Ben Lomond, CA – Conciliar Press is pleased to announce the release of a captivating new picture book by Claire Brandenburg, author and illustrator of the popular Christian children’s picture book The Monk Who Grew Prayer and several other children’s titles. Song of the Talanton, a soft cover picture book with an accompanying audio CD, takes a unique look at Eastern Orthodox monasticism, focusing on prayer, silence and watchfulness. At the moment of sunrise, a pilgrim visiting a women’s monastery senses Christ’s mystical presence in the rhythmic call of the talanton. Song of the Talanton teaches children to listen and to be ready for God's presence.

Brandenburg was inspired to write Song of the Talanton upon visiting a monastery and “feeling God's loving and powerful presence in the sound of birds singing, the light of the rising sun and the sound of the talanton,” she said. She was also inspired by the desert itself, where sound “carries in a remarkable way, settling on branches, along the tops of peaks like dust blown by a heavenly wind.”

A story that focuses on such a unique sound would be incomplete without an audio component. Song of the Talanton includes an audio CD featuring:

• The tonk, tonk, tonk of a talanton’s call to prayer
• The story Song of the Talanton, read by Claire Brandenburg
• A recording of a large Romanian toaca
• A description of how to make a simple talanton
• Music by Eikona (Shine, Shine, New Jerusalem; Psalm 142; Litany of Fervent Intercession)

Claire Brandenburg received a BFA in art and education from the University of New Mexico. Working in a variety of different art forms for over thirty years, she has shown her work in galleries and museums and has received numerous awards. To learn more about Claire Brandenburg and her books, go to www.clairebrandenburg.com.

BOOK REVIEW: Freedom to Believe by Archbishop Lazar (Synaxis Press)

Review by Ron Dart

Freedom To Believe: Personhood and Freedom in Orthodox Christian Ontology
by Archbishop Lazar Puhalo
Synaxis Press, Second Edition, 2007

Archbishop Lazar Puhalo has ventured, faithfully and steadfastly, into intellectual and political terrain that few Orthodox theologians in North America have dared enter. The journey into such deep and demanding places has done much to reveal the splendour and motherlode of the Orthodox Tradition.

The publication of For a Culture of Co-Suffering Love: The Theology of Archbishop Lazar Puhalo (2004) did much to highlight the visionary role Archbishop Lazar has played in Orthodox theology in North American and beyond. There is a mystical depth and political breadth, a philosophic fullness and social passion that cannot be missed in Archbishop Lazar's unearthing and application of the Orthodox way. For a Culture of Co-Suffering Love articulates, in an incisive way, how and why this is the case.

The re-publication of Freedom to Believe: Personhood and Freedom in Orthodox Christian Ontology (2007) makes it abundantly clear, yet once again, why Archbishop Lazar is on the cutting edge of Orthodox theology.

Many Orthodox theologians have been rather shy about addressing the existential tradition of philosophy. Existentialism, for some, has a bad name, and should be shunned and avoided at all costs. But, should it? What is it about the insights of existentialism that need to be heard? And, more to the point, is Orthodox theology, at core and centre, existential? These are some of the questions Archbishop has taken the time to ponder in Freedom to Believe.

Freedom to Believe is divided into seven sections and an appendix by way of conclusion: 1) A Definition and Discussion of the Essential Aspects of Existentialism, 2) An Orthodox Christian Concept of Existentialism, 3) Existentialism and Free Will, 4) Freedom and Choosing Values, 5) Existentialism and Models of Reality, 6) The Existential Nature of Orthodox Theology, 7) The Existential Nature of Orthodox Christian Systematic Prayer, and Appendix 1, Platonistic Essentialism.

Freedom to Believe ponders, carefully and judiciously, how and why existentialism has been knocked, and yet, true to thoughtful form, why the existential tradition has much truth to it that should not be avoided nor missed. In fact, Freedom to Believe makes it more than obvious that the Orthodox Tradition, in both thought and deed, is the true fount and foundation of existentialism. There is an Anglican adage that 'abuse should not prohibit use', and if the existential vision has been abused by some, it should not be tossed out; its real use and insights need to be recovered. This is the task and real work of Freedom to Believe.

There is little doubt that freedom is a sacred word for the Western tradition, but the meaning of freedom often lacks meaningful content. It is often used as a justification for all sorts of behaviour. The rights of the individual are, also, front and centre for most in the midst of the culture wars of our time.

Freedom to Believe walks the extra mile to clarify the differences between 'personhood' and 'individualism', and how freedom can be distorted and abused if the language of individualism dominates the day, but, if the notion of 'personhood' is properly understood, the deeper meaning of freedom will emerge like a bird to the sky. There is even more to Freedom to Believe than these crucial distinctions and many others.

The intellectual meaning and significance of existentialism, freedom and personhood must be a lived reality in both the inner and outer, the mystical and public life. "The Existential Nature of Orthodox Theology" and "The Existential Nature of Orthodox Christian Systematic Prayer" wed the world of inner thought and transformative prayer and healing. Ideas must take legs and flesh, and such is the integrated existential conclusion in this gem and jewel of a book.

Appendix 1 in Freedom to Believe is rather thin and meagre (2 pages). I found the appendix a rather weak link in the book. "Platonistic Essentialism" tends to dim, distort and diminish the full orbed thinking of Plato. Plato was a foundational thinker to the early Christians and the Fathers for the simple reason that there is much depth and integrated thought in his approach to thought and life. George Grant has been called 'Canada's greatest political philosopher', and he held Plato high. Just as existentialism can be caricatured and distorted, so can reads and interpretations of Plato. Perhaps, in the future, Archbishop Lazar will be as fair to Plato as he has been so generous and insightful with existentialism.

Freedom to Believe takes arrow from quiver, places it well in bow, pulls taut, releases and hits the bull's eye of insight and wisdom. Do read this keeper of a book. You will understand why Orthodoxy and Existentialism are in a great round dance and cannot be separated.

Freedom to Believe can be ordered via the web site of Archbishop Lazar's monastery: http://www.new-ostrog.org/synaxis/.

BOOK REVIEW: Questioning God: A Look at Genesis 1-3 by Fr. Ted Bobosh (Light & Life Publishing)

Review by Fr. Meletios Webber for In Communion Journal
Winter Issue, 2008




Rarely have I seen an author take on such a difficult and (some might say) controversial subject and produce a book which is as spiritually satisfying as this one.

Deftly moving from subject to subject, Fr. Bobosh brings to the reader a full degree of awareness of the first three chapters of the Holy Scriptures, of Biblical comments upon that text, together with the views of patristic authors and of modern scientific opinion.

The author remarks that these chapters of Genesis deserve to be read theologically, and should be treated neither as a history textbook nor yet as a scientific treatise. Fr Ted actually makes such a theological understanding of these important words available to the reader in a way which is straightforward, without either glossing over the difficult points or sounding in any way preachy or condescending. There are points to ponder throughout the text; in particular, I was very interested in the author's comments about Satan, about the Orthodox way of fasting, and the emergence of a surprising number of aspects of human existence … which we generally regard as good and wholesome … only after the apple had been eaten.

My only negative comment, if one is needed, is that the visual impact of the book is not very conducive to the sort of meditative attention which the writing so richly deserves.

Book Review: Silent as a Stone by Jim Forest

An Amazon.com user review by Fr. Michael Plekon

This children's book takes the reader into a terrible time, one in which whole families were swept up, put into horrendous conditions of imprisonment in concentration camps, the result for most being disease and death. In the midst of such darkness we encounter the light and hope and goodness of a woman honored after her own death as "Rigtheous among the Gentiles." This is the new saint, Mother Maria Skobtsova, a fascinating, unusual example of holiness in our time. Jim Forest weaves his lovely, spare text with Dasha Pacheshnaya's extraordinary color drawings, most based on historical photos fo Mother Maria, Fr. Dmitri Klepinine, the hostel at Rue de Lourmel in the 15th arrondisment of Paris and the cycling stadium, Vel d'Hiver, where the French Jews were held. The story though turned into a narrative is based on first hand accounts of what Mother Maria was able to do in her visits to the stadium in th sweltering June days of 1942, as those rounded up awaited transport to the camps. Not only children but all of us need images of goodness in the face of great despair and evil. This wonderful story provides just that.

Book review: Bread and Water, Wine and Oil by Fr. Meletios Webber

Review by Jim Forest

A key passage at the beginning of Bread and Water, Wine and Oil focuses on the on the Orthodox use of the word "mystery":

"One of the most noticeable features of Eastern Christianity is that it is this word, 'mystery,' rather than the word 'sacrament,' which describes those actions of God which have a specific, decisive and eternal significance in the lives of those who take part in them. Everyday substances -- oil, water, bread, wine -- together with simple actions -- offering, blessing, washing, anointing -- become the means by which God intervenes in our lives. These interventions -- in which God does all the work, and our only contribution is to be prepared and present -- color and shape our lives beyond the extent that would be possible through any human encounter. However, unlike most human interactions, they do not take us from a place of ignorance to a place of knowledge. Rather, the Mysteries lead us deeper and deeper into the Mystery -- the Mystery which is the presence of God Himself."

Mystery, in the Orthodox sense, has nothing to do with mystery novels and films. The divine mystery has no solution. As the author writes:

"In the East, on the other hand, a mystery is an area where the human mind cannot go, and where the heart alone makes sense, not by 'knowing,' but by ;being.' The Greek word mysterion leads you into a sense of 'not-knowing' or 'not-understanding' and leaves you there. All a person can do is gaze and wonder; there is nothing to solve."

Father Meletios's book is a profoundly challenging book about the journey from the mind (always struggling to explain, solve and de-mystify, yet always seething with emotions and passions) to the depths of the heart, the center of being rather than of knowing.

"Bread and Water, Wine and Oil" seems likely to become a Christian classic, the sort of book the reader returns to again and again and keeps recommending to friends.

Book review: Road to Emmaus by Jim Forest

To be published in Cistercian Studies Quarterly, a quarterly monastic journal

The Road To Emmaus: Pilgrimage As A Way of Life
By Jim Forest
Orbis Books, 2007

Review by S.T. Georgiou

To read Jim Forest's The Road To Emmaus is to take an inspirational journey of the heart. Like Christ's disciples "whose hearts burned" as they walked with the risen Lord and discussed the fulfillment of Scripture, (Luke 24.32), so readers will be warmed by this highly engaging and illuminating work. Illustrated with many good photos and well arranged chapters, the overall effect is powerfully aesthetic and meditative. Few books recharge the soul in such a down to earth and enlightening manner.

Forest, an award-winning author of numerous spiritual books and founder of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship, is certainly no stranger to pilgrimage. Much of his book is highlighted by personal stories, anecdotes, and experiences that intimately tell us what it means to be a pilgrim, to walk daily with Christ.

Forest himself has been graced to walk with many spiritual notables, among them Thomas Merton, Robert Lax, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Dorothy Day (for years Forest had worked with Day in the Catholic Worker Community of New York). An avid world traveler, Forest also has woven into his text transformative events and encounters that took place on his own varied faith treks, be they to Mt. Sinai, Jerusalem, Chartes, Iona, Novgorod, Santiago de Compostela, or to Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam.

But this book does not emphasize how God is best found along traditional roads of pilgrimage or in conversation with spiritual masters. As Forest tells us, we especially find God in our everyday routine. Pilgrimage can simply mean getting up from the living room armchair and walking to the front door to happily greet whoever might be there (as illustrated in the chapter, "Pilgrimage To the Front Door"). Indeed, there are many different kinds of pilgrimage: those in which we leave fear behind, pilgrimages of illness and healing, pilgrimages of intense listening, of wonder and surprise (especially when the love of God is found in the least likely of places), and pilgrimages which may be solely of individual value because they center on holy mysteries known only to the pilgrim himself.

Ultimately, The Road To Emmaus teaches us that in our day-to-day pilgrimages, the preeminent goal is to meet and honor the living presence of Christ. Significantly, this Christ is very readily encountered in what we sadly and all too often dismiss as "the stranger." And yet nobody is really a stranger -- the bottom line is that we are all pilgrims sharing the same road that leads back to our original homeland, the Kingdom of Love. Every attentive pilgrim comes to realize this en route to the City of God.

Jim Forest's book succinctly illustrates how as we engage in our routine activities and travel the paths of the world, we come to see how all of our physical journeying increasingly points to an inner transit -- ours is an interior trek that leads to the gates of the heart, the Eden where Christ quietly waits for us. As a well-known mentor of Jim Forest wrote, "The real journey in life is interior -- it is a matter of growth, deepening, and of an ever greater surrender to the creative love and grace in our hearts" (Thomas Merton, Circular Letter To Friends, 1968).

Repeatedly, and with conviction, Jim Forest reminds us that this inner trek cannot be accomplished without prayer. As Forest makes distinctly clear, "A pilgrimage without prayer is no pilgrimage at all."