Encountering the Mystery: Understanding Orthodox Christianity Today

I am impressed in reading this book, and although I am not Orthodox (I'm Roman Catholic), I appreciate the spiritual and social insights that the Patriarch offers. It calms me and gives me hope in many ways when I read this book. It is amazing to witness some of the "hate" spewed by some Orthodox reviewers toward their own spiritual leader...but then I guess you always get that kind of stuff when dealing with human beings, no matter where you go. As for me, I would recommend this book to anyone, Orthodox or not, Christian or not. The world needs more people like Patriarch Bartholomew.

My first two fears was that this was either some narrow esoteric treatise in theology-speak; or it was going to be some sort of simplistic catechism which are legion. It was neither. Patriarch Bartholomew gets down to the spiritual essence of what the Church is about. The title contains the clue: mystery. Very often people want to understand God in concrete terms they can categorize and (unfortunately) manipulate. Throughout history God has been revealed to various persons in a multitude of ways. Much, but not all, has been summarized in the Bible which is the written record of those faith experiences. However, God is so transcendent and beyond anything that we conceive that in humility we have to realize that we haven't even scratched the surface in understanding God. Much of theological work has been to make God understandable in human terms. Some of that is very helpful, some is not. Ultimately, the Patriarch is trying to lead us to the idea that God is not a concept to be understood rationally, but a being with whom we are called into a personal relationship. A theologian is not someone who studies about God, but is a person who encounters God in a prayerful relationship. God cannot be encapsulated fully in creeds. God must be experienced and Bartholomew provides the reader with the perspective of a two thousand year old tradition. A perspective that regretfully many people of Western Christian traditions in America have not been exposed.

Patriarch Bartholomew has remained a bit of a mystery, even to the Orthodox faithful. His brilliant writing not only illuminates the Orthodox faith but also reveals the heart and mind of their present spiritual father. This book can easily be read by the layperson, and is an indication that in spite of the Orthodox clinging to their ancient faith and praxis, the faith still addresses well the challenges of our post-modern world.

As an Orthodox Christian, I found the crash course on Orthodoxy primarily for those not of the faith; a bit simplistic in explanations but a good general overall view. What is radical are his challenges to the world and his Church on equivilating environmental issues with sin. His Holiness also takes on Globalism, removing the benefits from Western eyes and placing it in terms of the entire world and how the rich nations of the West effect the rest of the world through consumerism. I dare say if Priests and Pastors in America gave a sermon on what Bartholomew has written, they would become unpopular by many for he challenges western values with regards to the impact our policies have on the rest of the world.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, known in some parts of the world as "the Green Patriarch" for his outspoken activism on behalf of the environment, steps up onto the world stage in a new way for Great Lent 2008. His eloquent voice is embodied in his first-ever book for a global audience, "Encountering The Mystery: Understanding Orthodox Christianity Today." Having traveled in eastern Europe myself in 1990, as a journalist for Knight-Ridder Newspapers chronicling the tumbling of former Communist regimes, I understand that this is, indeed, a rare moment in world history. Now, nearly a decade into this new century, Orthodox leaders and congregations finally have had a good chance to develop their ministries without fear of imprisonment or, even worse -- physical violence and death. In several areas of Eastern Europe in 1990, I had a chance to meet Christian leaders emerging, scarred but hopeful, after years of imprisonment and, in some cases, torture. This journey of restoration continues to this day in many Eastern European countries. Bartholomew himself was not threatened with imprisonment in his part of the world -- but he understands that, even though nearly two decades have passed since revolutions swept across Orthodox nations -- we still are in an age of Christian restoration in these regions. Now, a word of warning is in order: There is a whole lot of background information that the patriarch's editors have chosen to lay before us as a kind of crash course in Orthodoxy 101, embodied in a roughly 70-page prelude that appears in the pages before Bartholomew's voice finally is able to reach its full eloquence. I suppose this was a wise choice, given that many American Christians, according to annual polls, cannot name the four gospels in the New Testament -- let alone describe the distinctions of the Christian world. So, a lengthy "Foreword," then a "Biographical Note" about Bartholomew, then Bartholomew's own summary of "Historical Perspectives" are perhaps all helpful orientations for readers. But, the true power of this book lies deeper between these covers. It's in the way that Bartholomew knits together his Christian faith, his Orthodox tradition, his concern for the environment, his cautionary teachings about globalization -- and even his interfaith hospitality toward Jewish and Muslim communities. All of these, he tells us (once he really gets rolling in this book), are deeply rooted in the Orthodox understanding of our lives as part of a global community created by God. We are not alone -- nor are we alone with God as an isolated pair, as some spiritual seekers try to tell us today. In truth, he argues, we are part of a vast Creation, each responsible for the community that God calls us to form within that Creation. My summary of his teachings here may sound fairly abstract. If so, it's because I'm summarizing more than 100 pages of Bartholomew's book in a few sentences. Within the scope of his book, he moves chapter by chapter f