The Inner Kingdom

For those who have encountered only dry discussions of theology or a statement of Christian views that is narrow or fanatical, finding someone like Bishop Ware is a relief. His articulation of various topics is both wise and warm, filled with the love of Christ and always intellectually rigorous as well. Ware has chapters on worship, prayer, silence, the nature of time and salvation. The last two sound particularly dull, but are in fact among the best of the sections. In particular, the chapter on salvation deals with the question of universal salvation, which leads into a discussion of hell. Anyone troubled by the way most churches present hell, predestination and the concept of eternal damnation (as you should be) would do well to see how Ware situates these ideas in the context of God's unending love and God's desire for all to be saved. If only most pastors taught this way about Christianity, many would not have left the church. The chapter on worship is also particularly valuable. Most discussions of worship theology are hopelessly dull, or debate arcane points of the tradition or treat worship choices as etiquette decisions. Ware articulates worship as being intended to express God's beauty and bring us into the presence of God. By that standard, most worship falls horribly short. This was to be the first of six volumes of his collected works, but subsequent volumes seem not to have appeared as yet.

In the English-speaking world, Bishop Kallistos (Timothy) Ware is well-known as the author of _The Orthodox Way_, a justly famous overview of the history and doctrines of Eastern Orthodoxy. Now, in _The Inner Kingdom_, the first of a projected six-volume collection of his writings, Bishop Kallistos' occasional essays are collected for English readers. They're really magnificent. This first volume reprints 12 essays. Prefaced by an autobiographical account of his conversion, the essays explore death and resurrection, repentance, worship, wonderment in education, ceaseless prayer, hesychia, martyrdom, spiritual guidance, the fool in Christ, the metaphysics of time, and salvation. They're written with an easy fluidity that reminds one of C.S. Lewis's style: they're simply enjoyable to read. Yet they're also sophisticated in argument and informative. Reading them is an excellent introduction to Orthodoxy for the neophyte, and an equally excellent opportunity for reflection and renewal for those already familiar with or immersed in Orthodoxy. For my money, the best essay in the collection (and it was difficult for me to make this choice, since all the essays are so interesting) is also the longest: "The Fool in Christ as Prophet and Apostle" (pp. 153-180). Fools in Christ are "living icons" who proclaim the Gospel in such drastic--that is, with thoroughgoing loyalty to Jesus' teachings--ways that they appear mad or insane to the rest of the world (God's foolishness opposed to human wisdom, as St. Paul put it). But in choosing to live on the margins of respectability, holy fools liberate themselves to lead lives which rebuke the powerful, chastise the wicked, and inspire by their good deeds the faithful. Read in conjunction with his essays on ceaseless prayer and hesychia, Ware's reflections on holy foolishness constitute a complete course in godly living. All in all, a wonderful anthology, one that encouraged me to go back and reread Ware's _The Orthodox Church_ and his lesser known _The Orthodox Way_. I look forward to reading subsequent volumes in his collected works.

Like his other books, especially The Orthodox Way, Bishop Kallistos invites the reader to partake of the life-giving Water of Christ as found in the living Eastern Orthodox Tradition. I have waited for this series of six volumes to begin and here's number one! You will be moved both intellectually and spiritually by this work, guided by one of the leading Eastern Orthodox theologians in the English-speaking world."This is a revised and expanded version of a book that has already appeared in French, Italian and Greek. It focuses on themes central to Eastern Christian worship and spiritual life and serves as an introduction to the series of six volumes of Bishop Kallistos collected works."The opening chapter recounts the author's journey to Orthodoxy. The next two chapters provide profound and illuminating insights on death, bereavement and resurrection in Christ, and on repentance. Chapters four through seven invite us into the world of the desert ascetics and hesychast monks. Combining scholarly rigor with practical counsels on prayers, Bishop Kallistos makes the wealth of the Orthodox tradition accessible to today's Christians. The next three chapters concern personal vocation, martyrdom, spiritual guidance, and the strange path of the fool for Christ's sake. There follows a brief essay on time and eternity. The final chapter is a challenging discussion of Origen and Ss Gregory of Nyssa, Isaac the Syrian and Silouan the Anthonite, and in conversation with them Bishop Kallistos asks, 'Dare we hope for the salvation of all?' "The Inner Kingdom is the first of a planned six-volume collection of works by Bishop Kallistos. His thought combines depth and honesty with judicious wisdom and balance, expressed in a clear and direct style. A teacher at the University of Oxford who lectures around the world, Bishop Kallistos speaks equally to laypeople and specialists, on both timeless mysteries and urgent contemporary concerns." Other books of interest may include: The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church and In the Image and Likeness of God, both by Vladimir Lossky; A Different Christianity by Robin Amis; and, perhaps, Exploring the Inner Universe by Archimandrite Roman Braga. Ware's Orthodox Way and Orthodox Church, and his newly published In The Image of the Trinity are also fantastic. Enjoy!

Bishop Kallistos Ware has done it again wth a fresh and lively book on Orthodox spirituality. He brings up some valuable insights about certain mysteries in the Church. What is also good about this book are chapters and points that not all Orthodox Chrsitains agree on, but that the Church has allowed room for discussion like 'universial salvation' (or rather, the mystery and hope that all may be saved).The slowest chapter is the first one, where Bishop Ware writes about his conversion into the Church. Though it is interesting, his other chapters are just that much better that his first one pales in comparision. His chapter on repentance is a must as the role of the priest, the sinner, and God are explained as well as "the gift of tears."Bishop Ware's writing style is formal and yet, pastoral. This is very evident in the chapetrs "Silence in Prayer: the Meaning of Hesychia" and "A Sense of Wonder." Here he takes both theological ideas and explains their importance where the reader can instantly grasp and begin to immediately live these important concepts. In a "Sense of Wonder" he briefly discusses the Orthodox view on a college education (one could say an education in general); this topic is rarely discussed in Orthodoox texts and it is needed and appropiate in this chapter.His chapter on spiritual guides is both important for the Lay person and it is good advice for a priest (more than likely, a priest has already been given such advice in seminary). This book is wonderful and should be read by all Orthodox Christains, with a special focus on new converts or cradle Orthodox who have never really studied the writings of Orthodox academics.

Bishop Ware has put together a wonderful collection of his writings that cover numerous topics in Orthodoxy. He writes simply, clearly, kindly and profoundly. He is consistently able to deal with complex subjects in a succinct, uncluttered fashion. But don't think for a minute that he is simplifying or streamlining important issues. He is just very skilled at using an economy of words to make his point. This book provides some real insights in to issues such as the relationship between the "spiritual father " and his children, and the role of the Holy Fool ", or " Fool for Christ ", in the Orthodox tradition. This is a terrific book!