I came upon this book during my current phase of reading about the Christian East (i.e., Eastern Orthodox). As I read this book, I am surprised that it’s not more widely known and discussed among readers of Christianity.

The Spirituality of the Christian East, as summarized by Goodreads, was written by Tomas Spidlak, “Professor-emeritus of the Pontifical Oriental Institute at Rome, [who] dedicated his scholarly life to studying and teaching the theology and spirituality of the Christian East….”

What I find compelling about this book is its’ readable overview of the historical, philosophical, and cultural inputs of how Christianity developed. I purchased this book for its’ focus on the Christian East – which I am learning more about (the Christian East broadly as well as specific geographic regions of the Eastern Church – Russian, Greek, Coptic, Armenian, etc.) – yet, I am also recognizing that anyone wanting a historical overview of Christianity’s overall development will find an insightful and informative read in this book.

As a reader from Western Christianity, I have been surprised to discover in this book that the Eastern Orthodox tradition has its’ own set of recognized faith leaders over the centuries – historical saints, mystics (hesychasts), Desert Fathers, leaders. Symeon the New Theologian, etc. I shouldn’t find this surprising. It simply hadn’t occurred to me that the Orthodox tradition has it’s own people that it recognizes by name.

This book is worth reading for anyone interested in an introduction to Eastern Orthodox Christianity and/or a historical overview of Christianity in general.

Bibliophile and would-be-antiquarian Kim Burkhardt reviews books at The Books of the Ages. If you are a new visitor, it would be great to have you follow this blog (thank you!). If you know someone who would like this blog, please share it with them (thank you!).