Books in the NIU Series in Orthodox Christian Studies series

This is the first English translation, by Thomas Allan Smith, of Philosophy of the Name (Filosofiia imeni). Sergii Bulgakov (1871-1944) wrote the book in response to a theological controversy that erupted in Russia just before the outbreak of World War I. Bulgakov develops a philosophy of language that aims to justify the truthfulness of the statement "e;the Name of God is God himself,"e; a claim provoking debate on the meaning of names, and the Name of God in particular. Philosophy of the Name investigates the nature of words and human language, considers grammar and parts of speech, and concludes with an exposition on the Name of God.Name-glorifying, a spiritual movement connected with the Orthodox practice of the Jesus Prayer, was initially censured by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, and the controversy raised profound questions that continue to vex ecclesiastical authorities and theologians today. The controversy exposed a vital question concerning the ability of human language to express experiences of the Divine truthfully and authentically. Bulgakov examines the idea that humans do not create words, rather, objects speak their word to human beings, and words are the incarnation of thought in a sonic body conveying meaning.Philosophy of the Name offers a philosophy of language for contemporary theologians of all confessions who wrestle with the issue of language and God. It is a persuasive apologia for the mysterious power of words and an appeal to make use of words responsibly not only when speaking about God but equally when communicating with others.

This first study in English of the image of Christ in Russian literature highlights the importance of apophaticism as a theological practice and a literary method in understanding the Russian Christ.

Focusing on the period between the revolutions of 1848-1849 and the First Vatican Council (1869-1870), The Public Image of Eastern Orthodoxy explores the circumstances under which westerners, concerned about the fate of the papacy, the Ottoman Empire, Poland, and Russian imperial power, began to conflate the Russian Orthodox Church with the state and to portray the Church as the political tool of despotic tsars.As Heather L. Bailey demonstrates, in response to this reductionist view, Russian Orthodox publicists launched a public relations campaign in the West, especially in France, in the 1850s and 1860s. The linchpin of their campaign was the building of the impressive Saint Alexander Nevsky Church in Paris, consecrated in 1861. Bailey posits that, as the embodiment of the belief that Russia had a great historical purpose inextricably tied to Orthodoxy, the Paris church both reflected and contributed to the rise of religious nationalism in Russia that followed the Crimean War. At the same time, the confrontation with westerners' negative ideas about the Eastern Church fueled a reformist spirit in Russia while contributing to a better understanding of Eastern Orthodoxy in the West.

A strong case for reconsideration of Old Believers as a significant part of the Russian Orthodox tradition

"Shows how the Greek Orthodox Church became the most important Greek institution in the United States and the main force that shaped Greek American ethnic identity in the twentieth century"--

The bitter separation of Ukraine's Orthodox churches is a microcosm of its societal strife. From 1917 onward, church leaders failed to agree on the church's mission in the twentieth century. The core issues of dispute were establishing independence from the Russian church and adopting Ukrainian as the language of worship. Decades of polemical...

This lucidly written biography of Aleksandr Men examines the familial and social context from which Men developed as a Russian Orthodox priest. Wallace Daniel presents a different picture of Russia and the Orthodox Church than the stereotypes found in much of the popular literature. Men offered an alternative to the prescribed ways of thinking...

Analyzes the response of major Orthodox thinkers to the Catholic understanding of the primacy of the pope over the last two centuries. This title brings together writings by Greek and Russian Orthodox theologians and compares them to demonstrate the emergence of a concordance between the canons of the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church.

Arabic was one of the first languages in which the Gospel was preached. Yet in the West, scholars have all but forgotten about these texts. In this book, the authors bring these rich but overlooked works to English-language readers.

A pivotal period in Russian history, the Time of Troubles in the early seventeenth century has taken on new resonance in the country's post-Soviet search for new national narratives. This title provides comprehensive study of the church during the Troubles.

At the heart of the Soviet experiment was a belief in the impermanence of the human spirit: souls could be engineered; conscience could be destroyed. The project was, in many ways, chillingly successful. But the ultimate failure of a totalitarian regime to fulfill its ambitions for social and spiritual mastery had roots deeper than the...

Never before published, the theological thesis of St. Raphael Hawaweeny (1860-1915) is a fascinating work that shows the intersection of Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodoxy in the late nineteenth century. Canonized by the Orthodox Church in 2000, St. Raphael was the first Orthodox bishop consecrated in the western...

A book-length study of the medieval legend that Church Father and biblical translator St Jerome was a Slav who invented the Slavic (Glagolitic) alphabet and Roman Slavonic rite.

Exploring patterns of popular devotion to the cult of the saints in both late imperial and early Soviet Russia, this title argues for an interpretation of Orthodoxy as a proactive faith grounded in the needs and realities of everyday life. It is of interest to Russian historians, anthropologists, and scholars of religion.