Passions of the Soul

The Eastern Christian tradition is filled with theological and spiritual riches.

In Passions of the Souls, Rowan Williams opens up the great classics of Eastern Christian writing to show how it can help us to understand and cope with the ups and downs of modern life.

In Passions of the Soul, he sets out to open up the ways in which the great classics of Eastern Christian spiritual writing can help us to understand and cope with the turbulence and vicissitudes of 21st century men and women.

With compelling and illuminating insight, he shows the cost of living in a culture that is theologically and philosophically undernourished, working with a diminished and trivialised picture of the human self. The Eastern tradition teaches us how to develop our self-knowledge and awareness, so that we can relate to the world without selfish illusions. Only then can we be ready for our eyes to be opened to God, and avoid destructive patterns of behaviour.

Only in this way can we understand the kind of people we need to become.