John Maximovitch

Een correct begrip van Maria, de Moeder van God, is essentieel voor een correct begrip van Jezus Christus, de vleesgeworden Zoon van God. Wanneer haar beeld vervormd wordt, wordt ook het beeld van haar Zoon vervormd. Deze beknopte uiteenzetting behandelt de manier waarop de Orthodoxe Christelijke Kerk de Moeder van God door de eeuwen heen heeft vereerd, en van de belangrijkste dwalingen die deze verering hebben proberen te veranderen of te ondermijnen. Dat zijn zowel oude ketterijen als de latere afwijkingen in het westerse christendom. Het vertelt duidelijk waarom de Maagd Maria werkelijk de Moeder van God genoemd moet worden en door alle generaties ge erd dient te worden, en waarom tegelijkertijd niet gezegd kan worden dat zij niet in staat is geweest om te zondigen, of beschouwd kan worden als een 'Medeverlosseres' samen met Jezus Christus, de enige Redder van de wereld.

"May our love for the Sun, the will of God, be as strong as the sunflower's, so that even in days of hardship and sorrow we will continue to sail unerringly along the sea of life, following the directions of the barometer and compass of God's will that leads us to the safe haven of eternity." This is a thoroughly practical manual of the spiritual life focusing on the central goal of every Christian: learning the will of God and struggling to mold our life to it, just as Christ "humbled Himself and became obedient." (Phil. 2:8) Even more fundamentally, St John addresses the question of why we should care about God's will. Finally, the reader will find eternal wisdom running through these writings on questions of theodicy, free will, and Divine Providence. This work is reminiscent of the classic textÊUnseen WarfareÊin its historical genesis as an Orthodox redaction of an originally Roman Catholic text. First published in 1627 asÊThe HeliotropiumÊit was the work of a German Jesuit writer Jeremias Drexelius. The future St John adapted this text for an Orthodox audience as a student and then teacher at the Kiev Academy in the 1670's but it was not published until 1714, just a year before the author's death. This is the first English edition of St John's text, further edited and abbreviated for the contemporary reader.

The "Russian Orthodox Church Abroad" came into existence as a distinct body following the Communist takeover in Russia. This book offers both a brief history and an explanation of the position of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad written by one of its greatest leaders, Archbishop John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francesco, who is now recognised as a saint. A short life of St. John is given and a list of key dates in the Church's life in addition to the main body of the text. Well illustrated with black and white photos.