Congregations are shrinking and in decline. Fewer people are part of communities of faith. Michael Plekon's previous book, Community as Church, Church as Community, traced the factors behind this as well as the resurrection of parishes that have reimagined themselves in diverse ways. Pastors have played essential roles in such transformation. But where are the ordained today? Ministry Matters is a sustained meditation on the vocation, lives, and work of pastors today. We listen to an ecume...

Parishes of all denominations are in decline, shrinking, closing, dying. We know that there are increasing numbers, young and older, who are religious "nones" and "dones." This book explores why the decline is taking place, why the distancing is going on. But it goes on to examine parishes from all over the country and from various church bodies that are resurrecting. The central theme of death and resurrection shapes the analysis of parishes covered. Parishes are resurrecting by reinventi...

The Church of the Holy Spirit, written by Russian priest and scholar Nicholas Afanasiev (1893–1966), is one of the most important works of twentieth-century Orthodox theology. Afanasiev was a member of the “Paris School” of émigré intellectuals who gathered in Paris after the Russian revolution, where he became a member of the faculty of St. Sergius Orthodox Seminary. The Church of the Holy Spirit, which offers a rediscovery of the eucharistic and communal nature of the c...

Prayer: Christian and Muslim Perspectives is a rich collection of essays, scriptural texts, and personal reflections featuring leading scholars analyzing the meaning and function of prayer within their traditions. Drawn from the 2011 Building Bridges seminar in Doha, Qatar, the essays in this volume explore the devotional practices of each tradition and how these practices are taught and learned. Relevant texts are included, with commentary, as are personal reflections on prayer b...

In Uncommon Prayer: Prayer in Everyday Experience, Michael Plekon wants to change our minds on what constitutes prayer. In doing so, he makes a theological claim that commonplace aspects of the Christian life are best understood as prayer, whereby encouraging us to see that everyday life carries religious import; prayer and the religious life are not restricted to special places and times, but are open to all believers at all times.Plekon examines the works of diverse auth...

In his new book, Saints As They Really Are, priest and scholar Michael Plekon traces the spiritual journeys of several American Christians, using their memoirs and other writings. These “saints-in-the-making” show all their doubts and imperfections as they reflect on their search for God and their efforts to lead holy lives. They are gifted yet ordinary women and men trying to follow Christ within their flawed and broken humanity—“saints as they really are,” as Dorothy Day put it....

The origin of the phrase "the church has left the building" lies with Elvis. In order to clear halls of his riotous fans after concerts, it was announced that "Elvis has left the building." Here, the expression highlights intense change within the church. Not only does the church change for its own existence, it also does so for the life of the world. The church cannot avoid the many past and future changes of our constantly transforming society, demographic changes long in process. What y...

Michael Plekon's Tradition Alive presents a collection of essays highlighting not only the vibrant tradition of 20th century Eastern Orthodox thought, but also the necessity of its inclusion in the theological canon constructed mainly by Western Christian thinkers. Ranging from the thought of the first generation of Russian émigrés to contemporary Eastern Orthodox theologians, the essays in Tradition Alive point toward a positive theology that is convinced of the immanenc...

A theologian advocates for the Catholic Church through this exploration of its teachings and controversies."An important book and a spectacular public service. It opens a window onto the Catholic faith and will open the minds of believers and skeptics alike." —Pulitzer Prize winner Peggy NoonanThe Catholic Church may be the most controversial institution in the world. Some find its teachings inexplicable, puzzling, even cruel. In this incis...

Compelling Accounts of Key People Who Have Formed Christian Belief through the AgesAll Christians' beliefs are shaped by those who went before them. Now these giants of Christian history are presented chronologically and in a format that helps readers get to know them. In addition to a biographical sketch, readers will discover each person's primary contributions to the Christian faith along with a brief quotation from their work. Students, history buffs, and curious readers will b...

Written by a preeminent religious historian, this book provides an introduction to early Christian thought. Focusing on major figures such as St. Augustine and Gregory of Nyssa, as well as a host of less well known thinkers, Robert Wilken chronicles the emergence of a specifically Christian intellectual tradition.In chapters on topics including early Christian worship, Christian poetry and the spiritual life, the Trinity, Christ, the Bible, and icons, Wilken shows that the energ...

Know the Heretics provides an accessible travel guide to the most significant heresies throughout Christian history.There is a lot of talk about heresy these days. The frequency and volume of accusations suggest that some Christians have lost a sense of the gravity of the word, while others have little familiarity with orthodox doctrine or the historic distortions of it.This book has everything you need for a full video study experience.