Kenosis, a Greek word meaning "depletion" or "emptying" and a concept borrowed from Christian theology, has deeply profound implications for understanding and ordering life in a world marked by suffering and death. Whereas the divine kenosis was voluntary, human beings experience an involuntary kenosis which is characterized by the inevitable losses experienced during the lives of mortal creatures. How one chooses voluntarily to respond to this involuntary kenosis, regardless of faith comm...

Sex is a difficult issue for contemporary Christians, but the past decade has witnessed a newfound openness regarding the topic among Eastern Orthodox Christians. Both the theological trajectory and the historical circumstances of the Orthodox Church differ radically from those of other Christian denominations that have already developed robust and creative reflections on sexuality and sexual diversity. Within its unique history, theology, and tradition, Orthodox Christianity holds rich re...

This book explores the shape of Christian theology when seen by beginning from the proclamation of the gospel "in accordance with the Scriptures," that is, with the Scriptures (the "Old Testament") unveiled in the light of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, rather than presuming the later framework of "The Bible," with its distinct two testaments. Drawing upon writings, iconography, and the liturgical life of the church in the early centuries, John Behr shows how the mystery of Ch...

Taken together, these two volumes collect seventy-five essays written by Professor Andrew Louth over a forty-year period. Louth's contribution to scholarship and theology has always been significant, and these essays have been collected from journals and edited collections, many of which are difficult to access, and are here made available over two thought-provoking and wide-ranging volumes. Volume I focuses on a variety of topics in Patristics, or early Christian studies. In these essays,...

The essays in this volume examine selected national, regional European, and international policies of Charles de Gaulle, giving consideration to their significance in his own time, and today. Not everything de Gaulle did withstands the test of time. Nor, obviously, was everything beyond criticism in his own time. Nonetheless, a main finding, in the words of one essayist, is that de Gaulle had an 'uncanny sense of where history was going' and the skill to position his country accordingly. D...

John Behr guides readers into Origen's homilies and commentaries on the Psalms, showing how the "key of David" dramatically opens up Scripture. Jesus' incarnation, passion, death, resurrection, glory, kingdom, and judgment "unseal" what was once "sealed." In these lectures, readers encounter scriptural reasoning, the calling and liturgy of Christ's dominical body, and how and why Christ brings "many sons to glory" (Hebrews 2:10).

"Can anything orthodox come from Pentecostalism?"This recasting of Nathaniel's familiar question from the Gospel is a fair summary of many modern Christians' assessment of the Pentecostal tradition. Yet in recent years, a growing number of Pentecostals have been turning afresh to the ancient, creedal Christian faith.Bishop Emilio Alvarez has himself been at the forefront of this movement. In Pentecostal Orthodoxy he introduces the phenomenon, and e...

"Can anything orthodox come from Pentecostalism?"This recasting of Nathaniel's familiar question from the Gospel is a fair summary of many modern Christians' assessment of the Pentecostal tradition. Yet in recent years, a growing number of Pentecostals have been turning afresh to the ancient, creedal Christian faith.Bishop Emilio Alvarez has himself been at the forefront of this movement. In Pentecostal Orthodoxy he introduces the phenomenon, and e...

Taken together, these two volumes collect seventy-five essays written by Professor Andrew Louth over a forty-year period. Louth's contribution to scholarship and theology has always been significant, and these essays have been collected from journals and edited collections, many of which are difficult to access, and are here made available over two thought-provoking and wide-ranging volumes. Volume II collects essays on a variety of theological topics, arranged chronologically, showing the...

Commemorating the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, this volume offers an original examination of the enduring impact of the single most famous gathering of Christians since the apostolic ageDespite the longstanding historical and theological study of the Council of Nicaea, several central questions remain. Was Nicaea a theological event or a political one? What does it mean if it was both? Was Constantine’s intervention without precedent, or was he simp...