Orthodox Dogmatic Theology : Third Edition

Saint Herman Press, March 1994. Paper Back. New. 'The preaching of the Apostles and the dogmas of the Fathers have sealed the one faith of the Church. And wearing the garment of truth, woven of the theology from above, she rightly dispenses and glorifies the great mystery of piety' (commemoration hymn for the First Ecumenical Council.) Throughout the history of Eastern Christianity, it has been very unusual to present the Faith in the form of a 'systematic theology' (with a few exceptions-St. John Damascene the most well known). The Fathers preferred to present dogma through worship, and wove theology into hymns, homilies, and liturgy. But seeing the need for a modern exposition of Orthodoxy -moreover, one compatible with Western methods of presentation- Fr. Michael undertook a scholarly presentation of the Faith both for seminary students and interested laypeople. Fr. Seraphim Rose saw in Fr. Michael a 'link between us and the Holy Fathers,' and recognized that the value of this book lay in its transparency to traditional Orthodox theology. Organized along the lines of a traditional systematics textbook (sources of revelation, the nature of God, the Trinity, creation, providence, sin, the economy of salvation, the Incarnation, the Virgin Mary, redemption, the Church, sacraments, prayer, eschatology), it is yet saturated with Scripture and references to the Fathers. First published in 1963, and in English in 1984, it includes helpful several appendices and is now available in an updated third edition. 434 pp.