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Rating: 
Summary: Good book with valuable insight
Review: Am so happy I bought her book because its well written and very thought provoking. It was not a quick read for me, because I would read a few pages or so, and have to stop, put the book down and come back to it a few hours later, because she gave me so much to think and pray about.I guess what I appreciated the most was her elaborating on how Christianity has evolved so much to the point that for many of us, it has no resemblance to what the early Christians practiced. Having Coptic and Greek friends I know of their faith and worship mode for decades. I need to note that I was a Christian, but have gone back, however you wish to phrase it, to my Jewish roots, and now onto Buddhism which I prefer because it is in the "now" and not the past. But I am still intrigued with how Christianity came to be and the many questions this creates.Now I admit that the memorized prayers and issues of constantly telling God we are "losers" (the way I read it) did and does bother me a great deal, since I am someone who believes in praying from the heart and not just by memorized words which from past experience become words I wanted to just get thru and which felt more like punishment than a humble desire to praise and serve God.
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Summary: A Quick Read about Orthodoxy
Review: Mathewes-Green writes in an easy manner. This book is a quick read that presents the practice of Orthodox spirituality in a way that the reader can begin to enhance their relationship with God in an Orthodox way.
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Summary: Mallowcups for Frederica
Review: This is a small book. I thought I could knock it off in one setting. Two months later... I did not expect it to become a book I'd have to slam down every other sentence for the richness of what I read. This is one of those books. Once again, I'm rearranging my "Top Ten Most Influential" book list. I heard this woman, who should be feted and bedecked with Mallowcups, speak at a conference; I remember thinking she was a soft-spoken woman I would not want to meet in an alley for the tough truth she owned. This book confirms that thought. This book took me back to some hallowed basics of Christianity. It took me back to a simplicity I have long looked for without knowing. Here's a few things it did: 1. It reminded me that my other enemy is the devil (the first being myself.) That's not popular, Frederica, to own the devil as an enemy. Mallowcups for speaking truth. 2. It reminded me of fasting. Thanks a WHOLE LOT for that one--even my hair shrieks at the thought of missing a meal. But the truth of fasting, the realization that it is a sacrament and that I've been missing out, is louder than the shrieking. 3. It reminded me that I am a sinner. The tacit understanding is that we are NOT sinners. We are saved by grace, skip the sinner part. We think the grace part erases the sinner part. Owning the sinner part again is...huge. And, last, #4: The Jesus Prayer. The idea of chanting a prayer over and over is anathema to many believers. It's too fearfully close to vain repetition. But there is something about "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner." It's aligning. Frederica says, "Do not be deceived into thinking that the words have magic of their own...that is the kind of thing Jesus meant by "vain repetition."...you do it in vain if you don't mean it." So for those four things, plus the reprint of the prayer of Nikolai Velimirovic (where did you dig that up? another thing that had me slamming the book down...)...Mallowcups, Frederica.
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Summary: Fictional Orthodoxy
Review: This is the 3rd book I read from Frederica Mathewes-Green & I am sorry to write that I am very disappointed. The past 2 books, "Facing East" & "At the Corner of East & Now" were written with a clean, clear, & personal view of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in America, but this book dealt with fictional characters from the past that seem out of place. Why not write about factual characters? There are a lot of Church Fathers & Christian Mystics that can give us a better view of Mystical prayer (silent prayer or Jesus prayer) than making up a pop version with a fictional family to express these views. To get a more balance & fuller perspective on spiritual transformation, may I suggest studying some of the Church fathers like St. Symeon the New Theologian or St. Theophan the Recluse.
Rating: 
Summary: accessible yet profound
Review: This wonderful little book is eminently accessible yet also manages to be quite profound. Mathewes-Green has several important things to say to Christians unfamiliar with the Eastern Orthodox tradition and relates many excellent thoughts about the difference, in basic points of theology, between the early church and modern, western Christianity. For western Christians, Mathewes-Green offers a startlingly fresh perspective on issues such as the transformative act of conversion, authority within the church, the meaning of repentance and forgiveness, and the purpose of prayer. The chapter on "The Jesus Prayer" is reason enough for reading the book. The later chapters, "Dealing with Others : The Smaller Circle" and "Dealing with Others : The Larger Circle" make for important and humbling reading and could be taken together, for great benefit, with C.S. Lewis' sermon "The Weight of Glory"; however, the second of these chapters should be read and carefully weighed in balance with I Corinthians 5--an often neglected passage dealing with the ideas of "judgment" and of forgiveness within the church.
Rating:
Summary: accessible yet profound
Review: This wonderful little book is eminently accessible yet also manages to be quite profound. Mathewes-Green has several important things to say to Christians unfamiliar with the Eastern Orthodox tradition and relates many excellent thoughts about the difference, in basic points of theology, between the early church and modern, western Christianity. For western Christians, Mathewes-Green offers a startlingly fresh perspective on issues such as the transformative act of conversion, authority within the church, the meaning of repentance and forgiveness, and the purpose of prayer. The chapter on "The Jesus Prayer" is reason enough for reading the book. The later chapters, "Dealing with Others : The Smaller Circle" and "Dealing with Others : The Larger Circle" make for important and humbling reading and could be taken together, for great benefit, with C.S. Lewis' sermon "The Weight of Glory"; however, the second of these chapters should be read and carefully weighed in balance with I Corinthians 5--an often neglected passage dealing with the ideas of "judgment" and of forgiveness within the church.
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Summary: A contemporary invitiation to the ancient Christian path
Review: When I began to explore the mysteries of Eastern Christianity in 1997, as well as to look more closely at some of the documents of the early Church, I encountered terms and concepts that were foreign to my thinking. I also saw familiar biblical and theological terms used in similar, yet different, ways. In my puzzlement I wondered, how could I--someone who had read a fair amount of Church history and Christian classics--be in such foreign territory? Was this yet another way of viewing the Christian faith (like the many theological streams I'd encountered in Protestant writings)? Or were these writings espousing not merely different, but erroneous, views of Christianity? Or was there something missing (or even erroneous) in my Western view of the faith that needed clarification? Many of the growing number Eastern Christian books available to Western readers (some of which I have recommended elsewhere here at Amazon), might cause the reader the same kind of puzzlement mentioned above. Along comes this wonderfully simple gem, "The Illumined Heart," by renowned author and commentator Frederica Mathewes-Green, who gently invites the reader to explore "the ancient Christian path of transformation" in an unthreatening manner. Here Frederica introduces us to a fictitious "Christian of another era, perhaps from the fifth or sixth century, living in the Middle East," called Anna. By introducing us to Anna, and her family, we catch a glimpse of how Christians of another time and place lived out their faith on a daily basis. While I was a bit leery of how this fictional approach would work, I felt that this woman and her family accurately resembled the historical non-fiction accounts I've read of this era. This is not a "religious" book in the sense of comparing one tradition or theological viewpoint with another. Instead, the reader begins to see how we in the West have lost contact with our spiritual ancestors, what they believed, and how they lived their daily lives. Here Frederica calls us back to that earlier "Christian worldview," and shows how it worked for them and how it could work for us today. Many of the terms and concepts that puzzled me years ago are introduced here within the fabric of Anna's daily life, and consequently, they not only make biblical and theological sense, they become appealing. Fortunately, Frederica provides an excellent bibliography for those who wish to pursue more. I have added as many titles from this bibliography that are currently available at Amazon to a list that you should be able to access here, to make your search for them easier. Frederica also lists some helpful sources on the web, such as the St. Pachomius list of early church documents, and the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Here's wishing you the best as you explore your own path toward transformation.
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