Orthodox Christianity

A Very Short Introduction

By: A. Edward Siecienski

Narrated by: David Cochran Heath

To many in the West, Orthodoxy remains shrouded in mystery, an exotic and foreign religion that survived in the East following the Great Schism of 1054 that split the Christian world into two camps - Catholic and Orthodox. However, as the second largest Christian denomination, Orthodox Christianity is anything but foreign to the nearly 300 million worshipers who practice it. For them, Orthodoxy is a living, breathing reality; a way of being Christian ultimately rooted in the person of Jesus and the experience of the early church.

Whether they are Greek, Russian, or American, Orthodox Christians are united by a common tradition and faith that binds them together despite differences in culture. True, the road has not always been smooth - Orthodox history is littered with tales of schisms and divisions, of persecutions and martyrdom, from the Sack of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire and seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch, to the experience of the Russian Orthodox Church under the Soviet Union. Still, today Orthodoxy remains a vibrant part of the religious landscape, not only in those lands where it has made its historic home (Greece, Russia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe), but also increasingly in the West.

©2019 Oxford University Press (P)2020 Tantor

A brief introduction to Orthodox Christianity

I have said many times that as much as the Very Short Introduction series is uneven, I keep returning to it because it serves a helpful niche. These are books that are about 100-125 pages, usually with good bibliographies, that give someone without much background an introduction to the important aspects of a topic. I read at least 3 or 4 a year.

The book was divided into three main parts. The first was Christian history, focusing on Nicaea to the spread of Orthodoxy into Russia. The second was about Orthodoxy’s theological and liturgical development. The third focused on what made Orthodoxy different from Roman Catholicism. There was a concluding section about modern challenges and developments within Orthodoxy.

Overall, this was one of the better VSI books. The author was clear about what was necessary and the audience he was writing to, without getting too distracted by any particular part. As with any book of this sort, there can be quibbles with what was and was not included. And I wouldn’t be reading it if I were not interested in more background, so in some ways, the very act of reading it admits that I don’t have the content background to evaluate the decisions. But this isn’t my first book, or my fifth, on Eastern Orthodoxy, and based on what I do know, I think this was a good introduction.

Really good title to own

This was a really good addition to the library and the narrator was really on point.

Review summary

Clearly-stated overview of basic Orthodox beliefs and traditions and differences for other traditions. Very good.