Wisdom and Practices of the Ancient Faith by Alphonse and Rachel Goettmann

by Alphonse Goettmann

In this book, we will consider the fundamental practices of the Christian experience. They are backed by two thousand years of history and a sea of witnesses who, down through the ages, have journeyed on this path that has led them to the summits of wisdom and holiness. The difficulty in the presentation of these "methods" is their inevitable and artificial juxtaposition when they only find their internal and organic coherence in the living Tradition. They are all held together as in a living organism; each element comes at a particular stage in a life that gravitates around its the Christ. That is why we will use a method which will make it possible for the reader not to remain on the exterior as a the repetition of key ideas. This is a teaching in the form of a spiral, an "eating of the word" where, as in liturgical chants and the experiential method of Scripture, we become that which we "eat" continually, we "are" what we have just read rather than merely "knowing" it. Each chapter is a new approach to the unique Reality. Rather than addressing the intellect, it speaks to the heart.

Paperback

First published September 1, 2006

Reviews

[Jackson Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am going to recommend this as quite possibly the best introductory book to Christianity I have ever read. Alphonse and Rachel are a French Orthodox couple, with profound acquaintance with tradition and spiritual sensibilities. This is such a beautiful distillation of Christianity’s millenniums of spiritual tradition. Genuinely, could not recommend this book more highly for someone who is interested in the beginnings of the sacramental life, or Orthodox Christianity.

[Nabil Hourani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guidance to re-discover and re-apply Christian practices based on earlier and basic beliefs. Fr. Goettmann and his wife wrote (originally in French) spiritual but also practical lessons for us to understand, learn, and apply despite the noisy and materialistic days of our life.