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An Introduction to the Christian Orthodox Churches
This introduction describes the life of the Orthodox Churches of the Christian East from the accession of the Emperor Constantine in 312 up to the year 2000. It discusses the distinctive Orthodox approaches to the themes of liturgy, theology, monastic life and spirituality, iconography, popular religion, mission, politics and the schism between East and West. The final chapter examines the response of the Churches to the new freedom following the collapse of communism and the prospects for the future.
Hardcover
First published July 4, 2002
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About the author
John Binns
1 book1 followerJohn Binns has combined research and writing with ministry as a priest in the church of England. He was parish priest of Great St Mary’s the University Church Cambridge for 23 years, where he provided care and support for researchers in the university as well as developing the life of the church in central Cambridge. Since a six month period studying in the Serbian Orthodox Theological Faculty of Belgrade University in 1974, he has been involved in various kinds of ecumenical work and research in the field of east-west church relations. He has visited and lectured in several Orthodox countries including Israel/Palestine, Russia and Romania. He was a founding director of the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies in Cambridge where he remains a Visiting Professor. In addition he is chair of trustees of Partners for Change Ethiopia and the Aradin trust supporting churches in Iraq. His publications include an Introduction to the Christian Orthodox Churches (Cambridge University Press 2002) and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church a History (I B Tauris 2017).
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 25, 2019
Provides a good, general overview of the Orthodox churches. Lots of information in this book.
August 13, 2007
John Binns' AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CHRISTIAN ORTHODOX CHURCHES is a rare book in that it attempts to familiarise the reader with all of the Orthodox Churches, and not merely (as is common in English-language works on Orthodoxy) with those which accepted the Council of Chalcedon. While Binns' isn't successful in giving as much attention to these obscure Middle Eastern churches as to the well-known Byzantine church, his approach is worthy of some attention.
Binns starts his overview of Orthodoxy's diversity by examing the various bishops found along Straight Street in Damascus. The city has five patriarches, all representing different traditions in this fragmented faith. After this example, Binns proceeds to tell the history of Orthodoxy. He assumes that readers will already be familiar with the basics of Christian thought and the early spread of the faith, and so he begins this history from the moment when Orthodoxy gained a distinct characteristic from Western Christianity, namely with the rise of Byzantium.
The middle of the book is dedicated to Orthodox faith and practise and how these might vary from Western Christianity. The chapter on liturgy I found to be among the most interesting portions of Binns' work, for it describes not only the well-known Divine Liturgies of Constantinople, but also the little-known liturgies of the churches in the Middle East. The chapter on icons commendably describes the theological arguments for and against in considerably more depth than many descriptions of Orthodoxy.
Forty pages are dedicated to the complicated issue of church-state relations within Orthodoxy. I found this to be somewhat disappointing, for he doesn't speak of the simultaneous willingly collaboration and underground resistance of the Church in Romania and several other oppressive regimes, though the former Soviet Union gets sufficient attention. This chapter is followed by one on the relations between Orthodoxy and the churches of the West from the schism (which was much gradual than one would have thought) to modern-day ecumenism. Finally, the work concludes with a brief survey of Orthodoxy's triumphant return after the fall of Communism and its contemporary struggles.
While the book is generally informative, it is somewhat flawed. Binns occasionally fails to maintain a neutral tone. Whether this is due to a personal commitment to Orthodoxy or a desire to present everything from the view of his subject is uncertain. However, I was made uneasy at several points, and downright appalled when he suggested that calls for the Russian Church to distance itself from anti-semitism is undesirable Western meddling. I was also disappointed by a number of small errors which show insufficient fact-checking. Though the work was first published in 2002 Binns uses, for example, the anachronism "the Ukraine" for "Ukraine", and "Kiev" for "Kyiv". He also shows a misunderstand of European geography when he speaks of "the border between Slovakia and Russia."
For one looking for a basic introduction to Byzantine Orthodoxy, this book is far too dry and unfocused to please. I would suggest getting Bishop Kallistos Ware's THE ORTHODOX CHURCH instead, a modern classic by one of the most respected bishops of the Church and a book continually updated and reprinted. If you are looking for a wider perspective on Orthodoxy including the non-Chalcedonian churches of the East, Binns' work might be appropriate.
Binns starts his overview of Orthodoxy's diversity by examing the various bishops found along Straight Street in Damascus. The city has five patriarches, all representing different traditions in this fragmented faith. After this example, Binns proceeds to tell the history of Orthodoxy. He assumes that readers will already be familiar with the basics of Christian thought and the early spread of the faith, and so he begins this history from the moment when Orthodoxy gained a distinct characteristic from Western Christianity, namely with the rise of Byzantium.
The middle of the book is dedicated to Orthodox faith and practise and how these might vary from Western Christianity. The chapter on liturgy I found to be among the most interesting portions of Binns' work, for it describes not only the well-known Divine Liturgies of Constantinople, but also the little-known liturgies of the churches in the Middle East. The chapter on icons commendably describes the theological arguments for and against in considerably more depth than many descriptions of Orthodoxy.
Forty pages are dedicated to the complicated issue of church-state relations within Orthodoxy. I found this to be somewhat disappointing, for he doesn't speak of the simultaneous willingly collaboration and underground resistance of the Church in Romania and several other oppressive regimes, though the former Soviet Union gets sufficient attention. This chapter is followed by one on the relations between Orthodoxy and the churches of the West from the schism (which was much gradual than one would have thought) to modern-day ecumenism. Finally, the work concludes with a brief survey of Orthodoxy's triumphant return after the fall of Communism and its contemporary struggles.
While the book is generally informative, it is somewhat flawed. Binns occasionally fails to maintain a neutral tone. Whether this is due to a personal commitment to Orthodoxy or a desire to present everything from the view of his subject is uncertain. However, I was made uneasy at several points, and downright appalled when he suggested that calls for the Russian Church to distance itself from anti-semitism is undesirable Western meddling. I was also disappointed by a number of small errors which show insufficient fact-checking. Though the work was first published in 2002 Binns uses, for example, the anachronism "the Ukraine" for "Ukraine", and "Kiev" for "Kyiv". He also shows a misunderstand of European geography when he speaks of "the border between Slovakia and Russia."
For one looking for a basic introduction to Byzantine Orthodoxy, this book is far too dry and unfocused to please. I would suggest getting Bishop Kallistos Ware's THE ORTHODOX CHURCH instead, a modern classic by one of the most respected bishops of the Church and a book continually updated and reprinted. If you are looking for a wider perspective on Orthodoxy including the non-Chalcedonian churches of the East, Binns' work might be appropriate.
October 17, 2013
Perfectly adequate overview, with some welcome attention to the Syrians—but on the whole insufferably reactionary, speaking highly of colonialism, barely veiling its Islamophobia, even denying outright that the role of women or the murdering of gays are questions would have ever been relevant without Western influence (!!).
From a methodological point of view, the survey ignores all discussion that is not idealist or prescriptivist: the actual methods of, say, Russian missionaries in the Far East are ignored (except for some very carefully hand-picked "nice" examples), and any question of the role of laypersons is subordinated without exception to the actions of hierarchs.
Wouldn't recommend as an introduction to Orthodoxy.
From a methodological point of view, the survey ignores all discussion that is not idealist or prescriptivist: the actual methods of, say, Russian missionaries in the Far East are ignored (except for some very carefully hand-picked "nice" examples), and any question of the role of laypersons is subordinated without exception to the actions of hierarchs.
Wouldn't recommend as an introduction to Orthodoxy.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews