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Sobornost: Eastern Unity of Mind and Heart for Western Man
Book by Doherty, Catherine de Hueck
110 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
About the author
Catherine de Hueck Doherty
84 books44 followersEkaterina Fyodorovna Kolyschkine Doherty, better known as Catherine Doherty, CM (1896-1985) was a social activist and foundress of the Madonna House Apostolate. A pioneer of social justice and a renowned national speaker, Catherine was also a prolific writer of hundreds of articles, best-selling author of dozens of books, and a dedicated wife and mother. Her cause for canonization as a saint is under consideration by the Catholic Church.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 8, 2013
Another wonderful book by Catherine Doherty*!
I first encountered Doherty, founder of Madonna House in 2009 when I read Poustinia. At the time I was swept away by the world and ideas she described therein, almost as much as when a girl, the vast expanses of the Russian steppe or “степь" in the movie, Dr. Zhivago left me mesmerized.
I so wanted to gobble down all of Doherty's writings then and there. However, the very essence of what she was communicating in Poustinia—desert, silence, solitude, ‘Less’, etc.—was the antithesis of that head-on approach. Now I’m glad I waited and have returned for my second ‘helping’—so to speak—of Doherty’s special blend of Catholicism-Orthodoxy with a Russian-Canadian flavor.
In Sobornost, she takes us on a mystical tour of the subject of Christian Unity, especially dear to her as a child of the world-at large. Her birth and early childhood in czarist Russia, followed by her escape from the Soviet regime and subsequent life in Canada allow her a broader view on most things, and lend credibility in particular to this theme, sadly lacking in almost all respects from Christian practice and teaching. She shows us how possible and beautiful it is to have unity within oneself, with God, one’s neighbor, and in community.
But lest any particular ‘side’ think they can hijack her—or this book—for whatever agenda they might want to espouse, think again! Hers isn’t a unity at all costs, a unity without values, responsibilities and obligations; in fact it’s just the opposite. Sobornost is centered in the Triune God and as such can only be found at the very Heart of the Cross.
Wonderful insights on true Christian Unity.
*There is a short biography about her at the book’s end, which if her deep spirituality speaks to you as it did to me, you will very much want to read.
I first encountered Doherty, founder of Madonna House in 2009 when I read Poustinia. At the time I was swept away by the world and ideas she described therein, almost as much as when a girl, the vast expanses of the Russian steppe or “степь" in the movie, Dr. Zhivago left me mesmerized.
I so wanted to gobble down all of Doherty's writings then and there. However, the very essence of what she was communicating in Poustinia—desert, silence, solitude, ‘Less’, etc.—was the antithesis of that head-on approach. Now I’m glad I waited and have returned for my second ‘helping’—so to speak—of Doherty’s special blend of Catholicism-Orthodoxy with a Russian-Canadian flavor.
In Sobornost, she takes us on a mystical tour of the subject of Christian Unity, especially dear to her as a child of the world-at large. Her birth and early childhood in czarist Russia, followed by her escape from the Soviet regime and subsequent life in Canada allow her a broader view on most things, and lend credibility in particular to this theme, sadly lacking in almost all respects from Christian practice and teaching. She shows us how possible and beautiful it is to have unity within oneself, with God, one’s neighbor, and in community.
But lest any particular ‘side’ think they can hijack her—or this book—for whatever agenda they might want to espouse, think again! Hers isn’t a unity at all costs, a unity without values, responsibilities and obligations; in fact it’s just the opposite. Sobornost is centered in the Triune God and as such can only be found at the very Heart of the Cross.
Wonderful insights on true Christian Unity.
*There is a short biography about her at the book’s end, which if her deep spirituality speaks to you as it did to me, you will very much want to read.
September 25, 2019
Lofty
This one's a difficult read. The concept is difficult to grasp, and the author struggles to explain it (as she says in the book. I don't mean that as a criticism). You'll be chewing on this a while.
This one's a difficult read. The concept is difficult to grasp, and the author struggles to explain it (as she says in the book. I don't mean that as a criticism). You'll be chewing on this a while.
November 16, 2009
This is one of the books I read as I recovered from surgery last year. Reading it provided me with a little retreat and helped to refocus myself after what had been quite a long time of trial.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews