Father Arseny: A Cloud of Witnesses

Father Arseny #2

by Father Arseny, Vera Bouteneff (Editor)

The second volume, A Cloud of Witnesses, contains 16 additional first-person contributions, material that became available following publication of the first collection. These are statements and recordings by priests, poets, a psychiatrist, a secret service agent, and "ordinary" people who experienced Father Arseny’s transformational and inspirational influence on their lives. Well-known academic psychiatrist Dmitri Melikov was deeply moved by Father Arseny’s insightful compassion, perspicacity, and feel for humanity. Melikov regularly returned to him for consultation. These accounts of Father Arseny’s life, career, and death complement and substantiate the stories in the first volume.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christianity, Spirituality, Theology, Biography, Faith, Church

244 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2012

Reviews

[mRizk]

It is out of God’s grace that more memoirs were found, put together and published in this duology of books that has truly changed me. They give a glimpse of what real and utter Christianity is all about.

[Alex]

LITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT and pretty amazing

[Michael McKinley]

This is the second book on Fr. Arseny. The first one (Father Arseny: Priest, Prisoner, Spiritual Father) focuses mainly on his life in a Communist Russia death camp (This is under the old Soviet Union.) and his life after being discharged from that camp.

This second book gives many accounts of people who one way or another came in contact with Fr. Arseny. This includes those who influenced his spiritual growth, people he served in and out of the death camp, those who went onto become priests themselves, and many others. It also gives a touching account of his last few days before reposing in the Lord.

This second book is as inspiring and moving as the first book.

[Tjb189215]

Great book for Orthodox Christians. This book provides a lot of great insight into the community of the believers that suffered under the influence of Soviet Communism.

Fr. Arseny and his band of believers are not to be missed some of their stories embody the living breathing God-Man Jesus Christ.

[Reader]

A must read for those who read the first book. A deeper dive into the insight of Father Arseny himself as a spiritual father and more witness to the deep faith through the stories of his spiritual children.

[Chelsea]

What a holy man. Highly recommend this book, especially in times of trouble. It will encourage active seeking of God in all things.

[Aaron Robitaille]

Another excellent collection of memoirs about Father Arseny and other believers during the Soviet period

[Kristofer Carlson]

This book has nothing as startling as the first volume of remembrances of Father Arseny (Father Arseny, 1893-1973: Priest, Prisoner, Spiritual Father: Being the Narratives Compiled by the Servant of God Alexander Concerning His Spiritual Father). However, it is much more practical, containing a lot of instruction on prayer, the raising of children in the faith, and living the Christian life.

[Davoud Taghavi]

A pleasant read, but it has much less to do with Father Arseny himself, and more to do with his spiritual students. Each chapter is written by one of his spiritual students who describes how their spiritual journey led them to the spiritual guidance of Father Arseny. Each story is fascinating and inspirational, and some chapters delve into the lives of other Fathers of the spiritual students as well.

[Rebecca]

I finished this book earlier this year. It was the second time I read this sequel to the original Fr. Arseny, but it was the first time I really enjoyed this second segment of Fr. Arseny's life. I read it immediately after reading the first, and couldn't get enough. There were more stories about Fr. A's spiritual children, and their lives instead of focusing on his life as in the first book. Excellent read.

[Nicole.platte]

Not as mind-blowingly awesome as the first, but worth the read for sure!

[Jane G Meyer]

Both of the Father Arseny books are as good as the other... Don't miss out on either