Essential reading for understanding the early history of our Orthodox faith.

This series is a great compliment to the OEB, would love to see it done for the OT.

This book is a great introduction to current research into the origins of authentic Christianity.

Is a beautiful prayer rope.
I gave it 4 stars, because it came a bit undone in the cross, and it took forever to arrive to my country, USPS is a terrible service internationally.

Fr. Stephen is absurdly educated...this book is such a treasure of knowledge condensed into a very readable length. Can't recommend highly enough for those curious about the ancient faith and what it means today.

Required reading.

This is a highly engaging piece of work, with a great deal of scholarship in the background. I highly recommend it. Some of the presuppositions about things like the dating of the Gospels rely on scholarship which is, I think, highly questionable. Correcting this by some other available scholarship and comparison with some patristic materials would make it even more lucid and effective.

Very good explanation of the “why” when you fast. The relationship between fasting and your spiritual life, and it’s greater purpose. Would recommend!

Fantastic sweep of salvation history!

Modern materialistic thinking is a problem for all of us in the West. Father Stephen does a great job in this book of gently nudging the uninitiated into the unseen realm while simultaneously exposing modern Christians to the roots of their faith.

Excellent introduction that touches on many topics. If you are new to orthodoxy, this will explain a great many things.

Fr. Stephen is a wealth of knowledge. This book is a must read for any interested in the truth.

Fr. Stephen has done a wonderful job of putting together the historical picture of the early church and it's beliefs.

My love for the Theotokos was not one that bloomed at first sight. I come from an agnostic background, and found evangelical Christianity in college. When I became an inquirer, I knew one of the thresholds I’d have to cross was one pertaining to my relationship with Mary.

Brandi’s prose is stunning. On a literary level, her writing is descriptive, poetic, emotional, tender, and soft. I enjoyed the smoothness of her words as she walked through her own experience and journey to the center of Christ, truly to His love, through His mother. She captures so much of the closeness I seek each day, and in sharing her own personal insight, she brings readers along in an almost maternal way.

I cannot recommend this book enough for the Orthodox Christian, protestant, inquirer, or anyone looking to read a beautiful narrative about the ultimate Mother in learning more about themselves.

Fantastic book giving you what you need to know about various religions from an Orthodox perspective. I highly recommend this for everyone from inquirers to life long Orthodox Christians. Even after reading it I continue to use it as a reference.

Great book

I read this book after converting from my very strong Protestant foundation. It was spot on with exactly what questions I had as a protestant. My husband and I served as full-time staff with Campus Crusade for Christ with Josh McDowell Ministry. As protestants, we had a very strong foundation and we both grew up in fundamental Christian homes with great parents and phenomenal churches! But, we never felt like our faith was supported in really helping us to enter into the deepness of a relationship with God and His Church. Church was always just coffee hour, shallow small groups (that we thought were deep relationships with good people), and sitting through a sermon and then going home. I became a church hopper the last 10 years and felt like I was jumping from shallow well to shallow well. The day I walked into an Orthodox Church my heart paused and my eyes opened and I said to myself "Wow! This is HOLINESS! I can see and feel the presence of God." I pored myself into The Lord and prayed and started asking questions about Orthodoxy (There is a lot of FALSE information on the internet about Orthodoxy so be careful). I highly recommend visiting OCA Orthodox Churches if you are curious. Not all parishes are the same. But, All services had Psalm readings, Gospel and Epistle readings, and a full experience of holy worship.

I highly recommend this book if you have any basic or even deep questions as a protestant. It is very well laid out and ALL of his questions that he experienced were 100% Spot on with my experience as a protestant. He makes this book super easy to read and it is well worth the time if you are interested in understanding the nuances of how Orthodox Christianity is different than Protestant Christianity.

A whimsical novel that touches on the themes of time and free will. The prose is lovely, and I appreciate the many literary references mentioned throughout. The novel does have a slow start, but it does pick up around page 100. Then, it actually continually quickens its pace to the novel's climax in the last few chapters. The ending was very pleasantly surprising to me, and made the book worth the read.

As a new author, I applaud Sherry Shenoda on the ambitious idea of the plot and characters. As mentioned, the plot being a little slow in the beginning created some confusion for me, and it took those 100 pages for things to clear up a little. However, with the progression of the book, it was difficult to put down. All in all a very good book.

This book explains first that every religion has a worldview or phronema. The author then shows how the phronema of Western Christianity differs from that of Eastern Christianity. She then details the Orthodox phronema, and concludes showing us that it stems from Jesus words in the Gospels.

I was extremely surprised by this wonderful audio book. It is one of those books that grabs you at the first Chapter. I also felt myself riding an emotional rollercoaster that I didn’t expect. In today’s world of a secular outlook in our country I found this story to be very impactful. As an Orthodox Christian it especially hit close to the heart. I would highly suggest this book to not only young Orthodox Christians, but any young Christian especially in the current world climate. It is easy to take for granted what we have, and this story brings to light just how easy it would be to loose. The book is intended for young adults over 13, but as an adult I found plenty in the story to keep me engaged. The young women who narrates the audio book does a wonderful job, and through her the main character truly comes to life. A little over 5 hours the audio book can be listened to either during your morning commute or over a weekend. It will leave you thinking about our world and maybe with a tear in your eye.