I have followed the work of Jonathan Jackson for many years. With all that he has achieved and been given, he continues to redirect his attention towards God. The author demonstrates authenticity, vulnerability, and humility in this great book that calls all of us to appreciate God's creativity. This is not a fluff piece. Jackson leads us into the depths of holy art and the mysteries of the heart. Icons, music, and even the craft of making incense all remind us of God's love of the creative. God is calling us to be sub-creators and Jackson has reminded us of this call in this book.

This book will serve as a reference for me. I believe every person who likes to compare the Orthodox faith with other faiths will benefit from this book.

Specifically, I like hearing what Orthodox Christians have in common with others, knowing there is at least a seed of truth in every person and religion. The book is invaluable to an Orthodox Christian trying to understand other faiths.

At a minimum, every clergyman should own this book. It is a great refresher, and well organized, for when you know you are going to speak with someone of a different faith.

I was also interested to see another large group introduced to the Christian scene: Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant, and something along the lines of post-protestants.

Also, if you are not an Orthodox Christian but would like to know what we have in common and what differs, this is a great resource.

I believe the author's communication style is effective and direct, which I love.

“Renewing You” is the book we all need right now. Offering the wisdom of the Scriptures, as well as solid, practical knowledge from the field of psychology, Fr. Nicholas and Dr. Roxanne Louh’s book guides the reader on a journey to a better life—a life endowed with joy, compassion and positive self-care. The book is uplifting because the authors speak from a place of faithful optimism. The titles of each chapter reflect this optimism: Make Faith Your Foundation; Remodel Your Mind; Find Victory over Your Vices; Turn Your Trials into Triumphs; Tend to Yourself; Make over Your Marriage; Equip Your Children; and Share Your Light. Each chapter ends with useful questions for group discussion or individual self-exploration, as the authors encourage readers to “rest, reflect, and respond” and truly put the concepts they offer into action. As a practicing psychologist, I found both reminders for myself and well-articulated practical tips that I can share with my clients. In particular, the chapter on “Remodel Your Mind” is foundational, and one that I wish everyone who wants a better life would read. I will be recommending this book to clients and gifting it to friends and family for many years to come.

If your kids fight in the car, because apparently that's what kids do, I cannot recommend audio books enough. A good story with a compelling voice actor will keep them from assaulting each other on even the longest car trips.

This is the story of a young Greek boy who gets separated from his family during the assault and capture of Rhodes by the Ottomans in the 15th century. It's a pretty thrilling story with lots of peril and the characters have emotionally compelling back stories.

The story is a "What if" revolving around the finding of the icon of Saint Phanourios - what if a young boy had been there too, and helped carry the icon out of Rhodes?

My children were captivated, and had lots of questions, so we would pause and discuss.
There is some real sadness in the book, and it weighed heavily on both kids- but the narrative was exciting enough that they were always happy to get back into the story whenever we got in the car.

I was very excited about receiving this book, and it didn't disappoint. It's compact. It has some prayers for various occasions, including for those who are sick, which was very important to me to have in a prayer book. The language is modern and easy to understand and follow. I've tried other prayer books but this one is my favorite, and one I'll keep coming back to several times a day. I'm glad I bought this. Ancient Faith really did a great job with this book.

I was very excited about receiving this book, and it didn't disappoint. It's compact. It has some prayers for various occasions, including for those who are sick, which was very important to me to have in a prayer book. The language is modern and easy to understand and follow. I've tried other prayer books but this one is my favorite, and one I'll keep coming back to several times a day. I'm glad I bought this. Ancient Faith really did a great job with this book.

I stumbled across this book rather unexpectedly, and I'm very glad I did. I probably highlighted about half the book, because there were so many good quotes from the church fathers along with the author's clear explanations of time and despondency. At this point in my life, I find myself often struggling with boredom and a longing for something more, and this book challenged me to patiently embrace my "cell" and turn towards God more frequently throughout the day. There was so much to digest, that I'm planning to reread.

This book helped me to find the healing I have been needing for years. This book also lead me to other books which were mentioned within its pages that also helped me to find even more healing. Highly recommend it!

Nailed it! That is, the fundamental difference between the Orthodox mindset and the Roman Catholic and Protestant mindsets. Dr. Constantinou contrasts the Orthodox understanding that our most holy faith is a matter of divine revelation, intuited or perceived as self-evident, rather than a matter of revelation plus extrapolation by fallible and limited human reason. To put it Pascal's terminology, faith is a matter of the heart rather than of the reason, however useful reason may be in its proper place. The individual believer, however, is not self-sufficient in theological matters. An individual cannot determine the canon of Scripture by himself, nor figure out the entirety of the Christian faith with certainty on his own. Since an individual does not have a certain intuition for every doctrine or for his every interpretation of Scripture, God delivered our most holy faith to the Church, from which we can obtain the faith with full assurance. Dr. Constantinou would make an ideal guest on Austin Suggs' youtube channel Gospel Simplicity.

A fantastic and well written book from start to finish. A very important and must read book for everyone this day and age. Very inspirational.

Disappointed
Not really much about the Celtic Saints, just a tiny bit of information about them, mostly meditations and thoughts of the author, not even any tie in of his thoughts with those, or the lives, of these saints, much disappointed, not as expected from the description, gave a two, the author had some nice thoughts

Excellent.

Great read

During & after a tremendously agonizing loss of my Dad & Mom, I let myself lose my trust ' my credo ' in God. For a year I have been struggling to remember. To reconnect. Finding this book was a gift. I pushed everything aside & read it in one sitting. The answer was right in front of me. Return to the basics. Joseph Letendre's book brings a lost prayer life to life in the way a defibrillator resuscitates a stopped heart. Poignant yet humble. Erudite yet familiar. Teaching, sharing, from his mind & heart, he illustrates a life of prayer to which anyone can relate.

Disclaimer! Don’t listen to this book while driving, crying can make driving hazardous!! 😊
I absolutely loved this story. Although it a story meant for 10-14 years old, I was hooked. I was moved to tears seeing Marco’s struggle with guilt and fear, as well as his joy and peace when finding forgiveness and acceptance. Marco a fictional 11 year old struggles with feelings of guilt, anger, and fear of rejection from God and his family. He must face all this when he is separated from his family during a siege and is traveling with some monks seeking his family and refuge. He waivers between the desire to be reunited and fear of being rejected. The monks who travel along with him set an example for Marco, we see their fears and struggles as humans yet their trust in their Loving Father who guides and protects His children. I loved how the author tied the finding the mysterious icon of St Phanourios.
The monks tell Marco at one point
“Your storm is great,
But our God is greater”
Is a much needed reminder for young and old, we need to lean on God’s strength when our strength fails us.
I highly recommend this profound story for all readers.

This book is the perfect introduction for those wanting to learn how to live as an Orthodox Christian - be they approaching this way of life for the first time or filling in some gaps in their understanding. Our parish priest described it as 'the book I wished I had had' - for himself and for others. Now we have it, it is the first book for our new parish Book Club starting this week in Melbourne, Australia. Fr. Evan's writing style is clear and accessible, making the book highly recommended for reading - and re-reading to appreciate the depth of what he offers.

This book was useful for providing a clear mostly uncomplicated explanation as to why the Orthodox Church is so different from other churches. Sometimes there was more explanation on a given topic than what was easy to follow and occasionally I was left a little discouraged to hear how very difficult it is for even cradle Orthodox to have a correct phronema. By the time I was done reading it I just wanted the author to have explained things relevant to Orthodox beliefs, thinking and practices - which she did, just without having to contrast them to Western beliefs, thinking and practices. At times she very accurately described the shallowness of Western theology and at other times I was left with a hint of animosity and disdain for Western theology. For me the book would have been more valuable to just let the beauty shine of how the Orthodox Church thrives across continents and through generations shine by the way it brings God into the everyday lives of its people and communities through its liturgical cycles, feasts, traditions and prayers and unique and refreshing handling of doctrines and scriptures that are unexplainable. I am truly grateful for the exhortation the author presented in this book to stop striving to think our way to God by immersing ourselves daily, in the cyclical liturgies and traditions of the Church.

If I were to distill Thinking Orthodox down into one thesis, it would be this:

Rather than focusing on such things, what is needed is to live the faith and apply the therapeutic methods of the Church that are designed for our spiritual healing. These practices are what heal the soul and draw us closer to God, not the proper understanding of mental concepts. (p 309)

This ambitious book is a bridge for those steeped in Western theology and culture, bringing us to the Eastern way of thought that is in the very root structure of Orthodoxy. I use the word ambitious both to describe the authors accomplishments here, but also to describe my feelings diving in as a reader. As someone who is not especially steeped in theology and generally avoids discussing it (particularly online), even the table of contents was intimidating. But in Dr. Jeannies capable hands, I made it through. She says right in the Introduction that the book employs frequent repetition of certain concepts, which I found comforting because it paralleled the way most of us Orthodox learn our faiththrough hearing the same gospels year after year, homilies covering core concepts over and over, and living through the annual cycle of fasts and feasts.

For the most part, this book also bridges the gap between academic writing and nonfiction intended for a general audience. I absolutely loved the use of footnotes throughout the book to provide additional color and clarity. Although there are many well-reasoned and researched arguments, theyre explained in a way that a doesnt require a degree in theology to grasp.

About two-thirds of the book tackles Orthodox theologyhow it came to be, how to study it, who should talk about theology, and the many dangers of doing so. This part bogged me down because I actively avoid those online, armchair theologian discussionsbut I also see the need for it. In short, Dr. Jeannie has little respect for people spilling a lot of online ink about Orthodox theology when they lack the qualifications to do so. Although nothing is truly new in the world, our online era seems to offer a new platform for distorting the faith, and I hadnt really considered how frustrating that must be to todays serious theologians. Throughout the book we hear from many church fathers, and I was blown away by how precisely they addressed exactly whats happening on the Orthodox corner of the internet.

My only wish for this book is that more of Dr. Jeannies personal stories of the faith had been included to help reinforce the truth that Orthodoxy is a lived faith. My introduction to her was at a talk she gave on the subject of Orthodox phronema over a year ago. Much like when I read the table of contents for this book, I went into the talk expecting her to be completely over my head. Instead she was warm, funny, and relatable. I see the vital need for a book like this to address the problems with casually theologizing, and I also feel hungry for the countless examples of living as a faithful Orthodox, particularly in our modern times. The book absolutely addresses the lived nature of the faith, but it spends far more time on the dangers inherent in unqualified theologizing.

That being said, theres something for just about everyone in this book, probably even those with an Eastern phronema wishing to better understand the West. Its well worth the mental effort to read it.

Ancient Faith Publishing provided me with a copy of Thinking Orthodox in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

If I were to distill Thinking Orthodox down into one thesis, it would be this:

“Rather than focusing on such things, what is needed is to live the faith and apply the therapeutic methods of the Church that are designed for our spiritual healing. These practices are what heal the soul and draw us closer to God, not the proper understanding of mental concepts.” (p 309)

This ambitious book is a bridge for those steeped in Western theology and culture, bringing us to the Eastern way of thought that is in the very root structure of Orthodoxy. I use the word ambitious both to describe the author’s accomplishments here, but also to describe my feelings diving in as a reader. As someone who is not especially steeped in theology and generally avoids discussing it (particularly online), even the table of contents was intimidating. But in Dr. Jeannie’s capable hands, I made it through. She says right in the Introduction that the book employs frequent repetition of certain concepts, which I found comforting because it paralleled the way most of us Orthodox learn our faith—through hearing the same gospels year after year, homilies covering core concepts over and over, and living through the annual cycle of fasts and feasts.

For the most part, this book also bridges the gap between academic writing and nonfiction intended for a general audience. I absolutely loved the use of footnotes throughout the book to provide additional color and clarity. Although there are many well-reasoned and researched arguments, they’re explained in a way that doesn’t require a degree in theology to grasp.

About two-thirds of the book tackles Orthodox theology—how it came to be, how to study it, who should talk about theology, and the many dangers of doing so. This part bogged me down because I actively avoid those online, “armchair theologian” discussions—but I also see the need for it. In short, Dr. Jeannie has little respect for people spilling a lot of online ink about Orthodox theology when they lack the qualifications to do so. Although nothing is truly new in the world, our online era seems to offer a new platform for distorting the faith, and I hadn’t really considered how frustrating that must be to today’s serious theologians. Throughout the book we hear from many church fathers, and I was blown away by how precisely they addressed exactly what’s happening on the Orthodox corner of the internet.

My only wish for this book is that more of Dr. Jeannie’s personal stories of the faith had been included to help reinforce the truth that Orthodoxy is a lived faith. My introduction to her was at a talk she gave on the subject of Orthodox phronema over a year ago. Much like when I read the table of contents for this book, I went into the talk expecting her to be completely over my head. Instead she was warm, funny, and relatable. I see the vital need for a book like this to address the problems with casually theologizing, and I also feel hungry for the countless examples of living as a faithful Orthodox, particularly in our modern times. The book absolutely addresses the lived nature of the faith, but it spends far more time on the dangers inherent in unqualified theologizing.

That being said, there’s something for just about everyone in this book, probably even those with an Eastern phronema wishing to better understand the West. It’s well worth the mental effort to read it.

Ancient Faith Publishing provided me with a copy of Thinking Orthodox in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Icon is well-written and engaging. Could be the beginnings of a very good series.