Synopses & Reviews
"When one looks at an icon, one bas the sense that God is looking back. Our whole person is involved. What the prayers and music of the Feast convey through the ears, the icon conveys visually." This book showcases a collection of extraordinarily beautiful icons that introduces readers and art appreciators to the spiritual riches of the Byzantine liturgical tradition. The author, Father Michael Evdokimov, presents an icon for each of the twelve great feasts of the Orthodox Christian liturgical year. Preceding each icon is a brief commentary of what the reader can hope to find in the icon, including nuances that a casual observer might miss. Facing each icon are prayers appropriate for meditating on the icon. Quotations from spiritual writers of all ages of Christianity are interspersed in the book. In a simple, straightforward manner, Evdokimov shows how the prayers and the icons used to worship God can nourish the spiritual life. Although he sets before his readers beliefs and practices common to Orthodox people everywhere in the world, anyone who appreciates beautiful art will find much to savor here.
Synopsis
The spiritual tradition of the Low Countries, mostly written in Dutch (or Flemish, which is the same language) must rank, together with the German School, as the most important vernacular tradition in late medieval and early modern Europe. This book presents for the first time texts from this school of Netherlandish mysticism of the late medieval period in English translation. It contains extracts or full treatises from all the major representatives of this school after the death of Jan van Ruusbroec. None of these texts are available in English, and some were never published at all but were translated from late medieval manuscripts. The book contains texts of a mystical and pastoral nature, often dealing with the problem of suffering, reflecting the troubled times during which they were written. Readers will appreciate the wide variety of texts offered here. There are a number of more traditional mystical-theological writings that look back to the age of Ruusbroec, developing a prof
Synopsis
This book contains translations and introductions to some of the major representatives of the spiritual tradition of the Low Countries from ca. 1350 onwards.