In our continuing effort to make interesting and valuable texts available through digital publication methods, Eastern Christian Publications is proud to announce three new monographs on three very different topics.

1. Suzane Mary Aboueid has just completed her Master’s Degree from the Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. We have published her thesis entitled Archbishop Elias Zoghby and Orthodox-Catholic Reconciliation: An Exposition in Light of Contemporary Ecumenical Thought. [book cover]

[click to go to catalog]

It includes:
• a short history of the schism and ecumenical endeavors of the Byzantine Churches of the Patriarchate of Antioch (Melkite and Antiochian Orthodox)
• a short biography of Archbishop Elias (known for his proposed “dual” Profession of Faith among the Churches of Antioch and the Churches of Rome and Constantinople)
• a synopsis of Archbishop Elias’ work in the areas of ecumenism
• a commentary and evaluation of the archbishop’s recent ecumenical initiatives
• evaluative remarks, conclusion and future development

2. The second recent book is entitled The Mystical Shroud: An Ecumenical Perspective by James Damon. This work uses the light mysticism and iconographic imagery of the Byzantine East to examine the Shroud of Turin. [book cover]

The book contains many figures from the shroud and other icons of the East that demonstrate the points presented. This leads to the positive identification of the Shroud man and a mystical understanding of the Resurrection that explains the image formation.  [click to go to catalog]

3. Some years ago, Raphael Lombardi provided us with his thesis text for a Licentiate Degree entitled The Restoration of the Role of the Patriarch of the West. With recent discussions about Church ecclesiology, and the role of the Bishop of Rome in the Catholic-Orthodox International Dialogue, we thought publishing this work might be helpful to the discussion.

The book presents two groups of evidence – one in favor of the patriarchal institution and one opposed. Several conclusions are drawn at the end of the book. The author suggests that the exercise of the role of papal ministry in the Church is the sole dividing point preventing the unity of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. He further proposes that the role of the Patriarch of the West, if fully understood and functioning, could replace the problems that arose from the papal claims of Vatican I. [book cover]

[click to go to catalog]