During the recent visit of Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokliea (Timothy Ware) to the US, we obtained copies of three of his most popular books — The Orthodox Church, The Orthodox Way, The Inner Kingdom.  They were very popular at all of his lectures, and we sold nearly 100 copies of each.

Eastern Christian Publications will continue to offer these three titles in conjunction with the extensive collection of theological lectures that we offer by His Eminence through OLTV.  OLTV has recordings titled “Mystical Theology of the Eastern Fathers”, “Heaven on Earth: The Inner Meaning of the Eucharist”, “Ecumenical  Reflections: 10 Years of OL Plenaries”, and “Our Lenten Journey.”  We will be recording another series of lectures on the Doctrine of the Church in April and hope to have them available by June 2010.

As a special introductory offer, customers who place orders through our website (New Titles on www.ecpubs.com) or call into our office (703-691-8862) by April 20, 2010 for any of these three books will received SIGNED copies by the author.  This is a one-time only offer and expires on April 20.

So if you want a signed copy of these timeless and valuable books by the leading Orthodox lecturer, educator and theologian of the late 20th century, place your orders now.  Books will be shipped in early May.

Eastern Christian Publications is pleased to offer several new titles to its growing catalog of books.

The Ratzinger Formula: A Catalyst for the Unfolding Dialogue Between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches on “Conciliarity and Primacy” by Richard A. Mattiussi.  373 pages.  $30.00.

The Formula itself was originally articulated in a lecture given by the then Fr. Joseph Ratzinger at an ecumenical gathering in Graz, Austria in 1976 … In sum, he proposed that the Catholic Church must not require any more of an adherence to the Roman Primacy from the Orthodox Churches than had existed in the first millennium. On the other hand, the Orthodox must not condemn as heretical the developments that took place within the Catholic Church during the second millennium… Hence, “the Ratzinger Formula” will hopefully provide a fundamentally dynamic starting point where sister churches from two distinct ecclesial worlds may seek common ground in search of a concrete model that will express full and complete Eucharistic Communion.—Richard A. Mattiussi, taken from the General Introduction

Leaving for, Living in, & Farewell to CHINA:  The Life Experiences of a Carmelite Nun by Mere Elisabeth.  206 pages. $20.00.

What difference is there between the star that stood over the manger where lay the Holy Child in Bethlehem, and the star on the red background of the flag of Communist China? An unexpected question! But if it were put to Mère Élisabeth, the author of this book, the answer would be even more surprising: “There is no difference!” Our Carmelite found the Peking Christians’ idea brilliant; to drape the Crib with the red silk of the Chinese flag in such a way that the star dominated the scene of the Nativity of the Saviour of all mankind. Recalling the separation from her Chinese Sisters whom she was to leave, Mère Élisabeth wrote: “Our Chinese Sisters are going to suffer in the heart of the surrounding atheism, the painful, perhaps long drawn-out birth of a new Christian China. May the sacrifice of our parting also make fruitful the harvest.” Those who hope that the dawn of democracy and liberty will arise over the vastness of China, and those who cannot see that it is in the simplicity of our lives that we can be men and women of light transforming the world, all will derive great benefit from reading this book.

—Mgr. Gérard Daucourt, Bishop of Troyes
President of the Episcopal Commission for Christian Unity

Ordo Celebrationis:  English-Latin Study Edition.  270 pages.  Spiral bound.  $20.00.

This is a special edition of the Ordo Celebrationis published by the Congregation for Eastern Churches in Rome and contains the rubrics and instructions for serving Verspers, Matins and the Divine Liturgy for a priest and deacon.  ECP first published an English edition of the Ordo in 1996 with illustrations and over 400 annotations added for education of today’s clergy.  At the request of many users of that publication, we now offer a parallel English-Latin edition of the TEXT ONLY.  The Latin edition was promulgated in 1952 by Cardinal Tisserant and is out of print.  ECP scanned the individual pages of that original edition and aligned the English text of our edition to those same pages.  We hope this study edition will be useful for liturgists and scholars in discovering the richness of the Ruthenian liturgical tradition.

Trebnyk of Peter Mohyla:  1646.  In Four Volumes.  1728 pages.  Hardbound.  Two-color printing.  $700.00.

In parallel to the 1639 Sluzhebnik (Liturgicon) of Saint Peter Mohyla of the Caves in Kiev, ECP is pleased to offer this facsimile reprint of the companion books containing texts and instructions for the Sacraments of the Eastern Slav Churches as practiced in the 17th century.  We have enhanced the original editions by dividing the unwieldy huge edition into four books, added Arabic page numbers and provided an English translation of the Table of Contents of the entire set in the front of each book.  Archimandrite Serge Keleher has also written a Preface for this edition, explaining its historical significance.

You can order copies by calling our office at 703-691-8862 or online in the New Titles section of the Online Catalog at www.ecpubs.com.

Eastern Christian Publications is in the final stages of production of a facscimile reprint of the 1646 edition of the Trebnyk of Peter Mohyla, the Book of Sacraments and Blessings.

The Euchologion, called in most Slav languages the Trebnyk, is one of the most important Eastern Orthodox liturgical books. There is no standard edition of this book, which has a great many variations, particularly between the Greek editions and the Slavonic editions. In general, the Slavonic editions have a much richer content. The 1646 edition of Saint Peter (Mohyla) is a watershed in the development of Church-Slavonic editions, relevant to Russian and Ukrainian editions ever since – which is not to say that all these later editions reproduce all or part of the 1646 edition; most of them do not.

Some accusations about the Mohyla Trebnyk that are unfounded include:

1. The innovation of Baptism by infusion (rather than by triple immersion) is not found in this edition of the Trebnyk; to the contrary, Mohyla insists that Baptism must be done by triple immersion. This accusation is completely inaccurate, pure mythology.

2. It is true that the Trebnyk gives the so-called “marriage vows,” unfortunately. But this is not the first edition of the Trebnyk to give such “marriage vows”; I am tempted to suspect that the reason may have been caution to avoid attacks on the validity of marriages solemnized in Poland. It is more difficult to understand why Mohyla omits the partaking of the common cup by the bride and groom.

3. It is true that the Trebnyk gives a “formula of absolution” for use in the administration of the Sacrament of Penance, which incorporates the Latin, indicative “formula of absolution”. I have no idea why Mohyla found it good to do this, but he was not himself responsible for the innovation, which appears in some editions from earlier in the seventeenth century.

4. It is also true that some of the “explanatory” introductions to various services show the influence of Latin theology of the period. However, these materials are not part of the services, nor are they read out to those in attendance.

The Eastern Orthodox liturgical tradition is often accused of neglecting “pastoral” needs. Simply reading the Table of Contents of the 1646 edition of the Trebnyk renders that accusation ludicrous. There are abundant materials for use in visiting and praying for the sick, quite practical admonitions regarding the burial service (including one which forbids drinking alcoholic beverages in connection with a funeral!), sermon materials, orders for the blessing of a new town or village, orders for the blessing of land, the blessing of a new house, and so on, the blessing of an oven, the blessing of a well (and the prayer for finding water), blessings of various foods, blessings for the planting and for the harvest, blessings for travelers, and blessings for those starting school.

There are devotional services for use in time of war, in times of inclement weather, in times of famine, in time of earthquake, during epidemics, and so forth. Some of these services are remarkably timely even today, when we are threatened with another serious epidemic of influenza, and when weather conditions in the south Pacific are giving rise to serious concern and hardship. These materials should be translated, published, and used.

So Eastern Christian Publications seriously hopes that this latest reprint of the 1646 Trebnyk will not only be to the honor of Saint Peter (Mohyla) and a serious scholarly contribution to the Church, but may also be of prayerful use in our present circumstances.

The following new books have been released by Eastern Christian Publications and are available on our website in the online catalog page for New Titles: www.ecpubs.com

Introduction to Liturgical Services and their Symbolism in the Eastern Church
By Patriarch Gregorios III (Laham).
A wonderful compilation of catechetical information on Byzantine Eastern liturgical traditions, sacraments, feast day celebrations, religious vessels, vestments, church architecture, iconography, and other topics, written in an informative method to educate and inspire. 204 pages. Price — $20.00.

The Holy Transfiguration: A Symphonic Presentation 
By Fr. Robert Slesinski.
The in-depth educational book reflects on the feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord from a scriptural perspective, comparing the Gospel accounts and writings of Luke, Matthew, Mark, John, Peter and Paul. 120 pages. Price — $15.00.

Liturgical Renewal in the Twentieth Century
By Fr. Vladimir Vukosinovich.
Written by a priest of the Serbian Orthodox Church, this book is an English translation of the original and covers the history and theological ideas of the Liturgical Movement in the Roman Catholic Church and its mutual relation to the liturgical life of the Orthodox Church. 200+ pages. Price — $20.00.

Continuing our work to produce new and interesting book titles, three new books are in the final stages of production at Eastern Christian Publications. They include:

China: Leaving, Living, and Farewell by Mere Elisabeth.

This is the personal diary over several decades of the life of a Carmelite nun who spent most of her adult life living in China. Originally written in French and entitled “Partir – Go!”, this English translation details the trials and sufferings of monastic communities in spreading the Gospel of Christ to the far reaches of the world.

“The Ratzinger Formula” — A Catalyst for the Unfolding Dialogue Between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches on: “Conciliarity and Primacy” by Richard Mattiussi.

This doctoral thesis, supervised by Archpriest David Petras, SEOD, of SS Cyril & Methodius Seminary in Pittsburgh, covers the contemporary ecumenical landscape and many applications of the “Ratzinger Formula” to both conciliarity and primacy in the ecumenical dialogue between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.

God’s Holy Fire: The Theology of Icons by Father Lawrence Cross.

The book covers a wide range of topics related to icons of the Eastern Christian Churches. Chapter titles include:

•  
  • The Old Testament and Early Christianity
  • The Idea of Image in the Patristic Church
  • Early Christian Art: Between Archaeology and Legend
  • Iconoclasm and the 7th Ecumenical Council
  • Theology of the Icon Defenders (Iconophiles)
  • Genesis of the Icon
  • Regional Development of the Icon
  • Writing the Icon
  • Fixed Feasts of the Liturgical Year
  • The Moveable Feasts of the Liturgical Year
  • Function of Icons In The Church
  • Anastasis: Icon, Text and Theological Vision
  • Praying with Icons

These new books are expected to be published in the first quarter of 2010. Watch this space for more details, or check www.ecpubs.com for New Items.

Three new books are now available from Eastern Christian Publications.  They include:

Introduction to Liturgical Services and Their Symbolism in the Eastern Church.
This book is a wonderful educational summary of many traditions of the Eastern Christian Churches by Patriarch Gregorios III (Laham), primate of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church.  He covers liturgy, prayer, icons, feast days, vestments, foods, and many other topies with many photos and detailed explanations.  Paperback.  Illustrated.  204 pages.  $20.00.

Liturgical Renewal in the Twentieth Century
By Father Vladimir Vukosinovic, a Serbian Orthodox priest living near Belgrade, this book provides an Orthodox perspective on liturgical renewal in the Roman Catholic Church over the last 100 years and relates those changes to his own Orthodox tradition.  Originally published in Serbian, this English translation will now make this valuable perspective available to a wider audience.  Paperback.  290 pages.  $20.00.

The Holy Transfiguration:  A Symphonic Presentation
This is the third book by Father Robert Slesinski, a Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic priest and theologian that gives a deep but easily understood theological explanation for sacraments and feast days.  His first was on the Eucharist and second on the feast of the Holy Encounter of Christ with Simeon in the Temple.  Paperback.  120 pages.  $15.00.

These books are now available for purchase by calling 703-691-8862 or by ordering online from the New Titles page at:  http://ecpubs.com/browse.html.

Eastern Christian Publications has published several new books in recent months, and a few more are planned for the near future:

– Finding A Hidden Church, Father Christopher Zugger, 382 pages, paperback with 70+ photos.  $30.00.  The wondrous tale of the underground life and revival of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church in the former Soviet Union.  A comprehensive documentary of the recent history of the persecution and resurrection of the Eparchy of Mukachevo in Transcarpathia, Ukraine.

– Good News from the East, Volumes III and IV, Father John Zeyack, 150+ each, paperback. $15.00 each.  Homiletic reflection for the entire Byzantine Liturgical Year, given in an easy-to-read text.  “My dad, in his late 70’s now, has learned more about faith from these books than all his years of schooling and experience, and can’t put them down once he starts reading them!” — Jack Figel

– Image, Symbol and Mystery, Father Lawrence Cross and Joseph Leach, 150+ pages, paperback. $15.00.  This book explains the Sacraments of the Eastern Churches in simple terms but in depth, and in relation to the sacramental forms of the Roman Catholic Church.  It’s a great book of catechesis for Eastern and Western Christians alike.

These titles are now available on the ECPubs website online catalog under New Titles:  www.ecpubs.com

Other books to look for from ECP in the next few months include:

– Introduction to Liturgical Services and their Symbolism in the Eastern Church by Patriarch Gregorios III

– Liturgical Renewal in the Twentieth Century by Father Vladimir Vukosinovic

– God’s Holy Fire:  The Theology of Icons by Father Lawrence Cross

– The Holy Transfiguration:  A Symphonic Presentation by Father Robert Slesinski

As we all celebrate the resurrection of Our Lord, I thought it would be helpful to update you on several items you might find interesting.

Orientale Lumen XIII
This year’s conference will be held June 15-18 at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, DC on the theme of “Monastic Spirituality for Everyday Life.”  We have a very exciting agenda of plenary speakers planned.  You can view or download the brochure, flier and registration form from the website:  www.olconference.com.
We also have reduced the conference fee to encourage people to attend despite our national economic situation.  Although we would like to hold the conference in more regional locations, for economic reasons we just cannot afford the overhead expense of multiple sites this year – perhaps in the future.  We also hope that a single conference will bring everyone together in one place for this “grass roots” ecumenical dialogue.

Orientale Lumen EuroEast III
The next OL Conference planned for Constantinople (Istanbul) will be on July 5-8, 2010 (next summer!) with the full support and blessings of His All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.  The theme will be “Church Councils of the East” and we already have Metropolitan Kallistos, Archimandrite Robert Taft, Sister Vassa Larin, and Professor Richard Schneider lined up as plenary speakers.  We are also planning a post-conference weekend pilgrimage to Ephesus and the Monastery of St. John on Patmos where Metropolitan Kallistos is a professed monk.  We are also going to organize a tour package including airfare, hotels, most meals, conference fee, and other local transportation from Washington, DC as a departure city.  More details will be announced in the future.  So, set aside the dates, and start planning now for the event.  It will be a “trip of a lifetime”!

Orientale Lumen TeleVision
In case you have not seen it yet, we have started a website providing streaming videos you can watch online.  These are from past Orientale Lumen Conferences and other Eastern Church events around the world.  There is no cost and all you need to do is register to watch.  There are several Introduction videos and Samplers that you can view even without registering.
We intend to produce more and more shows and make them available through this media, including un-published lectures of Metropolitan Kallistos, Archimandrite Robert Taft, and other renowned theologians.  We also hope to have some OLTV programs available in sample form on YouTube.  I hope these interest you.  Please take a look, and let me know what we can do to make them more widely available and more appealing.
If you would like to own these programs, or show them to your fellow parishoners, many of these programs are also available in audio CD and video DVD format for purchase from the OL Conference website’s online catalog.
For OLTV visit:  www.oltvweb.com
For OL Conferences visit:  www.olconference.com

Eastern Christian Publications
Our online catalog of printed material, www.ecpubs.com, continues to grow with new titles in many categories.  A few new titles include:
* Image, Symbol and Mystery – the Eastern Church Sacraments
* Good News from the East – Volume III – homilies for the Liturgical Year
* I Am With You Always – pastoral letters of Patriarch Gregorios III
* Five Years Behind Barbed Wire – diary of a Hungarian Greek-Catholic priest
* The Holy Encounter – catechesis on the feast of the Presentation in the Temple
* Primer on Church and Eucharist – catechesis on the Divine Liturgy

Eastern Churches Journal
In an effort to “catch up” on our production schedule so that news in the Chronicle section is more relevant, we are combining our normal three separate books for Volume 13 and for Volume 14 into a single book for each year.  Volume 13 is at the printer and will be published in the next few weeks with Volume 14 shortly thereafter.  We also plan to produce the three books for Volume 15 by the end of the summer.  ECJ is published three times a year with articles about the Christian East – history, liturgy, theology, scripture, etc. – and also contains book reviews, a Q&A column, and an extensive Chronicle of the major events in all the Eastern Churches – Catholic and Orthodox – around the world.  If you do not subscribe, you can find more information and subscribe online at the ECJ button of the online catalog at www.ecpubs.com.  I’m sure you will find the ECJ helpful to you and your parish.

Thanks for reading this long update.  I hope to see you in June at OL XIII!

Eastern Christian Publications announces a new two-book catechesis for families entitled The Twelve Great Feasts: A Handbook for the Domestic Church.

Part 1 is a Handbook of more than 100 pages of instructional information about the 12 major feasts of the liturgical year. Part 2 is a Toolkit of over 100 pages of activities and exercises in a workbook format for a family to use in conjunction with the Handbook. The following is my Publishers Preface for this new book:

“For many years, I have felt that we Eastern Christians, both Catholic and Orthodox, should provide more educational material for families. The family is truly the foundation of our Christian faith, and is the place where all aspects of a young person’s life are formed. The family is the smallest element of the Church and of society.

“I remember growing up in a loving family with two younger sisters, and parents who nurtured us in many ways. My mom would feed us a good breakfast every morning before school; she would be there when we returned home in the afternoon; we always had a lively discussion as a complete family around the dinner table; we often gathered on the basement steps for “family meetings”; there was always a special time for prayer as a group; we sat together in church on Sundays at the Divine Liturgy (except when I was serving at the altar). Much of who I am today comes from that environment, and I wish that more resources had been available to us back then with an Eastern perspective. We did the best we could with what we had.

“With this Handbook for the Domestic Church, Eastern Christian Publications is proud to begin to offer a series of resources – printed, multi-media, electronic – that will help parents raise their children in a loving, Eastern Christian home environment. We also believe much of the content of this material can be utilized by any family, Eastern or Western, Catholic or Orthodox or Protestant. This two book program – handbook and toolkit – is the first in a series of educational programs for the Domestic

“They will join other material we have already produced – prayer booklets for children, coloring books of icons, etc. – and become a product line labeled Domestic Church Resources. We are very excited about this new focus, and we sincerely thank Daniel G. Dozier for suggesting it to us. We pray that all of these, and many other ideas for future material that we have planned, will provide the resources for families to grow together with a solid foundation in their faith.

“May God bless and grant many years in health and happiness to everyone who uses this material, and may their faith in Jesus Christ, Our Savior, be strengthened by it.”

The two books can be ordered on our website, www.ecpubs.com, or by calling 703-691-8862. They are $20.00 each, printed in full color, and tape bound for ease-of-use.

In the first half of the twentieth century, bishops from the group of eparchies around the world known as “Ruthenian” within the Catholic Church (churches associated with both the Unions of Brest and Uzhorod), petitioned Rome to promulgate an official set of liturgical texts in Church Slavonic for their usage.

This movement of standardization also had an ecumenical dimension in that Metropolitan Andrew Sheptytsky believed that the Slavonic texts could also be used by the corresponding Orthodox Churches, namely the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox and the Ukrainian Orthodox in both Europe and North America.

This collection of books was promulgated from the 1940s through the 1970s, with the last book, the Bishop’s Service Book, or Archieratikon, appearing in 1973. Some of these books are now out of print and no longer available, and I have been advised that the Congregation for Eastern Churches in Rome has no intent of re-printing these books.

With the encouragement of several hierarchs, both Catholic and Orthodox jurisdictions, and the authorization of Bishop Milan Šášik of the Eparchy of Mukačevo, Ukraine (Protocol No. 132/07 dated February 2, 2007), Eastern Christian Publications has reproduced the entire set of the Ruthenian Recension and offers it for sale.

The original seven books have been divided into twelve volumes for uniformity of page count, binding and ease-of-use (some of the original books are too small to read to too many pages in one book). All seven original books have been normalized to the same size – 5.5”x8.5”. The reproductions are in two-color, on high-quality paper, and hand-bound. A complete 12-page Table of Contents in English of all twelve books appears in the front of each volume for easy reference. The twelve books include:

Volume I: Evangelion — The Holy Gospel
Volume II: Apostol – Apostle: Part 1
Volume III: Apostol – Apostle: Part 2
Volume IV: Archieratikon – Book of Hiearchical Services
Volume V: Sluzebnik – Book of the Priest and Deacon: Part 1
Volume VI: Sluzebnik – Book of the Priest and Deacon: Part 2
Volume VII: Casoslov – Book of the Hours: Part 1
Volume VIII: Casoslov – Book of the Hours: Part 2
Volume IX: Casoslov – Book of the Hours: Part 3
Volume X: Trebnik – Book of Sacraments and Blessings: Part 1
Volume XI: Trebnik – Book of Sacraments and Blessings: Part 2
Volume XII: Moleben – Book of Prayer Services

Each volume is priced at $75.00 if purchased separately. The price for the entire set purchased at one time is $50.00 per book, or $600. Eastern Christian Publications will accept a check or money order for the full amount, or arrange twelve monthly payments of $60 per month on your credit card. (www.ecpubs.com)

By making these texts available in the 21st century I pray they will help achieve further unity of the Church of Jesus Christ, and preserve the scholarship and tradition of the Ruthenian Recension well into the future.

Call 703-691-8862 to place an order, or e-mail info@ecpubs.com. Surface mail should be directed to: Eastern Christian Publications, Post Office Box 146, Fairfax, Virginia 22038-0146, USA.