Welcome to the Orthodox Church by Frederica Mathewes-Green

Here is a book review I wrote a couple of years ago:

A review of Welcome to the Orthodox Church: An Introduction to Eastern Christianity by Frederica Mathewes-Green (Paraclete Press, 2015)

The author begins with a warning: ‘Like so many important things in life, Orthodox Christianity is not something you can grasp from the outside’ (p. xi). Orthodoxy must be experienced in order to be understood. But there is still room for books that explain Orthodoxy for enquirers and for the curious. Very often that has been done by outlining Orthodox history, theology, liturgy, and/or spirituality. Frederica Mathewes-Green takes a different, and complementary, approach: she offers the reader a rough guide to life and worship in the fictitious Orthodox community of St Felicity’s.

Her guided tour is divided into three parts. The first, ‘Inside the Temple’, introduces the reader to the church building. She explores what you can expect to see in any Orthodox church, whether a great cathedral or a tiny rented room. In particular, she focuses on the icons, which are such a distinctive part of any Orthodox church. They also provide her with a convenient peg on which to hang a discussion of the Orthodox view regarding the role of the saints, the place of Mary, the Orthodox understanding of holiness, and the place of tradition in Orthodoxy. In this section, she also tackles the division between Eastern and Western Christianity, the Orthodox view of baptism, and the Orthodox practice of making the sign of the cross.

Part 2 is entitled ‘Inside the Liturgy’. Here she takes to the heart of Orthodox worship, describing typical services of Vespers and Divine Liturgy. Her description becomes the basis for discussions of the Orthodox understanding of God as love, sin, Christ’s work of salvation, and the role of human freedom among other issues.

Finally, ‘Inside the Community’ explores the life together of a typical Orthodox community. She discusses the importance of fasting in the Orthodox year. Importantly, she stresses the mutual support in Christian discipleship that is (or should be) provided by the community, introducing the part played by spiritual fathers and mothers in Orthodox spirituality and reminding us of the importance of praying for one another. In this section, she also looks at initiation into Orthodoxy (by baptism and/or chrismation), the Orthodox understanding of marriage, the importance of blessings in the life of the Orthodox, and the Orthodox way of death.

Frederica Mathewes-Green paints an attractive picture of North American Orthodoxy, which is multi-ethnic and increasingly influenced by large numbers of English-speaking converts. Unfortunately, this is not reflected in the UK where Orthodox communities are still largely diasporic (and, in some cases, seemingly more intent upon maintaining the cultural and ethnic identities of their members than in living and proclaiming the gospel). Nevertheless, this is a well-written and easy-to-read book, which does a good job of explaining the distinctive features of Orthodoxy to those who are new to it. Having read it, someone could attend an Orthodox service without feeling awkward or embarrassed.