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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 248.4819
EAN: 9781888212914
Edition: 1st
ISBN: 1888212918
Label: Conciliar Press
Manufacturer: Conciliar Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 200
Publication Date: October 09, 2007
Publisher: Conciliar Press
Studio: Conciliar Press
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Worry, despair, insecurity, fear of death . . . these are our daily companions, and even though we attempt to ignore them or try to crowd them out, they are there, waiting for us in our quieter moments. It is precisely where we hurt most that the experience of the Orthodox Church has much to offer. The remedy is not a pep talk, or any simple admonitions to fight the good fight, cheer up, or think positively. Rather, the Orthodox method is to change the way we look at the human person (starting with ourselves). According to two thousand years of experience, Orthodoxy shows us how to be transformed by the renewing of our mind -- a process that is aided by participation in the traditional ascetic practices and Mysteries of the Church. In this unique and accessible book, Archimandrite Meletios Webber first explores the role of mystery in the Christian life, then walks the reader through the seven major Mysteries of the Orthodox Church, showing the way to a richer, fuller life in Christ.
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This book is a very good introduction to the Orthodox Christian experience of God. It is divided into two parts: the first is entitled, "Life as Mystery," while the second is called "The Mysteries of the Church." In my opinion, the first part makes this read worth your time, and chapters one and two alone are worth the purchase price of the book! The author's psychological training is very evident during his discussion of "The Mind, the Heart & Mystery," and his elaboration upon the difference between the functions of the mind and the heart opened my eyes on the topic like no other theological text. The portion of the book dealing with the mysteries of the Church is, quite frankly, less distinctive than the author's treatment of "Life as Mystery," given that the material is covered elsewhere in classic texts by Bishop Ware (The Orthodox Church) and Protopresbyter Schmemann (For the Life of the World). The virtue of this work is that it combines a prolegomena to Orthodox theology with a tour of what western Christians would call the sacraments of the Church, which would be particularly useful for a catechumen or someone looking at Orthodoxy from the outside. If you are new to Orthodoxy (or on the outside looking in, as I am) and have not read Ware or Schmemann, I highly recommend this book.
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After the first couple chapters of Bread & Water, Wine & Oil by Archimandrite Meletios Webber--Fr. Mel to those he pastors--you are not quite sure if you are in an Esalen yoga retreat class or a Marin County spirituality workshop in the 70s. Yes, this is definitely a "get out of your head and into your heart" kind of book. At the same time it makes for classical eastern Orthodox scholarship. Though a down to earth book, those I feel will be attracted to this work are the rather heady, bookish sort. If so, this volume will serve as good medicine for the right folk.
Webber starts out letting us know that the West got lost pretty much at the trailhead in matters of the head and heart. He translates nous as heart and not mind. He points us to a Philokalia directive of St. Markarios that the nous is indeed the "eye of the heart"; and of St. Diadochos (5th Cent.) that it is this nous business which is a key anchor point of our lives if our spirituality is to work--"innermost aspect of the heart". Here we plug into and stay connected to our true selves and into each other, how we best commune and communicate with self, our fellows and with God. Webber addresses well the disintegration, fragmentation and estrangement that plagues us and our often limping religiosity.
His call for us to return to the heart and to experience and to mystery is accompanied by a parallel warning. Danger ahead is the bodiless mind embracing and theologically fatal path of dualism (body bad; spirit good) endemic in the West. The tone of Webber's book is refreshing, like the way he suggests that perhaps calling our bishop "your eminence" might be a bit dated.
If you are an academic, you might be offended at his style as Webber works to keep things simple. He tells fun stories yet he is far from an Erma Bombeck protégé. Those under the author's tutelage will tell you he's a man of letters. He retired (in a ceremony hosted by Kallistos Ware, his mentor) in recent years as a parish priest to write. Yet God yanked him back into the pastorate to serve as head of a dozen or so monks at St. John's Monastery near Redding where he leads a group of rather bookish monks previously lead by the new Metropolitan of the OCA. Hopefully Achmandrite Webber's contemplative digs of late will yield many more such helpful books. Fr. Melitos has a Greek background yet as a Celtic redhead convert to the Eastern church he has a British humor and an Oxford head on his shoulders which brings a good mix that comes together well in his writing.
I liked this book better than the one on sobriety and the 12 steps. In both Webber is at the same time simple and complex. This book on the Sacraments soulfully explores the mystical theology of the Eastern church. Not surprising as I'm told the predecessor and founder of the monastery Fr. Meletios now shepherds came to the East through Lossky 's book by that same title. This is good. I look for many other helpful titles from this Orthodox author.
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Bread & Water, Wine &, Oil: An Orthodox Christian Experience of God, by Archimandrite Meletios Webber
This is a significant book, one that could only be written by someone who has not only studied, but lived the Orthodox Christian faith for more than 35 years. I purchased my copy of "Bread & Water, Wine & Oil" in 2008 at the monastery in northern California where, less than a year later, Archimandrite Meletios would be installed as abbot. This says something about the respect that the Orthodox Church has for the ministry of this monk, priest, psychologist and author, who replaced the founding abbot after his elevation as Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in America.
I first encountered the work of Archimandrite Meletios when I read his excellent examination of the Twelve Steps (Alcoholics Anonymous, etc.) entitled "Steps of Transformation." Shortly after reading that book several years ago, I had the opportunity to hear him speak at a local retreat.
What makes this book significant is that the author shows how God can use very ordinary, but essential, elements such as bread, water, wine and oil, not to mention fallible human beings, in order to draw us into his presence in a profound way. This book is all about getting out of the head and into the heart, which is what the great mystical writers have been pointing to throughout Christian history.
It is not surprising that this volume was published by Conciliar Press, well known for producing materials by, about and for converts to the Orthodox Christian faith. Many of us converts studied our way into the faith, examining things like Church history, theology and the Scriptures to find our way "home." What sets this volume apart is that the author moves us from the head knowledge into the heart.
The book is divided into two parts. The first, "Life is a Mystery," discusses the mind, heart, mystery, our relationship with God, distraction and prayer, making a sanctified effort, the sanctification of time, sacred places, and icons and the incarnation. The second part, "The Mysteries of the Church," discusses the Mysteries (often called "the sacraments") including birth and baptism, chrismation, Holy Communion, confession and forgiveness, anointing of the sick, marriage and ordination.
The first section alone is worth the purchase price of the book, and shows clearly how an Orthodox Christian mindset (or rather "heart") is different in many ways from what we may have learned in Western Christianity. At first I had trouble seeing how the second part of the book connected to the first, but in the end it works together beautifully.
I highly recommend this book to my fellow converts to the Orthodox Christian faith, as well as to inquirers, catechumens and others who would be interested in looking past the outward trappings of Orthodoxy to see how a relationship with God in this context can transform the heart.
I'll close with a quote from the last paragraph of the book, which more or less summarizes what it's all about:
"It is worth remembering that it is the act of seeking the place of the heart which is our goal, our highest aspiration, not the actual finding of it. It is the journey, not the destination, which is of utmost importance."
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This is the best, the gentlest book I have ever read as an introduction to Orthodoxy. I want to read it until I remember every word. Orthodox Christianity can be difficult for a Western Christian to understand but this volume is the remedy for such confusion. Simply a wonderful, wonderful book.
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I just had the pleasure of having Fr. Webber speaking at our clergy retreat this week. He's had the wonderful opportunity of having been nurtured at Oxford along with Archbishop Anthony Bloom (of blessed memory), Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, Nicholas Zernov, Archimandrite Sophrony, and others. It's too bad that most of you do not have the opportunity to experience him in person. His humble demeanor and British wit is very endearing. This book is the next best thing. I did want to update the bio for him; he is currently serving as the abbot for the St. John of San Francisco monastery in northern California.
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