Product Description

Why are modern Christians so indistinguishable from everyone else? Why don't they stand out in virtue and joy? How could the early saints pray constantly, fast valiantly, and love their enemies?

Today's Christianity has come untethered from its historic roots, says Frederica Mathewes-Green, yet we can recover its power by reviving this ancient, transcultural faith. Drawing on Christian writings throughout the early centuries, Mathewes-Green explores prayer, fasting, and alms-giving as aids to "theosis"?total transformation in Christ.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #338083 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 112 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Frederica Mathewes-Green, whose books on Eastern Orthodoxy have popularized ancient Christian practice for a modern audience, beautifully underscores the importance of following the precedent of the earliest Christians in The Illumined Heart: The Ancient Christian Path of Transformation. Too often, she argues, contemporary Christians bend to the "confusing winds" of change, subordinating Christian tradition to popular ideas. (So stubborn is she in her claim for the superiority of ancient wisdom that she offers an unusual disclaimer at the outset: "I hope not to say anything original. If I do, ignore it.") Mathewes-Green thoughtfully reflects upon how 21st-century Christians can incorporate early spiritual practices, such as continuous prayer, spiritual direction, fasting and communal worship.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Advocating a return to the universal spirituality that characterized early Christianity, Mathewes-Green urges readers to seek out their historic Christian roots. Arguing that contemporary Christianity is increasingly culture dependent, she attempts to rediscover a unifying faith that transcends all modern cultural messages. To truly live in Christ, current believers must travel the often-arduous mystical path of the ancient church. To achieve an illumined heart, one must pray, fast, and repent as vigorously as did the initial generations of Christians. Recommended for larger theology collections, this conservative blueprint attempts to respond to a set of timeless questions regarding spiritual enlightenment. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"Breathtakingly countercultural . . . worth more to the honest seeker than shelves of what passes for practical spirituality these days." -- Rod Dreher, New York Post

"Frederica Mathewes-Green is a marvelous storyteller and every searcher's best friend." -- Amy Dickinson, Time

"I could see The Illumined Heart becoming a new classic in Christian spirituality." -- Fr. Peter E. Gillquist, Author, Becoming Orthodox

"Repentance, humility and discipline - they're all here. This is not one of those Jesus-makes-me-feel-good books favored in our time." -- The Dallas Morning News

"The wisdom [Frederica Mathewes-Green] draws from the first Christian centuries belongs to all believers. Let us possess it!" -- David Neff, Editor, Christianity Today

"There's not a Christian reader out there who won't be stirred, emboldened and humbled by reading this slender book." -- Lauren Winner, Beliefnet.com

...a bracing Christian antidote to the overabundance of feel good, sentimental spiritual books. -- Spirit & Life, Sr. Lenora Black OSB, January/February 2002

...this is a wonderful work that should appeal to virtually every person trying to live a Christian life. -- Orthodox New England, Fr. John Dresko, March 2002

I believe that The Illumined Heart will be of great help to anyone striving to walk the timeless path of Christ in our time. -- Dallas Willard, Author, Divine Conspiracy

Mathewes-Green aims to lead people by laying out the spiritual disciplines practiced by the Eastern Orthodox Church... -- Andrew DeBraber, The Grand Rapids Press

Customer Reviews

A contemporary invitiation to the ancient Christian path
When I began to explore the mysteries of Eastern Christianity in 1997, as well as to look more closely at some of the documents of the early Church, I encountered terms and concepts that were foreign to my thinking. I also saw familiar biblical and theological terms used in similar, yet different, ways.

In my puzzlement I wondered, how could I--someone who had read a fair amount of Church history and Christian classics--be in such foreign territory? Was this yet another way of viewing the Christian faith (like the many theological streams I'd encountered in Protestant writings)? Or were these writings espousing not merely different, but erroneous, views of Christianity? Or was there something missing (or even erroneous) in my Western view of the faith that needed clarification?

Many of the growing number Eastern Christian books available to Western readers (some of which I have recommended elsewhere here at Amazon), might cause the reader the same kind of puzzlement mentioned above.

Along comes this wonderfully simple gem, "The Illumined Heart," by renowned author and commentator Frederica Mathewes-Green, who gently invites the reader to explore "the ancient Christian path of transformation" in an unthreatening manner. Here Frederica introduces us to a fictitious "Christian of another era, perhaps from the fifth or sixth century, living in the Middle East," called Anna.

By introducing us to Anna, and her family, we catch a glimpse of how Christians of another time and place lived out their faith on a daily basis. While I was a bit leery of how this fictional approach would work, I felt that this woman and her family accurately resembled the historical non-fiction accounts I've read of this era.

This is not a "religious" book in the sense of comparing one tradition or theological viewpoint with another. Instead, the reader begins to see how we in the West have lost contact with our spiritual ancestors, what they believed, and how they lived their daily lives. Here Frederica calls us back to that earlier "Christian worldview," and shows how it worked for them and how it could work for us today.

Many of the terms and concepts that puzzled me years ago are introduced here within the fabric of Anna's daily life, and consequently, they not only make biblical and theological sense, they become appealing. Fortunately, Frederica provides an excellent bibliography for those who wish to pursue more. I have added as many titles from this bibliography that are currently available at Amazon to a list that you should be able to access here, to make your search for them easier.

Frederica also lists some helpful sources on the web, such as the St. Pachomius list of early church documents, and the Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

Here's wishing you the best as you explore your own path toward transformation.

Forget "The Prayer of Jabez" --
-- THIS is the book that every Christian should be reading! Ms. Mathewes-Green does an excellent job of distilling the timeless wisdom of the early Church into a wonderful introduction to traditional Christian life and spirituality. This approach to the Christian life has stood the test of time for centuries, and is a welcome corrective to the faddish pop-spirituality that fills the shelves at Christian bookstores. But be warned! Despite being an easy read (about 100 pages; I read it in an hour and a half) it presents some very challenging concepts. Not in terms of understanding them, but in terms of living them out. When was the last time you heard a sermon on "praying without ceasing?" How about "loving your enemies?" The early Christians took Biblical concepts like these at face value, and so does Mathewes-Green.

So be prepared to be confronted with the greatest challenge of the Christian life: to be transformed into the image of Christ. But the greatest challenge is also the greatest joy!

Buy this book, read it, and pass it on. You won't be sorry.

Mallowcups for Frederica
This is a small book. I thought I could knock it off in one setting. Two months later...

I did not expect it to become a book I'd have to slam down every other sentence for the richness of what I read. This is one of those books. Once again, I'm rearranging my "Top Ten Most Influential" book list. I heard this woman, who should be feted and bedecked with Mallowcups, speak at a conference; I remember thinking she was a soft-spoken woman I would not want to meet in an alley for the tough truth she owned. This book confirms that thought.

This book took me back to some hallowed basics of Christianity. It took me back to a simplicity I have long looked for without knowing. Here's a few things it did: 1. It reminded me that my other enemy is the devil (the first being myself.) That's not popular, Frederica, to own the devil as an enemy. Mallowcups for speaking truth. 2. It reminded me of fasting. Thanks a WHOLE LOT for that one--even my hair shrieks at the thought of missing a meal. But the truth of fasting, the realization that it is a sacrament and that I've been missing out, is louder than the shrieking. 3. It reminded me that I am a sinner. The tacit understanding is that we are NOT sinners. We are saved by grace, skip the sinner part. We think the grace part erases the sinner part. Owning the sinner part again is...huge. And, last, #4: The Jesus Prayer.

The idea of chanting a prayer over and over is anathema to many believers. It's too fearfully close to vain repetition. But there is something about "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner." It's aligning. Frederica says, "Do not be deceived into thinking that the words have magic of their own...that is the kind of thing Jesus meant by "vain repetition."...you do it in vain if you don't mean it."

So for those four things, plus the reprint of the prayer of Nikolai Velimirovic (where did you dig that up? another thing that had me slamming the book down...)...Mallowcups, Frederica.