“Every element you meet has the same purpose: to help you be filled more completely with the life and presence of Christ. There is an undercurrent of dynamism, liveliness, and a frank expectation of action and growth.”

Frederica Matthews-Green writes probably the best accessible book on the Orthodox church for Western, protestants I’ve ever read. It is welcoming and accessible covering much of the theology and doctrine through the lens of liturgy. She’s so cheerful I felt like Polyanna is giving the tour, which was both a positive and negative. The positive is displayed in her enthusiasm and liturgical flare (as a fellow liturgy geek I ate this up and my highlights are a testament). The negative is … well too much Pollyanna creates this Lala land to some theological and even doctrinal practices that are glaringly obvious (least I hope) to any non-Orthodox Christian. For the most part, it doesn’t happen often. Additionally, Frederica is such a marvelous host, shining a light into the practices of the Orthodox church, that one can overlook the saccharined Kool-Aid. The welcome definitely lights the way to Christ.

“what you choose out of this treasury will inevitably be things you like. The things you already like are not going to change you. They’ll confirm you in your comfortable places, and reinforce things you already understand. But the things that will actually change you may not be things you understand, at first. They may seem perplexing or unattractive. You come to understand them by doing them hopefully, in the company of others who are on the same path, some of whom are further along and can guide you and answer your questions.”