This book gives the life of Christ in beautiful icons from the Republic of Georgia. A beautiful work.

Author Thomas Oden who is general editor of Intervarsity Press’s Ancient Christian

Commentary on the Scriptures has noted that a good many of the sources he’s been working with are African, and that, in fact African Christians had a good deal to do with Christianizing the more heathen elements of Western Europe–not the other way around. Early African Christians played a central role in developing the modern university, providing Christian exegesis of Scripture,  early Christian dogma, and the ancient conciliar patterns of ecumenical decision-making, as well as developing monasticism. He calls for more study to fill out the picture. Of course much of this has been done in the Orthodox world. Don’t tell him, this is a good thing.

Unbroken Circle published by the Brotherhood of St. Moses the Black offers a collection of talks from the first five or so Ancient African Christianity/African American Orthodox Conferences. Authors include, Fr. Moses Berry, Orthodox Priest, pastor of Unexpected Joy Orthodox Church and founder of the African American Heritage Museum of the Ozarks, Dr. Albert Rabateau, Scholar, writer and professor at Princeton, Nun Katherine Weston, iconographer, Fr. Jerome Sanderson, iconographer, and pastor of the Christ the Saviour Orthodox Parish in Nashville Indiana, Fr. Paisius Altschul from St. Mary of Egypt parish and Reconciliation Ministries in Kansas City, among others. A worthy collection. After 14 confereneces, it’s time for another. Stay tuned: The conference will be in Indy next year.

This is a scholarly work, but quite readable for general audience. The book gives a delightfully detailed account of the life of St. Innocent of Alaska–the married priest who gave up a position in a prestigious parish to travel for a full year with his wife and first son and others to reach Alaska and become a parish priest there. St. Innocent is a giant intellectually, as well as physically, and his accomplishments include scientific papers submitted to Russian journals half a world away, translations of the Bible and other works into Fox Aleut, the building of churches, and once even the building of an organ for some Jesuits down in California. Eventually, he becomes Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia. And extraordinary man with an extraordinary story.

Fr. Michael Oleksa tells the story of how Orthodox Christianity became a Native American religion. This is an incredible history of the mission and a demonstration of how traditional Orthodox evangelism seeks to convert the whole culture. It also tells the story of persecution of the native tribes, who were already literate in three or more languages and already had their own schools, at the hands of clueless Protestant missionaries from the lower 48 after Alaska became an American territory. Last, the devastation of Native Communities by, of all things, the War on Poverty. Still, there is much to inspire in this book.

A more academic work on the history of Alaskan Mission. Looks awfully good. Someday we’ll read it.

The first life available in English of St. Herman of Alaska. The work is accompanied by some truly delightful woodcut illustrations that carry alot of the flavor and spirit of Alaskan Orthodoxy and St. Herman.

St. Herman prophecied that after his own memory was almost forgotten another hermit similar to himself would flee to Spruce Island and live the life of the hermit. This man proved to be Fr. Gerasim, a priest monk who originally came to Alaska as a missionary priest to serve in the native village of Afognak. After the revolution he became a permanent exile with no home to return to. It was Fr. Gerasim who found the saint;s grave and built a church over and renewed the memory of St. Herman, eventually bringing about his canonization. For all of this he was slandered, villified, and some church officials even tried to force him off the island, as the tried to do to St. Herman and others who follow in his footsteps. This is a quick read, and a very good inspiring read about the life of one of the heavenly Orthodox choir over America.