Wondrous in His Saints: Essays to Inspire on the Orthodox Patristic Tradition - Paperback

by Chris Baghos (Author)

What role do the church fathers play in the life of a modern Christian? How do they define the experience of holiness? And how can they help us appreciate our current culture while maintaining our traditional values? Wondrous in His Saints posits answers to these and other crucial questions while drawing upon the Eastern Orthodox patristic tradition from Late Antiquity to the early modern era. Its chapters vary in scope, theme, and content, focusing especially on the church fathers' insights into intimate aspects of the spiritual life (including prayer, repentance, and love), as well as their engagement with the artistic and scientific achievements of their wider contexts. Exploring the lives and writings of numerous titans of Orthodoxy (including St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Maximus the Confessor, and St. Gregory Palamas), as well as lesser-known figures (such as St. Guthlac of Crowland and the Chinese Martyrs of the Boxer Rebellion), the author brings to the fore its egalitarian nature; the fact that deification has never been restricted to any time, place, social class, or clerical rank according to the church fathers, but always attainable for men and women seeking communion with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Author Biography

Chris Baghos is an independent scholar whose research interests include patristic theology, church history, and Greek, Latin, and Insular hagiographies from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages. He holds multiple degrees in the field of humanities, including a DPhil from the University of Sydney, and has extensively explored the topic of sainthood and its relation to the environment and the development of technology, as well as that of Christian identity in the Byzantine patristic tradition.