Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was famous as an innovative playwright in the late 19th and early 20th c.  Yet, he is also considered one of world literature’s greatest short story writers. His works continue to be published in new translations and anthologies to this day.  Although considered to be an avowed agnostic, he has written some wonderful stories that reveal his great familiarity with the over-all culture of the Russian Orthodox Church.  We will read some of these ecclesial tales – such as "The Student" and “The Bishop,” as well as others – that in addition to being wonderfully descriptive, also depict the various “types” that populated his world and which he portrayed with much humanity and insight.

Plan on joining us for yet another fascinating literary excursion!

Download the flier in printable PDF format here.


Books for Winter Reading Circle
January 11, 2012

Dear Parish Faithful,

Try as I might, I could not find a single volume of Chekhov novellas or short stories that contained the works that I would like our group to read together for our upcoming Winter Reading Circle in February.  So, I will supply the information for the two books that we will read from.  The novellas and stories we will read are:
 
First Session, Feb 6 – “Ward No. 6,” “Panikhida” & “Vanka”
Second Session, Feb 13 – “The Murder”
Third Session, Feb 20 – “The Student,” “The Bishop,” & “Easter Eve”
 
The reading material for the first and third sessions is found in Anton Chekhov – Stories, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.  It sells on amazon.com for $10.20.  The material for the second session is found in Peasants and Other Stories, selected and with an introduction by Edmund Wilson.  This sells for $15.56.  Both editions sell for less from the independent sellers listed on amazon.com.  Sorry for the inconvenience or the cost, but you will be purchasing two books with an extraordinary collection of the best works of Chekhov – endless reading delight for the future.

For those with an Apple iPad or Amazon Kindle device, see below for a very affordable Digital eBook Edition.
 
Fr Steven

For the upcoming Fall Adult Education Class, scheduled tentatively to begin on Monday, November 7, I have chosen the book Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh – Essential Writings. 

Metropolitan Anthony (1914 – 2003) - who was born in Switzerland to Russian émigré parents, lived in both France and Persia, and was ultimately a bishop with an Orthodox flock in England - left a considerable body of writing that has a distinctive “modern” feel in terms of style and his awareness of the surrounding world; but which also remains deeply rooted in the Church’s theological, spiritual and liturgical Tradition.  His writing is very accessible and free of jargon; yet it remains deep, pastoral and inspiring.  This fairly new book (published in 2010) contains a biography of his fascinating life, but is primarily a collection of carefully-chosen excerpts from his writings over the years.

The writings contained in this book are conveniently presented in six chapters, and since we always have six sessions for this class, we can read, study and discuss a chapter per session.  As a man who moved from atheism to the fullness of the Orthodox Faith, there are no themes that Met. Anthony believes we should ignore out of fear of seeming weak or uncertain in and about the Faith.  We will thus read his thoughts on “Creative Doubt,” “Death and Bereavement,” “The Absence of God,” “Despair and Prayer,” “Prayer Answered and Unanswered,” “Women in the Church,” etc.  Those are just a few of the many themes that his writings take on in a creative and deeply pastoral manner. 

As previously announced, we will begin our Fall Adult Education Class on Monday evening, November 7.  We will read Metropolitan Anthony – Essential Writings.  Here is a printable PDF file that contains the flier and further information about this book and its author, Metropolitan Anthony Bloom, suitable for refrigerator door posting!
 
As is the case with many parish events/programs, we have developed a core group of parishioners who attend this class consistently from year to year.  Wanting to understand their motivation – and hoping to recruit new members for future classes, including this year’s – I asked some of our participating parishioners to “testify” to their ongoing interest in the class.  I have included three such testimonies here so as to share them with the parish:

In ch. 5 of her remarkable book, God's Many-Splendored Image, Sister Nonna examines the "royal dignity" of being created as a human being "in the image and likeness of God."   She begins by asking some direct questions, the answers to which have enormous consequences as to how we view ourselves and our neighbors:  "Do I have real dignity as a human person?"  And "Does my neighbor have real dignity as a human person?"
Continue reading on Fr Steven's Meditations blog...


Notes for Fifth Session (includes first four sessions also) (PDF format)

Fr. Steven

In searching for a book to study together at our upcoming Fall Adult Education Class, I was determined to find a book written by an Orthodox woman.  There are many good choices today, but I believe that I discovered a wonderful new book that will prove to be of great interest and insight to all.  The book is: God's Many-Splendored Image, and the author is Sister Nonna Harrison, an excellent scholar and Orthodox nun.  Sister Nonna has built up a reputation as an expert in the writings of the Church Fathers, but also for making Orthodox theology very accessible and applicable to today's world.  She achieves this to great effect in her new book.  She takes on a deeply important issue in today's world:  a feeling of dehumanization and despair among so many people who are really struggling to find meaning in life.  This is based on either on a dim view of human nature; a very reduced image of human nature; or a confused understanding of human nature.   Can a trip to church on Sunday morning spare us from being influenced in that way of thinking?  Perhaps a seasoned guide into the life in Christ and the Church can lead us away from such temptation.
 
For positively, Sister Nonna carefully explores what it means to be created "in the image and likeness of God."  She does this from a range of perspectives, each covered in a separate chapter.  The chapters cover the following themes:
 
1.  Freedom
2.  God and Christ
3.  Spiritual Perception
4.  Virtues and Humility
5.  Royal Dignity
6.  Embodiment
7.  In the Created World
8.  Arts and Sciences
9.  Community
 
Her application of the wisdom of the great saints of the past - Church Fathers and Desert Fathers & Mothers, as well as including the wisdom of modern thinkers - is really excellent, and she helps us draw out the implications of this great wisdom in our lives today.
 
Are you tired of hearing that basically you are nothing more than your biology?  Are you tired of the devaluation of human nature to nothing more than satisfying your passions and desires - for food and fun; sex and success?  Are you tired of seeing that in the vast majority of TV programs and films that you watch?   Would you like to hear about the dignity, beauty and wonder of being human?  Of how a loving God created us in His "image and likeness" so as to grow in virtue and excellence?  Of how Christ reveals to us what it means to be human and how to live a life pleasing to God and helpful to our neighbor? 
 
This book is the fruit of an Orthodox Christian woman's faith and vision that will take us into the uncharted realms of the mind and heart where we can better understand who and what we are in the creative will of God, so that we can live up to and live out that vocation in a meaningful way.  Here is a wonderful combination of scholarly knowledge and loving spiritual care for those dialoging with Sister Nonna through reading her book.
 
No less a figure than Metropolitan Kallistos (Timothy) Ware wrote a ringing endorsement of the book as the author of the book's Foreword.  Here is an excerpt from the Foreword:
 
"Sister Nonna writes as an expert in the early Christian world and its literature, but she presents the fruits of her learning in a form that is readily accessible to every reader.  Her style is simple yet profound, vivid yet never overstated....Here truly is a work that I can recommend with all my heart."
 
The book is selling for $15.63 on amazon.com, and that is a good discount from the retail price of $22.95.  (There are new and used copies selling for as low as $10.00-13.00).  I highly doubt we could find a better price elsewhere, so my advice is simply to purchase it from there.  Money well-invested!
 
The Fall Adult Education Class is meant to ... well, educate us in the depth, beauty, and glory of our shared Orthodox Christian Faith by reading and discussing a book together as a gathered body of committed Orthodox Christians.

The debut of our Literary Reading Group was a smashing success yesterday evening! We had very good participation, but even more importantly we had a very lively and animated discussion based upon our reading of Dostoevsky's masterpiece Crime and Punishment. It was very intellectually stimulating to share our various reading experiences of a novel that so profoundly deals with sin and redemption; guilt and the human conscience; suffering and its meaning; and the question of the moral and ethical implications about the existence or non-existence of God. (There were a few lively disagreements, but everyone was talking to each other when our session ended). All of this is presented through Dostoevsky's inimitable style expressed through a gallery of intriguing and unforgettable characters. We discussed the first two parts of a six part novel yesterday evening, so there is plenty of time to "catch up" before our next meeting, which will cover parts three and four.

That meeting may be as early as Monday evening, July 13, but we are still working on the next date. I will keep everyone informed.

- Fr Steven

Dear Parish Faithful,

The following note and attachment are for those who are reading Crime and Punishment in the Adult Reading Group. I do not have an exact list of those signed up, but since that list is fairly extensive, I need to send this out parish-wide. Please feel free to delete if this is not of any immediate concern to you.

The attachment contains a rather popularized article that I wrote about Dostoevsky a few years and which appeared in Again magazine. It is meant to provide background on Dostoevsky as a Christian writer/thinker of some magnitude in the 19th c. I will also have another short article about Dostoevsky available on Sunday.

At this late date, I am not quite sure how we are going to proceed with the discussion(?), but I believe that we do not want to spend a great deal of time rehearsing the plot. We want to enter into the content and "spirit" of the book. As noted before, we are going to concentrate on Pts. I & II in this first of three scheduled discussions, but we will probably need to presuppose knowledge of Raskolnikov's eventual fate.

Possible questions:

What kind of environment does Doestoevsky create in which to unfold the psychological drama of Raskolnikov?

Who is Raskolnikov and what do we learn of his character and ideas up to this point in the novel?

If you are "sympathetic" to Raskolnikov in any manner, what does Dostoevsky do to perhaps create such a reaction?

Dostoevsky wrote within the context of a Russian Orthodox society and culture. Is there anything in the novel that points to that particular world?

I realize that we may all be reading various translations, for many exist of Crime and Punishment. I am working off of the paperback edition translated by Pevear and Volokhonsky.

- Fr. Steven