Anthony Bloom Book order

The expression "churchianity" was coined by C. S. Lewis. It is a word that describes the parable of Christ-or rather, the event-in which the Lord Jesus Christ pronounced his condemnation on the barren fig tree. Had it been barren, leafless, dead, Christ would not have condemned it. He might even have spoken a word of life and brought it into newness. But this tree stood there gloriously adorned with leaves, telling everyone around that that they could come up to it in order to find a harvest of ripe fruits. But there was nothing but leaves. The appearance was there; of reality, there was nothing. The words spoken by Christ are frightening: 'there will never be a fruit on your branches until the end of the world.'" In these nine talks, Metropolitan Anthony challenges us to move beyond mere "churchianity" to a true and living faith. He helps us to find our lofty calling in the familiar words of the creed, and he points to a path forward, both for individual believers and for our communities.

In this collection of talks and interviews Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh explores the theme of 'encounter'. Including a fascinating autobiographical account of his early life and the story of his own initial dramatic encounter with God. These inspirational pieces explore wider themes of encounter - between the Church and the State, Church and Society, and between ourselves and God in our vocation and spiritual development. Metropolitan Anthony deals with the questions of faith and life that affect us all, in his unique style that is simple and accessible.

There are few writers on prayer who speak with more authority than Metropolitan Anthony. In this book we can share his spirituality and his deep understanding of the link between contemplation and action in Christian life. He explores the relationship between worship and prayer, and goes on to look at well-known prayers such as the Lord's Prayer, revealing new depths in familiar phrases. He also reflects on less familiar petitions such as the Prayer of Bartimaeus, and many people will find his teaching on unanswered prayers particularly helpful.

The subject of prayer is explored as an essential element of self-awareness. The discovery of prayer, faith, love and man's relationship with God gives us hope and courage to pray.

This book opens with the text of Anthony Bloom's television discussions with Marghanita Laski entitled "The Atheist and the Archbishop". There follow chapters on "Doubt and the Christian Life", "Man and God" and "Holiness and Prayer".