ebooks Gods and Demons; Priests and Scholars: Critical Explorations in the History of Religions by Bruce Lincoln in History

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The line that separated Eastern Christendom from Western on the medieval map is similar to the "iron curtain" of recent times. Linguistic barriers; political divisions; and liturgical differences combined to isolate the two cultures from each other. Except for such episodes as the schism between East and West or the Crusades; the development of non-Western Christendom has been largely ignored by church historians. In The Spirit of Eastern Christendom; Jaroslav Pelikan explains the divisions between Eastern and Western Christendom; and identifies and describes the development of the distinctive forms taken by Christian doctrine in its Greek; Syriac; and early Slavic expression."It is a pleasure to salute this masterpiece of exposition. . . . The book flows like a great river; slipping easily past landscapes of the utmost diversity—the great Christological controversies of the seventh century; the debate on icons in the eighth and ninth; attitudes to Jews; to Muslims; to the dualistic heresies of the high Middle Ages; to the post-Reformation churches of Western Europe. . . . His book succeeds in being a study of the Eastern Christian religion as a whole."—Peter Brown and Sabine MacCormack; New York Review of Books"The second volume of Professor Pelikan's monumental work on The Christian Tradition is the most comprehensive historical treatment of Eastern Christian thought from 600 to 1700; written in recent years. . . . Pelikan's reinterpretation is a major scholarly and ecumenical event."—John Meyendorff"Displays the same mastery of ancient and modern theological literature; the same penetrating analytical clarity and balanced presentation of conflicting contentions; that made its predecessor such an intellectual treat."—Virgina Quarterly Review