Facing East

December 30, 1996
The homespun mingles with the majestic in this affectionate account of a family's romance with an ancient form of Christianity. The author, a columnist for the Religion News Service, was a lapsed Roman Catholic who tried Hinduism before becoming a charismatic Episcopalian; her husband, Fr. Gregory, pastor of the Holy Cross Mission in Baltimore, is a former Episcopal priest. Homeschoolers who believed the Episcopal Church was "repealing the creed and condoning immorality," the couple has joined a contingent of evangelical Christians who have, in recent years, been converting to Eastern Orthodoxy. Mathewes-Green offers an intimate glimpse of this piece of the contemporary American religious landscape. Writing with charm and humor and a convert's zeal, she weaves reflections on family life, friendship and personal spirituality with descriptions of Orthodox worship and fellowship. However, she glosses over Orthodoxy's theology and ecclesiastical structure, focusing mainly on externals. As a result, lifelong Orthodox may feel this chatty depiction trivializes their faith, while outsiders may be frustrated by the lack of explanatory content.

January 1, 1997
In this enlightening work, the author (Real Choices, Questar, 1994), a syndicated columnist with the Religious News Service and an occasional commentator for National Public Radio, explores the forms of worship and devotion in Orthodoxy. She takes the reader through a year of liturgical worship and social activity in the small, highly motivated congregation of Holy Cross Antiochian Orthodox Church in Catonsville, Maryland, where her husband, a former Episcopal priest, is the founding pastor. Holy Cross is not a typical Orthodox parish, for most of its members (like the pastor and his family) are converts from Protestantism. The author's spiritual inclination, as the reader quickly learns, is toward charismatic and spirit-filled devotion. Enthusiastic and fervent, she often concerns herself with justifying her choice of Orthodoxy, and its devotional practices (e.g., the reverencing of icons), to the Protestants who constitute her main audience. Accessible and informative for casual readers and beginning students in religion, this work is suitable for both public and academic libraries.--James F. DeRoche, Alexandria, Va.