The Arena: Guidelines for Spiritual and Monastic Life

Item No. 000111

by Ignatius Brianchaninov, with a foreword by Kallistos Ware

One of the most important texts of Eastern Orthodox Christian teaching on the spiritual life, this book draws upon the ascetic and mystical doctrine of the Greek Fathers and greats of the Orthodox Christian church. In an age alienated from spiritual culture and rooted in materialism, these teachings pose both a challenge and an invitation to those seeking heightened spirituality. This book is essential reading for anyone who desires a profound spiritual journey based upon an encounter with Christ as God.

Praise for The Arena:

People often ask me about books. The one I’ve been recommending most in the last few years is The Arena. . . . Although written by a rigorous monk for fellow monastics, all Christians possessing the courage and discipline to engage this book with attention and obedience may study it with great profit.

-Fr Thomas Hopko

About the Author: Ignatius Brianchaninov was a 19th-century monk and the abbot of the St. Sergius Monastery in St. Petersburg, Russia. He is the author of On the Prayer of Jesus.

Kallistos Timothy Ware is an Orthodox Bishop of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the retired Spalding Lecturer in Eastern Orthodox Studies at Pembroke College, University of Oxford. He is best-known as the author of the classic text The Orthodox Church.

Author: Ignatius Brianchaninov

Paperback: 352 pages

Dimensions: 6 X 9 inches